VOL. XVI November 1, 1933 No. 11 "Challenge
of the New Leisure" "The
World Stirred by Religious Strife" "Holy
Land Prospers in World of Want" VOL. XVI November 1, 1933 No. 11 "Challenge of the New Leisure"THE creation of "the new leisure" for the masses of the people now appears imminent as a result of the recent legislation that has for its object the solving of the problem of the unemployed. In dealing at this time with this problem the natural and logical sequence of legislation is to shorten the hours of labor in order to make room for a larger number to be employed. This of course results in creating a new leisure for all the laboring classes. Thus observes a writer in the New York Times of September 24th "The American nation, which has deified work and looked with suspicion upon leisure for the masses, has in its search for economic recovery suddenly faced about and granted the boon of greater leisure to its toiling millions. Almost overnight the dreams of working men and women for shorter hours of labor have been turned into reality. Even the most optimistic a year ago would hardly have dared to predict such rapid and wholesale steps in the direction of expanding leisure. Through the administration of the National Recovery Act the forty-hour week has come into vogue on an unprecedented scale, thus multiplying enormously the free time of the rank and file of the gainfully employed. "A slight computation makes clear the amount of time at the disposal of the worker employed on a forty-hour-week schedule. Allowing twelve hours a day for sleep, eating, travel to and from work and other necessities, the time remaining for the cultivation of his own interests is more than five hours a day for six days of the week with Sunday thrown in as an additional full day of leisure. Or if his forty hours are completed within five days, he has two full days of leisure besides four hours of free time on each of his working days. According to similar computation, the man who formerly was compelled to work twelve hours a day had no free time except on Sunday, and one working ten hours had only two hours of free time each working day." Some fifty years ago Brother Russell in dealing with the subject of the Day of Jehovah made reference to the fact that "we are brought in contact with the peculiar condition in which there is an over-production, causing idleness occasionally to both capital and labor, while at the same time some lack the employment which would enable them to procure necessities and luxuries and thus in a measure cure the over-production. And the tendency toward both over-production and lack of employment is on the increase, and calls for a remedy of some kind which society's physicians are seeking, but of which the patient will not make use." Brother Russell further pointed out in this connection that one of the remedies that would logically come to mind would be that of shortening the hours of labor, and he said, "It is proposed that the hours of labor be shortened in proportion to the skill or severity of the labor, without a reduction of wages, in order thus to employ a greater number of persons without increasing the products, and thus to equalize the coming over-production by providing a larger number with the means of purchasing." This in brief appears to be the policy of the present Administration in the hope that it will solve the problem of the unemployed. But experience proves that under the present circumstances of the downward tendency of humanity, many hours of idleness and leisure on the part off the masses would not be to their advantage, but would result in the greater and swifter degradation. The writer in the New York Times at first endeavors to combat this idea for he says, "We, are entering upon a period when we will not point with pride to achievements made possible by unremitting toil. Our emphasis upon the beneficence of labor now includes also provision for adequate leisure. The old idea that the Devil finds work for idle hands to do expresses a suspicion of leisure out of touch with our new thought and practice. The American ideal is to do our work expeditiously so that plenty of spare time may remain for the cultivation of our leisure time interests." Thus with a note of triumph this writer looks forward to the "new leisure" with the thought that it will be beneficial to the masses and that on account of "our new thought and practice" men will devote this new leisure to high and noble purposes, etc. And yet with the next breath he admits the peril that might accompany the new leisure. We quote further: "While this onward march of leisure is most gratifying, it brings in its train problems that are not easy of solution. The exploitation of leisure time has always been a profitable financial venture for those interests that cater to human weakness and promote habits that tend to degrade rather than build up. Liquor, prostitution and gambling have long been favorite devices of those who seek profit through the commercialization of leisure. It is not without significance that the extension of leisure and legalized liquor are entering upon the stage of American life at the same time. One of the problems we face is the role hard drinks play in the leisure-time activities of the people.... We are to such a large degree unprepared to face the problems of greater leisure because the present generation has had so little training in its proper use. The demands of industry have been placed first in our scale of values." Leisure a great Blessing under the Kingdom The old axiom "Idleness is the mother of vice" has generally proven true throughout human history, due to the fact that the tendency of man's nature in the present imperfect state is downward, and that therefore in his state of separation and alienation from God, for man to be given a great deal of leisure,' would be to increase his possibilities downward toward greater depravity and degradation. As we look forward to the new dispensation, to the new order of government under the Kingdom of God, no doubt humanity will be provided with many hours of leisure wherewith to equip themselves with knowledge, for under those changed conditions there will be vast fields of information and knowledge opened up, and under the wholesome discipline and counsel and restraint of the reign of Messiah, humanity will be taught to make use of their leisure, hours, so that the results will be to their great advantage and final uplift out of the conditions of sin and death. Again we find the words of Brother Russell to represent the very essence of wisdom as he wrote long years ago in "The Divine Plan of the Ages" on the subject of the Day of Jehovah, as follows: "An unanswerable argument, proving that this is God's due time for the introduction of the new order of things, is that He is lifting the veil of ignorance and gradually letting in the light of intelligence and invention upon mankind, just as foretold, when foretold, and with the results predicted. (Dan. 12:4, 1.) Had the knowledge come sooner, the trouble would have come sooner; and though society might have re-organized after its storm and melting, it would have been not a new earth (social arrangement) wherein righteousness would prevail and dwell, but a new earth or arrangement in which sin and vice would have much more abounded than now. The equitable division of the benefits of labor-saving machinery would in time have brought shorter and shorter hours of labor; and thus, released from the original safeguard,. fallen man, with his perverted tastes, would not have used his liberty and time for mental, moral, ' and physical improvement, but, as the history of the past proves, the tendency would have been toward licentiousness and vice. "The partial lifting of the veil now prepares thousands of conveniences for mankind, and thus furnishes, from the outstart of the age of restitution, time for education and moral and physical development, as well as for preparation for the feeding and clothing of the companies who will from time to time be awakened from the tomb. And furthermore, it locates the time of trouble just where it will be of benefit to mankind, in that it will give them the lesson of their own inability to govern themselves, just at the Millennial dawn, when, by the Lord's appointment, He who redeemed all is to begin to bless them with the strong rule of the iron rod, and with full knowledge and assistance whereby they may be restored to original perfection and everlasting life. "The World Stirred by Religious Strife"DARKNESS covers the earth, and gross darkness the people," wrote the Prophet in those far-off days, and his words are a true delineation of humanity down through the Ages as they have struggled on under the pall of the cloud of ignorance, superstition, and unbelief that has generally prevailed. Moreover, the description is seen to very well fit that section of our race that has been professedly religious and in touch with God and the powers of heaven. Even in this period of man's history when our race has reached the very pinnacle of civilization, when knowledge has been greatly increased, and the earth has been enlightened over all previous time---confusion and spiritual blindness rest as a heavy cloud over struggling humanity. In confirmation of this the statement by Mr. P. W. Wilson, writing in the New York Times, will be read with much interest: "The faith of man is everywhere in a ferment. Around the church of the Christian, the synagogue . of the Jew, the mosque of the Mohammedan and the temple of the Hindu there sweeps an atmosphere electric with emotion, breaking into storms of violence, confiscation, incendiarism and a somewhat pitiless persecution. "It is an unrest-theological, 'ecclesiastical, social, racial, and political-that disturbs countries so adverse as Ireland and Turkey, Germany and