THROUGHOUT the entire Bible it is plainly taught that “the joy of the Lord” is a most enriching and strengthening feature of the Christian life. Its presence in the heart is not only an indication of Divine approval, but also a source of power and victory to the one who possesses it. Thus in the days of faithful Nehemiah the people were told, “Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” And in language descriptive of the most adverse circumstances, another Prophet likewise reveals the overcoming powers of this joy: “Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines ; the labor of the olive shall fail, anal the fields shall yield no meat: the flock shall be cut off frown the fold, arid there shall be no herd in the stalls: yet will I rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.” -- Neh. 8:10; Hab. 3:17,18.

The Psalms also abound with reminders that “the joys of His salvation” are a perpetual source of comfort, assurance, and protection, to those who dwell by faith under the shadow of God’s loving pare. Furthermore, our Lord in leaving His disciples assured them that: His joy remaining with them, turning their sorrow into joy, would enable them to rise victoriously above ail the adversities and the promised tribulations of their discipleship. He meant them to understand that His peace abiding in them, would so fortify and support them under all circumstances, that nothing would destroy their tranquility of mind in the confidence that He would never leave nor forsake them.

Supplementing all this, the child of God today has the repeated admonitions of the Apostles, wherein we are exhorted to rejoice in the Lord, and to rejoice always, regardless of all. the fluctuating circumstances of life. And these faithful exhortations have been reinforced by the examples of these same Apostles, for in so many ways They have revealed the possibility of our being so “strong in faith” that we can truly rejoice, “come what may.” Indeed, it becomes manifest at once, with all these admonitions and assurances before us, that if the Christian cannot attain to this perfect trust and peace of mind under adversity, then his profession of faith in an overruling, loving God and Father, is of little worth.

Jesus Himself has made such a sharp distinction between His disciples and the world in this matter, that we do well to make careful note of it. “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you : not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27.) Here the inheritance of the Christian is shown to be such that his viewpoint regarding life’s adversities will make a marked contrast between himself and others about him. Even as it was with the Master, so it will be with His followers -- there will be a peace which comes from implicitly trusting to the Divine wisdom, love, justice and power, a peace which results from remembering the gracious promise made to the Lord’s faithful -- that nothing shall by any means hurt His people, and that all things shall work together for good to them that love God. This peace, possessing the heart of those whose faith can accept whatever Divine Providence permits; can look through its tears with joyful expectancy for the ultimate blessings which the Master has promised, of which the present peace and joy are merely foretastes.

The peace that Jesus enjoyed came from His intimate knowledge of God. “O righteous ‘Father the world hath not known Thee; ; but I have known Thee.” There could then be no doubt in His mind regarding the Father’s faithfulness, and so it should be with us. We too may rejoice in our knowledge of God in contrast to the darkness of others who know Him not. If in God’s universal oversight of creation a sparrow may not falter in its flight and drop to the earth without being observed, surely we cannot be forgotten -- we, who are of so much greater value to Him than many sparrows; for, says Jesus, “the Father Himself loveth you.”

Blessed are Your Eyes for They See

“There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High.” Thus writes the Psalmist as he in prophetic language anticipates the goodness of God in His dealings with His people. But to comprehend the depth and practical nature of this assurance, it will be necessary to carefully note the context of the verse just quoted: In a general way the consolations of the Forty-sixth Psalm have been applicable to all the saints throughout the Age, as under various circumstances they have borne their testimony among the nations; but in a very special sense the Psalm is prophetic of experiences peculiar to God’s faithful people in the closing days of the present Age. Today, we stand on the threshold of the disintegration so vividly portrayed by the Prophet, and therefore these inspired words are doubly forceful in their meaning now to the saints of God. The twofold teaching of the prophecy is obvious.

Primarily it reveals to the watchers the significance of current events. It is God’s forecast of the distress and perplexity now developing in the earth, while organized society is being shaken, and the old order being removed. The kingdoms, here symbolized by mountains, are even now being rapidly carried along, by an irresistible force toward the sea of revolution and anarchy, and ere long will be engulfed in a rage of human passion that will utterly wreck the present order of things. Then in contrast, this prophetic statement gives an inspired picture of the rest and peace of God’s people living in the midst of these upheavals of society. “God is in the midst of her: she shall not be moved: God shall help her; and that right early.” That is, the faithful Church will realize so much of the presence and power of the Lord in the midst of all these circumstances, that she will not share in the fears, anxieties, and perplexities, so common to those who have no knowledge of God’s Plan, and no relationship to Him as His children.

I will Trust and not be Afraid

It remains for each child of God to examine himself, therefore, as to :how fully this peace and tranquility of mind is being enjoyed in this hour of trial. Are we “in trouble as other men,” and reacting to present conditions in the same way as the unregenerate, or are we realizing the peace of God, and lifting up our heads and rejoicing, not withstanding all present distress? Even though we must feel, in common with all others, much of the strain and stress of present depression, by faith we, as children of light, who are equipped with the knowledge God has so graciously permitted us to enjoy, and given a vision beyond the present hour, should be able to face the difficulties incidental to the change of rulership soon to take place, with a courage and confidence becoming to saints, whose every interest is in the safe-keeping of our faithful God.

The Christian life is such a wonderful privilege to those who fulfill its conditions. It is truly a great and heroic undertaking to step out from all other supports, and live and walk by faith alone. There is ample opportunity to display those splendid virtues of obedience and faith, in such á life, when .all of one’s interests and possibilities are surrendered to God without reserve, to experience pain or pleasure, joy or sorrow, prosperity or adversity, just as He may will for us. The ideals of such a life attract us, and down in the heart of every true child of God there is the fervent desire to say under all circumstances, “Thy will be done.” We pledge ourselves, honestly and hopefully, to “neither murmur nor repine at what the Lord’s providence may permit,” and yet how often we must confess that our lips have been full of complaints, and notwithstanding the comforting words of the Master, our hearts have been sorely troubled. If we did not know the meaning of this “ministry of sorrow” and understand its relationship to our present life of faith and to our future joy anal glory, then our fears and burdened spirits might be condoned, but since God has taken us into His confidence, forewarning and forearming us with a knowledge of all His purposes for us, can we find any justification for doubt and fear?

For years past the awakened saints have been t singing,

“As I near the time of trouble,
     Bid my faith in Thee increase;
While the thousands ‘round are falling,
     Keep me, keep in perfect peace.”

Today we have apparently been brought very near to that momentous hour. As we have just seen in the prophetic forecast we have examined, the surging waves of trouble are mounting higher and higher, and in a sense coming closer and closer, even to the saints. This then means that we are now enjoying an exceptional opportunity to demonstrate the reality of our faith, and the buoyancy of our hope and expectation. Now is the time when we may with delight and joy “draw water out of the wells of salvation,” and thrill with the wonderful possibilities of the time in which we live.

Just how early in the morning the faithful Church may be delivered, we do not know, but numerous Scriptures seem to indicate that the saints will witness considerable of the earlier stages of this time of trouble. But even so, the comprehensive promise is sure to all the faithful: “In the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; in the secret of His tabernacle shall He hide me: He shall set me up upon a rock.” (Psa. 27:5.) Surely, then,. we may well say “I will trust and not be afraid.”

The End of All Things at Hand

Well has the poet represented the exceptional privileges of the present day in these familiar lines:

“We are living, we are dwelling
     In a grand and awful time;
In an age on ages telling,
     To be living is sublime.”

Dwelling as we are “under the shadow of His wings,” and looking out over world events from our hiding place, what emotions of joy fill our hearts as we “see these things beginning to come to pass” and progressing with rapid strides toward the foretold consummation! Kept from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence, and spared from the pitfalls into which many have fallen at our side, what a favored lot is ours! For centuries, faithful servants of God have hooked forward to the day when God’s Plan would have progressed to the point where we stand today, and to the events which lie in the immediate future, and like faithful Abraham, they were rejoiced and made glad as they visualized from that far-off point the fulfillment of the great promises of God’s Word. How unfortunate if we should allow our close proximity to these great changes to hinder us from fully appreciating their significance.

From brethren the world over we are learning of the difficulties many are experiencing in securing the ordinary necessities of life. Even in the most favored lands, there are those of our brethren who are realizing that the results of unemployment, crop failures, and the general collapse of the financial system, are just as real to the child of God as to any other. The struggle for existence has become so universal that it must inevitably involve the saints of God; for is it not written of these, that not many rich or great, but chiefly the poor of this world are called? We have been rejoiced to observe the spirit of confidence in God that in a very general way has characterized the communications received. By far the greater number of those who write us from time to time assure us of their steadfast confidence in God, giving evidence that they are learning to trust Him under all circumstances. Surely this is a verification of the prophetic promise so applicable today: “God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved.” And praise God, ere the storm breaks in its devastating fury, an escape will be provided for those proved worthy, for “God shall help her, and that right early.”

Yet a Little While

But the thought we want to specially emphasize here is the blessedness of our privilege now of being under His wings; not particularly thinking of this condition as one that separates us from the actual experiences of life common to all, but as a state of mind that means joy and gladness in the midst of adversity -- just letting the joy of the Lord be our strength. Nowhere in the Bible are we promised immunity from trouble. Indeed the very nature of our priestly calling and future service to humanity makes it imperative that we share in the common lot of men. In order to be a ‘merciful High Priest our dear Redeemer must be “tempted it all points like as we are.” In order to afford the consolations we so greatly need, He must be “touched with a feeling of our infirmities.” Similarly, that the Church may be qualified for the great work hereafter of uplifting, a sin-blighted world, she must experience the adversities of life.

Too often we fall into the old habit of magnifying the trials, and of praying with some others: “When we have suffered Thy righteous will here below, may we then be received into Thy Kingdom of rest.” Under this condition of mind, God’s will is not “a pillow to rest on, but a load to carry,” and we are expecting rest from trouble instead of rest in trouble. We are asking for a cessation of the tribulations necessary to our future service, rather than seeking to glory in the tribulations, which, by God’s grace, produce patience, experience, and the hope that maketh not ashamed.

Encircled in His Grace

What if the world does mistreat us, and in a general way we are buffeted about by its inequitable conditions. After all, nothing can defeat God’s purposes toward us, if we but remain submissive in His hand. He who can make the wrath of men and devils to praise Him, has so encircled us in His grace that all our adversaries become in reality “our friend, the enemy,” for all serve in one way or another to bring forth in us that which is essential to our being made “meet for the inheritance of the saints in light.”

“Surely it gives us a very deep sense of the richness of the world and its material when we see how in it and by it God may thus train the natures of His children. We abuse the world, we talk of how it hides the truth from us, of how it threatens us or allures us to do what is wrong, of how its hard blows make us suffer, of how its heavy weights crush us, but certainly there is another thought, more gracious and more generous, about this rich old Earth that so uncomplainingly takes our complaints, and never withholds its bounty for all our fretfulness and grumbling. Certainly, if mystery can make faith, and temptation can make fidelity, and pain can make patience, then the Earth which teems with all three may be a very blessed place. All through eternity we may look back out of the perfect light and holiness and joy of heaven, and love the old Earth, where these mixed and troubled years were lived, for the memory of its mystery, its temptation, and its pain.

“Let us pray to Him that we may rebel against no treatment, though it seem to us very hard, which enriches us with any one of these elements that we may lack; and makes us a little more wise with His wisdom, or faithful to His law, or patient under His will. For so only can we gain Him, whom to have perfectly is the perfection of our life.”

This is drawing water from the wells of truth, reminding us afresh that God is in the midst of His people, and that blessed is the man that endureth temptation; for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life which the Lord hath promised to them that love Him.

In ancient times, and again today, the Lord must say, “My people have committed two evils; they have forsaken Me, the Fountain of Living Waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water,” and therefore they must famish in the time of drought. But those who have rejoiced[ in the wells of salvation opened up by the Lord Himself have experienced no such disappointment. With the freshness of the morning that water continues to satisfy their minds and hearts. There is unceasing wonderment as the wisdom, justice, love, and power of the Divine Plan are pondered. The love of God for a world of sinners alienated from Him by sin, and redeemed by the gift of His own beloved Son, ever rejoices and enthuses the souls of those who continue to drink from this overflowing well.

And still new beauties and increasing light reveals God’s special love for the Church-a people for His name, gathered from Jew and Gentile, predestinated to be conformed by God’s workmanship to the image .and likeness of His own dear Son; privileged now to suffer with Him, share in His cup, His baptism, and His death, during the few brief years of earthly life, then to reign with Him for a thousand years in His blessed Kingdom work of filling the earth with God’s glory, as deeply as the waters fill the seas. But God can never cease to give forth His blessings. The Kingdom privileges will not exhaust His gifts of love to the Church, for “in the ages to come,” we are told, He will continue to “show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward . us through Christ Jesus.” Surely “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.”

What a blessed rest is ours now to abide under His protecting wings, while we feast on the marvels of His grace, and sing the songs of His redeeming- love! And to be living in the very midst of world events, which indicate that this wonderful Plan has ‘so far developed that the long prayed for Kingdom is all but here, must surely make us forget our temporary difficulties, and cause us to lift up our heads with rejoicing.

Until it Receive the Latter Rain

But drinking from the wells of salvation must lead us into a deeper realization of the possibilities of our hidden life in Christ. So much of Scriptural teaching emphasizes the fact that our development progresses “from grace to grace.” The early rains of Divine favor are so essential to growth; the intervening days of sunshine and shadow are equally important, but the ripening period is weighted with crisis hours.

The Husbandman has had long patience. Will lie be rewarded by receiving a fully matured fruitage? And what kind will the fruitage be that will please our beloved Master most? Will it be what we have done for Him, or what of time and means we have spent in His service? Or will it be the combats we have fought in His name, and the citadels of error we have bombarded with His truth? Will it be the teachings we have defended, and the interpretations we have insisted upon, and the particular methods we have endorsed? Much of this, may have an important bearing on the Lord’s approval, but all of these together may not save us from being rejected, or may not spare the Husbandman from disappointment. All of this is so possible and yet God’s purpose, “Christ formed in you,” be very imperfectly realized. The tests of the hour may reveal that nearness of position rather than nearness of relationship, has been uppermost in mind.

The Loss of “First Love”

The Lord leaves us not in doubt as to what characteristics He is most pleased with in His people and what will insure His approval and commendation. “He who holds the seven stars and walks in the midst of the candlesticks, found in Ephesus, works, labor, endurance, steadfast opposition to evil, faithfulness and firmness in discipline, cheerfulness in bearing any burden, and a just hatred of deeds and practices which Christ also hates. One who fails to look closely at these qualities and contrast them with the one solemn charge, ‘Thou hast left thy first love,’ will most naturally inquire, Can it be possible to possess all these qualities and yet be lacking in this one all-important thing? The words of Him who walked among the lamp-stands plainly answers that it is. The words also imply that the loss of first love must be the immediate cause of departure from true Christian life. . . . Ephesus it was that labored and was patient, and could not bear evil, to whom these words were addressed by the Savior, so expressive of disappointment. We inquire then, What is this ‘first love’? Was it love for the Truth alone? Was it love for the work, or service of proclaiming -- of giving out the Truth? Ah, no! Ephesus did not fail here. Wherein then was her failure? What was her ‘first love’? Was it not that for which the Truth was made known to heir? Was not the Truth given to the Christians of Ephesus for the purpose of begetting in them a true, a deep love for the Lord; to enable them to become acquainted with Christ Himself, as an ever present Savior, Friend, Counselor and Guide? There can be but one true answer: It was.

