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THE HERALD
of Christ's Kingdom

VOL. XIII JULY 1940 NO. 7
Table of Contents

Annual Report of the Pastoral Bible Institute

"Call to Remembrance the Former Days"

The Liberty of the Spirit

"Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." (2 Cor. 3:17.) "As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." - Rom. 8:14.

SINCE THE beginning of recorded history there has been a struggle on the part of the masses of mankind against a minority of their fellows to obtain or maintain the condition of liberty in which the race was created. A review of this struggle even from that beginning to the present time, shows the sordidness of the means which the powerful minority has used to enslave those who are not able to resist. This does not apply alone to nations but to institutions and individuals within the nations. This is because the Prince of Darkness has ruled the world from the time of Adam to the present day, and. because most men come under the designation of our Savior in which He branded the powerful of His nation as of their father, the devil.

This spirit of unrighteousness has increased until today may be seen the fulfillment of those prophecies which tell of the time of trouble which should come upon the earth and cause the destruction of the present order of things. Mankind left to itself would not have followed this course, but when it sold itself into slavery by the act of our progenitor, it lost its standing with its Creator and brought upon itself His wrath, with the resulting penalty of death. As consecrated Christians, not now so much interested in the liberty of peoples, no matter how fine a thing it will be when accomplished in God's due time, our interest lies at this time in the liberty of the children of God, by which we escape from the bondage of sin, and attain to that highest of all liberty as sons of God on the spirit plane.

The Apostle Paul in the preceding chapter of this letter to the Corinthians has been making a contrast between the old order under the law and the new order under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, made possible by the sacrifice of our blessed Redeemer, "for in that He died, He died unto sin once: but in that He liveth, He liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Rom. 6:10, 11.) He who knew no sin, the bearer of the sins of the world, expiated at His first coming the sins of all mankind upon the cross of Calvary, paying the death penalty, that through Him and Him alone the race might be freed from the slavery of sin and death. feature after feature working out according to the eternal purpose of God.

In this sixth chapter of Romans, from which we quote, Paul is teaching that the consecrated believer must not live in sin because he is now dead to sin. He emphasizes this fact by asking, Shall we continue in sin? How shall we that are dead to sin live any longer therein? How deeply we should realize that we who were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death, and because of this fact, Paul says, We are buried with Him, and as He [Christ] was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. We have been planted together in the likeness of His death; we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. There is no reference to a literal death but to this figurative death. The Apostle speaks of us as dead unto sin but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord, using the actual death of our Redeemer, the purchaser of the race, to illustrate this fact that death to sin is life unto God.

Can we not detect a change in the tone of St. Paul's voice and see a new light in his eyes, a brightening of his countenance, as he dictates these words? for they indicate a rapid passing from the old thought of the law into a new atmosphere of spiritual thought and truth. He has been working from the law, on through justification by faith with all its marvelous growth in character development, until he reaches the place where he asks, What shall we say then? He passes from argument to the vision of a sincere, consecrated Christian life. We realize with him the almost unbelievable truth that a new and living way has been opened whereby we may come boldly to the throne of grace and take hold of the promises of God. We believe it because upon His death and resurrection depends the salvation of the race of man. The foundation is laid for its recovery from its slavery to sin and its liberty to become sons of God, either on the spirit plane or on the perfect human plane. There are bodies celestial and bodies terrestrial, and God will give to the recreated ego a body as it pleases Him; to some a spiritual body, to some a fleshly body, each perfect on its own particular plane.

What is Liberty?

"Liberty is the fullest opportunity for man to be and do the very best possible for him. I know of no definition of liberty, that oldest and dearest phrase of men, and sometimes the vaguest also, except that. It has been perverted, it has been distorted and mystified, but that is what it really means: the fullest opportunity for a man to do and be the very best that is in his personal nature to do and to be. It immediately follows that everything which is necessary for the full realization of a man's life, even though it seems to have the character of restraint for a moment, is really a part of the process of his enfranchisement, is the bringing forth of him to a fuller liberty."-Phillips Brooks.

True liberty, then, is a means, not an end, a means by which one does the best in him in order to become the very best which possibly can be obtained. False liberty, or license, as it may be called, is a kind of freedom where one is free to do what he likes the true liberty where he is free to do the thing which he ought to do. The former, then, soon becomes, if indulged in, unrestrained selfishness, violating the higher concepts of morality. The victim is never able to put off the things of the flesh, becoming more and more deeply enslaved to it. The Apostle Paul found it necessary to chide many in the early churches over whom he exercised a loving watchfulness, and his admonitions to them may well be heeded today, for the old man has never changed; he still delight; in uncleanness, wrath, strife, heresies, and hypocrisies. He is not a son of God, for he is not led by the Spirit of God. He does not live in the Spirit; therefore, he does not walk in the Spirit. He is still desirous of vainglory; he still provokes another; he still envies another. He is still the slave of sin. He knows not freedom.

"Nought nobler is, than to be free:
The stars of heaven are free because
In amplitude of liberty
Their joy is to obey the laws.
From servitude to freedom's name
Free thou thy mind in bondage pent:
Depose the fetish, and proclaim
The things that are more excellent."

- William Watson.

"Freedom consists not in refusing to recognize anything above us, but in respecting something which is above us: for, by respecting it, we raise ourselves to it, and by our very acknowledgment make manifest that we bear within ourselves what is higher and are worthy to be on a level with it." - Goethe.

True liberty is found most perfectly in surrendering to a higher will. One who has been drawn to the Father and has experienced the passing away of the old nature, dead to sin and alive to God, can appreciate the thought that

"We Are in God's Hands"

"How strange now, looks the life He makes us lead! So free we seem, so fettered fast we are! I feel He laid the fetter: let it lie!"

True liberty was most perfectly exemplified in the life of the Master. "Lo! I come to do Thy will!" was the keynote of His life. "I delight to do Thy will" was evident in every act of His life. He came into the world commissioned to do a definite thing. It was the Father's will that He should by death satisfy His justice and redeem the one man who by sin had brought upon himself and his offspring the curse of death.

It was necessary that a 'perfect man should do this. It was not necessary that our Lord should do it, but having been offered this honor, He took it upon Himself, and at the close of His earthly ministry "He lifted up His eyes unto heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come: glorify Thy Son that Thy Son may glorify Thee: As Thou has given Him power over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to as many as Thou hast given Him. And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou has sent." (John 17:1-3.) The Father's will and His will were one-"I do nothing of Myself" expressed His attitude toward the Father. He looked up to One higher than Himself and was thus worthy to pass to the highest phase of the spirit plane, i. e., immortality; after which all power was given Him in heaven and on earth. He also gave them, His disciples, a commission: that "ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another." - John 13:34, 35.

