THE HERALD
of Christ's Kingdom

VOL. XLII December, 1959 No. 11
Table of Contents    

Peace on Earth, Good Will to Men"

Christmas

Watchman, What Hour of the Night?

Israel Today

The Question Box

The Divine Weaver's Many Hued Pattern

Two Men Went up to Pray

Faith's Foundation

Our Correspondence

Victory

A Pilgrim's Reverie

Recently Deceased

Peace on Earth, Good Will to Men"

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace, good will toward men.
 - Luke 2:14.

CHRISTIAN people the world over have traditionally set aside the twenty-fifth day of December for the observation of Christmas. If asked why they observe this day, the answer might be quite varied. Some would say, "This is the day on which the Christ Child was born." Others would insist that they like the spirit of giving. Many might admit that they like the festive tradition which has been handed down to them from past generations through the church. Thus depicted, Christmas to them is a birthday, a memorial or feast day similar to other days set aside by tradition, though more significant.

If the real importance of Christ­mas, the birth of Christ, is known and appreciated, it is realized as an event truly worthy of our memory, not only on one day each year, but on every day of our life.

We have heard the Christmas story (Luke 2:1-16) from childhood. But only now, as we associate this Babe of Bethlehem with the Logos, do we get a correct appreciation of the truth respecting Jesus. He was not from Adam (Adamic -- earthly) through Joseph. No, the lives of Adam and Joseph were earthy and forfeited by Father Adam's disobe­dience to God. Their heritage was death. Had Christ been of their lineage, he could not have paid a corresponding price for Adam --who was created in the image and like­ness of God, a perfect human image of God. Adam lost this perfection only by his disobedience to God's command. Christ could not have been of this parentage, for we are told in 1 Corinthians 15:47: Christ, "the second man, is the Lord from heaven."

Yes, his was a transferred life -- ­transferred from spirit to human being. As the Logos, he was a per­fect spirit being (God's only begot­ten Son) living with God in the heavens. As such, he served the Fa­ther perfectly. Seeing that he might further the Father's purpose toward mankind, he willingly gave up his existence as Logos, this most favored position of all of God's creation, and took on him the form of man, an ob­ject of his own creation. (1 Tim. 2:6.) Not only this, but his love and devotion to the Father, and his sym­pathetic love to fallen mankind was so deep that he willingly forfeited this perfect human life, in order, first, that God's Plan of salvation might be worked out; for God's law required a perfect human life in payment for the perfect human life lost in Eden by disobedience; and second, that mankind might be re­deemed from the death penalty and thus restored to the perfection en­joyed in the Garden.

This he did without selfish inter­est, for he sought not his own will. In his last recorded prayer he asked to be returned to the status he en­joyed with the Father before his hu­man existence. (John 17:5.) Yes, "for our sakes [that mankind might be redeemed] he became poor [hu­man -- the man Christ Jesus], that we, by his poverty, might become rich"-perfect, and at peace with God. - 2 Cor. 8:9.

According to God's original plan (Gen. 1:28) man was to subdue the earth and rule over all of the other forms of living things placed upon the earth, not to be subservient to them, not to fear them, but to use them for his pleasure. Neither was man to rule over man, but each was to be a king in the earth and live peaceably. The one just reason for the permission of evil is that it is for the good of humanity that they might "know good and evil"-that they might gain a knowledge of the difference between good and evil.

Knowing that only those who are obedient sons of God can hope for continued life and inhabit the earth in the ages to come, we can more fully appreciate the song of the an­gels on the night of our Saviour's birth and understand the reason for their great rejoicing. They were an­nouncing to the world of mankind, the greatest event in the history of our planet since the creation of man -the Logos was made flesh! Oh, what cause for rejoicing! The angel said, "Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be unto all people."

Only a few have analyzed this message of the angelic hosts; only a few have seen the true scope, and few have appreciated the compre­hensiveness of this simple statement. The eyes of the masses have been dimmed by the many fables of men. The joy of understanding and ap­preciating the true story of salva­tion from sin and death, sickness and sorrow, by and through our Savior, the Prince of our Peace, is foolishness to natural man now. Eventually they will realize the folly of their ways, and this same joy will be given to them, to the Jew first and then to the Gentile. Yes, to all the nations of the world.

The birth of the Babe was one step toward that great day. It was first necessary for Christ to grow into the full stature of manhood (Adam, whose place in death he was taking, being a perfect man) prior to carrying out his real mission. During those years he was schooled in God's Word, tested in all things, and proved faithful and perfect. He kept the perfect Law inviolate. Death on the cross was another step toward this "peace on earth." For by it mankind gained the right to life through Christ. He thus pur­chased the human race. Christ has obtained the full right to life, and has been given power over both death and life and will give life freely to all obedient to his commands.

The resurrection and ascension of the risen Christ again to heaven (into God's presence and favor, his right hand) were other steps. For it was by these that mankind gained a mediator who alone can present them faultless before God, and place them back into sonship relation with the Father.

The selection of a bride for Christ is still another step toward man­kind's peace with God. God, who provided Eve to be a companion and helpmate for Adam because "it was not good that man should be alone," will also provide a suitable com­panion for his dearly beloved and faithful Son, Christ. To those called to be his Bride, our Lord said, "In my Father's house are many man­sions [dwelling places]: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." - John 14:2, 3.

Is it any wonder that the angels of God rejoiced to announce the birth of Jesus, the "life-giver"? Picture their great joy, after four thousand years of sin and death, to see this first assuring sign that Je­hovah's promised Seed had arrived and that his plan of salvation for man, his crowning earthly creature, was progressing as promised. "For unto you [mankind] is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord." (Luke 2:11.) May our thanks and praise be unto our eternal God for this greatest of gifts, for this "Life giver," the great One, for he is "able to save unto the uttermost. "- Heb. 7:25.

The "peace on earth, good will to men" prophesied has not yet been realized, but the day is drawing ever nearer. The Messianic Kingdom will complete this prophecy of peace. All those who will obey God shall then become the "sons of God." (Rev. 21:7.) Only then shall the real tid­ings of great joy be known and ap­preciated by men, and mankind be reconciled to God. Then shall there be real "peace on earth and good will to men."

Christmas began this chain of events which will lead up to such a happy conclusion. Because we are favored among men to know the full importance of God's "Gift," we should truly rejoice and be filled with a joy equal to that reflected by the heavenly hosts who sang, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, and good will toward men." But let us not stop with reflecting such joy one day of the year; such joy is cause for rejoicing every day of our lives. Therefore let us resolve to reflect our joy daily and give thanks always, even until "the Prince of our Peace" and that of the world is reigning over all the earth and every tongue confessing him Lord of all.

- L. Petran.

Christmas

I heard the bells of Christmas ring,
"No-el, No-el, No-el," 
The choirs then began to sing,
"No-el, No-el, No-el,"
And o'er the air the grand old hymns
Came to my room-and then
My thoughts harked back where once I stood
In far-off Bethlehem.
 
And, standing on the hillside there 
The Shepherd's field lay green 
Before me in Judea's sun, 
All rugged land between. 
And, in my fancy, as I stood I heard the angels sing,
And watched the fleecy, sleepy flocks 
Follow their shepherds in:
 
[No better right had kings than they, --
Symbols of God's own Son­
A Lamb slain e'er the world was made 
For man by sin undone.]
 
And then a Cross before my eyes
Stood outlined on a hill,
A broken Heart before me cried, 
A suffering form was still.
The heavy darkness gathered round, 
An earthquake shook the ground,
"'Tis finished" --Yea, upon that Cross 
Man's substitute is found.
 