India, Spain, Palestine and Mexico, with many others. Millions of men and billions in property are affected. "The turmoil is bewildering, and if we survey the landscape as a whole-Russian clergy welcoming death on the White Sea, Moslems marching against the Hindu Maharajah of Kashmir, the shot of an assassin aimed at a Governor of Malta-we find that something has raised the temperature. It is friction. In the machinery of religion, there are maladjustments." Taking the Religious Pulse of the Public Again, as expressive of the spirit of doubt, uncertainty, and agnosticism with which the air seems everywhere charged, we quote the following striking statement recently appearing in the Chicago Daily News: "Is Religion Dying Out?" "What does the public in this post-war, bewildered age think of religion? Is the man on the street-the laborer, the banker, the clerk, the salesman, the ditch-digger, the artisan, the unemployed, the lawyer, the professor, the policeman, the chauffeur, the broker-religious, atheistic or simply indifferent? What does the kitchen maid, the housewife, the school teacher, the stenographer, the beauty operator, the actress, the telephone operator, the high-school girl, the coed, the debutante or the penniless girl from the country think of church, of worship, or immortality? "Many proclaim religion is dying out. Others say never did it have a stronger hold on the masses. Some assert the idea of God is a superstition and that religion is only for the ignorant. Others aver that religion is the only hope of civilization. Recently a manifesto was issued under the signature of learned professors, some of them in theological schools, denying the existence of God and affirming that man physically is all there is to life." Truly the Prophet in portraying the condition of this period known in prophecy as the Day of the Lord, has given a vivid picture in the words, "That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, ... And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men." (Zeph. 1:15-17.) Again we read, "For the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand; a day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness." - Joel 2:1, 2. Surely the consolation of God's children is in being able to recognize His times and seasons and the Divine program in general which contains every provision for dispelling the darkness and lifting the clouds of superstition and unbelief, through the instrumentality of the Kingdom of Heaven, which when fully inaugurated will cause the knowledge of the glory of God to fill the whole earth, so that all shall come to know the Lord from the least unto the greatest of our race. Thank God for the many evidences that the great Sun of Righteousness is about to arise with healing in His beams, for the dispelling of the darkness and the blessing and uplift of all the willing and obedient. "Holy Land Prospers in World of Want""How Jews Created a Land of Plenty" WOULD you like to hear about a country where there is no unemployment problem, no jobless misery -- "Where, in fact, there is more work than there are men to do it? "Would you like to hear about a land the depression never reached with its blighting touch "A nation whose industries flourished, expanded and whose people prospered while the rest of the world struggled despairingly in an all but overwhelming morass of financial misfortune?" Thus does Dr. Chaim Weizmann introduce in a series of articles appearing recently in the New York Evening Journal, an interesting discussion of the Holy Land, which is now said to be "a land of plenty." Dr. Weizmann, who is President of the Hebrew University at Jerusalem, also head of the World Zion Organization for thirteen years, is evidently vitally interested in seeing his race come out of the sackcloth and ashes state of obscurity and humiliation in which they have so long been downtrodden, and return to their former estate of glory and power in the world. Dr. Weizmann along with many others is earnestly looking forward to the realization of the hopes of Israel and anticipating that ere long an independent Jewish State and Government will be an accomplished fact in the land of the fathers. Miracle of Modern Times In his articles Dr., Weizmann is writing of the phenomenal progress that is being made in the Holy Land, and continues: "Only in a dream, the wildest of fantasies, could such a country be conjured, it would seem. But I will tell you about Palestine-the new, 13-year-old Palestine. "There I am working with thousands of others to build it up to still greater miracles of achievement. "And you will have to admit that, even in these times of pinched, suffering humanity the world over-with countless millions grown hopeless in the face of continued life frustrations-there are still dreams that can come true. "Verily, the Palestine of today is one of those. "It is a miracle of modern times. Perhaps it would be premature now to say that it is the greatest, as some who 'have seen it and have studied the machinery of its progress have proclaimed. "Suffice it to say, for the present, that a new nation has taken root and is gaining steadily in strength and permanency where the great powers of civilization believed no such nation could exist. "That, in itself, might be called a miracle in this straitened era. And who is there can now foretell the extent of greatness which this seedling miracle may achieve? "Other Nations seek Secret of Prosperity" "Palestine, on the threshold of the Orient and no larger than the State of Massachusetts, is deservedly looked upon as one of the economic wonders of our troublous times. "While the master statesmen of the great powers across oceans and continents are putting their heads together to discover a therapy for the world's ailing economic system, Palestine enjoys tranquillity and the peace of security... . "While the storm of economic unsteadiness and chaos swept the rest of the world, it stood firm and happy as a haven of refuge and a port of new life." "Do you believe in miracles-in the achievement of the impossible?" asks Dr. Weizmann as he endeavors to impress the reader with just what is taking place in the Holy Land. "Go to Palestine. View the industrial development there. "It is a miracle-the wonder feat of our modern era. "Consider the Palestine of but a scant 13 years ago. Compare it with the picture I will now present of the Palestine of today. "The change wrought there by man's ingenuity-his will to conquer-is nothing less than a miracle. "Before the Jewish reconstruction began in 1920, Palestine was hardly more than an arid waste. Noting was manufactured there on a commercial scale except soap and wine, and these were produced in the most primitive of home plants. "There was no electrical power, no gas, m oil for fuel. Only the most antiquated and decrepit rail facilities were available. "Motor bus lines were virtually unheard of and overland transportation was forced to depend, chiefly,' upon the old Turkish road system, long out of repair and more of a curse to the country than a benefit. "While the blue Mediterranean Sea invited water lanes, there were no ports of any importance and shipping shunned the Palestine shores as though the land behind them had died with its glorious past. "Growth of Industry truly Remarkable" "Then came the Jews, with their dream of bolding a national home for their race. The miracle began.. . "From a pitiable background of primitive methods for the production of soap and wine, there stand today (n the onetime arid land more than 3,000 factories of one kind )r another, with a capital of nearly $40,000,000 and employing 35,000 workers. "Since 1920, more than 600 major industrial undertakings have sprung up, with an investment of $25,000,000, aid more than 1,400 smaller projects." Dr. Weizmann further dwells upon the achievements of his people and tells of the spirit in which they are endeavoring to become established in the homeland. He says "When the Jews entered Palestine after the Balfour Declaration of 1917 had given its blessings to the establishment of the Jewish National Homeland there, they did not come as conquering warriors. They did not come as an army with banners. They came as an army with books. "The only fortress this army could build, a fortress that would withstand the fiercest charges of gunpowder, was a university. Once the people of the book, always the people of the book. Not by the sword, but by the book had the Jewish people survived the hard baptism of history." Now Learn a Parable of the Fig Tree What Dr. Weizmann has to say with regard to health conditions in the Holy Land is also of special interest: "Good health, sanitation, peace. "That is what Palestine today is offering the Jew emigrating there to escape oppression and misery. "Borrowing from the scientific improvements of the outside world, sponsors of the Back-to-Palestine movement have established power plants and industries that never before flourished in this land of opportunity. "But, above all, they have armed themselves with highly advanced' medical equipment to safeguard the population, raising an insurmountable barrier against heretofore prevalent diseases such as malaria, typhoid, and trachoma. "Nothing could have been more fitting than that the women Zionists of America should take the initiative in this work of making Palestine safe for the Jew. Jewish women have been an important factor in the Zionist movement for a number of years, and their support and administration of hospitals and health centers throughout the Jewish communities in Palestine has been an invaluable contribution to the Zionist, cause. "Through the agency of the Hadassah Medical Organization which first began to function in Palestine 15 years ago, an elaborate main of hospitals, clinics and laboratories has been established. Based on the most modern methods of medical treatment, :his health organization does not merely provide for the cure of diseases, but lays special stress on their prevention." In his statement above Dr. Weizmann calls attention to the year 1917, as the year of the issuing of the Balfour Declaration, and it is indeed interesting to observe in this connection that Mr. H. Grattan Guinness, in his celebrated exposition, "Light for the Last Days," published in 1886, dealt exhaustively with the prophecies of Daniel and called attention to certain chronological data that clearly indicated that the year 1917 was undoubtedly a marked year that would surely be characterized by events of unusual importance to the Jewish race. Mr. Guinness' words in this connection are: "There can be no question that those who live to see this year 1917 will have reached one of the most important, perhaps the most momentous of these terminal years of crisis."