THE HERALD
of Christ's Kingdom

VOL. XLIII March 1960 No. 3
Table of Contents    

"In Remembrance of Me"

"We Shall Be Like Him"

Israel Today

Christ Our Passover

Memories of the Way

Wise Counsel From a Faithful Pastor

"They Go From Strength to Strength"

The Question Box

Recently Deceased

"In Remembrance of Me"

"And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, 
This is my body which is given for you this do in remembrance of me." - Luke 22:19.

THE Memorial* links us with our brethren in all lands and all times. But in how vastly different circum­stances has the sacred feast been observed during the past nineteen hundred years. Consider the first Me­morial, just a year after its inaugura­tion by our Lord on that night in which he was betrayed. Can we pic­ture the disciples gathering in response to love's request? It was no effort for them to remember him. Their mem­ories were crowded with mental pic­tures of scenes in which he had been the central figure. The four Gospels put together record only the merest fraction of all that Jesus did and taught, with which they were familiar. As if it had been only yesterday they could recall his appearance, his dress, his bearing and gestures, and above all, the glory of God in his countenance. "Never man spake like this man," had been the testimony even of his enemies. What an indelible impression there­fore must our Lord's teaching have made upon them. Think of being able to listen in memory to the Sermon on the Mount spoken in the voice of our Lord himself, and at the same time to be able to conjure up the whole scene! How wonderful to be able to visualize our Lord enacting some of those scenes with which the Gospels have made us so familiar, such as the cleansing of the lepers, the restoring of sight to the blind, causing the lame to walk, cast­ing out devils, cleansing the Temple, rebuking the winds and the waves, walking on the sea, and even restoring the dead to life. How vivid and tragic must the closing scenes have been to them! -- the triumphal procession on Palm Sunday, followed by the terrible cry of "Crucify him"; the sad proces­sion from the judgment hall to the place called "Calvary," and the crown­ing horror when the three crosses were ,erected with Jesus in their midst!

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* As noted on the back page of this issue, the appropriate time, this year, to commemorate the death of the antitypical Lamb, will be after sundown, Sunday, April 20.

MARY'S TREASURED MEMORIES

As they gathered together for the first Memorial, each would have spe­cially treasured memories of person­al contacts with the Lord. Mary, the Lord's mother, would be able to go furthest back. If every mother's mind is richly stored with precious recollec­tions of her firstborn, how transcen­dently more must Mary's have been! Possessing the secret of his birth, with what wonder and awe must she have watched her child's personality unfold­ing as he grew in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man! She would recall the wrench when at the age of thirty he left the humble home to take up the work for which he had been born. The parting, however, had been softened by the thought that he had gone to lead the nation, as their Messiah, back to God, and to fulfill the angel's words given before his birth: "He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his Kingdom there shall be no end." How sorely tried her faith had been by subsequent events! With growing alarm she received the report concerning the hatred which he had been arousing against himself and of the plots of the rulers to destroy him. Then vividly before her mind would pass the final scenes. In helpless agony she had stood before the cross with her sister and the two Marys until she could endure no more and John had led her away. But now she understood the reason for it all, and all the wealth of her affection had been transformed into a passion of Divine love as she saw him wounded for her transgres­sions, bruised for her iniquity and the chastisement of her peace upon him. It was surely with trembling hands and eyes and heart that overflowed that she partook of those sacred em­blems of that broken body and shed blood that had meant all the world to her!

WHEN JOHN AND ANDREW FIRST MET THE LORD

Those among the disciples who could look farthest back were John and Andrew. At the first Memorial they would be recalling as they had doubtless done innumerable times be­fore, the first meeting with the Lord on the banks of the Jordan. As the very first, and withal two of the finest of his disciples, the Lord had been no less interested in them than they had been in him. It had been a meeting never to be forgotten. What a won­derful evening they had spent togeth­er!

First impressions are lasting, and probably all would be specially recall­ing the circumstances in which they had first met the Lord. There was Nathaniel, he would be thinking again of how he had been making it a matter of prayer under the fig tree when the Lord gave him that heart-searching glance, spoke those thought-penetrat­ing words, and gave him that splendid commendation which he would never forget as long as he lived. Nicodemus too would be there, but no longer timid. How he would recall again the events of that memorable night when the Lord had spoken to him those wonderful words of life. Little had he realized at the time the meaning of the saying addressed to him: "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness even so must the Son of Man be lifted up." As he thought of his Lord hang­ing there on the cross for his sins, he could now see something of its depths of meaning.

RECOLLECTIONS OF MARTHA AND MARY

Martha and Mary would also be there with their precious store of per­sonal recollections. How much the Lord had loved them and how fre­quently had he made their house his home. Never would they forget or cease to be stirred with deepest grati­tude for the most wonderful of all the Lord's miracles performed on their be­half. The sisters could still hear the tones of that voice that woke the dead and gave them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning and the gar­ment of praise for the spirit of heavi­ness. And what about Peter and James and John, the three so often singled out by the Lord for occasions of special intercourse with him. How much they would recall of personal contacts! As they partook of the em­blems, surely their minds would go back to that wondrous vision on the mount of transfiguration when Moses and Elijah had spoken of the decease which he should accomplish at Jeru­salem. Instances could be multiplied of how the early disciples would in the most natural and spontaneous way re­member him. To them it would not be so much the Plan of God as the person of Christ that would be upper­most in their minds; not so much the doctrines of the Truth as the personal love of their Lord.

As we look forward to celebrating another Memorial we cannot but rec­ognize a difference between ourselves and our brethren of whom we have been speaking. Unlike them, we can have no vivid personal recollection of the Lord as he was in the flesh. Our knowledge of the Man Christ Jesus is secondhand, like most of our informa­tion on the subject, books forming the principal source of all our knowledge. God caused the New Testament to be written specially for that larger body of his brethren whom our Lord re­ferred to as "those also who shall be­lieve on me through their word. By its aid we too can remember him in all those incidents portrayed so simply and beautifully in the Gospels, using our sanctified imagination to make the scenes live before us. As compensation for our lack of firsthand knowledge of the human life of our Lord, we have a much more complete knowledge than those first disciples of his resurrection life. The epistles written over quite a long period give evidence of how grad­ual was the growth into the fuller knowledge of the person and work of Christ. Even Peter refers to Paul's writings as containing some things hard to be understood. Following the epistles we have the added knowledge imparted in the Book of Revelation, giving us a history in advance of the whole of the Gospel Age and beyond. The disciples at the first Memorial could look back only over the three and a half years of our Lord's earthly ministry; we can look back over nine­teen centuries and see the Lord in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks, watching over his people with patient, tender care.

FELLOWSHIP WITH THE RISEN CHRIST

If our knowledge of our Lord in the flesh is of necessity secondhand, not so our knowledge of the risen Christ. There is no child of God but has abundant occasion for remembering the Lord in respect to his own per­sonal contacts. While it is true that "the sands have been washed in the footprints of the stranger on Galilee's shore, and the voice that subdued the rough billows is heard in Judea no more" it is also true that "Warm, sweet, living, yet a present help is He, And faith has still her Olivet and love her Galilee." We must all have had personal contacts with the Lord else we have no right to a place at the Me­morial feast. We have been cleansed from the leprosy of sin; blind and deaf to the things of God and the voice of God, our blind eyes have been opened and our deaf ears unstopped; dumb, he has opened our lips that our mouth should show forth his praise; crippled, he has given us power to stand erect and walk in his ways; dead in trespasses and sins, he has quickened us and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ. These and countless other blessings are common to all God's people, yet each has had experiences in connection with them pecu­liarly his own. The members of the New Creation are not mass produced. The Lord has an individual plan for every individual life. The Memorial is an occasion for remembering him with deepest gratitude for all the peculiarly personal expressions of his love. It is here that we are apt to fail most. Like the babe, which, though the object of maternal love's unremitting attention and tenderest care, is yet all uncon­scious of it, so we often take for grant­ed, accept as coincidence, receive as a matter of course, the mother love of Jesus expressed towards and experi­enced by every one of his "little chil­dren."

