THE HERALD
of Christ's Kingdom

VOL. XXIX MAY 1946 NO. 5
Table of Contents

Modern Babel

"The Voice of Jehovah Cleaveth the Flames of Fire"

Faithful Unto Death

Another Laborer Called to His Reward

The Crisis of the World

God Comforts His People

Annual Meeting of the Pastoral Bible Institute

Modern Babel

"We looked for peace, but no good came; for a time of health,
and behold trouble." - Jer. 8:15.

HISTORY has a persistent tendency to repeat it­self. This well-worn statement has been reit­erated so frequently that to most of us it has become axiomatic. The truth that the statement expresses is however not so strange or mysterious as it might at first glance appear to be. When con­fronted by what may be the same conditions repeat­ed, and faced with vital questions upon the answers to which depend the economic or political security of the individual, the family -or the nation, humanity has usually reacted in much -the same manner, whether the conditions have arisen in the twentieth century B.C. or the twentieth century A.D.

From the beginning of the postdiluvian epoch up to the present day, fallen man has remained at heart much the same sort of individual -- that is, a creature whose conduct and behavior is motivated largely by his emotions, and his inherited or acquired preju­dices, his likes and dislikes rather than by any process of sober judgment or sound reasoning. Ages ago when the earth was far more sparsely populated than it has since become, a certain group of people who were the not far removed descendants of the Noach­ian family, left the region in which the drying up of the flood waters had landed them, and journeyed eastward to what in all probability later became known as the plains of Mesopotamia. The earth of that day had just emerged from the most terrible catastrophe in its history, one which had completely obliterated the whole human race, save only the fam­ily of the Patriarch Noah. "All in whose nostrils was the breath of life" had perished, with the ex­ception of this small handful of people and their cattle and herds. The immediate progenitors of this group were the only humans left to populate the earth.

This devastating calamity known ever since as the Noachian flood was of far too recent occurrence for it to have made anything but the deepest sort of im­pression upon the minds of the survivors. The world which they and their fathers had known had passed away forever. They stood face to face with an en­tirely new one, a changed earth from which all the old landmarks had disappeared. It was literally a new heaven and a new.earth. How would they re act to the fearful experience through which their fa­thers had just passed? Would they recognize the flood as being the handiwork of an offended Crea­tor, a judgment upon a guilty race for its sins? Would they repudiate the course which had brought de­struction upon the antediluvian world, and acknowledging the justice of the sentence, humbly seek the favor of the God of Noah and of Shem?

FUTILITY OF THE TOWER OF BABEL

We know that they did nothing of the kind. From the scanty collection of facts given us and recorded in the 11th chapter of Genesis, one salient truth emerges. The attitude of these people was far from being that of repentant sinners who had experienced a great deliverance. The history of the course they took shows clearly that they were but little changed in character from those antediluvian people con­cerning whom the Creator had uttered the most scathing condemnation ever pronounced upon a guilty race -- "that every imagination of the thoughts of their heart was only evil continually." It is be­yond the power of language to describe any greater degree of depravity than is contained in that terrible denunciation. The course which the Scriptural rec­ord tells us was adopted by the descendants of these people was one which was quite consistent with the usual faulty and confused thinking of the unregenerate human^, mind. It was as futile and short-sighted as the course which has been followed by their spiritual progeny even up to the present day. The plan they made was one which was essentially earthly and materialistic in its conception-just as earthy as were the bricks of clay they used for building ma­terial; just as materialistic as are always the plans of those who leave God out of their calculations. It was one which ignored God and His mighty power and relied solely upon human ingenuity to circumvent the cataclysmic forces of nature. Every stu­dent of sacred history knows what the outcome was, knows of the confusion of tongues which made it impossible for the tower builders to carry on any work which involved cooperation, and finally brought the whole undertaking to an ignominious end.

This is all ancient history. We marvel at the folly of the enterprise today. But if we find these poor blinded people foolish and blameworthy, what are we to think of our own generation? -- one, which has had at its disposal for all to benefit by, the accum­ulated experience and knowledge which past his­tory should have taught them. It is a generation .which has both seen and experienced the havoc wrought by chauvinistic nationalism and human greed and ambition in a world that at the beginning of the present century dreamed of gliding serenely into a millennium of peace in which war would be forever regarded as an outmoded relic of barbarism. And yet, knowing all these things and having passed through the worst blood-bath in history, the experience has apparently taught them no lesson of an. enduring nature.

It has been demonstrated many times in human history that while great peril or suffering may tem­porarily bring men to their knees in supplication to a God whose very existence they had previously ig­nored, or treated as an old wives' fable, having no bearing upon the realities of life, when the imme­diate danger was removed, only too frequently do we find the former suppliants returning to their nor­mal condition of indifference to all spiritual things.

THE GOODNESS OF GOD LEADS TO REPENTANCE

There are, we believe, many people who have made the mistake of accepting a half truth. They have imagined that misfortune or calamity were in themselves instrumental in turning the hearts of the sufferers to God and righteousness. Unfortunately the reverse is only too often true. Misfortunes gen­erally leave the uninstructed mind in a confused or resentful condition. They feel that life has dealt with them unjustly, and like Pharaoh of old, the re­moval of the plague serves but to harden their hearts. It still is as it always was, the goodness of God and the personal discovery of it by the individ­ual, that brings men to repentance. It is our con­viction that men will presently discover, as did Elijah in the cave (1 Kings 19:11-13), that God was not in the wind, nor in the earthquake, nor yet in the fire, but rather in that still small voice which followed the other manifestations of His power. The Prophet Zephaniah (3:8, 9) points the same moral. It is only after the earth has been devoured by the fire of God's jealousy that the pure language is turn­ed unto them, with the result that they serve Him with one consent. How grateful we should be, who have already been taught that pure language, in that we have some small part even now in heralding to the nations the coming of that great outpouring of truth which will fill the whole earth with the knowl­edge of the Lord. What faith and courage this knowledge we have been given of the Lord's pur­poses should fill us with, and how it should strength­en us for the difficult times that may lie ahead.

The world has just passed through the most ter­rible and destructive war in its entire history; one in which blood and treasure have been recklessly poured out to an extent hitherto unheard of. As a result of the great conflict four-fifths of the peoples of earth have been left in the most abject poverty and need. Actual starvation not merely threatens but right now is being endured by hundreds of thou­sands of the dispossessed and destitute.

All people want peace. The civilized world has been thoroughly frightened by the realization of how close organized society has come to absolute ruin and anarchy. The most far-sighted and the wis­est minds among the allied powers have come to see the absolute necessity of discovering some other means of settling international differences than by recourse to armed conflict. The discovery and em­ployment of the awful power of modern weapons would in any future war leave the victor in as sorry a state as the vanquished, if indeed (as now seems probable) the conflict did not accomplish the com­plete destruction of all the combatants. Modern warfare has become too all-embracingly devastating for even the most confirmed warmonger to desire. With this imperative and desperate need for world peace in mind, the representatives of the great pow­ers have been meeting in various places to confer upon the means of bringing about this desirable con­dition. They were resolved to build a great peace struc­ture whose top should reach to heaven, or rather one which would bring a state of heavenly harmony down to earth.