“‘First love’ then is something beyond the love of the Truth, and something beyond the desire for and service in connection with the Truth. It is love for the Lord Himself-love for what He has clone for us, and love for His own glorious personality which reflects the Divine attributes. This, the supreme and highest form of love, finds in Him, its full and complete satisfaction. It finds expression in our desires and aims to please Him who first loved us, and ‘whom having not seen we love.’ All other forms and degrees of love are incidental to this, our ‘first love.”‘

With these words of our Lord before us we may well continue the examination of ourselves. “Works,” “labor,” and “patience,” are commended by the Savior, but have our lives been productive of the “works of faith,” the “labor of love,” the “patience of hope,” that results from union with God. Let works, labor, and patience be active, yet if the freshness of what first called them into action be lacking, they can become a mere creed without the power. Unless we are absorbed with Christ, living in and for Him alone, looking only for His smile and admiration, there is nothing distinctive in our service from that of the nominal believer. If we have thus really learned to dwell in God, to find our deepest joy in the fact of our relationship to Him, and in knowing the Father and the Son in this most precious fellowship, we shall then know of a certainty that we are under His wings; and though the shades of the approaching night continue to grow deeper and darker, we will draw yet closer to our Beloved and sing

“Under His wings I am safely abiding;
Tho’ the night deepens and tempests are wild,
Still I can trust Him; I know He will keep me;
He has redeemed me, and I am His child.

“Under His wings, O what precious enjoyment!
There will I hide till life’s trials are o’er;
Sheltered, protected, no evil can harm me;
Resting in Jesus I’m safe evermore.”

The Completeness of the Body

THE CHURCH is the “one Body” of Christ, and all Christians are individual members of that Body. No one liveth to himself, no one dieth to himself; when one member suffers all members suffer with it. It is one of the sins of a self-sufficient age to deny the unity and completeness of Christ’s Body, and to set up tests of unity other than those which He has appointed. In the natural body each member united with the head has vital union with every other member connected with the same head. The basis of true Christian unity is union with Jesus Christ who is the Head of the Body. Men lay down as the basis of their unity, union with some human leader through the doctrines which he: has proclaimed or the forms which he has instituted. They are united by external observances, by laws, forms, rites, and ,bands. Their union is the union of staves in a barrel; Christ’s union is the union of branches in a vine. Their union is that of bones in a skeleton, joined and wired together, but destitute of vital energy; the union of Christ and His people is the union of the members of a body, joined together by those ligaments which every joint supplieth, and pervaded by the energy of a common life. The unity which Christ inaugurated embraces the whole family of God. It includes every man who has vital connection with the great Head of the Church. Men’s schemes are too narrow for this, and include only those persons who coincide in opinions, who agree in forms, who are trimmed according to a certain pattern, or shaped in conformity to certain human standards. Christ bids us to receive one, another as He has received us. The fact that we have passed from death unto life, and we are united to Christ the living Head, is proof that we are united to His people. If our fellowship is with the Father and with the Son Jesus Christ, it is also with one another. Men, however, restrict their fellowship; and hence, while Christ’s Church is inclusive and wide-reaching, their churches are narrow, and shut out more Christians than they shut in. The results of this are grievous to God’s people who are thus excluded from union with saints, but still more grievous to those who exclude them. How often we see churches crippled and helpless for lack of the labor :and sympathy of Christian brethren who stand by their side ready and willing to be helpers in their toils, but are excluded, by some party Shibboleth, or by some unscriptural name or form. How often we see men shut away from their proper field of Christian effort, simply because they cannot accept the unscriptural statements .and arrangements, which men presume to impose before they receive them to their fellowship. Men toil in weariness, and bring themselves to the borders of the grave, that they may do work which others would willingly and wisely do, who are not permitted to participate in the labor. Thus men virtually say to God’s children: “You may be members of Christ’s Body, but we have no need of you or your services.”

The Apostle has taught us that no member of the Body can be spared from its place and its proper work, without serious injury. No man can separate himself from the Body of Christ without harm; nor can any portion of Christians separate themselves from others who love the Lord, or exclude other Christians from their fellowship, without doing themselves great injury.

The union of true Christians springs from a higher than human source; and their adaption to each other for mutual helpfulness is so complete and perfect that any separation ,must work harm both to those who cause it and to those who endure it. The feet may say, We .are strong, we have no need of the eyes, we carry the body, and the eyes are mere useless gazers. But when, the eyes are gone, and the feet are groping anal floundering in the ditch, the folly of this decision is most. manifest. So whenever any of the Lord’s children in. their inexperience, and self-sufficiency think themselves able to dispense with the presence, the service, and the loving fellowship of others of the children of the Lord, they may find sooner or later, by their weakness, inefficiency, and a thousand calamities and troubles that may come upon them, they have over-estimated their own powers, and have put away from them those members which God bath set in the Body, that they might abide together in the unity of love and in mutual helpfulness. All down through the Ages comes our Savior’s parting prayer for His disciples, that “they all may be one,” and the hearts of the truly regenerate yearn and long for this unity. Deeper than the names and forms and creeds of men, throbs that inward, Divine and universal life which Christ imparted, and which makes His children one. -- Selected.

Half Hour Meditations on Romans

No. 17

“The fool hath said in his heart, ‘There is no God.”‘ no God.’ “The wicked … all his thoughts are, ‘There is no God.’’ -- Psa. 14:1; 53:1; 10:4, R.V.

IN THIS “Half Hour” we resume our reflections on the Apostle’s description of Gentile failure to attain righteousness. We have already noted that his purpose in the passage before us (1:18-32) is to prove beyond a doubt the need in which they stand. If ever they are to attain righteousness, such is the gist of his whole argument, they must receive it as a gift from God; it must come to them by faith. As we ponder the words of the Apostle in this passage, may the Spirit of God in our hearts, “hearts otherwise as vulnerable as those of the old pagan sinners, sweep from the springs of thought and will all horrible curiosity. But if it does so, it will leave us the more able, in humility, in tears, in fear, to hear the facts of this stern indictment. It will bid us listen as those who are not sitting in judgment on paganism, but standing beside the accused and sentenced, to confess that we, too, share the fall, and stand, if we stand, by grace alone. Aye, and we shall remember, that if an apostle thus tore the rags from the spots of Black Death of ancient morals, he would have been even less merciful, if possible, over the like symptoms lurking still in modern Christendom and found sometimes upon its surface.

“Terrible, indeed, is the prosaic coolness with which vices now called unnameable are named and narrated in classical literature; and we ask in vain for one of even the noblest of the pagan moralists who has spoken of such sins with anything like adequate horror. Such speech, and such silence, has been almost impossible since the Gospel was felt in civilization.” “Paganism is protected from complete exposure by the enormity of its own vices. To show the Divine reformation wrought by Christianity it must suffice that once for all the Apostle of the Gentiles seized heathenism by its hair, and branded indelibly on her forehead the stigma of her shame.” “Yet the vices of the old time are not altogether an antiquarian’s wonder. Now as truly as then man is awfully accessible to the worst solicitations the moment he trusts himself away from God. And this needs indeed to be remembered in a stage of thought and of society whose cynicism, and whose materialism show gloomy signs of likeness to those last days of the old degenerate world in which St. Paul looked around him, and spoke out the things he saw.” “With us indeed Christianity has been sufficiently vigorous to provide a counteracting force, of infinitely stronger power than existed in the Roman world, to resist corruption. The agencies of Divine strength and recovery, the centers of health and light, are infinitely more numerous, stronger, more constant, more progressive. But the world of sin is still what it was: and always there lies upon it the same stamp of Divine condemnation. We look around on the life of our city, with its selfish and disgusting lusts, with its drunkenness, with its enervating luxury, with its selfish wealth, with its reckless and immoral gambling, with its dishonest commerce, with its grasping avarice so neglectful of the lives of those whom it makes its instruments: we look around, we say, not on the whole life, but on the sinful life of our city, and we see what human nature is plainly meant not to be, either in its characteristics or its miserable .issues. And by the interval between what we see life to be and what we know it was meant to be, we can measure the reality of the Divine judgment. The facts press upon us the truth which St. Paul would teach. The sinful life is a condemned life. Here is an actual disclosure of, the wrath of God upon all unrighteousness and sin.”

The World’s Present Accountability

It is essential to a clear understanding of what the Apostle would teach us in the passage before us, that we recognize the sin against which the wrath of God is revealed from heaven, to be something very different from ignorance, or weakness, or inherited blemishes. When we come to the consideration of chapter five, we shall see the Apostle doing full justice to the fact that it was “by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin.” In that chapter he does not deny, but is at pains to affirm that it was “by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners.” Certainly then in the passage before us he is not to be understood as contradicting his argument of chapter five. Neither here nor elsewhere does he teach that Adam’s descendants are individually responsible for the tendency toward sin which he created in himself and in his unborn race when. from the depths of his freedom of choice he drew the decision to act contrary to the command of his Creator. But while none of our race can do perfectly, they could do a great deal better than they do, and it is in proportion as each individual voluntarily resigns himself to the inherited tendency to evil, and does not combat it, that he becomes personally responsible and a fit subject of the wrath or anger of God.

“There is something in the principle of God’s anger, which accords with what we experience of the movement of anger in our own bosoms. An infant or an animal may do an action which is materially wrong, without calling forth our resentment. It is the knowing it to be wrong, on the part of the doer, which is indispensable to our anger against him being a rightful emotion; and it is neither the acting nor the thinking erroneously on the part of man, which in itself brings down upon them the wrath of God. It is their doing so intelligently [willfully]. It is their stifling the remonstrances of truth in the work of unrighteousness. It is that they voluntarily bid it into silence; and bent on the iniquity that they love, do, in the willful prosecution of it, drown its inward voice -- just as they would deafen the friendly warning of any monitor who is standing beside them; and whose advice they guess would be on the side of what is right, and against the side of their own inclinations. Were there no light present to their minds, there would be no culpability. On the other hand should it shine clearly upon them, this makes them responsible for every act of disobedience to its lessons. But more, should it shine but dimly, and it be a dimness of their own bringing on -- should they land in a state of darkness, and that not because any outward luminary has been extinguished, but because in hatred of its beams and loving the darkness, they have shut their eyes-or should it be a candle within which has waned and withered to the very border of extinction, under their own desirous endeavors to mar the brilliancy of its flame -- should there be a law of our nature, in virtue of which every deed of opposition to the conscience causes it to speak more faintly than before, and to shine more feebly than. before, and should this law . . . [conduct] every human being on the face of our earth to the uttermost depths, both of moral blindness and moral apathy -- still he is what he is because he willed against the light, and wrought against the light. It is this which brings a direct criminality upon his person. It is this which constitutes a clear principle for his condemnation to rest upon; and it is enough to fasten blameworthiness upon his doings, that they were either done in despite of the convictions which he had, or done in despite of the convictions which but for his own willful depravity he might have had.

“The Bible in charging any individual with actual sin, always presupposes a knowledge, either presently possessed or unworthily lost or still attainable on his part, of some rightful authority, against which he hath clone some act of willful defiance. The contact of light with the mind of the transgressor, and that too in such sufficiency as, if he had followed it, would have guided him to an action different from the one he has performed, is essential to the sinfulness of that action.”

The Heavens Declare the Glory of God

“Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath showed it unto them. For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead.” -- 1:19, 20.

In these words, and in those which follow, the Apostle, “aware that to establish the guilt of the world’s unrighteousness it was necessary to prove that it was unrighteousness committed in the face of knowledge, affirms what it was that man knew originally, and how it was that the light which was at one time in them became darkness. That which it was competent to know about God, was manifest among men. God Himself had showed it unto men.”

“He who can look into the sky with a telescope, or even with his natural eye alone, and see there the immensity of creation, its symmetry, beauty, order, harmony and diversity, and yet doubt that the Creator of these is vastly his superior both in wisdom and power, or who can suppose for a moment that such order came by chance, without a Creator, has so far lost or ignored the faculty of reason as to be properly considered what the Bible terms him, a fool (one who ignores or lacks reason) . . . However it happened, at least that much of the Bible is true, as every reasonable mind must conclude; for it is a self-evident truth that effects must be produced by competent causes. Every plant and every flower, even, speaks volumes of testimony on this subject. Intricate in construction, exquisitely beautiful in form and texture, each speaks of a wisdom and skill above the human. How short-sighted the absurdity which boasts of, human skill and ingenuity, and attributes to mere chance the regularity, uniformity and harmony of nature; which acknowledges the laws of nature, while denying that nature has an intelligent Lawgiver .... Even from the standpoint of the skeptic, a reasonable and candid search into the unknown, by the light of what is known, will guide the unbiased, intelligent reasoner in the direction .of the truth.” The Apostle insists then, that the existence of an intelligent Creator “is a clearly demonstrated truth, the proof of which lies all around us; yea, and within us; for we are His workmanship, whose every power of mind and body speaks of a marvelous skill beyond our comprehension. And He is also the Designer and Creator of what we term nature . . . . He ordered and established the laws of nature, the beauty and harmony of whose operation we see and admire. This One whose wisdom planned and .whose power upholds and guides the universe, whose wisdom and power so immeasurably, transcend our own, we instinctively worship and adore.”

Man Alienates Himself from God

“So that they are without excuse: because that when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful.” -- 1:21.

St. Paul having established the fact that men, “knew God” proceeds to trace the history of their sin. “It had its roots in the refusal of the human will to recognize God and give Him the homage of gratitude and service due to Him.” “Man, placed by God in His universe, and himself made in God’s image, naturally and inevitably ‘knew God.’ Not in that inner sense of spiritual harmony and union which is the life eternal (John 17:3); but in the sense of a perception of His being and His character, adequate, at its faintest, to make a moral claim. But somehow-a somehow which has to do with a revolt of man’s will from God to self-that claim was, and is, disliked. Out of that dislike has sprung man’s spiritual history, a reserve towards God, a tendency to question His purpose, His character, His existence.” “Men ‘held down the truth in unrighteousness,’ that is, restrained it from having free course in their hearts and in the world because of the . . . moral obligations it involves. Knowing God, they refused to acknowledge Him with thankfulness or ‘give Him the glory.’ Rather they would themselves ‘be as gods.’ They ‘refused to have God in their knowledge.’”

“The creature became more loved and more depended on than the Creator. He was not glorified as the Giver, and the Maker of all created good. But what was sensibly and immediately good, was sought after for itself, was valued on its own account, was enjoyed without any thankful reference to Him who granted all and originated all; ism.” and this too, in the face of a distinct knowledge that everything was held of God -- in the face of an authoritative voice, claiming what was due to God -- in the face of a conscience powerful at the outset of man’s history, however much it may have been darkened and overborne in the subsequent process of his alienation. And thus the tenure of his earthly enjoyments was gradually lost sight of altogether; and the urgencies of sense and of the world got the better of all impressions of the Deity, and man at length felt his portion and his security and his all, to be, not in the Author of creation, but in the creation itself with all its gay and goodly and fascinating varieties.”