Two thousand years I saw roll on, 
Sad is the story told
Of pestilence and storm and flood 
And war from greed of gold. 
The son of widowed mother feels
No hand upon his head,
His funeral cortege moves along To burial of the dead.
 
Jairus' daughters slumber on 
No voice to bid them rise,
A world in travail moans her pain 
No help comes from the skies. 
And now as Christmas bells ring out 
"No-el, No-el, No-el," 
The bitterest hours of that race 
Are here for Israel. 
And blue stars on our banners 
Change to gold of heart-break when 
A message comes from out the din 
Of battle -- and 'tis then
That anguished hearts look upward­ --
"Lord, must these things always be? 
The promise of Thy coming? When, 
O, Lord, to set us free?"
 
To the Holy Book I turned then,
Saw upon the Gospel page
That all things had been as promised 
Down the Jewish-Gospel Age; 
That a King shall reign in justice, 
Man, delivered from the fall
Will with one consent then serve Him, 
King of kings, and Lord of all!
 
Yes, the great Time-clock is striking,
Never have its notes been wrong, 
Ushering out life's night of weeping, 
Bringing in earth's morning song. 
Christians, watch -- the Bridegroom cometh 
Satan's power no more shall sway 
Quarreling factions, warring nations, 
It is coming, that glad day
When the Bride, joined to her Bridegroom 
Sees his glory, shares his throne­ --
When all in their graves shall hear him, 
"Lazarus, come forth, O come." 
Where, cold grave, is then thy victory? 
Where, O death, shall be thy sting? 
Let the Christmas bells ring loudly 
Welcome to earth's coming King!

- Grace M. Harris.

Watchman, What Hour of the Night?

"The prophets . . . searching what time or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did point unto . . . which things angels desire to look into." - Isa. 21:11; 1 Pet. 1:10-12, A.R.V.

IT WAS the duty of the watchman in an ancient city to call the hours. The question heard by Isaiah suggests that the watchman had been silent. Perhaps the city was in fear of an enemy -- of an attack at dawn. The night was dark -- the stars, by which the time might be told, were hidden in the clouds. A citizen, roused from sleep by he knows not what, calls to the watchman in the street or on the wall, literally: "Watch­man, what from off the night?" "Watch­man, how far gone is the night?"­ - Rotherham.

The Scriptures picture the symbolic earth, the social order, as being in dark­ness, and most of mankind lying in a heavy sleep (Isa. 60:2; Isa. 29:9-12; et al.). But some individuals have been wakeful; and from the prophets and servants of God, as well as from Seir and other godless sources, has often come the an­cient question: "What time is it?"

Thus the Psalmist, David, asked: "O Jehovah, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked triumph?" Again he inquires, saying: "Our own signs have we not seen -- there is no longer a prophet -- neither is there one with us who knoweth how long! How long, O God, shall the adversary re­proach? Shall the enemy revile thy name perpetually?" In the prophecy of Daniel the repeated inquiry is found concern­ing the symbolic time-measures given him: "How long shall be the vision?" "What shall be the issue of these things?" The disciples asked of the Lord: "When shall these things be? and what shall be the sign ... ?" And after the resur­rection: "Dost thou at this time restore the Kingdom to Israel?"

The demons also, having a deep per­sonal interest in the matter, demanded of Jesus: "Art thou come hither to tor­ment [restrain] us before the time?" (Psa. 94:3; Psa. 74:9, 10; Isa. 21:11; Dan. 8:13; Dan. 12:8; Matt. 24:3; Acts 1:6; Matt. 8:29).

The interest today, among the wakeful, is no less intense. The "Worldly Wise­men" are anxiously seeking to penetrate the future; and many modern Bible stu­dents are searching the Scriptures, as did the holy men of old, to discover if it may be, "What time or what manner of time" the prophecies signify. The Her­ald is constantly receiving, from earnest and zealous brethren, manuscripts, charts, pamphlets, and books on various features of "the chronology." These usu­ally "correct" one or two alleged mistakes of past writers and often contain help­ful suggestions, but as these correspon­dents are not in collaboration, their con­clusions are not in harmony. Not only so, but related Scriptures are often over­looked or ignored, which would modify or contradict their findings.

The Bible chronology, as it has been constructed by many generations of in­vestigators throughout the Gospel Age, is not readily corrected in detail; if it is to be changed, it must be revised with full regard for interrelated prophetic time periods, and with familiarity with the vast and invaluable researches of pre­vious chronologers. From time to time the Herald has sought to aid in clarify­ing the subject by a restatement of some of its underlying principles and require­ments, and a review of the conclusions and unanswered questions left to us by the ablest of modern investigators in this field, and thus help those continuing prophetic research to harmonize their findings.

It is evident that the question before us is essentially identical with the one that St. Peter declares was in the minds of the prophets themselves-yes, even in the minds of angels (1 Pet. 1:10-12; Dan. 8:13), viz., What time-periods, or what manner (kind) of time-periods, does the Spirit signify, in the prophecies of Scrip­ture which obviously indicate a fixed and definite period of suffering for God's people, of both the Old and the New Dispensations, to be followed by an equally definite period of exaltation and glory in the "Age to come wherein dwelleth righteousness"?

St. Peter says it was revealed to the Prophets that they were not to under­stand the meaning of these prophecies, but that this understanding was reserved for "us"; and he exhorts us to "gird up the loins of your mind, and be sober, and [with the aid of these prophecies] hope completely [fully] for the grace that is to be brought to you at the revela­tion of Jesus Christ..." (1 Pet. 1:12, 13). Accordingly we honor those brethren who are giving thought and time, labor and their means, in the endeavor to solve the ancient mystery.

Those to whom the Apostle refers as "us" are the ones to whom he addresses his Epistle: ". . . the elect . . . accord­ing to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ" (verses 1-3). We therefore ask, Have all these been fully aware of the time-significance of the prophecies; of the dates of the beginnings and endings of the periods; of "what time and what manner of time" was meant? The answer of course is No, all have not been so aware; it would there­fore appear that some other feature of the prophecies was intended for all the Church -- the "us" class.

It may well be argued that, though veritably of this class, we may never know the exact lengths or dates of the prophetic periods; but we may know of a surety that these prophecies have their fulfillment in Christ, and if we are joined to him we may with equal as­surance make application of their prom­ises of blessings to ourselves: for "If we suffer [with him] we shall also reign with him"; and "when Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall we also appear with him in glory" (2 Tim. 2:12; Col. 3:4). Certainly it is far more im­portant for us to know that we may par­ticipate in the prophesied blessings than to know just when those blessings are to come.

It is apparent that partial knowledge and even misunderstanding of the time prophecies has been stimulating to Chris­tian living in all periods of the Age. Because the meaning of these prophecies has been hidden and obscure, yet their promises so attractive and their terms so urgent, each zealous investigator has been prompted to apply them to his own times. Constant expectation of impending dissolution of the present evil order has contributed in an important measure to holy living by the believer in every stage of the Church, as Peter seems to im­ply further along in this very passage: "Wherefore ... set your hope completely on the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ .. . like as he is holy . . . be ye yourselves also holy." And the Apostle makes his thought still more clear in his second Epistle: "Seeing that these things are thus all to be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy living and godliness, looking for and earnestly desiring the coming of the day of God ...?" (1 Pet. 1:13-16; 2 Pet. 3: 11-13).

However, the earnest Bible student can never be satisfied with an incomplete or inaccurate understanding of Scripture. He cannot admit that the Bible state­ments of time-periods should be con­sidered impossible of complete interpre­tation and understanding. He refuses to relinquish hope of an ultimate solution; hence he never ceases his efforts to solve the puzzles connected with these time­ features, and is ever on the lookout for hints from any source that may prove helpful in his quest.