FAILURE OF MODERN BABEL

But alas, how short-sighted and futile are the plans of man. At the very commencement of the first conference held in San Francisco the real truth began to become plain to all. The sort of peace which the leaders of the stronger nations actually wanted and were determined to secure was one which in essence simply meant a return to those same in­equitable arrangements, that same unjust allotment of the world's wealth and power which has been re­sponsible for both of the great wars of the twentieth century. Apparently the blood-bath through which the nations had passed had taught these leaders noth­ing! He that was unjust would remain unjust still and he that was filthy would remain filthy. Thus the clash of contending national interests has thus far made any progress in building a peace tower im­possible, and has left the builders in a state of baf­fled impotence. It is the history of Babel enacted once more, for no interpreter is able to reconcile the conflicting aims which mutual distrust and suspicion. has caused to exist between the former allies. They simply fail to understand each other's speech, and so Russian and Anglo-Saxon gaze helplessly at each other across a great gulf of mutual misunderstand­ing, all wanting peace more than anything else yet not knowing how to obtain it.

Meanwhile the under-privileged, uninstructed peo­ples of Asia, those who have for centuries been re­garded by the white man as his natural inferiors and servants and whose countries have been exploit­ed and forced to contribute their wealth to the treas­ury of their masters, these people as if sensing that the long awaited hour has struck in which they can overthrow the rule of the white man and regain their long lost independence, are everywhere revolting against those whom they regard as oppressors and exploiters. They resent quite naturally all foreign control of their national destiny. Realizing the weakening effect that vast expenditures of men and material must have had upon the great imperialistic empires, and also prompt in reminding the latter of the high-sounding promises of the four freedoms which under the terms of the Atlantic Charter were made by them during the war years, these supposedly inferior races now demand the fulfilment of those promises, together with -the immediate withdrawal of all occu­pying troops from their respective countries. The colonizing powers are loath to grant these demands, knowing full well that -the removal of their own troops would only be the signal for their rivals to move in and establish what they term a "protec­torate" of their own over the coveted territory.

Thus distrust of each other's designs prevails among those who during the course of the great war were bound together by a common danger. Only one of the former allies gives evidence of knowing exactly what it wants and just how to go about ob­taining it. This power is the immensely strong na­tion of Russia, which hourly grows more powerful and determined to impose its economic and political system upon the rest of the world. The unswerving singleness of purpose and ruthless and unscrupulous determination to attain their ends, which character­ize the Russian leaders, contrasts forcibly with the confused and feeble policies of their rivals and bodes little good for the future of great Babylon. In this connection the words of the Prophet Isaiah (Isa. 10:5-15) comes to the mind of the Bible student, for there seems to be a striking similarity in the manner in which the Lord is using the Russians to accomplish His purposes to the description of the ancient Assyr­ians given by the Prophet in the foregoing citation.

The world situation thus gives daily evidence that while the nations could keep their differences in abeyance and work together when faced by a com­mon foe, once that foe was overcome, their normal condition of suspicion and distrust of each other's motives reasserted itself and made any really coop­erative effort in the interests of peace impossible, however urgently necessary that effort might seem to be.

A DAY OF DARKNESS AND OF GLOOMINESS

But it is not alone in the political and internation­al arena that the Babel-like condition of confusion and frustration obtains. In the economic field also the world is witnessing the strangest of phenomena, a situation which speaks eloquently of the futility of man's attempts to bring about conditions of peace and harmony in the world unless aided by di­vine power and wisdom. There is an old pagan saying to the effect that "whom the gods would de­stroy they first make mad." It surely seems that in this instance the god of this world has successfully been sowing the seeds of discord and enmity among people who have every reason for thankfulness over a lot which made their situation unique in a devas­tated world.

We refer to the conditions existing in the United States of America. This country had emerged from the great conflict in a far more enviable position than had any other country. It had been spared the devastation which has reduced many populous regions of the old world to barren heaps of rubble. Its losses in human life and treasure, while severe, have been trifling when compared with those of the other great nations. Its fortunate geographical and economic position contributed to the result of leav­ing practically the whole world in its debt at the close of the war. Nothing seemed to stand in the way of its becoming the most happy as well as the most prosperous country on earth, a land of riches and power unrivalled anywhere -- vast sources of raw materials, mineral and agricultural wealth, great factories equipped with the most improved machin­ery, in short, everything needed to produce a suffi­ciency of all the material things which make for human ease and comfort. It has a per capita wealth which makes its peoples the best clothed, best fed. and best housed nation on earth. All that needed to be done to produce enough food and clothing -to supply the whole world was to set the wheels of American industry in motion at the same rate as that in which they had moved to supply the world's war needs. And just then, when every condition was, on the surface at least, all that could be desired, the whole country seemed to go mad and become possessed by a very demon of unrest and discontent. The contending classes evinced what was apparently a suicidal determination to cast to the winds every advantage which the country's favored position had given it, and to bring destruction upon themselves and untold hardships upon the famishing peoples of the old world who had looked to America for the help which it alone of all the nations could provide. They had hoped for the extending of a neighborly helping hand to aid them during the terrible recon­struction period while they strove forlornly to mend the broken threads of their lives and their shattered hopes and to enable them to make a fresh start in what they trusted would be a better and kinder world.

All the hopes of these unfortunates had been centered upon the land of plenty, which was America. They could and perhaps still may be realized in part at least if the same unison of purpose which had made American industry and efficiency supreme in the production of the instruments of devastation and war were to be directed into a humane and un­selfish gesture, having as its objective the relief of -the suffering and distress which war had inflicted upon, these helpless victims. But these hopes, at present at least, seem to be long deferred and bar­ren ones. Although there are doubtless thousands of great-hearted; kindly people who would be glad to help to the extent of their ability the stricken ones of every land, their efforts are rendered futile by the strikes, the class warfare, and the internation­al enmities which leave ship-loads of provisions, tied up at the docks or to rot in the storehouses. That much abused and overworked maxim to the effect that "self-preservation is the first law of nature" op­erates to tie the hands and the purse strings of the well-disposed. It is not the appointed function of those whom the Lord has blessed with a foreknowl­edge of His great designs to sit in judgment upon people whose minds are still blinded by the god of this world. The high privilege of opening those eyes effectively still awaits the time when the power passes into the hands of the saints of the Most High. Mean­while we can do good unto all men as we have op­portunity. Especially precious to those who possess any measure of the spirit of Christ is the honor of pointing those who have an ear to hear to the only real hope for the world -- the establishment of the Kingdom of God's dear Son.

TWO CONTENDING FORCES

The wisdom of the Lord in choosing just this time to intervene in human affairs, is daily becoming more apparent. The Babel-like confusion of the nations increases continually. It is indeed as the Prophet foretold (Joel 2:2) a day of darkness and gloominess, and all the inhabitants of the land are trembling. It would probably be an over-simplification of terms to say at this time that the world (a world in which mere geographical distances or barriers of ocean or mountain range have become of less and less impor­tance) is being split up into two opposing camps. There are as yet too many sub-divisons, to many mu­tually hostile groups representing many shades of opinion, and many conflicting racial and ideological interests to make the statement an exact expression of fact. Yet even now, it is possible for those who are guided by the light of the inspired Word to see dimly through the smoke and confusion the gradual­ly emerging shapes of the two great factions which presently engage in the "battle of the great day of God Almighty."

It is not for those who are led by the light to at­tempt to be wise above that which is written or to become prophets rather than Bible students. Yet one would be blind indeed to be unable to see in the trend of world events the fulfilment of those Scrip­tural predictions to which Brother Russell directed our attention fifty years ago.

On the one side, drawn together by ties of com­mon interests, are those who trust in and hope for a strong autocratic form of government, supported by a privileged aristocracy, either plutocratic or heredi­tary, and by those whose economic or political inter­ests are favored by the establishment of such an or­der. Such people have a profound distrust of any form of government which would place power in the hands of the masses. On the opposing side are the forces which represent the under-privileged, the dis­contented, and dispossessed peoples of earth, in short, to use a modern term, "the have-nots."