* ------------------------------------- *For a more detailed discussion of the significance of the year 1917 and its relation to the 1335 days of Daniel, see pages 448 to 455 of "Daniel the Beloved of Jehovah," published by our Institute - 50 cents postpaid. When we further remember in this connection that, it was in December, 1917, that General Allenby made his triumphal entry into the holy city, drove out the Turks and completely broke the Moslem power over the Holy Land, we cannot but recognize the prophetic character of Mr. Guinness' statement made some thirty years prior to 1917. In the foregoing extracts we have given but a fragment of Dr. Weizmann's report and discussion of the outlook in Palestine; lack of space forbids our giving various interesting details' which he mentions. But the above is quite sufficient to enable the reader to sense the fulfilment of the Master's prophetic words: "Now learn a parable of the fig tree; when his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors." Thus we have one of the unmistakable signs mentioned by the Savior in evidence today by which we can understand that the long winter-time of desolation for the Jewish race is about ended, and the summer-time of the sunshine of Divine favor and of their return to their ancient glory is at hand. Growing up into Christ"But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into Him in all things, which is the Head, even Christ." - Eph. 4:15 THUS does the Apostle surely convey the lesson of progress and gradual development in the Christian life-a lesson that is repeatedly held before the attention of the Church in the Apostolic writings. Perhaps we shall find no more forceful statement of this truth than in the words of the Apostle Peter, as he was evidently addressing some who were only starting in the Christian way, or had not been long in the faith: "As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of 'he Word, that ye may grow thereby: if so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious."-1 Pet. 2:2, 3. These of whom the Apostle was speaking may have been nun of mature years, yet they were but babes, a beginning a new life, indeed, from one standpoint, a new existence-life according to the Spirit. And the Apostle counsels them as newborn babes, to earnestly desire and seek the sincere milk of the Word of God which would evidently mean the simpler truths, the primary features that would be peculiar to those beginning the new experience as disciples of Christ. Those who in simple faith accept the truth in meekness and who as the Apostle says, laying aside all malice and all guile and hypocrisies and envies and all evil speakings, endeavor to live worthy of this salvation, esteeming it as only a reasonable service to surrender themselves to the will of God, are accepted upon the higher plane of the Spirit and realize that theirs is a spiritual atmosphere, a spiritual realm. Precious indeed are these little ones in the Lord's sight. Very probably it was with reference to such that the Lord said to Peter, "Feed My Lambs." Again under the figure of the tender shepherd caring for a weak and frail lamb, He shows His tender solicitude for these babes of the family, saying, "It is not the will of your Father which is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish." Pure Milk and the Strong Meat But while the babes in Christ, because of their very feebleness and immaturity have much special care bestowed upon them and are dearly beloved of the Lord, and while their meek and teachable spirit is commended to all, it is not the will of God that they should always remain babes. The very object of His commending to them the milk of the Word is that they may grow thereby out of this state of the infant, up to the maturity of spiritual life-"that ye be no more children tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine." There should come a time in the experience of every healthy growing child of God when he should be able to leave the first principles of the doctrine of Christ, the foundation doctrines, having them firmly established and settled in his mind, and therefore not needing to dig them up and lay them over again, and go on growing in grace and in the knowledge of Divine truth towards perfection. Again we hear the Apostle Paul reproving some in his day, because they were not making the proper growth, saying, "For when for the time [since you became Christians] ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk [merely] is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe." Would not the thought therefore be that those who have entered into this spiritual life are not to live continually on the diet of babes, but "by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." Some of these words are indeed the simple truth to which we have alluded-the milk; and others are truths of more profound character, the strong meat for -those who were properly nourished by the pure milk, and had grown and developed considerable of firmness and strength, of Christian fortitude and character. This stronger food the Apostle affirms, is for the mature ones, for those possessing faculties habitually exercised in piety and spiritual thoughts, and in the discrimination of both good and evil. Evidently it is only after some maturity and development in the Word and after the soul has to some extent become seasoned under God's providential dealings, in the grace of spiritual truth, that it can sing with the poet,
The Sunshine and the Rain Once more and in equally forceful manner the Apostle Paul brings to us the lesson of Christian progress and development of the new life in Christ, when he admonishes the brethren: "So walk ye in Him, rooted and built up in Him, and established in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving." - Col. 2:6, 7. Turning from the figure of a man in Christ, as a member of His Body, the Apostle gives us the picture of a tree, the root of which goes downward and the trunk of which reaches upward, to obtain that nourishment which will give it strength and stability. While the Christian is thus growing up in the likeness of the Son of God, and his roots of faith are reaching deep into the profound things of the Divine Word, he is becoming established, settled. A tree that is well rooted in the earth is very difficult to uproot. It has great strength, and a tight hold upon the earth, and requires years to die out. Similar it is in the Christian life with the child of God whose faith has been properly established; he should be so fixed and so established in that spiritual knowledge afforded in God's Word, that no wind of unsound teaching or of doctrine that is doubtful could overturn his faith; neither could any distresses or disappointments harm his spiritual life. As a literal tree does not breathe the same elements at all times, and as it is not always flooded with sunshine, but needs also the rain and storms for its development, so the child of God needs various experiences and sometimes change of environment to best develop the fruit of the Spirit of God. The great Caretaker or Husbandman knows precisely what experiences and surroundings each one of his "trees" needs-how much sunshine, how much rain, how much cold, how much heat, and how much pruning-and He will supply just what is best adapted to each case. He knows too, how to vary these conditions and environments, etc., without disturbing the process of rooting and upbuilding, but in a manner to develop it. This we do not know how to accomplish, but would bring upon ourselves spiritual disaster. So every disciple of Christ needs to keep himself continually under the care of the skilful Husbandman and earnestly cooperate with Him, that he may grow and become strong and immovable-firmly established. Thus the spiritual life of the child of God will manifest itself more and more in likeness to Christ. To vary the figure, the Christian will not only be a branch in the vine but will bear rich clusters of fruit which should become more choice in quality and size year by year. The Question of Supreme Importance Concerning the children of God in this dispensation, the Apostle definitely affirms that if we really have the Holy Spirit-unless we quench it or put it away from us-it will quicken our mortal bodies, make them alive toward God, active in growing in His likeness and fruitful in the Christian graces and activities. In that same connection the Apostle adds, "If any man have not the spirit of Christ, he is none of His, and "As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." - Rom. 8:9, 14. No room whatever is left for, doubt on this point of what constitutes unmistakable evidence of sonship that it is the exercise of the Spirit of God within our hearts, and that it is our chief and primary business in life to grow through the operation of that Spirit; to so yield ourselves to the voice and leading of that Spirit from above that there will be cultivated