Figures are exact; "seventy sevens" are 490, not 491, or 489; "seven times" (if we understand the numerical system cor­rectly) are 2520 years, not 2520 plus 40, or some other figure. The time periods of prophecy must have a definite ending, marked by some definite event, or their significance and authority are greatly weakened. The fact that previous in­terpreters obviously have erred in their conclusions should not have a deterrent or discouraging effect, but rather a stimu­lating influence, on the "searchers" and "examiners" of the Scriptures. There is the gold of further truth yet to be discovered, if we are willing to "search for it as for hid treasure." Through the Prophet Habbakuk the assurance is given: "The vision is yet for the ap­pointed time . though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not delay" beyond the "appointed time" (Prov. 2:1-5; Hab. 2:3).

Daniel, who asked for an understand­ing of the time prophecies given him, was told: "Go thy way, Daniel; for the words are shut up and sealed till the time of the end ... none of the wicked shall understand, but they that are wise shall understand" (Dan. 12:9, 10). This ex­pression, "time of the end," clearly indi­cates a period of time. The Prophet employs quite another word to indicate a point of time. The latter is found in Dan. 2:8, 9, 16 (see A.R.V. and Rotherham); Dan. 4:36; Dan. 7:22.

Similarly, Daniel distinguishes between a terminating period and a complete end, although the Authorized Version does not, translating both original words as "end." A final end is indicated in Dan. 1:5, 15, 18; Dan. 4:29, 34; and Dan. 9:24 (a still different word).

Daniel was told that "the vision be­longeth to the time of the end" (Dan. 8:17, A.R.V.). Strong defines the word "vi­sion" as "a view, the act of seeing." Again, the Prophet was told to "seal the book to the time of the end." Be­fore that time, "some of them that are wise" -- Rotherham's footnote says "the instructors," and refers to Dan. 8:33, "they who make the people wise" -- "shall fall, to refine them, and to purify and to make them white, even to the time of the end; because it is yet for the time appointed." The American Revised Version also has footnotes giving the meaning of "in­structors" to "the wise of chapters 11 and 12. Perhaps this (Dan. 11:35, quoted above) has particular reference to the many sincere but premature and errone­ous interpretations of "the vision" by "the teachers of the people." It is en­couraging to believe that even our hon­est errors may "refine, purify and make us white," by humbling and warning us (Dan. 11:33, 35).

"The words are shut up and sealed till the time of the end. . . . None of the wicked shall understand; but they that are wise shall understand" (Dan. 12:9, 10). Whether this promise means that during the end-period the "wise" shall come to a complete understanding of all of the time-prophecies, or to the particular one or ones given through Daniel, or merely that the "wise" shall know in a gen­eral way that it is the time of the end, and that the prophecies are being, or are about to be, fulfilled, is for each sincere and honest examiner of the sacred rec­ords to conclude for himself. The writer holds the former view. He believes that it would be more to the glory of God and the vindication of his Word for some, at least, of his "little ones" to arrive at "an exact knowledge of the truth" in this respect as in others, during the due time -- the time-period of the end. Such an understanding would demonstrate not only God's foreknowledge, but his ability to forestall events in such a way as that, hidden until the "time-lock" is released, even poor human intelligence, enlightened by the Holy Spirit, may share the foreknowledge in all its ex­actness. "The path of the righteous is as the light of dawn, going on and brightening, unto meridian day" (Prov. 4:18, Rotherham).

As Bible students we therefore may say: "We know the solution of the mystery is there, hidden in his Word. We do not yet fully understand, but we shall understand in God's due time, or when we have worked hard enough on the problem to merit its unfolding to us. We will not be discouraged either by past mistakes and disappointments, or by the difficulties that lie before us. We will remember the intense interest and labors to understand on the part of the angels, of the prophets, and of our breth­ren of the Church who have preceded us; and calling to mind the promises of ultimate understanding given through Daniel, Habakkuk, and others of the Prophets and the Apostles, we will fol­low on in full expectation of eventually coming to "know even as we are known."

- H. E. Hollister

Israel Today

"And King Solomon made a navy of ships in Ezion-Geber, which is beside Elath, on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom." - l Kings 9:26

Jerusalem, October 15, 1959

Elath today is sometimes called the back-door of Israel. However, some day it may be termed the front-door of the nation, as it links the Land of Promise with the burgeoning Far Eastern coun­tries and those of all East Africa.

As in the days of Solomon, so now, Elath is a very important seaport in the Jewish State. Nearby are the remains of his famous copper mines and the largest, most complex refinery ever recovered from ancient times-the Pittsburgh of Solomon. So in the 10th century B. C. the renowned king traded copper ingots through the port of Elath, as well as rock salt and asphalt of Sodom, for gold, silver, ivory, spices, peacocks, etc. - 1 Kings 10:22.

Likewise today Israel is shipping cop­per extracted in the Negev at the same location of Solomon's copper mines, and also minerals of the Dead Sea such as potash-from Elath to such countries as Japan, Burma, and Ethiopia. In re­turn, instead of the gold of Ophir which Solomon desired, Israel is receiving "black gold" (oil), which is transported to Elath in large tankers. Coffee and beef from Eritrea entering the country at this southernmost point are valued as much as the spices and ivory of Bible times.

It is most interesting to note how present day developments here often link with Israel's past history. As in Jehoshaphat's reign, when his trade in the Red Sea was stymied (1 Kings 22: 48), so after the establishment of the State of Israel until 1957, the use of the ~ort of Elath was barred to the Israeli because of Egypt's blockade at the straits of Titan, the mouth of the Gulf of Aqaba which of course is an arm of the Red Sea. The celebrated Sinai Campaign, in the fall of 1956, opened this water­way to the merchant fleet flying the Star of David. Now a squadron of fast, 17­ton motor torpedo boats is at the port of Elath to insure the free passage of vessels to and from this point so im­portant to Israel's commerce.

As many as five freighters can be seen these days anchored in Elath, load­ing or unloading simultaneously or waiting to do so. One of the latest raw material exports that is leaving Elath is a large quantity of flint-clay from the Ramon Crater in the Negev -- bound for Japan. Flint-clay is used in the produc­tion of fire-resistant brick, mainly for ovens and kilns. The Ramon Crater area contains a high quality clay in large quantities. We might add that this raw material is also much in demand by Germany and other highly industrialized countries. However, not only minerals and ores are being loaded for export at Israel's back-door port but also Israel's manufactured goods, such as refriger­ators and plywood which are going forth from here to African states.

Elath has a significant Biblical history for it was at this spot that the children of Israel, under the leadership of Moses, camped (Numbers 33:35, 36) along their wilderness journey. And Solomon visited the place at least once. (2 Chron. 8:17.) Besides, it is very likely that the Queen of Sheba, whether she came by ship or caravan, must have rested at Elath before she went up to Jerusalem, as this was a sort of oasis centuries ago, where there was fresh water and plenty of date palms.

Since the establishment of the State, the Elath pilgrimage has become a must" for Israeli and foreigner alike, to be enchanted by the wild beauty of the Red Sea littoral and to be astonished by the accomplishment of the pioneers in a decade of work under most difficult circumstances. Today Elath enjoys a population of about 6,000. It was liter­ally built up from scratch. We well recall our first visit there in December of 1950, when just a few barrack-type buildings were all that could be seen. Now Elath has been granted the status of a municipality, and it is amazing the way it is flourishing. Most of its citizens are young people who are beginning to manifest a good civic spirit.