PLACE OF SAFETY IN THE DAY OF TROUBLE

But beside the two contendng forces and stand­ing aloof from both of them are those devoted ser­vants of God whose citizenship is in heaven, who have here no continuous abiding place. If the Scrip­tural analogy holds good, their last days on earth will be not unlike those of their Master, for like Him they must suffer "outside the camp." It seems very probable that their course of faithfulness to the Prince of Peace will cause them to be regarded by both the contending factions as being definitely anti­social-that is, enemies of society. Yet, whatever ex­periences the Lord's people may have to pass through in the days of testing which still remain ahead, there is nothing which should cause them fear or disquiet. If we are of this class, let us call to mind the words of the Psalmist: "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me." Yes, there is the faith-strengthening promise. We shall not be alone. Like the three Hebrew children of long ago, the fire shall have no power -over us for "the form of the One who was with them was like the Son of God." (Dan. 3:25.) The Prophet Isaiah looking down through the ages with inspired vision was so moved by what he saw that he broke forth into ,that .irrepressible cry of joyful triumph: "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bring­eth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!" (Isa. 52:7.) "Wherefore we receiving a Kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear."

- J. R. Hughes.

"The Voice of Jehovah Cleaveth the Flames of Fire"

"Paul ... hasted, if it were possible for him, to be present at Jerusalem the day of Pentecost." - Psa. 29:7; Acts 20:16.

PENTECOST, as is well known, means fiftieth in Greek, and was a Jewish feast day -- the fiftieth after the beginning of the harvest -- "from the time thou beginnest to put the sickle to the stand­ing grain shalt thou begin to number seven weeks." On the following day, which was the fiftieth, the "Feast of Weeks" was celebrated -- called "Pentecost" in the New Testament. Its particular feature was the offering -- the waving before Jehovah -- of two loaves of leavened bread, the first baked from the flour ground from the new crop of grain.

It was one of the two religious feasts provided un­der the Mosaic law based on the square of seven plus one: seven times seven days indicated the fiftieth day, or Pentecost; seven times seven years pointed to the fiftieth or jubilee year. The one was an annual reminder of the other. Many Bible students believe that these Mosaic ordinances involve a time proph­ecy; that seven times seven on a grander, anti-typical scale have nearly or quite run out; and that the "year" of the Grand jubilee is just at hand-the baking of the two wave-loaves nearly complete.

The descent of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost of A. D. 32 inaugurated an entirely new dispensation of divine grace. A faulty translation in the Author­ized Version might lead the student to infer that this was the antitypical Pentecost, viz.: "When the day of Pentecost was fully come." The American Re­vised Version renders this statement: "When the day of Pentecost was being fulfilled," and a similar ren­dering is found in most of the critical translations. It evidently has reference merely to the typical period, and really marked the beginning of the preparation of one of the loaves for the future offering. It indi­cated the commencement of a new dispensation of divine grace-not the culmination of an old one.

This new development of God's intentions toward "men of good will" was so revolutionary in character as to necessitate a striking miracle to introduce it to the disciples -- present and prospective. This great, new operation of God's power among men was de­signed to select, train and complete the Church, the Bride of the Lamb, the Body of Christ; that Body seen by John the Revelator in his vision on Patmos: the "one hundred forty and four thousand ... who follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth." - Rev. 14:1-5.

^"CONFORMED TO HIS IMAGE"

During this preparatory period-the Gospel Age -- it is "foreordained" of God that each member selected for this Body be "conformed to the image of His Son. (Rom. 8:29, A. R. V.) This Body, in­timately united to its Head -- its Princely Leader­ -- when the Greater antitypical Day of Pentecost has fully come, becomes with Him the "Seed" of Abra­ham, selected in accordance with the divine purpose and covenant confirmed to Abraham, for the bless­ing of "all the families of the earth."

For this new operation of divine power, announc­ed by the visible descent of the Spirit, certain specific agencies were assigned by the great Planner of the Universe. These were:

(a) The Begetting of Believers by Holy Spirit, to a New Nature;
(b) The Word of God-in the Apostles, and af­terward in the Holy Scriptures;
(c) The "Fiery Trials" of the Candidates for membership in the Body;
(d) 'The fellowship of the Ecclesia-the Assembly;
(e) The Consciousness of a Sacrificial Dying;
(f) The First Resurrection from the Dead.

     (a) THE BEGETTING OF HOLY SPIRIT

The flame of fire which descended upon the disciples symbolized by its sound ("of a rushing, mighty wind") and its source ("from heaven") that it was of the spirit world; its violence indicated its power; its division showed that it was of One, but that its application was individual. It was "like tongues," signifying that the agency of dissemination' (seed-sowing) was to be speech. Thus was illustrat­ed the spiritual begetting or embryonic life-giving of the members of the Church. These probationary "called" ones are spoken of as a "creation" and "created" in five passages in St. Paul's Epistles to Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians and Colossians. It is further evident that the Apostles thought of this process of forming a "New Creature" as analagous to physical procreation -- Paul, Peter, James and John so refer to it, and in various Scriptures call attention to its remarkable correspondence to human biological processes.

"BEGOTTEN TO A NEW HOPE OF LIFE"

The germ-cells of man are different and distinct from the body-cells of their hosts-they are not pro^, duced by the human body, which is merely a vehicle for their incubation and transmission. They orig­inated in one source-Father Adam, in whom they were placed by his Creator. They are multiplied by fission-cell division-and passed from generation to generation by pro-creation-literally, forwarding creation. The germ-cell builds its own future host while that host is an unborn infant, and to a con­siderable but varying extent dominates that host throughout its active existence. Thus mankind has been impelled to fulfil the divine command to "mul­tiply and fill the earth."

Similarly the seed of the New Creature originates with God -- "Of His own will begat He us" -- the seed being "the word of truth," further defined in vari­ous Scriptures as "the Gospel" and (the assurance of) "the resurrection of Jesus Christ"; and by Jesus Himself, in the parable of "The Sower," as "the word of God concerning the Kingdom," i.e., the Sovereign. ty. This Word must be personal to the individual; it must be applied specifically to the vehicle which is to be the host to the New Creature during its period of gestation. This host, as shown in Jesus' par­able referred to, is a receptive human mind. It may be received directly from the written Word of God­the Scriptures -- but it is not usually so received: there is usually a personal agency. Thus the Apostle writes: "How shall they hear without a preacher?" "For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ," he says, "yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the Gos­pel." Again he says: "I beseech thee for my son Onesimus, whom I Have begotten in my bonds"; and he writes, "unto Timothy, my own son in the faith," and, "to Timothy, my dearly beloved son."

In "cold type" these things of the Spirit of God are often, to our dull minds, something theoretical and impersonal; we feel that they apply to some one else, not to ourselves. Some one or something must say to the individual: "This word applies to you. This is an invitation to you if you will accept it. You can attain to a new life. You may rise to heights undreamed of by your human mind; you may suffer with Christ, and later reign with Him, to bless all mankind. 'The word is nigh thee . . . if thou shalt confess . . . and believe . . . thou shalt be saved.'"

If such an one is "obedient to the heavenly vision" a new mental life commences within him -- the "hope of a new life" on the spirit-plane with Christ. It gradually grows in strength, if it has its intended de­velopment, and more and more dominates its host, "the old man." Those who experience this begettal are definitely aware of it, as the Apostle declares: "Ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye all know it." "If any man is in Christ Jesus, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." Life has acquired an entirely new aspect.

