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THE HERALD
of Christ's Kingdom

VOL. XXII May, 1939 No. 5
Table of Contents

Annual Meeting of the Pastoral Bible Institute

The Blessings of Pentecost

"And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues,as the Spirit gave then utterance." - Acts 2:4.

ON THREE outstanding occasions the Scriptures record God's manifest approval being evidenced by an outpouring of His Holy Spirit. The first of these was upon the great Head of the Church at the time of His consecration at baptism in Jordan. The third marked the admission of Gentiles into the Christian Church when, to the astonishment of Jewish believers, the Holy Spirit was given to Cornelius and his associates, at their baptism by Peter. (John 1:29-34; Acts 10:4448.) Between these two was the outpouring on the day of Pentecost, described by St. Luke in our text.

The Manifestation of God's Acceptance

This day of Pentecost is of great interest to the Lord's people, for it marks the beginning of the Christian dispensation, the "spirit dispensation," as it has been called. Just as in the typical arrangements, at Pentecost (as at the Passover), the people of Israel were reminded of their bondage in Egypt and of their birth as a nation, so the Lord's people of spiritual Israel (the Church of this Gospel Age), look back to the day of Pentecost which followed our Lord's ascension, as the commencement of their "holy nation." By the outpouring of His Holy Spirit on that little company of faithful ores who were waiting "with gone accord in one place" (Acts 2:1), God manifested His acceptance of the sin-offering which, finished at Calvary, our Lord at this time had presented to Him. Henceforth, one who met the conditions would be able truly to say: "I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life I now live I live by the faith of Him who loved me and gave Himself for me."- Gal. 2:20.

Here was fulfilled the promise made a few days before that they should receive power when the Holy Spirit came upon them. This fulfillment has continued down the Age even to the present time, as attested by all who possess to any degree an experimental faith in the work of the Redeemer, and who have made a covenant with God by sacrifice.

Power of the Spirit in the Life

Today and throughout the Age this has been a spiritual power in the life and influence of all who have truly accepted Christ. It is a power which words fail to adequately describe. One has likened it to an "unearthly beauty, whose native home is in a higher world, yet which tarries among men . . . since the time when the Son of God left us His example, and gave us His Spirit. It is nothing else than His spiritual presence, mantling upon His servants; they live in Him; they are absorbed into, they are transfigured by, a life altogether higher than their own; His will blends with theirs; His eye seems to lighten theirs with its sweetness and its penetration; His hand gives gentleness and decision to their acts; His heart communicates a ray of its divine charity to their life of narrower and more stagnant affections; and their life of thought and feeling and resolve is irradiated and braced by His." "If a man love Me, he will keep My words, and My Father will love him, and We will come unto Him, and make Our abode with Him." "It is not ye that speak, but the spirit of your Father which speaketh in you."

Thus we see from the Word itself that one who keeps that greatest of all commandments, who loves the Lord his God with all his heart, mind, soul, and strength, and his neighbor as himself, becomes the abode of the Father and the Son, and it is They who speak and not he himself. He becomes the instrument in God's 'hands to speak, to do, and to show forth the power of God. Such an one is inspired by the Spirit of God in thought, word, and act. He it is who in the sight of God is without guile and with whom He finds no fault.

According to a Jewish tradition Pentecost was celebrated on the anniversary of the giving of the Law Covenant at Mt. Sinai. It was also at the harvest; two loaves of fine white flour made from the newly gathered wheat being waved in the Holy Place. What an appropriate time for God to show His approval of Him who fulfilled to its utmost the law, which was the measure of a perfect man's ability--fulfilled it in its highest meaning, and not as given midst the lightenings and thunderings of that terrifying experience in the Mount, when they received it.

Contrast Between Letter and Spirit of the Law

What a contrast is here shown in this phase of God's Plan, when instead of the letter of the law, it is the spirit we are to keep, and it becomes a matter of grace, the free gift of God, in which works have no place except as the proper result of this indwelling Spirit of God. Men with vision no longer endeavor to obtain God's favor by obedience to a law which could not be kept by imperfect human beings, but by pressing toward the mark for the prize of the high calling, namely, Christ-likeness which may be summed up in one simple word, "love." This is that which is required of all who name the name of Christ. They must attain to the same disposition of love that God possesses and which was shown by our Lord Jesus Christ. This is a matter of growth, from the instant of spirit begettal to the attainment of that mark, from the first recognition of duty love, to that degree of perfection indicated by the injunction, "Be ye perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect." This includes the love even of our enemies -- "not merely tolerating them, abstaining from injuring them, etc., while thinking evil of them; but far beyond this, it signifies the full purging out of all anger, malice, hatred, envy, strife, not only from our actions but also from our words, and even from our thoughts, our sentiments., It means such a complete triumph of love in our hearts as not only loves God supremely and delights to sacrifice in His service from love of the principles represented in His character, and love for the brethren, which makes us careful of their feelings and interests, and ready to lay down our lives on their behalf, to deliver them from evil, or to avoid putting a stumbling-block in their way, but it means additionally that the love of God has been so thoroughly shed abroad in your hearts that we can love and do love every intelligent creature, and delight to do good unto all men, and to serve all men as we have opportunity, especially the household of faith." - Watch Tower, 1901, p. 9.

In seeking to make the principles enunciated in the foregoing quotation our own, we note that there are different kinds or degrees of love. One cannot and should not love "all men" as he loves God.. But he should love the fellow-members of the Body with the love with which the Master loved those, who, the last remaining hour of His life, were with Him in that upper room. He admonished them to love one another as He had loved them. What a marvelous love that was! He loved them with a different love from that with which He loved the world, even though that love led Him to lay down His life as the ransom price for the race of mankind. And though they, do not recognize it, the evidence is accumulating that the time is not far off when this shall be made apparent-the manifestation of the sons of God for which the whole world is waiting shall shortly take place.

On this Whitsunday, the Apostles and those of "His own," who had received Him, were gathered together in Jerusalem, for He had commanded them "that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which saith He, ye have heard of Me." So "during the course of the clay of Pentecost they were all together, when suddenly there came a sound from heaven like a violent blast of wind, which filled the whole house where they were seated. They saw tongues like flames distributing themselves, one resting on the head of each, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit-they began to speak in foreign tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to express themselves." - Acts 2:1-4, Moffatt.

Outward Demonstration Necessary

This gathered company may be easily visualized, as they waited according to the Lord's command. Up to this time they had done all He had instructed them and were now standing, waiting for further developments which would make known the will of the risen Lord concerning them and their future. It seems to have 'been to the Eleven only that He appeared in the upper room, and to the seven by the Sea of Galilee. It was the Apostles who were to be made the foundation stones of the new order of things, the Apostle Paul being added later, after his experience on the Damascus road. The ten days between our Lord's ascension and Pentecost apparently were needful for their preparation for this coming of the Holy Spirit upon them, a time for meditation and prayer, a time to orient themselves to the changing situation.