in us that disposition that is worthy of us as spiritual sons of God and as those called to be heirs with Christ of the heavenly life and inheritance. From this viewpoint from which the Scriptures present this new life in Christ, the question of supreme importance to every disciple is, how can I so labor together with God as to best cooperate with Him in achieving that blessed goal and the end to which I have been called? How can I facilitate the work of the Spirit, the work of grace and the development of the likeness of the Redeemer? The answer to these questions is clear and explicit: By feeding upon the Word of God, appropriating to ourselves that spiritual nourishment which is provided for the strengthening and edifying of the spiritual life. The exercise of communion with God in prayer and the frequent contemplation of His Word and will, are recommended to us as most important factors in promoting the growth of the spiritual life and the setting of the affections heavenward. It is often in this connection that the Christian realizes his most crucial and searching tests. His trials will frequently be found along the line of not giving sufficient time to the nourishment of the inner man; in the circumstances of the present evil world, many appeals and considerations crowd in upon the soul to overcharge the mind with matters of a worldly or secular character, and if this is permitted to go on, it has the effect of crowding out spirituality and dwarfing the life within. Take Heed-Be not Overcharged In this our day of rushing to and fro, of the struggle for very existence itself, and in this day too of many attractions and allurements, perhaps there is no test, no difficulty more common to the Lord's people than that of being overburdened and overcharged with the material life and things. Indeed our blessed Master sounded a note of warning concerning this day so fraught with evidences that it is the closing period of the Age, when He said, "Take heed to yourselves lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness and cares of this life and so that day come upon you unawares." (Luke 21:34.) Perhaps one of the strongest evidences that we have the truth on the prophecies spoken in connection with these words is that at the very time when they are being fulfilled by rapidly succeeding events, at the very time when God's people should be lifting up their heads, knowing that their redemption draweth nigh, at the very point where they should be most vigilant, it is to be observed that many who have been enlightened are disposed to be so busied with a multitude of other things that they appear to be negligent of the necessary preparation for the coming Kingdom. In the words of the Master quoted above, there are three things mentioned with which the heart is especially liable to become overcharged-surfeiting, drunkenness, and cares of this life. Perhaps some who read the words of the Master may think they are not troubled with the first two, but many no doubt feel the force of the last and are exerting themselves to overcome, while still many more who are really overcharged are not fully conscious of it. But the words of the Master are very explicit. Jesus does not say merely, You will have a great deal of worldly care, but "take heed that your heart be not overcharged with the cares of this life." It is possible for a man to have a great deal of worldly care requiring his attention and yet not have his heart much affected or influenced by it. He may have just all he can attend to and yet his heart be quite free from the burden. Why? Because his heart is not in it as much as his head. If he is doing all as unto the Lord, there will not be much danger of his heart being overcharged. We need right here to take heed and not permit ourselves to be deceived with the idea that our hearts are with the Lord, and that we are in full sympathy with Him and His will, if we do not find or make or take time to commune with Him and feast upon His Word, and partake of His Spirit. Surely it is at this point that we need feel the force of the Master's admonition to watch, for the Adversary will endeavor to crowd overmuch work upon us, all of which will seem to be duty, so that the demands are so numerous that we have insufficient time for the accomplishment of them all. This crowding upon us more than we can possibly do, is intended to keep us from the most important of all works, the study of God's Word through which we will be enabled to grow in grace and in the knowledge of the truth, by which we are thoroughly furnished unto every good word and work. Are we not in our overburdened state, forgetting to "seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness"? There is manifestly no work so important as to keep the love of God burning brightly upon the altar of our hearts and no means so likely to accomplish this as the proper study of the Word of God and prayer. If therefore one finds. that the circumstances have gradually developed so that an over-burdened condition has come about, he should earnestly take the matter to the Lord in prayer. Possibly the Lord might be pleased to permit the trying circumstances to continue on, but would give additional grace to bear the burden; or His providence might so overrule that relief in some measure would be realized or deliverance altogether from the circumstances be brought about. An Example of God's Providential Care Recently a communication from one of the friends came before our attention, that serves to illustrate and show the results to one who has evidently felt in a spiritual way this overcharged condition, and of how in the Lord's providence he was delivered from these circumstances that might otherwise have been perilous to the new life. We quote from the letter: "Of course you know I have joined the army of the unemployed. Yet it has been the most blessed experience of my entire life. My dismissal was most unusual, and from the standpoint of natural things I have no idea what was the cause. The supervisor walked in the store one Saturday evening and told me he had orders from headquarters to let me out that night. I was completely floored for I was in no financial condition to be without work. "Though things looked dark for me at my age (65), without anything saved for the future and without work, conditions rapidly adjusted themselves so I am satisfied what it is all about, and have had such opportunity for spiritual rest and refreshment as I have never had at any time before. For the past five years my hours have been 6:30 a. m. to rarely before 9 p. m. You can readily figure that there is no time left for feeding or building up the inner man. With so much time out of every twenty-four taken up with carnal things and associated with only worldly men would eventually sap the spiritual mind and leave one lean indeed, though I went to meeting each Sunday morning. "Therefore, as a man to abstain from food, day after day, is eventually going to feel it and realize he is getting weaker and if he does not avail himself of food is sure to die, so with the new creature. Prayer alone and occasional fellowship with others is not sufficient to maintain strength, let alone grow in strength. For weeks I realized it was a case of spiritual starvation and I often prayed that the Lord would direct me into something where I would have some time at least for spiritual things, and I looked for any opportunity that providentially might appear, but nothing appeared. Everything continued in the same old way. My work at the store was done daily in the same conscientious way to the last day and it did not seem possible to work in anything else, and when I was told that evening that I was 'all done' I could hardly see or talk. I grasped for hope. What to do, which way to turn I did not know. After the first few days which were spent in trying to get matters adjusted and looking for employment in other avenues, I resorted to that which I had longed for, the Lord's Word. "I cannot find language to express how rapidly and how wonderfully the whole, matter adjusted itself and 'The burden of my heart rolled away.' I have done more real Bible study in the past two and a half months than in all my life before, resulting in a deeper realization of what is meant by the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit, of real communion with Him. Though I took my dismissal with fearful forebodings, I thank God for deliverance from the condition I had unconsciously grown into. Now if I should be offered the same position I left I would not accept it, for there is nothing in this world valuable enough to exchange for the opportunity of daily access to that holy Volume that is able to make wise unto salvation and making the sweeter, communion with God and His most precious Son." Thus we observe in the foregoing not only the Brother's sensitiveness to his overcharged condition, but the care and love of the Lord in bringing about his deliverance, because his heart was right before Him-the deliverance that resulted in more time being given to study and prayer and the nourishment of the inner life, and consequently a larger possession of spiritual joy, rest, and peace. "Put You Always in Remembrance" Again, every devout student of the Divine Word will have been impressed with the solemn appeal of the Apostle Peter as he instructs the brethren of his time in the matter of facilitating the strength and growth of the life within, and in general in the development of the Christ character, clearly intimating that we can not do it all in a day or even in several days or months, but that it must be a gradual, daily, life-work, a process of addition-adding virtue to virtue and grace to grace day by day and hour by hour: "Giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue [fortitude] and to virtue knowledge and to knowledge temperance [self control] and to temperance patience and to patience godliness and to godliness brotherly kindness and to brotherly kindness charity [love]," and then he adds that finishing touch, "If ye do these things ye shall never fall." That these were the important things in the Apostle's mind is clearly obvious, for he says, "Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things. . . . Yea I think it meet, so long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir you up by putting you in remembrance. . . . Moreover I will endeavor that ye may be able after my decease to have these things always in remembrance." This the Apostle did, and the Church unto this present hour may profit by his solemn but brotherly counsel. Though with all our earnest striving and watchfulness we shall not be able in our present condition to reach and attain unto our ideal, yet the measure of our efforts to attain it will prove the measure of our faithfulness and earnest desire to do so; and the effort cannot but be fruitful. If no fruit appears, we may be sure that little or no effort is made in cultivation, pruning, etc. The fruit will appear not only in the development of the Christian graces of character but also in increasing spiritual activity in the assistance of fellow-members of the Body and in encouraging them to newness of life. Our feet will be swift to run His errands, our hands prompt to do His bidding, our tongues ready to bear testimony to the truth, our minds active in devising ways and means to do so more and more abundantly and effectively. Thus we shall be living epistles, known and read of all about us-an honor to Him who hath called us out of darkness into His marvelous light. Are there Few that be Saved"Then said one unto Him, Lord, are there few that be saved? and He said unto them, Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able."-Luke 13:23, 24. THERE is considerable room for speculation as to who the questioner was who approached Jesus with the question of our text, and it is equally uncertain as to the motive prompting such an inquiry. Some have supposed that it was merely an attempt to involve Jesus in controversy with the Pharisees; hence His ignoring the questioner's supposed desire for information, and using the occasion to give emphasis to the serious matter of one's own salvation. It reminds us of another occasion when an over-zealous disciple sought somewhat similar information regarding the future of the loving John, only to be told rather pointedly that his own future ought to be of much greater concern to him than the direction and goal of his brother's discipleship. In both cases Jesus is quick to turn the mind of the thoughtless or curious questioner back to himself, and leave him to ponder over the vital issues involved in a test of his own faithfulness, and ultimate worthiness of approval or disapproval. And is this not a marked characteristic of all Scriptural methods? Though much may be said in the Word of God about the final destiny of the saved or the lost, and though that Word is far from silent about the fact that out of the many called in this present Age only a "little flock" will be chosen and faithful, yet, the attentive reader is never permitted to forget that attention must be constantly focused on himself, lest, "he that thinketh he standeth," come to grief in a humiliating defeat. Deny Thyself, Take up Thy Cross Our special interest, therefore, in our Lord's reply to the question presented to Him, centers in the solemn and serious manner in which He replied to it. Whether asked for the purpose of entrapping Him, or out of an idle curiosity, Jesus cannot let it go by without turning it to good account, and one more warning is uttered for the benefit of all who have ears to hear. "Strive to enter in at the strait gate is urged upon all who would obtain life. Reliable commentators inform us that the word "strive" is taken from the athletic contests for which the Grecian people were noted. In some of these contests where, great physical endurance was needed, they strove, or more correctly stated, they agonized in putting forth all their powers to gain the victory. To gain the coveted "corruptible crown" of fading leaves, they willingly endured the rigors of a hard discipline, and counted the prize of sufficient worth to abstain from any indulgence detrimental to their strength. Our knowledge of these things enables us to see the force of the Apostle's well known warning and expression of his personal determination. "Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: but I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway." - l Cor. 9:24-27. Our Lord's own teaching on the subject of true discipleship, and all its "right about face" from the course of this world, has in it all of the drastic elements of surgery, crucifixion, and death. Every tender tie of human relationship must feel the keen edge of an inevitable call to forsake all, if we would walk even as He walked. Social ties extending beyond the family life are as mercilessly severed, even to the extent of letting "the dead bury their dead." The question of whether the disciple may consider a part of his time as his own, to be used in the pleasures common to others, is left as definitely answered by Jesus as it could well be: "If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me." (Luke 9:23.) Every day and every hour of the daily life has passed out of our hands in so far as its ownership is concerned, unless we are yet willing to confess that we prefer it to be "some of self and some of Thee." And he who is constantly asking questions regarding the propriety of this or that indulgence admittedly very gratifying to the flesh, has much yet to learn, both from Scripture and from experience, of the sharpness of the Word of God, which "is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in His sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do." - Heb. 4:12, 13. My Soul be on Thy Guard In view of the frequency with which these facts are kept before us in the Bible, how moved we should be toward keeping before our minds those great fundamental principles of true devotion. How obvious it is that if like Lot, we are ready to express our preferences for some less distant removal from Sodom, we are very far from possessing even the first element of obedience. Certainly we will be permitted to locate in Zoar, if that seems far enough for us, but the warnings are reiterated often enough to assure us that sooner or later we will discover that putting our preferences before God's unalterable commands will cost us dearly. What a world of meaning there is in these few words written for our benefit: "Remember Lot's wife." In mind we can imagine her, after the first impulse to flee had spent itself, beginning to wonder about the need of this hurried flight, the deliberate forsaking of all that Sodom held of hers as yet, and thinking that certainly there could be nothing wrong in taking one backward look, even if it should betray a lingering sympathy for the things left behind. But the word of God could not be changed, and there in the plains of Sodom was left "a pillar of salt," an evidence to all coming generations that before His impartial judgment seat we do well to "tremble at His word." And if any one should object to this view of God's drastic dealings with His people, and argue that it inculcates a slavish fear of ,Him contrary to the spirit of sonship, let such an one turn again to a careful study of those three terrible words, "Remember Lot's wife," and ponder over her reluctance to willingly let go all that which she had been asked to forsake, once and forever, and then remember the words of the Psalmist, "God is greatly to be f eared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about Him." "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." - Psa. 89:7; Psa. 111:10. How contrary all this is to prevalent ideas of Christian life. At ease in Zion while eternal issues fill every hour of the life, describes so many who profess Christ. How absent in most lives is the burning zeal of Paul in his words previously noted in our present discussion, and in others of his soul-stirring declarations: "This one thing I do." "So fight I, not as one that beateth the air," but as one who is determined that "the good fight of faith" shall be fought, and the victory won "through Christ who strengtheneth me ." "Forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." If We be Dead with Him Paul evidently believed that when God restricted certain promises to "overcomers," that only overcoming saints would receive such rewards. And he evidently understood that no one could ever be so classified, and so rewarded,' unless possessed with such an ardent devotion to the person of Jesus Christ, that the fire of loving zeal must burn him up. Lukewarmness, an easy-going discipleship, and contentment with a little knowledge of the truth, was to the Apostle unthinkable in a Christian. He would not intrude into the secrets of God to inquire whether few or many, this one or that one shall be saved, but he never forgot that Paul the specially honored Apostle might himself become a castaway. And a castaway, not because he lost his knowledge of the truth, or because he had ceased to preach it, nor because he had ceased to claim relationship to Christ. What then was the special danger point as seen by Paul? Let him tell us: "I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway." How well he understood that he might preach to others and still be a castaway, and that it is only when through the Spirit the deeds of the body are mortified, that there is any certainty of life. Cold comfort here for those who substitute anything else for the quickened conscience, the clean hands and pure heart, the purged ministry, and the brow-beaten subjected