Each Memorial as it comes and goes shortens the time that yet remains to the Church on earth. In the atomic bomb God seems to have given to the world his ultimatum, with a time limit that is very short. The choice is now before them, of chaos or Christ, and the decision cannot be long delayed. If the end of Satan's empire gives evi­dence of being so near, then nearer still is the end of the Church on earth. The next Memorial for all we know may be the last. It almost certainly will be the last for some. Let us go forward with this solemn thought in mind, not only looking back to the cup which our Lord drank to the bitter dregs at Calvary and in which we are privileged to share, but also forward to the ineffable joy, which awaits us, of being permitted to drink the wine new with him in the Kingdom of God.

- Bible Study Monthly, Eng.

"We Shall Be Like Him"

We shall be like him. O, how rich the promise! 
What greater could our Father's love prepare?
Few are the words, and softly are they spoken, 
But who shall tell the glories hidden there?
 
We shall be like him, for we'll have his nature,
He'll lift us up and with his glory bless; 
He took our sin, O wondrous condescension!
That he might clothe us in his righteousness.
 
He bore our sickness, fainted with our weakness,
That he might give us perfect strength and health 
He walked with us in poverty and hunger,
To make us sharers of his boundless wealth.
 
We shall be like him, raised above all weakness,
Forever past all weariness and pain;
Even death itself shall have no power to touch us,
When like our risen Lord with him we reign.
 
While now in gracious love he calls us brethren,
And we his spotless robe with gladness wear,
Faith grasps the promise of the glorious future­
"We shall be like him when he shall appear."
 
O, what has earth cur thirsting souls to offer,
Compared with that abundant life to come? 
How poor its pleasures and how dim its splendor,
Beside the glory of the promised throne!

- S. M. Hodgdon.

"Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Spirit is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." - Acts 1:8.

(On account of physical disabilities, the author of this article, Brother A. D. Kirkwood, of Scotland, well known to brethren on both sides of the Atlantic, is no longer able to contribute to these pages. In a recent letter, Sister Kirk­wood assures us that they are both con­tinuing to rejoice in the Lord. They solicit the prayers of the brethren, which are being reciprocated by them.

This article, commenced in the February Herald, is concluded in this issue. It is reprinted from one pub­lished in this journal several years ago. - Ed. Com. )

PROGRAM

THIS brings us to our second point. The Book of Acts illus­trates throughout the principle that not only is the Lord in the midst of the Church, directing and controlling, but that he is doing so according to a definite program. Our Commander­-in-chief has a precise plan of cam­paign, as we should expect, in spite of all the appearances to the contrary, which sometimes are puzzling and perplexing. The unity of spirit exist­ing in the early Church was wonder­ful, but how quickly after the Apostles fell asleep did dissension and division arise, culminating in the great apos­tasy. In the Bible Student movement in these last days, how united and happy we once were as a people, yet how soon did we have a repetition of the history of the early Church. In the hymn, "Onward, Christian Sol­diers," we sometimes have sung,

"We are not divided;
All one body we,"

then we have thought of all the differ­ent sects and parties professing to be­long to the Lord's army, and we have wondered why. Now, if there was one thing the disciples noted in Jesus above others, it was his qualities as a leader. He was never at a loss. Never uncer­tain or hesitating. He spoke with au­thority and acted with authority in a way which inspired them with the utmost confidence, and this, too, even when the course he was taking seemed to be leading to failure. It is stimulat­ing in the Acts to see that the Lord is still in command; still steering the ship of his Church; entrusting the helm to no one else. In spite of seem­ing failure time and again, the Church has been held to her charted course by her Captain. As illustrated in the Book of Revelation, the voyage has been long and dangerous; the seas tempestuous, the gales almost contin­uous; dangers lurking everywhere, in cross currents, rocky coasts, and sunk­en reefs. But the Church has not foun­dered. Thanks to her Captain she shall be brought in safety to the heavenly Port. Soon now, we believe, the Church of God will be safe at last, the harbor past, safe in the Father's Home.

Let us notice now some evidences from our handbook in confirmation of this second fundamental principle that the Lord is directing and con­trolling according to a definite pro­gram. This is emphasized in our basic text, Acts 1:8: "Ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." This program has been carried out to the letter. Notice that it was a three-point program. To use modern terms, we have operation No. 1, Jerusalem; op­eration No. 2, Judea and Samaria; operation No. 3, the world. The Book of Acts proceeds to tell us how these three operations were taken up in con­secutive order. The first seven chap­ters tell of the consolidation of the Church at Jerusalem, the headquarters. Not till this was accomplished do we read in Acts 8:1: "And at that time there was a great persecution against the Church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria," and went everywhere preaching the Gospel. Observe that it was not the Apostles who took the initiative in launching operation No. 2. They did not say, "Well, brethren, have we not been about long enough in Jerusalem? Is it not time we were going out to Judea and Samaria?" They probably never thought of it. But the Lord was guiding, and when operation No. 1 had been completed, he removed his protecting hand, and the persecution came which carried the Gospel to fulfill operation No. 2.

A WORLD WITNESS PREPARED FOR AND LAUNCHED

Again, no sooner is operation No. 2, Judea and Samaria started, than the Lord began his preparation for opera­tion No. 3, the world witness. The persecution which initiated the witness in Judea and Samaria was due to the activities of Saul of Tarsus. Saul, how­ever, had been a witness to the martyr­dom of Stephen, and it was a sight he could never forget. It prepared him for the vision on the Damascus road recorded in chapter 9. The Lord took him in hand, and for three years he was being prepared in the solitudes of Arabia, in readiness for operation No. 3. Meantime operation No. 2 was under way, and as Judea and Samaria became fully evangelized the door was opened to the Gentiles, as recorded in chapter 10, with the admission of Cornelius into the Church. While chapter 10 tells us of the first Gentile convert, chapter 11 tells us of the first Gentile Church. Acts 11 is one of the most important chapters in the Bible, recording the end of nearly 1500 years of exclusive favor to natural Israel. Note Acts 11:19 of this chapter: "Now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen, traveled as far as Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the Word to none but unto the Jews only." Observe now the bombshell in the next verse: "And some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, which, when they were come to Anti­och, spake unto the Grecians [full­ blooded Gentiles], preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them."

Observe here again, that the leaders of the Church in Jerusalem had noth­ing whatever to do with initiating this astounding proceeding. They did not get together and say that it was time now to go on to operation No. 3, since Judea and Samaria had been fully evangelized. On the contrary Acts 11:22 would seem to indicate that they were rather perturbed about the matter, probably wondering if matters were not being carried too far. We read: "Then tidings of these things came unto the ears of the Church which was in Jerusalem: and they sent forth Barnabas, that he should go as far as Antioch." The Lord, who had initiated the launching of operation No. 3, overruled that Barnabas should be sent up on a mission to see what was happening. He was the very man for that service, and the one who had befriended Saul of Tarsus when he had returned to Jerusalem from Arabia. The next move naturally falls into line. When Barnabas saw what was happening, and the opening up of so promising a field of service, he did not go back to Jerusalem for assistance. He went for the man whom the Lord had been keeping in reserve. Can we wonder who inspired him to take the step recorded in Acts 11:25-26: "Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus, for to seek Saul: and when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch." How easily and naturally the Lord shaped the course of the Church according to his own program.

Nor did the Lord merely initiate these three operations, leaving matters to carry on of themselves thereafter. In Acts 16:6, 7, we are told that Paul and Silas were forbidden of the holy spirit to preach the Word in the province of Asia, and when they assayed to go into Bithynia, the spirit of Jesus suffered them not. Instead, in Acts 16:9, we are told of the call from the man in Macedonia to go into Europe. Again in Acts 18:9, 10, when Paul went to Corinth, the Lord made known to him that he had much peo­ple in that city. How wonderful is the supervision of the Lord over the whole field of activity. Not only is the operation as a whole provided for, but the direction of the movements of his servants thereunder is under his con­trol. He points to Europe when they would stay in Asia. He allows them to go quickly from Athens, but when they come to Corinth he says, Stay here. He does not merely know where his people are in the mass, but where they each live. He can, in Damascus, go to the house of a humble follower called Ananias and direct him to a cer­tain street and a certain house in that city where another of his called ones is staying. In a wonderful way the Acts illustrates the truth that "the Lord knoweth them that are his." Undoubtedly, the Lord was himself steering the ship in those days. Let us believe he is doing so now, not by any human channel, but by the holy spirit operating in each believer. Each of these is, so to speak, on a private line to the Lord and should wait upon him for directions as to how he may serve him. As for special movements for special occa­sions, let us remember what some one has well said that "revivals are not got up; they come down."