This outward demonstration of the Holy Spirit was necessary that they, and others who were attracted to the scene, might know beyond any doubt that the work of atonement of their Master had been accepted at the heavenly throne as being perfectly accomplished, and that therefore the next phase of the Plan should be brought to pass.

"Behold the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book and to loose the seven seals thereof." What rejoicing in heaven as we see in the midst of the throne and in the midst of the elders a Lamb standing as it had been slain. And as He takes the book, the four beasts and the four and twenty elders fall down before Him in worship, having each his harp an golden vial full of odors, which are the prayers o the saints. And listen to the song they sing, new song-"Thou art worthy to take the book, an to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, an hast redeemed us to God by Thy blood out of ever kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation. And made us unto our God kings and priests; and we shall reign on the earth."

There was great rejoicing in heaven and upon the earth as the Apostle John looked down to the day when every created being shall give praise and glory to God and unto the Lamb, when the eternal purpose shall be accomplished -- paradise restored and when "there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it and His servants shall serve Him. And they shall see His face, and His name shall be in their foreheads. These sayings are faithful and true." Those upon whom the Holy Spirit came on that day of Pentecost shall have their part in the bringing of these things to pass and, praise His holy name, so shall they who shall have believed on Him through their word. "I have declared unto them Thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith Thou hast loved Me may be in them, and I in them." So may it be!

Although He charged them to remain in Jerusalem, there to wait for the promise of the Father, they seem to have sensed but little of the higher things, even though He had during their more recent association been preparing their minds for a better understanding. He illustrated humility by His own act of washing their feet, He reminded them that they should bear witness of Him, because they had been with Him from the very beginning. He gave them the new commandment. He reassured them, bade them be not afraid, gave them a glimpse into their future dwelling place, saying that He was going to prepare a place for them that they might ever be with Him. In their presence He gave voice to that remarkable High-priestly prayer recorded in the 17th chapter of John, and yet the last question they ask of Him is, "Is this the time You are going to restore the Kingdom to Israel?" They were still unable to get beyond the things of the flesh. Their last and uppermost thought concerned the things temporal. They did not yet discern the things spiritual, and this because they had not yet been begotten of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God did not yet witness to their spirit that they were sons of God.

Illuminating and Transforming Power

The manner in which the Holy Spirit was made manifest at this time was quite significant of its character. It came with the sound of a mighty rushing wind, filling the whole house, and they saw tongues like flames distributing themselves, one resting on the head of each, and most important of all, they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, f and began to speak in strange tongues so that the a gathered crowd heard every man in his own tongue. They heard, they saw, they realized a mighty change within themselves. The old things passed away and all things became new to them and within them. They were now new creatures in Christ Jesus, and there is no record that any of them ever again fell short of their utmost capacity 7 in the service of Him whom they loved and whom they now understood more perfectly. His sayings, as they recalled them, were no longer dark sayings. The beauty of His teachings held them steadfast as its features, one by one, became more and more clear to their transformed and renewed minds and hearts now entirely emptied of self, and e open to the influence of the Holy Spirit, that they might grow and become character-likenesses of n Him who had ascended up on high. As Nicodemus discussed with Him some questions which had e caught his attention at an earlier time, our Lord said, "The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou r hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth': so is every one that is born of the Spirit. That which is born O of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." The wind He refers to here was probably the soft evening zephyr which whispered among the leaves of the olive trees as the Master endeavored to lead this cautious Jewish authority into a genuine realization of the great truths for which He stood. So is the influence of the Spirit with them who earnestly seek and are prepared to accept its leading at whatever cost it may be. These are they of whom He says, "I will guide thee with Mine eye." Whether the Holy Spirit come in this quiet manner, like the summer breezes, or whether as "He maketh lightnings with rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of His treasures" (Jer. 51 :16), the truth is that each must possess the Holy Spirit or he is none of Christ's. - Rom. 8:9.

Gifts and Fruit of the Spirit

Every Christian then must possess the Holy Spirit in some measure. But it becomes a matter of being filled with this Spirit. We read, "And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance." How then can one be filled with the Holy Spirit? What must he do? The answer is not difficult to obtain, for Christ Himself said, "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." For, "If ye, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him." - Luke 11:9-13.

If then one wants to be so filled, he is not far from obtaining that which he wants, but he must not only want it, he must want it earnestly, sincerely, and above all things else, for one cannot be filled with this Spirit unless he be emptied of all things else.

The evidence of the filling with the Holy Spirit, in the case of the first followers of Christ, is seen in the statement that they began to speak with ,other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. This was the immediate effect of such spirit-filling, and was part of the evidence of the fact. Much has been made of this gift of tongues to the neglect of the real significance of the occasion. This was not the principal thing in connection with it. The gift of tongues was a transitory matter, given to only a few individuals and passing away with the first generation or so, as did the power to perform miracles. Wind is symbolical of power, and fiery tongues, of inspired speech. The testimony of the Gospel was sufficient; there was no need of the continuance of miraculous gifts. They had served their purpose by their presence at the inauguration of the new dispensation and passed away with the early Church.

There is, however, a permanent result of this visitation which goes deeper and is of greater worth to the Church throughout the Age. Upon those present there came a transformation of character; they received power from above, not only to restore life or heal the physically sick, but their eyes were now open to the real mission, the real work of the Master. They go back in their minds, and the mysterious things of their walk with Him are now clearly seen. They now know the meaning of the cross, the resurrection. The Kingdom now did not mean an earthly one to them, but a heavenly one with power to help bring to pass the things once not seen, but now discerned with the mind of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit now was witnessing with their spirit. Desire for wealth and power, station and position, has lost its hold and they look forward to the things which are unseen to, the fleshly eye. They see the light, they warm within themselves with a new zeal. Their hearts are purified, purged of the leaven of malice and wickedness, they now partake of the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth; they are now ready after the climax of those three and one-half years with Him to go and witness unto Him unto the uttermost parts of the earth.

Some may ask if the Holy Spirit still fills the hearts of men as it did in those early days, and can it still transform the life of the consecrated as it did then. Experience alone in the case of each can answer this question. May each be able to say with another whom we quote: "Communion with God through Christ in the Holy Spirit is not a theory nor a dogma, but a fact of personal knowledge to which tens of thousands of living Christians can testify as the most certain of actualities."

With a firm conviction of the truth of the witness of the Holy Spirit in the heart of all who fully submit, may we look up to the great Source of all good things and with the poet may we plead:

"Oh, turn me, mould me, mellow me for use.
Pervade my being with Thy vital force,
That this else inexpressive life of mine
May become eloquent and full of power,
Impregnated with life and strength divine.
Put the bright torch of heaven into my hand,
That I may carry it aloft
And win the eye of weary wanderers here below
To guide their feet into the paths of peace.
I cannot raise the dead,
Nor from this soil pluck precious dust,
Nor bid the sleeper wake,
Nor still the storm, nor bend the lightning back,
Nor muffle up the thunder,
Nor bid the chains fall from off creation's long enfettered limbs.
But I can live a life that tells on other lives,
And makes this world less full of anguish and of pain;
A life that like the pebble dropped upon the sea
Sends its wide circles to a hundred shores.
May such a life be mine.
Creator of true life, Thyself the life Thou givest,
Give Thyself, that Thou mayest dwell in me, and I in Thee."