flesh, which God's unchangeable Word insists upon. "If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God." (Col. 3:1.) But before we can be risen with Christ, and participate in the new resurrection life our being in Him makes possible, we must first have died "indeed unto sin." And it is only as we are dead to sin and all our members yielded unto God and righteousness, that we can have any experimental knowledge of the sweets of a brow-beaten flesh kept under and subjected to the mind of Christ. No one who understands even the elementary features of the first resurrection powers, can question for a moment that it represents a mighty, regenerating, life-changing reality. To reduce its meaning to us now in the present hour to a mere theoretical experience, must therefore be very displeasing to the Lord and likely to lead to serious consequences. Our Standing by Grace But just here lies one of the Lord's hidden tests. Just as Satan found convenient texts of Scripture that he might use to, convince Jesus that an easier way lay before Him, so today, unless we, like Jesus, are well versed in "all truth," there will be plenty of convenient texts used to take the force out of all arguments advocating an actual subjection of the flesh. Did not the Apostle John write, "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us"? Yes indeed, but if we consciously or unconsciously use such a statement as an excuse for continuing in sin, and for living on a lower plane than the standard of holiness set before us in the Gospel, we are in a pitiful state of ignorance regarding the fundamental facts of what it means to throb with the active energy of the "risen with Christ" life. Sinful in self we will continue to be until "raised in incorruption," but sinless in Christ is our standing by grace, if (and oh the need of this qualifying provision) we "abide in Him." "Whosoever abideth in Him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen Him, neither known Him. Little children, let no man deceive you, he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as He is righteous. He that committeth sin is of the Devil; for the Devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the Devil." (1 John 3:6-8.) Little comfort here for such as fail to take these statements to heart, and confine their sole application to what is usually termed "deliberate, wilful sin." "Little children, let no man deceive you." Whereever found, "the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world," and all contrary to the new life on resurrection ground, where we yield ourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and our members as instruments of righteousness unto God, and where "sin shall not have dominion over you." - Rom. 6:13, 14. Walking in Newness of Life If we would reach the place where we are "dead to the world, and all its vanity," which will constitute us overcomers, then we must die daily to all response to these things. And not only a dying to the really sinful things, but to many, many things not in themselves sinful, legitimate pleasures, if judged by the general rule, but nevertheless detrimental to progress in spiritual life. As new creatures we dedicate ourselves to God to be transformed "by the renewing of our mind, that we may prove [experience] what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." That is, we. are to henceforth submit our minds to those heavenly influences through which God will work in us to will and to do His good pleasure. Henceforth the prayer of our heart will certainly be, "Take myself and I will be, ever, only, all for Thee." But before this experience of all the good and perfect will of God can be ours, there must of necessity be, first, a conviction that an increasingly blessed experience of His power in our body and spirit awaits our acceptance; and second, that we must never quench the Spirit's energy by any "some of self and some of Thee" cooperation. God bestows His grace, and leads us "from knowledge to knowledge" as we diligently seek it through Christ. He works in us by all the incentives gathered into His exceeding great and precious promises, by all the merciful providences by which He so manifestly overrules our lives, and along with the necessary disciplines and chastisements we so much need, he draws us more closely to Him in the sweets of fellowship and oneness of spirit with Himself, our Lord Jesus, and all the holy and pure. When, by His Spirit, He creates in our hearts those fervent longings after righteousness which must surely be felt by all of us, a crisis is upon us. Having worked in us to will that such advancement in grace might be ours, how very important it then becomes that we permit God to work out a performance of that desire in the daily life. If We Turn to the Things of the Spirit If the Spirit is creating a sense of need in our minds, and by its workings we become conscious of deficiencies in spiritual strength or vision, and instead of following the leadings of the Holy Spirit at such a time, we turn to the pastimes pleasing to the flesh, or postpone prayer and study until "a more convenient season" agreeable to the mind of the flesh, there will be no blessed realization of these wonderful developments in the life. If we turn to the things of the Spirit, as did our Master, and these things become our meat and drink, as they were to Him; if we can truthfully say "Thy Word was found and I did eat it," and "I love Thy law, it is my meditation day and night," it will not be long until we know by a blessed verification in our experience, that God does indeed work in us to do His good pleasure. Every victory gained in the crucifying of the flesh gives the new life a further expansion of its powers. Every obedient response to its leadings will cause the flesh to recede, perishing day by day, while the new man is being constantly renewed in knowledge after the image of Christ Jesus. Our appreciation of His loving kindness grows with every tangible evidence of transforming power wrought out in our lives, and with such increased sense of His grace there will come a still more earnest, ardent longing after more and more of the fellowship and favor of God, and a still more intense hunger and thirst after holiness. How many peculiar aspects of Christian life there are. Jesus definitely promises us that those who hunger and thirst after righteousness shall be filled, and with equal certainty He promises that those who drink of the water He so freely gives to the thirsty soul, shall never thirst, and yet the testimony of every devoted heart is that deep down in their souls there is a thirst for God never ending. More than that, there is a hunger and thirst that grows increasingly great with every advance step in grace and knowledge. The language of every such heart has been prepared for us in the words of David: "As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after Thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?" - Psa. 42:1, 2. I shall be Satisfied with Thy Likeness This hungering and thirsting after righteousness, this reaching out after God, this patient, loving submission to all the heavenly influences of God's grace through whatsoever channels they may be conveyed to us-these are all parts of the transforming work that will in the end result to those who are constantly led of the Spirit. Resisting continually those influences which surely and certainly conform us to this world, and habitually cultivating those higher 'spiritual aspirations which draw the mind heavenward, will as surely transform us from day to day until the reflection of Christ has been permanently stamped on our characters. The thing to be particularly concerned about has to do with the reality of this progressive change. Let us give full force to the Apostle's words "But we all beholding the glory of the Lord in a face unveiled, are transformed into the same likeness, from glory to glory, as from the Lord, the Spirit. (2 Cor. 3:18.) If there is any question about our experience being a progressive one, such as Paul sets before us here, then there is no question about our being measurably out of reach of the very transforming influences of "the Lord, the Spirit," by which we may be changed from glory to glory. Therefore, says another Apostle, "giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; and to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: for so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." - 2 Peter 1:5-8, 10, 11 Let us, then, as many as would be counted worthy of this abundant entrance into the glory of His presence, see to it that our vision is clear from all obscuring modifications of the exacting conditions of our probation as prospective inheritors of the glory to be revealed. Let there be a patient watching and waiting, a constant vigilance, an undimmed fervency of spiritual ambition, and a complete acceptance of all the will of God, and then, "He that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved." In Every Thing Give Thanks"I am the true vine, and My Father is the husbandman. Every branch in Me that beareth not fruit He taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, He purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Herein is My Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be My disciples." - John 15:1, 2, 8. WHAT a volume of illustration the Bible contains, by means of which the devout searcher of its pages may be instructed in the things of God. Indeed, it would, seem that practically all of the inspired revelation furnished us in the Scriptures, has been built around some well known fact revealed in the diversified unfoldings of nature, or around some human relationship with which all men are familiar. Observing the great number of such illustrations used in the Word of God, we might well conclude that in the wisdom