The Lord's program was an ambi­tious one. When he died on the cross, nothing seemed more unlikely than that his Gospel would be witnessed to the uttermost parts of the earth. Even after his resurrection, it was not appar­ent what he could do with a mere handful of followers, especially as he announced his intention of leaving them.

POWER

When giving the disciples their com­mission to witness, the Lord stipulated an all-important condition which has been operative ever since. No one can effectively witness for Jesus without re­ceiving of his power. This is stated in our basic text, Acts 1:8: "Ye shall re­ceive power, after that the Holy Spirit is come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem," etc. In the record of the giving of the commission to the disciples in the clos­ing verses of the Gospel by Luke, we are told in Luke 24:49: "And, be­hold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high."

As we have seen, witnessing for Jesus means representing him before men by being so far as possible a copy of him. This is impossible without the power of the holy spirit. No ef­fective witness can be given for Jesus unless we tarry in his presence and receive of his power. Power represents the third line of thought running through the chapters of the Acts, and a very prominent one it is indeed. The importance of the day of Pente­cost can hardly be overemphasized. There the power came upon the Church, never to leave it till its earthly ministry of witnessing is complete. What a contrast is presented between the disciples meeting together with doors shut for fear of the Jews and their public preaching on the day of Pentecost. No wonder that we read in 4:13 that the rulers marveled at their boldness and took knowledge of them that they had been with Jesus.

In respect to this power, the Church follows in the Master's own footsteps. As the faithful and true witness, the Lord tarried till the age of thirty, until he received the power from on high at Jordan. Through the eternal spirit he offered himself for three and a half years as a sacrifice without spot unto God. His experience on the cross wrung from him the terrible cry, "My God, why hast thou forsaken me?" Following in his steps, it is of the utmost importance that we carry on our witness for him, not in the energy of the flesh, but in the power of the spirit. This power can be received only by contact with Christ. As with electricity, intermittent contact will mean intermittent power; continuous contact, continuous power. The alter­nate heartbeats of the spiritual life are "receive" and "respond." It is a fixed biological law that no organism can give out more than it takes in from without. We cannot give out in effec­tive service more than we take in, in effectual prayer. In the energy of the flesh, we are often too busy to tarry until we be endued with power from on high. We are living in a day of such nervous tension and strain that we often find it difficult to relax. But we simply cannot receive until we re­lax. Let go and "let God," is the only way to get the power for carrying on an effectual witness for Jesus. This power is not and never has been, in short supply. Let us listen to Paul's description of it in Ephesians 3:20: God "is able to do exceeding abun­dantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.

PROTECTION

We come now to the fourth and last line of thought, the principle of the protection that the Lord has given his faithful witnesses all down the Age. Notwithstanding that evil men and angels, under the leadership of the great Adversary himself, have done their utmost to quench the light, the gates of hell have not prevailed against Christ's Church nor stopped their wit­ness. Without divine protection, the witness would have been stifled at its birth. The Book of Acts in a most striking way illustrates how the Lord has given his army in the field all the "air cover" it has ever required. "Be­hold, I send you forth," Jesus said, "as lambs in the midst of wolves." What chance have lambs in the midst of wolves? And yet they have survived, for greater is he that is for them than all that could be against them.

The first illustration of the Lord's power to protect his people is given in Acts 5:17-42. It was an outstanding illustration for all time, of how easily and completely Jesus could protect his own. The narrative tells us of how the Gospel was making so much headway in Jerusalem that the High Priest and the Sadducees were getting alarmed. Taking bold action they arrested all the Apostles, the ringleaders, and put them in the common prison. It was a master stroke, for these were the key men. They probably thought that they could do with the Apostles what they had done with their Leader but a short time before. Having gotten the men they wanted safely housed in prison, they called the council together and all the senate of the children of Israel for meeting on the following day. It was an august assembly that mustered, and many if not all must have been reminded of a similar gathering which had met to try and to condemn the Lord himself. What they could do to the Leader, surely they could do to his followers. Having assembled, they sent to the prison to have the men brought in for trial. We can picture them waiting for the prisoners to be brought in, and at last the officers re­turn. Can we imagine their feelings when they listen to their report. "The prison truly found we shut with all safety, and the keepers standing with­out before the doors; but when we had opened, we found no man with­in." But worse news was to follow: "Then came one and told them, say­ing, Behold, the men whom ye put in prison are standing in the temple, and teaching the people." What had hap­pened? "The angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought them forth, and said, Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life. And when they heard that, they entered into the temple early in the morning, and taught." So wonderfully was this accomplished, that the prison-keepers knew nothing whatever about it. The incident reminds us of the statement in Psalm 2, when after describing how the heathen rage and the people imag­ine a vain thing, we are told, "He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh; the Lord shall have them in derision."

Can we think of anything that would illustrate better to the Apostles and the early Church how absolute was the Lord's power to protect his people?

While proof was given in such an emphatic way, that the Lord was able in any given circumstance, to protect his people, it did not follow that it would be always his will to do so. This is brought out in Acts 8:1. The time had come for the witness to extend to Judea and Samaria, and as we saw be­fore, the Lord permitted the great per­secution against the Church at Jeru­salem which scattered them so that they went everywhere throughout Judea and Samaria preaching the Gos­pel. There was, however, one remark­able exception. They were all scat­tered, "except the Apostles." The Apostles were still required at head­quarters, and so these key men who should have been the main target of the attack, as in our previous illustra­tion, were left severely alone. How easily God can cause the wrath of man to praise him, and the remainder to restrain. - Psalm 76:10.

As in the Lord's providence Jeru­salem had a quiet time for the Church to grow and develop before persecu­tion was allowed, so was it with the work in Judea and Samaria. In Acts 9:31 we read: "Then had the churches rest throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the holy spirit, were multiplied." This same principle of protection, is apparent in connection with the worldwide witness as illus­trated in Paul's experiences. The bridgehead for the campaign in Europe was at Philippi, and there on the threshold of this new continental expansion, the Lord demonstrated by the earthquake deliverance from pris­on, accompanied by the conversion of the jailer and his household, how com­pletely he was master of the situation. Perhaps no servant of the Lord had so many vicissitudes as the Apostle Paul, but the Lord always extended to him grace sufficient. As we noted earlier, after a disappointing experience at Athens, he went on to Corinth, and for his encouragement the Lord ap­peared to him in a vision, assuring him of his protection: "Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace: for I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city." - Acts 18:9, 10.

As a final illustration of the Lord's power to protect his people, we might refer to a series of four incidents which occurred in connection with Paul's long deferred visit to Rome. Acts 23:12 tells us of how, under the over­ruling providence of the Lord, Paul's nephew was the means of foiling a plot by forty Jews who had bound themselves under a curse that they would not eat or drink till they had killed him. Rescued from this danger, Paul is taken a prisoner to Caesarea Philippi, and after two years' impris­onment sails as a prisoner to Rome. In the course of the voyage he has three narrow escapes from death. Acts 27:41 tells us of the wreck of the ship, but the Lord not only saved him but promised him the lives of all on board. Again, the soldiers wanted to kill the prisoners who had escaped drowning, lest they should escape from their cap­tors, but this the centurion, in order to save Paul, would not allow. Then in Acts 28:3, much to the amazement of the natives, Paul had a fourth narrow es­cape when a viper fastened on his hand as he was gathering wood for the fire which had been built up for the comfort of the shipwrecked men.