Results of Man’s Alienation from God

The reader will not have failed to notice the quotations from the Psalms placed at the head of this article. There he will have observed two conditions or states of mind which declare “There is no God.” First is mentioned the fool (one who ignores or lacks reason), and next the wicked. They unite in refusing God. In this sentiment the sweet singer of Israel is in entire agreement with the masterly argument of the great Apostle to the Gentiles, for the Apostle will now proceed to show that the immediate results of man’s voluntary alienation from God are to be seen in two regions, namely, that of the intellect, and that of the morals. Man’s understanding became obscured, and his passions gained the mastery over him. In refusing to retain God in his knowledge “his mind lost its hold of a great and subordinating principle by which he could have assigned its right place, and viewed according to its just relationship, all that was around him. The world in fact, by a mighty deed of usurpation, dethroned the Deity from the ascendancy which belonged to Him; and thus the rule of estimation was subverted within him, and his foolish heart was darkened. This disorder in the state of his affections, while it clouded and subverted his discerning faculties, did not at the same time restrain the exercise of them. The first ages of the world . . . were ages of ambitious speculation; and man, with his love strongly devoted to the things of sense, still dreamed and imagined and theorized about hidden principles; and with his sense of the one presiding Divinity nearly as good as obliterated, he began to fancy a distinct agency in each distinct element and department of nature; and to make use of the strong phrases of God giving them up, and giving them over, we may infer a law of connection between a distempered state of the heart, and a distempered state of the understanding; and thus their very wisdom was turned into folly; and to their perverted eye, the world was turned into one vast theatre of idolatry; and they personified all that they loved and all that they feared -- till by the affections and the judgment acting and reacting, the one upon the other, they sank down into the degrading fooleries of Pagan

The Foolishness of Idolatry

“But became vain in their imaginations [in their reasoning, or ways of thinking] and their foolish [unintelligent] heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things.” -- 1:21-23.

Perhaps nowhere better than in Isaiah is idolatry made to appear ridiculous. In the forty-fourth chapter he points the finger of scorn at the idolaters. Here, says he, is a tree. Man himself has planted it. He has watched it grow, as the rain has nourished it. He feels cold, and takes a part of the tree with which to make a fire whereby he may get warmed. His food requires cooking so he takes some more of the tree to burn as a fire under his food that it may be cooked. But notwithstanding he has used up a considerable portion of the tree, there is still some left. What shall he do with the residue? Ah! this wise man who has refused to retain God in his knowledge, knows what to do with the residue. He will with that make unto himself a God! “And none considereth in his heart, neither is there knowledge or understanding to say, I have burned part of it in the fire; yea, also I have baked bread upon the coals thereof; I have roasted flesh and eaten it; and shall I make the residue thereof an abomination? Shaft I fall down to [and worship, verse 17] the stock of a tree? He feedeth on ashes; a deceived heart bath turned him aside.” -- Isa. 44:19, 20.

“Man has spent on these unworthy ‘ways of thinking’ a great deal of weak and dull reasoning and imbecile imagination, but also some of the rarest and most splendid of the riches of his mind, made in the image of God. But all this thinking, because conditioned by a wrong attitude of his being as a whole, has had ‘futile’ issues, and has been in the truest sense ‘unintelligent,’ failing to see inferences aright, and as a whole: It has been a struggle ‘in the dark’; yea, a descent from the light into moral and mental ‘folly.’

“Was it not so, is not so still? If man is indeed made in the image of the living Creator, a moral personality; . . . then whatever process of thought leads man away from Him has somewhere in it a fallacy unspeakable, inexcusable. It must mean that something in him which should be awake is dormant; or, yet worse, that something in him which should be in faultless tune, as the Creator tempered it, is all unstrung; something that should be nobly free to love and to adore is being repressed, ‘held down.’ Then only does man fully think aright when he is aright. Then only is he aright when he, made by and for the Eternal Holy One, rests willingly in Him, and lives for Him. ‘The fear [reverence] of the Lord is,’ in the strictest fact, ‘beginning of wisdom’: for it is that attitude of man without which the creature cannot ‘answer the idea’ of the Creator, and therefore cannot truly follow out the law of its own being.

“‘Let him that glorieth, glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth Him’ (Jer. 9:24) who necessarily and eternally transcends our cognition and comprehension, yet can be known, can be touched, clasped, adored, as personal, eternal, almighty, holy Love.”

A Pilgrim’s Reverie

[Contributed]

WHAT would life be without its bridges and its fords, its resting spots where we: recline beneath the blossoming boughs and -beside the still waters ‘of quietness: What would it be without its royal summits where we gather to our heart, visions of the Home Land that lies beyond the tiresome, journey, its halls of friendship, where hand grips hand with the earnestness of true love, and heart becomes knit to heart in confidence and trust. And last, but not least, how important its starting places, where having taken a retrospective glance along the years and braced our hearts with new determination, we once more turn our feet toward the road, buoyed up with an optimism which whispers to us that bigger, better, nobler days lie ahead of us, and that some day we shall reach the Palace of Blessedness, the place of life’s consummation, which lies beyond the arduous country of endeavor. How often the mind travels back -- away back -- to air castles built in sunny childhood and buoyant youth, for “The thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts.” Old scenes and memories, how they throng upon us and will not be lightly thrust aside. And through the varying way how well we know that a great Hand has been guiding our steps, leading us into the, light of an unfading and wondrous Hope.

“So long Thy power hath blessed me, sure it still
Will lead me on,
O’er moor and fen, o’er crag and torrent, till
The night is gone.”

Ali, yes, for there shall be no night there, and the end shall pay us a thousand fold for all the toil and struggle of the way. Thus we cogitate, and in these meditations, which, effulgent in silvery light, brighten the night like stars, we find the quiescence and the joy of faith, affording comfort through every day and keeping alive that hope which is as an “anchor to the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil.” What a fore-picture of the Ages of Glory when the cold blasts of selfishness and pride: shall be shut out from human hearts, and the purest goodwill and love shall glow and fill the world with the light of God.

And as the years have passed, the advance of time has meant so much to some of us. We are richer in experience because of the days and hours God has spread before us. We think our love has a farther range, a fuller sweep, a stronger and truer grip on “Love Divine all love excelling.” Our sympathies have broadened, our faith has deepened, our hope bears iridescent hues of .a brighter glow. Our craving for righteousness is more intense. We have moved farther up the stream of Truth; we are less far from its Source than we were years ago. Nor have we forgotten to ask, What is Truth? If formerly we held up a gem and said, “This is Truth,” we have learned to qualify the statement. No more we affirm, “The gem that I hold is all the Truth, but the germ that you hold is not Truth.” Rather we now say, “My gem has Truth.” So the tree has water, but is not water, .and the earth has gold, but is not gold, :and the diamond has beauty, but is not beauty. Even so my pearl has truth, but truth has not stopped with my pearl. There are other pearls, rare and wondrous pearls. Some day we’ll know mare about them, for now “we, know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.”

And so, we have no desire to be severe with the other finders of gems, for the ocean of truth is great, and God is not severe with us. He is glad we have our gem, because when we gaze upon its liquid-like fairness, we catch glimpses of His face, and He smiles upon us from out the gem and we are glad because of the smile.

And as we think of these things, our hearts warm more to the journey before us, more to our fellow-travelers, more to the possibility of complete victory, more to the goal. Love has taken his royal seat. We see him crowned. He is there to stay, yea, to subdue :all things unto himself. His accents are very gentle as he speaks to us, and his countenance is lit with “the light that never was on sea or land.” He stretches out his arms and blessing drops from his hands upon the: world of men.

Welcome, love. Your kingship of our minds is monarchy exalted and sublime. Ever wield your scepter o’er us. In every moment of the day we need you, we need your power, your peace, your assuagement of life’s woes.

Providence and the Reformation

Eleventh of the Series

AS IN ANCIENT days the kings of Israel transcribed God’s law with their own hands, so Zwingle with his, copied out the Epistles of St. Paul. At that time there existed none but voluminous editions of the New Testament, and Zwingle wished to be able to carry it with him always. He learned these Epistles by heart, and somewhat later the other books of the New Testament and part of the Old. His soul thus grew daily more attached to the supreme authority of the Word of God. He was not content simply to acknowledge this authority: he resolved sincerely to subject his life to it. He entered gradually into a more Christian path.”

How characteristic of a true servant of the Lord! “Thy words were found and I did eat them.” Zwingle desired not merely an intellectual appreciation of the Lord and His Word, but that heart appreciation that is productive of a life in conformity thereto.

Reformers Silenced neither by Rome’s judgments nor Favors

The God who had chosen Wittemberg as the center of light for Germany, selected Zurich for the flashing of truth’s radiance across the mountains and valleys of Switzerland, and placed his servant Zwingle there. The Swiss reformer preached with less force than Luther, but with none the less success. He expected everything from the power of truth. As a result of these different methods, Rome was differently exercised toward the two Reformers. She “aimed at frightening Luther by her judgments, and gaining Zwingle by her favors. Against the one she hurled her excommunications; to the other she cast her gold and splendors. These were two different ways of attaining the same end, and of silencing the bold tongues that dared to proclaim the Word of God in Germany and Switzerland. The latter was the more skilful policy; but neither was successful. The emancipated souls of the preachers of the truth were equally beyond the reach of vengeance or of favor.” Zwingle’s response to her overtures was -- “Do not imagine that for love of money I retract a single syllable of the truth.” Well may we thank the Lord today for such noble. examples of loyalty to the truth and to the light of His Word!

Zurich, being the center in which the most influential men were often gathered, was the place best adapted for scattering the seeds of truth throughout all the cantons of Switzerland. “The friends of learning and of the Bible joyfully hailed Zwingle’s nomination” as chaplain of the cathedral at Zurich. “Unusual excitement prevailed in the assembly; for every one felt, unconsciously perhaps, how serious was the beginning of this ministry.” As his innovating spirit was feared, the “authorities” agreed that the important duties must be explained to him. Whereupon he was instructed to “collect the revenues of the chapter without overlooking the least”; to “exhort the faithful, both from the pulpit and in the confessional, to pay all tithes and dues, and to show by their offerings their affection to the Church; be diligent in increasing the income arising from the sick, and from masses; as for the administration of the sacraments, the preaching and the care of the flock, these are also the duties of the chaplain. But for these you may employ a substitute, and particularly in preaching.”

Zwingle’s Consecrated Ministry

“What a regulation for Zwingle! money, money, nothing but money! Did Christ establish His ministry for this? . . . Without any remark on the duties imposed upon him, Zwingle announced what he intended doing: ‘The life of Christ,’ said he, ‘has been too long hidden from the people, I shall preach upon the whole of the Gospel of St. Matthew, chapter after chapter, according to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, without human commentaries, drawing solely from the fountains of Scripture, sounding its depths, comparing one passage with another, and seeking for understanding by constant and earnest prayer. It is to God’s glory, to the praise of His only Son, to the real salvation of souls, and to their edification in the true faith, that I shall consecrate my ministry.’ Language so novel made a deep impression.” Some in authority testified their joy; but the majority evinced sorrow. This manner of preaching was an innovation, and they feared “this explanation of the Scripture” would educate the people. But Zwingle was firm in his convictions and “no human power could close his lips.” When he went into the cathedral pulpit on the first occasion a great crowd awaited him. “It is to Christ,” said he, “that I desire to lead you; to Christ, the true source of salvation. His Divine Word is the only food that I wish to set before your hearts and souls.” Taking his text from St. Matthew’s Gospel the following day, he opened up the Scriptures in such a manner that his enraptured audience exclaimed, “We never heard the like of this before!”

For a time there was one cry of admiration in Zurich. Those who were impressed with the Gospel said: “This man is a preacher of the truth. He will be our Moses to lead us forth from this Egyptian darkness,” and they “imagined they saw a man of the Apostolic age reappearing before them . . . . His character and his deportment towards all men contributed, as much as his discourses, to win their hearts. No misfortune alarmed him; his conversation was at all times full of consolation, and his heart firm . . . . He was indefatigable in study. From daybreak until ten o’clock he used to read, write, and translate.”

Baptized in Waters of Affliction

Zwingle saw his work prosper. He was “strong in frame, in character, and in talents,” but he needed to experience adversity and infirmity to reveal to him that success in the ministry of the Lord comes not from these. “There is a moment in the history of the heroes of this world,” says the historian, “of such as Charles XII, or Napoleon, which decides their career and their renown; it is that in which their strength is suddenly revealed to them. An analogous moment exists in the life of God’s heroes, but it is in a contrary direction; it is that in which they first recognize their helplessness and nothingness; from that hour they receive the strength of God from on high. A work like that of which Zwingle was to be the instrument, is never accomplished by the natural strength of man; it would wither immediately, like a tree transplanted in all its maturity and vigor. A plant must be feeble or it will not take root, and a grain must die in the earth before it can become fruitful. God conducted Zwingle, and with him the work that depended on him, to the gates of the sepulcher.” He needed to realize that his strength was made perfect in weakness. He was stricken with the plague; the “great death,” as it was called. The city was filled with distress as they saw this beloved reformer, “the hope of Switzerland and of the Church, about to fall a prey to the tomb. His senses and his strength forsook him.” But at the very gates of death, he was delivered from the cruel pestilence.

This experience exercised a powerful influence on Zwingle. He arose from the darkness of the sepulcher with a new heart. “His life was more holy; his preaching more free, more Christian, and more powerful. This was the epoch of Zwingle’s complete emancipation.” This plague that swept over the mountains and valleys of Switzerland accomplished a purifying work for the people as well as for the Reformer. “The Reformation, as well as Zwingle, was baptized in the waters of affliction and of grace, and came forth purer. and more vigorous.”

Uniformity of Doctrine in Reformers

Thus the work progressed in Switzerland, and upwards of two thousand persons in Zurich alone, accepted the evangelical doctrine. “Zwingle,” we are told “held the same faith as Luther, but a faith depending on deeper reasoning . . . . We find in Luther’s writings an internal and private conviction of the value of the cross of Jesus Christ to himself individually; and this conviction, so full of energy and life, animates all that he says. The same sentiment, undoubtedly, is found in Zwingle, but in a less degree. He was rather attracted by the harmony of the Christian doctrine; he admired it for its exquisite beauty, for the light it sheds upon the soul of man, and for the everlasting life it brings into the world. The one is moved by the heart, the other by the understanding; and this is why those who have not felt by their own experience the faith that animated these two great disciples of the same Lord have fallen into the gross error of representing one as a mystic and the other as a rationalist. Possibly, the one is more pathetic in the exposition of his faith, the other more philosophical; but both believe in the salve truths. It may be true that they .do not regard secondary questions in the same light; but that faith which is one-that faith which renews .and justifies its possessor-that faith which no confession, no articles can express-exists in them alike.” Speaking of the work and preaching of Luther, Zwingle said: “Never has one single word been written by me to Luther, nor by Luther to me. And why? -- that it might be shown how much the Spirit of God is in unison with itself, since both of us, without any collusion, teach the doctrine of Christ with such uniformity.”

It is of interest to note with what clearness the Swiss Reformer pointed out the fall of man and the Atonement, as given by the historian: “‘Before the fall,’ said he, ‘man had been created with a free will, so that, had he been willing, lie might have kept the law; his nature was pure; the disease of sin had not yet reached him; his life was in his own hands. But having desired to be as God, he died. . . . and not he alone, but all his posterity.’ The inhabitants of Zurich, who listened eagerly to this powerful orator, were overwhelmed with sorrow as he unfolded before their eyes that state of sin in which mankind are involved; but soon they heard the words of consolation, and the remedy was pointed out to them, which alone can restore man to life . . . . ‘Wherever sin is,’ exclaimed the Reformer, ‘death of necessity follows. Christ was without sin, and guile was not found in His mouth; and yet He died! This death He suffered in our stead! He was willing to die that He might restore us to life; and as He had no sins of His own, the all-merciful Father laid ours upon Him.’ . . . The souls that thirsted after salvation in the city of Zurich found repose at the sound of these glad tidings.”

Church Restored by Blood

Thus did Zwingle preach the truth with courage, and the large cathedral was not sufficient to hold the multitude who came to hear. All praised God for the new life that was beginning to reanimate the lifeless body of the Church. But adversaries were met as well as admirers. Criticisms were heard from various sources, in the midst of which discouragement often came over Zwingle. Everything seemed to him in a state of confusion and general convulsion. “He thought it impossible for any new truth to appear without its antagonistic error springing up immediately. ‘The Church,’ said he, ‘was purchased by blood, and by blood must be restored.’”