There is no doubt that Elath has a wonderful future, not only because it is rapidly developing as a strategic port but in addition because it has much to offer tourists. Many visitors enthusi­astically acclaim it as the future Miami Beach or Palm Springs of Israel. The color of the water of the Gulf of Aqaba is usually a deep blue, enhanced by clear atmospheric conditions, with the sun shining daily. (There is only one inch of rainfall annually at Elath). So it has the sun, sand, and sea, and mountains to attract vacationers. Flanking the Gulf on the east are the imposing moun­tains of Edom. This range, brown, bar­ren, and craggy, forms a fascinating backdrop to the blue sea. To the west is also a mountainous terrain, with unbelievably colored strata running through the rock formation. Then there are the gorgeous sunsets, followed by the moon rising over the mountains. In the Gulf itself there is much coral, with multitudes of exotic fish swimming around, so that looking through a glass ­bottomed boat or underwater with a "Schnorkel" affords a sight not to be duplicated in many parts of the world. From Elath one can look into four countries -- Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Israel.

While on the map Elath may appear to be in a very remote spot, yet by air it is only an hour and a half from Tel Aviv, over 150 miles north as the crow flies. Arkia, Israel's inland airline, makes this flight back and forth any number of times daily. Therefore it is expected that numerous hotels and motels will be constructed soon in addition to those already there. Last year on one week­end it is estimated that 30,000 visitors invaded Elath, most of whom had to sleep on the beach.

Our most recent visit there was a month ago, in the company of some brethren from North America. It is in­deed thrilling to see Elath flourishing­ and how much more comfortably the 6,000 children of Israel who are camped there today, with their modern ameni­ties, are living, than their forefathers who pitched their tents on this site several thousand years ago during their circuitous journey from Egypt.

ANOTHER PORT IN THE MAKING

The plan to build a deepwater port at Ashdod (mentioned 21 times in the Old Testament) has taken on sinews and flesh with the signing of a contract with an American firm to draw up the working blue-prints. A master plan for the port was completed a year ago, but further expenditure has been held up pending reexamination of all the factors involved. With the signing of the con­tract with Frederic Harris & Company of New York, Israel's southern Mediter­ranean port is definitely launched. The entire blue-print will take some 25 months to prepare, but the plans for the breakwater will be ready next spring.

By next summer it is hoped to issue an international tender for the job, and work should get under way a few months later. By the 1963-4 season it is hoped to ship more than a million cases of citrus through Ashdod and by 1964-5 about 8,000,000.

The first stage of the port-called the "citrus stage"-is designed primarily to cope with the increase in exports which present port capacities cannot handle. To cost over $30,000,000, the first stage will also enable the port to handle close to a million tons of other cargoes. By 1970 this capacity will be increased to almost two million tons. At the height of the construction work more than 1,000 laborers will be employed at the port. Upon completion of the first stage it will provide more than 300 permanent jobs and about double that number during the export season. Event­ually it is expected that the complete development of this port will cost $500,000,000.

Ashdod was one of the five cities of the Philistine plain, which were at the height of their importance during the Hebrew monarchy. Nehemiah protested (13:23-25) against men of Israel marry­ing wives from Ashdod and rearing chil­dren who "could not speak in the Jewish language." The most famous incident involving Israel and the city of Ashdod is concerned with the ark of God, which was carried to Ashdod by the Philistines and taken into the temple of Dagon there, with disastrous results to both temple and citizens (1 Sam. 5); then carried to Gath and Ekron where it brought similar disaster; it was finally restored to Israel.

So again in our times a famous Bibli­cal site is gaining prominence in modern Israel. Already a large power station has been constructed in Ashdod. A well ­known American industrialist, Israel Rogosin, has built a large rayon plant in Ashdod, which, when fully enlarged, will amount to a $20,000,000 invest­ment. The factory has the very latest equipment, more modern than almost any plant of its kind in the U. S., and is operating very efficiently, supplying, among other things, rayon cord for the Alliance Tire and General Tire Com­panies in Israel. And Philip Klutznick, the American Jewish builder who con­structed the Chicago suburban of Park Ridge, Illinois, is working on a city plan for Ashdod which will anticipate an eventual population of 150,000. Mr. Klutznick expects to start building these homes, apartments, shopping centers, etc., in the near future.

In Bible times Ashdod, with its fringe of suburban villages, its palaces and temples (Joshua 15:46; Amos 3:9; 1 Sam. 5), was a city of note. In the not distant future it will once again rise as an important metropolis. Yes, "they shall build the waste cities and inhabit them." - Amos 9:14.

ATTRACTING INTERNATIONAL CONCLAVES

The Prime Minister, David Ben­-Gurion, on September 9th brought the greetings of "the whole nation" to the assembled international scientists who opened a week-long symposium on the causes of cancer in the new Wix Audi­torium at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovoth. The cancer experts came from ten countries. In addressing them Mr. Ben-Gurion spoke "as a pos­sible though improbable victim" and urged the scientists to rid the world of the scourge of cancer. He added: "I am confident that you will not follow in the footsteps of . . . the politicians, who keep on discussing ways of reducing armaments but the more they talk the more the world's armaments grow." Prof. Otto Muelbock, Director of the Cancer Institute in Amsterdam, said the work of the Weizmann Institute Scien­tists was known abroad as having con­tributed very much to cancer research.

An international congress on biologi­cal standardization took place at the Hebrew University campus in Jerusalem September 13-17 with the participation of about 200 scientists from 30 coun­tries. - The congress was the fifth- inter­national meeting on the subject.

What promises to be a most fruitful scientific assembly is slated for July of 1960. It will be the International Con­ference on the Advancement of Science in New States. Mr. Abba Eban, Presi­dent of the Weizmann Institute, con­ceived the idea. The purpose of the conference is to examine the ways in which new states could be aided by modern science and technology to solve their acute social and economic prob­lems. The agenda will include surveys by leading world scientists on the rele­vance of modern technological progress for the advancement of new states, especially in Africa and Asia.

The first International Symposium on Mathematics to be held in Israel will take place at the Hebrew University next year, with the support of the Inter­national Mathematical Union which is an affiliate of UNESCO. The subject of the symposium will be Linear Spaces, a relatively new field of mathematical research.

A recommendation that the 1961 con­vention of editors affiliated with the International Press Institute be held in Israel has been adopted by the I. P. I. Board of Directors. A final decision will be taken by the next I. P. I. conference --in Tokyo in 1960. The I. P. I. is a body incorporating newspaper editors from countries where a free press exists.

The Executive Committee of the In­ternational Union of Local Authorities (world mayors) has unanimously de­cided to hold its next Congress in Israel, in 1961.

The World Medical Association, which met recently in Sydney, Australia, voted to hold its 1962 meeting in Israel.

A tourist group three times larger than any that has ever before been in Israel is due to arrive in June, 1961, when 4,000 members of the Pentecostal Movement are to hold their Fifth Inter­national Convention in Jerusalem. This was reported by Mr. Max Spitz, Manag­ing Director of Peltours, the tourist agency which handled the B'nai B'rith (world Jewish lodge) Convention of 1,300 delegates earlier this year. "It is perhaps significant of a new trend that this epoch-making tour is by Christians," Mr. Spitz commented. "In fact Peltours has 71 other Christian groups coming to Israel during 1960." Peltours has already started to plan "Operation Pentecost." Over 40 planes will be required, as well as 100--tourist--buses; all-types of hotel accommodation will be used to the limit. The highlight of the tour, of course, .will be the conference in Jerusalem, but the visitors are to see every aspect of Israel life, modern, Biblical, and Roman.