The glory, of -the Master's life was the liberty of it. The glory of the disciple's life is the liberty to become like the Master; dead to sin, filled with the Holy Spirit, and free to love as He loved" -- this is My commandment, that ye love one another, as I have loved you." His followers often forget that He commanded them to love one another as He loved them. It was not a suggestion merely; He did not tell them it would be a good thing to do, that He would be pleased if they would do it. No, it was a command that they should love sufficiently to be willing to wash one another's feet. They had not yet received the Holy Spirit when He gave them this commandment, but when they did receive it, they remembered, and then love to God and mankind became so like the Master's love for them that they never faltered but laid down their lives with the same willingness with which He laid down His. They mingled their love with His. They offered their bodies a living sacrifice. They then remembered also that they had not chosen Him, but that He had chosen them and ordained them that they should go and bring forth fruit and that their fruit should remain: and that whatsoever they should ask of the Father in His name, He might give it to them.

Where is Liberty Found?

The Apostle answers that it is where the Spirit of the Lord is. This answer eliminates all other religions, including the Jewish religion, which the Apostle had been discussing with them of Corinth. He has shown them, by taking away the veil which had blinded the eyes of the Jew, that the purpose of the work of Christ was to fulfill those Jewish types as set forth in their books of the law and the prophets, and liberate them from spiritual bondage. Some of them had been able with Paul to see this truth, the reality which supplanted the shadow. This was the better thing which was foreshadowed by the types.

The thought of this text does not merely give a liberty to worship God according as each may see it. It does not merely liberate from the slavery of existing social, national, or religious customs. No social or national tyranny can enslave a soul which has come into a deep intimate relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ and has come to know its freedom. The Apostle's statement goes deep into the spiritual phase of life. "It is not a liberty from the bondage of paganism masquerading under the forms of Christianity and expressing itself in Christian phraseology." If the Spirit of Christ gives liberty, it gives the liberty which frees the inmost being of one who has bowed before the blessed Christ, received His Spirit, and is moment by moment led by it. This liberty can come to one only as the result of imbibing the great truth that where the Spirit of the Lord is, and there only, is true liberty to be found. Filled with this truth, one no longer serves God from a sense of duty, or fear, or for personal advantages which may be his, but because duty becomes desire and desire is inspired by love of God. It has been said by another, "He gives freedom from error for the reason: freedom from constraint for the affections: freedom for the will from the tyranny of sinful desires. Often has human nature imagined for itself such freedom as this: it has sketched the outlines more or less accurately: it has sighed in vain for the reality. Such freedom is, in fact, a creation of grace: the sons of God alone enjoy it."

Who Are the Sons of God?

The Apostle answers: As many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God. These alone are they who have been justified by faith and have presented their bodies a living sacrifice. As a result of this they become transformed by the renewing of their minds. These are "heirs of God and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ" because these see the beauty of the Apostle's words to the Hebrews: "Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood He entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?" This man who knew no sin became sin and thus obtained eternal redemption for us, and again in the Apostle's words: "Christ, after being sacrificed to bear the sins of many, will appear again, not to deal with sin but for the saving of those who are on the lookout for Him." - Heb. 9:28, Moffatt.

The Leading of the Spirit

The important question to His followers is how to continue as the soils of God. The Apostle says by being led by the Spirit of God.

As recorded by the Apostle John, our Savior promised the guidance of the Holy Spirit: "When he the Spirit of truth, is come, he shall guide you into all truth." (John 16:13.) This promised guidance and the promised leading seem not to mean exactly the same thing. The first is best expressed, perhaps, by the thought of showing the way; the second is more forceful and carries the thought of driving, carrying, or inducing. So with this rather more forceful thought in mind it is well for all who desire to continue in this liberty of the Spirit of God to seek to know and to bear in mind constantly what this spiritual leading is. It is a subject most important in the Christian life and one which is attended by many misunderstandings, if not actual errors, as though the Apostle's words were a great mystery and one who claimed to be led by the Spirit of God was somewhat of a mystic.

This leading of the Spirit of God becomes a necessity if one would be a Son of God, and just as definitely one who is not led by the Spirit of God is not a son of God. He can lay no claim to that title, and so neither is he an heir of God nor a joint-heir with Jesus Christ. If he is not led by the Spirit of God, he is not a son of God, and if one is not a son of God, then he is of necessity a son of the Adversary. This is what separates the one from the other-the sons of God from the sons of the devil. It is only because of this leading that one may cry, "Abba, Father." It is not a reward of merit for any special righteousness of the individual but a frame of mind, a heart condition which causes one to place himself humbly in the hands of God for His leading. It is an evidence of unworthiness or weakness rather than a reward for something accomplished, and is experienced in the common daily walk of life. One is not lifted to heights of ecstasy, nor into an abnormal mental state, but he knows definitely that it is a truth that he is led by the Spirit of God and therefore experiences that liberty of a son of God: he realizes that it is all by the grace of God, that he has nothing of which to be proud or exalted of mind, that it is a matter of faith in the redemptive work of our blessed Savior. He is renewed in his mind and therefore transformed into a potential new creature adopted by God, and participates in the sufferings of Christ, for the Apostle says that all who would live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. If we would reign with Him, we must suffer with Him. This high privilege was granted because He became sin for the world. The privilege of suffering with Him was extended as an act of grace on the part of the Father toward those who feel His drawing power.

"No Man Can Come to Me Except the Father . . . Draw Him"

But he who is drawn by the power of God may emerge into a condition like that of Abraham, of whom it was said: "He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief: but was strong in faith, giving glory to God: and being fully persuaded that what He had promised, He was able to perform. And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him: but for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on Him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead: who was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification." Being thus justified, one is led by the Spirit of God to see the beauty of God's dealing with those who are so led. Out of the bondage of sin and death comes the understanding of the basic feature of the eternal purpose of God that though by "man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of One shall many be made righteous. That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord," thus giving freedom to all upon one plane of life or the other, as set forth in His sure Word. This shall be accomplished in God's due time.

This word "drawn" has somewhat the same significance as the word "led," though neither of them carry in this case the thought of compulsion against one's will. It suggests the thought of continuous action and influence, extending to every phase of the Christian's life, physical and intellectual as well as spiritual, making of him a new creature in Christ Jesus through the power of God unto salvation, thus leading him to the accomplishment of His promised liberty.

"He leads us on
By paths we did not know,
Upward He leads us, though our steps be slow:
Though oft we faint and falter on the way,
Though storms and darkness oft obscure the day,
Yet, when the clouds are gone,
We know He leads us on.

"He leads us on
Through all the unquiet years:
Past all our dreamland hopes, and doubts, and fears
He guides our steps.
Through all the tangled maze
Of losses, sorrows, and o'erclouded days
We know His will is done:
And still He leads us on.

"And He, at last,
After the weary strife,
After the restless fever we call life,
After the weariness, the aching pain,
The wayward struggles, which have proved in vain,
After our toils are past
Will give us rest at last."

- Jane Borthwick.

