THE HERALD
of Christ's Kingdom

VOL. LXVIII. March/April 1985 No. 2
Table of Contents

How We Are to Wait on the Lord

Creed and Character

Our Fellowship of Praise

Notice of Annual Meeting

Entered Into Rest

"Do This in Remembrance of Me"

"I am the bread of life ... Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink His blood, ye have no life in you."

IT IS apparent from St. John's account of the discourse of Jesus in the synagogue at Capernaum, from which the foregoing words are quoted, that His hearers were mystified if not horrified. "How can this man give us His flesh ,to eat?" they asked one another. "This is a hard saying; who can hear it?" And it is recorded that, as a consequence, "Many of His disciples went back, and walked no more with Him." - Ver. 66.

The dogma of the Mass, to which we as Protestants believe Daniel and Jesus referred prophetically as "the abomination that maketh desolate" (Dan. 12:11: Matt. 24:18), is based on a literal interpretation and amplification of these words, which completely disregards Jesus' own explanation of His meaning. It was enunciated at the zenith of papal power and glory in A.D. 1215 by Pope Innocent III, who, according to Mosheim, invented the word "transubstantiation" in reference to this canon. It is thus defined by Webster: "Transubstantiation: The change by and at the consecration of the elements in the Eucharist, of the whole substance of the bread and the whole substance of the wine into the body and blood of Christ, only the appearance of the bread and wine remaining, a form of doctrine of the real presence, held by the Roman Catholic Church and, the Eastern Church."

This doctrine involves the belief that the officiating priest, because of his ordination, has the power to perform a miracle, by pronouncing certain Latin words which transform the bread and wine into the very flesh and blood of Christ.

It is difficult for most Protestant Christians to conceive that this monstrous superstition is actually believed by any one. But millions do believe and practise this error; and its effect is to divert their attention from the reality and efficacy of the one sacrifice consummated forever on Calvary, to a ritualistic observance that soothes without satisfying the conscience. In practice as in theory, the "sacrifice of the Mass" must be constantly renewed to maintain its efficacy toward God in theory, toward its communicant in practice. God must be continually propitiated for continued sin; the sinner periodically purged from the consciousness of guilt.

WHAT JESUS MEANT

Jesus Himself answered His questioners and explained the mystery. He said: "The flesh profiteth nothing." (Ver. 63.) This is not a reference to the flesh in general. The only "flesh" spoken of by Jesus in this discussion was His own. "My [literal] flesh is of no benefit." What profit would it be for His hearers or for us to eat His body? "It is the Spirit that giveth life." The Greek word pneuma, translated "spirit," primarily means the unseen currents of air, as explained by Jesus to Nicodemus. (John 3:8.) It has a very wide application in New Testament usage, both personal and impersonal. References to "the' spirit of adoption," of bondage, of slumber, of the law, of the mouth (words), of -fear, of glory, of the prophecy, etc., are examples of its impersonal use, signifying the force or effect or power of these things. Here Jesus speaks of the "spirit" -- the force or effect or power-of His flesh as He is using 'the term symbolically, to nourish and sustain life:' "It is the spirit that giveth life; the flesh [itself] profiteth nothing." And then He gave the definition of "the spirit" of His (symbolic) flesh, which is the "bread" of eternal life; a definition that leaves superstition and error no refuge or support: "The words that I speak unto you are spirit and are life."

The antitypical and real, then, is not flesh or bread, but words. "Thy words were found and I did eat them; and Thy words were unto me a joy and the rejoicing of my heart: for I am called by Thy name, O Jehovah, God of Hosts." (Jer. 15:16.) Jesus' words were the expression of Himself, His flesh; the best possible human representation of God, the Father, as He explained to Philip: "He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father." This is the reason that the importance of the words of Jesus is so magnified, so exalted. He Himself said: "The words that I speak unto you I speak not of Myself: but the Father that dwelleth in Me, He doeth the works." (John 14:10.) And the writer to the Hebrews declares: "God in these last days hath spoken unto us by His Son.." (Heb. 1:2.) They are the words of God, the Creator and Preserver of all life.

The importance of every word that Jesus uttered therefore cannot be over-estimated, for in them are set forth with final authority the terms upon which life may be attained by fallen man. "It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth-out of the mouth of God." (Matt. 4:4; Deut. 8:3.) This maxim was quoted by Jesus from the Mosaic Law; and Jesus Himself was the embodiment of the Logos, the Word of God.

Hence the force of the symbol of bread, which represents all the natural food of mankind. It must be continually eaten, digested, assimilated, to sustain our human life, even so the words of God through Jesus must be received, meditated upon and assimilated to our individual needs, or we will "have no life" in ourselves.

"EAT, AND BE SATISFIED"

The words of Jesus are found exclusively in the four Gospels. This fact places these four short books in our estimation at the very summit of the world's literature; on -a higher plane even -than the remainder of the Bible. The Law and the Prophets foreshadowed, the Apostles were commissioned to interpret, but the words of Jesus in themselves are the supreme authority. We echo the answer of Simon Peter: "Lord, to whom [else] shall we go? Thou hast words of eternal life." - Ver. 68, Literal.

Unquestionably these words of Jesus, recorded in the sixth chapter of the Gospel of John, are intended to explain the fundamental significance of the emblems used in the celebration of the Lord's Supper -- the Memorial -- the Remembrancer. After His "flesh," His human life and words for three and a half years, had supplied the "bread," Jesus sacrificed His life "once" on Calvary. Through that one all -- sufficient sacrifice He "obtained eternal redemption for us," for "without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins." (Heb. 7:27; 9:26, 12, 22.) Figuratively we drink His blood when we by faith accept that sacrifice as for ourselves individually. The connection between the life, the blood, and the symbol of wine, is indicated in the two passages from the Law: "The life of the flesh is in the blood . . the blood thereof is all one with the life thereof"; of the blood of the grape thou drinkest wine." - (Lev. 17:11, 14; Deut. 32:14, A.R.V.) But neither the flesh nor the blood are sufficient to give life apart from each: other; both must be received to be efficacious.

"REMEMBER"

It is therefore not merely the fact of the Lord's life and death that the partaker of the Memorial is to remember; not alone His work for us, and our relationship to Him. His words are the extension of the life of Jesus, the Man; the paradox, the mystery of the spiritual continuance of His flesh. On. them, if we would have life, we must continually feed. This, as well as other things, we symbolize in partaking of the emblems of the Memorial. So when He said, "Do this in remembrance of Me," He meant in remembrance of His words, His deeds, His personality, His character-likeness of the Father, as well as His sacrificial death. We are to mentally feed upon these, assimilate them, make them our own, until we become like Him; as it is written: "God . . . did predestinate [the called] to be conformed to the image of His Son." - Rom. 8:28, 29.