This principle of the Lord's protec­tion of his people so strongly empha­sized in the Book of Acts has been ex­perienced by the Church all the days, even to the end of the Age. It is brought prominently before us in Revelation in the picture of the Church in the wilderness fed for the 1260 symbolic days, and protected from the face of the dragon. This protection is absolute in respect to our spiritual interests and in respect to the purpose of God with regard to the witness of the Church. The Lord's people still are as lambs in the midst of wolves. In ourselves we are no match whatever for the forces arrayed against us in the world, the flesh, and the Devil, but greater is he that is for us than all that can be against us. Though absolute in respect to our spiritual interests, this protection, how­ever, is only relative in respect to our temporal life. With regard to it, we are immortal only till our work is done.

Israel Today

Prophesy unto the mountains of Israel, and say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord: Thus saith the Lord God, Because the enemy hath said against you, Aha, even -;the ancient high places are ours in possession; therefore prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord God, Because they have made you desolate, and swallowed you up on every side, that ye might be a possession unto the residue of the heathen, and ye are taken up in the lips of talkers, and are an infamy of the people: Therefore, ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord God: Thur saith the Lord God to the mountains and to the hills, to the rivers and to the valleys, to the desolates wastes and to the cities that are forsaken, which became a prey and derision to the residue of the heathen that are round about; therefore thus saith the Lord God, Surely in the fire of my jealousy have I spoken against the residue of the heathen, and against all Idumea, which have appointed my land into their possession with the joy of all their heart, with despiteful minds, to cast it out for a prey. Prophesy, therefore, concerning the land of Israel, and say unto the mountains and to the hills, to the rivers and to the valleys, Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I have spoken in my jealousy and in my fury, because ye have borne the shame of the heathen. There­fore, thus saith the Lord God, I have lifted up mine hand. Surely the heathen that are about you, they shall bear their shame." - Ezekiel 36:1-7.

Auckland, New Zealand,
January 20, 1960

This country, like Israel, is a social welfare state. Furthermore, New Zea­land's population is not too much greater than that of Israel. However, its land area is at least twelve times larger. New Zealand, too, is "a land flowing with milk," as it is one of the world's largest exporters of dairy products. There are as many cows here as there are people. And New Zealand is renowned as a sheep and wool producer. There are 20 sheep here for every human being­sheep and more sheep everywhere one turns. While here we have often been reminded of our Great Shepherd and such Scriptures as "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

Another way in which this land could be compared to Israel is by referring to the fact that New Zealand is probably the most isolated country in the world -1,200 miles of ocean separate it from Australia. Israel is also an island, figura­tively speaking, due to the boycott of the Arabs. She is sealed off in the vast Middle East.

It might be of interest to mention that there are 5,000 to 6,000 Jews dwell­ing in New Zealand and apparently there is no overt anti-Semitism here.

WORLD REFUGEE YEAR

Through the U. N. the nations of earth have set aside a one-year period for the purpose of focusing attention upon the world refugee problem and encouraging positive measures to be taken in solving it. Naturally, the matter of the Arab "refugees," who fled Pales­tine at the creation of the Jewish State twelve years ago and who are still lan­guishing in the camps of the hostile Arab countries surrounding Israel, has gained considerable prominence again. In all these years practically nothing has been done by the Arab states to integrate these homeless thousands. UNWRA has been doling out millions of dollars year after year to provide a mere sub­sistence ration for these sons of Ishmael.

It might be well to emphasize that according to the British Mandatory Gov­ernment's population survey there could not have been more than 500,000 Arabs who left the territory apportioned to the Jewish State, fleeing at the instiga­tion of their leaders who were so con­fident that the Arab armies would push all the Jews into the sea. Well over 100,000 Arabs remained and are living in Israel to this day. In more recent years the press has been reporting the fact that there are 1,000,000 Arab refu­gees, which amounts to twice as many as there possibly could have been in 1948. It is generally known among the well-informed people in the Middle East that the main reason the Arab refugee camp population has increased is that many poverty-stricken Arabs in Egypt, Syria, Trans-Jordan, etc., have infiltrated the refugee encampments in order to benefit from the food doles.

The Arab leaders have deliberately prevented anything being done to make these poor, dejected kinsmen of theirs productive citizens. These oil-rich sheiks have kept the cauldron boiling, so to speak, using the refugees as a political lever in an attempt to gain their selfish ends and also to detract from the more serious internal problems that have been plaguing the various Arab countries. Iraq, for instance, needs more people. By properly utilizing the waters of the Tigris and Euphrates, millions could be settled in the fertile valleys surrounding these mighty rivers.

So, the age-long animosity between the seed of promise and that of the bondwoman continues even to our day. It should be very strongly pointed out, however, that since Israel became a na­tion 400,000 Jewish refugees from Arab Countries have been admitted into the Jewish State, very well integrated and trade useful citizens. For instance, life was made quite unbearable for the 125,­000 Jews in Iraq, who had to leave their native land and settle in the Land of Promise. They were forced to leave behind an estimated $300,000,000 worth of property. Thus, while we have through the years read much in the daily press the world over about the Arab refugees who fled Israel, very little has been said about the Jews who had to See Arab countries. It is time that the refugee ledger is balanced and viewed in its true perspective.

Israel has, in recent years, done some­thing quite admirable -- through a family :reunion scheme 50,000 Arabs have been permitted to return to Israel, thus re­uniting broken-up families. Therefore at present approximately 200,000 Arabs dwell within the borders of the Jewish State.

MODERN PHARAOH'S HEART HARDENED

Gamel Abdul Nasser, failing to take heed of the prophecy of Obadiah, has publicly stated that the Arab nations will not stand by and permit Israel to cultivate the Negev and settle 3,000,000 Jews there. The Negev is the southland of Israel and comprises more than half of the total land area of the country. For many centuries it has been a wasteland. However, now a huge water pipeline is being laid from the north into the very heart of the Negev. When it is com­pleted this desolate region will blossom as the rose and no doubt 3,000,000 Jews will be able to make a livelihood in the Negev, because it also has considerable mineral wealth and already any number of industries have been established there, principally around Beersheba.

One of the very latest developments to foster the settlement of the Negev was reported in The West Australian (Perth) on December 18 in a dispatch from London, in which it was stated:

"An American firm has entered into a contract with the Israeli Government to turn 500,000 gallons of sea water every day into drinking water.

"The low-cost process is being kept secret.

"The project, it is claimed, will make it possible to irrigate the Negev Desert with water from the Gulf of Aquaba and completely change the face of Israel.

"The president of the Fairbanks­ Whitney Corporation of New York, David Karr, announced here that his firm and the Israeli Government were each putting about £225,000 ($630,000) into building two plants to take the salt out of sea water.

"The process to be used was developed by Dr. Alexander Zarchin (64), a Rus­sian (Jewish scientist, now living in Israel) who built the first water-purify­ing plant for the Red Army.

"The two plants will be built in the Negev, one to be finished in 1960 and the other in 1962. They will produce 500,000 gallons a day at a cost of about £90 ($252). No chemicals are used in the process."

"ISRAEL SETS US AN EXAMPLE"

This was the caption of an article that appeared in The Adelaide (Australia) Advertiser from the pen of Dennis Warmer. He wrote:

A South-East Asian friend, who is also one of the region's best informed diplomats, believes that there will never be another Afro-Asian summit meeting of the Bandung type. It is not that the Asians and Africans are unwilling to sit down with Communist China, he says, or that there is any particular fear of the Soviet Union's bid for Asian status. On the contrary, one of the smallest, and once perhaps the worst hated State of all, is the cause.

"Five years ago when Mr. Nehru and the other Colombo Powers Prime Min­isters issued the invitations to the Afro­-Asian conference, Israel was eliminated as a matter of course. It was a white nation in a sea of brown. Moreover, in the eyes of its Arab neighbors, it was a nation that had no right to exist at all, and, if they could manage it, would soon be wiped off the map. Today Israel is not only making hay at home in a period of unprecedented tranquility, but sowing the seeds of great good will in Asia and Africa.

"Somewhat to their surprise, several Asian and African States, notably Ghana, Liberia, Burma, South Vietnam, and, to a lesser extent, Cambodia and the Philip­pines, have found in Israel the sort of friend they need. In terms of man­power and wealth, Israel is tiny. But in terms of brain power it is probably, man for man, the richest country in the world. Added to this, it has a pioneer spirit without which it could not have survived and a security problem that the Burmese and Vietnamese, for example, find very similar to their own. Finally, it is extremely anxious to help, and, by helping others, to help itself. Two hundred Israeli technicians are today at work in the under-developed countries of Asia and Africa.