In this leading of the Holy Spirit the first faculty of man to be touched is perhaps his understanding. He received enough to lead him on to seek further light, with the resulting conviction of sin, and if the impression be sufficiently deep, penitence is next in order, with the determination to seek the liberty of the Spirit of Christ by means of a proper consecration. He thus becomes one of those who have made a covenant with God by sacrifice, for now the Spirit's leading has touched his affection and he learns to love God because God first loved him. So he passes on until he realizes the great truth of the Apostle's statement, "for ye have received the Spirit of adoption whereby we cry, Abba, Father," and is led out into the glorious liberty of a son of God. It is not now a question of his duty to God or how much must he do for God, but what are his privileges in the light of this newly found liberty? He begins now to love as He loves him, and he finds that:

"Love is the key of life and death,
Of hidden heavenly mystery:
Of all Christ is, of all He saith,
Love is the key.

"As three times to His saint he saith,
He saith to me, He saith to thee,
Breathing His grace-confirming breath:
'Lovest thou Me?'

"Oh, Lord, I have such feeble faith,
Such feeble hope to comfort me:
But love it is, as strong as death,
And I love Thee."

"I will be with thee unto the end of the age. In His marvelous prayer as recorded by the Apostle John, our Lord said to the Father, "I pray not that Thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldest keep them from the evil. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. Sanctify them through Thy truth; Thy Word is truth." Let us remember that our liberty in Christ insures His interest in our welfare. Suffering and trials are the lot of His children even more than of others, but if we be truly led by the Spirit of God, we accept the fact that such leading does not exempt us from these sufferings and trials but most assuredly does deliver us from sin and its destructive influences, breaking the bondage which enslaves and substituting that liberty to claim the privileges of sons of God and joint-heirs with our blessed Master to all the promises made to such -"if children then heirs," and to the children belongs the inheritance. But be it remembered that with the inheritance goes the suffering with Him because we are joint-heirs with Him and because of Him, not by any rights of our own but because He paid the ransom price, He alone being the needed "antilutron" demanded by the just law of God.

The Apostle Paul was a positive character, a favorite expression of his being, "I know." Equally so should the sons of God know that they are such as they claim, and it is well to introspect and note whether one can claim an experience such as indicated when he states: "Because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father." Or does the "Spirit itself bear witness with our spirit that we are children of God"? Can those with whom we come in contact see in us a likeness to our heavenly Father? We should be able to show sufficient godlikeness to be recognized as being in relationship with Him. These evidences are important and must surely result in one who can truthfully say when subjected to the great test as set forth by St. John: "As many as received Him, to them gave He power [liberty] to become sons of God, even to them that believe on His name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." How he establishes the necessity of faith in the redemptive work of our beloved Master

Can there be a greater evidence of the grace of God than to know that this inheritance (this marvelous liberty) is God Himself and that we are the possessors of God? Moses said of the children of Israel, "The Lord has taken you to be to Him a people of inheritance." Peter said concerning the body of Christ, "Ye are a people for a possession."

David said, "The Lord is the portion of my inheritance." Paul says, "Ye are the heirs of God." The children of God are heirs to His promises. In the Epistle to the Hebrews they are called "heirs of salvation." (Heb. 1:14.) "The heirs of promise." (Hob. 6:17.) "Heirs according to the hope of eternal life." (Titus 3:7.) "Heirs together of the grace of God." (1 Pet. 3:7.) "Heirs of the Kingdom which God has promised to them that love Him." (James 2:5.) The Apostle James is not usually thought of as the Apostle of love, but here he agrees with John, who says, We know we have passed from death [bondage] unto life [liberty] because we love-the brethren, because we have reached a degree of development when we can truly say that we are dead [no longer in bondage] to sin and alive unto [the liberty of] God,

"As many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God": but our leading may not always be:

"In pastures green? Not always: sometimes He
Who knoweth best, in kindness leadeth me
By weary ways, where heavy shadows be.

"And by still waters? No, not always
Ofttimes the heavy tempests round me blow,
And o'er my soul the waves and billows go.

"But when the storm is loudest, and I cry
Aloud for help, the Master standeth by
And whispers to my soul, 'Lo it is I.'

"Above the tempest wild I hear Him say,
'Beyond this darkness lies the perfect day,
In every path of thine I lead the way.'

"So, whether on the hilltops high and fair
I dwell, or in the sunless valleys where
The shadows lie -- what matter? He is there."

As sons of God being led by the Holy Spirit, we enjoy a closeness of relationship which cannot be equaled by even the closest of human relationships. We love God because we have been adopted into His family and enjoy that blessed assurance of faith and of hope. "We have the compensating kiss of a felt forgiveness upon our cheeks and the tender whisper of assurance in our souls."

With this tender whisper of assurance in their souls the sons of God cannot despair and find an echo in their hearts of the sentiment of a poet of despair who speaks thus:

"But if from boundless spaces no answering voice shall start,
Except the barren echo of our ever yearning heart --
Farewell, then, empty deserts, where beat our aimless wings,
Farewell, then, dream sublime of uncompassable things."

No, he turns to that blessing wherewith Moses, the man of God, blessed the children of Israel before his death. And he said:

"Yea, His holy ones-- they are in thy hand:
And they sit down at thy feet,
Receiving of thy words."

And the blessing of Asher seems prophetic of the sons of God:

"And of Asher he said,
Blessed be Asher above sons:
Let him be the favored of his brethren
And let him dip his foot in oil.

"Iron and brass shall be thy bars [shoes]
And as thy days so shall thy strength be.
There is none like unto God of Jeshurun,

"Who rideth upon the heaven as thy help,
And in His excellency on the skies.
The eternal God is a dwelling-place
And underneath are the everlasting arms."

- Margolis.

"Seventeen beautiful Easter lilies were planted in a garden, and in due time sixteen of them sprung up with all their beauty, but one which had been planted near the hedgerow never seemed to make any progress whatever: it was carefully tended, watched, and watered day by day, and yet it never grew. At last the gardener dug it up, and then he found out the cause. In the hedge had been planted a clematis, and it had thrust its silken roots through the earth, wanting something to take hold of, and, feeling the lily bulb, had twined around it, until by degrees it had strangled it: and the lily which grew above the earth was never more than a poor, puny thing."

A simple story, but to him who is striving, by the help of God, to maintain his liberty in Christ, is there not a lesson that may be learned? - S. D. Bennett

Annual Report of the Pastoral Bible Institute

ASSEMBLING AGAIN for the privileges of an Annual Meeting, we look back with joy on the definite evidences of the Lord's blessing and overruling providence in the year past; and find in that review abundant prospect for a year of blessing ahead. We are not, however, unmindful that the Institute's best endeavors have been and will continue to be "unprofitable" service, acceptable only through the loving provision of our Lord and Head. While there have been fruitful privileges of serving the general public by means of tracts, public meetings, etc., we have found the Lord's favor particularly manifest in our endeavors to build one another up in the most holy faith, assisting in the "perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ."

The Lord has blessed us by adding considerably to our list of interested and grateful correspondents. There have been letters of criticism as well as of appreciation; but to our joy an increasing proportion of both have shown a deepening interest in us as brethren and a genuine desire to help us, both in our personal advancement and in our service of the brethren. The brethren quite generally have known trials and testings; but the spiritual and sympathetic tone of a large percentage of the letters received indicates these have not been unprofitable experiences, but have been turned to good spiritual account. Prominent among the evidences of having been "rightly exercised" is a growing tolerance born of love. Back of this we trace a greater love for our heavenly Father, shown by a greater contentment with His will for us an assurance that His Word "is sufficient" as a guide to "acceptable service" in our relationship to Him and to His brethren.