Secret meetings were held daily in Zurich where means were devised of getting rid of Zwingle, but God watched over him and each plot came to naught. About this time he was “wounded in his tenderest spot.” The rumor of his doctrines and of his struggles had reached his natural brothers, who feared if he continued in his course that he would .be burned a1: the stake as had Huss, and they could not endure the idea of being called brothers of a heretic. They wrote him describing their feelings, to which Zwingle replied, breathing that strange beauty of courage and sacrifice: “As long as God shall enable me,” said he, “I will perform the task that He has assigned me, without fearing the world and its proud tyrants . . . . My strength is weakness, itself, and I know the power of my enemies; but I likewise know that I can do all things through Christ that strengtheneth me. . . . ‘What shame,’ say you, ‘will fall upon all our family, if you are burnt or in any other way put to death.’ O, my beloved brethren, the Gospel derives from the blood of Christ this wondrous property, that the fiercest persecutions, far from arresting its progress, do but hasten its triumph! They alone are faithful soldiers of Christ who are not afraid to bear in their own bodies the wounds of their Master. All my efforts have no other end than to make known to men the treasures of blessedness that Christ has purchased for us; that all men may turn to the Father, through the death of His Son.”

The enemies of the Gospel seemed to rise like one man -- ‘enemies in Zurich, enemies without; a man’s own relatives becoming his opponents.” Truly it seemed that the work hardly begun was about to be destroyed. “Zwingle, thoughtful and agitated, laid all his anguish before the throne of God

‘I call upon Thee with confidence to complete what Thou hast begun. If I have built up any thing wrongly, do Thou throw it down with Thy mighty hand. If I have laid any other foundation than Thee, let Thy powerful arm destroy it.’” Thus did this faithful man of God, as he saw the storms descending, pour forth before God the troubles and desires of his soul.

(To be continued)

Report of Recent Conventions

Very interesting reports have reached us of some of the splendid conventions held over the week end of Decoration Dray. We are glad to give space to these reports, believing that many unable to attend will be refreshed by these assurances of the Lord’s presence among His people.

The Dayton Convention

“The convention held in Dayton, Ohio, May 29, 30, and 31, is now in the past, and may be reported as a season of special blessing and encouragement to those privileged to attend. Representatives were present from ten different States, and the attendance very gratifying indeed, 229 being present :at the Sunday afternoon service.

“It was manifest from the beginning that the brethren were coming together in the true spirit of devotion to the Lord and in love one for another. There was an entire absence of any factional spirit, and all seemed to be moved by the one purpose; that of forgetting self and all distracting influences, and overflowing with praise to God for the great privilege of being united to the Lord Jesus and to one another with the strong ties of love and spiritual unity.

“The general tenor of the discourses was such as to inculcate the spirit of watchfulness and faithful adherence to the Word of the Lord, and patient waiting for His leadings in all matters. The brethren were urged to be steadfast in guarding their priceless liberty in Christ Jesus, and to concentrate attention on the necessary preparation of character for an abundant entrance into His near approaching Kingdom.

“This was the first convention attended by many of the friends since being awakened to the condition of bondage that has been imposed upon the Lord’s people in recent years. It was gratifying indeed to hear their testimonies of thankfulness to the Heavenly Father for their deliverance from bondage into a freedom in Christ and into a fellowship with Him and His people such as they enjoyed in former days when Brother Russell was with us.

“The Lord was present with His blessing, and we trust that this happy season of fellowship enjoyed in His presence, may abide as a sweet memory and permanent influence for good in the lives of His people.”

Refreshing Association at Lynn, Mass.

“As truly as Jehovah spread a table daily in the wilderness for His chosen people Israel, so surely has God, our Heavenly Father, fed daily with Heavenly Manna His spiritual Israel in all their pilgrim journey, and at times has made special feasts for them.

“Such a feast was the little convention held at Lynn, May 30 and 31. As some of His hungry sheep (mostly from places in Massachusetts -- a few from Brooklyn, Maine, and Rhode Island) laid aside all earthly cares and interests and gathered expectantly in this place, the Lord drew near, arid with His own loving hand spread their table for them and blessed them.

“Approximately 100 were present at the, Sunday sessions. Those participating in the testimony meeting on Sunday morning gave evidence of an abiding in Christ, a possession of the :pure oil that alone can cause the light to shine forth with blessing to others. Some of the dear friends will never forget this meeting.

“The musical part of the program was much enjoyed and appreciated by ,the friends, especially the singing of our blind sister, Mary Rollins (recently freed), who expressed so stirringly through her beautiful voice the melody of her consecrated heart.

“Unity in the Lord, an urging on to zeal for and, faithfulness in, the Lord, as well as an appeal to very carefully search the Lord’s Word, seemed to be the. special burden of the messages of the brethren, who ministered to us. So marked was the flow of love anal feeling which results from oneness and harmony in the. Lord that the friends separated with a glad consciousness in their hearts of .having been drawn nearer to the Lord and to each other. The singing of the hymn, “God be with you till we meet again,” brought to an end another happy sitting together in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus.”

The Fellowship at Racine, Wis.

“It is a pleasant duty and privilege to send you a report of a most blessed convention held at Racine, Wis., May 30 and 31, 1931. It far exceeded our expectations in every way. Besides hearing five wonderful lectures by our dear Brother Read, whom you so kindly sent to us, we had the joy of hearing brethren from Green Bay, Waukesha, and Racine. There were friends present from Milwaukee, Waukesha, Green Bay, and Kenosha, Wis., Zion City, Waukegan, Ill., and Muskegon, Mich. A wonderful spirit of friendship and joy, indeed the spirit of our blessed Savior, was manifested by every one. It was a blessed season such as many of us had not enjoyed for many years.

“We also .had the joy of serving some dear ones still in bondage in the Society, from which I have just recently withdrawn; and I know that some of them felt like myself, after drinking from stagnant pools at the wayside, that this convention was like a spring in the desert, giving forth clear, sparkling, cold and refreshing waters. I am sure that every one left the convention with a greater love for our dear Lord and all the brethren, and a keen desire to be of real service to the Lord’s little ones.”

Notice in Re Annual Meeting

Due to be Held September 5, 1931

Members of the Pastoral Bible Institute are hereby reminded of the privilege which is theirs of nominating in the pages of this Journal the brethren they wish to elect as Directors for the fiscal year 1931-1932. While the attention of new members is especially drawn to this matter, we desire to emphasize in the minds of the old members also, not only their privilege, but also the responsibility which continued association with this ministry brings.

For the benefit of new readers we call attention at this time to the fact that. the Charter of our Institute provides that a donation of five dollars ($5.00) when accepted for that purpose, shall entitle the donor to membership in the Institute, and to one vote. No contribution, however large, will entitle the contributor to more than one vote.

It will thus be seen that membership in this Institute can readily be secured by those desiring it, and that each member is entitled to one vote. Moreover, members who for any reason are unable to be. present at the annual meeting in person, may exercise their voting rights by proxy. A blank form will shortly be mailed to each member, and the member who does not expect to be present should designate the names of the seven members whom he or she desires to vote for as Directors, and after signing the proxy in the presence of a witness, forward same to the Secretary of the Institute. The vote will count just the same as if the member appeared personally in Brooklyn at the annual meeting.

All should be aware of the fact that the affairs of this Institute are thus in the hands of seven brethren who are elected from the Institute’s membership to serve for a period of one year or until their successors are, elected. The seven brethren whose term of office will expire next September are the following named:

Blackburn, J. J.
Boulter, B.
Greiner, P. L.
Read, P. L.
Hoskins, I. F.
Margeson, I. I.
Parkes, B. A.

It was a pleasure to note that last year, following an announcement of this kind, a larger number of the Institute’s members than usual voted for the election of Directors. There were, however, on that occasion, as in previous years, a considerable number of the members who failed to cast their vote either in person or by proxy. Would it be too much to expect that this year every member will realize his privilege and responsibility in this matter?

The brethren above named while willing to serve again, if the members so desire, wish to emphasize to the members, new and old alike, that they by no means consider it essential for each or any one of them to be re-elected. Of course, as consecrated brethren in Christ, they have appreciated the opportunity of service, but there must surely be others of equal or greater ability, who would be glad to relieve them of the responsibility, and they have no desire whatever to perpetuate themselves in office. They realize, too; that often those in charge of any work, which has been carried on for some time in a certain manner, and with some degree of ,success, fail to see opportunities for improvement and expansion apparent to others not charged with such responsibility. For this reason changes in office not infrequently have beneficent results. They desire above all things that the work of the Lord (for the furtherance of which this Institute was formed) be prosecuted with the greatest possible efficiency, and to this end are always ready to cheerfully step aside for others who the membership might believe are better fitted for the work. Far from urging their re-election on .the members, therefore, they, on the contrary, urge upon them the necessity of considering well their responsibility and privilege at this time and to make this a special matter of prayer. If after prayerful meditation you are, led of the Lord to nominate other brethren- and will forward the names and addresses of such brethren to this office at once, such names will be published in the August 1, 1931 issue of the “Herald,” so that all members will have an opportunity of knowing what brethren in addition to those now serving are candidates for election, and may vote for them if led of the Lord to do so.

Messages of Encouragement

Dear Brethren:

Although I have wanted to write to you for some time, 1 feel I can refrain no longer, as I, or rather Sister Hand – and I, have longed for the return of old times, that is, to have fellowship with those “of like precious faith.” As I write “precious faith,” I ask myself, Do I really comprehend the meaning of that phrase. Our experience of about four and one half years of drought “for the hearing of the Word of God,” makes me think I do.

Fortunately, having the gift of faith, 1 accepted the message at the first, and it was a few months later before I knew that the Lord really did have a definite purpose or plan.

When we quietly withdrew from the Class, I actually was so shocked as to think all in vain, as I believed that if any knew the Lord’s Plan we did -- not boastful, but confident of it. But I said to my wife, no matter what came I could never repudiate “Studies in the Scriptures,” nor the noble instrument, in the person of Pastor C. T. Russell. I feel that if an imperfect man could show the love and devotion that he showed over such a period of years, our heavenly God and His beloved Son, Jesus, must be wonderful beyond our highest expectation. And what a hope we have! to think of being exalted to the same plane as our God and Savior, under their, leadership!

Our dear Brother Boulter’s visit was much appreciated by us all, and personally the one thing he said that I hope I remember and do to the end, is to settle all differences “on our knees” instead of quibbling over trifles, as there is so little time left to “wash the feet of the saints,” of course not literally, but by the Word, using no little amount of “spikenard.”

I saw Brother Russell only once, when he shook my hand acknowledging me as his brother in the Lord, at the 1916 Convention, and I long for that “Great Convention” where Jesus will be Chairman, and we shall go “no more out,” but our loving God shall Continue through all the ages of eternity, to show forth His kindness toward all the worthy ones.

Although I must frankly say that I am hot joined to you as an earthly arrangement;, but in the service of “the Lord, His truth and the brethren, and to all men as I have opportunity,” I do not fail to bear you before the “Throne of Heavenly Grace” daily.

With much ‘Christian love, and best wishes, I am

Your fellow-servant in Christ,

G. E. C. H. -- N. Y.

Dear Brethren:

I have been thinking and praying over the matter of spreading the Gospel. I am not able to send as much as I would like, as my husband does not see as I do. It seems to me that the dear brethren everywhere need help and encouragement at this time -- more than the world needs the Message. I am sending a small amount today, but will try from this on to send something monthly.

We do enjoy the Pilgrims. Brother McKeown was at A____ this month, and I was privileged to hear him. Was helped so much. I understand lack of funds to be the reason we do not have a traveling brother more often. Would like what little I send to be used in this fund, or in sending the “Herald” to some one not able to have it.

The “Heralds” are so helpful. The article on “Sanctification” helped me so much . . . . When with the I. B. S. A. the time was all spent on the world, while the brethren were starving for the pure truth, and needed the study and also the help of traveling brethren. It seems that our dear Heavenly Father always sends the very things we need in these brethren.

I am always praying the help of the Father to keep you dear ones at the Institute in the straight path of the pure truth.

Your sister by grace,

L. P. -- Ohio.

Dear “Herald” Friends:

Greeting. “Your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” -- 1 Cor. 15:58.

I thank you very much for the sample copies of the “Herald of Christ’s Kingdom,” received here a few weeks ago . . . . These truths which you hold and promote I believe are the real thing, and strictly Biblical, arid I do love and enjoy reading such blessed truths. Yes, I rejoice with you in the privilege of being translated out of darkness into this marvelous light, beautiful light of God. I love the good “old paths, where is the good way.”.

Years ago 1 used to take delight in reading the “Old Theology Tracts,” published by Brother Russell, and I distributed a great many of them to good advantage, I believe. I am still able to do a lot of good tract distribution, and shall be pleased to have you send me a good supply of your tracts, for prayerful and faithful distribution. And if I can be of any use to you in the Lord’s service, or you can direct any brethren or friends to my home, I am ready to receive them and render service,, as well as keep my home open for cottage meetings. You see I do not know of any Truth people or “Herald” friends, as you remember I received the address of your Pastoral Bible Institute through Brother Luttichau of Copenhagen, Denmark. That was also my native country, and I am able to read and write and translate the Scandinavian languages (Swedish, Danish, and Norwegian) into our English, and I have been used by Brother Russell in Allegheny, Pa., for this purpose, many years ago. I worked in the Tower office 1890 to 1893 or 94 . . . . I served as a colporteur for the “Dawns,” for a number of years, too. . . . Will you kindly remember me before our heavenly Father’s Throne of grace, and pray the Lord for me, that the Lord may have His will and His way with me, through the remainder of my earthly stay.

Please send me a few more “Herald” samples and also your free tracts. Hoping soon to have a good supply of. your publications of the Truth Divine to spread here, I am,

Yours in Christian fellowship and service,

J. S. W. -- Ill.

Dear Brethren:

We have been receiving the “Herald” for some little time. and wish to thank you for them. It is just another evidence that the Lord does not forget to feed His little ones. How good they taste! -- like the old Watch Towers -- the same sweet spirit. Am enclosing a check for a year’s subscription.

With Christian love,

W. C. G. -- Calif.

VOL. XIV. July 1, 1931 No. 14

Reviews and Signs of the Times

DOUBTLESS OUR readers everywhere are watching with special interest the general trend of world events, noting the unrest and perplexity prevalent in all civilized lands, and feeling no small measure of sympathy for those who are seeking ways and means to remedy the world depression. Various are the remedies advocated as “cure-alls” for the relief of the groaning creation in its present, admittedly serious, condition and all who sympathize with the suffering body-politic must sympathize also with the endeavors of its various doctors, who, having diagnosed the case, are severally anxious that the patient should try their prescriptions. The attempts to find a cure and to apply it are surely commendable, and have the appreciation of all kind-hearted people. Nevertheless, sober judgment, enlightened by God’s Word, tells us that none of the proposed remedies will cure the malady. The presence and services of the Great Physician with His remedies will be requisite; and nothing short of their efficient and persistent use will effect a cure of the malady of human depravity and selfishness.

Illustrating the fears of many of the leading minds in financial and political circles today, we have selected statements made by Sir George Paish as quoted by the “New York Times” in a recent issue, also a review of the financial situation dated March 16, 1931, credited to a well known expert in his field -- Mr. Babson.

“Paish Warns World of Trade Collapse”

“World-wide economic disaster which, he said, could only be mitigated but could not be avoided was predicted as a result of the economic depression by Sir George Paish in an address yesterday at the annual meeting of the Welfare Council in the Russell Sage Foundation Building, 130 East Twenty-second Street.

“Sir George, governor of the London School of Economics and former economic adviser to the British Government, declared that only the closest cooperation of all nations in an effort to stem the forces of economic and financial dissolution could ameliorate to some degree the catastrophe which he feared.