"And from the same areas, more and more delegations are going to Israel to study such things as communal living in dangerous and isolated frontier areas. The Burmese Government was so impressed with the economic and defense capabilities of the Israeli village that it sent thirty-five army officers together with their wives and families to live in one for a year. The South Vietnamese think that the Israeli Army is the best they have ever seen and somewhat to the discomfiture of the Americans want Israeli instructors and such Israeli weapons as an extremely effective sub­machine gun.

"A joint Israel-Ghana shipping com­pany, the Black Star Line, now works to the mutual advantage of both coun­tries. The captain of the Ghana Prime Minister's yacht is an Israeli. So is the principal of the Ghana Maritime School, while other Israeli are teaching in the Ghana Technical Institute. The Israeli shipping company, Zim, manages the :Burmese Government's Five Star Shipping Line, and the managing direc­tor of the line is an Israeli.

"Altogether about 70 technicians have been sent from Israel to Burma in the past three years, among them agricul­tural and irrigation specialists, engineers, doctors and aero technicians. Thanks to Israeli assistance, one extremely arid area has been brought under cultiva­tion. Another brilliant scheme for growing huge quantities of wheat in the largely uncultivated Shan States in northern Burma failed only because the Shans were unwilling to see their lands populated by Burmese farmers.

"These Israeli activities have already produced a heavy crop of benefits not only for Israel itself but for the entire non-Communist world. Israel has broken out of its Arab encirclement and won the friendship of a growing number of Afro-Asian states. By genuine coopera­tive effort it has stimulated markets for its own manufactured goods and at­tained easy access to raw materials which it lacks. But it has also broken the color barrier. The Arab States ex­cluded, Israel is not now regarded as a bit of Europe in Asia but a very helpful and cooperative bit of Asia in Asia. Is it too much to hope that Australia may one day achieve the same status?"

"Thus saith the Lord of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you." - Zechariah 8:23.

(Foregoing is the sixteenth report from the Land of Promise, from Brother Casi­mir Lanowick, Editor of Jews in the News,-Ed. Com.)

Christ Our Passover

In the dark night, when Egypt lay asleep, 
Forth went the angel, God's command to keep: 
Slay all the first-born, even from the throne, 
Down through the realm to the humblest home.
 
Swift was his work; and on the midnight air,
Oh, what a cry of anguish, and despair
Rose, from the hearts of those in every home: 
God's word was sure; the last great plague had come.
 
But in the homes of Israel, what a sight! 
Darkness without, in every dwelling, light. 
Clad for a journey; shoes upon their feet; 
With staff in hand, a solemn feast they eat.
 
Their father's God had heard their cries at last: 
His time had come; their bondage now was past; 
So in that night while Egypt mourned her dead, 
They ate the lamb with bitter herbs and bread.
 
But why this blood we see on every door?
Why does the angel, seeing, pass it o'er? 
Israel's first-born in Egypt's danger shared;
And only through that blood could they be spared.
 
Centuries passed; and still by God's command, 
Each year they slew, and ate the paschal lamb. 
Not that its blood could for their sins atone, 
But as a type of one that yet should come.
 
That sinless One, who, hanging on a tree,
Bore all earth's sins, to set the prisoners free; 
That Righteous One, that perfect Lamb of God, 
Who for the world gave His most precious blood.
 
Our blessed Lord, with those whom He loved best, 
On that last night, sat down to keep the feast. 
"With great desire," He told His chosen few, 
"Have I desired to eat this feast with you."

"My heart is grieved; for I betrayed shall be
By one of you, My chosen company."
"Lord is it I?" each asked in trembling tone, 
"Nay, Lord, we'll die with Thee! " cried every one.

But in great sorrow, still our Lord did say,
"One shall deny; another shall betray;
All be offended, and flee unto their own --
­But for My Father, I should be alone."
 
After the feast, He took the Cup, and said: 
"Drink ye of it; for you My Blood was shed. 
I drink no more, until I drink with you,
In that glad day, when we shall drink it new."
 
Then blessed the bread, and as each one did take, 
"This is My body, broken for your sake." 
Oft as ye drink this wine, and eat this bread 
Ye do show forth the suffering of your Head.
 
Bearing the whole world's load of guilt and shame, 
Knowing His own would soon deny His name; 
Knowing, by God, He would forsaken be, 
Thus our Lord went to His Gethsemane.
 
And still that sacred feast down through the years, 
Thy saints commemorate with holy tears. 
Keeping the words of Him, who said, 
"This do In mem'ry of My dying love for you."
 
In this dark night, Lord, we, thy first-borns meet, 
With staff in hand and shoes upon our feet. 
Thy precious blood is sprinkled on our hearts; 
Thy broken body life to us imparts.
 
Come, dearest Lord, and bless us while we feast; 
Around this board, be Thou our honored Guest. 
We eat, and drink, and here our vows renew; 
Oh to our vows, Lord, keep us ever true!
 
All earthly hopes and joys, behind us lay;
Lord, we would walk with Thee, the narrow way. 
What is earth's joy and what its glittering dross? 
We gladly leave it all for Thy dear cross.
 
Thy matchless sacrifice doth us afford,
A chance to share Thy sufferings, dearest Lord. 
Broken with Thee, we claim this privilege rare, 
That in Thy joys we may obtain a share.
 
On this Atonement Day, we would lay down 
Upon the altar, Lord, beside Thine own, 
Our sacrifice; it is so very small; 
Take, Lord, and offer it; it is our all.
 
Some glorious morn the angelic host shall sing! 
Some glorious morn the bells of heaven ring! 
The Church of Christ has passed her trial stage; 
Eternal bliss is hers from age to age.
 
Before his Father's throne, with love and pride, 
Christ shall present His perfect, spotless Bride. 
The feast begins; the marriage hour has come; 
Christ and His faithful, are forever one.
 
On that blest day, the Bridegroom shall sit down,
 With His Bride beside Him on the throne. 
To share His joys; to see His blessed face; 
In that blest throng, oh Lord, give us a place.

- Rebecca Fair Doney

Memories of the Way

"And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what war in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep His commandments, or no." 
-  Deut. 8:2.

In the February issue, we suggested that our meditation would be helped if we noticed, first, the remembrance of the way; secondly, the purpose of God's providence in the journey; and thirdly, the uses of the memory.

We have considered the remembrance of the way. Let us now notice the pur­poses of divine Providence in the jour­ney. These are stated to be three: "To humble thee and to prove thee"; "to know what was in thine heart"; and, "whether thou wouldest keep his com­mandments or no." We thus recognize that in all God's dealings with the chil­dren of Israel, there were purposes at work-purposes of spiritual discipline, intended to induce self-searching and the improvement of their hearts and lives.

The first purpose that is spoken of is to induce humility -- "to humble thee." Everything in their experience taught them their dependence upon God. Every event, alike in their deliverance from Egypt and in their passage through the wilderness, was calculated to show them their own feebleness, and their constant dependence upon a high and upon a superior Power. What could human might have effected for them in the way of securing their deliverance from Egypt? Their spirits were broken by long years of slavery; the iron had not only chained their limbs, it had entered into their soul. They had not the heart to strike for freedom; and if they had meditated an uprising, they were a people of such divided counsels, and so distrustful of each other, that it would have been but a paroxysm of frantic rebellion, which would have riveted upon themselves the yoke of a more bitter bondage. What could human might have availed for them when on the borders of the Red Sea the giant waves barred their progress whilst a host of relentless enemies pressed be­hind? And behold their dependence up­on God in their wilderness journey. When they pitched their tents at even­tide, they knew not at what hour they should strike them; as the pillar went, and wherever the pillar went, they went. Their supply was as miraculous as their guidance. During forty years no plough had turned up the soil, nor had the golden grain ever once bent gracefully to the sickle; they were fed with manna which they knew not. No river mur­mured by their side.

"When faint they were
and parched with drought, 
Water at His word gushed out."