The Institute's Policy

The Institute now definitely stands (as it has for several. years past) for the joint principles of full liberty of the justified and consecrated believer in Christ, and the unity and full fellowship of all such. In so doing we hold that we are not only adhering to the plain teaching of Jesus and His Apostles, but also holding with full loyalty to the spirit of our late Pastor's teachings. He taught that justification and consecration were the basis for full fellowship of God's peculiar people; and not the many ramifications of doctrine which some dear brethren, mistakenly following human wisdom, hold should be applied as a test of fellowship.

In so doing we are suffering some ostracism, unpopularity, and disabilities, partly, as the writer to the Hebrews suggests, by reason of our own attitude and partly because we fellowship brethren of Christ who are particularly subjected to "reproaches and afflictions."

In taking this stand we have been mistakenly charged with lowering the standards of harvest truth and fellowship, and of a drift toward the position of the denominational systems of Christianity. In reply we point to the time-honored statement published in every issue of the "Herald under the heading "To Us the Scriptures Clearly Teach."

It has never been more necessary than now for us to remind you that the Institute is not a church organization and that it neither has nor desires supervision over any class. It is pleased by every privilege of service granted it, rejoicing to be the servant of the Lord's brethren in any detail, however minor it may be. The taking of any other attitude than that of servant would indicate the arising of sectarianism-a misfortune which, we trust and have confidence to believe, would result in a general complaint from our brethren throughout the world whom it has been our privilege to serve this past year. Not the least of our joys has been to note a growing spirit of discernment and tolerance among our brethren at large. With this before them, our Editors have hoped to preserve the truth in its simplicity, and at the same time encourage the spirit of a sincere searching of the Scriptures to the end that continual progress in both grace and knowledge might be assured to themselves and to the readers of the "Herald."

Various Publications

We rejoice with our "Herald" Editorial Committee in the assurance our correspondence gives us of the effective service they have rendered this past year. Doubtless your cooperation will be welcomed if you will continue the sending of suggestions as to the types of articles you appreciate, topics profitable for discussion, newspaper clippings of interest (always carefully preserving- the name and date of the paper), and Scriptures which they may seem to have overlooked. One very strong evidence of a growing appreciation of the "Herald" is the trebling of the size of the three months trial subscription list. In this connection we remind you that our files have special issues of the "Herald" that were prepared with the intention of serving brethren who are restless under a bondage already too long endured. There is also the special issue containing a reprint of "What Say the Scriptures Concerning Hell?" and "What Say the Scriptures About Our Lord's Return?" very valuable as a means of further guidance for those who have shown interest in the tracts, and as an introduction to "The Divine Plan of the Ages." Still more profitable are the "Studies in the Scriptures," and we are pleased that a supply of these is still available. For convenience and economy in introducing your neighbors to these blessings, a special pocket edition of the First Volume was printed some years ago. The supply is not exhausted, although many copies have gone out during this last twelve months. We believe we will have sufficient to supply all your needs for at least another year.

There also remain on hand several hundred of the volume, "Daniel the Beloved of Jehovah," as also Volume One of the "Revelation" series, an exhaustive examination from the historical standpoint. The study of Revelation is of special value in these days when many are being aroused to an interest in prophecy. A stock of Volume Two has been retained for lending.

The new tracts published this year, "The World of Tomorrow," and "Do You Know?" have been well received, and quantities ordered. We would suggest to the incoming Board the bringing out of still other new tracts, thus giving the brethren an opportunity of witnessing again to some who have already received all the literature now printed. This might necessitate the discontinuing of some of our present issues, and we therefore suggest that the brethren restock them while available. It will be of value if the brethren will write of their experiences in tract distribution, especially of new conditions met and topics that would be specially advantageous for use in their particular communities.

Should results not have been as large as anticipated in the use of the "Witness Cards," we suggest that you do not be discouraged on this account. Remember that such response as one does have is an indication of genuine interest, bearing in mind also that neither public meetings nor tract distribution has ever resulted in a very large percentage of permanent interest. One grain of wheat is of much more value than a bin full of chaff.

Pilgrim Service

The pilgrims have been blessed in serving both the brethren and the general public. In the latter privilege there is always a blessing that comes even to those who have known the truth for many years, as they listen with great joy and often with a revival of the spirit to the old, old story. For those who are having so little of fellowship that it is not possible to have regular meetings we suggest that they would do well to ask that their pilgrim visits be extended to two or three days so that one session may be devoted to a public meeting without robbing themselves of their own much needed deeper spiritual instruction and encouragement. Such requests should be sent the office at once. It is too late to take this step after the pilgrim's time has all been offered to and accepted by others. There is no better means than a public witness of finding our brethren of a former day who have grown cold because "iniquity" has abounded. Even a cottage meeting advertised may draw some of the brethren to you, thus granting them and you a permanent fellowship-a foretaste of eternity.

Some ecclesias seem not to have noticed our announcement that the Institute is always glad to send the pilgrim to a hotel if the local friends are not so situated as to make it convenient to entertain him. It would seem a serious mistake to miss spiritual fellowship because of a difficulty so easily overcome.

During the past year there have been five brethren giving full time to the service and seven who have accepted week-end appointments, eager to serve, and being much blessed in their using of this privilege.

Miles traveled 84,751
Meetings held 1,049
Attendance 14,952

Our Correspondence

Our correspondence, which was at times so heavy as to make prompt replies impossible, has been valued highly. Our hearts have been much strengthened by the encouraging messages that continually come to our office, mostly, of course, from the United States and Canada. Precious messages from other lands also have gladdened our hearts. The comfort that comes to us through this source, however, is not mainly from that which can be put on paper, but from the spirit of the Lord speaking more clearly than mere words. Our great regret is that we have been unable to reply as fully and as promptly to these as we would have liked to do. We use this opportunity to thank the brethren for all they have done to uphold our hands, and to express especial gratitude to those who have kept up our courage by repeated assurances that blessings have been received-in spite of our many imperfections.

Letters received 4,842
Letters dispatched 8,215

More and more the brethren are appreciating the stand which the Institute has been taking for a non-sectarian liberalism. While still continuing to appreciate all which we believe to be truth, and still endeavoring faithfully to dispense those truths as there is need and opportunity, it has been our pleasure and privilege also to remember the Scriptural statement as to what are the "foundation" doctrines and to insist on a doctrinal unity on these points, beyond this stressing only a sincere desire for growth along all lines, and the ''unity of the spirit," toward which we all aim, and regarding the early attainment of which we have abundant reason for hoping. Even "the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ" seems near at hand for all those who, building with gold, silver, and precious stones, can keep "the confidence of their rejoicing firm unto the end." As, daily, "things" that are Scripturally the basis for our "lifting up our heads" and rejoicing are coming to pass and are made more clearly evident, we should surely be found pressing on with increasing zeal in every work the Lord has for us, giving less attention to the things of the flesh and schemes of its devising, and more to the searching out of the things of the spirit -- "laying not up treasure on earth, but laying tip treasure in heaven," and appreciating every fellow traveler seeking that goal.