“He assailed statesmen of the world for what he termed their interference with trade, holding them responsible primarily for the present situation end the dark outlook for the future, and called for the mobilization of all available international forces to prevent revolution on a world scale and to devise a common program to revive trade and restore the normal processes of industrial and commercial life.

Fears “Suicide of the World”

“Among the measures which Sir George regarded as imperative was reconsideration of tariffs impeding the flow of international commerce and of the reparations question. Failure of international cooperation to grapple with the problems created by the depression, he said, would mean ‘the suicide of the world.’

“It is almost impossible to get any one to realize how extraordinarily dangerous the situation is. I have spent two months trying to get your people to understand. You say ‘We are optimists.’ It is well to be optimistic, but you must understand the situation. You must knave when the weather is going to be fine. But there is no use being optimistic when it is not going to be fine, when rain is inevitable. The present situation is indeed a grave one. It is not only grave in America, but it is grave in Great Britain; it is grave on the whole Continent, in Asia, South America, Australia, Canada; in fact, there is no part of the world in which there is not great distress.”

“Babson’s Report of European Situation”

March 16, 1931

“Behind all the political and economic troubles which are disturbing Europe today, the stage is being set for a gigantic conflict. The old nationalistic ambition, which made Europe an armed camp in 1914 is gradually breaking down. In their place are new alignments based upon economic loyalties, which are replacing the older national and racial barriers. Three basic principles are at stake. The struggle will be for the survival of the fittest of these three systems [Capitalism, Communism, or Fascism]. The course of this struggle will be protracted -- and follow various channels. The lines may not always be clearly drawn; but our clients should watch Europe from now on, for these hostile economic systems are coming to grips in war to death.

“In this struggle Italy represents Fascism and all for which it militantly stands. Support of Italy from Gemany is not out of the question. While German Fascism differs in certain respects from that under Mussolini’s dictatorship, it is essentially of the same stuff. Of course the anti-Semitism of the Hitler group (German) strikes a confusing note, and is a throw-back to the old Prussian dislike for the Jews. “

“Russia, the arch-priest of Communism, is preparing ruthlessly for the coming conflict. Stalin is the strongest man in Europe today. He has 180,000,000 people under his lash. Beside him even Mussolini’s power is pale. Russia is mobilizing its manpower and resources for great conflicts and conquests. The rest of the world has shut its eyes too long to this fact. It is time we faced it. Russia may receive more support from Great Britain than is generally realized. Long strides toward the left may follow in England if the increasing nightmare of unemployment and the general unrest of the people are not soon lessened. England may even be heading toward a dictatorship; and it may be under one, at present, obscure, left-wing, Laborite.

“In Europe, France stands entrenched behind the Capitalistic system; and there is little danger of this French individualism being upset within that nation. In the event of trouble, France may find the United States once more her ally. Our country today is the very bulwark of Capitalism; and with France, controls the world’s gold. Frenchmen and Americans like to talk about Democracy and the ‘people:’ yet in both countries the factory is the real ‘king.’ Thus we may safely say that in France and in the United States, neither Fascism nor Communism has been able to get a foothold.

“In Europe both Communism and Fascism employ similar tactics of ruthless force. Both have no use for democratic. principles. Both have no respect for the rights of the minority. Their treatments of opponents is extremely harsh. Consequently we must look for a bitter struggle; and as the situation develops, the outlook is anything but hopeful.”

How grateful we may well be for the light now shining upon our pathway, enabling; us to see beyond this dark night to the rising of the Sun of Righteousness with healing in His beams! And how alert we should be to point all within reach of our influence to the comforting assurances of the Divine Plan!

____________

“The Truth about Palestine”

In view of the various conflicting statements regarding the situation in Palestine, we believe the following impartial report by Dr. Max I. Reich, will be appreciated by our brethren throughout the world. We take pleasure in reproducing the following article, which appeared in “The Hebrew Christian Alliance Quarterly,” under the above title, in the issue of January-March, 1931:

“In view of the fact that many one-sided and false statements have in recent months been circulated about Palestine, they being largely of the nature of propaganda, I venture to put before the public some facts which I am in the position of being able to verify. My first will deal with

The Population of the Country

“This has been loosely termed either Arab or Jewish, the latter being greatly in the minority. Now, what are the facts? I am of the opinion that the true Arabs are no more numerous in Palestine than the Jewish settlers. The people of Palestine have been called ‘Arabs’ only by courtesy. They are made up of different clans whose origin is very diverse. The cities house a number of Arabs who have generally fraternized with the Jews. The country districts contain the Felahin, understood to be the descendants of the ancient Canaanites. They are a very primitive and non-progressive people. Then there are the Mataslay, whose claim is that the Philistines were their, ancestors. Fourth, there are the nomadic Bedouins, who pride themselves on being the children of Ishmael. Fifthly, we have the Jewish colonists, who have been busy for some fifty years in developing the agricultural possibilities of the country, and whose settlements form a chain reaching from Dan to Beersheba. Besides these, there are various other clans known as the Enazies, the Shweyebs, the Greyebs, etc. These different strands of the population have kept distinct since times immemorial, very rarely intermarrying and hating each other cordially. However, they all profess the Moslem faith; their anti-Jewish attitude being of very recent date, having been artificially fostered by unscrupulous agitators.

The Balfour Declaration

“This historic pronouncement, first made by Great Britain, and subsequently endorsed by the League of Nations, is now being made a ‘Casus Belli’ by anti-Jewish agitators. It is supposed to have granted to the Jewish people political domination in Palestine to the detriment, of the native population. As á matter of fact, it merely legalized the ‘status quo’ of Jewish colonial settlement. Before the war, under Turkish overlordship, the Jews were in Palestine only by sufferance, and at the cost of bribes. Now a Jew has a legal right to make his home in the land of his fathers. Beyond this the declaration. does not go. The Jew does not need to feel as an interloper any more in the Holy Land. Sir Leon Levison, a native of Palestine and a friend of the writer, informs us that during the war Great Britain and the Allies realized the age-long desire of the Arabs in the territories south of latitude 37 which includes the Iraq, Arabia, Syria and Transjordania, and offered that if they would revolt. against the Ottoman rule, the Allies would give them their independence. The Sheriff of Mecca revolted and is now King of the Hedjaz. His two sons are, respectively, one King of Iraq and the other Emir of Transjordania, while Syria in the north was placed under the protection of France. Britain obtained the mandate over Palestine, and as the natives of that land did not revolt against the Turks, the Allies are in no wise obligated to them to give them also political independence. The notion that Britain broke its contract with the natives of Palestine is a libel on Britain. The present settlement of the Jews in Palestine works no injustice to the other inhabitants. Only one-third of the land is under cultivation. The entire population, including the Jews, is some 750,000 souls. Sir George Adam Smith, an authority on Palestine, makes the bold venture that Palestine, properly developed, could house six millions of people! However, we are inclined to regard this figure as too high. The Jews on the soil have bought every yard of it. No grants of land have been made to them. The Crown Lands have not yet been released. The lands bought were secured through Arab agents, who purchased from the peasantry at low prices and sold to the Jews at high rates. Those lands were mostly waste, having been covered with thorns and thistles for many centuries. The toilers came out of the ghettoes of Eastern Europe, along with thousands of Jewish university graduates of both sexes, who might be seen breaking stones, making roads, digging wells, building houses and planting trees, as the advance guard of a larger immigration. They have died like flies, but as fast as they drop out, others fill the ranks. The newcomers brought with them a glowing heart of love for their ancient fatherland, and their enthusiasm gave them the needed driving force to go on in the face of desperate conditions. It is the miracle and the romance of the modern Jew. And how contact with the soil has transformed them! Dr. W. M. Christie, of Mount Carmel, a learned Scotchman, who has spent his life in Palestine, bears this witness: ‘We remember the blear-eyed; pale-faced children forty years ago and we pitied them in their poverty-stricken ghetto. But now the girls of Safed could match for health, beauty and proportion, the young ladies that tread Princess Street, Edinburgh, during Assembly time.’

“Perhaps the native population has got more benefit out of the Balfour Declaration than the Jews themselves. The land, wherever the Jews have settled, has become a garden again. The Arab, as a consequence, gets work, and the Jew brings the money. The hills, with their fields of soft, white limestone rock, can be changed into orchards and fruitful fields. All that Palestine needs is peace and goodwill among all parties, under the fair, yet firm, government of the Mandatory power. The Jew will contribute his brains, his energy, his money, and his undying love for a land which others turned into a dung heap during his long and enforced absence from it.

“The Zionist movement, now called ‘the Jewish Agency,’ as all parties in Jewry support it, must, of course, make it evident that it has no intention to crowd out the non-Jewish dwellers in the land. I think it has gone out of its way to make this evident. The new university on Mount Scopus officially symbolizes the renaissance of both Jewish and Arab culture. During the last twelve years the Jews have invested some twelve million dollars in the Holy Land. It is too late for them to withdraw now.

“For Britain also to retire from Palestine, because of Arab unrest, is an unthinkable proposition. The present agitation is really more directed against Britain tan against the Jews. Some other power would be glad to see Britain withdraw in order to step in. The Jews re merely the scapegoat. But Britain will keep watch over the Suez Canal for the’ same reason that the United States guards the canal through Panama. And the Suez Canal is the jugular vein of the British Empire.”

Christian’s Privilege of Fellowship

IN STUDYING the Bible it is always very helpful to get the exact meaning of words, and so in considering the subject of “Fellowship” one naturally turns first to the dictionary to look up its meaning. One definition found is: “to share in common, on terms of equality.” An illustration of this definition there is suggested the manner in which parents jointly possess a child, and the joy they have in their children which they share in common on terms of equality. Another illustration is the manner in which friends share ideas. A second definition gives as the thought of fellowship: “to be intimately associated.” A third presents the thought: “to be together.” Perhaps this last definition will appeal to most of us as much as any. When those who dearly love each other leave been separated for a time and then are reunited, what fellowship results merely from being together! Of course, each one’s temperament is different, and some find it necessary not only to be together, but to converse at great length. Others, however, get a good deal of fellowship merely by looking into each other’s face and watching the old familiar smile or glance of the eye, or bearing in the walk. As we consider our subject together, let us keep these dictionary definitions in mind, and see to what extent they may apply in our Christian experience.

In the First Epistle of John, chapter one, verse three, the following words appear: “That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with ‘His Son Jesus Christ.” The Apostle here divides our subject very logically for us into three parts, and we propose to consider them in the following order: first, fellowship with the Father; second, fellowship with the Son, Jesus Christ; and lastly, fellowship with the brethren.

Fellowship with the Father in the Joy He has in His Son

In thinking over the matter of fellowship with the Father, one naturally wonders if the dictionary definition will hold trite, namely that to have fellowship is “to . share in common on terms of equality.” How can we possibly, on terms of equality, share anything in common with the Father? We believe that we may do this in delighting ourselves in His San. All will remember that the Scriptures make very plain the delight that the Father has in His Son. In Proverbs 8:22-30, under the personification of Wisdom, Christ speaks of Himself “as one brought up with” the Father, “daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him.” Again, we recall the words of the Prophet Isaiah, chapter 42:1, where the Father, speaking of Jesus, says, “Behold My Servant, whom I uphold; Mine Elect, in whom My soul delighteth.” Then, too, during the days of our Lord’s flesh, on more than one occasion the voice from heaven declared, “This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased; hear ye Him.” Indeed, there is no room to doubt that to the very depths of His infinite being the Father takes pleasure in His Son. May we have fellowship with the Father in this? The Apostle John did have. “Truly,” he says, “Our fellowship is with the Father,” and surely it must have been in the delight that the Father had in the Son. Of course, we cannot as spirit beings share such delight with the Father, for we are human beings, and in that sense our fellowship is not on terms of equality, but to the very utmost of our capacity for pleasure, we may, and if we are consecrated believers living up to our privileges we do delight ourselves in His Son, as the Father on the spirit plane does also.

Fellowship with the Father in His Plan

Then again, we may have fellowship with the Father in His Plan. Just what is His Plan? We perhaps have been studying His Plan for years and feel that we know a good deal about it, but still in one sense we know not: anything yet as we ought, to know it. Notwithstanding all we have been taught concerning His Plan, the prayer of our heart continues to be, “Open Thou mine eyes, that I may behold [still more] wondrous things out of Thy law.” While daily His Plan becomes clearer and more distinct to faith’s vision, yet when we shall know as we are known, we will undoubtedly declare that, concerning His Plan, as concerning Himself, the half was never told. But, if we were asked by some one who had never so much as heard anything concerning His Plan, how would we, in a nutshell, describe it? Naturally we would use divergent expressions, but we would agree, would we not, that His Plan, in substance, is this: To fill this earth with holy, happy, human beings, all doing right from choice. As the Psalmist Says, He proposes to make the place of His feet (the, earth is His footstool), glorious. Of course there are side features to His Plan, as we know. For one thing, this blessing is to be brought about through Christ and His Bride, the faithful Church of the Gospel Age, the spiritual Seed of Abraham. We well remember the words of the oath-bound covenant to Abraham: “In thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.” (Gen.22:16-18.) The essential thought in this passage, however, is not that God’s Plan would be accomplished through Abraham and his seed, although that is a very precious feature of God’s Plan. The point of transcendent importance is that God had it in His heart to bless all the families of the earth (including those who were then dead and buried). If Abraham and his seed met the conditions, God’s blessing would reach all the families of the earth through them. If Abraham and his seed did not meet the: conditions, would God’s Plan to bless all the families of the earth be frustrated? By no means! Or, again, if Abraham and his seed did not meet the conditions, would God, in order that His Plan be not frustrated be compelled to bring the blessing to all the families of the earth through a disobedient Abraham and a disobedient seed of Abraham? The Jewish nation at the time of our Lord’s days on earth with a few exceptions, thought so. Is it possible for spiritual Israel to make the same mistake? Clear and emphatic are the Baptist’s words, and applicable are they equally to the presumption of both fleshly and spiritual Israel: “Think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father; for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up [fleshly or spiritual] seed unto Abraham.” (Matt. 3:9.) The failure of Abraham and his seed to meet the conditions would merely mean that God would select some other agents to carry out His Plan of blessing. Goodness and mercy and blessing are in His heart, and must find their expression, though every honored agent fail Him.

Do we have fellowship with God in this, His Plan? He finds no fellowship in His Plan amongst the people of the world, or with worldly-minded Christians. We, however, to some extent at least, surely, share His thoughts, and while we wonder at the wisdom, we worship the love displayed therein. But before the blessing can come, a great shaking will be necessary. The writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews reminds us of this: “But now He hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.” (Herb. 12:26.) .Sometimes people speak of this text as though .it contained a dire threat instead of a promise. It is .plain, though, that those who thus speak or think ‘have little or no fellowship with God in His Plan. Not that it would be any more pleasant for us in the shaking time than for others; for all we know to the contrary our experiences might be even more severe than the general lot. Rut faith’s vision sees beyond the “shaking” time and is at rest. No! God did not threaten to do it, He promised to, and it is our privilege to rejoice with Him, to have fellowship with Him as we see ourselves approaching ‘the time when His promise will be fulfilled, if indeed we have not already entered that period.

Moreover, let us have fellowship with the Father in His Plan even though the vision seem to tarry, and it seem delayed. It will not really tarry, but though it seem to do so, let us wait for it. And let our waiting be not in fretfulness, or with impatience, nor yet even in an attitude of resignation. What has fretfulness, or impatience, or even resignation, to do with fellowship? Rather let us remember with the poet that

“God’s plans like lilies white, unfold.
We must not tear the close shut leaves apart
Time will reveal the hidden heart of gold.”