What a grand illustration of man's feebleness and of God's eternal power -six hundred thousand men, beside women and children, led by divine leadership and fed by divine bounty, for the space of forty years!

Brethren, the dealings of Providence with ourselves are intended to show us our dependence upon God, and to hum­ble us in the dust under his mighty hand. We are free; we cannot help feeling that we are free; and yet we can as little help feeling that our freedom is bounded, that it has a horizon, some­thing that indicates a watchful Provi­dence outside. We are proud, some­times, and we talk about our endow­ments, and we boast largely of what we have done, and what we intend to do; but we can do absolutely nothing. The athletic frame-how soon can he bring it down! The well-endowed heritage­ -- how soon can he scatter it! The mental glance, keen and piercing-how soon can he bring upon it the dimness and bewilderment of years! We cannot, any one of us, bring ourselves into being; we cannot, any one of us, sustain our­selves in being for a moment. And so it is with all matters of human glory. The strong man rejoiceth in his strength, but the Lord bath made him strong; the wise man glorifieth himself in his in­tellect and fluent utterance, but these are the bestowments of God. Ah! why will "men sacrifice to their own net, and burn incense to their own drag," when they have absolutely nothing which they have not received; and when every gift cometh from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variable­ness, neither shadow of turning?

And in the realm of morals and in our spiritual life, our feebleness is the same. Have you learned this lesson, this deep, hard lesson of humility? The many years of sins you have committed! have they humbled you in the presence of God? Many years of chastenings have corrected you! have they humbled your pride, or fretted you into greater auda­city of rebellion? Many years' mercies have blessed you! have they excited your gratitude, or inflated your vanity? Brethren, we must be humbled if we would be happy. How often have we aimed at building for ourselves taber­nacles of remembrance and of rest, and we have gazed upon the building joy­fully as it progressed to completion, and then the breath of the Lord has blown upon it, and it has been scattered, and we have been turned adrift and shelterless; and, lo! dwellings already provided for us of firmer materials and of more excellent beauty, upon which we bestowed no labor nor thought.

Oh! how this lesson must come home to us now, we who have partaken of the message of Present Truth, as we remember the former days; the days of outward spiritual prosperity as through the ministrations of a man of God we absorbed the letter of the Word poured forth so abundantly. Yes, there was growth, but alas, how much of it was a delusive growth, a growth of form and not of spirit, the growth of a plant and not of an oak. Enduring things take long to grow and must be deep-rooted; no mushroom-like growths can endure the tests of faith. How we needed to receive the chastisements of the Lord that we might learn of the delusiveness of a growth which was so much, though unconsciously, dependent on a constant learning of some new thing; a spiritual prosperity so dependent upon the pres­ence of a servant of the Lord. But true individual faith could not thrive under those circumstances and how needful it was, as we all realize now, that the Lord separate our hand from the one in which we had placed it, that the suc­ceeding experiences develop in us a reliance on Christ alone. How painful has been the road, and how humbling to our former spirit of overconfidence and leaning on the arm of flesh. Yet how far more spiritually healthful has been the atmosphere of reliance and trust in his strength and presence alone. Yes, we remember the Valley of Humiliation. God has indeed humbled us and thereby made us strong.

THE JOURNEY ALSO PROVES US

The second purpose of God's provi­dence in the journey is to prove us. As a skilful chemist employs tests to analyze the composition of that which he ex­amines, so God uses the occurrences of life as a moral touchstone, to reveal the tendencies and inclinations of man. Thus we read God did tempt, test, try, prove Abraham, requiring from him a sacrifice, excessive and apparently cruel, in, order to reveal the strength of His servant's faith and of his filial fear.

There were many of these testing circumstances in the history of the children of Israel. They were tested by their mercies, as when, feeling the man­na insipid, they lusted after the flesh­pots of Egypt; they were tested by their duties; they were tested by their calami­ties, as at the Red Sea, and in the con­flicts with the hosts of Amalek. They were tested by their companions, as when they formed unholy league with Midianite idolaters, and brought upon themselves that swift destruction which Balak wished for, but which the coward­ly Balaam dared not for his life invoke.

Brethren, God has his crucible still. And has not our past experience been nothing more nor less than a proving ground of our true character? Not that God needed to know our characteristics, in the sense that he is ignorant of them until trials reveal our true self-"He knoweth our thoughts afar off" - but that we might be revealed to ourselves. As we look back upon our past lives, we shall find circumstances that have tried us, and we shall remember the re­sults of the trial sometimes with devout gratitude, oftener with unfeigned shame. Our afflictions have tried us, and we thought we did well to be angry; we have arraigned the proceedings of God at the bar of our limited reason (solemn mockery of judicature!) when, perhaps, the reflection of tomorrow would have approved what the distrust of today was so ready to condemn.

Our duties have tried us. We have felt the shrinking of the flesh, and the result has been sometimes their reluc­tant and sometimes their spiritless dis­charge. Or people have been unjust or unkind to us: we have met with ingrati­rude or with treachery; our own fami­liar one, in whom we trusted, has betrayed us; slander has been busy belch­ing out her calumnies against our fair fame; all these things have tested our patience, our endurance, our meekness, our long-suffering, and, like Moses, we have spoken unadvisedly, or, like the disciples, we have had to pray, "Lord, increase our faith," before we could grasp the large and princely idea of forgiveness to seventy times seven.

Often companionships have tried us, and we have shown how small has been our self-reliance, and how easily we have taken the hue and mold of the society in which we were thrown, and how a pointed finger, or a sarcastic laugh, or a lip scornfully curled, can shame the manhood out of us, and make us very cowards in resisting evil, or in bearing witness for God.

Thus have we been, thus has God proved us in the wilderness, and if we are in earnest for heaven, and if we have in any measure profited by the discipline, we shall be thankful for the trial. Placed as we are in a sinful world, exposed to its every-day influences, whether of good or evil, we need a piety which can maintain itself in all circumstances, and under every pressure; a piety which must be a hardy principle pining in inaction, robust from healthy exercise, never so happy as when it is climbing up the slopes of some difficult duties; and happy, thrice happy will it be for us if, as the result of the inspec­tion of self, we can say with David, "Thou hast proved my heart and Thou hast visited me in the night; Thou hast tried me and shalt find nothing. I am purposed that my heart shall not transgress, concerning the works of men; by the word of Thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer."

"KEEP THY HEART WITH ALL DILIGENCE"

And then the third purpose of Provi­dence in the journey is "to know what was in thine heart-whether thou wouldst keep His commandments or no." The human heart! who can unravel its mystery, or decipher its hidden law? The heart is a microcosm-a little world, containing in itself all the strifes, and all the hopes, and all the fears, and all the ventures of the larger world out­side. The smile may play upon the lip, while beneath there is the broken, burn­ing heart; and on the other hand, the countenance may have shadow of anx­iety, while the sunlight dances gaily within.

Human knowledge can give us very little acquaintance with the heart; such knowledge is too wonderful for man; it is high, and he cannot attain to it. But there is One who knows it, and knows all its tortuous policy, and all its sinister motive, and he is anxious that we should know it too, and one purpose of his providential dealings with us is, that we may know what is in our heart. But whether it be from the deceitfulness of the object of study, or whether it be from the morbid reluctance, almost amounting to fear, with which men shrink from acquaintance with them­selves, there are few that have the brav­ery to pray, "Lord, make me to know myself." Indeed, it were a hideous pic­ture if it were suddenly unveiled in the presence of us all. When the Lord would show Ezekiel the abominations of Jeru­salem, he led him through successive chambers of imagery, upon the walls of which were portrayed their loathsome and unworthy doings. Ah! if our weak­ness were to be thus tapestried in our sight, who of us could bear the dis­closure? There was deep self-knowledge and deep humility in the word of the old reformer, who, when he saw a criminal led off amid the jeers of the multitude to be hanged, turned around sighing, and said, "There, but for the grace of God, goes old John Bradford." There is a very affecting illustration of what can lurk unsuspected in the human heart, in the eighth chapter of the second Book of Kings. Hazael, the mes­senger from the king of Syria is shocked at the bare mention of the atrocities Elisha prophesies he shall commit, and in indignation remonstrates with the Prophet. And yet as one has quaintly observed, "the dog did it after all."