In consideration of the paramount-the vital-importance of the words of Jesus, should we not make ourselves very familiar with them? Should we not constantly feed upon them? We find time daily to eat the food necessary to maintain our failing bodies for a little while; should we not make time daily to read and meditate upon a portion of the words of Jesus, the food essential to eternal life? Three chapters from the Gospels daily would enable us to read over all His words once each month. Is that an unreasonable task, since our life depends on our familiarity with them? As a matter of fact, do we average reading them over once a year? Are we trying to exist on a starvation, diet, when- we might "feast with Jesus' priests and kings"? How else can we become like Him? "He that eateth Me, even he shall live by Me." -Ver. 67.

Let us think of these things as we partake of the annual Memorial Supper, of our Lord. The types of the Supper mean much more than this, of course. But the rest has no value to us if we fail to fulfill the type of assimilating His words, the bread of life; for "Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink His blood, ye have no life in you."

- H. E. Hollister.

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ

"Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not
possible that he should be holden of it." - Acts 2:24.

WHAT glorious words: "The Lord is' risen indeed!" Their electric thrill which galvanized the sorrow-numbed spirit of those early disciples even yet does reach to us. What a marvelous truth! What an amazing event!

"Up from the grave he arose,
With a mighty triumph o'er his foes;
He arose a Victor from the dark domain,
And he lives for ever with his saints to reign;
He arose!
He arose!
Hallelujah! Christ arose!"

And well may we rejoice, for is not this truth the basis of all our hopes? What say the Scriptures? "If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." "For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him." "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you." "If the spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his spirit that dwelleth in you." "If Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. Ye are yet in your sins. But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first-fruits of them that slept. " - Rom. 10:9; 1 Thess. 4:14; 1 Pet. 1: 3, 4; Rom. 8:11; 1 Cor. 15:14, 17, 20.

As we meditate upon this wonderful subject we find many aspects which richly repay closer study. Consider first the Old Testament prophecies to which the wondering Emmaus travelers of long ago listened as the Stranger "beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself." He began, we can hardly doubt, with the first promise: the seed of the woman, which should bruise the serpent's head. Then the types: the brazen serpent, the paschal lamb, and the many sacrificial offerings. So also typical persons: Joseph, who, from the lowest humiliation of the pit and the dungeon, passed to the right hand of the throne; David, who suffered so much and so long from the persecutions of Saul -- these, with many more. And when the august Interpreter reached the Prophets, the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah was a central theme. Around this would be grouped the Psalms, with Daniel, Jonah, and Zechariah all rich in prophetic glimpses. How clearly would he explain the real significance of the sheaf of the harvest first-fruits being offered in the temple that very day by the priest. (Lev. 23:10, 11.) The two disciples had assumed that Jesus could not be the Christ because he had suffered these things; the Lord shows them from Scripture that he could not be the Christ unless he had suffered these things. Our own hearts "burn within us" as we refresh our memories concerning the things "written aforetime for our learning" -- "The sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow." - Luke 24:25-32; Rom. 15 4; 1 Pet. 1:11.

THE RESURRECTION DAY EVENTS

There are blessings also in the consideration of the historical facts of the resurrection-the events of that great day and the following thirtynine to the Ascension. The various manifestations of the Savior to his disciples, as recorded by the Evangelists and Paul, may be enumerated as follows

1. To the women returning from the sepulchre.

2. To Mary Magdalene at the sepulchre. (Some scholars combine 1 and 2)

3. To Peter, perhaps early in the afternoon.

4. To the two disciples going to Emmaus, toward evening.

5. To the Apostles (except Thomas) assembled at evening.

These five appearances all took place at or near Jerusalem, upon the first day of the week, the same day on which the Lord arose.

6. To the Apostles, Thomas being present, eight days afterward at Jerusalem.

7. To seven of the Apostles on the shore of the Lake of Tiberias.

8. To the eleven Apostles and to five hundred other brethren, on a mountain in Galilee.

9. To James, probably at Jerusalem.

10. To the eleven at Jerusalem, immediately before the ascension. (After the ascension, to Paul.)

Who can describe the joy of those early disciples as the amazing truth dawned on their sorrow-stricken hearts? All the previous wretched day, with increasingly heavy hearts, they had sat in the upper room, doors locked for fear of the Jews. Bewildered by the shocking death of thei:: beloved Master, they, in agony of mind, heard without, the singing and laughter of the multitudes who thronged the streets rejoicing in the great Feast day. Perhaps they recalled the words of Jesus of but a few hours before: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, that ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice and ye shall be sorrowful." As yet there was no meaning for them in the Master's additional words, "but your sorrow shall be turned into joy." (John 16:20.) Filled as they had been with other quite different expectations, the shameful death coming in such a way upon their Master was so sudden and stunning, that the power even of remembering what he had said about himself beforehand was for the season paralyzed. It was night in the disciples' hearts. Their "Love" was crucified, their "Glory" dishonored, their "Hope" destroyed, their "Life" extinguished. They wept and lamented. Scattered without hope, united again without hope, one thing alone occupied their thoughts, and that was his grave.

What, then, must have been the emotions of the little band when the Lord again stood in their midst! Him, whom they had revered as the Messiah while clothed in human weakness, now was raised to an unimaginable glory which at once confirmed and magnified their former faith. They saw him victorious over the grave, and clothed with the attributes of the spirit world. From despair they passed at once to triumphant confidence; from incapacity to believe that the Messiah could have suffered as he had done, to the most fervent and exulting faith in him as the Messiah on account of those very sufferings. In a moment, the whole sweep of the truth respecting him, hitherto only half realized, had become a radiant fact to their senses. The hesitating and imperfect belief in his heavenly dignity and power to fulfill all he had promised, here and hereafter, which had slowly rooted itself in their hearts while he still lived, had seemed from the recent catastrophe, a beautiful delusion. But now he had appeared among them, triumphant over death, and from utter despondency their hearts were flooded with the purest and holiest joy.

SPIRITUAL LESSONS

There are lessons to be learned from the various incidents recorded. By one tender word Mary is changed from the depths of grief to the highest transports of joy. Cannot the Master do the same even today? He bids his angel direct a special message (Mark 16:7) to Peter with his double burden of grief. Is he unmindful then of our sorrows? In his treatment of Thomas, see how the Lord keeps in view even every word! Thomas had said: "Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails" -- Christ answers: "Behold my hands!" Thomas had said: "Except I put my finger into the print of the nails" -- Christ answers "Reach hither thy finger!" Thomas had said: "Except I thrust my hand into his side" -- Christ answers "Reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side!" Thomas had said "I will not believe" -- Christ auswers: "Be not faithless, but believing!" Not merely believe, but be believing. To be believing is with Christians their proper condition of life; they live not upon single glances of faith, but faith in Jesus Christ is the abiding motive sentiment of their whole life. Longsuffering was shown to Thomas in order that in him the Master might manifest all kindness and gentleness, for a pattern to weak and simple souls.