Parousia

ALL STUDENTS of God's Word recognize the importance of this Greek word "parousia," translated in our Common Version "coming." Christians in general have received this translation as being the exact equivalent of the Greek, but few realize that this is not so accepted by all scholars. Some have given deeper thought to its full significance, and in the belief that the spirit of inquiry into all bearing on the momentous subject of Christ's Second Advent will lead us to consider honest research by other students, some expressions concerning the exact meaning of this word have been gathered together. And while these writers did not have the clearness of vision possessed by Brother Russell, yet it should prove encouraging to see that they have concurred with his firm belief that this word is exactly translated only by our word "presence."

We first note that Rotherham, that scrupulous translator of the Emphasized Bible, although he had not done so in previous editions, did in the third, consistently translate this word parousia by the word presence. We give his own words of explanation

"Presence"

"In this edition the word parousia is uniformly rendered 'presence' ('coming' as a representative of this word, being set aside). The original term occurs twenty-four times in the New Testament. The sense of 'presence' is so plainly shown by the contrast with 'absence' (implied in 2 Cor. 10:10, and expressed in Phil. 2:12) that the question naturally arises, Why not :always so render it? The more so, inasmuch as there is in 2 Pet. 1:16 also, a peculiar fitness in our English word 'presence.' This passage, it will be remembered, relates to our Lord's transformation upon the Mount. The wonderful manifestation there made was a display and sample of 'presence' rather than of 'coming.' The Lord was already there and, being there, He was transformed and the 'majesty' of His glorified person was then disclosed. His bodily 'presence' was one which implied and exerted 'power'; so that 'power and presence' go excellently well together the 'power' befitting such a 'presence'; and the three favored disciples were at one and the same moment witnesses of 'both. The difficulty expressed in the notes to the second edition of this New Testament in the way of so yielding to this weight of evidence as to render 'parousia' always by 'presence,' lay in the seeming incongruity of regarding 'presence' as an event which would happen at a particular time and which would fall into rank as one of a series of events, as 1 Cor. 15:23 especially appeared to require. The translator still feels the force of this objection, but is withdrawn from taking his stand upon it any longer by the reflection that, after all, the difficulty may be imaginary. The 'parousia' in any case, is still in the future, and may therefore be enshrouded in a measure of obscurity which only fulfillment can clear away: it may, in fine, be both a period more or less extended, during which certain things shall happen -- and an event, coming on and passing away as one of a series of divine interpositions. Christ is raised as a first-fruit-that is one event; He returns and vouchsafes His 'presence,' during which He raises His own -- that is another event, however large and prolonged; and finally comes another cluster of events constituting 'the end.' Hence, after all, 'presence' may be the most widely and permanently satisfying translation of the looked-for 'parousia' of the Son of Man."

Strict and Literal Meaning

Another writer,, G. H. Pember, M. A., in his work, "The Great Prophecies," published in 1881, says:

"The Greek word 'parousia' is usually translated coming'; but we render it 'presence,' because the latter is its strict and literal meaning; while the former is derived, subordinate, and never absolutely necessary. For the sense is much the same whether we say of an absent person-'We shall be glad of your presence,' or 'of your coming.' Moreover, it is most important to retain the literal signification, because the word is used, not merely of the descent of Christ from the high heavens, but of the whole period of His sojourn in the air. During this time His people will be caught up to Him; some immediately upon His descent, others later. But all are included in Paul's description, 'they that are Christ's at His presence.' "

Denotes Presence of Fresh Arrival

We also quote from the work, "The Last Things," 'by Joseph Agar Beet, D.D., published in 1898, as follows:

"The substantive 'parousia' denotes the presence of some one standing by. So Phil. 2:12, where it is contrasted with 'apousia,' 'not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence'; and 2 Cor. 10:10, 'the presence of the body [i. e. Paul's bodily presence] is weak.' More frequently it denotes the presence of a fresh arrival. So 1 Cor. 16:17, 'I rejoice at the coming [parousia] of Stephanas'; 2 Cor. 7:6, 7, 'the coming of Titus', twice; Phil. 1:26, my coming again to you.' The same word is used -to describe the coming of Christ for which the Christians at Thessalonica were waiting, in 1 Thess. 2:19; 3:13; 4:15; 5:23; 2 Thess. 2:1, 8; 1 Cor. 15:23; as also in James 5:7, 8; 2 Pet. 1:16; 3:4, 12; 1 John 2:28; Matt. 24:3, 27, 37, 39. This use of the same word with the same reference by different writers of the New Testament proves it to be a technical term of the early followers of Christ denoting their Master's expected return. And its suitability is at once apparent. Touching His bodily form, Christ is now absent in heaven on that day He will be present on earth. And His presence will bring in at once the great consummation for which His followers are waiting."

Still another writer, J. W. Brooks, D.D., in 1841 in a learned article, "Elements of Prophetical Interpretation," goes into the subject at some length, but it will be sufficient to merely quote his words: "The word, parousia, as applied to persons, appears always to have reference to, the actual personal presence or arrival of that person." It was almost 40 years afterward, that this thought was called to Brother Russell's attention.

Fulfillment Covered by Succession of Years

Our last reference is to the work of Joseph A. Seiss, D.D., under the title, "The Last Times," published in 1878. We have taken copious extracts, as his writings on the subject are astonishingly clear:

"It is now clear to the writer, that what the Scriptures call the Coming of Christ, at the end of this Age, is not a single, but a complex event, stretching through various periods and administrations, each being sometimes referred to as the Coming, though in reality only a part, stage, or section of it. In this respect, the Second Advent is a counterpart of the First, and presents the same characteristic distributiveness. If any one will be at the pains to examine, it will be found that the prophecies which foretold Christ's first coming can, by no possibility, be all referred to one precise day, hour, year, scene, or event, but spread themselves over a period of more than thirty years. Christ came when He was born at Bethlehem; He came when called out of Egypt; He came when John presented Rim to the people as the Messiah; He came when He announced Himself at Nazareth; He came when He rode into Jerusalem on the ass; He came when He reappeared after His death. And yet there were not a half dozen advents, but one advent. All these separate presentations, at different dates and places, are comprehended under what the Prophets, and we still, denote, both separate and together, by the general and comprehensive expression of His coming, or First Advent. Thus, Micah had said that He should 'come' out of Bethlehem-Ephratah; and Hosea had said that He should come 'out of Egypt'; Malachi had said that He should 'suddenly come to His temple'; Zechariah had said that He should come to Zion 'riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass'; Isaiah had said that He would come 'in the land of Zebulun, and the land of Naphtali,' as 'a great light'; while other Prophets had said that He would come out of Nazareth. Each of these predictions had its literal fulfillment, and each fulfillment was His Coming; but they were after all so many different scenes, stages, or manifestations in the one Coming, which is called the first, in contradistinction to the second. In other words, the Advent was complex, consisting of many diverse facts and presentations, in different localities, and successively running through the course of thirty-three years. These several prophecies could not possibly be fulfilled, except by the intervention - of time to give the place for them. And, as a matter of fact, a succession of years was covered in the fulfillment.