(b) THE WORD OF GOD

Sustenance for the mental embryo New Creature is supplied, as in the case of the human embryo, through the host -- "the old man," "the flesh." The human will in both cases must be subservient and cooperative, else the embryo will not develop prop­erly. The necessary subsistence-the life blood-is the Word of God. By neglecting to thus feed the New Creature it is possible to starve it to death; to bring about an abortion. In such case the human host will also eventually perish.

(c) THE FIERY TRIALS

As a human embryo is exercised and its growth promoted or retarded by the activities (voluntary and involuntary) of its mother, so the embryonic spiritual New Creature, which is a purely mental growth, is exercised or injured by the mental life of its host. St. Peter makes this clear: "This is ac­ceptable, if for conscience toward God a man en dureth griefs, suffering wrongfully. For what glory is it, if, when ye sin, and are buffeted for pit, ye shall take it patiently? But if, when ye do well, and suf­fer for it, ye shall take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. For hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that ye should follow His steps: who did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth: who, when He was reviled, reviled not again; when He suffered, threatened not; but committed Himself to Him that judgeth righteously; who His own self bare our sins in. His body upon the tree, that we, having died un­to sins, might live unto righteousness; by whose stripes ye were healed. . . . Arm ye yourselves also with the same mind; for he that bath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin." The human body, under the domination of the New Creature, is no longer com­mitted "to the lusts of men, but [is consecrated] to the will of God." - l Peter 2:19-24; 4:1, 2.

(d) THE FELLOWSHIP OF SAINTS

As the New Creature develops, it is hampered as well as nurtured by .its human host. In no way is this more-apparent than in its relationship to others of the New Creation. Practice in unity and fellow­ship -- i.e., partnership, united effort -- is essential, in preparation for the close unity and cooperation of the Body in its future work. For this very purpose the Ecclesia -- the Church in the world-was estab­lished by the Lord. But it is, alas, impossible for the New Creatures to assemble in the Ecclesia as commanded in the Scriptures, apart from their hu­man hosts. "The flesh" must carry them there if they go, and supply the medium of speech for their communication and mutual edification. And here­in the difficulties begin to appear. "The flesh" is often reluctant to make the effort to "assemble." When it is finally persuaded or forced by the new mind to do so, more trouble ensues. It has deep­seated animosities and antagonisms toward the flesh of other New Creatures. Its habits of expression are clumsy at best, and often irritating to others.

Thus an association of New Creatures, each of whom is being "formed in righteousness and , true holiness," is hindered and hampered by the accom­panying imperfect human natures -- like a gathering of unruly and quarrelsome children. But on the other hand, in these very circumstances lie the opportunities for acquiring the virtues of tolerance, kindness, consideration and helpfulness; and for strengthening the New Creature by its efforts to bring the old nature -- the "members" of the fleshly mind and body -- into subjection to itself, which is the Christ-mind.

The more clearly the Christian thus recognizes the duality of nature which he and his brethren possess, and determines to "know no man after the flesh" (himself as little as possible), the more quick­ly he "clears the deck for action" and makes progress towards the great goal of his desires. An arrival at this most desirable frame of mind will be substan­tially aided by looking up and considering the more than onee hundred references in the Epistles to "the flesh. It will help to engender a wholesome con­tempt for our own fallen human natures, and, in view of our own difficulties with ours, will greatly increase our tolerance for others; and will lead us to the conclusion, with St. Peter, that "the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles" -- particularly of the one Gentile for which we are responsible; and with St. Paul that "we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh, for if [ye do] ye must die: but if by the spirit ye put to death the deeds of the body, ye shall live." It actually being a matter of life and death, it would seem that some of the Lord's people might well give greater diligence to the cultivation of the New Crea­ture, and the concurrent suppression of the flesh.

(e) THE CONSCIOUSNESS OF A SACRIFICIAL DEATH

However much the fleshly mind might like to make this subject one for dogmatic controversy, the New Creature insists that this agency and qualification for its own development to maturity shall remain on a strictly Scriptural basis. The quotation of three passages will suffice to establish its verity. Perhaps the less we all have to say of how we reason on this subject with our own faulty minds, the better.

At the climax of his Epistle to the Romans (12: 1) St. Paul says: "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service."

The Apostle John writes (1 John 3:16): "Here­by perceive we love, because He laid down His life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren."

St. Peter says: "Christ suffered for us, leaving us an example . . . arm yourselves with the same mind." - 1 Peter 2:21; 4:1.

"The mind of Christ" -- "your bodies a living sac­rifice" -- "laid down for the brethren" -- who can ques­tion the importance to those who would "follow the Lamb whiithersoever He goeth," of a continuing con­sciousness of living in Christ and dying a sacrificial death, until it is accomplished? Under sentence of death -- how it alters the aspect of all human inter­ests, and "sets our affections on things above"!

(f) THE FIRST RESURRECTION

However faithfully and well the New Creature avails itself of the various agencies provided for its development, the death of its human host would mean extinction of its own existence, if no other vehicle for it were provided. Herein it differs from the human germ-cell, which creates its own future host from elements derived from and through the mother-host.

However, the Being who provided the spiritual seed which has so far progressed toward a complete New Creation, gives assurance of a glorious consum­mation of His work. "Shall I bring to the [point of] birth, and not cause to bring forth? saith Jeho­vah." (Isa. 66:9.) Of this bringing forth from the dead the Apostle declares: "God gives to it a body as He designed." - 1 Cor. 15:38.

"Wherefore," writes St. Peter, ex cathedra if ever, "let them also that suffer according to, the will of God commit their souls in well doing to a faithful Creator. . . . And -the God of all grace, who called you unto His eternal glory in Christ, after that ye have suffered a little while, shall Himself complete, establish, strengthen you. . . . This is the true grace of God: stand ye fast therein." - 1 Peter 4:19; 5:10, 12.

"Soon the resurrection 'change' will perfect the elect Church of Christ, and qualify them as kings and priests and judges of the world." - R5789, par. 1.

The Scriptural description of the development of the New Creature, outlined in the foregoing, is too well established by Apostolic authority to be regard­ed as fanciful or merely figurative. The sound of the "rushing mighty wind" that filled the house at Jerusalem that Pentecost of A. D. 32 was more significant than the atomic bomb that exploded on the New Mexican desert in 1945; the fission of the flame of Holy Spirit at the little meeting of the disciples of Jesus nineteen hundred years ago releas­ed a greater power than the splitting of the atom over Hiroshima did last year. For the first time there was extended to fallen man generally -- "cast into the earth" -- the opportunity of worshiping God accept­ably, in spirit and in truth; the burning censer from which a "sweet smelling savor of Christ" might arise to the Great God from each of those who fol­lowed in the Master's footsteps.

Soon the great antitypical Pentecost will have "fully come," and that which the two wave-loaves represented will be offered, complete, to Jehovah. One of these loaves is identified by St. Paul: "For we, being many, are one loaf, one body." (1 Cor. 10:17.) The Apostle "hasted, if it were possible for him, to be present at Jerusalem the day of Pentecost." All the members of the Body have an appointment to meet their Head in the New Jerusalem on the antitypical Day of the Great Pentecost.

And "the King's business requireth haste."

- H. E. Hollister.

Faithful Unto Death

ON MARCH 24, our beloved friend and co-laborer in the ministry, Brother J. J. Blackburn, passed away quietly in his sleep. Thus ended twenty-six years service with the Institute and thirty-seven years activity in the Truth. That our hearts are not sadden­ed would not be true; but we endeavor to still the grief that moves us in the recollection that on several occa­sions our dear brother had requested that his passing be marked by the singing of hymn 204 -- "Hail! Happy Day!" With full submission to the Lord's will, he nev­ertheless, like Paul of old, longed for the end of his pres­ent labors and looked forward in joyful anticipation to the culmination of his earthly pilgrimage. Now it is finished and he has entered into his desired rest.