One thinks of the sublime way in which Christ by a thrice-repeated question restores again the humbled Peter. "Lovest thou me more than these (thy brethren, my other disciples, do)?" -- a gentle yet distinct enough reminder of that assured protestation: "Though all men should be offended, I never will"; a delicate yet searching probe, pressed kindly but firmly home in the depths of Peter's heart; a skillful method of testing and exhibiting the truth of Peter's repentance, without the painful humiliation of having the terrible denials of his Master dwelt upon, either by Jesus in the way of charge, or by himself in the way of confession. The prayers, the warnings, the look of compassion, the angel's message, the private interview, and now this conversation by the lake-side -- these all told Peter of the thoughtfulness, the, care, the kindness, the pitying sympathy, the forgiving love, of which he had been the object. Thus had he been treated by Jesus; he was now to deal with others as Christ had dealt with him. We may well ponder the lessons in Peter's experience, for we all like him have said, "Lord, we will die for thee." Thank God for the same understanding Jesus today.

We reflect also on the three way; by which the Master, clothed each time in a different form, was recognized. To Mary, a word was sufficient; to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, an act brought recognition; while to the seven at the Sea of Galilee, it required a miracle. Have we not in these three distinctive ways a lesson in spiritual discernment? Is it not true that in an early stage of discipleship ii; is the wonder-working power of Christ by which we know him as Lord? Further progress in the "Way" familiarizes us with his acts, his supervision of our daily life through which we come to recognize his abiding presence. But we long for that closeness of relationship which discerns his loving presence by the faintest of signs, the merest of whispers. That "principle within, or jealous, godly fear"; that conscience "quick as the apple of an eye"; the soul so "well instructed" that "the least omission pains. " Yes, we would recognize him always by but one word:

"DEATH CANNOT KEEP HIS PREY"

The Apostle Peter reveals another truth directly connected with the physical fact of the resurrection. In our text he declares that God raised up his Son "because it was not possible that he should be holden of death." Various views are held as to the reason for this "impossibility," several of which we briefly consider that the correct view may be more obvious by contrast.

Those who hold the Incarnation theory teach that our Lord's human body, which was born of Mary, was merely a clothing, a covering for a spiritual body. That our Lord during his earthly life was still a spirit being, exactly as before, but used the flesh born of Mary as a veil or medium of communication with mankind. The theory assumes that our Lord's weariness was not real, but feigned, and that his death was merely an appearance of death. They argue that Jesus being God, was from everlasting to everlasting, and could not die; that the apparent agony and cry, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" and the dying, were merely to make an impression upon the minds of those who heard and saw.

Others hold that the great pity and love of God were constrained to exercise divine power in the resurrection because of the dreadful sufferings of Jesus in the flesh. And who shall deny the bitterness of the cup he drank? A mere reading of the account at this distant date sickens our hearts. What then must have been the feelings of the heavenly host as they beheld that spectacle of perfect submission? -- watching as wretched men bound his hands fast to a pillar and bared his breast and back; watching as the soldiers approached and with whips plaited with thongs, iron-tipped, heaped lash upon lash upon that quivering submissive body; watching as they went through the whole heartless ceremony of a mock coronation, a mock investiture, a mock homage! Around the brows of Jesus, in wanton mimicry of the emperor's laurel, they twisted a green wreath of thorny leaves; in his tied and trembling hands they placed a reed for sceptre; from his torn and bleeding shoulders they stripped the robe which must now have been all soaked with blood-and flung on him an old scarlet war-cloak; watching as they bowed the knee and hailed him as king until, tiring of the mock homage, they snatched the reed out of his hand, and smote with it the crown of thorns, and drove it down upon his pierced and bleeding brow; spat upon him, and smote him with their hands; watching as they led him to Calvary to the most terrible, the most dreaded and shameful punishment of antiquity -- for the cruelty of heathenism had been called in by the corrupt and sunken priesthood. Death by crucifixion seems to include all that pain and death can have of horrible and ghastly dizziness, cramp, thirst, starvation, sleeplessness, mortification of untended wounds -- all intensified just up to the point at which they can be endured at all, but all stopping just short of the point which would give to the sufferer the relief of unconsciousness. The cross used at Calvary consisted of a strong post, which was carried beforehand to the place of execution, and of two crosspieces, borne to the spot by the victim, and afterward nailed to the upright so that they slanted forward, and let the sufferer lean on his stretched-out hands and thus relieve the pressure of his body downward. A rough, wooden pin, in the middle of the upright post, supplied a seat of agony, for the weight of the body would otherwise have torn it from the cross. The unnatural position made every movement painful; the lacerated veins and crushed tendons throbbed with incessant anguish; the wounds, inflamed by exposure, gradually gangrened; the arteries -- especially of the head and stomach -- became swollen and oppressed with surcharged blood; and while each variety of misery went on gradually increasing, there was added to them the intolerable pang of a burning and raging thirst.

But enough! -- we have drawn the picture in all its naked horror. Does it answer our query? Was it because of his terrible sufferings that death could not hold its victim and released the Son of God? Righteous as it may seem for God to reward his Son with a resurrection to life because of his terrible ordeal, yet we believe this is still not the explanation of Peter's words.

Hear yet another voice. Barnes in his notes in comment on the words, "It was not possible," says: "This does not refer to any natural impossibility, or to any inherent efficacy or power in the body of Jesus itself; but simply means that in the circumstances of the case such an event could not be. [Italics, his.] Why it could not be, Peter proceeds at once to show. It could not be consistently with the promises of the Scriptures. Jesus was the Prince of life (Acts 3:15), and had life in himself (John 1:4; 5:26), and had power to lay down his life, and to take it again (John 10:18); and it was indispensable that he should rise. He came, also, that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the Devil (Heb. 2:14); and as it was his purpose to gain this victory, he could not be defeated in it by being confined to the grave. "

We cite these words as illustrative of the general mixture of truth and error held by many in the consideration of the resurrection of Jesus. For while we agree to the necessity for his rising again to accomplish all for which he died, we must disagree with the thought that it was because he already possessed life -- inherent or immortality. Neither can we understand Jesus' words (John 10:18), as meaning that he could have any power whatever during the interim of death. They refer simply to our Lord's authority or commission to declare that though he would lay down his life, he would receive it again. Authority to so declare, he had received from the Father. No, we must look further for the true explanation for death's helplessness it our Master's case.

THE TRUE EXPLANATION

The answer lies solely and simply in the consideration of God's Justice. The same Justice which had operated for four thousand year, against Adam and his race because of transgression, was now operative on behalf of Jesus for his deliverance from death, into which he had voluntarily gone as man's redemption price. The divine law promised life to whosoever would keep it. This Jesus had done perfectly, the right to life was his legal possession, and irrespective of his sufferings or lack of them, Justice would have raised him from the dead. The marvelous obedience of Jesus was rewarded by his exaltation to divine honors, but his resurrection from the dead was based entirely on his perfect keeping of the Law. The slightest deviation from its strict requirements would have resulted in his everlasting death. Our Master realized this fully and in Gethsemane's dark travail battled "with strong crying" for that full assurance of his acceptableness with the Father; which assurance he received through the ministering angel.