"This, then, is the key by which to explain and reconcile the equally numerous and diverse predictions concerning the Second Coming. It is not a singular and simple thing, all accomplished in the same moment of time, or in one isolated event or scene; but it is a succession and variety of scenes, events, and manifestations, each of which is called the Coming, 'but all of which together make up the complex of the one Second Advent.

"If any will look up the various passages which describe the Second Advent, it will be seen that no man can do justice to the language of inspiration, and yet construe them all with reference to one and the same thing, occurring in one and the same point of time. In the nature of things, Christ cannot come 'as a thief in the night,' and at the same time be openly displayed in the clouds of heaven with 'every eye' gazing upon Him. It is impossible that His coming for His saints-the gathering of them up from their graves, avocations, fields, and beds (1 Cor. 15:22, 23, 51, 52; 1 Thess. 4:15-17; Luke 17:34-37) should be identical in time and character with His coming 'with His saints' (Jude 14, 15; Zech. 14:4, 5; Rev. 19:11-14). It is simply out of the question, that the precise coming spoken of in the Apocalyptic Epistles to the Seven Churches, or that referred to in Rev. 16:15, should be the same with that portrayed in Rev. 19:11-16. The Scriptures also distinguish between a simple parousia or presence, and the epiphaneia, or appearing. Where there is an epiphaneia, there is of course a presence, but a manifest, apparent, discernible presence; whilst parousia denotes simply presence, without the implication of manifestation or visibility. Epiphaneia is used six times in the New Testament, and is it five instances rendered appearing, and in the other instance brightness, in the sense of manifestation; parousia is used about fifteen times, and is uniformly translated coming, in the general sense of presence, or personal and local nearness, whether openly and visibly or not. In 2 Thess. 2:8, both words are used together in reference to the final overthrow or annihilation of the great anti-Christian confederation, which is said to be by the epiphaneia of His parousia; that is, by the appearing of His presence; which involves the implication that the presence, 'coming,' is not manifested or discernible until then, thus showing that the Advent involves different phases, stages and times."

- Contributed.

Some of our readers may recall the series of articles on "Signs of the Master's Presence" which appeared in this Journal during the year 1936. They may remember that in the issue for October of that year we examined the word "parousia" and were not a little perplexed that so able a scholar as Rotherham did not translate it uniformly by the word "presence" in the twenty-four places in which it occurs. At that time we said:

"Rotherham, who does not deny, but affirms, the correctness of 'presence,' uses 'arrival' twenty tines and 'presence' only four times. When so learned a scholar as Rotherham selects 'arrival' rather than 'presence' for his translation, although admitting 'presence' to be the literal meaning, we are naturally interested in learning his reasons. But when we ascertain them, they prove singularly unconvincing. In an elaborate footnote to 1 Thess. 2:19 he labors (unsuccessfully, we think) to vindicate his position. We quote: 'The sense of "presence" is so plainly shown by the contrast with "absence," implied in 2 Cor. 10:10, and expressed in Phil. 2:12, that the question may be asked, Why not always so render it?' (Yes, Brother Rotherham, we do ask this very question.) 'The answer is,' he continues, 'because parousia, in some cases, plainly marks an event rather than a condition, a transitional point, rather than a continuous line. Take for example, 1 Cor. 15:23. Here the three points: first, Christ's resurrection; second, His parousia; third, His delivering up the Kingdom, etc. The parousia will not fall into series, will not file off a "rank" in the resurrection, except as a point. Hence, for this place, "presence," a state, is not the word; "coming" or "arrival" may be.'

"But what if it should appear that in 1 Cor. 15:23 the resurrection, the parousia, and the delivering up of the Kingdom are not three points, three events, but are three states, three periods of time? In that case this argument of Rotherham's would fall to the ground, and he himself would then, presumably, always translate 'parousia' by presence.' "

Just after that issue had gone to press we learned that the second edition of Rotherham's New Testament, which was the one in our library, had been followed some years later, by a third edition, from which our contributor now quotes. We had intended bringing this to the attention of our readers sooner, and are glad that our contributor has done so in the foregoing article. We are sure it will be of interest to all. Ed. Com.

"Many Infallible Proofs"
No. 2
A short series of meditations, both devotional and doctrinal,
on "Jesus and the Resurrection."

"The Lord is risen indeed." - Luke 24:34.

WE turn now to the fifteenth chapter of St. Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, a chapter which might well be called "the resurrection chapter of the Bible," so exhaustively does it expound that basic doctrine of our faith.

Like many of the writings of St. Paul the fifteenth chapter of First Corinthians was written to meet erroneous teachings which had arisen in the Church. Some were denying the doctrine of the resurrection altogether, while others held distorted and confused notions in respect to it. In various places in his epistles we find traces of the prevalence of error on this subject. For instance, in 2 Tim. 2:18 we find the Apostle speaking of some "who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already."

Such taught that there was indeed a resurrection or regeneration, but that it consisted in the regeneration of society, and that so far as the members of the Church were concerned it had already taken place when they had turned from idols to serve the one true God. Others, holding wrong views respecting the nature of man, maintained that when the body died, the spirit would live on in a happier, freer, condition, without a body. In opposition to this erroneous teaching the Apostle, in his second letter to this same Church, taught them: "We that are in this tabernacle do groan, 'being burdened"; and then he goes on to say: "not for that we would be unclothed [as they taught], but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life." - 2 Cor. 5:4.

What is the Soul?

Their erroneous views arose in part from a mistaken idea as to what constitutes the soul. Throughout the Bible the word "soul" is used to signify "being" or "person"; and a human being or person is made up of two parts, namely, a body and its vitality, otherwise called the spirit of life or breath of life. The body is not intelligent of itself, neither is vitality intelligent, but when the two are brought together, intelligence, being, or soul commences. So it was with father Adam: the Lord formed his body, but it was not a soul -- it was merely so much organized matter in good form. Next God "breathed into his nostrils the breath of lives," -- the vitality common to all living creatures. It was when these two things, organism and vitality, were properly united, that man came into existence, a living, thinking, being; -- man became -- a living soul. (Gen. 2:7.) The record is not that man has a soul, but that man is a soul or being.

Let us take an illustration from nature, namely, the water we drink. It is composed of oxygen and hydrogen, neither of which is water. However, when the two combine, as they do in proper proportions, the resulting thing is water. Just so it is with the soul. God speaks to us from this standpoint, of our each being a soul. He does not address our bodies, nor our 'breath of life, but He addresses us, as intelligent beings or souls. In pronouncing the penalty for violating His law He did not address Adam's body specifically, nor did He address his vitality, but He addressed the man, the soul, the intelligent being -- "thou." "In the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die." "The soul that sinneth, it shall die." - Gen. 2:17; Ezek. 18:20.

When we perceive, then, that it is the soul that dies, we perceive also that it is the soul that will need the resurrection from death.