"Happy, happy, happy day!
Thou hast burst the bonds of clay.
Bid farewell to grief and sin,
Loved one, enter joyful in."

Brother Blackburn was born on February 10, 1881, near Flesherton, Ont. Three volumes of "Scripture Studies," which came to him indirectly through our late Brother Zink, brought him the joyful message of Pres­ent Truth. His zeal and love enkindled for the Lord then was to continue with increasing fervency all the remaining years of his life. As elder, he served suc­cessively in Winnipeg, Toronto, and Orillia, his final place of residence. His Pilgrim service with the Insti­tute began in January; 1920. The office of Director he has filled continuously since 1926. In addition he served as Associate Editor of the "Herald" until recent years when the burden of his many duties, much traveling and increasing ill-health necessitated restricting himself to contributed articles. His service of love and example of Christian living can now be more appreciated in retrospect. Our dear brother has left us with hallowed memories of a life spent in the emulation of his Master. Let us each recall the many ways in which he constant­ly endeavored to be a blessing to his brethren-by let­ters, by discourses, by service, by example, by prayer. And above all let us remember the sweet spirit in which he bore the many "reproaches" that fell upon him, for few brethren have had more "arrows" directed against them in our day than he. Only those who knew him most intimately 'can fully appreciate the difficulties of his way. Yet such was his love for his brethren and his intense zeal for their spiritual welfare that the burden of his message increasingly became one of bringing the brethren closer together, of encouraging lone another; and many will recall his beautiful application in the April "Herald" (page 60), of the words of Joseph when his brethren were before him: "Ye shall see my face no more, unless ye bring your brother with you."

As a tribute to our dear brother and to re-emphasize the spiritual understanding that guided him we have selected some excerpts from his writings:

"I would stress the fact that a true dedication to the Lord is something that goes far beyond the too general idea, namely, that consecration is mainly a matter of giving up earthly things, of suffering some for the Truth's sake. This is about all that consecration has seemed to mean with far too many, and perhaps too much my own conception in times past. But I see now how one might sacrifice means, health, home, everything, and be ever so willing to bear persecution for one's belief, yet fail greatly in the most important feature of dedication. That most important thing is just being ready to say to the Lord, 'Here I am, have thine own way in my being and life. Do what seems best to Thee, whether it is sickness or health, adversity or otherwise. Thy will be done.' This was the final test in our Lord's own earthly life, and so it is in ours. Just to let God have His way."

"What, then, in concise language does 'in Him was life' mean to us -- to us who rejoice in having passed from the universal condition of death in Adam to new­ness of life in Christ? To have received of His life means that 'Christ who is our life' will be continually working out in us the fulfilment of His promise, 'He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit.' The object is fruit, more fruit, much fruit. Progression is everywhere presented in the Word of God. The days of creation represent this law. Crea­tive activity back there began at the lowest point, then worked up to the climax in the creation of man in God's own image. 'The ministry of Jesus began with filling earth­en waterpots with sparkling wine to gladden the hearts of men. He finished that ministry in pouring out His blood to save the souls of men. So it is with us in the matter of our spiritual growth. 'The knowledge of His grace first dissipates' the darkness, bringing us into His marvelous light. 'Then, by the might of His power to usward who believe,' we, 'beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory.' Thus, with Christ as our life, we are indeed, 'God's workmanship created in Christ Jesus.' We are made for Him through a love surpassing knowledge, and made like Him by a power infinitely able to com­plete so great a work in us. Possessing the life of Christ means having the mind of Christ, eventually bringing to us the fulness of His character. The fruit of righteous­ness will then have developed from blossom to bud, from the immature in growth to the final lusciousness in fla­vor, and sweetness in perfume."

"In the properly balanced view of Christian life there is the realm of personal fellowship with the Lord, and the field of service in which life is to be laid down for the Lord, and His people. The last of these two aspects is very generally recognized, but not so the first. That we keep the vineyards of others and neglect our own, has been one of God's complaints against His people all along. Unfortunate it is that the meditative spirit, the spirit by which certain individuals are drawn into a very close intimacy with the Lord, is often misjudged as mere day-dreaming; something peculiar, it is thought, to an inactive and self centered character. How very wrong this judgment is can be seen by reference to the habits of Jesus Himself. How He loved to be alone with God! Communion with !His Father was sweet indeed to our Lord, recognized by Him as being necessary to His perfect understanding of His Father's will, and neces­sary to His encouragement amid the daily requirements of^, His mission among men. Nowhere in our precious Bible do we find any support for the thought that one can gather up the rudiments of truth, and then, sup­posedly fully equipped, rush into a round of activity as­sumed to be of the Lord's will. The old hymn with its theme, 'Take time to be holy' is true in thought. The di­vine order is presented in the first Psalm. There the 'blessed man' is described as follows: 'His delight is in the law of the Lord; and in His law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatso­ever he doeth shall prosper.' The order is perfect. Fruit­age in due season, the fadeless leaf, and the prosperous labor follow the day and night meditations on the law of the Lord. No substitute for this order can ever pro­duce like results. And the perfect Exemplar followed this rule, thereby teaching that the quiet sanctuary of meditation and communion must be a familiar ren­dezvous to us also."

"Most assuredly Jesus and His Apostles laid down fundamental and essential features of truth, the pure doctrines of truth, the hearty acceptance of which is not optional, but obligatory. But what must be noted with care is that both Jesus and the Apostles in their com­bined teachings made prominent one great outstanding fact, namely, that words, even words of truth are as meaningless as 'sounding brass' if the vessel be un­cleansed from all sway of the fleshly mind, and if the love, gentleness, sympathy, and justice of Christ's spirit be not manifested. The day is drawing near. Sooner than we may think, perhaps, the last edition of repro­ductions of Christ's character will be 'off the press,' the press of trial and discipline specially designed to pro­duce such copies."

"When life for us is over here below, and the hour of death approaches with its shadows settling down around us, there will be no fear. That dark shadow can have no terror for us then, for we will know that our loving Shepherd will be standing on the other side the shadows all enshrined in the radiant brightness of heaven's un­clouded Morning. We will find Him waiting in that glad Morning, waiting to welcome us within the place prepared, and ready to lead us as of yore but hence­forth into the boundless celestial pastures of superlative revelations filled with delights and joys far beyond all' present powers of mind to comprehend. Quiet streams of sweet, intimate fellowship will be there too; clear sparkling streams which flow on and on through unnum­bered ages to come. By these placid rivers of rest and peace it will be ours to walk, rejoicing evermore, for there we shall be with the One whose shepherding care gathered us within the eternal fold, there to walk with Him in white whithersoever He goeth."

Thus has our beloved brother spoken and yet speaks. And may the message of his words, and above all, the remembrance of his Christian life comfort us in the re­maining days of our own pilgrimage. Especially.is this our prayer for the dear one left behind, who so faithfully ministered to him during his illness, who spent so many lonely hours while he traveled in the Lord's ser­vice ministering unto others, and whose sad task it was to see interred the mortal remains of her loved one. May the preciousness of her relationship to this saint of God be a consoling power until that glad day when God shall wipe away all tears from our eyes.

"Blest hour, when virtuous friends shall meet,
Shall meet to part no more;
And with celestial welcome greet,
On an immortal shore.

"Each tender tie, dissolved with pain,
With endless bliss is crowned;
All that was dead revives again,
All that was lost is found.

"Their Father marks their generous flame,
And looks complacent down;
The smile that owns their filial claim,
Is their immortal crown."