As we have mentioned before in these columns, it is interesting to note the way peoples and nations are getting in practice for going up to Jerusalem. We all long for the day when "many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths . . ."-Micah 4:2. (Foregoing is the thirteenth report from the Land of Promise, from Brother Casi­mir Lanowick, Editor of Jews in the News. Ed. Com. )

The Question Box

"We all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image...." - 2 Cor. 3:18.

"Be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves." - Matt. 10:16.

Question:

In a recent "Herald" in answer to the question "What is the present mis­sion of the Church?" you replied that its mission, throughout the Gospel Age, has been twofold, namely: (1) To grow in grace and (2) To bear witness. How is growth in grace accomplished?

Answer:

I do not wish to over-simplify the matter, but it is nevertheless true, that the answer to this question is very simple, and may be stated in two words: "Beholding" and "Reflecting"; behold­ing and reflecting the glory or character of the Lord. In the New Testament St. Paul expresses the thought that, as we gaze into the Lord's Word, as we continually meditate therein, we behold there his character and, beholding it, there is created in us a desire to reflect it, and, as we continue to behold it, and to the best of our ability to reflect it, we become like him; that we actually become-gradually, of course, but none the less surely-like him; changed into his image. The text to which I allude is given at the head of this "Question Box." "We all, with unveiled face, be­holding [or reflecting) as in a mirror the glory [or character} of the Lord are transformed into the same image from glory to glory [from one degree of character development to another) even as from the Lord the Spirit." - A.R.V.

In this passage St. Paul is applying to us what appropriately enough has been termed the law of influence; and he is showing how the influence of Christ on his Church conforms to this law in ac­complishing her transformation. Let us look at this law of influence briefly.

It is a well-known fact that we be­come like those whom we habitually admire. Children, especially, are apt to imitate -- are apt to have their characters molded by -- those whom they love and esteem, and this same law of influence carries over into adult life. I wonder if we are sufficiently grateful, not only to God, but to all the human beings whose influence has played so great a part in the development of our character to date. Think how large a part good parents and teachers have played, who guided us in our early years! How much we owe to the authors, most of whom we have never met, whose thoughts and emo­tions, expressed in words or music, have contributed so much to our educa­tion along many lines; particularly along moral and ethical lines!

Try to contrast what your own char­acter today would have been, regardless of your parentage if, immediately after you were born, you had been separated from your parents, dropped in the midst of a heathen nation, and allowed to grow up like a weed; contrast, I say, the char­acter you would have become in such an environment with what you are to­day, and know that for much of your attainment you are indebted to the men and women who founded this country with its institutions-of liberty, and justice, and opportunity for all. While part of what we are is the result of the operation of the law of heredity, traced back to Father Adam, a very great deal of our personality, today, is the result of our environment, of the various in­fluences to which we have been sub­jected, and to which we have subjected ourselves, since birth.

How important then, that, insofar as it lies in our own power (and to a very considerable extent it does lie in our own power), we should endeavor to secure the best possible environment, and submit ourselves to only the most elevating influences. 

When Paul wrote this letter to the Corinthians, he himself was a changed man; a very different man from what he was when he had met and been con­quered by Christ on the Damascus road. And he knew, exactly, how this change had come about. He had been spending his whole life since then, absorbed in the Master. He had been giving heed to no other influence except the influence of Christ and, occupied thus with Christ, he had become more and more like Christ.

As in the case of Paul, so it is to be with the rest of us. We all, says he, with unveiled face, beholding and re­flecting the character of the Lord are transformed into his image.

The operation of this principle (this law) of influence may be clearly seen in the Book of Psalms. While the Psalms may be studied with profit from many standpoints, their chief appeal to us lies in the encouragement they lend us in our endeavors to walk worthy of our high calling; in the strength we gain from them to lay aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset us; in the incentive to holy living their continual use affords.

And yet, while this is true, it is in­structive' to observe that they do not accomplish this result directly, but in­directly. Here and there indeed, we find direct exhortations and warnings; exhortations to righteousness, and warn­ings against unrighteousness. But in the main this is not the method of the Psalmists. No! -- instead of continual exhortation to holy living, instead of stressing the importance of developing a character like to our Lord -- a char­acter which we have been called to de­velop, and which we so greatly desire to possess; of which we are deeply con­scious of coming far short-instead of continually urging us to "grow in grace," the grand mission of the Psalmists seems to be to display the character possessed by Jehovah. By concentrating our minds on the surpassing excellence of Jehovah, the Psalmists knew that they would thereby bring us under an influence which itself would transform us, if we did but continue under it. Acting on the self-same principle which, as we have seen, is so lucidly set forth by the Apostle in 2 Cor. 3:18, the Psalmists set their songs purposely to display before our eyes the wondrous perfec­tions of our God. If only they can get us to continually behold him, they feel, we will need no urging to become like him. It will be the one all-absorbing passion of our lives. For example, listen to these words from Psalm 146:7-10 --

"[Jehovah] who executeth justice for the oppressed;
Who giveth food to the hungry. 
Jehovah looseth the prisoners; 
Jehovah openeth the eyes of the blind;
Jehovah raiseth up them that are bowed down;
Jehovah loveth the righteous; 
Jehovah preserveth the sojourners; 
He upholdeth the fatherless and widow;
Praise ye Jehovah."

How could one continually meditate on the character of Jehovah, as portrayed in these words, without having his heart drawn towards him; and longing to be like him?

Or again, in that very familiar Psalm 103:2-4 --

"Bless Jehovah, O my soul;
And forget not all his benefits; 
Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; 
Who healeth all thy diseases; 
Who redeemeth thy life from destruction;
Who crowneth thee with loving­kindness and tender mercies."

One related question has been raised, which ought to be considered here. It is this: Is our transformation into the likeness of Christ the work of the Lord or our own work?

I answer: It is the work of both. Let me give you two illustrations, which may help to make the matter clear. My first is that of an astronomer in the ob­servatory, photographing  the spectrum of a star. From one point of view it is the star which takes the picture. It is the light of the star on the photographic film which takes the picture. But if the astronomer doesn't have his instrument properly focused and brought to bear on the star, there will be no picture, let the star shine ever so brightly.

Another thing: While the star's posi­tion in the heaven is fixed, the earth moves. And since it requires a time ex­posure to get the photograph desired, the astronomer must make allowance for this motion of the earth.

It is thus with us. Our great star, Christ Jesus, will keep on shining, but he will shine in our hearts, only if they are properly focused, and brought to bear on him. And just as the astrono­mer's telescope has to be continuously in adjustment to allow for the motion of the earth, throughout the entire time of film exposure, so we must allow for the drifting motion of the world, which will otherwise quickly carry us out of the line of vision. And we must do this throughout the entire time we are here in the flesh. We do this by the exercise of our wills, setting our affec­tions on Christ-and keeping them there.

It is the star that takes the picture; it is also the astronomer. It is the Lord who accomplishes our transformation; it is also our own work.

My second illustration is that of two sailing boats. There they are, out at sea, lying motionless in a calm. Sud­denly a strong wind begins to blow, and both ships start to move. What causes them to move? You reply: The wind, of course. True enough, I answer. But why does one go east, and the other west? Let the poet tell us:

"One ship sails east, another west, By the self-same wind that blows; It is not the gale, But the set of the sail, Which determines the way they go."

In conclusion then, let us examine, and constantly reexamine, ourselves, to make certain that there are no baneful influences in our lives to which we are voluntarily submitting, and, in the words of our text, let us all, with unveiled face, beholding and reflecting (or, to use Rotherham's choice translation: mirror­ing) the glory of the Lord, become our­selves changed into his likeness, the change being wrought upon and in us, by the power of the holy spirit of our Lord.