"I Delivered unto You First of All"

After opening the chapter by reminding the Corinthians of the effect the Gospel he had preached had in their midst, the Apostle presents, in verses 3 and 4, a 'brief summary of the essence of that Gospel. We quote: "For I delivered unto you first of all, [first, not in point of time, but first in importance -- I delivered unto you as amongst the most important or chief things] that which I also received; -- how that Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures [that is to say, according to the Old Testament Scriptures]; and that He was buried, and that He rose, [or, as the Revised Version more accurately translates, -- "and that He bath 'been raised"] on the third day, according to the Scriptures."

This brief summary of his Gospel consists of three historical facts and two doctrinal propositions. The three facts are: the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. The two doctrines are: that the death of Christ was a death for sins; and that His death, burial, and resurrection were parts of an ordered plan, -- they were according to Scripture.

In regard to the three facts the Apostle insists, first, that Christ really died-His death was a genuine, historical event, the date, manner, and place of which were all perfectly well known; second, that Christ was buried a real human body being laid in an actual grave, a grave familiar to those who dwelt in Jerusalem third, that Christ has been raised. (It is not said that Christ rose, but that He was raised. His resurrection was the work of the Father, and was the Father's seal of approval upon the work of the Son.)

Christ's Death a Sacrificial One

From these three facts the Apostle draws two doctrinal sequences: Christ died; -- but to believe that will do no more for us than to believe that. Lazarus died, unless we believe also that Christ died for our sins. The death of Christ was not the common event which happens to all men. For in Him was no sin, and death is the natural consequence and proper wage of sin. His death, therefore, unlike the death of other men, was a voluntary action, a willing sacrifice, a death for others, not for Himself. In this doctrine of vicarious sacrifice, of voluntary expiation of sin, lies the special and infinite worth of the death of Christ. And St. Paul affirms this doctrine plainly and strongly. With him, it is of the very stuff and essence, -- the marrow, of the Christian faith; it is the first, the most important thing to be taught and believed.

"According to the Scriptures"

The second doctrine in this summary of the Gospel is that the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus are, parts of an ordered plan. "Christ died," he says, "according to the Scriptures." "He has been raised again," says he, "according to the Scriptures. Now that the Hebrew Scriptures did foretell that Christ should be cut off out of the land of the living, and that He should make His grave with the wicked, and with the rich in His death, may be seen by reference to the 53rd chapter of Isaiah; and that His soul (or life) should not be left in "hades" (oblivion), nor His body see corruption, was stated beforehand in the 16th Psalm. These facts are familiar to all who know their Bibles, and need no proof. What, then, was the purpose of the Apostle in making the point? We answer: His point is that whatever was foretold in the Holy Scriptures was to that extent a revealing of the mind and purpose of God. If the death and resurrection of Christ were according to Scripture, that fact implies that the sacrifice of our sins has found acceptance in God's sight. The Scriptures reveal the very plan of redemption wrought by the Man Christ Jesus as in the heart of God from before the foundation of the world, as the end and consummation for which He has been preparing mankind through the ages, by the ministry of His spirit operating through the labors of His servants, the Prophets. The plan of the work of Christ was designed by God. All the lines of His life were drawn by the hand of God before Christ took our flesh to atone for our sin. Round His death and resurrection the lights of prophecy kindled with wondrous splendor; more than half the Old Testament predictions concerning the Messiah point to these supreme facts. And therefore to accept the redemption of Christ is to accept the redemption of God. Through the sacrifice of Christ we learn God's will is our salvation -- or rather, we see that salvation triumphantly accomplished which from the Scriptures of the Prophets we had already learned to be God's will. All doubt, all fear, all hesitation, is thus removed from our hearts. We believe in Christ; we believe also in God.

The Historical Proof of Christ's Resurrection

Having reaffirmed the glorious Gospel, the Apostle proceeds to prove it to be true. He does s by developing two main themes: first, the historical testimony to the resurrection of Christ; and, second, the moral absurdities which must be maintained by those who deny the resurrection. These two themes he runs together and interweaves in the paragraph which extends from verse 5 to verse 19. For the sake of greater clearness let us consider these two themes separately, disentangling the interwoven threads of argument.

First, then, we note the historical proof of the fact of Christ's resurrection, which the Apostle here lays before us. Mark what that proof is. Historical facts depend on testimony. If we are to be convinced that a certain event transpired in the past, our very first demand is that men of character and credibility should assure us, from their personal knowledge, that it did take place. If their character is high, if their credibility has been put to the test and stood it, if they were competent judges of the fact, if we see that they had no motive for 'bearing false witness, and were incapable of bearing it, however strong the inducement, we really have no alternative -- we can only listen to and receive their testimony. Have we this kind of proof for the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ?

Within thirty years of Christ's death St. Paul affirms that there were hundreds of witnesses to the fact that God raised Christ from the dead, most of whom were still alive. Some, who do not believe in our Lord's resurrection, have advanced the view that the Apostles were mistaken; they were deceived, misled by their hopes-they were filled with "wishful thinking." But St. Paul will not admit this. On the contrary he denies the possibility of mistake on the part of the witnesses. He will not hear of it. He will not for a moment concede that either he or his brethren were deceived, by their hopes or by their strong imaginations. The only alternative he admits, we read in verse 15, either "we are found false witnesses" (false, not mistaken), or else the fact we attest is true. Either the fact is true or we are the most profane and blasphemous of false witnesses, witnesses who lie about God, and before and against God.

There was no mistake. On a fact so sacred and so momentous there could 'be no mistake. The resurrection of Christ was, or it was not, a matter of plain fact. Either He did, or He did not, appear after His death, to Cephas, to James, to the Twelve, to the Five Hundred, to St. Paul himself. So many men, some of them amongst the most cautious, slow, skeptical of men, could not possibly have been deceived, If the fact that they affirmed did not take place, they had no motive for affirming, but every motive for denying it. If the Man Christ Jesus were only a dead Jew, what could they possibly gain by setting themselves against all the currents of opinion and against their own private interests? He could not help them. The priests and magistrates could very obviously injure and degrade them. Was it likely, is it credible, that for the sake of a lie-a lie so unprofitable as that a poor dead Jew had come to life -- they would forfeit the respect of their neighbors, incur the ban of priests, and provoke the wrath of magistrates?

The Testimony of St. Paul

Look then, at St. Paul. Here was a man the whole bent of whose nature, education, and training, predisposed him to reject Christian facts. A devout and learned Jew, 'bound by conviction and by every motive of interest and ambition, to be zealous for the Hebrew faith -- in his zeal for it he had persecuted the Christian Church. Is it so much as conceivable that he should belie his convictions, sacrifice his interests, surrender his ambitions, in order to lie about the God whom he held in such great reverence? Yet he says he was a liar, if Christ did not rise from the dead.