Another Laborer Called to His Reward

Death shuts the door from earthly service, but blessed are those who "from henceforth," though they "rest from their labors," their toilsome tasks, yet "their works," activity for God, "follow them," where exertion is with­out exhaustion. Another laborer in the vineyard who has long and faithfully sought to serve his Master has been called to his reward. Brother H. J. Shearn of Hitchen, England, as the following letter from one who knew and loved him well reveals, was suddenly called Home:

"Having been associated for a number of years and more especially of late with our dear Brother Shearn of Hitchen, I feel sure you will be interested to learn that our brother passed away suddenly on February 28th. Brother was sitting with his wife, who for many years has been an invalid and confined to bed, when sud­denly without warning he collapsed and was gone.

"Brother will be missed by us all, but leaves behind a sweet fragrance and memory of a beautiful life of love for the Lord and service to the brethren. Patient, sub­missive, humble, but strong and resolute in truth, with abounding hope and full assurance of faith in the High Calling of God in Christ Jesus. He lived a consistent life and finished his course faithfully. His reward is sure."

It will be recalled that Brother Shearn was one of the brethren in charge of the work in Great Britain at the time of Brother Russell's passing. Not long thereafter, he with many others in that country left the sold association, but his activities never ceased. For many years following, he labored with the Bible Students Commit­tee. In this connection he made a trip to the States in 1923, making several weeks pilgrimage to the Middle West and return -- all of which was much appreciated by the friends visited. Increasing years and failing health led him in later years to take a less active part in a public way, but this did not mean the ceasing of his la­bors. He persevered in his studies and in writing, and our readers will recall an article from his pen, "Be Ye Holy," not many months ago in the "Herald" -- September, 1945. His was a life of devotion to the Lord and His Word, which he loved above all else, and as one who loved our Lord's appearing, we believe he has re­ceived the promised reward. Our sympathy and prayers go out on behalf of his loved ones, especially Sister Shearn and the family, whom we commend to the lov­ing care of our tender Shepherd.

The Crisis of the World

"Now is the, judgment of this world; now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And 1, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Me." - John 12:31, 32.

AT THE close of our previous meditation on this text we suggested that our Lord's words implied not the condemnation but the salva­tion of the world. That this may be the more read­ily seen let us look at the words which follow: "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth will draw all men unto Myself." - A. R. V.

"These sacred words are so familiar to us that in all probability they no longer leave a sharp and vivid impression on our minds, although, however often we read or listen to them, we can hardly fail to be conscious of a certain greatness in them, and a certain grace. Taken in their general connection they are evidently a supreme illustration of that law of lifeby death which our Lord had been en­forcing; they remind us that He Himself was about to obey, as He always had obeyed, the law which He had just affirmed to be an inevitable condition of discipleship -- to save His life by losing it, to die that He might bring forth much fruit, to pass, by way of the Cross, to the eternal home of the spirit, to humble Himself that He might be exalted. And taken thus, even, the words are full of power, full of pathetic appeal; for who ever lost his life so gen­erously as He, or saved it so nobly, inasmuch as He saved, not Himself alone, but the whole world? Or from whose death has there ever sprung a har­vest so fruitful, so vast, and so enduring?

A FOURFOLD PREDICTION

"But it is when we come to consider the words in themselves, and in their more immediate context, that we catch some glimpse of the full orb of their meaning; for then we see that they contain, not a single, prophecy, but a fourfold prediction. They predict (1) the death of the Cross; but they also predict (2) the ascension into heaven. They pre­dict (3) the extension of the Kingdom of God from the Jewish to the Gentile world; but they also pre­dict (4) the final triumph of good over evil throughout the universe. If, therefore, the Gen­tiles received but one prophecy directly from the lips of Christ, we may at least say of it that it is one which includes all, one which sums up the whole series of visions vouchsafed, whether to He­brew or to Christion seers.

THE DEATH OF THE CROSS

"These words predict; first of all, the death of the Cross, though, instead of parading, they veil and extenuate its horrors; speaking of it as a 'mere lift­ing up from the earth,' and so making the Cross itself an instrument of elevation rather than an im­plement of torture and shame. Now we do not a1­ways recognize the prophetic power displayed by our Lord Jesus in foretelling 'by what manner of death He should die.' He had long known that the Jews would put Him to death. It needed no prophet to forecast that perhaps, when once their bitter enmity had been aroused; for which of the servants of God had they not rejected and slain? But cruci­fixion was not commonly inflicted, even by the Romans, except on traitors or slaves; while, among the Jews, an apostate, an offender against the sanc­tity of the Temple, or the authority of the Law, was stoned. There was, therefore, an indubitable element of prediction in our Lord's habitual fore­boding that He should be 'crucified,' that He should be lifted up too bear our sins in His own body, on the tree.

THE ASCENSION INTO HEAVEN

"Nor was it only His crucifixion which He fore­told. Behind and beyond that shameful elevation, He saw a glorious ascension into heaven. Literally rendered, His words read, not, 'if I be lifted up from the earth,' but, 'if I be lifted up out of or above the earth.' [The Diaglott renders the words: "And I, if I be raised on high from the earth will draw all to Myself;"] and in this peculiar phrase, what­ever its first intention may have been, all the great expositors find a reference to His resurrection from the dead, and His ascension ,to the right hand of God, as well as to the peculiar manner of the death by which He was to glorify God. There is here, therefore, a splendid example of His faith in the love and justice of His Father, and of His prophetic insight into His Father's will. Must not He have been in very truth a Seer who could fore­tell an event so improbable, so incredible to human wisdom, as that One who was soon to perish on the cross of a slave should rise from the grave in which they laid Him and ascend the throne of the universe? Must not He have been a veritable prophet, who could foresee that death, so far from putting a period to His life, would but enhance the power of His life, and that the shame of the Cross, instead of making Him of no reputation, would only min­ister to and swell His glory?

"He who predicted His own death, then, and even the manner of His death, also predicted His triumph over death, and His ascension into heaven; and if the former prediction indicated but a com­paratively low measure of the prophetic energy it must be admitted that in the latter we have a splendid and illustrious proof of His prophetic en­ergy and foresight. Yet even this latter prediction pales before the glory of those that follow it. For our Lord proceeds to foretell the results of His death, and of His triumph over death, the effects of His being lifted up from the earth, and of His being lifted up out of and beyond the earth."

SALVATION FOR GENTILES AS WELL AS FOR JEWS

One result will be, He says, that He will draw all men unto Himself; all men, that is to say, with­out distinction of race-both the Jews who had re­jected Him and the Gentiles who were ignorant of Him. "And what could have seemed more improb­able, more incredible, than that? Who but He could have seen in the crucifixion of a Galilean peasant, against whom the whole world, Hebrew and heathen, had conspired, the signal of a religi­ous revolution which should cover the whole world, and lift and bind its scattered and hostile races into one new and perfect manhood?

"When these Greeks came to Him, when He learned that they had 'decided' to cast in their lot with Him, He saw in them the ambassadors of all the Gentile races, and exclaimed, 'Now is the Son of Man glorified!' for it was His 'glory' to be the Savior not of one nation only, but of all nations. We have grown so familiar with this 'glory' of His that we do not easily realize either how much that incident must have meant for Him, or how much the inclusion of Greeks in His kingdom involved. The whole set of His time was against any such idea. The whole course of history had been against it for two thousand years. Through all those cen­turies God had had an elect people to whom, to whom exclusively, He had confined the direct and immediate disclosures of His will. Was this divine procedure to be changed all in a moment? Could it be that the unique grace so long shown to the Jews was now to be extended to all mankind? True, God had elected Israel only that Israel might be His minister to mankind; but in the pride of its election Israel had long forgotten the end for which it was elected.