Let us remember, too, that the more we “grasp lightly the things of this earth” and hold to those things only which cannot be shaken, the more fellowship with the Father we shall have in this feature of His Plan.

Fellowship with the Father by Laboring Together

Again, the Apostle tells us in 1 Cor. 3:9 that we may have fellowship with God by laboring together. “We are laborers together,” says he, “with God.” We are not to understand that God is seeking servants. If God needed servants, how easily could He secure them! We have seen in our own day how easily men can manufacture servants. For example, Mr. Henry Ford, by building up an organization around himself has been able to turn out more than twenty million automobiles in a few short years. With what ease, therefore, could the great Jehovah manufacture millions of servants a minute if that were His purpose. No, He is not seeking servants, but He is seeking those who will worship Him in spirit and in truth; those who have an affinity of spirit with Him in His plans and purposes, who have fellowship with Him in the delight that He has in His Son, and those who will work with Him as He seeks to accomplish their sanctification. This is to be the great work, the great “laboring together with God” of our lives: we are to “work out our own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God which worketh in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure.” (Phil. 2:12, 13.) Let others work at what they please. This passage of Scripture gives us the secret as to the fellowship consecrated Christians may have with the Father as laborers together with Him. We are to labor together, each of us with Him, for our own individual sanctification. Moreover we are not to do all the work, neither will He accomplish it alone, but our sanctification is to be accomplished by the joint labor of ourselves and the Almighty.

Relation between the Hand that Works and the
Hand by which it is Strengthened

It is important that we note the necessity of our doing our part. Some have the erroneous thought that when one’s faith is exercised in Christ for salvation and one’s life is consecrated to do the Father’s will even unto death, thereafter Christ dwells, as it were, personally in the heart instead of by His Spirit and that the entire responsibility for sanctification and holiness rests with Christ. In fact this very Scripture has been quoted in support of such a position. The question has been asked: “Since God has promised to work in us to will and to do of His good pleasure, shall we not have to cease working ourselves?” We answer: Not so, the Apostle mentions the inworking of God in our hearts, not as a reason for us to cease working but as a reason for us to work. To quote from another, it is “as if He said: ‘You are not to suppose that your salvation is fully accomplished, nor that it is to be consummated by your passively resting in the love of Christ. So far from it, you are to bend all your energies to the working out of your salvation; and that with fear and trembling; for no conscientiousness and solicitude can be deemed excessive, in the pursuit of so momentous an object, exposed as you are on every side to snares and perils. But be of good cheer, and never relax your exertions; for God Himself dwells in you by His Spirit and will work in you as your Guide and Helper.’ This exhortation, let it be noted, is addressed to . . . a church he most warmly commends and for which he has not one word of censure. If it was suited to his beloved Philippians, they must be very advanced Christians to whom it is not suited.”

Another, with reference to this Scripture, remarks: “A more plain and also more powerful incitement to all diligence, and that throughout every single instant of his course, cannot well be conceived- than if the man do not at this instant work to the uttermost of that ability wherewith the Spirit has now invested him, the Spirit will be grieved and may, on the very next instant, abandon him to his own unsupported feebleness. The relation between the hand that works and the hand by which it is strengthened, furnishes the very strongest, and at the same time the most intelligible motive to steady, faithful, and enduring obedience. The man works out his salvation upon the strength of what God lids wrought into him; and he does it with fear and trembling, just because most fearfully and tremblingly alive to the thought, that if he does not, God may cease working in him to will and to do any more. The doctrine of grace, thus understood, so far from acting as an extinguisher upon human activity, is in truth the very best excitement to it. This dependence between the busy exercise of all your present graces and the supply of new, is the fittest possible tenure of the part of God whereby to hold man to his most constant, most careful, most vigilant obedience. It is felt that the only way of obtaining enlargement and vigor for future services, is to acquit one’s self to the uttermost of his present strength, of all his present services; and that thus, and thus alone, he can step by step work his ascending way to a hold on eternal life.”

Does the Apostle say “I let the indwelling Christ press toward the mark?” No, indeed! He says, “This one thing I do, I press toward the mark.” True, he is energized by the Holy Spirit of God working in him, as we have just seen, but it is he that does the pressing toward the mark. Another exhortation is: “Seeing we are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us run with patience the race set, before us.” He does not say: “Let us sit down, and let the indwelling Christ run with patience the race set before us.” The Apostle’s writings abound with such expressions as “I run,” “I fight,” “I press toward the mark,” “I keep my body under,” etc.; and we shall do, well to follow his noble example.

There are many other ways in which we may have fellowship with the Father. Surely we may and do have fellowship with Him in the principles of His character, especially those of justice and love; and if we give diligence to make our calling and election sure, we may hope with confidence, ultimately to have fellowship with Him in His nature. As the Apostle Peter has pointed out, there are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises, which, if we use them, will enable us to become partakers of the Divine nature.

Fellowship with the Son in His delight in the Father’s wi11

We now pass to the second part of our subject. As we were noting in our text, the Apostle said that he not only had fellowship with the Father but also had fellowship with His Son. In what may we have fellowship with His Son? Surely we may have fellowship with Him in the delight He had in doing the Father’s will. How He did delight to do the Father’s will! His very food, this was, so He told His disciples on one occasion. (John 4:34.) God’s law was written in His heart. (Psa. 40:7, 8). Indeed He was so entirely devoted to His Father’s will that the Prophet Isaiah in one place speaks of Him as being blind. In chapter 42, verse 19, speaking of Jesus; Jehovah asks the question: “Who is blind, as My Servant? or deaf as My Messenger that I sent? who is blind as He that is perfect, and blind as the Lord’s Servant?” We know of course, that our Lord Jesus was not physically blind, nor mentally, nor morally, nor spiritually, In what sense, then, could He be spoken of truly as one who was blind? The next verse seems to supply the answer to our question. He was blind to everything that would detract or draw His attention away from the path, the narrow path, the Father had marked out for Him. As we, His followers, seek to walk in His footsteps along the narrow way that leadeth unto life, we see on the right hand and on the left many things that pull us first in one direction and then in another, so that our endeavor to follow Him is very much of a zig-zag walk at best. But with Him, while He saw the same things we see, “Re did not allow them to have the same effect. His mind and heart were so firmly fixed on walking that narrow path of the Father’s will for Him that it could be said of Him that He was blind to everything else. He saw the things that we see, but he did not see them too long. Where we let our eyes linger, He resolutely pulled His away. “Seeing many things” says the Prophet, “but Thou observest not.” Oh! yes, He saw the many things we see, but His delight was in the Father’s will. As the writer in the Book of Proverbs says (10:1): “A, wise son maketh a glad father,” and the only thing for which this wise Son lived was to make the heart of His Father glad. Have we any fellowship with the Son in this? Can it really be that we can make the heart of our Heavenly Father glad? Certainly this was the case with Jesus, and the Apostle John says he had fellowship with Him.

Fellowship with Jesus in the Ministry of Comfort

We just now spoke of Him as being a wise Son. That Scripture brings to mind another, Isaiah 50:4, where the Prophet placing words in the mouth of Jesus has Him declare, “The Lord God bath given me the tongue of the learned that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary.” Perhaps one reading these words superficially might be tempted to ask : “What is there, after all, in the ability to speak a word in season to him that is weary? Would that constitute one a wise son ? Surely that would not denote very much learning, very much wisdom. But, brethren, we .who are seeking to have fellowship with the Master in this matter of comforting others know differently, do we not? To speak words in season to those who are weary is a lesson which must be learned, and there is no school or college, in the United States or elsewhere to which we can go for instruction. Even our Lord Jesus learned this lesson, for the thought of the text is better expressed: “The Lord God hath given me the tongue of one that has learned.” And how did He learn this lesson? Did His Father take some special kind of clay and shape it into the formation of a tongue and place it between His lips so that He could speak a word in season to him that is weary? Ah! no, He learned this lesson in the same way we may learn it, if we will -- He learned how to sustain with words, as the Revised Version puts it, by the things which He suffered. Words can be and frequently are such futile, empty things ; but the words of Jesus have proved to be wonderful words of life. Brethren, may it be ours to know more and more what it is to have fellowship with Jesus in speaking sustaining words to those who are weary. No doubt we all have our seasons of weariness; physical, mental, arid even spiritual weariness. Let us prove also in the experiences of life that it is gloriously possible for us to have fellowship with the Son in the ministration of comfort His words of life afford.

“Ask God to give thee skill
In comfort’s art
That thou mayest consecrated be
And set apart
Unto a life of sympathy.

“For heavy is the weight of ill
In every heart
And comforters are needed much
Of Christlike touch.”

(To be continued)

The Glory that is Departed

“Seest thou these great buildings? there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.” — Mark 13:2

AMONG the most pathetic words spoken by our Lord during His earthly life, are the words of the above text, and those associated with it in His lament over the holy city. As He uttered His sad “Ichabod” over the city of Jerusalem and its temple, and wept for the glory that had departed from Israel, the emotions of His heart seem to have been more deeply stirred than at any other time. Those saddest of words “it might have been,” filled His mind as He thought upon the impending doom of a city once exalted to the highest favor, but none corrupted and worthy only of rejection and devastation.

“This coming doom, however, no eye but His could see. To every other eye such a doom seemed utterly incredible. The very disciples who had listened to His sorrowful and tearful lament, ‘O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the Prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee, how oft would I have gathered thy children together as a hen gathereth her brood under her wing, and ye would not! if thou hadst known, even thou, in this thy day, the things that belong unto thy peace -- but now they are hid from thine eyes; -- even these disciples could not take in the idea of its doom. They pointed to the ‘great buildings,’ built to defy the hand of time itself, buildings, ‘adorned with goodly stones and gifts,’ and said, ‘Is all this magnificence to perish utterly? Even if the city be doomed, surely that temple will be spared; it has been here for ages; not merely a splendid, but a sacred place; surely nothing will be suffered to harm it.’ But to the Lord Himself the mere magnificence of the temple was nothing. When it ceased to be a true temple of true worship for true hearts, it was to Him, simply a great ruin. Already, to the eye of the Master, its glory was a vanished thing, and soon the desolation of it would be irreversible and complete.”

The theory “once in grace, always in grace” would find little support in this pathetic story of a nation’s exalted privileges in the favor of God, and its subsequent rejection from that favor and opportunity. The fate of Jerusalem is indeed a salutary lesson to all Christians, individually and collectively. To remain in Divine favor, there must be the abiding presence of those pure and holy conditions consistent with the righteous character of God. The glory, and the very existence of any church must inevitably pass away if it ceases to be the meeting place between Christ and His people, “or if Christ, as the one Foundation of a sinner’s hope, is refused the place He desires to fill. No substitute for Christ as the accepted Lord of the worshipers’ can save a church from perishing miserably as a useless and God-dishonoring thing . . . . Not even crowds of worshipers can save it from becoming, like Jerusalem’s temple, spiritually dead, if Christ, in the glory of His redeeming work, is put into the background, whatever may be put in front.”

Throughout the long history of God’s dealings with His typical nation, and subsequently with the Church of the Gospel Age, it has been demonstrated that He will own and use any instrument as His mouthpiece and representative only just as long as there is conformity to His holy character. “Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest hø fall,” is a warning equally appropriate either to individual believers or to a community of such believers, organized in a movement for the purpose of furthering the message of truth. Indeed, in one sense the warning is particularly forceful as applied to a church or organization. History frequently records the recovery of individuals who have been drawn away from Christ, but never in a history of nearly two thousand years has a church been recovered from apostasy, when once it departed from the pure doctrines and the liberty bequeathed to believers by Jesus and His Apostles. Reformations, and attempts to this end have been repeatedly made, but only very partial results have followed. And He who must reject all lukewarmness, self-will and presumption, has been made to utter again and again His Ichabod, “The glory is departed.” Therefore the call has invariably been, “Come out of her My people.”

“What then does all this mean, but that the Church as a professing body, pure and excellent as it was at the beginning, and with all the partial revivals that mark different periods of its career, and with all the myriads of [professed] saints is has embraced, is yet in the judgment of the Son of God Himself, a subject of gradual and ever-increasing decline and decay, first in one direction, then in another, until it becomes completely apostate, and, as such, is finally and forever rejected? This will be for many a very sad and startling doctrine. It is a paradox. It crosses many a fond dream.”

“Newer, indeed, has there been a sowing of God on earth, but it has been oversown by Satan; or a growth for Christ, which the plantings of the wicked one did not mingle with and hinder. God sowed good seed in Paradise; but when it came to the harvest, the principal product was tares. At earth’s first altar appeared the murderer with the saint -- Cain with Abel . . . . And in all ages and dispensations, the plants of .grace have ever found the weeds upspringing by their sides, their roots intertwining, and their stalks and leaves and fruits puting forth together. The Church is not an exception, and never will be, as long as the present dispensation lasts: Even in its first and purest periods, as the Scriptural accounts attest, it was intermixed with what pertained not to it. There was a Judas among its Apostles; an Ananias and a Simon Magus among its first converts; a Demas and a Diotrephes among its first public servants. And as long as it continues in this world, Christ will have His Antichrist, and the temple of God, its man of sin. He who sets out to find a perfect church, in which there are no unworthy elements, and no disfigurations, proposes to himself a hopeless search. Go where he will, worship where, he may, in any country, in any age, he will soon find tares among the wheat, sin mixing in with all earthly holiness; self-deceivers, hypocrites, and unchristians in every assembly of saints; Satan insinuating himself into every gathering of the sons of God, to-present themselves before the Lord.”

Therefore, let no one be deceived with the thought of any Apostolic succession, or with the thought that any movement once favored of the Lord must remain worthy of His approval. Let him that readeth understand.

All One in Christ Jesus

“For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that body, being many, are one body; so also is Christ.” -- 1 Cor. 12:12.

WHEN OUR beloved Master, in His matchless prayer (John 17), petitioned the Father for the unity of His followers, He was not indulging in a beautiful but impractical ideal. He who had taught His disciples that “vain repetitions” were displeasing to God, would never approach the Divine presence with an improper and impossible request. His carefulness to pray in harmony with the Father’s will gave Him the: assurance that He was always heard, therefore He could say, “Father I thank Thee that Thou ‘halt heard me. And I knew that Thou hearest me always.” (John 11:41, 42.) Therefore, when He prays that His immediate and prospective followers may all be bound together in an abiding oneness, He fully believed such a unity possible.

Hence, as the faithful followers of our Lord in times past have meditated upon this prayer, and caught its unifying spirit, they have surely reacted thereto in such a way as to feel a blessed kinship with all believers, past, present, and future. And we today, with most of the Church already “called, and chosen, and faithful” before we came into this relationship at all, must experience a warmth of fellowship filling our hearts, not only toward those who now journey with us, but also towards those who have preceded us in the narrow way.

That this prayer comprehends the unity of the whole brotherhood of believers throughout the Age, there can be no doubt. It may indeed serve as an incentive to harmony and oneness in any given company of saints, but in its fullest purport it cannot be localized as peculiar to any particular period during the Age, or. limited. within the confines of any section or generation of the Church. Let us note its scope: “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on Me through their word; that they all may be one; as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee.” (ver. 20, 21.) Since the entire Church have come into this relationship through faith in the word of the Apostles, the boundaries of this prayer, and its demands on us .of today, are clearly defined. Moreover, as we shall see, the same breadth of interpretation must be given to many of the profound statements of the Apostle Paul regarding the uninterrupted unity of the entire Church.