Question:

Please explain this text: 'Be ye there­fore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves."-Matt. 10:16.

Answer:

As the context shows, these words were spoken by our Lord to his twelve Apostles and constituted part of his commission to them. The word "apos­tle" means "one sent forth." Christ him­self was the Apostle -- the Apostle and High Priest of our profession (Heb. 3: 1) -- the one sent forth by God. And these twelve were his apostles-chosen and sent forth by him. "Behold I send you forth [the "I" is emphasized] as sheep in the midst of wolves; be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves."

They themselves, if they continued in his ministry and spirit, could not and would not bite and devour. Their apos­tolic mission had no wolfish element in it. But they themselves would be perse­cuted. As sheep in the midst of wolves they would be exposed to the malice of many who would be both able and eager to bite and fight and devour. Be­cause of this, "therefore," they were to be, or to become, "wise as serpents."

The word translated "wise" in our Authorized Version is translated "pru­dent" by Rotherham. In the Diaglott it is "sagacious." It does not refer to intel­lectual or ethical wisdom, but rather denotes prudence in regard to one's own safety. It refers to the serpent's real or reputed wariness or sagacity in relation to danger. Commenting on this passage Matthew Henry has observed: "They were to be not as foxes, whose cunning is to deceive others; but wary as ser­pents whose policy is only to defend themselves, and to shift for their own safety." "In the cause of Christ," this commentator adds, "we must be wise not to pull trouble upon our own heads."

The word "harmless" has the signifi­cance of "purity," of being "unmixed; unadulterated," and hence "without guile." Our Lord's Apostles were to be "sincere." While he wished them to become, in time of need, wary as serpents, he did not wish them to become wily, or insincere. They were to be genuine throughout, as unwily as doves. Their character was to he as Dr. Morrison puts it, "a beautiful mixture of wariness and guilelessness."

Our Lord's "therefore" must not be overlooked. It is dependent upon the emphatic "I" of the first clause: "It is I who send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves; become ye therefore, as becometh apostles charged with my commission, wary, but qualify that wari­ness by dove-like guilelessness. The pres­ence of the wolves demands that ye be wary; the fact that ye are my apostles demands that ye be guileless."

We are not apostles, nevertheless we represent, in our lesser service, the Lord's cause in the earth today. As such the text applies to each of us. "Be ye, therefore, wary as serpents, guileless as doves."

- P. L. Read.

The Divine Weaver's Many Hued Pattern

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, ... Ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy." - John 16:20.

THAT GOD intends his children to be always rejoicing is evident from the many references thereto in his Word. He stands ready to impart a joy that can be permanent whatever may befall his own. Jesus had such rejoicing in mind in his farewell words to his dis­ciples, when, though himself so near the darkness of the cross and the agony of Gethesmane, he said, "These things have I spoken unto you that ye might have my joy, and that your joy may be full." (John 15: 11.) Here, at such a time in his own experience, was sorrow and joy made compatible; therefore it is possible to us under circumstances of similar kind. To the Apostle this perma­nent joy was so much a part of Christian privilege that he emphasized its impor­tance by saying, "Rejoice in the Lord alway; and again I say, Rejoice." "Re­joicing in hope, patient in tribulation." "Rejoice evermore." - Phil. 4:4; Rom. 12:12; 1 Thess. 5:16.

But it is equally plain that sorrow has its place also, for such is the import of our text, "Ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy." Jesus wept in sorrow, and truly he was acquainted with grief. Paul was a man of many tears and deep sorrows. In the Lord's beatitudes, mourning is given a place among the experiences fruitful in blessedness. It is of faithful servants the word is written, "He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoic­ing, bring his sheaves with him." (Psa. 126:6.) Thus we see that both joy and sorrow are intermingled in the pattern God works out in our lives. Both are needed if his design is to be wrought out in us as of fine needlework and beauty of adornment, making us meet for the Bridegroom's choice. In this inworking, temptations will bring heaviness of spirit at times, perhaps more than a little grievous for the present, but, there­ by the peaceable fruits of righteousness may be brought to fruition. Though strange at times a trial may seem, yet cheering is the Savior's promise, cover­ing all such experiences: "Your sorrow shall be turned into joy." When we can rest in the assurance that God holds the key to all the intricate things by which our lives are to be conformed to his  design, then we have learned how true it is that­ --

"My life is but a weaving
Between my Lord and me, 
I cannot choose the colors
He worketh steadily. 
Ofttimes He weaveth sorrow,
And I in foolish pride 
Forget He sees the upper
And I the underside.
 
"Not until the loom is silent 
And the shuttles cease to fly,
Shall God unroll the canvas 
And explain the reason why
The dark threads are as needful 
In the Weaver's skilful hand,
As the threads of gold and silver 
In the pattern He has planned."

The lights and shadows come in vary­ing measure to all God's children. Though we may sing of life flowing on in an endless harmony of song, yet most of us are ready to confess to groan­ings within at times because the burdens press down heavily. And as it touches the faithful Christian life, how rich in possibilities is the ministry of sorrow. Who of us would want to be stranger to the fact that "E'en sorrow touched by heaven grows bright, with more than rapture's ray"? Unfortunate indeed it would be if we had no share with our Lord in his acquaintance with grief, and what a great deficiency in character would be ours if we knew no experi­ences when the heart is "broken and contrite" over failures to walk even as he walked amid life's varied environ­ments. The penitential tear is precious to God. "For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones." - Isa. 57:15.

In the sorrows that come to all, world­ling and Christian alike -- the physical ills, the fluctuations of financial gain or loss, the bereavement that takes a loved one from the circle of home-in all these universal vicissitudes it becomes the child of God to exhibit that faith in God's love and wisdom wherein is peace and rest. In these a willing acquiescence is beautiful, for here surely heaven can touch sorrow and make it radiant with hope. But there are sorrows of a pecu­liar shade known best by the contrite heart and felt most keenly by the tender conscience. Among these there is that godly sorrow which worketh repentance, a bitter-sweet it is, but its possession gives evidence of a priceless quality of character.

GOLD AND SILVER THREADS OF JOY

There is an upper and an underside to the pattern God is weaving out for each one of us. To him the upper design appears in all its charm and beauty, while we see the "dark threads" of the underside. If we can but let patience have her perfect work until the last needed thread has been wrought into the pattern, ah, then, we shall see how mysteriously all the dark and somber shades of life have been interwoven by "the Weaver's skilful hand" until all that had seemed drab or dark or foreign to the pattern, has been transformed into strands of gold and silver. Then indeed shall our sorrow be turned into joy. However much we fail in doing so now, there will be no failure "over there" in counting as "all joy" the divers trials experienced here.

But there is much of joy apportioned to us even now. To us, "Godliness is profitable unto all things, having prom­ise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come." (1 Tim. 4:8.) It is of the present Jesus said, "These things have I spoken unto you, that ye might have my joy, and that your joy may be full." There is a "joy unspeak­able" which the Apostle Peter says may be ours as we wait for him, "whom having not seen we love; in whom, though now we see him not, yet be­lieving, we rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory." (1 Peter 1:8.) Of such joy we should have a perpetual consciousness. In it there is the fulness of which Jesus spoke. There should be a continuous joy in the heart of any one to whom Christ is really precious as Savior, Brother, Friend. Then to know of the wideness in God's grace­ -- wide and deep as the boundless ocean -and to understand his provision for all the world of men, past, present and future, should make joy a permanent thing in life. To be called as we are called to a future glory, if we faithfully endure present tribulations, should make the joys to come a source of unfading joy now. Truly the Christian should "Rejoice evermore."