Comforted and strengthened for the final ordeal he went forth to the crucial test of his faithfulness. How much hung in the balance! If during the terrible experience he now underwent, one word of resentment, or of anger or of self-will had asserted itself, all would have been lost. If in obedience to the cruel taunt, "If thou be the Christ, come down from the cross," he had done so, the darkness that draped the heavens at that hour, would have been but typical of that still deeper darkness that would have settled on our prospects forever. The taunters may cry, "Come down," but the myriads of souls that would have been lost had he done so, rose before him and cried, "No!" A universe paused, silence reigned in heaven, no music was in the spheres, every harp was stilled, every voice hushed but amid all the sympathy that was felt by all the holy, not one would have bidden him to descend. Then, at that hour, was the crisis of this world! Despair and hope were in the balance! Jesus cried, "It is finished," and henceforth hope was victor. Alleluia!

Obedient to the end, he died, in the sight of God's Justice, with the right to life. "He could not be holden of death," and so the mighty power of God restored him again to the living; but in addition, he was highly exalted because of his obedience to is covenant by sacrifice. Now clothed with the divine nature, he still possesses that right to human life, That right, which constitutes man's ransom price, will eventually be made efficacious to all the willing of mankind and result in the "restoration" of all things. For God "hath appointed a day in the which lie will judge the world in righteousness, by that Man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead." - Acts 17:31.

"Lifted up was he to die,
'It is finished,' was his cry.
Now in heaven exalted high,
Hallelujah! What a Savior!"

- W. J. Siekman.

How We Are to Wait on the Lord

"Wait on the Lord, be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart." - Psalm 27:14.

THE EXPRESSION, "Wait on the Lord," doe not mean so much a rendering of service to the Lord, as a waiting for the Lord, a waiting before Him, to see what is His will for us. We do not understand that it has the thought of ministering to the Lord, as a servant would wait on his master, but of patient watching until we learn what our Lord would have us do. Each child of God should wait to be guided by Him, and not run on before Him unmindful of what is the Lord's purpose for him. "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths," is the counsel of the Wise Man. (Prov. 3:5, 6.) Many of the children of God have made mistakes along this line.

Having committed our ways to the Lord, we should go forward only as He leads us. If we are not clear as to His will, let us not be in too great a hurry, nor try to guide ourselves, but present the matter to the Lord in earnest prayer, asking that we may have no will or way of our own, but may be guided only as He, wills. Then let us wait and watch for the indication of His providence, and follow as He seems to lead, leaving the results with Him. We are not to follow our own choice, without evidences that it is God's will. The question may sometimes be asked of us, "Are you going to do this way or that way? Are you going to this place or to that place?" Our attitude and our reply, if we have not as yet clearly ascertained the Lord's will in the matter, should be, "I am not yet fully decided. I will consider the Word of the Lord, to see how His instructions seem to apply in this case." Or, "I am watching to see what the Lord's providences seem to indicate, and am praying over the matter, that I may be guided aright." The poet expressed the right thought:

"I am afraid to touch
Things that involve so much."

Those who wait on the Lord do not always seem to prosper best, from outward appearances. But the Psalmist declares that we should be of good courage as we thus wait on God. We are pursuing the right course, and shall have His blessing. We make no mistake when we wait upon Him. Others may seem to be getting ahead of us at first, but we are to "wait on the Lord."

Take no step unless you feel sure that the Lord is directing and guiding. Watch for the meaning of His providences. Study His Word. Let not your faith depart from its moorings. "Be of good courage!" "Good" courage is courage of a good degree, not merely a little courage. Be of strong courage; "and He shall strengthen thine heart; wait, I say, on the Lord." The word heart here may be understood to mean the soul, the being-especially the intelligent portion of us. The Lord will support us, He will fortify us and make us strong to bear, strong to do His will as it is made known to us. They that wait upon the Lord shall not want any good thing.

TRAITS NECESSARY TO SUCCESS

Courage, fortitude, persistency, in the service of the Lord are very necessary to the child of God. Such traits are needful even to the world. Whoever lacks these qualities of character is pretty sure to make poor success in life. Lack of courage, lack of hope, is one of the chief causes of failure in the world. Our text, however, calls attention, not to the world, but to those who belong to the Lord. The precious promises of God's Word, which are only for His people, those who are wholly His, give these every reason for hope; they have full authority to be strong and of a good courage. The children of God will have trials and experiences similar to those of the world, besides experiences and trials peculiar to them as followers of Christ. These come not to us in a haphazard way, however, as to the world, but are under the direct supervision of the Lord.

Those who are new in the service of the Master might think for a time that matters should run smoothly for them, that they should not have the difficulties common to the world; that now as they were God's children He would protect them from afflictions and mistreatment. But as they study the Lord's Word, they soon see that this is not true; they see that they are to walk by faith, and not by sight. They learn that they are not to expect to have outward and tangible manifestations of His favor, but that they are to suffer with Christ-that hereunto they were called. (1 Pet. 2:20, 21; Acts 14:22.) They learn that they must be obedient; and they come to see what obedience means.

The Master learned obedience-learned what obedience meant-"by the things which He suffered." The narrow way is not an easy path. His followers learn that the Lord is now calling a class that have faith in Him, a class who accept His Word fully. In time they come, too, to see that "If God be for them, who can be against them?" If matters do not go as they had expected, if trials come, they will say, "We know that all things work for good to them that love God."

So these learn, as they are guided by the Word of the Lord, that they are to be of good courage as they pursue their onward way. There are many difficulties to be surmounted, and it requires courage to surmount difficulties. But the courage born of faith in God and in His "exceeding great and precious promises" strengthens them when otherwise they might be overwhelmed. It gives them 'a' strength to which all others are strangers.

TRUST WHERE WE CANNOT TRACE

If a child of God becomes discouraged and loses his hope and strength, it is because he has lost his hold upon the Lord's promises to help. To lose courage is to lose faith. Loss of faith and courage makes a child of God powerless before his foes. We must trust our Father even when the meaning of His providences is veiled from our eyes and when our efforts to serve Him seem to be hedged up. We look back at the Apostles and their experiences. The Apostle Paul was very desirous of carrying the Message of the Gospel to others. Several times he tried to go into Asia, but he was not permitted to go. He began to wonder why this was, why his efforts continued to prove failures. But the Lord revealed to him that he was to go into Greece instead. In his first Epistle to the Church at Thessalonica, he writes, "Wherefore we would have come to you, even I Paul, once and again, but Satan hindered us." (1 Thess. 2:18.) But we are sure that the Lord would overrule the machinations of Satan and cause them to work out His own glory, and the lesson of patience and submission would be a blessing to His children.

We see that in the Garden of Gethsemane our Lord had not lost faith in God but was fearful for a time. As He came to the closing hours of His experiences on earth, He wondered whether or not He had faithfully conformed to all the Father's requirements. He knew that, the slightest infraction of God's Law would mean His death. Had He completed His sacrifice acceptably? Would He be ushered from death into Heavenly glory by a resurrection? Then He received from the Father the assurance that He had been altogether faithful. All the trials and difficulties which the Master underwent in the laying down of His life preceded Him as a sweet incense, a precious perfume, beyond the veil, into the Most Holy as shown in the type. - Leviticus 16:12, 13.