We cannot close this report without an expression of keen love and brotherly interest in our brethren in foreign lands, especially those in the war-stricken countries. While not lacking in faith that the One in whom we have trusted and in whom we still trust will fulfill every word of His good promise to them in their hour of special trial, our hearts are nevertheless torn and bruised as daily we remember them at the throne of heavenly grace. It must surely be of some comfort to them to learn through this report that rarely is there a meeting held in this country today in which the united prayers of the brethren are not earnestly offered in intercession on their behalf, that in the midst of the fire they may be kept true to the principles of their glorious Lord and Head-the Pioneer, indeed, of their faith. Let them realize now, as never before, that "it is glorious to serve Christ in honesty and in fulness of fidelity. There is an ineffable joy in being on the right side, in knowing that beyond the field of blood and the valley of shadows is an abundant entrance into the joys and peace of the triumphant King of kings. With that hope none should . . . quail before the rage of the enemy, and none tremble before the certainty of hunger, thirst, nakedness, wounds, or death." Let them remember, too, that the statement long since made, that we are immortal until our work is finished, "is practically true of all engaged in the Lord's service-that 'precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.'"

We have not followed cunningly devised fables in casting ourselves by faith on the great mercy of God, and in seeking to walk, albeit with faltering steps, the way the Master trod. May it be both for them and for us that as many as are permitted to continue through the year which lies ahead may be drawn ever closer to our Lord and to each other, living under all manner of circumstances in the full confidence that "He who keeps us never slumbers nor sleeps, and is too wise to err, as well as competent to meet every emergency that could possibly come upon us as a result of our obedience."

The Annual Meeting

In accordance with our charter, the members and other interested friends gathered in the offices of the Institute, for the twenty-second annual meeting June 1st. After the usual opening devotional service and the election of a chairman and a secretary for the meeting, the minutes of the previous annual meeting were read and approved. Next in order were the reports of the Institute's Secretary and Treasurer, both approved, the latter with the provision that minor changes, if agreeable to the Auditing Committee, might later be made.

The reading of the list of new members, a somewhat larger one than has been read for quite a number of years, preceded the primary business of the occasion, the election of the new Board. During the absence of the tellers for the counting of ballots, hymns of praise were sung to the One on whose guidance the gathering depended. It was closed by the return of the tellers to announce the reelection of the old Board, Brothers Dr. S. D. Bennett, J. J. Blackburn, H. A. Friese, J. C. Jordan, P. L. Read, C. E. Stiles, and P. E. Thomson.

Following a vote of thanks to the tellers and an opportunity for comments and suggestions from all on the general work, a devotional service brought the meeting to a close with the spirit that had prevailed throughout. Two members of the Board, Brothers Dr. Bennett and Read, being prevented by illness from being present, the other five, in the following Board meeting, continued in office the same brethren as last year: Dr. S. D. Bennett, Chairman; C. E. Stiles, Vice-chairman; P. E. Thomson, Secretary; P. L. Read, Treasurer; H. E. Hollister, Assistant-treasurer. The brethren now engaged in the pilgrim service were also all invited to serve another year. It was decided to confer with the absent members of the Board before announcing the personnel of the Editorial Committee, the following being thus chosen to serve: Dr. S. D. Bennett, H. E. Hollister, P. L. Read, P. E. Thomson, and W. J. Siekman.

Financial Statement

Receipts:

Contributions                    $3,944.19
Herald Subscriptions              1,135.01
Books and Mottoes                   430.31
Rentals, Hdqrs. Rooms               650.00
Legacies-Net                      2,574.94
Interest on Securities              30.00    ________
                                            $8,764.45

Expenditures

Headquarters

Building Maintenance 147.49

Office Expense           364.78
Staff Allowances         900.00
Petty Cash                 26.38
Coal, Gas, Electricity   239.11
Insurance                  85.65
Taxes                     222.51 1,985.91

Herald Publication                1,092.92
Pilgrim Expense and Allowances   2,959.66
Free Literature                     208.78
Cost of Books and Mottoes Sold     422.40
Interest on Mortgage                331.53   _________
                                            $7,001.20
Excess Income over Expense                   $1,763.25

Statement of Auditors

The undersigned auditors have examined the accounts of the Pastoral Bible Institute and have found them correct and in good order.

Respectfully submitted,

LOUIS NEWMAN
FREDERICK LANCE
ROBERTA HOLLISTER

The Brooklyn Convention

The following has been sent us as a report of the recent Brooklyn Convention:

"The annual convention, under the auspices of the ecclesia of Associated Bible Students who meet at 177 Prospect Place, convened in the Brooklyn YMCA Building June 1st and 2nd. The services were appreciated and enjoyed by about one hundred and fifty friends who were privileged to attend.

"Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." - 2 Cor. 3:17.

"'We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death." - 1 John 3:14.

"'Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another and the Lord hearkened and heard and a book of remembrance was written before Him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon His name." - Mal. 3:16.

"The whole convention seemed especially marked by the presence of the Spirit of the Lord, and His overruling was seen in all the arrangements which had been made by the dear brethren of the class.

"The subjects discussed by the speakers were:

"'The Far Distances.'-Isa. 33:17.

"'Endure Hardness As a Good Soldier.'-2 Tim. 2:3.

"'Led of the Spirit.'-Rom. 8:9-17.

"'The Truth Seeker's Rich Reward.'-Phil. 1:12.

"'The Legacy of Peace.'-John 14:27.

"'Be Thou Faithful Unto Death.'-Rev. 2:11.

"Our hearts burned within us as the speakers refreshed our minds regarding the many wonderful features of our Father's great plan for all mankind, the many precious promises of aid and comfort for those walking the narrow way, the heights to which God's children may attain, and the far vision which may be their portion. We rejoiced in hope as they spoke of the bright future beyond this vale of tears for all the willing and obedient.

"In the baptismal service two dear young people, trusting in Jesus as their ransom, symbolized their full consecration to give up their own wills and accept as theirs the will of our risen Lord and Head, gladly accepting His direction and overruling of all their affairs.

"A few brief, helpful excerpts from the various talks follow:

"Loving can be expanded indefinitely. 'Having loved His own He loved them to the utmost -- to the limit.' Man is but a 'worm of the dust'; as 'grass.' God tells man to consider His works and His ways. He is mindful of us because we do consider. 'Who is blind but My servant?' Jesus was blind to earthly influences. So must we shut our eyes to earthly things.

"Paul said, 'Give yourself wholly to these things.' Self stands in the way of our serving God perfectly. We are dead in God's sight. Are we dead in our own sight? Any instrument which God can use for our development is our cross.

"The Spirit is: a blast of breath, a vital principle forceful, energetic, living. The Holy Spirit which controls us makes us acceptable in the Beloved. We are rejoiced that our hearts are in tune with the Lord so that we can receive His blessing.