Such joys as these are threads in the weaving of our character. But there is another joy that plays a part, and an important part of the mystic Weaver's work as we may know it now. It is a rejoicing in the Lord himself. "We can­not have too many rejoicing Christians," it is said, "if they rejoice in the Lord." It is of such joy the Psalmist wrote, "Let me come to the altar of God, to God, my joy and delight, singing thy praise on the lyre, O God, my God." (Psa. 43:4, Moffatt.) Is it not this which makes us "love to steal a while away, from every cumbering care," where we can come nearer to God in holy medita­tion than we can express? -- where the word may come to us, though it be spoken mainly to the restless elements among men, "Be still and know that I am God." There is a communion of the inner heart with the Invisible Weaver of life's great possibilities, a secret ren­dezvous where "our conception of God becomes silent as it becomes supreme." Oh how much of this joy's out-working may be known and seen by us even now, though as yet we see but the underside of the divine pattern as it gradually reaches perfection.

THE SOMBER HUES OF TRIAL

"Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him." (James 1:12.) There are bless­ings which can be had only when-pur­chased by sorrow; there are joys which can be reached only through temptations -such temptations as the Apostle refers to as making the man blessed. These experiences are the soil from which the richest bloom and fruitage come, and true it is, "the deepest shades of sorrow become memory's most hallowed resting places, where the Day Star shines the brightest."

The trial of our faith needs adversity, and there is much of truth in the expres­sion, "Only by its woes our life to fulness grows." Certain it is we could never know the deeper meanings of faith and trust unless we suffered being tempted as was our Lord. When trials are re­ceived without bitterness of spirit, and as God intends, they bring us into a closer communion with himself. Though strangely dark and somber the experi­ence, and strangely rough and lonely the way may seem still it is the way by which we are led into greater blessed­ness. Oh to learn that in the pattern he has planned for us, the dark threads are as needful to bring it to a fulness of beauty, as are the threads of gold and silver.

Let us not forget, then, that the strands of godly sorrow have much to do with beautifying the character. Paul recognized its effect on the brethren at Corinth when his letter of stern rebuke corrected their wrong in giving counte­nance to a sin within their assembly: "Ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indigna­tion, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved your­selves to be clear in this matter." (2 Cor. 7:11.) Here was sorrow made a permanent influence in the lives of these brethren. It was a true form of repent­ance on their part, and this is always lasting in the benefits it can bring into any life.

Some failure of a former day, a humil­iating defeat, or perhaps some never to be forgotten deflection from the spirit of Christ, the recollection of which still burns deeply on a sensitive conscience, these too have been a dark thread taken up by the patient Weaver. Forgiveness has indeed been freely given and cleans­ing made complete, but memory will carry it on into days to come. Yet, has that dark thread not done much for us just because under God's hand "all things" are gathered up and made to work out our good. Has the regret, the humiliation, the defeat not done much to weave into the fabric of our character those essential and beautiful qualities of mercy, patience, and loving-kindness, without which the adorning divine could never be wrought. To whom much has been forgiven, by the law of gratitude the same loveth much, and so the dark threads of failure serve us well now, helping us to forgive others, even as for Christ's sake God has forgiven us. Well may we rejoice that in the skilful Weaver's hand the failures for which there has been a full repentance, are taken up and by grace interwoven into the pattern he began, which good work he is able to finish, even in such as ourselves.

THE SHADOWS OF DEFERRED HOPE

There are necessarily finishing touches to the embroidery of that raiment of fine needlework in which the Bride is to appear before her King. These are finishing touches of character of the finest quality. Likeness to Christ must be perfected, and a consuming love for himself must mark the spirit. Time has been given through graciously length­ened years to become "stablished, strengthened, settled" in all essential doctrine and needed graces of character, but as the hour for presentation draws nearer, how much this consuming love for the Bridegroom should be mani­fested. And yet in this very devotion there are trials of faith and patience which, like threads, stretch across each waiting day. Because this is particu­larly so now, we much need the inspired prayer, "The Lord direct your heart in­to the love of God, and the patient wait­ing for Christ." (2 Thess. 3:5.) Hope deferred maketh the heart sick, and long waiting does test both our faith and love. Shadows of doubt can come in and greatly dim the ardency of hope, and make the cry, "How long, O Lord, how long?" nothing more than an impatient lament. When we should have hearts made patient in waiting because we know his time is best, we grow restless in spirit over the delay. Yet there must be eagerness and longing, ever saying, "How can I keep the longing back?" Any other attitude would be inconsistent in a time like our own. How could we with a knowledge of such a hope of glory" and of home, do otherwise than wish the hour might speedily come when both would be fully entered into? Yet we may wonder at times if we are pleas­ing our Lord by our longing for his appearing, or displeasing him by our im­patience. But here again are threads taken up by the divine Weaver and woven into a pattern which his grace alone will make perfect. He knows how to separate the elements of seeming im­patience from the greater volume of love he knows we carry deep in our hearts. We see the underside, but he continues to weave the flawless beauty of the upper side, which we shall yet re­joice to see as leaving his hand "with­out spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing."

And so the colors, hues, and shades take shape under his hand, and ere long the weaving will be complete. Perhaps few of us feel otherwise than disposed to look at the underside still present with us, and see the tangled threads, the inharmony of our faith and practice. So much of failure and unprofitableness we say, can it be that the pattern God planned for me can ever be finished in a beauty pleasing to his eye? Hope clings to that possibility, and faith affirms it will be so. It is the Lord's work and marvelous in our eyes.

Some glad time we shall see the upper side, and behold what God hath wrought. No dark threads will appear on that side. They will have served their pur­pose and disappeared under the mystic Weaver's power to make all things work together for our good. Whatever our own poor faulty words and ways have seemed to be in the sight of others, and whatever our own memory may hold up before us of shortcomings, still God loves and understands. He knows the ideal we loved and cherished as the ultimate objective in life. He knows we have often misrepresented our better self, and he knows the godly sorrow this has brought to us numberless times. His ideal planted in our hearts being our ideal also, he will continue to create us in his own image and likeness, until on that perfected image in us he can smile in loving approval. Then indeed shall all of sorrow be turned into joy. The pattern will be perfected in all its hues by the grace of God, who works and moves in mysterious ways his wonders to perform. In this faith we bow our heads as the sweet inspired benediction speaks its hope and peace to our hearts. "Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you fault­less before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen." - Jude 24, 25.

- J. J. Blackburn

Two Men Went up to Pray

"God, I thank Thee that I am not as other men are." "God, be merciful to me a sinner." - Luke 18:11, 13.

TWO men went up into the Temple to pray. . . A story so well known that it needs no repetition. Yet how often do we stop to consider wheth­er we ourselves are become like the man who, fasting twice in the week and giving tithes of all he possessed, found cause for glory, not in his separateness to God but in his separateness from his fellow-men. "I thank Thee that I am not as other men are." What a miserable confession to make. In looking upon his fellows he saw nothing to emulate, no characteristics or virtues which he could desire for himself, but only the sordid evidences of evil. The reign of sin and death was a very real thing to this Pharisee; and with an exquisite nicety he carefully dissociated himself from it all and explained to the Al­mighty that, living perforce in an evil world and amidst sinful men, he was nevertheless not of them nor with them, and that he at least was one to whom had come the superior inward knowl­edge which, separating forever from the plebian multitude, rendered him a fit companion for the One who dwelt in the inner sanctuary.