and foreknowledge of the Creator all the manifold forms of creation were designedly ordered and constructed for this very purpose. The disposition of the gentle dove, the habits of sheep and lambs, the industrious ant, and the soaring eagle, were not discovered at a later time to wonderfully represent outstanding qualities required in the man of God, but in all these creations the lessons of the written Word were marvelously anticipated. Who but a foolish man could say "there is no God," in the presence of the myriad testimonies of His wisdom and power the world contains. We are not surprised, therefore, to find so much of our Savior's teaching abounding in rich illustrations well calculated to fix the great vital truths of salvation on the minds of His hearers. The wisdom and effectiveness of this method of teaching therefore cannot be questioned, for no teacher has left so deep and indelible an impression on mankind as Jesus. Can we not all bear witness to the fact that it has been very much easier to grasp many of the most important truths, when the special lesson intended for us has been clarified by some well chosen illustration, and have we not also learned that such lessons will linger much longer in memory's recesses, just because fastened there by an apt use of some simile. No marvel then that when our attention is drawn to Jesus Himself , we find so many pictures are used to reveal Him to us. "Behold the Lamb of God" -- meek, obedient, ready for sacrifice. See Him "as the apple tree among the trees," as "the rose of sharon and the lily of the valley." See Him "like the cedar" for greenness, like the "rock" for strength and security, and a "good shepherd" for love and faithfulness; like "the morning star" for brightness-sure token of a coming day, and "like the sun in his strength," filling the earth with light and life. And then we come to the Gospel story as told by John, and there we find Jesus calling attention to the vine as a fitting symbol of Himself, and its branches a portrayal of our relationship to Him. If in search for an illustration of Him ourselves, how much more likely we would be to think of the sturdy oak or others of the stately trees of the forest, but surely not a clinging vine so peculiarly dependent upon a husbandman f or care and training, and a rack or wall f or support, and so useless, unless it has branches through which to fulfill its mission. Oh, "who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been His counselor?" Who but "the God of all grace" could tell in a picture so divinely painted, that the One we need so much in our absolute weakness and poverty, has, O! wondrous thought, need also of us. Abide in Me, and I in You While life shall last, and saints continue to fight the good fight of faith, and while present inabilities of mind and body must necessarily mar our every effort to walk perfectly before our God, it will be our blessed privilege to confess "I need Thee, O! I need Thee Every hour I need Thee"; and to rejoice in so complete a provision for that need. How frequently Jesus returns to this fact in the picture before us: "As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me. He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in Me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered. If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain." (John 15:4, 5, 6, 7, 16.) The vine and the branches are all one plant. Every branch must have an individual union with Christ the Vine, growing outward in beautiful accord with all other branches in a similar relationship, and yet hanging free in the sunshine and leadings of His love and grace. The Vine is the source of life that pervades the branches, and the branches are the expression of that vitalizing life inherent in the Vine, and so is the Father glorified in both. When this living union and appropriation of strength from the Vine is clearly seen as imperative, and when the heart is ever praying,
how comforting is the assurance Jesus gives us that there shall not only be some fruit, but "the same bringeth forth much fruit." Thus abiding in Him, we stand where we may ask what we will in the assurance that it shall be granted to us; and what can we ask in the face of so great a privilege other than that our relationship to Him may be so real a thing, that the fruitage He seeks may be found, and that as such branches we shall as fully respond as He to all the drastic pruning of the Husbandman. The Vine Should Be Bound Fast The nature of the vine used by our Lord to illustrate His lesson is such that it can never bear fruit to its full capacity unless bound fast to a stake, and prevented thereby from spreading itself along the ground. The lesson to us is full of charm and encouragement. If we look back over the life of Jesus, the true Vine, how apparent it is that He recognized this very thing, and that He therefore wholly committed Himself to the Father as Husbandman. What a rich cluster of fruitage would have been missing in His own experience, if He had not been willingly bound by the cords of His consecration to all the will of God. Let us suppose that in Gethsemane's dark hour there had been no such conditions binding upon Him, and that the cup which He asked might be removed had been taken away, what a blessed fruitage would have been lost. But when, by His recognition of the "vow beyond repeal" which bound Him to a joyful acceptance of even that bitter cup, "He endured the cross, despising the shame," who can estimate the value of that cup to Him now. The Father has been glorified thereby, and that, to God's beloved Son means everything. He too "shall see of the travail of His soul and be satisfied" when, with His Bride "redeemed from among men," He occupies His throne, and when the earth is replenished with a regenerated race. By His faithfulness even unto death in ignominy and shame, the angels have witnessed a devotion unparalleled, and we who may suffer with Him, have been left a sublime example of willing acceptance of the bitterest cup the wisdom and love of God may permit. All of this surely serves to establish our confidence in His precious promise, that we too may bear "much fruit" if the Spirit of the Vine holds sway in our lives. May we not then, in all seriousness ask ourselves, Has He found me a willing branch through which He may display similar fruitage to the glory of God? The lesson of the vine teaches that it must be so. But if we would be such fruitful branches, such results can come only when we learn to appreciate the means whereby the Husbandman lifts us away from the earth, and stretches us on some cross He asks us to bear. As surely as He has taken us in hand, so surely shall we feel the pruning knife trimming away what will often seem to us as the very things necessary to our life. Frail shrinking nature will cry enough, many, many times, and unless our hearts are open to the constant impartation of the sweet spirit of obedience flowing from the Vine, we shall surely stay the pruning hand by our unwillingness to let God have His way. What we need is the faith that can look beyond the present moment of discipline, and catch visions of a branch laden with "much fruit." Such a faith has a marvelous power to give direction to our vision, and change the whole aspect of every trial. Like the two men looking out through their prison bars, "one saw mud, the other stars," we too may look downward and see only "grievous afflictions," or look upward and see an "exceeding and eternal weight of glory" for which we could never be prepared if we were "without chastisement whereof all are partakers" who abide in the Vine, and without which no fruit can be produced. "Others May -- You Cannot" There could hardly be a more profound way of setting before our minds the need of adversity in the life of saints, than by the use of this illustration of Jesus. Is there any truth more constantly reiterated in the Scriptures, than "through much tribulation" God tests and refines His saints? But, "Though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, thine eyes shall see thy. teachers." When we learn to accept all that God sends us, as a part of our training and discipline, then will come the opening of our eyes to behold our teachers. How could there be any growth of patience without adversity, and patience is the beautiful power to suffer calmly come what may. Fortitude could never develop without trials, and fortitude is the victorious endurance of the strain that adversity spreads over so much of the pathway. Tested faith there could never be if there was no severe cutting and trimming by the Husbandman. Therefore, . whoever has seen that without affliction our feet are so prone to stray, has surely reached the place where the blessed promise, "Thine eyes shall see thy teachers" has become blessedly true. They have learned that, "Only by its woes our life to fulness grows." Some one, apparently well informed in the things of the Spirit, has given us a very comforting viewpoint of life's adversities, and for the encouragement of others and in harmony with the author's wish, we will pass it on: "If God has called us to be really like Jesus, He will draw us into a life of humiliation and crucifixion, and put on us such demands of obedience, that He will not allow us to follow other ' Christians, and in many ways He will seem to let other good people do things which He will not let us do. "Other Christians and ministers who seem very religious and useful, may push themselves, pull wires, and work schemes to carry out their plans, but we cannot do it; and if we attempt it, we will meet with such failure and rebuke from the Lord as to make us sorely penitent. "Others can brag on themselves, on their work, on their success, on their writings, but the Holy Spirit will not allow us to do any such thing, and if we begin it, He