"Now a conviction so ancient, so deeply rooted and widespread, as this belief in the incommunicable immunities and privileges of the elect people, was not to be lightly shaken, however high the authority, and however noble the spirit in which it was assailed. If we would measure its strength and inveteracy, we must mark how long it resisted even the authority of Christ Himself, and held out against the power and influence of the very Spirit of God. When Peter was convinced that no man was common or unclean, and therefore that no man, or caste, or race, could any longer claim special and exclusive privilege in the Kingdom of God, or any divine election save an election to serve their fellows, he found it no easy task to convert the Church, or even his brother Apostles, to his own new faith in the universal love of God." A large section of the early Church were never more than half converted to it, while some of them were never converted to it at all, but made the life of Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles, bitter to him, by their uncompromis­ing hostility to the new, generous Gospel he preached. All the more wonderful was it that, in the face of this ancient and powerful tradition-this claim 'to be, in some way, dearer to God than others; a claim which seems to live in our very blood-all the more wonderful, we say, it was, that the Lord Jesus should predict, even before He died, "I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto Myself;" with­out distinction of race or caste. If, because of men's sins, the prophecy is fulfilled only in part as yet, we can only the more admire the penetrating, pro­phetic glance, "which could look through long cen­turies to a time still to come, when all the world shall recognize its equal and common humanity and rejoice in the Love which embraces and redeems us all."

FINAL TRIUMPH OF GOOD OVER EVIL FORESEEN

"Even vet, however, we have not exhausted this marvelous prediction, have not followed it out to its full scope. For just as behind the death of the Cross Jesus saw the resurrection and ascension in­to heaven, so behind and beyond the extension of His Kingdom from the Jews to the whole Gentile world, He foresaw and foretold the final triumph of good over evil."

When He heard the great voice out of heaven which assured Him that He had been successful in bringing glory to His Father's name by His work among the Jews, so, only on a much grander scale, He would, in due time, bring glory to His Father's name by a world-wide work among all nations, He cried: "Now is a judgment," that is, "Now there is a judicial crisis, of this world; now shall the prince of this world be cast out;" while in the next breath He adds: "And I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto Myself." Evidently, therefore, He im­plies a contrast between Himself and the prince of, this world, a contrast also between their respective destinies.

"Who this false prince of the world is we can have no doubt, if at least we accept the teaching of the New Testament. The Jews habitually called Satan -- the 'adversary' of man and God -- 'the prince of this world.'" "And Jesus adopts both the name and the conception which underlay it. Not here alone, but again and again, this title falls from His lips, as when He said, 'The prince of this world cometh and hath nothing in Me;' or when He pre­dicted that the Holy Spirit should convict men of judgment, because the prince of this world bath been judged. (John 14:30; 16:11.) " It is this prince, then, of whose downfall from the seat of power Jesuss finds a signal in the extension of His Kingdom 'to the Gentiles. It is this prince whom He Himself is destined to replace.

SATAN TO BE ^"CAST OUT"

But notice the force of the solemn and pictur­esque phrase, "The prince of this world shall be cast out." "He, who, before this, had seen Satan fall like lightning from heaven, now predicts that he is to be 'cast out' from the earth. And :this phrase 'cast out' is very suggestive; for it is 'the technical phrase for excommunication, for the solemn and formal expulsion of one who has sinned against the light from a synagogue, a temple, a church, from any holy place or community. To affirm, therefore, that Satan is to be cast out of the world, implies that he has no right in it. It implies that the world is a holy place, a place sanctified by a divine pres­ence, and therefore a place for which he is unfit, in which his presence is an usurpation and an offense, from which he is to be solemnly and for ever ex­pelled.

"As yet, indeed, we see not that he has been ex­pelled, whether from the world or even from the Church. But He who 'came to destroy the works of the Devil,' He who is able to measure all spirit­ual forces with a precision to which we cannot pre­tend, and to calculate the issue between good and evil with an infallible prescience -- He here assures us that as the result of His coming into the world, His death for the world's sin, His judgment or rule of the, world, the power of evil is broken; that the supreme representative of evil is to be overcome, dethroned, driven out. He pronounces the issue cer­tain, however long the conflict, the campaign, may last. He affirms that the Temple of the World is to be purged from whatsoever offendeth or loveth and maketh a lie. The prince of this world has been judged, self-judged and self-condemned, in that he stirred up men to reject their Wisest and Best, set himself, and tempted them to set themselves, against the supreme revelation of the righteousness and love of God. Sentence has gone forth against him; and, in due time, that sentence will infallibly be carried out."

Oh! is is a great promise, alive with the inspira­tions of courage and hope, and may well nerve us to carry on that conflict with evil, in ourselves, and in the world around us, which often looks so hope­less that we grow weary and faint in our minds! Failure is impossible, however imminent it may seem. Victory is certain, however improbable it may appear, however distant it may be.

CHRIST SHALL SEE OF THE TRAVAIL OF HIS SOUL AND BE SATISFIED

But though He is to displace the prince of this world, our Lord will not be, as the Jews expected Him to be, only another and a better prince of this world. He is to be lifted up, lifted out of, and above the world. "To Him the elevation to the Cross -- the throne of love, is but an emblem of His elevation to heaven -- the throne of power." Thence He will draw men, draw them by the sweet influences, by the gentle compulsions, of the love He has shown for them, and revealed to them, until at last they shall "all" come to Him -- all, that is to say, who do not wilfully resist Him, -- and be changed into His image, clothed with righteousness, crowned with the glory and honor of perfection; some, the church, to share even in His throne, all to partake Of eternal life, made possible for them through His sacrifice.

The scope, then, of this great prediction, is very wide. It is charged with the music of a hope that reaches beyond this present life. It presses on through century after century, unfulfilled, or fulfilled only in part, and shall never tire nor rest, un­til it shall close in the complete fulfilment of a re­deemed race, a regenerated universe. It conducts us from the travail of the Cross, to that supreme moment, when, seated on the throne of universal dominion, Christ "shall see of the travail of His soul, and be satisfied;" when, having subdued all things unto Himself, He shall have delivered up the King­dom to God, even the Father, that God may be all in all.

The presence of Christ in the world, then, "His revelation of the perfect goodness, the forgiving and redeeming love of our Father in heaven, was in very deed a judgment of this world; for by the attitude which men assumed to Him, they disclosed their true moral character, and determined their condi­tion. But happily for us and for them, it was a judg­ment unto victory. It implies and guarantees the triumph of good over evil; the expulsion of evil in all its forms and causes; the ultimate enthronement of the perfect Goodness and Love. Christ is our Judge, and leads us to convict ourselves and con­demn ourselves, only that He may be our Ruler, and redeem us out of all our sins, and miseries, out even of the shame and misery -of self-condemnation. And Christ is the judge of the world, convicting all men of the sin of unbelief, of distrust of their Heavenly Father, and disobedience to His will, only that He may have mercy on all, and draw them all into the peace of His perfect and gentle rule.

"And if all this be true -- and it is true -- we may well conclude with St. Paul: 'O, the depths of the riches, both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God. How unsearchable are His Judgments, and His ways past tracing out,' so far do they transcend, in love and goodness, the utmost measures of our thought!"

- P. L. Read.

God Comforts His People

"In the night His song shall be with me." - Psalm 42:8.