A PROPER FEAR

After the Jewish high priest had crumbled the sweet incense upon the fire of the golden altar, after its fragrance had penetrated beyond the second veil and had covered the Ark of the Covenant and the Mercy Seat, he then himself passed beneath the veil. Every time the high priest raised the veil thus to pass under it-he probably feared; for in case he had failed in any particular to carry out his sacrificial work acceptably he would have died as he passed under the veil. So our Lord Jesus knew that His work must be acceptable in the most absolute sense, else He would forever forfeit His existence. He would become as though He had not been; He would lose all.

There was no earthly being to give our Lord encouragement along this line. There was no one to say, You have done everything perfectly; you could not have done better. So the Master went alone to the Father for this assurance and for strength and courage. He prayed, "Not My will, but Thine be done"; and the Father heard His prayer and gave Him the needed assurance and strength. He was heard in respect to that which He feared; and during all that night and the following day, up to the hour of His crucifixion, He was calm and courageous.

So the Lord's people should have a proper fear. Proper fear is good for them. But it should not proceed to the point of hindering their efforts and dissipating their courage. They should have the fear enjoined by St. Paul when he said, "Let us fear, lest a promise being left us of entering into His rest, any of us should seem to come short of it." (Heb. 4:1.) This proper fear the Master had. He never became discouraged, never held back from the work which the Father had given Him to do. His fear was a filial one, which engendered a watchfulness and care, a circumspection of walk and of life, that He might be wholly pleasing to the Father. This all Christians should - have. We should watch lest we neglect some privilege or duty.

This proper fear will lead us to careful inspection of ourselves. We should ask ourselves, "What do I believe? Why do I believe it? We should go over the ground again. We should again go over in our minds the proofs of the correctness of our Faith. By so doing, the Lord will strengthen us in the Faith. He will strengthen our heart. If any hope in themselves, and lean upon their own strength mainly, it will be to their advantage that the Lord shall allow them to come to the point of discouragement; that they may become more timid, may lose all self-assurance, may realize their utter helplessness and weakness and their need of leaning wholly upon the Lord, of looking constantly to Him for guidance and support. As the Lord's children thus learn to wait upon Him, to them is fulfilled the promise, "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint." - Isaiah 40:31.

- R5711, Z. June 15, 1915.

Creed and Character

"The Kingdom of God is not in word, but in power. " - 1 Corinthians 4:20.

WE CALL ourselves Christians, that is, we profess to be disciples of Jesus Christ. Let us not make the mistake of taking it for granted that because we are students of the Bible, we are therefore Christians; for too often the Bible is treated only as a text book from which is to be extracted and expounded a theology. Discipleship is lost sight of in the pursuit of mere knowledge. "Knowledge [alone] puffeth up, but love buildeth up" (1 Cor. 8:1). One makes a balloon of us; the other a temple of God.

Now the Scriptures certainly do contain theology; that is, the truth of the existence, character, and attributes of God; his laws; the plan of salvation; the doctrines we are to believe; and the ethics we are to practice.

The Scriptures, being of God, are the expression of a vital, personal Spirit Being. As we read in Hebrews 1:1: "God, who at sundry times and in divers manners, spake in times past," etc. And although they are a collection of the writings of many men, produced over a period of more than sixteen hundred years, they contain that which suggests a single, paramount idea, as though they are the revelation of a single mind. There is a unity that binds them together as a whole.

And what is that unity? It is the testimony of Jesus Christ (Rev. 19: 10) -- of his advents, ministry, doctrines, sacrificial death, resurrection, and Kingdom. Or as Jesus Himself said: "The Scriptures testify of me." And again, "beginning at Moses, and all the Prophets, he expounded to them of all the things concerning Himself." - Luke 24:27.

THE UPWARD LOOK OF FAITH

It is sometimes urged against Christianity that it is merely a historical faith. It is true that the basis for faith is historical; but this is no cause for reproach. Faith holds the records of the past, but the attitude of faith is not that of looking back. Faith receives the evidences of history to the character of Christ; faith accepts the testimony of the eye-witnesses of his resurrection -- eye-witnesses who made it the work of their lives to proclaim that resurrection; and who sealed their testimony by their death. Faith sees in the Church a living, historical evidence of this truth; but faith's gaze is beyond and above all these. It is true that faith's feet are firmly planted on the solid ground of historical fact, but faith's look is upward; faith's eyes are fixed on a risen, living, ascended Lord.

We sometimes forget that Christ is the object of our faith. Faith is not a creed. It is an attitude of soul. No profound spiritual thinker has ever been able to put his deepest convictions into the language of theology; for faith makes substance of what to the purely natural sense does not exist; it proves things unseen, and knows them by the immediate evidence of their power in the soul. That Christ should not have been bounded by the grave; that he with whom the Father was well pleased should be proved "to be the son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead" (Rom. 1:4), is to faith nothing strange. Stranger far would it have been if He had not risen; if the object of faith had disappeared before our eyes and existed only in the records of the past. The object of faith is not merely a life or example; it is the person to whom that life or example appertains. If the eyes of faith are turned upon a Life passed long ago among the hills of Galilee and Judea, if by the aid of history, faith loves to trace the lineaments of a Character seen and known among men nearly two thousand years ago, it is because they are those of an ever-living Lord, Savior, and Friend.

Jesus tells us that the words he speaks "are spirit, and they are life." That being so, then, they must have a living force, and true Christians must realize that force or power, or spirit alive in themselves. To this agree the words of Peter: "Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever." - 1 Pet. 1:23.

It is not just saved, repentant sinners that God desires, but surrendered saints. We are given a twofold plan whereby this is accomplished. We cannot afford to neglect either: First, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly" (Col. 3:16); second, "Be filled with the Spirit." - Eph. 5:18.

It is the province of the Holy Spirit to take the things of Christ and reveal and interpret them to us; to so energize and quicken these dedicated lives as to transform them into Christ's image. For "the Kingdom of God is not in word, but in power" (1 Cor. 4:20). "When the Spirit of truth is come, he shall glorify me, for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you" (John 16:13, 14). "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." - Rom. 8:14.

There are two great spiritual forces which are operating in the world through human beings in this Age. These are directly opposed to each other, and in the ensuing conflict lies the explanation of all that is mysterious and puzzling in human affairs. As the Age draws to a consummation the conflict deepens in intensity. God's mighty purposes are being accomplished in the energy of the Holy Spirit, and its operations impart to the Age some of its characteristics. On the other hand, the great forces of evil, under the leadership of the head of the principalities, powers, and world-rulers of darkness, are directed to the accomplishment of certain definite objectives, directly opposed to the purposes of God. The display and exercise of these stupendous energies likewise impart to the Age some of its characteristics.

Now, it is the clear testimony of all Scripture that each and every one of us was born a subject of the ruler of this world. As we read in Ephesians 2:1-3: "You were dead in trespasses and sins in which you moved as you followed the course of this world, under the sway of the prince of the air-the spirit which is at present active within those sons of disobedience among whom all of us lived, we as well as you, when we obeyed the passions of our flesh, carrying out the dictates of the flesh and its impulses, when we were objects of God's anger by nature, like the rest of men." -Moffatt's Translation.