will lead us into some deep mortification that will make us despise ourselves and all our good works. "Others may be allowed to succeed in making money, but it is likely that God will keep us poor, because He wishes us to have something far better than gold, viz., a helpless dependence upon Him, that He may have the privilege of supplying our needs, day by day from an unseen treasury. "The Lord may let others be honored and put forward, and keep us hidden in obscurity, because He wishes to produce some choice, fragrant fruit for His coming glory, which can be produced only in the shade. He may let others be great, but keep us small. He may let others do a work for Him and get the credit for it, but He will let us work and toil on without knowing how much we are doing: and then to make our work still more precious, He may let others get the credit for the work which we have done, and thus make our reward ten times greater when Jesus comes. "God is an infinite Sovereign and has a right to do as He pleases with His own. He may not explain to us a thousand things which puzzle our reason in His dealings with us, but if we absolutely sell ourselves to be His bondslaves, He will wrap us in a jealous love and bestow upon us many blessings which come only to those in the 'inner circle.' "Settle it then forever that He is to have the privilege of tying our tongues, chaining our hands, of closing our eyes, in ways He does not seem to use with others. "When you are so possessed with the living God that you are in your secret heart pleased and delighted over this peculiar, personal, private, jealous guardianship and management of the Holy Spirit over your life, you will have found the vestibule of heaven." The Knife or the Fire Which? "If ye abide in Me," then, and then only, Jesus teaches us, can there be such fruitage as we find our lesson of the vine showing us. The point is clearly proven, "where there is no fruit, there has been no real union with the Vine. . . . True union with Him produces a temper, a disposition, a ripe and mellow experience which certainly indicates that Christ is within. You cannot simulate the holy joy, the thoughtful love, the tranquil serenity, the strong self-control, which mark the soul which is in real union with Jesus; but where there is real abiding, these things will be in us and abound, and we shall be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. "'Every branch in Me that beareth fruit,' the Father who is the Husbandman 'purgeth it that it may bring forth more fruit.' Too many children of God, when passing through great physical and other suffering, account it punishment. Nay, it is not punitive, but purgative. This is the pruning-knife, cutting away the shoots of the self-life, that the whole energy of the soul may be directed to the manifesting of the life of the Lord Jesus. It may seem a grievous waste to see the floor of the hothouse or vineyard - littered with fronds and shoots and leaves, but there need be no lament: the branches of the autumn will repay each stroke of that keen edge with fuller, richer fruit. So we gain by loss, we live as we die, the inward man is renewed as the outer decays. "The knife is in the Father's hand; let us never forget that. He will not entrust this delicate and difficult work to man or angel. Shall we not be in subjection to the Father of our spirits and live? Blessed be the Father of our Lord Jesus, and our Father in Him. He that spared not Christ may be trusted to do the best for us. "Employing the same word, the Master said, 'Now ye have been pruned through the word that I have spoken to you.' Perhaps if we were more often to yield ourselves to the pruning of the Word, we should escape the pruning of sore pain and trial. If the work were done by the golden edge of Scripture, it might make the iron edge of chastisement needless. Therefore, when we take the Word of God in hand, let us ask the great Husbandman to use it for the pruning away of all that is carnal or evil, so that His life may have unhindered sway. "But if we will not bear fruit we must be taken away. We shall lose our sphere of Christian service, and be exposed as hollow and lifeless professors. The vine branch that has no wealth of purple clusters is good for nothing. Salt which is savorless is fit neither for the land nor the dunghill. 'Vine-branches that bear no fruit are cast into the fire. Professors that lack the grace of a holy temper, and the beauty of a consistent life are taken away. 'Men cast them into the fire and they are burned.' "These 'three years' the Divine Husbandman has come hungrily seeking fruit of thee, yet in vain. Nevertheless, He will spare thee this year also, that thou mayest mend thy ways. This is the reason of thy multiplied anxieties; He is pruning thee. If thou bearest fruit, it will be well, eternally well; but if not, then it is inevitable that thou shalt be cut away as dead and useless wood." Then, "Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." - Psa. 139:23, 24. "Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way! "Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way! Encouraging LettersDear Brethren: Somehow I feel that it maybe of interest to: you and perhaps to readers of the "HERALD" to offer a few words in the nature of, a report of the splendid 'one-day Convention of Associated. Bible Students, held at Stevens Point, Wis., Sunday, October 1. As a result of advertising this meeting several of the older faithful ones in the Truth had a most, agreeable surprise as to the number attending-and all so, full of interest, seemingly so starved and hungry for spiritual food. (Acts 20:28-30.) One could hardly refrain from again emphasizing the words of the Psalmist: - "Gather [regather] My saints together unto- Me, those that have made a covenant with Me: by sacrifice. This little convention seems to us more interesting at this time when we remember ,our, Lord's words in Matt. 9:36-38. After looking upon the crowds that followed Him - His heart full of compassion for them, He said they were faint and scattered, as sheep, having no shepherd, Then He turned to, His disciples and said: ,'The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few." How many of us I wonder appreciate the privilege and opportunities for true spirit-guided service, under the conditions that now exist in Zion (Luke 4:18), 'and': are "yielding ourselves as those alive from the dead:" "He that reapeth, receiveth wages; and gathereth fruit unto life eternal." Not knowing just how, many interested ones to expect at the Stevens. Point, gathering, we set the probable number in advance at twenty, or twenty-five at most; but all were happily surprised at the 'coming of three times that number. And many more would have been present, we were told, if we could have had a speaker in the Polish language. There were about seventy-five' as it was, the Polish brethren being somewhat in the majority. The life and spirit of the meetings beginning at 10 o'clock and to the close late in the. afternoon, was, of the most satisfactory kind. The principal speaker was a Brother, from Minneapolis, who was at his best, and gave two exceptionally good talks for the occasion. There was no evening meeting. Another who by Divine grace added to the spirit-and life of the services, was, a well known brother from Green Bay; and another from Wausau, Wis.- Some of the dear Polish brethren took part in prayer and testimony in their own language, and while some of us' were unable to understand what, they said, the liberty and fervency with which they, spoke, bore testimony to their consecration and 'warmth of Christian love. It would be a mistake I think not to mention the interest shown; and the splendid-service rendered by the sisters, in providing a fine luncheon for the noon meal in the hall. Several letters received since the gathering, testify to the much prayed for spiritual results. To use the death bed language of John Wesley. The best of all is, God is, [was] Yours in Christ, H. D. W.-Wis..
Dear Brethren: With a heart filled with gratitude to the "Giver of every good gift," I am sending you a dollar for a renewal of my subscription to the "HERALD" -- the last dollar that is left from more prosperous times and held in reserve for a time of special need. And I am happy to be able to send it to you. For years we have had you send the "HERALD to ------- but there is no 'need of that now as' she-passed the veil last April after, years of illness. She died strong in the faith, and much of, her spiritual strength .was attained through the reading of the "HERALD." She had been in the Truth about six years and had never attended a Class meeting. But how that isolated' Sister drank in the' Truth'! Never have I known any one to grasp Divine truths so readily as she did. And now I come asking for; two other sisters who have taken, the "HERALD" for years, but this year they have 'not the money' for a subscription, and they hesitate to ask you to send it to them free. They write: "We, Sister W and I took the 'HERALD,' each paying half, but the last year I paid all, but since July we are both too poor to, take it, so we read over the old ones." I would that I had the money for them, but since I have not, I am going to ask you to send the "HERALD" to them on the free list. It will truly be appreciated and I thank you. The Lord make His face to shine upon thee and be gracious unto thee. MRS. A. C. W.-N. Y.
[No doubt there are others situated' similar to the two sisters mentioned above, who feel reluctant to ask for the "HERALD" without paying for their' subscription. We urge all such to hesitate not, but to feel perfectly free to request the renewal of their subscription; for we earnestly wish to retain ,on our list all who desire the visits of this journal and who realize a spiritual blessing, therefrom. - Ed. Com.] |