"Everything is converging in the world: nearing the end for those who are faithful and will be of the Church. Christ is the One who binds us to God. Because we are in Christ, He will quicken our mortal bodies. We are to look below the surface for the effects of our beliefs. We may attain high altitudes. We may know Him and the power of His resurrection. Leaving the first principles, we may go on to perfection. Christ within gives victory.

"The peace of Christ and peace of God come only as a result of consecration and through the begettal of the Holy Spirit. As we grow in the spirit and in knowledge of God, our peace increases-'according to your faith,' our Master said.

"Helpful lessons were brought out by comparing the experiences of the disciples after Jesus' death with our experiences since 1914.

"'Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.' Of God's faithfulness there can never be any doubt. Faithfulness on our part means victory in the strength of God, who changes not. He will never fail in His part of the covenant which we have made with Him 'by sacrifice.' First of all, we must be faithful in prayer if we would be 'faithful unto death.' It will be praying Christians who will receive the 'crown of life.'

"When the convention closed, with the singing of 'God Be with You Till We Meet Again,' all felt that they had come apart to rest for a little season at Jesus' feet, had caught something of His Spirit, and the prayer of each was that they might take away-and manifestmore of His Spirit."

An Interesting Letter From Poland

Beloved Brethren in the Lord:

I greet you all, sisters and brothers in Christ, who have not ceased to love our Lord and His holy truth.

I have long sought a way to share with you the experiences and blessings our Father- has permitted to come to us and also to learn more of your own condition. For a long time it was impossible to communicate with you, but now the Lord has opened a door through which it is my hope this letter will pass. I will therefore describe for you some of our recent experiences and also our present condition.

That which has befallen us was in truth so unexpected that it is difficult to realize that now Poland is divided into three parts, each separate and inaccessible to the others. The storm was terrible (as once on Galilee), and only the voice of our Lord was able to speak peace and keep us in the ship. Many, unhappily, did not heed the voice and being overwhelmed by the roaring waves, have suffered loss.

Near our home the road for three weeks was packed with vast numbers of fleeing people. First came the automobiles, then the busses and trucks, next the horse drawn vehicles, and finally the masses of trudging humanity, rich and poor, many barefooted, some with little carts or wheelbarrows on which were piled their pitiful belongings. Their destination no one knew. I have been through two wars, but such a terrible mass pilgrimage I have never seen before.

For three hours before the arrival of the German army, not a person could be seen either in the fields or the towns. It all resembled a cemetery. Even the dogs were silent; and cattle, which had been deserted, when they saw an individual, would cling to his side and could not .be driven away even with blows. Such was the sense of terror. For that period of time, everything lost its worth. Homes, gardens, and farms all became valueless. Families were separated, and many individuals were lost far from home. If they had remained in their own homes, they would have weathered the storm with little if any loss. The human waves of fear were stirred up by various causes, chiefly the newspapers and the radio.

We have been witnesses of this unwise course. During three days, the people lacked even necessary bread for their sustenance, not to mention other necessities. Where these masses passed, all wells of water were pumped dry. Later the people returned, hungry, tattered, and destitute. Many had cast away or lost what little possessions they had endeavored to save. But despite all this suffering, there is no evidence of repentance or improvement in the people; rather, a waiting for an opportunity for vengeance.

We believers stayed in our own places, trusting God to deliver us from evil, and we were not deceived. We remained in our own homes, and no harm befell us. Many of the brethren were forced into the army, but none, to our knowledge, has been lost. We saw bombs fall all about our homes, but none was damaged whatsoever. In one town a bomb fell a few feet from a brother, but he was unharmed with the exception of a slight injury to his leg. We have witnessed that "precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints."

I recognized God's watchful care over me also, for I was able to return a long distance to my home before the storm broke, and my presence was evidently necessary. I encouraged the brethren to remain where they were, and after the storm passed, I immediately visited all the brethren possible and reached even to T -------. It is impossible to describe the great joy of brethren reuniting. I could see evidence of the Lord's providence everywhere, and we all gratefully acknowledge that He has helped us and will continue to so do. Though the sunshine of truth seems to be fading and may soon disappear, yet as once God lengthened the day for Joshua, so even now it has once more become possible for the brethren to gather together. In the more jeopardous places, we refrain only from the singing of hymns in our services. In S------ the friends meet but only in small unnoticeable groups. In P---------- we also gather for religious meetings but must exercise extreme care lest we be misunderstood. Here some of the brethren were forcibly removed to other sections of Poland, and the brethren generally are in daily expectancy of having to share the same fate. This is a very sorrowful experience, as many have lived for many years in their homes, and to receive a sudden notice to evacuate everything in twenty minutes and be transported to the Protectorate section is causing much suffering.

So far, all our former pilgrim brethren are well and continuing to stand fast, to the best of our knowledge. Brother W ---------- is home at present and cannot make any trip due to inability to obtain a permit. We have heard that Brother S ------------ has passed through severe experiences in the Russian portion, but so far as we now know, he is still alive and well, although correspondence with him is still impossible on account of present conditions. I have written him several times but have received no reply. Brothers G ------ and K ------- are home and unable to travel. God has blessed me with the privilege of visiting many classes, and no evil has befallen me, although things are so unsettled that anything could happen. God has protected me, and I am able to continue to assist the brethren to put on more of the armor of God, as Paul writes in Ephesians 6:13-18. Although the Lord's Word exhorts to be always ready, some had neglected this exhortation and put off the doing of much to the future. Too much care was applied to the temporal things of this life, while the fulfillment of their covenant with the Lord was postponed. And now, so suddenly, it has been shown that we must always be prepared for the consummation of our hope.

I do not think I will have as much freedom to travel in the near future, as our liberties are being much restricted. The division of the country into sections is rapidly preventing travel from one part to another. Thousands are endeavoring to obtain travel permits, and so much confusion is resulting that now permits are all but impossible to obtain.

I have now shared with you some of our recent experiences and wish sincerely that the brethren everywhere would blow the trumpet loudly in Zion that the brethren might diligently examine themselves to be sure they are wearing all the armor of God. Perhaps the storm clouds may turn and reach even unto you, although perhaps in a different manner than has happened to us. Perhaps among you some are putting off until tomorrow the fulfillment of their vow to the Lord. It would be well for them to hasten to be prepared for the evil day.

As to our daily necessities, conditions are very bad. The prophecy of Amos 8:11, 11 is being fulfilled in both a spiritual and material way. Hunger is showing itself in every one, even those who possess more of the things of this life. There are no fats of any kind, and bread is obtainable only by weight, and that in very small quantities. At present I am without employment and receive from the government seven marks per week for my family of six. But even for this we are grateful and recognize in it the ever watchful providence of God.

I close these few words now. There is much more that could be written, but I shall be happy if this letter reaches you that our fellowship may continue. Let us all pray for one another, and the Lord will help us to be finally victorious.