Most of us are familiar with the sound of truth. If a man speaks to us from the platform and does not believe, or does not feel, what he says, there is an instinct in us, which at once detects his insincerity. If we go into a court, and hear a lawyer trying to make the worse the better case, to snatch a verdict rather than to demand justice, we can generally detect his want of faith in his client's case, although he simulate all the fervency of sincere conviction. There is a certain ring to truth by which we distinguish it from all counterfeits. Well, read, we do not say all St. Paul wrote, or even much of it, but read -- only this one chapter of the resurrection. It is impossible for any one to read it and then to say that its author was consciously bearing false witness against God. One cannot but admit that Paul believed the fact he affirms -- believed it with all his heart. And St. Paul says the fact was one on which there could be no mistake, no doubt; that either he had seen the risen Lord, or that he was uttering a willful lie, affirming that God had raised Jesus from the dead, when he knew very well that the dead rise not.

James the Just-Peter the Brave

Other witnesses are St. Peter and St. James. James was noted as a just man -- "James the just" he was called -- one of those rigid, uncompromising Hebrews, not very gentle, perhaps, but nevertheless true and upright. And Peter was a brave man, and brave men are usually of honest, fearless speech. They make reliable witnesses. True, in a moment of passionate excitement and bewilderment Peter told a lie, denying the Master he loved.

But it is true also, as we might have expected from what we have learned of his character, that, after telling that lie, he went out and wept bitterly. This sin was at least foreign to his nature, a sin from which he might well have supposed himself safe. And it was after his bitter repentance, when his whole demeanor changed, that he went forth and proclaimed before brutal priests and a brutal mob, that the Man whom he had denied, and whom they had crucified, God had rained from the dead. Both James and Peter devoted their lives to the affirmation of this fact. They died for affirming it. Are we to 'believe that a conspicuously just man and a conspicuously brave man, devoted their whole energy to the commission of a sin utterly alien to their several characters? that the just man lied, and the brave man lied, and yet remained brave and just? that two of the most religious of men spent their whole lives in lying about God, and yet grew in piety to the end? Unless we are prepared to so -believe, we must accept their testimony that God raised up Jesus from the dead.

The Twelve and the Five Hundred

Not only Peter and James and Paul, but the Twelve are found false witnesses, if God raised not their Master from the dead. That is to say, the very men who gave up all to follow the truth -men so hard to persuade as Thomas, men of John's pure and heavenly spirit, were liars, all of them, and knew that they were liars, and died in the endeavor, which God permitted to succeed, to palm their lie upon the world! If we could believe that, what else could we believe?

Lest it should be said that the Twelve were apostles and leaders and had a faith to establish, even though that faith were founded upon a lie, we have the testimony of the Five Hundred brethren, most of whom remained alive to St. Paul's day. Among the Five Hundred, as among the Twelve, there were men of a skeptical turn of mind, men not easily convinced of the truth of any fact which transcended the limits of previous experience, for St. Matthew tells us that when Jesus appeared to them they worshiped Him "but some doubted." (Matt. 28:17.) It was not until they had received every proof which skepticism could demand, that they confessed the Lord to be verily risen from the dead, and went forth into all nations to preach "Jesus and the Resurrection."

What Shall We Say?

What, then, shall we say to this testimony to the resurrection of Christ? What can we say? Is it credible that five hundred of the best and bravest of men lied about God? If we are not to believe the historical fact to which with one consent they bear witness, what can we believe? To what other historical fact even one hundred, not to say two thousand years old, can we produce so many witnesses of a character so high and noble? To suppose that men of their character banded together as false witnesses of God to palm an imposture on the world and that they succeeded in their attempt is to believe an unbelievable miracle. With such witnesses as the Apostle has produced in testimony we can only join in his triumphant conclusion: "Now hath Christ been raised from the dead -- the first fruits of them that are asleep." - 1 Cor. 15:20.

Annual Meeting of the Pastoral Bible Institute

As announced in our March and April issues, the next annual meeting is due to be held Saturday, June 3, 1939, at 2 p. m., in the offices of the Institute, 177 Prospect Place, Brooklyn, N. Y.

The annual meeting is primarily for the election of directors to serve for the following fiscal year, but also for the consideration of such other matters as may properly come before the friends at that time. While only members may participate in the voting, all friends of the truth and lovers of our Lord Jesus are welcome to attend the meeting. In order that any unable to attend may vote, proxy forms are being mailed to the last known address of members. Those voting by this means should fill in the proxy form and after seeing that it is duly signed and witnessed, mail it to the Secretary of the Institute, 177 Prospect Place, Brooklyn, N. Y.

In addition to the present directors the name of our Pilgrim Brother H. A. Friese, Springfield, Mass., has been placed as a nominee; also that of Brother J. T. Read, Chicago, Ill., who has rendered faithful service during the past two years on the Editorial Committee.

Notice to Institute Members

For reasons there explained, it was stated in the "Herald" of May, 1938, that when persons holding voting memberships in the Institute shall for twenty-four consecutive months continue as non-subscribers to the "Herald" (by non-subscriber is meant one whose name does not appear on the subscription list, and has no reference to whether or not payment is made for the "Herald"), their names shall be automatically removed from the roll of membership, unless they shall within that time inform the Institute that they are receiving the "Herald" through some one else and reading the same and desire that their names be continued on the roll of membership, in which case their names shall be so retained on the roll.

As we are approaching the time for the Annual Meeting, attention is called to this so that brethren holding membership certificates but whose names are not on the list of subscribers to the "Herald," and who wish to retain their memberships, may notify us in time to be supplied with the voting forms for the Annual Meeting.

My Vows Unto the Lord

(Continued from last issue)

"What shall I render unto the Lord for all His benefits toward me? I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows unto the Lord now in the presence of all His people." - Psa. 116:12-14.

I WILL SEEK to be faithful to the Lord, the truth, the brethren, and all with whom I have to do, not only in great matters, but also in the little things of life."

How easy it is to become slack in the little things of life! We so often think the little affairs of life, because they are little, are of slight importance, and therefore we need not be so careful in those things. For example, we know that slander is forbidden in God's Word; yet, without first ascertaining its truth or falsity we repeat a rumor derogatory to the reputation of a brother or sister, thinking that we would not be guilty of gossiping as a general practice, but just this once we will tell what we have heard. If we reason about it at all, we conclude that it can not matter much, and the one to whom we are telling it will probably hear it anyway from some other source. Whereas, every time we do so, we violate God's law. And even if we know that the defamatory statement is true, it is none the less slanderous. We have each one made mistakes in our own lives; and would we feel that the dispensing of information by another about our mistakes is an evidence of Christian brotherly love and faithfulness, or the lack of it?

The wise man Solomon warned of the danger of letting these little things get by us, and of the great harm that may follow, saying in Song of Solomon 2:15, "Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines." Just as little foxes can destroy the young shoots and thus ruin a whole vineyard, so slackness, which amounts to unfaithfulness in the little things, will destroy our opportunity of gaining that to which we have been called.

Jesus clearly declared the principle involved when he said, "He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much; and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much." (Luke 16:10.) Great opportunities come to us but few times in a lifetime; our lives are made up of little occurrences; and if we learn to be faithful to our trust in those little -occurrences, we shall be sure of proving faithful when the great tests come. Thus if I permit my mind to entertain evil thoughts, when a great temptation comes, my mind will be in a receptive attitude, and I shall probably fall. But if I guard my thoughts, promptly rejecting all improper suggestions, I shall be able to reject the great temptation when it comes.