The Spirit and Soul and Body of the Church

In Paul’s first Epistle to the Thessalonians he concludes his letter with a most remarkable prayer, and one that can be understood only as we keep in mind this prayer of Jesus, for both are in perfect agreement. Thus the Apostle prays: “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (5:23.) This text has been “an end of all controversy” to those who have maintained that the spirit, soul, and body, of each individual would in some mysterious way be reunited in the resurrection, as the creeds have affirmed: “I believe in the resurrection of the body,” etc. But properly understood it has an entirely different meaning. Its intention is a verification of the profound statement of Jesus respecting His Church: “On this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” -- His guarantee that the Church, His own elect Church, would never cease to live and function throughout the whole Gospel Age. Notwithstanding the forces of persecution and apostasy which would sweep over it from dime to time, it could never be overthrown.

The terms, spirit, soul, and body, are here used in a figurative sense, as applied to the Church collectively-all whose names are written in heaven. The true spirit of life has been preserved in those who have continued in proper relationship with the Lord. The body of the true Church has remained discernible, and may be traced through all the intervening centuries, notwithstanding the multitude of tares that would faro have hidden it from view. Its soul-its activity, intelligence, influence, has ever been in evidence, lifting up the true standard for the people -- the cross of Christ, the atoning merit of His death; and so it continues to the present time.

An Unbroken Chain of Brethren

Let us note a number of Scriptures which, in their larger application, embrace ail the saints of the Age: The twelfth chapter of First Corinthians is a beautiful group-picture of the entire Church, united together in a blessed oneness. Therein we are shown that “God hath set the members in the Body” in such a way as to form an unbroken chain of brethren linked together from Apostolic times until now. This important truth is set forth in other of Paul’s forceful illustrations: “But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into Him in all things, which is the Head, even Christ: From whom the whole Body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure -- of every part, maketh increase of the Body unto the edifying of itself in love.” “Built upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone; in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord.” “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.” “Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of [the] Christ.” -- Eph. 4:15, l6; Eph. 2:20, 21; 1 Cor. 12:13; Eph. 4:13.

Here we have the unity, the oneness, the cooperation, of the Church of Christ, inseparably associated in the bonds of fellowship desired by our Lord Jesus. Here we have the evidence that within the ranks of the many who have professed His name, there has always existed a comparatively smaller number who have been recognized of the Lord as peculiarly His own. Many of these have been just “uncomely” members, laboring in obscure surroundings, known only to the Lord Himself perhaps. Others have played a more conspicuous part, with their sphere among the “evangelists, pastors, and teachers,” but all;, regardless of their place in the Body, contributing, each his quota of assistance toward the same great: end -- the full stature predetermined in the mind of God. Thus the entire membership is indebted, one to the other, known and unknown, so much so that neither the greatest or the least may say “I have no need of thee.”

We love All Who love Thee

With this before our minds, how regrettable it is that this indebtedness, and this kinship, this bond of union with Christ seems so easily forgotten by the many. Each generation of believers, gaining some clearer views of the purposes of God, has been disposed to look with pity, and often with condemnation, upon brethren living in preceding periods. To receive clearer light on the Word of God seems to have led so often to spiritual pride, a pride and boastfulness that has invariably preceded a fall; for God resisteth the proud, but giveth His grace to the humble. Even in our own wonderful day, how difficult it seems for some to feel confident that there could have been real saints of God in darker days, or even in days nearer to our own. But we cannot forget the definite assurance of Jesus that the powers of darkness would not destroy His Church, and we need to remember in a most positive manner our indebtedness to the faithful soldiers of the cross of former days. The path of light has been progressive, and with advancing light the tests of character become more searching. Many today who will call in question the standing of one living in former days who consigned to eternal torment the wicked .enemies of God, will not hesitate to relegate to the Second Death, not the enemies of God, but brethren in Christ, because they “walk not with us.” In the judgment of God, who is most reprehensible, and most deficient in the Spirit of Christ? Can it be that such minds have ever grasped the vision of the oneness, the unbroken unity of the entire brotherhood of believers in the shed blood of Christ -- believers, every one of them in the ransom sacrifice, and devoted to the person of our Lord and Master.

“The Lord knoweth them that are His,” is blessed fact to keep before one’s mind, and as the Apostle John assures us, if we love God, we will also love those begotten of Him, and then, whether they be saints of the present or of the past, we will feel ourselves drawn toward them in the bonds of true brotherhood. Thus when all the faithful are gathered beyond the veil, surely it will add to our happiness to be able to greet the many whose acquaintance we have made while still in the flesh -- those whom we have personally met and co-labored with, and a long list of those who in days previous to .our own, some in one way, and some in another, held forth the various features of the Word of Life, and whose records are preserved for us on the pages of history.

In this connection, we feel disposed to commend to the readers of the “Herald” the following quotation from a spiritual writer, who in a very refreshing manner reminds us of the uniting bonds of indebtedness and gratitude that bind us to faithful brethren, some of whom have just passed on, and others who have preceded them in the ministry of the Church. Commenting on the words of Jesus in reference to laborers who have gone before: “Other men labored, and ye are entered into their labors,” this writer says:

“In this statement Jesus is reminding us that we owe a debt of gratitude to faithful laborers who have preceded us in the service of the Lord, ‘I sent you to reap that on which ye bestowed no labor,’ to enter into the advantages secured to you by the devotion, the piety; yea, and by the martyrdom of faithful predecessors in the path of life.

The Unforgotten Laborers

“Today the Prophet -- Master [Jesus] stands among us, and opens our eyes, to see that far-reaching company of the Unforgotten Laborers who have gone on before us, setting their feet where we would set our own; preparing the way, that we may not miss it; doing so much we need not do again; opening so much for us to do, which, but for them, we could not have done -- we might not even have desired to do; showing us what can be done, that we may have faith tó try also to do it. And as the Prophet-Master opens our eyes, we fee that many of those faces are faces we have known -- faces that we have seen flushed with energy, or pallid with fatigue, or wet with tears, or furrowed with suffering, that they might keep in that path of service for our sake who would come after them. And the Prophet-Master simply says, ‘Other men labored, and ye are entered into their labors!’

“‘Other men labored!’ This is our spiritual Ancestry! Pause a moment, earnest heart, while before us remains this vision of the Godward path, thronged with the Unforgotten Laborers, and think of that continuity of spiritual life which runs in our veins, and runs back from us, through all the Unforgotten Laborers, straight to Him who first, by the might of His own Example, and then by the Mystery of His Cross and Passion, taught men to desire to die unto sin and live unto righteousness; a to desire to spend and be spent for the sake of others. This is the unwritten Book of the Genealogy of Jesus Christ. In the Gospel of Saint Matthew we read that human pedigree of Christ, traced step by step from David down to Him who is both David’s Son and David’s Lord. But through the unbroken succession of the Unforgotten Laborers, we, if the Spirit of Christ is ours, can trace our spiritual lineage back through those who have gone before us, heart before heart, heart before heart, till we reach the Heart that came not to be ministered unto but to minister, and give Its Life a ransom for many. Who is not stronger for remembering, amidst that appalling loneliness which at times overtakes every one who essays to live above self and above the world --- who is not stronger for remembering that we ourselves are links in that bright chain, the genealogy of kindred spirits knit together, the known and the unknown, in one communion, reaching back over the wastes of nineteen centuries; grappled at last, as with hooks of steel, to the very Manhood of the Son of God!

“Other men labored! This is the Brotherhood of Experience! Who has not felt, at times overpoweringly, the individuality of his own mission, shuddering with dread before the unexplored newness of life! The conditions of his existence seem combined according to a new formula, whereof none has ever held the key or :seen the resultant. It is so awful to live and to know so little of the meaning of life; to realize that what we are set to do or to undo, to carry or to put away, to conquer or to crucify, is so unlike that which is given to others; to feel that we have been flung upon this dangerous shore of life as empty-handed and as ignorant as the shipwrecked sailor swept upon a land of which he knows not so much as the name!

“And then the Prophet-Master simply says to us, ‘Other men labored!’ and in that word we remember the Brotherhood of Experience: we know that we are not the first to be flung upon life’s dangerous coast with no man to tell the way; not the first to encounter the peril of choice, the grim finality of decision; not the first to feel the currents of adversity dragging backward around us like the undertow; not the first to call and hear no answer come out of that chill, impenetrable fog bank of the Yet To Be! Other men labored! Ah, yes! Why should we shrink back from that which has been accepted so cheerfully, endured so splendidly, many, many times? Why should we feed that we were singled out for a new vocation of pain, or privation, or doubt, or loneliness, or care, or toil, and not acknowledge that in all these things we are but brethren of the Unforgotten Laborers? Why should we complain, as though an unjust pressure were put upon us; or fret, as if the pain were cruelty; or debate, as though perchance love had leaked away out of God’s Heart-when we know that other men labored? We may be swept on some desolate shore, but there before us is the footprint of a man. We may be shut up in a very narrow prison, but there, cut in the stone, is the signature of a saint. Other men labored:

“‘Where now with pain thou treadest, trod
The whitest of the saints of God!
To show thee where their, feet were set,
The light which led them shineth yet.’”

And ye are entered into their labors! As we pass to this, part of this great Word of the Prophet-Master, a new light seems to fall on that long file of the Unforgotten Laborers toiling up before us on the mountain of God; and not only to fall on them but to fall on us, showing us how truly and how grandly we are with them and of them; that they could not complete their purposes without us, and we could not attain our victory without them. ‘Ye,’ says Christ, ‘are entered into their labors.’ . . . Not for themselves did they live above the world; not for themselves have the Unforgotten Laborers laid on the Altar of Sacrifice strength, wealth, labor, safety -- yes, even life itself; . . . not for themselves have they left us an example that we should follow their steps, in the pureness of their mind, in the patience of their gentleness, in the courage of their faith, in the fidelity of their love, in the zeal of their work. ‘They dreamt not of a perishable home who thus could build.’ No! Those who have had within them most richly of the Spirit of Christ have most intensely lived for those who were coming after them, esteeming themselves to have succeeded best if they might hand on to us undefiled the Ark of Truth, and mark for others, though it were with their own blood, the path that leads at last to the Light. All, blessed ones! pure ones! who have loved us and have aspired for us; who, in their own sorrows, have anticipated ours, and have tried to leave on record that which might be to us a sign to conquer by; who in their own aspirations have tried to lift us, ‘as the eagle fluttereth over her young, spread eth abroad her wings, taketh them, beareth them on her wings’ -- they have transmitted an inheritance unto us, those Unforgotten Laborers, and we are entered into their labors!

“: . . Shall it not make us truly brave. . . . Yes, truly brave, when we remember that we are kin to those of whom the world was not worthy; who had greater pressure than we, yet were not broken under it; greater disappointment than we, yet were not embittered by it; greater temptation than we, yet were not vanquished before it; greater mystery than we, yet were not hopeless amidst it. These all died in faith, making, every one of them, life seem to some one else forever a nobler, wider, worthier thing; helping, every one of them, goodness and purity and patience and the conquest of self to demonstrate themselves to some one else as the very evidences of Christ; leaving, every one of them, sunk deep in the heart of some one else an unconquerable passion to be strong as they were strong. And we are kin to them, those Unforgotten Laborers; next in line to some of them we stand, amongst those who have essayed in Christ to climb that mountain path, and to rise above self! Can we drop out where they went on? -- we fear to watch with Him one bitter or one arduous hour, when they kept vigil till the day broke? It must not be. It cannot be. Please God, it shall not be.”

Providence and the Great Reformation

Twelfth of the Series

THE GLAD tidings of “salvation by grace,” which had been preached by St. Paul and his brethren in the primitive Church, had been proclaimed for four years in Germany at the time of Luther’s captivity. But all the time the “new Gospel sounded in the midst of the ancient rites.” The preachers used bold language, and the people listened admiringly, yet they continued with “their mass, their beads, their confessors.”

A new era was beginning in the Reformation. Truth had been restored in doctrine, and now the doctrine was about to restore truth in all the forms of the Church. Luther’s concealment for ten months within the walls of the Wartburg separates these two periods. At the time of his captivity, the Reformation had seemed to center in him. His character appeared spotless. Had God removed him then from the world, “his end would have been as an apotheosis . . . . But Luther was preserved to the Church, in order to teach, by his very faults, that the faith of Christians should be based on the Word of God alone. He was transported suddenly far from the stage on which the great revolution of the sixteenth century was taking place; the truth, that for four years he had so powerfully proclaimed, continued in his absence to act upon Christendom: and the work, of which he was but the feeble instrument, henceforward bore the seal not of man, but of God Himself.”

Tempered in Waters of Adversity

But Luther was not dead. He had merely yielded to the advice of his friends, and to confinement for a time in the Wartburg. Here he could wander freely through the fortress, but could not go beyond its walls. All his wishes were attended to, and he had never been better treated. “In the midst of the dark forests of Thuringia the Reformer reposed from the violent struggles that had agitated his soul. There he studied Christian truth, not for the purpose of contending, but as a means of regeneration and life. The beginning of the Reformation was of necessity polemical, new times required new labors. After cutting down the thorns and thickets, it was requisite to sow the Word of God peaceably in the heart. If Luther had been incessantly called upon to fight fresh battles, he would not have accomplished a durable work in the Church. Thus by his captivity he escaped a danger which might possibly have ruined the Reformation -- that of always attacking and destroying without ever defending or building up.

“This humble retreat had a still more precious result. Uplifted by his countrymen, as on a shield. he was on the verge of the abyss; the least giddiness might have plunged him into it headlong. Some of the first promoters of the Reformation both in Germany and Switzerland, ran upon the shoal of spiritual pride and fanaticism. Luther was a man very subject to the infirmities of our nature, and he was unable to escape altogether from these dangers. The hand of God, however, delivered him for a time, by suddenly removing him from the sphere of intoxicating ovations, and throwing him into an unknown retreat. There his soul was wrapt in pious meditation at God’s footstool; it was again tempered in the waters of adversity; its sufferings and humiliation compelled him to walk, for a time at least, with the humble; and the principles of a Christian life were thenceforward evolved in his soul with greater energy and freedom.” Here he suffered from sickness, and sometimes was in heaviness as he thought of the “wretchedness of the Church.” It is recorded that “he passed whole nights without sleep. Anxieties of mind were superadded to the pains of the body. No great work is ever accomplished without suffering and martyrdom.” Notwithstanding his sufferings, he composed a multitude of writings while in the Wartburg, which we are told “succeeded each other rapidly, and the beloved voice of the Reformer was everywhere hailed with enthusiasm.”

While the Reformer, thus dead to the world, was seeking relaxation, the work was going on as if of itself. The Reformation was not long confined to doctrine merely, but had entered deeply into men’s actions. As Luther heard from his place of seclusion of the various reforms, he was sometimes surprised and confounded, for he walked “in a mixture of error and truth.” But he was gradually advancing, and one after another the doctrines of the Church of which he was still a member, had been wrestled with in the castle of the Wartburg and overthrown through prayer and the study of the Word.

“While Luther was thus preparing the way for one of the greatest revolutions that were destined to be effected in the Church, and the Reformation was beginning to enter powerfully into the lives of Christians, the Romish partisans, blind as those generally are who have long been in possession of power, imagined that, because Luther was in the Wartburg, the Reform was dead and forever extinct; and fancied they should be able quietly to resume their ancient practices, that had been for a moment disturbed by the monk of Wittemberg.” And so the traffic of indulgences was again practiced. As we find today, even so then, mere were those who, “all things being equal, decide for the truth; but who, as soon as their interest is put in the balance, are ready to take part with error.” Nothing could have aroused Luther’s indignation more, and he proceeded to make plans for an attack against this dire evil. He resolved after being defeated in other plans, to write direct to one of the cardinals. He was thus bringing to the bar the whole body of Romish bishops in the person of this cardinal. He wrote in part as follows:

“Your electoral highness has set up again in Halle the idol that swallows the money and the souls of poor Christians. You think, perhaps, that I am disabled, and that the emperor will easily stifle the cries of the poor monk . . . But know that I shall discharge the duties that Christian charity has imposed upon me, without fearing the gates of hell, and much less the pope, his bishops, and cardinals.”