ENLIGHTENING AND OPERATING FORCE OF THE SPIRIT

It is quite evident, too, that God's purpose in giving us the light of his truth is to dispel the darkness of mind-the superstitions, errors, ignorance, and prejudices, by which Satan holds the race in subjection, so that we might become willing subjects of Christ. This is the thought of Colossians 1:13: "The Father has delivered us from the power [dominion] of darkness, and has translated us into the Kingdom of his dear Son." It is a truth, voiced by the Apostle in Ephesians 5:13: "All things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever does make manifest is light."

It is by the light of truth unfolded to us that sin and righteousness, truth and error are discerned. As we all know, only light can dispel darkness; and it is by the revelation of Himself in Christ, the true Light, that God delivers us from the power or dominion of darkness; and it is by that Light becoming a force in our lives that we become subjects of the Prince of Light- "translated into the Kingdom of God's dear Son."

This dominion of Christ, then, is manifest in two ways: As a mind that enlightens and directs, and as a force that operates. It is not one without the other-not a mere knowledge of the Word of God; nor yet an exhibition of energy, either undirected or misdirected. It is the mind of Christ directing, and the Spirit of Christ operating. It is one and the same will in either case-"the will of My Father" (John 8:28-50). It is not merely knowing "these things, but happy are ye if ye do them" (John 13:17). We find ourselves, once subjected, enlightened, disciplined, built up by the Word of God and its power, until all our moral and spiritual actions are governed by the spirit or mind of Christ-all under the dominion of God's dear Son-"bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ" (2 Cor. 10:4, 5). What was it that made such a difference in those disciples on the day of Pentecost-those disciples who had previously forsaken Jesus and fled, and who had met behind closed doors for fear of the Jews? It was the spirit, mind, and power of Christ, which had that day been given. It was the beginning of the dominion of Christ; for, "The Kingdom of God is not in word, but in power." "God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power." - 2 Tim. 1:7.

One of the most powerful testimonies we can give of this power is to have and manifest the fruit of joy. One of the profits we get out of adversity is the fruit of joy. The advantage of the fires of sorrow does not lie in the things consumed, but in the things which they cannot consume. The sweetest of all the uses of adversity is to show us the joy which it cannot take away. There are substances which fire cannot destroy. We could never have their qualities proved except by fire: yet the blessing is not the fire, but what it could not do. The benefit of the furnace, then, is the limit of its power. What God looks for is not the pain, but the tenacity of our joyfully enduring-the inability of the fire to extinguish his Word and Spirit in us. God appreciates our bearing and enduring; but it is joy in the Holy Spirit alone that enables us to bear and endure. Happiness is not the bliss of condition or environment, but of character.

But the virtue that is victorious in the crisis must be nourished and strengthened in the humdrum moments of life. No career is a dead level from the cradle to the grave; and we need the reserve power of the Spirit, stored up in the quieter days, for the emergencies and crises that surely come.

And be sure that emergencies and crises will come. At the conclusion of his discourse, which is commonly called the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus makes a very startling statement: "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the Kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my F. her which is in heaven. . . . Whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built is house upon a rock: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. An. every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it." - Matt. 7:21-27.

An unalterably alternative -- there is no escaping, either the one or the other results from studying and hearing the Word of God; either a house built on rock, or a house built on sand. To continually search the Word of God to get a knowledge of the plans and purposes outlined therein, and then refuse to allow that truth to become a force or power in the life, is making mockery of it. But "be not deceived, God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh, shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit, shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting." - Gal. 6:7, 8.

MARKS OF A CHURCH OPERATING IN THE POWER OF THE SPIRIT

Before closing our subject we might briefly consider the Scriptural marks of a church or ecclesia operating in the power of the Spirit. An ecclesia is an association of Christ's disciples formed for the purpose of worshipping together, serving together, studying together, and fellowshipping together. Our worship should be simple and sincere. There is apt to be too much smoke from our incense and too little fragrance. Some confine their worship to Sunday, or sacred seasons, or even to conventions. Discipleship does not consist of sacred phrases to be put on or taken off with our Sunday clothes.

, the ecclesia should be a center for service in diverse spheres of activity, according to the diversity of gifts or talents. One has said, "We are saved to serve." Those who merely seek to be saved from the penalty of their sins have a very limited view of God's eternal purpose. God's great work, in which he is still engaged, is the New Creation. "We are laborers together with God." The ecclesia, too, is a school where the Spirit reveals, explains the things of Christ as we seek to know and do the will of God as set forth in his Word. To this end some have been made "apt to teach"; others have been furnished for evangelizing, etc.

And no church or ecclesia is complete unless it is a family home. In order to become a radiating point the church gathering must first be a rallying point, united in the bonds of brotherhood and love. Surely every mature Christian today, as we see all the signs indicative of the close of the Church's history on earth, should be beyond bickering over hair-splitting doctrinal points and should enter into that fulness of love Jesus manifested.

Paul caught an overwhelming glimpse of this, which he records in the eighth chapter of Romans, from the "no condemnation" to the "no separation." It overflowed his own heart; and he rose to the mark of perfect love when he stated that he would be willing to be separated from Christ (forego his own share in Christ, "the great salvation") if only his kinsmen, Israel, might acknowledge and receive Christ (Rom. 9:1-5). He was proving to have that perfection of love that was like unto God's love. - See Matt. 5:43-48.

Do we have that compassion and love ourselves? Do we long for, and pray for those who, perhaps, having formerly walked to the house of God with us, are in danger of being overtaken by the dread extremity -- separation from God by carelessness, indifference, and sin? Do we pray, "Think on them Lord, who in times past remembered thee. Follow them where we cannot go; and though our resources fail, as did the power of the disciples in casting out demons on one occasion, may thine infinite resources do what we may not, and bring them again to thy feet, where they may know, once more, the sweetness and gladness of these closing days of the Church's pilgrimage"?

Our walk in life must not be inconsistent with our profession of faith, our creed. They must blend in perfect harmony; for, "the Kingdom of God is not in word, but in power."

- F. A. Essler

Our Fellowship of Praise

"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord." - Col. 3:16.

WHAT A wonderful fellowship of praise the Christian has in common with the saints of all ages. God's true people have always felt the impulse of praise, and from ancient times snatches of song are wafted down to us from those far-off days. Who can doubt that Jubal, great grandson of Enoch, the "father of all such as handle the harp and organ," sang songs of praise to God in his time. Moses and Miriam led the camp of Israel in a song of thanksgiving as they stood safely on the Canaan side of the Red Sea. David, "the sweet singer of Israel," has enriched all succeeding generations with his spiritual songs and prayers. With all these singers of those long past days we may feel ourselves in very intimate fellowship, and find our hearts joining with theirs in a sacrifice of praise to the same God of loving-kindness.