Brethren, "the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked." There lurks this danger in us all; there is no superiority of character in our­selves; there is no firmer power of re­sistance to evil. In our unaided strength we are no better fortified against the evil about us than are our fellow-men. From a thousand causes of disaster and of shame with which our experience can furnish us, and which we read in the history of every-day life, it becomes us, with godly jealousy watching over our own hearts, to guard against the beginnings of evil. And as we gaze upon the wreck of many a gallant vessel stranded by our side, which we saw steaming out of the harbor with stately pennons, let us remember that in us there are the same tendencies to evil -that it is grace, only grace, which bath made us to differ, and that each instance of calamity and of sin, while it evokes our pity-not our scorn-for those that have erred, should proclaim in solemn admonition to ourselves, "Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall." "To know what is in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep His commandments or no."

USES OF THE MEMORY

If these have been your experience in the way that you have trodden, there will be many uses of the memory of the way. You will know more of God at its conclusion than you did at its com­mencement. You will behold both the goodness and the severity of God-the severity which punishes sin wherever it is to be found, the goodness which itself provides a substitute and finds a Savior. Where do you not find him rather? There was the stream gushing forth from the smitten rock, and the perishing and thirsty Israelites were happy. "They drank of the rock that followed them, and that rock was Christ." There was the brazen serpent, the symbol of accepted propitiation in the wilderness of sin. As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so hath the Son of Man been lifted up, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Oh, as you gather up these memories -- the memory of joy, the memory of sorrow, the memory of sin-as you re­member the goodness and the loving­kindness of the Lord, his faithfulness to fulfill his promises, his tenderness, which your repeated rebellions have not caused to fail-gather up yourself in one earn­est reconsecration of flesh and spirit, that you may be in truth living temples now, and eventually pillars in the house of God, that shall go no more out forever.

"Ye have seen how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself. Now therefore if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: and ye shall be unto me a king­dom of priests and an holy nation."­ - Exod. 19:4-6.

- W. J. Siekman.

Wise Counsel From a Faithful Pastor

"Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath mace us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage." - Gal, 5:1.

THE impression very widely pre­vails that the battle for Chris­tian liberty has been fought and won. So far as regards precaution of the more active kind, this is the case in the larger part of the civilized world. The right of the minority to free speech and free action in the line of conscientious conviction, is, in theory at least, conceded.

But it is a mistake to assume that because harsh laws have been soft­ened, human nature has been radi­cally changed. The grosser forms of persecution have disappeared, but subtler forms remain. The intolerant spirit has survived the death of many institutions by which toler­ance was once manifested. Christian liberty is still, in a considerable de­gree, conceded only in theory. Men still endeavor to punish those who have the temerity to differ from them.

There is no cause for astonishment at this manifestation of inconsisten­cy. It is one of the curious things in human history to see how generally the persecuted have become in turn the persecutors the moment the pow­er was lodged in their hands. And why? Because the true principle of Christian liberty had not been grasped, and is to this day appre­hended by only a few. The right of any body of men to differ from others has always been claimed by them; there is no novelty in that. From the beginning, every Chris­tian sect that has arisen has vehe­mently contended for its right to differ from others. It has protested against persecution -that is to say, the persecution of itself by others. But in few cases has any sect con­ceded the right of others to differ from it, or forborne to persecute when it had the power. And in our own day each man is prompt to claim and assert the right to think for himself, but how loath most are to concede the equal right of all other men to think for themselves. Every one resents any attempt to coerce him into the avowal of any­thing that he does not honestly be­lieve, but how few fail to attempt to coerce others.

The true doctrine of Christian liberty is not our right to think for ourselves, but the right of the other man to think for himself. There is no danger now that our right will not be insisted upon and enforced, particularly if our thinking hap­pens to fall in with that of the ma­jority. It is the other man's liberty that is in danger, particularly if he is in the minority. It is his liberty that demands defense at all hazards; for, if liberty is denied him, how long will it be conceded to us?

To demand liberty for the other man, even when he differs from us, is not to admit that truth and error a:-e essentially one, or to deny that it is of great consequence what the other man believes and teaches. It May be our duty to oppose with all our might what he teaches, to de­nounce it as a deadly error. But this may be done without identifying the man with what he teaches, and with­out the display of the spirit of in­tolerance and persecution. We need not try to make the man odious be­cause his opinion is odious to us. To be loyal to the truth, and yet faith­fully to recognize the equal rights of all men to free thought and free speech, is not always an easy task. The two may, however, be combined. And nothing can be more certain than that the preservation of Chris­tian liberty for any is conditioned on the concession of that liberty for all.

It was over 80 years ago when the foregoing paragraphs appeared in the N.Y. Examiner. Evidently they appealed strongly to our late Pastor, for he published them in full in his Journal (Reprints R203).

Since many of our readers do not have access to the Reprints, and in the conviction that this counsel on Christian liberty applies equally to our times, we republish it here, with our hearty endorsement.

 - Ed. Com.

"They Go From Strength to Strength"

”Be ye filled with the Spirit." - Ephesians 5:18.

LET us consider together briefly these words of the Apostle Paul, addressed to the Church of Christ, the saints. They do not apply to those who are merely empty professors, having a form of godliness only, but to those who have fully accepted the terms of God's Call, who have made the full consecra­tion which alone brings us into the position of sons of God. These are the only ones who have the spirit of God. These only are begotten from Above. But St. Paul would have us remember that it is not sufficient that we receive the begetting of the Holy Spirit, which comes to us at the very entrance of the narrow way. We should see that the Holy Spirit of God abounds in us more and more as we go on in our heavenward course. The little spark of the new mind should grow stronger and brighter day by day.

If this development does not take place, if we merely stand still, we shall Soon begin to lose ground; but if we progress, the natural man will gradu­ally perish and the new man will thrive. Christian development should be steady and continuous. We are to be more and more filled with the Spirit. Sometimes the Lord's children say, "I do desire to be filled with the Lord's spirit, but it seems as if my capacity is so small. I wish to have his spirit in large measure, but I am unable to be what I long to be. I am not satisfied with my attain­ments." But if we are striving earnestly and prayerfully to become like Christ, let us not be discouraged....

If it were an impossibility for us to be filled with the Spirit of God, the inspired Apostle would not have so instructed us. To the truly consecrated child of God this is possible, and not only possible, but obligatory. But as there are ebbs and flows in the ocean tides, so with our sense of the Lord's presence with us and his smile upon us. We may not always realize his presence to a large degree, but the Lord's saints must learn to walk by faith, to trust him and his abiding love....

The Spirit of the Lord dwelling in us in fulness, as it should be, will cause our entire being to be so absorbed by the principles of righteousness laid down in the Lord's Word, to be so in love with the heavenly things, heavenly hopes, heavenly prospects, that every­thing else will be of no value to us. And this will be more and more our blessed experience if we continue faith­fully in the narrow way, if we "follow on to know the Lord.

But if, on the contrary, we find our­selves making provision for the flesh, making worldly plans; if we find our­selves inclined to lay up treasures on earth instead of in heaven, we should take alarm, and should ask ourselves whether we are deficient, whether we are neglecting the means of grace --­ prayer alone with God, study of his Word, meditation upon the glorious things to which we have been called, watching ourselves as to our growth in the fruits of the spirit....

But we need to continually watch and pray; for there is constant danger other­wise that we may be tripped up or stumbled either by our own faults or those of others. We are never safe from being side-tracked unless we go often to the throne of grace; we can­not be filled unless we keep very close to the great Fountain from which our infilling comes. We must daily carry our earthen pitcher to this heavenly Fountain to be replenished; for we are leaky vessels. We are not to feel dis­couraged if we do not find in ourselves the rapid growth that we desire to see. Strong, sturdy trees that can withstand the fiercest storms are not developed in a day. Their growth is a slow, steady process. We should show our loyalty to the Lord by renewed effort every time we fail. He is looking at us not to see if we are perfect in the flesh-for He knows that we are not and can never be-but to see whether or not we have the spirit of earnestness and loyalty which daily and hourly seeks to keep the body under and to cheerfully take up the cross.