I am to be faithful to the Lord. "God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord." (1 Cor. 1:9.) "The Lord [Jesus] is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from the evil." (2 Thess. 3:3.) And the promise to us is, "Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life." (Rev. 2:10.) Our Lord's desire respecting us is: "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me. I am the vine, ye are the branches. 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 keep My commandments, ye shall abide in My love; even as I have kept My Father's commandments, and abide in His love." (John 15:4-6, 10.) To abide in Him, to be faithful to Him, I must strive to keep His commandments at all times, and in all things, be they little or great.

I am to be faithful to the truth. The greatest truth of our glorious salvation, the truth around which all other truths cluster, is that that salvation is by Jesus Christ; that He and He alone is my ransomer, and the atonement for my sins. I must be faithful to this great truth above all else; never for a moment knowingly accepting any teaching which takes from Him and bestows upon man any of the merit or any of the glory for that salvation.

What further will faithfulness to the truth include? Surely it will mean loyalty to every teaching for which we have a plain "Thus saith the Lord." Concerning any passage of Scripture which is not self-explanatory nor clearly explained by some other passage, but require: to be interpreted, will faithfulness to the truth mean that the interpretation thereof which I believe to be truth must be insisted upon to the extent either of disfellowshiping, or of refusing to accept as an eider or teacher the one who does not agree with my view? Indeed, No! For the Scripture contains no authority for setting up any one to determine which of man's interpretations must be accepted and which may be rejected. I must take my position with the Apostle Paul, holding that the Word itself, without addition -or subtraction, is complete in all that is essential for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness, that by it the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works (2 Tim. 3:16, 17) -- whether they be works of conduct or works of teaching. That being so, I find no Scriptural authority for adding tests in addition to the acceptance of that Word and compliance with its teachings. The addition of tests outside the Word itself are the mark of every sect ever formed. Those who make tests by adding anything to God's Word build up sects; and the Apostle assures us that having a sectarian spirit constitutes a work of the fallen flesh and that "they which do such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of God." (Gal. 5:19-21.) If, therefore, I take my stand upon the Word of God alone, my requirement of others will be, a full acceptance of every "Thus saith the Lord," which will be found to embrace every essential feature of the Divine Plan of Salvation, and I shall be ready to accord full liberty of belief upon every matter of interpretation.

Faithfulness to the truth will be fully met when we follow these words of advice from our loved Pastor in the "Watch Tower":

" . . . the wisdom that cometh from above . . . entreats and exhorts for unity only in the Lord and along the line of questions positively settled by the Lord in the Scriptures-which generously leaves with each full liberty to act and to judge on all questions not positively settled by the Scriptures. We urge that all of the Lord's dear flock copy the wisdom of the Apostle in this matter." -- "Watch Tower Reprints," - R3127.

I am to seek to be faithful to the brethren, and all with whom I have to do. Faithfulness to the brethren will mean that I am to be ready to sacrifice my time and talent to serve them in whatever capacity the Lord's providences may open the way. It will mean I am to be loyal to them as New Creatures when rumor and criticism appear. It will mean that in my own estimation of them I am not to lift the robe with which Christ has covered their blemishes, and so disclose their weaknesses to myself or others. And it will mean that if I see them erring, wandering from the path of life, I must give them timely warning, though this be hard to do, always remembering that such warnings are to be given in a spirit of gentleness and kindness.

Faithfulness to all with whom I have to do, which will embrace those outside the Church of Christ, perhaps first and most important of all will mean setting them an example of life that will reflect credit upon our heavenly calling; and then speaking the timely word of rebuke against sin, of warning against dangers, and of comfort in sorrow. The parable of the good Samaritan is Jesus' sermon on one phase of our faithfulness in this respect.

The concluding feature of our Resolve is a declaration of our trust in God:

"Trusting myself to divine care and the providential overruling of all my interests for my highest welfare, I will seek not only to be pure in heart, but to repel all anxiety, all discontent, all discouragement. I will neither murmur nor repine at what the Lord's providence may permit, because 'Faith can firmly trust Him, come what may.

It is one thing to give ourselves into God's hands; it is another thing to trust ourselves to the divine keeping. We all, in consecration, gave ourselves fully, unreservedly, to God, presenting our justified bodies to be sacrificed as our High Priest might see fit to offer them, as the whole burnt offering was offered by the priest upon the brazen altar in the tabernacle. And then when He does begin to do some sacrificing, and we begin to see the old things slipping from our grasp, be it ease, or worldly goods, reputation, self-esteem, pride, or whatnot, how often we have cried out, hurt, protesting against the suffering, or become anxious and worried, fearful of the outcome, thus breaking the Sabbath of rest in Him, to which Jesus called us. (Matt. 11:28, 29'.) To meet these practical difficulties of the inner life, this part of the Resolve is designed. And it is built upon the bold assurances of God's Word: "Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when His glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy." (1 Pet. 4:12, 13.) "If we suffer with Him, we shall also reign with Him." Remember that "The trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ." - 1 Pet. 1:7.

Paul declares that "We know that all things work together for good to them that love God." (Rom. 8:28.) But do I know it? I am certainly not acting as if I knew it when I worry, or fret, or become impatient, or gloomy. I may know the words of the promise; but when that promise has sunk down into my being so that I have a real heart appreciation of it, my conduct will not belie the words, and I shall fully rest, fully trust, in the love and wisdom -of Him to whom I have committed my ways.

And what though the trial seem long? Sometimes the trial will continue through weary years. Our friends, if they were able, would relieve us of the trying circumstances. Does God love us less than our friends do? Or is not the answer obvious, that the greater love of God combines with His wisdom to permit the trial to continue? Sometimes when the trial continues it becomes evidence that we have not yet fully learned the lessons God designs to teach us. His Word says: (1 Cor. 10:13, Diag.) "No trial has assailed you except what belongs to man; and God is faithful, who will not permit you to be tried beyond your ability; but with the trial, will also direct the issue, that you may be able to bear it." Can we not see from this that the answer to our prayer may not be in the removal of the trying circumstances, but in the receiving of divine grace to bear it? For we may glorify God by learning the lesson that we are not to rely upon our own strength, but to lean upon the Everlasting Arms; to rejoice in tribulation, because it makes our Savior's comfort the more precious; and thus that which was a trial at first becomes sanctified as our Father's means of preparing His child for the future fuller companionship with Him and His dear Son:

"Not until each loom is silent,
And the shuttles cease to fly,
Will God unroll the pattern
And explain the reason why
The dark threads are as needful
In the Weaver's skillful hand,
As the threads of gold and silver
For the pattern which He planned."

And what if the burden seem heavy? It could not possibly be as heavy as that burden my Savior bore on Calvary, when the Lord laid on Him the iniquity of us all. If I really know, as I may by faith, that my Father is overruling all my interests for my highest welfare, I shall learn to cast my burdens upon the Lord, to take the trial as a further evidence of His loving interest in me, and desire that I be perfected in His likeness; and I shall learn to say with Paul that "our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal." - 2 Cor. 4:17, 18.