An angel host came to earth, nineteen hundred years ago to teach men a new song, the sweetness of which has been ringing down these many centuries, bringing peace and good will into receptive hearts. Godly men and women since those days of angelic visitation, have been pouring out hymns of praise patterned after that gladsome song sung over Bethlehem fields. Numberless hearts have found their joys, their gratitude, hopes and longings faithfully expressed through these hymns and spiritual songs. God has marvelously used-the great hymn writers in this way, giving a power to their songs whereby hearts have been inspired to greater devotion, and through which wandering, sheep have been led back again to the fold. Thus the whole Church has in this manner performed a great service within itself, by, "teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in their hearts to the Lord."

But this fellowship of praise has thus far been limited. Though no age has been without its sweet singers, or without its worship in songs of praise to God., and though this has been a blessed bond of fellowship within the circle of His people, yet how large a part of humanity has never had such songs in their heart. The rains have fallen, the sunshine has come, the dews have been generously sprinkled over man's vineyards and fields, but notwithstanding all these coming to just and unjust alike, men have failed to give God the praise due to His name. So it continues today, the world still lies, as always, in the wicked one and is still blinded by This spirit, Only here and there has the Gospel found the good soil of gratitude and brought lives out of selfishness into a recognition of indebtedness to God, giving songs of joy and purifying recollections for the delusive mirth of wickedness.

But the fellowship of praise and glad thanksgiving will not always be limited as it is now. It-will not always be found only where "two or three" are gathered in His name, nor coming from the lips of only one here and there. Since God's Word cannot fail of fulfillment, some glad day the whole wide universe is to resound with His praise. A time will come when, "Every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and such as are in -the sea, and all that are in them," will be heard, "saying, Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever." (Rev. 5:13.) When this sure prophetic word reaches its grand fulfillment, O, what a fellowship of praise that will be! A choir composed of every intelligent creature joined in a universal hallelujah chorus of heartfelt adoration ascending to God and His beloved Son! The heart thrills with ecstasy contemplating such a prospect. What will it mean when the whole vast universe thus sings together without a discordant note being heard.

Have there not been times in the experience of most of us when some very real foretaste of this . joy has been known? Have we no recollections of times when in an assembly of God's dear ones, one of those times when all hearts-were touched by the Word of Life faithfully spoken, and when, of a truth, "heaven came near 'our souls to greet"? In that sacrifice of praise how very near the Lord seemed, yes, and how near we seemed to be to those with whom we sang. ' Christians have always approximated more real unity of the spirit in their songs than in their theological views. Perhaps this is one of -the very special benefits accruing to those who give due emphasis to the admonition of our text. But such a gathering of kindred minds would be small indeed compared with the teeming millions of restored humanity. Our powers of imagination utterly fail to fully visualize the scene, and our tongues fail to express the grandeur of the unity, the joy, and the gratitude of that vast throng singing the praises of the Lord! But in God's due time such will be the song of that great choir, in which we too shall have an important part. Then we shall sing no more with lisping, stammering tongue," but in perfect rhythm and celestial 'harmony. We have been true to Scripture in our song:

"I love to tell the story!
'Twill be my theme in glory,
To tell the old, old story,
Of Jesus and His love."

That song can never lose its sweetness and joyousness for any of the redeemed of earth; but will any others sing it with the same depth of joy as the Bride of Christ, those "redeemed from among men, a first fruits unto God of His creatures"? The highest favored of all His creatures created, or yet to be created, will be that Bride. What then shall be the volume of their praise, in such nearness to the throne of God!

But we are thinking now of the present time, these days in which we may fulfill the admonition of our text, "admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs." If this instruction is faithfully followed, the measure of good it can bring is well beyond calculation. This is one of the very effective ways into the inner heart; and "with the heart man believeth unto righteousness." (Rom. 10:10.) We need to remember too that though one "speak" or sing "with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not love," there is naught but "sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal." The spiritual power of song lies in the personal experience of the singer. Who can estimate the powerful influences behind the singing of such men of former days as Charles Wesley, Sankey, Bliss, and Others? They had the personal experience behind the kind of singing our text is concerned with, and which is well illustrated in such words as, "Come, hear what the Lord bath done for me." Personal experience first, then the outgoing of song to others. This order is shown quite clearly in our text and another very similar to it. In Eph. 5:19 we read, "Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord." The song and melody must first be in our own hearts, then we are fitted to admonish "one another in psalms and hymns." The thought is that a singing heart possesses the power to awaken song in another's heart, imparting its own vibrant happiness. This being true, how significant Hebrews 13:15 seems, "By Him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name."

The hymns we sing today and find most helpful are of course such as have a true basis in the Word of God. Many such there are, and by these our pure minds may be stirred up to consider some Scriptures as we should. In this connection, and by way of illustration, we use a promise of Jesus found in Matthew 11:28-30. "Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly of heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and, My burden is light." In these texts we find three outstanding words used: "Come," "Take," "Rest." The first reminds us of gracious invitations with which the Word abounds; the, second may well remind us of the privilege represented in the yoke we may share with our Lord, and by which a sacred association with His cause and people is made ours; the third should be having its intended fulfillment in our present hour, and be an ever-increasing incentive to press on until the rest that is yet future is entered into, the "rest that remaineth for the people of God." The order of these three terms is perfect, and all are themes deeply written into our worship of song. Themes they are whereby our own hearts may be filled with the melody of spiritual song, and here too, we may meet with others around one mercy-seat to sing "with grace in our hearts to the Lord."

"BLESS THE LORD, O MY SOUL"

Our first word is "Come." In connection with this word it is our happy privilege 'to testify as His children as of a personal experience, when, "I heard the voice of Jesus say, come unto Me and rest, and coming, "I found in Him a resting place, and He has made me glad." When this is true of ourselves, how much of weight it gives to our admonitions to others! Responding as we did in the beginning to this invitation meant forgiveness, and the rest of "no condemnation." Responding to it daily means continuous cleansing, and the rest of full assurance. In the day by day walk with the Lord it has meant of ofttimes a quiet and needed period in life's stress and strain, as when the word would be, "Come ye yourselves apart . . . and rest awhile." Among other lessons learned in those times apart, is the one that no joy that Jesus gives is to be selfishly embraced, but is given that it may be shared with others. He does not teach us to sing of joys "none other has ever known," but rather of joys that others have known and which He so wants us to know as our own experience. Then, it is, we may admonish others as we ourselves have been blessed and caused to sing. Too few voices are heard today in the joyful strain of "The Lord hath done great things for us whereof we are glad." It is so easy for many to let the song go out of life. Many lives are burdened because of life's present disturbed and hectic condition's, some are borne down with fears for the safety of sons or brothers far from home, some are discouraged and weary with the strife of tongues creating lovelessness and exclusiveness. To all these we may say, "Earth hath no sorrow that heaven cannot heal"; so "Come ye that love the Lord, and let your songs abound," for God knows, and loves, and cares. "Songs in the night He giveth" for all life's fluctuating conditions. Of all "psalms and hymns and spiritual songs," so well calculated to bring comfort "and inspiration to the heart, the psalms of the Bible are best of all: Because of these no heart need be without a prayer for guidance, or a song of praise. The valleys and lonely ways have their expression there, and the mountain-tops are likewise framed in fitting language for us. How great, therefore, is the storehouse from which we may draw for a ministry such as our text suggests. So having found these many invitations to "come" to Him in whom all fulness dwells, and having found all we want in Him, shall we not, for our own upbuilding, and for the benefit of others, strive more faithfully to radiate the joy of the Lord, saying with the Psalmist, "Therefore will I offer in His tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the Lord." - Psa. 27:6.