BLESSED RESULTS OF SPIRIT'S INFILLING

The Christian is not to be like the worldling who seeks to drown his troubles and afflictions in drink or in pleasures, dissipations and frivolous di­versions; but in every trouble he is to fly to the only true Source of solace and comfort and strength. This will drive away all anxiety and give him rest and peace even in the midst of trouble. Like the fabled halcyon, which built its nest and brought forth its birdlings in the midst of the sea, the true child of God can be at rest even amidst the billows and storms of life, and can prosper as a new creature and accomplish all the good pleasure of God's will.

This unwavering trust in the Lord, this abiding rest of soul, this zeal in God's service, is a matter of growth. "They go from strength to strength;" the Psalmist declares of the inhabitants of Zion. "First the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear," said our Lord of this class. (Psalm 84:7; Mark 4:28.) Notwithstanding the diffi­culties of life, these can continue to make melody in their hearts unto the Lord. They rejoice no matter what may be the outward earthly conditions. They can smile even through their tears, knowing that, according to his promise, all things are working together for their good. To attain this development is to be filled with the Spirit; and each con­secrated disciple of Christ should reach this plane.

Some Christian writer has well said: "Wherever there has been a faithful following of the Lord in a consecrated heart, several things have, sooner or later, inevitably followed. Meekness and quietness of spirit become in time the characteristics of the daily life. A sub­missive acceptance of the will of God, as it comes in the hourly events of each day, is manifested; pliability in the hands of God to do or to suffer all the good pleasure of his will; sweetness under provocation; calmness in the midst of turmoil and bustle; a yielding to the wishes of others [where there is no conflicting principle involved], and an insensibility to slights and affronts; absence of worry or anxiety; deliverance from care and fear-all these, and many other similar graces, are invariably found to be the natural outward development of that inward life which is 'hid with Christ in God.'"

- R5912.

The Question Box

On the back page of each issue of "The Herald," under the caption "To us the Scriptures Clearly Teach," reference is made to the special hope of the Church, which is distinguished from that of the world. Below are presented in­spired answers to a number of questions directly bearing on these resurrection hopes, grouped for that purpose by Charles T. Russell, in 1895. - Ed. Com.

Question. Are the promises to the saints of the Gospel Age heavenly or earthly promises?

Answer. "As we have borne the im­age of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly." We are "par­takers of the heavenly calling." - 1 Cor. 15:49; 2 Tim. 4:18; Heb. 3:1; 6:4; Phil. 3:14; Eph. 2:6, 7; 2 Thess. 1:11, 12; 2 Tim. 1:9, 10.

Question. Will the elect Church, the "overcomers," the "saints," continue to be human beings, "of the earth earthy?"

Answer. "God bath given unto us ex­ceeding great and precious promises, that by these we might become par­takers of the divine nature" - "new crea­tures." - 2 Pet. 1:4; 2 Cor. 5:17; Rom. 8:17, 18.

Question. When will the full change (begun in us by a change of heart, called the begetting of the spirit) be com­pleted?-When shall we be made like Christ our Lord?

Answer. "We [saints] shall all be changed." ... "The dead [saints] shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye . . . this mortal shall put on immortality." "Sown a natural [animal] body, it is raised a spiritual body." "Thus is the [special] resurrection of the [special, elect] dead." - 1 Cor. 15:50-53, 42-44; Phil. 3:10.

Question. Are full recompenses, either rewards or punishments, to be expected before the resurrection?

Answer. "Thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just." - Luke 14:14; Rev. 11:18; Matt. 16:27.

Question. What is the hope held out for all except the elect Church of the Gospel Age?

Answer. "The whole [human] crea­tion groaneth and travaileth in pain to­gether until now, waiting for the mani­festation of the sons of God [the saints]." Then shall follow "times of restitution of all things which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began," in which "all the families of the earth shall be blessed" through the elect "seed" of Abraham. - Rom. 8:22, 19; Acts 3:19­21; Gal. 3:16, 29.

Question. Are the dead conscious or unconscious?

Answer. "The dead know not any­thing." - Eccl. 9:5; Psa. 146:4; Isa. 38:18, 19.

Question. Have the departed saints been praising the Lord all along during the past ages?

Answer. "The dead praise not the Lord." - Psa. 115:17; Eccl. 9:6; Psa. 6:5.

Question. Did the prophets receive their reward at death, or was it reserved in God's plan to be given them at the beginning of the Millennium, the Age of judgment?

Answer. "The time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldst GIVE REWARD unto thy servants the PROPHETS," is at the beginning of the sounding of the last trumpet, the seventh trumpet, at the end of the Gospel Age. - Rev. 11:15, 18; Psa. 17:15.

Question Were the apostles promised translation to heaven at death?

Answer. "As I said to the Jews, Whither I go ye cannot come; so now I say TO You [apostles)." - John 13:33.

Question. Should the saints of the Gospel Age, except such as are now liv­ing, expect to be crowned at death?

Answer. "When the Chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away." - 1 Pet. 5:4; 2 Tim. 4:8; 1 Pet. 1:4, 5.

Question. Did the Apostles expect glory at death, or at the second coming of Christ?

Answer. "When Christ who is our life shall appear, then shall ye also ap­pear with him in glory." - -Col. 3:4; 1 John 3:2.

Question. Were the saints to "shine" in death?

Answer. "Many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, ... and they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament [as the sun]." - Dan. 12:2, 3; Matt. 13:40­43.

Question. Did our Lord promise to receive his saints at death or at his second coming?

Answer. "I will come again and re­ceive you unto myself." - John 14:3; Rom. 8:23.

Question. Were the Ancient Worth­ies rewarded at death?

Answer. "These all died in faith, not having received the promise; . . . that they without us should not be made perfect." - Heb. 11:13, 39, 40.

Question. David was one of the holy prophets: Was he rewarded by being taken to heaven?

Answer. "David is not ascended into the heavens." - Acts. 2:34.

Question. How many had gone to heaven up to the time of our Lord's ascension?

Answer. "No man bath ascended up to heaven but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of Man." - John 3:13.

Question. Can he who created man destroy him? Can the soul be destroyed by its Creator?

Answer. "Fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna [the Second Death]." "He spared not their souls from death." "The soul that sinneth, it shall die." - Matt. 10:28; Psa. 78:50; Ezek. 18:4, 20; Psa. 22:29; Joshua 10:35; Isa. 38:17; Psa. 56:13; 30:3; 119:175; Matt. 26:38; Isa. 53:10, 12.

Question. How great importance did the Apostle Paul attach to the doctrine of the resurrection?

Answer. "If there be no resurrection of the dead, then is not Christ risen. . .. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished." - 1 Cor. 15:13-18.

Question. Are the unjust now being tormented in some unknown hell? or do they always meet the full penalty of their unrighteousness in the present life?

Answer. "The Lord knoweth how to preserve the unjust unto the day of judgment [the Millennial day] to be punished." - 2 Pet. 2:9; Job 21:30.

Question. What will be the end of those who when tried are found incor­rigible, willfully wicked?

Answer. They shall "go away into a cutting off from life," "be punished with everlasting destruction [a destruction which will never be terminated by a resurrection];" for still "The wages of sin is death," "the second death;" and still the gift of God, eternal life, is to be had only in Christ. "He that hath the Son bath life;" he that bath not the Son shall not receive that gift. - Rom. 6:23; Rev. 20:14, 15; Matt. 25:46; 1 John 5:12; 2 Thess. 1:9.

Recently Deceased

Sr. Elizabeth Adams, Culver, Ind. - (Dec.)
Sr. Flora Conpton, Front Royal, Va. - (Jan.) 
Sr. A. Kiszkunas, Edwardsburg, Mich. - (Dec.) 
Sr. Nicodema Malek, Merchantville, N. J. - (Feb.)
Sr. Ida Stroke; Getkville, N. Y. - (Dec.)
Bro. Joseph Tabaczynski, Chicago, Ill. - (Jan.) 
Sr. Carrie Zimmerman, Pottstown, Pa. - (Nov.).

1960 Index