We read the story, we smile pityingly at the vivid picture of this pompous Israelite, and mentally place ourselves with the publican standing afar off, as we continue our reading. But what of the lesson behind the parable? Is it not true that many times in the individual Christian life we find ourselves thanking God that we are not as other men? Does it not often happen that this wonderful separateness to God which we call consecration degenerates into a mere smug and self-satisfied separate­ness from the world? And worse still, at times the suggestion is made that in this latter day, when the purpose of God in calling from the nations a people for his name seems to be on the brink of completion, a still more exclusive and narrow-minded outlook is called for: -­ to wit, that our age-old mission as wit­nesses of Jesus and ministers one to the other must be abrogated in favor of an individual contemplation of the sacred mysteries and a refusal to extend the privilege of fellowship and the Word of Life to all but the favored few who are accepted as being likewise the "sealed of God." Alas, that the fruit of a one­time zealous response to be "not con­formed to this world" should be, not a transforming by the renewing of the mind, with all the marvelous light of spiritual understanding that transforma­tion can bring, but a gravitation to the lowest depths of bigotry, of self-delusion, of utter spiritual blindness which sepa­ration from our fellows must mean when we are not separated to God.

The spirit of oneness is amongst us -- we must fight it. It is within our hearts-we must root it out. No matter how discouraging our experiences with those to whom we bear the Word of Life-no matter how disappointing our efforts to serve and strengthen our breth­ren -- we must not become narrow or bigoted. Our mission is not to evolve novel expositions and ordered theologies from the Sixty-six Books and demand acceptance of these man-made creations as the way to God. We are exhorted to be sure of our foundation and to have a reason for the faith that is in us, by all means. We are expected to be rooted and grounded in the knowledge which has come our way and we are warned not to compromise our understanding of Divine Truth for the sake of outward harmony. But above all things we are impressed, time and time again, with the necessity for continual progress and advancement in our personal under­standing of Truth-and it is in recog­nizing this basic principle that we shall be able to take our stand in the Temple, with open face and open heart worship­ing; the Father who dispenses His bless­ings upon all who come to Him in spirit and in truth. There may be many things -- there must of necessity be many things -- upon which various disciples do not see eye to eye, and because of differ­ences of thought there must upon occa­sion be a physical separation into groups for orderly worship and service. But that mystic common-union which binds together all who truly name the Name of

Christ, transcends such temporary divi­sions and triumphantly demonstrates the fulfillment of the Savior's prayer, "I will . . . that they may be one."

Stand then upon this sure foundation, and we shall have cause to rejoice, not in work of righteousness which we have done but in that common standing in Christ which is our privilege and seal of divine sonship.

- Bible Students Monthly, Eng.

Faith's Foundation

"For other foundation can no man lay than is laid, which is Jesus Christ." 
- 1 Cor. 3:11.

The Christian faith does not center in a Dogma, or in a Book, but in a Person, and this is the cause and pledge of its essential unity. Its one answer to all who, with the Philippian jailer, asks, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" is the answer of Paul and Silas, "Be­lieve in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house." That truth was clearly seen by the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews, when he began his magnificent sketch of Chris­tian theology with the pregnant words, "God, who fragmentarily and multifari­ously of old spake to our fathers by the prophets, at the end of these days spake unto us by his Son."

But unity does not exclude diversity -- nay, more, without diversity there can be no true and perfect unity. Where there is no unity, there is distraction, but where there is no diversity there is death. Where the spirits of the proph­ets are not subject to the prophets -- ­where every man is conscious only of his own invisible consecration -- where, as in the Church of Corinth, every one in his fanatical egotism is anxious to shout down the truths revealed to others, that he may absorb the attention of all by his own "tongue," however barbarous, how­ever dissonant, however unintelligible -- where it is ignored that amid the diversities of gifts and ministrations there is yet the translucent energy of one and the same spirit -- there is con­fusion, and railing, and irreligious strife. And where, on the other hand, all lips mechanically repeat the same shibboleth for centuries after its significance has been worn away-where the dullness of a self-styled "orthodoxy" has obliterated the many hues of the wisdom of God­ -- where inquiry is crushed under the heel of authority-where, in fact, there can be no independent inquiry because all conclusions are dictated beforehand by the tyranny of an usurped infallibility­ -- there is uniformity indeed, but therewith corruption and decay. When it is perse­cution to alter the perspective of a doc­trine, and death to leave the cart-rut of a system-when they who question the misinterpretations of Scripture which have been pressed into the service of popular errors, must face the anger of startled ignorance-when there is no life left save the spark which glows in the ashes of the Martyr, or the lamp which flickers in the Reformer's cell -- then the caste which has seized the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven may boast of unity, but it is the unity produced by selfish­ness in the few, and serfdom in the many. The unity so secured is but the stagnancy of the unrippled water, the monotony of the barren sands. It is the unity of the dead plain, "where every molehill is a mountain, and every thistle a forest tree." In this latter condition there is a deadlier peril than in the former. Even discords can be inwrought into the vast sequences of some mighty harmony, but what great music can be achieved with but a single note? Un­broken unanimity may be the boast of a deadening Buddhism, a withered Con­fucianism, a mechanical Islam; it can­not exist in a free and living Chris­tianity. If it exists at all, it can be only as a uniformity of indifference and ig­norance -- a uniformity of winter and of night. The uniformity of the noonday is only for the Infinite. For finite beings, if there be any light at all, there must be the colors of the sunset, and the sevenfold luster of the rainbow, which is seen only when there is rain as well as sun.

- "The Early Days of Chris­tianity," by F. W. Farrar.

Our Correspondence

We esteem highly the letters of en­couragement received from the friends, as well as the Greetings at this special season of the year, and wish all to know of our appreciation and of how pleased we are to have them. The Lord has blessed many of your kind letters to our refreshment of heart. It would be our pleasure to reply to all of these messages, but this we find impossible. We trust all our readers will charitably remember that our office force is limited, and that we cannot do all that we would like in the way of answering, and please accept this as a statement of our appreciation. Our prayer for you all is, as for ourselves, "that we might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowl­edge of God."

Victory

When I really am contented
That my wish be set aside,
When I cease from selfish longing, 
When I triumph over pride, 
When I'm willing, really willing
To be nothing (as they sing) 
But a broken, empty vessel 
In the service of the King:
That is victory!
 
When I calmly take unkindness,
And as meekly bear a sneer, 
When I'm willing to relinquish 
All that earth is holding dear,
When the falseness of some dear one 
Fails to waken in my heart 
Any bitter, hard resentment 
Or to wing an angry dart:
That is victory!
 
When I cease to long for earth's love, 
Am content to be unknown;
When I smile when friends neglect me, 
Happy in His love alone; 
When I lose myself in Jesus, 
And surroundings cease to be, 
With their little jars and discords 
Able to discourage me:
That is victory!
 
Lord, I cannot hope to triumph 
Over every form of sin, 
And to live but for Thy glory 
While my own will reigns within. 
So I bring my will to Thee, Lord, 
Rule Thou me in all my ways, 
And the glory shall be Thine, Lord, 
And the honor, and the praise:
That is victory!

- Author Unknown

A Pilgrim's Reverie

"So he bringeth them unto their desired haven." - Psalm 107:30.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

- W. Sargent

Recently Deceased

Bro. David J. Cone, Stony Brook, N. Y. - (Oct.)
Bro. A. Faehmann, Murray Bridge, S. Aus. - (Sept.) 
Sr. Carrie McLean, Barnsboro, N.J. - (Oct.) 
Bro. Frank Orlinski, Willimansett, Mass. - (Oct.)
Sr. Alice Orman, Stuart, Fla. - (Oct.)
Bro. Frank Radecki, South Bend, Ind. - (Sept.) 
Bro. Fred Rice, Los Angeles, Cal. - (Sept.) 
Sr. Esther Russ, Plainfield, N. J. - (Oct.)

1959 Index