"JESUS, I MY CROSS HAVE TAKEN"

Now we consider our next word in the texts before us in this review. "Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me." To take this yoke means first, of all being joined together with the One who gives it to us. Jesus calls it "My yoke." He gives us the yoke, or the cross we are to bear, but never to let us carry these alone. Under these, as in all other features of our union with Him, it is ours to say, "And so we walk together, my Lord and I." Much too often we strike the note of mourning in songs about taking up this 'cross, or carrying this yoke. Some tunes are a dirge rather than a joyous strain consistent with the greatness of the privilege we have. The true thought is better expressed when we sing, "Gladly will I toil and suffer, only let me walk with Thee." If the yoke is to be easy and the burden light, they must be borne in the grateful spirit of these lines:

"His yoke is easy, His burden is light;
I've found it so, I've found it so;
He leadeth me by day and by night,
Where living waters flow."

When we walk with the Lord in the attitude of mind which these lines suggest, what great pleasure we may have in our fellowship with Him, and how much greater will be our helpfulness to others. In our hymn of praise we sing, "Salvation! O ,the joyful sound!" Such it is in all its aspects, but particularly so in that peculiar aspect represented in our highest of all callings; therefore consecration to God's will should be witnessed -to in our daily walk as a joyful thing. Then our joy will be in itself a voice singing to others the refrain of the Psalmist, "Sing aloud unto God our strength: make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob. Take a psalm, and bring hither the timbrel, the pleasant harp with the psaltery." (Psa. 81:2.) Thus of -ourselves we sing, "Take my life, and may it be, Lord acceptable to Thee." To others we sing in the spirit of our text, "Take the name of Jesus with you, . . . Take it, then, where'er you go," and to the end,

"Take up thy cross and follow 'Christ;
Nor think till death to lay it down;
For only he who bears the cross
May hope to wear the glorious crown."

We come now to the last of the three special words found in our texts. The word is "rest. What a boon is real, true rest! The world wants rest but knows not where to find it. In God's loving care and provision we have found it in the One who promises it, and who alone can give it. We affirm it true, "All that my soul has tried, left but an aching void: Jesus has satisfied, Jesus is mine!" In Him there is rest for all who have truly learned of Him. He made no empty promise in saying, "Ye shall find rest unto your souls." They who are ready to believe and follow Him do enter into His rest. In Him there is rest from all fear except the fear of displeasing Him, and in that fear there may be both quietness and peace. In Him there is rest from the otherwise intolerable burdens of life, because we know His will is best. A present rest there is in knowing that all things are working out the will of God for us, and a rest of mind about the future, making it bright with hope, because we can confidently, say: "I know Him whom I have believed.

There cannot fail one of all the good promises God has made to us, so faith in His Word brings the "rest to your souls" which Jesus associates with our learning of Him. Thus we may sing our songs of assurance while we "rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him." In this restful confidence we learn to sing, " 'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, just to take Him at His word." As the true understanding Friend we find Him "Sweeter as the years go by," while in sorrow or joy, in sickness or health, sunshine or shadow, our prayer changes not from, "More love to Thee, O Christ! More love to Thee."

Thus our fellowship is with the Father and the Son, and through them it extends to all the wide circle of the brotherhood for whom we rejoice to sing, "At the cross there's room." We live not for self alone, but to glorify God and bless His people. So should the word of Christ dwell richly in our own heart, and find expression in a melody of happiness. and thanksgiving. Thus shall we be fitted to fulfil our pleasant service, "teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in our hearts to the Lord." "O come, let us sing unto the Lord: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto Him with psalms." - Psa. 95:1, 2.

- J. J. Blackburn

Notice of Annual Meeting

All should be aware of the fact that the affairs of our Institute are in the hands of seven brethren who are elected from its membership to serve for a period of one year or until their successors are elected.

Our Annual Meeting this year is scheduled to be held (D.V.) Saturday, June 1, 1985, at 11:00 a.m. in West Suffield, Connecticut, 145 N. Grand Street.

Membership in the Pastoral Bible Institute is, and always has been, open to any consecrated brother or sister who "is in full harmony with the purpose, spirit, and policy of the Institute," and who intends to support it "in all reasonable ways as he or she shall deem to be the Lord's will."

As stated in its charter, the purpose for which the Institute was formed is "the dissemination of Bible truths in various languages by means of the publication of tracts, pamphlets, papers, and other religious documents, and by the use of all other lawful means which its Board of Directors, duly constituted, shall deem expedient for the furtherance of the purposes stated."

The membership fee is five dollars ($5.00) which should accompany the application. If an applicant lacks the membership fee, but is otherwise acceptable, the fee will be paid out of a special fund provided for that purpose.

In order to participate in the election of directors at the next annual meeting, anyone not already a member, who desires to apply for membership, should do so promptly as, according to our bylaws, "the registration of such membership must be made twenty days prior to the election."

Members of the Pastoral Bible Institute are hereby reminded of the privilege which is theirs of nominating in the pages of this journal the brethren they wish to elect as directors for the fiscal year 1985-86.

The brethren whose terms of service will expire are: J. L. Buss, A. Gonczewski, H. C. Hogrebe, L. Petran, W. J. Siekman, E. R. Villman, and J. B. Webster.

The brethren here named are pleased to report that a spirit of Christian love and harmony exists in their midst; and they have every reason to believe that the Lord has seen fit to bless their association in this ministry. They realize however, that those carrying on any work may fail to see opportunities for improvement and expansion apparent to others not charged with such responsibilities, and that for this reason changes in office sometimes have beneficial effects. They therefore urge upon all members of our Institute that they make this a special occasion for prayer, that our Father's will may be expressed in the vote of the members. If, after prayerful meditation, any are led of the Lord to nominate brethren, and will forward the names and addresses of such brethren so as to reach this office on or before April 10, 1985, such names will be published in the May June issue of the Herald, that all members may have an opportunity of voting for them.

Entered Into Rest

Lois R. Arns, St. Paul, Minn.
Margaret Gottfried, Spring Valley, Ill.
Clyde E. Harp, Columbus, Ohio
Karl S. Johnson, Lynden, Wash.
Harold W. Luttermoser, Detroit, Mich.
Elva E. Miller, Sacramento, Calif.
John Misiorowski, Sr., Chicago, Ill.
Dinwiddie C. Reams, Norfolk, Va.
Tiphon Schmeleff, Tucson, Ariz.
Theressa B. Thormberg, Rockford, Ill.

1985 Index