"I will neither murmur nor repine at what the Lord's providence may permit, because 'Faith can firmly trust Him, come what may."' Do you know some Christians who are always talking about their troubles? It seems that some can talk of nothing else than their trials, whether they be physical ailments, or unpleasant things they have to endure in their daily life. You can turn the topic of conversation, but they will always bring it back to their troubles. We leave them feeling that we have neither received a blessing nor been able to bestow one. To be constantly talking about our troubles shows that we are not content with God's will for us, and it constitutes a form of murmuring and repining that is very common, and which must be quite displeasing to the Lord, because it evidences a lack of trust in His love and wisdom. Therefore, let me be very careful, if I have occasion to speak to others of my trials in life, that I do so rarely, and then that I feel in my heart and express with my mouth entire content with God's lot for me. knowing that "'tis His hand that leadeth me."

"There is a peace that cometh after sorrow,
Of hope surrendered, not of hope fulfilled;
A peace that looketh not upon tomorrow,
But calmly on a tempest that is stilled.

"A peace that lives not now in joy's excesses,
Nor in the happy life of love secure;
But in the unerring strength the heart possesses,
Of conflicts won while learning to endure.

"A peace there is, in sacrifice secluded,
A life subdued, from will and passion free;
'Tis not the peace that over Eden brooded,
But that which triumphed in Gethsemane."

- Contributed.

Faithful Sayings for Daily Living

Blessings of Tribulation

When we have passed through a season of suffering and stand beyond it, there ought to be a new light in our eye, a new glow in our face, a new gentleness in our touch, a new sweetness in our voice, a new hope in our heart, and a new consecration in our life. We ought not to stay in the shadows of the sorrow, but to come again out of them, radiant with the light of victory and peace, into the place of service and duty. The comfort that God gives puts deep new joy into the heart, and anoints the mourner or the sufferer with a new baptism of love and power.

* * *

Keeping our Promises

Many people promise anything you ask of them, but make a small matter of keeping their promises. They enter into engagements with you to do this or that, to meet you or call on you at a certain time or to do some favor for you, and utterly fail to fulfill their engagements. This is a very serious matter, this lack of fidelity to promises and engagements. Surely we ought to keep sedulous watch over ourselves in this regard. We ought to be faithful to the promises we make, cost what it may. It is a noble thing when we find one whose promises we are as sure of as of the rising of the sun; whose simplest word is as good as his oath; who does just what he says he will do at the moment he says he will do it. That is the kind of faithfulness God wants.

The Habit of Sympathy

The gentle ministries of love which you take time to perform as you hurry from task to task in your busy days will give you the sweetest joy as you remember them in the after days. What these ministries are to those who receive them you never can know till your own heart is sad and lonely, and one comes to you in turn with the true comfort of love. Train yourself to the habit of sympathy. Be ready any hour to speak the full rich word of love which shall lighten the burden of the one you meet. Everywhere are hearts that need and hunger for what you have to give, and God has given love to you for the very purpose of blessing those whom He sends to you day by day.

* * *

Having-Giving

It is not having that makes men great. A man may have the largest abundance of God's gifts -- of money, of mental acquirements, of power, of heart-possessions and qualities-yet if he only holds and hoards what he has for himself, he is not great. Men are great only in the measure in which they use what they have to bless others. We are God's stewards, and the gifts that come to us are His, not ours, and are to be used for Him as He would use them. When we come to Christ's feet in consecration, we lay all we have before Him. He accepts our gifts; and then putting them back into our hands, He says, "Go now and use them in My name among the people."

God's Better Answer

God many times answers our prayers not by bringing down His will to ours, but by lifting us up to Himself. We grow strong, so as to need no longer to cry for relief. We can bear the heavy load without asking to have it lightened. We can keep the sorrow now and endure it. We can go on in quiet peace without the new blessing which we thought so necessary. We have not been saved from the battle we shrank so from entering, but we have fought it through and have gained the victory. Is not victoriousness in conflict better than being freed from the conflict? Is not peace in the midst of the storm and the strife better than to be lifted altogether over the strife?

Scripture Truth

Character never can be strong, noble, and beautiful, nor can conduct be worthy of intelligent beings bearing God's image, if Scripture truth be not wrought into the very soul by personal search and pondering. Let us not stay for ever in the primer of religious knowledge, amid the easy things that we learned at our mother's knee. There are glorious things beyond these: let us go on to learn them. The word of Christ can get into our heart to dwell in us and transform us only through intelligent thought and pondering.

Sympathy of Christ

Unless words mean nothing, unless the Scriptures cheat us with poetical images and illusions, Christ feels our every grief and every struggle, and sympathizes with us in each one. Remember how His heart responded when He was on earth to all human need. Sorrow stirred His compassion; every cry of distress went to the depths of His soul. That heart is still the same. When angels are thronging about Him, and a poor weary sufferer in some lowly home on earth, or a stricken penitent crouching in some darkness, reaches out a trembling finger-tip of faith and touches the hem of His garment, He turns about with loving look and asks, "Who touched Me?"

Our Clumsy Hands

Most of us are awkward in doing even our most loving deeds. We must learn to be patient, therefore, with people's awkwardness and clumsiness. Their hearts may be gentler than their hands. Do not misinterpret their actions, finding enmity where purest love is, indifference where affection is warmest, slights where honor was meant. Away with your petty suspicions! Be patient even with people's faults. Let us train ourselves to find the best we can in every act of others, to believe the best always of people and their actions, and to find some beauty

Memorial Blessings

Dear Friends:

We assure you that it becomes a matter of great pleasure to us to be privileged to send you a little report of the Memorial gathering and services held at Waukesha, Wis., this year.

A few dear ones in Christ from Madison, Lake Mills, and Milwaukee gathered at the home of one of the brethren here on Sunday morning, April 2nd -- a few at the regular Class service in the forenoon, at which time the Manna text and comments for the day have been used as a subject lesson for years.

The Milwaukee Class, including several of the manifestly interested ones of this younger generation, held their morning service for the day in Milwaukee, and then came to Waukesha for the two and one-half hours' service in the afternoon. . .

All remained over the happy fellowship and lunch hour to the annual Memorial service in the evening, at which time twenty-three partook of the emblems of our Lord's broken body and shed blood on our behalf, with evident faith and confidence. There were several present not yet prepared to partake at this time. After the singing of hymn No. two, the friends quietly separated to their several homes.

Thus ended a very happy day's service in the courts of our Lord, and one of the most interesting, profitable, and satisfactory Memorial services ever held here. Praise the Lord's dear name!

It was indeed very interesting and encouraging to all to see so much of that blessed spirit of the Lord manifest in song and prayer and fellowship, which is so well expressed in those old hymns-"Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own Way! Thou art the Potter, I am the clay"; and "Blest be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love."

Yours in the one blessed Hope,

H. D. W., Sec.