I greet all the sisters and brothers in the words of St. Paul: 2 Corinthians 6:11-13; Colossians 3:12-17, and remain

Your brother in Christ,
------- ------- Poland.

"Call to Remembrance the Former Days"

(Concluded from last issue)

"Call to remembrance the former days, in which, after ye were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of afflictions." - Heb. 11:22

LET US see what this meant for our Hebrew brethren long ago!

First of all, the Apostle carries their mind back to the days and experiences of their fathers, and recites case after case where some worthy ancestor had proved faithful under adverse circumstances. They too had stepped out upon the promises of God and had been actuated by the things unseen.

Abel, Noah, Enoch of the first dispensation had believed in God and walked with Him. Then comes Abraham, their father par excellence, in whom they gloried and boasted, and Sarah, his long-tried wife. He to whom the land was promised for which he left the land of his fathers, possessed not so much as to set his foot upon but to the end of his life looked forward down the dim and distant centuries till the City of God should be established.

And Sarah, grown old, received, as it were, the powers of youth and at length clasped a son to her bosom, flesh of her own flesh.

And Isaac blessed his sons concerning things not seen. And Jacob, about to be gathered to his Fathers, gave instructions about his bones, and in like manner "called to remembrance the former days" of his long and eventful life. And so we might go on to great length.

Call to Remembrance Our Refuge

The Apostle calls their mind to the promises and purposes of God-God first, He Himself, the great, the eternal, the omnipotent God, than whom there was none greater, so that when He would reinforce His promise and supplement it by His oath, there was none save Himself that He could swear by.

The eternal God was their Refuge. He it was to whom the Apostle lifts their eyes in these moments of their weakness. And as God had spoken to their fathers, so now He had spoken to them through His Son.

The wonderful message of salvation which they had heard and the call to glory were from God. The Eternal had spoken to them! They were God's own words which they had heard. And they were in fulfillment of His promise to their father Abraham, "Surely blessing I will bless thee." They were as a city of refuge into which they might flee. In addition they were as an anchorage into which they might throw their soul's anchor, amid the driving storms of life. The God who had never failed their fathers when they had stepped out in faith, would never fail them even though they had to pass through flame and flood.

And then he carries their mind tip to Him who some while before had trodden Jerusalem's streets and Galilee's highways but was now at God's right hand. He had won through to glory, and He was the Captain of the band to which they had been called.

He bids them look to Jesus, the Leader in the line of faith, as not only its Leader but also its finished product-made perfect by suffering. He reminds them that He endured the cross-made more cruel, bitter, and heavy by the malignant hate of His own people-and how He despised its shame.

And who of all men who have suffered was more worthy to escape suffering than He? Yet He endured it, for God's sake! for God's promises' sake! for God's purposes' sake! And men had contradicted Him, not one whit less than they were contradicting them, but He was not influenced by it at all.

He endured all this gainsaying, and all the time He stood alone. There was none to exhort and comfort Him in the hour of His travail, for in the days of His flesh there was none save God to whom He could turn for relief.

Time was when these things had thrilled them through and through and had won their hearts' allegiance and loyalty against all the "pull" of their national and ancestral claims. And they went forth willingly to suffer as He had suffered and to help others stand who likewise were suffering.

Let them now call upon their memories to revive the spirit of those days, the things that happened, the words which were spoken, the clasp of hands in loving embrace, and the fervent impassioned kiss that linked heart to heart when no word could be spoken.

Let them venture out again upon the promises of God and see if high heaven would not equip them again with the same mighty. power to do and bear. Let them not, by failing now, lose the value of all those blessed years and be like the ground which brings forth thorns and thistles only, after the copious rains have fallen upon it.

Call to Remembrance Jesus' Faithfulness

"Call to remembrance" God, eternal, omnipotent. immutable, yet a gentle, patient Father, who was controlling and administering the discipline in their lives in order to permeate them with His holiness, thus to prepare them for His presence.

Call to mind Jesus, who did suffer unto blood, who died on behalf of every man, who was called of God to be an High Priest of a new order, who after being made perfect through suffering would be able to sympathize with all those who were out of the way. Consider Him, who because of His faithfulness unto death would meet a whole world's needs and bring the big, mighty, far-reaching, all comprehending purposes of God to completion and fruition. And if they would do this, the trivial trials and sufferings of their own little lives would shrink into insignificance, and the opposition of their malignant enemies would hardly be worth a moment's thought. It was a mere momentary episode in a long chain of events leading up to an eternal climax. And soon, very soon, they would see the Kingdom of God established and the better covenant operating, and blessing flowing the whole earth around. Let them know and realize that He knew of their lot and would sympathize with them and help them and that God would not forget what they had clone, their labors of love and sorrow, and pains and anguish of soul.

It is when men look down to the earth and its problems that they tremble and wilt and lose heart. They see the littleness and meanness and poverty of their fellows. They see the filth and the mire in which they live. They see the hollowness and mockery of their pretensions. They see men using God's great gifts and nature's wonderful secrets to smite and destroy their kind. Everywhere it is all squalor and squabble, with scarce a ray of hope the whole world over. And all this depresses the spirit and chills the soul, and hope dies out, and faith expires, and black night descends upon the whole outlook.

And looking down upon the earth makes it seem a bigger place, for instead of comparing it with the stars, we compare it with our own parish boundaries, and we multiply the sorrows we see in our own little circle a million-fold, to arrive at the sum of 'human sorrow. And thus it assumes the proportions of the Himalayan or Andes mountains, towering high above our little level. It seems so big, and we, and all who care and sorrow for it, seem so puny and so inadequate and of such trifling significance.

The only panacea for the chills and the depression of the human heart is to look up to God, ant the big things of His purposes. We tried once to win the world to righteousness, and were failing all the time. Relief came to our troubled hearts when we learned for the first time that this was God's work, and that He had it all in His plan and would bring omnipotent power to bear on it.

Call to Remembrance the Promises

His scheme is big and wide and deep. It takes in every soul of man, from Adam onwards, till the fountains of human reproduction are dried up. The problems of the statesman, the economist, the doctor, the clergyman, the difficulties of the municipal as well as the national administrators, are all prepared against.

God's provisions cover not only production but distribution; not only will enough be grown, but there will then be no want amidst plenty, no poverty amidst wealth. It will cover every need of every living thing, and as the hosts of the dead are brought back from their long sleep, there will still be enough, enough and to spare. And it is only as we look to Jesus as the companion along life's journey that the shadows flee and the fears are dissipated.

Do we not remember those days when the full force of Jesus' kinship to us first really dawned upon our minds?

Hitherto it had been claimed for Him that He was Very God of Very God, a mystery inscrutable and outside our range of belief and understanding. But when we learned that He who was rich, for our sakes became poor, that we through His poverty might be made rich; that He who from before time began had been the Eternal's delight, unrobed Himself of heaven's bright glory and came down to this sad earth and walked here as a man, and then voluntarily gave Himself up to death, yea, an ignominious death on the cross, that He might bring us to God and that He might lead us on to heavenly glory and place us with Himself throughout the unending sweep of ages to come; that He assumed flesh to become our brother to redeem and recover us and that He opened for us the way whereby we entered into the heavenly family and became again to us an elder brother of a higher standing and invited us to join in His inheritance; all this, of His own free will: do we not remember the thrill of gratitude as we saw the full, wide sweep of it all, the unlimited, ample provision of the love of God and the love of Jesus as it was revealed to our wondering eyes and exulting hearts?