Luther, the excommunicated monk, addressed so courageously a primate of the German Church, and yet he received in reply a letter showing little less than “slavish fear.” “While Luther alone, a prisoner and condemned, derived invincible courage from his faith, the archbishop, elector and cardinal, environed with all the power and favors of the world, trembled on his throne. This contrast appears continually, and is the key to the strange enigma offered by the history of the Reformation. The Christian is not called upon to count his forces, and to number his means of victory. The only thing he should be anxious about is to know whether the cause he upholds is really that of God, and whether he looks only to his Master’s glory. Unquestionably he has an inquiry to make; but this is wholly spiritual -- the Christian looks at the heart, and not the arm; he weighs the justice of his cause, and not its outward strength. And when this question is once settled, his path is clear. He must move forward boldly, were it even against the world and all its armed hosts, in the unshaken conviction that God Himself will fight for him.”

Luther Translates the Scriptures

Thus the. Reformer struggled against error as if he were in the midst of the battle, and at the same time labored in his retirement at the Wartburg as if he were not concerned in what was going on in the world. Up to this time the Bible in the language of the people had been prohibited in the German Church, and Luther felt called of God to translate the Scriptures into a language that the “common people” could read for themselves. The historian remarks that “That same God who had conducted St. John to Patmos, there to write His Revelation, had confined Luther in the Wartburg, there to translate His Word. This great task, which it would have been difficult for him to have undertaken in the midst of the cares and occupations of Wittemberg, was to establish the new building on the primitive Rock, and, after the lapse of so many ages, lead Christians back to the pure Fountainhead of redemption and salvation.

“The doctrine of the Church, the scholastic theology, knew nothing of the consolations that proceed from faith; but the Scriptures proclaim them with great force, and there it was that he had found them. Faith in the Word of God had made him free. By it he felt emancipated from the dogmatic authority of the Church, from its hierarchy and traditions, from the opinions of the schoolmen, the power of prejudice, and from every human ordinance. The strong and numerous bonds which for centuries had enchained and stifled Christendom, were snapped asunder, broken in pieces, and scattered round him; and he nobly raised his head freed from all authority except that of the Word. This independence of man, this submission to God, which he had learned in the Holy Scriptures, he desired to impart to the Church. But before he could communicate them, it was necessary to set before it the revelations of God.

“Luther had already translated several fragments of the Holy Scripture; the seven penitential Psalms had been his first task. John the Baptist, Christ Himself, and the Reformation had begun alike by calling men to repentance. It is the principle of every regeneration in the individual man, and in the whole human race. These essays had been eagerly received; men longed to have more; and this voice of the people was considered by Luther as the voice of God Himself. He resolved to reply to the call. He was a prisoner within those lofty walls; what of that! he will devote his leisure to translating the Word of God into the language of his countrymen. Ere long this Word will be seen descending from the Wartburg with him; circulating among the people of Germany, and putting them in possession of those spiritual treasures hitherto shut up within the hearts of a few pious men. ‘Would that this one Book,’ exclaimed Luther, ‘were in every language, in every hand, before the eyes, and in the ears and hearts of all men!’ . . . ‘Scripture without any comment,’ said he again, ‘is the sun whence all teachers receive their light.’

“Such are the principles of Christianity and of the Reformation. According to these venerable words, we should not consult the Fathers to throw light upon Scripture, but Scripture to explain the Fathers. The Reformers and the Apostles set up the Word of God as the only light, as they exalt the sacrifice of Christ as the only righteousness. By mingling any authority of man with this absolute authority of God, or any human righteousness with this perfect righteousness of Christ, we vitiate both the foundations of Christianity. These are the two fundamental heresies of Rome, and which, although doubtless in a smaller degree, some teachers were desirous of introducing into the bosom of the Reformation.

“Luther opened the Greek originals of the Evangelists .and Apostles, and undertook the difficult task of making these Divine teachers speak his mother tongue. Important crisis in the history of the Reformation! From that time the Reformation was no longer in the hands of the Reformer. The Bible came forward; Luther withdrew. God appeared, and man disappeared. The Reformer placed The Book in the hands of his contemporaries. Each one may now hear the voice of God for himself; as for Luther, henceforth he mingles with the crowd and takes his station in the ranks of those who come to draw from the common Fountain of light and life.”

(To be continued)

Report of a Recent Pilgrimage

By BROTHER WM. MCKEOWN

LOVING greetings to all who trust in the precious blood, to all who love the Lord that bought them, and are longing to be with Him and like Him.

Only a few days have elapsed since the end of the most wonderful six months in my life -- six months spent in visiting and serving the brethren of the United States and Canada. It was a privilege and a service for which we felt most unworthy and unfit, and which we would have thought presumptuous to undertake had not the Lord made it very clear that it was His will. Even then we might have been inclined to hesitate, had we not previously learned by bitter experience, that when we hear the Voice saying, “This is the way, walk ye in it,” we may not disobey.

We regret that ours is not the pen of a ready writer. However, we shall try to give some idea of a few of our experiences, and the conditions of the brethren and Classes visited.

You will be glad to learn that in the 30 States visited and the 125 Classes served, we found the brethren, with few exceptions, in a very healthy condition. They are rejoicing in the Lord, and in the many evidences of His goodness and loving care, and they continue to rejoice in and hold fast to the truth which has so cheered and transformed their lives. In this truth they feel they have a treasure that comes next to the Lord and His Spirit, and without which the present life and future prospects would not be very bright.

As I traveled through the country, the truth of Luke 10:2, was brought home to me as never before: “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few.” I feel sure that more could and would be done if the brethren and Classes fully recognized the great need of the present hour, and their privileges of working together to the one great end. How many we wonder are praying as directed by the Lord in this connection. I feel sure that if all were praying for more laborers, they would find themselves saying: Here. am I, Lord, and all I have, to be used for the harvesting of the wheat.

That you may know something of the conditions, and the need, we will mention the state of affairs in only one of the many cities visited which is illustrative of other places. It is not so very long ago that the I.B.S.A. Class in this particular city numbered over 1,000. Now it is down to about 200, and the free Class numbers just under 200. Where are the 600? These brethren are surely in need, anal crying for help. Are we going to leave the cry of thousands of our brethren unanswered while we turn to the world, for whom Christ would not pray?

In addition to the need and condition just mentioned, there are many Classes which have been formed by those who have obtained their liberty, but who are in need of help, and would be so glad if a Spirit-filled brother with a message from the Word could be sent to them at least twice a year. We feel sure this could easily be done if we all saw our privilege and united our efforts. If some of the brethren who are capable, and are at present standing aside, could see their opportunity and lend a hand, what a blessing they would receive and impart. The dear saints all over the land are hungering for the bread of life, and for closer fellowship with the Lord and His people. Let us pray for them, and ask the Lord, “What wouldst thou have me to do?”

For the encouragement of all who by their labor of love and sacrifice make the work of the Institute possible, we feel it our privilege to tell you that what you have done has not been in vain. Only eternity will fully reveal to what extent you have been used of the Lord to help and bless His people. Wherever we went, brethren told us of their thanks to God for the Institute and its work, especially for the “Herald.” Many told us that it was the only spiritual food they got apart from the Word, and that it was to them a means of much encouragement anal refreshment in the way. I met only one or two who thought they could make any improvement in the Institute, and its methods and work. All others are well satisfied with the teaching, methods and nature of the work.

So toil on, dear brethren, and in your hours of trial and difficulty, which is the lot of . all who so labor, and when you are sowing in tears, remember that all over the land many are praying for you, and thanking God for the comfort and help you have been the means of bringing to them.

It was truly grand, when out in the Pilgrim service, to feel free, having no orders of any kind, but just “wait upon the Lord,” and “hold up Christ.” And this is just what is needed, and what the saints with few exceptions are wanting. They know the Plan of God, and can see the signs all about them, that tell them the Kingdom is near. The great need of the Church today is “Christ,” the “indwelling Christ,” to act in and through us for His glory and our sanctification. Shall we not wait at His feet in humility, and as nothing, until He comes by His Spirit, and takes full possession of us, and let Him work unhindered in us until He forms His mind in us, and brings us into His image -- until Christ is formed in us. Then we will have a full hope of glory.

If time and space permitted we would like to write about the many pleasant times with the friends visited, and the kindness manifested, but since they are so numerous, and space limited, we cannot do so. However, I desire to take advantage of this opportunity to express my warm appreciation of the many, many kindnesses received at the hands of brethren all along the way. I can never forget the thoughtful attention given to the things that had to do with my physical comfort, and the hours of sweet fellowship will remain in memory for all time to come. Will we ever meet again on earth? We could wish it were so, but we can leave that in the Lord’s hands. He knows, and will do and send what is best, so we can rest in Him, and in His sweet will. We will often think of you, and have many meetings together in the spirit.

We reached home on the first of June, in good health, after traveling about 16,000 miles, and received a warm welcome. The first Sunday at home was spent with the Class in Vancouver. In the afternoon we gave a report of our trip, and addressed a large gathering in the evening.

“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lords and in the power of His might.” “I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ; that in every thing ye are enriched by Him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge; even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you: so that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ; who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” -- Eph. 6:10; 1 Cor. 1:4-8.

Echoes from the Boston Convention

Once more it is the privilege of the Boston Class of Associated Bible Students to report a most encouraging and profitable convention. And though customary to think of each gathering of this kind as “the very best convention” yet enjoyed, it will be correct enough to say that no gathering of brethren in Boston has been more helpful and enjoyable than the two days of sweet fellowship experienced by the friends who assembled here on June 27 and 28. The windows of heaven were certainly opened as the brethren came together in sincerity of heart and oneness of purpose.

In several ways these two days of association were particularly significant, and therefore worthy of special mention The predominating atmosphere of the occasion was that of reunion. Comparatively little needed to be said regarding the unfortunate circumstances that have separated God’s people in recent years. The realization that human inventions had made null and void the words of Jesus, “One is your Master and all ye are brethren,” needed no emphasizing: Many of those present were looking back over the hours of perplexity and loneliness, or perhaps months and years of mental anguish and spiritual decline, recalling the disrupted fellowship, and again and again they were heard to rejoice in having once more found the atmosphere of real freedom in Christ. Thus the brethren came together, not needing to be told that the blessed bond of brotherhood had been strained, but to rejoice in the goodness of the Lord in watching over His people, and in His loving kindness in once more uniting kindred spirits in the bonds of Christian fellowship.

We believe all present were deeply conscious of the Master’s presence, and were enriched by the things seen and heard. They recognized the voice of the Good Shepherd in the exhortations to holiness and true spirituality, and also in the splendid admonitions given urging all to zealous activity in heralding forth the good news of the Kingdom while the door of opportunity remains open. Evidences were presented showing conclusively that distressed and burdened hearts are yet being made glad, as they are brought in touch with the Divine Plan.

We trust that all those who attended this feast will have carried its sweet and invigorating spirit of brotherly love and oneness of purpose to many others not privileged to be present, thus cementing the ties of brotherhood, and quickening others to a deeper appreciation of the special privileges of the present hour.

Messages of Encouragement

Dear Brethren:

I thought that you might be interested to know that by the Lord’s grace we were privileged to give a witness on the 14th also on the 22nd. Both witnesses were given in the homes of friends in country districts where we were invited. We had an attendance on the 14th of thirty and about twenty on the 22nd, and the Lord seemed to have blessed our efforts to serve him in witnessing to the Truth. All seemed to enjoy the meetings and expressed their desire for more. Our dear Brother H______ of _____ arranged for services and lent a helping hand, which added to the joy.

On the 22nd the meeting was at the home of Brother K_____, near _____. He is a very dear brother. The fellowship with his family is sweet. They shared their hospitality as unto the Lord, and in many ways showed their love for the Truth and the brethren. I found this same sweet fellowship in the home of Brother H_____. Both he and Sister H______ are loyal to the Truth, and they make one so welcome in their home and leave no doubt as to their love.

We have a special invitation to serve at a friend’s home the 28th, but as we have received the happy news that Brother M_____ from _____ will be with us on that date, we have arranged for him to serve the friends at that time. We rejoice to have him with us, and feel that his visit will prove a great blessing to many. The way seems to be opening up for further service. It is a real joy to find ourselves actively engaged again in ministering the words of truth as meat in due season to the household of faith.

Pardon this lengthy letter, and pray for us that we may be used in His service to the glory of His name and to the edifying of the Body of Christ.

Yours in Him,

H. B. M. -- Ala.

Dear Brethren:

I am writing you that I received the “Herald” for June 15, also special number, May 1-15. I am thankful to the dear Lord for guiding me. Up to three weeks ago I had not learned that there was a paper of the kind published. Some time ago I visited a sister in the Truth in and she told me that she was receiving a journal like the “Watch Tower” of Pastor Russell’s day, and gave me a few to bring home. Well I was hungry, so I devoured them and found that there was indeed the same sweet flavor that was in the “Tower” in the days that are gone – the same Truth, the same spirit of love and joy and peace and of a sound mind.

Some time ago I saw a notice of a lecture to be given in ______, by our dear Brother Friese, so I wrote him asking if there were any friends there, or any place where they met. A few days later dear Brother Boulter came to see me, bringing Brother S_____. Let me assure you, dear brethren, we were not long in getting acquainted, and were soon talking about the things dear to each child of our Heavenly Father-the “old paths:” The next morning we visited Sister B_____, the one who gave me the “Heralds,” which we enjoyed very much.

I appreciated meeting the Polish friends, also Brother Boulter’s fine talk from John 3:16 . . . . I realize something of the bondage which the dear friends in the I. B. S. A. are under. In talking with a brother last night I explained why I was no longer able to meet with them, and pointed out by page and paragraph the things that I believed were unscriptural; but it was of no use . . . . Now dear brethren, if you will send me a few of May 1-15 “Heralds,” I will endeavor to place them in the .hands of some that may be interested.

In closing, may the dear Lord bless you richly in all spiritual things. I am,

Your brother in His dear Name,

W. E. O. -- Conn.

1931 Index

Blessed are Your Eyes for They See

I will Trust and not be Afraid

The End of All Things at Hand

Yet a Little While

Encircled in His Grace

Until it Receive the Latter Rain

The Loss of “First Love”

The World’s Present Accountability

The Heavens Declare the Glory of God

Man Alienates Himself from God

Results of Man’s Alienation from God

The Foolishness of Idolatry

Reformers Silenced neither by Rome’s judgments nor Favors

Zwingle’s Consecrated Ministry

Baptized in Waters of Affliction

Uniformity of Doctrine in Reformers

Church Restored by Blood

The Dayton Convention

Refreshing Association at Lynn, Mass.

The Fellowship at Racine, Wis.

“Paish Warns World of Trade Collapse”

Fears “Suicide of the World”

“Babson’s Report of European Situation”

“The Truth about Palestine”

The Population of the Country

The Balfour Declaration

Fellowship with the Father in the Joy He has in His Son

Fellowship with the Father in His Plan

Fellowship with the Father by Laboring Together

Relation between the Hand that Works and the Hand by which it is Strengthened

Fellowship with the Son in His delight in the Father’s wi11

Fellowship with Jesus in the Ministry of Comfort

The Spirit and Soul and Body of the Church

An Unbroken Chain of Brethren

We love All Who love Thee

The Unforgotten Laborers

Tempered in Waters of Adversity

Luther Translates the Scriptures

Relation between the Hand that Works and the
Hand by which it is Strengthened