THE propriety of God's children singing to Him in grateful worship is readily seen, but to think of God as singing to them is not so gen­eral. Considering the complete text, it seems evi­dent that the Psalmist was thinking, not of his ap­proach to God, but of God coming to him to com­fort his mind with assurances of His loving super­vision through all the hours of light and darkness. "The Lord will command His loving-kindness in the daytime and in the night His song shall be with me." The thought suggested is that we may hear God singing to us -- continually singing to us by var­ious means to the end that all His attributes may be rejoiced in. He is "the God of all comfort," as­suring us that "As one whom his mother comfort­eth, so will I comfort you." (Isa. 66:13.) In Him all the qualities of fatherhood and motherhood com­bine. "Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him." "Can a mother forget her -- sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee." (Psa. 103:13; Isa. 49:15.) It is eminently proper, therefore, to think of God singing to us the songs needed for our com­fort in all circumstances.

Times without number God's songs have filled our hearts with the sacrifice of responsive praise. The many evidences we have had of His anticipation of our every need, and of His grace always sufficient for every emergency, these have been as the voice of God by which He would tell us of His individual­izing love. Our name engraven on the palms of His hand guarantees this individual place in His affections; therefore we may know that as His eye is on the sparrow, so He watches over each one of His children, not less mindful of their lesser needs than of the greater concerns of life.

The ear of the Psalmist, alert in attentive medi­tation, catches the majestic strains of God's song as it vibrates through the wide domain of creation. He hears no audible voice, but he is conscious of a mel­ody extending to the utmost bounds. To us also

"The music of the spheres should tell

How He created all things well,"

and that He who "upholdeth all things by the word of His power," may be trusted fully in all that con­cerns us. This symphony of the spheres -- immense and uncounted worlds -- should mean for us a confidence that no power or circumstance could take from us, since this "eternal God is our refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms."

THE COMFORT OF THE SCRIPTURES

The music of God's songs of hope and comfort comes to us not alone from a universe of wonders displaying His wisdom and power, but it comes in still sweeter strains:

"Not alone do worlds of light,
And earth display Thy grand designs;
'Tis when our eyes behold Thy Word
We read Thy name in fairest lines."

In that Word we have the harp divine tuned to a perfect melody. "And the various testimonies of the Law and the Prophets are the several cords of that harp, which, when tuned by the Holy Spirit dwelling in our hearts, and swept by the fingers of the devoted servants and searchers after divine truth, yield the most enchanting strains that ever fell on mortal ears. Praise the Lord for the exquisite mel­ody of the blessed 'song of Moses and the Lamb' which we learn through the testimony of His holy Apostles and Prophets, of whom the Lord Jesus is chief."

Ah, yes, this is God's all-inclusive song of com­fort, the revelation of His love for a watching Church and a groaning waiting world. No such story con­sistent with all the attributes of His character could be the dream of mortal man, or originate in the thought of angels. And God has been singing it through His word of promise ever since the dark shades of sin began to spread over the earth. Faintly at first, as in the days of Enoch and Abraham, but growing in volume and clearness as intervening days have passed. Patriarchs and Prophets, faithful Apostles and the Church of Christ have joined. their voices in comforting others with the comfort where­with they themselves have been comforted of God. And faith rejoices to believe that a day is coming when every voice throughout the universe will sing together the same song of redeeming love -- God's song of love.

God commands His loving-kindness in the day­time. Through His providential directing of our footsteps we are led into circumstances pervaded by the sunshine of His favor. Into pastures, green with fresh visions of His grace to satisfy our heart's deeper yearnings, He leads us. Beside still waters of soul gladness, away from the strife of tongues, He will take us at times to assure us that we are His. He takes us apart from the crowd that we may know Him better, and love the multitude more, because we have been with Him alone. There are gardens of communion with Himself into which He will call us at times, that we may bask in the reflection of His loving-kindness, and go Out again to show forth His praises by the radiant glow of His imparted Spirit. These daytime revelations of His gracious­ness are the fragrant memories He gives us for dark­er days. He knows how the spirit can break under more than flesh can bear. He knows how even true service in His own vineyard can interfere with com­munion, and dim the vision of His face because meditation and prayer are crowded into weary and hur­ried moments. So that no such cloud may veil Him from our eyes, He commands for us the quiet times we need. Well it is for us if we catch His meaning in these experiences, and sense our need for quiet­ness alone with Him, with His Word open to our gaze, and opened to our understanding.

SONGS IN THE NIGHT

"Songs in the night He giveth!" As we have seen, a song of hope has been sung through all the long night of sighing because of sin. But there are also nights of trial in the experience of those who through much tribulation shall enter the Kingdom. The darkest of these nights for us is now settling down over the world in ever-increasing gloom. Despite the optimistic wishful thinking of many, those who give heed to the "sure word of prophecy" know that ere the golden morning of peace is ushered in, an hour of greater' darkness is to envelop the whole earth. But here again God comes to His people with the comfort of His Word. In darkest hours His song is sweetest, for then He has us sheltered under the shadow of His wing. "When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee" is the word of good cheer our faithful God speaks in the ears of His people today. Therefore as the darkest hour precedes the dawn -of the morning, "The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge." His angels have been given a special charge over us to keep us in all our appointed ways. And His Church-"God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early." Thus the troubled waters and the shaking mountains, though fearful and foreboding to others, become to God's enlightened ones harbingers of the "Sun of Righteousness with healing in His beams."

And what shall we say of those words of comfort in which our God 'and Father, and our beloved Bridegroom assure us of a welcome Home? The Lord Jesus waits for us in all the joys of a holy and perfect anticipation, and the Father Himself loveth us. For us and for Them gladness will soon be com­pleted -- our joy made full by being with Them, and Their joy complete because we are there. Truly God comforts His people, and comforted by His comforting, may we be ever ready to comfort others with all the comfort wherewith we ourselves are com­forted of God.

- J. J. Blackburn.

Annual Meeting of the Pastoral Bible Institute

Members of the Pastoral Bible Institute are hereby re­minded of the privilege which is theirs of nominating in the page& of this journal the brethren they wish to elect as directors for the fiscal year 1946-1947. While the at­tention of new members is especially drawn to this mat­ter, we desire to emphasize in the minds of old members also, not only the privilege, but also the responsibility, which continued association with this ministry brings.

All should be aware of the fact that the affairs of this Institute are in the hands of seven brethren who are elected from the Institute's membership to serve for a period of one year or until their successors are elected. As announced in recent issues of the Herald, the next annual meeting will be held Saturday, July 6, 1946, at 2 p.m., in the parlors of the Institute, 177 Prospect Place, Brooklyn, N. Y.

The brethren whose term of service will expire are:

J. E. DAWSON
J. C. JORDAN
J. T. READ
P. L. READ
W. J. SIEKMAN
P. E. THOMSON

The brethren named above are pleased to report that a spirit of Christian love and harmony exists in their midst; and they have reason to believe that the Lord has seen fit to bless their association in this ministry. They realize, however, that those carrying on any work often fail to see opportunities for improvement and expansion apparent to others not charged with such responsibility. For this reason changes in office not infrequently have beneficial effects. They desire above all things that the work of the Lord (for the furtherance of which this In­stitute was formed) be prosecuted with the greatest possible efficiency, and to this end are ready cheerfully to step aside for others whom the membership believe to be fitted for the work. They therefore urge upon all the members of our Institute that they make this a spe­cial occasion of prayer, and they also earnestly pray that our Father's will may be expressed in the vote of the members.

If after prayerful meditation any are led of the Lord to nominate brethren, and will forward the names and addresses of such brethren so as to reach this office on or before May 13, 1946, such names will be published in the June issue of the "Herald," that all members may have an opportunity of voting for them.

1946 Index