These things belonged to our "illumination," when the scales fell away and when amid the darkness of this world's sad plight we stepped into the "light" of His Word-they were wonderful days. If today we are discouraged or if we have fears or if we are murmuring, let us call on our memory to go back to those clays. If we have spiritual heart disease or spiritual brain-fag or spiritual dyspepsia or spiritual neurasthenia, let us go back and meet the Great Physician again in recalling the great healing tonic value of those thrilling moments when we were first illuminated. If the present time lies heavy on our soul, let us go back and live for awhile in the past, which gave vigor and strength for those strenuous days of old.

Who has not read of some aged, white-haired veteran, having made good across the wide seas, returning to the place of his boyhood, there to experience again the thrills of walking over the old paths, and sitting in the same spots as he did when just a boy, just calling to remembrance the former things. There is a power in them that steals into the heart like a perfume and distils over again the joys that had lain hidden deep in memory's chambers. Think of the dear men of God with whom we walked; think of those heavenly counselors with whom we talked; recall their words and the glowing rapture of their faces as they told us of the purposes of God and the sacrifice of Jesus and of all that it meant to us; and let these things help to chase our fears and our coldness and lethargy away today.

Remember Whence We Came

With many of us life assumes an even tenor as we advance in years. Little by little a routine life makes all our days alike, or if there is any change, it is likely to be a slow settling clown into fixed ways of thought and worship. Years of familiarity with the truth may cause its power over us to diminish and become less forceful. To rouse ourselves out of a spiritual dotage and to keep ourselves young and strong in the Lord, it will be of untold benefit to "call to remembrance the former days" after we were "first enlightened" and tell each other more frequently what the Lord did for us then as He let in the light of His great Plan of the Ages.

Let us take one more illustration from the Word of God; a familiar one, perhaps, but it will show us what to do to recover our appreciation and love for Him who has done so much for us. The illustration is .in Revelation 2:2-4, in the letter to the church at Ephesus. Amidst the much that the Lord commends (and the dear Lord commends all He can) He has this to say against them, "Thou hast left thy first love." "I know thy works, and thy labor, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil; and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars; and hast borne, and hash patience, and for My name's sake hast labored, and hast not fainted. Nevertheless I have against thee that thou hast left thy first love." That is where the decline and decay begins with all of us. There can be labor and effort, there can be endurance and patience, there can be discrimination regarding teachers and teaching, but if the heart is growing cool to the Lord and to the brethren, these other things count for very much less than they should.

Condemned Though Commended

Notice how much the Lord commends here, even though there is such a serious fault among them. "I know thy works," says the Lord, -- not merely works, but "labor," arduous labor, energetic work. Now "labor" under adverse conditions can break down and discouragement set in, but they had not broken down but had had "long patience" and were plodding on, still meeting for fellowship and other service.

They could not bear evil nor dictatorial teachers, but had tried them and found them wanting. Evil doctrine had shown itself in prominent places, and they had searched it out and driven it from their midst. All this the Lord commends. And in addition they had borne and suffered and in Christ's name had labored. For Christ's sake they had labored night and day and had borne persecution. All this they could show; yet the Lord says, "Nevertheless I have against thee that thou hast left thy first love." The Lord does not say they had lost all their love for Him, for evidently there was some real true love, else they would not have labored and endured. But its first freshness and charm were gone.; The glowing, white hot enthusiasm was gone. They had a love for the truth (the doctrine) and had searched out teachers of error, but they had lost the thrilling, inspiring response of the "first days." It had become routine work and routine service, and they had worn themselves into a groove. The machinery revolved without doubt, but something was interfering with the "power"; the "first love" was gone.

We should ask ourselves, brethren, if we can remember the days of our "first love" and whether we ever experience in these days that uprush of joy and glad response that was characteristic of those glorious days. There is something unique about "first love"; it is a powerful, engrossing, soul-satisfying thing. It takes possession of one to the exclusion of all other things. It sweeps all rivals away. It occupies all the affections, and the hands and the feet. It is a sovereign remedy for weariness, and it can assuage even pain and sorrow.

Perhaps memory can serve us today as we seek to recall what it meant when the light came into our hearts and like the blind man we could say, "One thing I know: once I was blind; now I see."

And we can all confess that for a while, longer or shorter, the love of Christ possessed and constrained us, and there was nothing else to contest or share our hearts with Him. He had and held the key to our affections. And because they were His, our brethren too shared the radiant warmth of our hearts, and our love to them was "first love" also. And if it is otherwise now, if we have toned ourselves down to a quieter and more sedate estimate of Christ and the truth, the great plan of God, and show a slower response to our brethren; we should give ear to our Lord saying, "Thou hast left thy first love. Remember from whence thou art fallen." It will not do to allow advancing years to rob us of all the joyous treasure of those earlier days.

Remember Our Calling

If other things have crowded in and turned our eyes and hearts from the Lord and His own special calling, to which we have also been called, then it behooves us to remember the "former days." There was one thing in our lives then, and it held the whole field. We lived for it, and it satisfied.

We can easily imagine, as our love grows cool, that we are acquiring wisdom and seeing things in better proportion now than then. Perhaps the thought comes in that we were too extreme and over-enthusiastic and that it is only the impulsive ardor of the first days which has passed (and which ought to have passed) and that we are "wiser" now, when in reality we are less spiritually minded and less devoted and less responsive.

Will the language of our hearts and lives ever be that Christ Jesus promised what He has never been able to perform? that He promised much and has given only little? that we have been disappointed in Him because He has not proved to be what we needed Him to be? Our brethren may have been broken reeds, untrustworthy pillars, but can we say that of Him too? If Christ Jesus our Lord has had His rightful place in our hearts; that cannot have happened! But if it has happened, then He has not had His rightful place all these years!

Call to remembrance, therefore, those former days, brethren, when we plighted our spiritual troth with Jesus and with our Father and when we accepted all the Lord's followers as our brethren because they were His children, and let the spirit of those days and of that "first love" recapture our hearts with all its great power and enthusiasm, to make the last days the best. - Contributed by S. D. Bennett

Pray for Me

"I cannot tell why there should come to me
A thought of some one miles and miles away,
In swift insistence on the memory,
Unless a need there be that I should pray.

"Too hurried oft are we to spare the thought,
For days together, of some friends away;
Perhaps God does it for us, and we ought
To read this signal as a call to pray.

"Perhaps just then my friend has fiercer fight
And more appalling weakness; and decay
Of courage; darkness; some lost sense of right;
And so, in case he needs my prayer, I pray.

"Friend, do the same for me. If I intrude
Unasked upon you on some crowded day,
Give me a moment's prayer as interlude.
Be very sure I need it; therefore pray."