{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_40515/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_40515","id":"gutenberg_40515","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/40515","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Religion/Spirituality","Theology"],"text":"Elijah\n  the Tishbite\n\n\n  _Miscellaneous Writings of_\n  C. H. MACKINTOSH\n\n\n  _Volume V_\n\n\n  LOIZEAUX BROTHERS\n  _New York_\n\n  FIRST EDITION 1898\n\n  TENTH PRINTING 1960\n\n\n  LOIZEAUX BROTHERS, INC., PUBLISHERS\n\n  _A Nonprofit Organization, Devoted to the Lord's Work\n  and to the Spread of His Truth_\n\n  19 WEST 21ST STREET, NEW YORK 10, N. Y.\n\n\n  PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n\n                                                         Pages\n\n  GOD'S FULNESS FOR AN EMPTY VESSEL                       1-10\n\n  DIVINE TITLES                                          11-18\n\n  A HELP OR A HINDRANCE: WHICH?                          19-27\n\n  THE DISCIPLINE OF THE ASSEMBLY                         28-35\n\n  THE CHRISTIAN'S MISSION: AND HOW TO\n  FULFIL IT                                              36-44\n\n  EPAPHRAS; OR, THE SERVICE OF PRAYER                    45-51\n\n  \"READY\"                                                52-60\n\n  HOLY BRETHREN                                          61-80\n\n  JEHOVAH'S DEMAND AND SATAN'S OBJECTIONS               81-104\n\n  \"THYSELF AND THE DOCTRINE\"                           105-110\n\n  THE THREE CROSSES                                    111-146\n\n  OUR STANDARD AND OUR HOPE                            147-152\n\n  LIFE-WORKS                                           153-158\n\n  \"THERE IS ONE BODY\"                                  159-165\n\n  ONE-SIDED THEOLOGY                                   166-173\n\n  A LETTER TO A FRIEND ON ETERNAL\n  PUNISHMENT                                           174-178\n\n  \"PUBLICLY AND FROM HOUSE TO HOUSE\"                   179-184\n\n  ISRAEL AND THE NATIONS                               185-190\n\n  LANDMARKS AND STUMBLINGBLOCKS                        191-200\n\n  GRACE AND GOVERNMENT                                 201-211\n\n  SAUL OF TARSUS                                       212-218\n\n  THE TRUE WORKMAN                                     219-250\n\n  DIVERSITY AND UNITY                                  251-256\n\n  LIVING BY FAITH                                      257-261\n\n  LIFE AND TIMES OF ELIJAH                               5-150\n\n\n\n\n                   GOD'S FULNESS FOR AN EMPTY VESSEL\n\n                       (Read 1 Samuel 4 and 7.)\n\n\nThe two chapters given above furnish a most impressive illustration of\na principle which runs all through the inspired volume, namely, that\nthe moment man takes his right place, God can meet him in perfect\ngrace--free, sovereign, unqualified grace: the fulness of God waits on\nan empty vessel. This great principle shines everywhere from Genesis\nto Revelation. The word \"principle\" hardly expresses what is meant; it\nis too cold. We would speak of it as a grand, living, divine fact,\nwhich shines with heavenly lustre in the gospel of the grace of God\nand in the history of God's people collectively and individually, both\nin the Old and New Testament times.\n\n_But man must be in his right place._ This is absolutely essential. It\nis only there he can get a right view of God. When man as he is, meets\nGod as He is, there is a perfect answer to every question, a divine\nsolution of every difficulty. It is from the standpoint of utter and\nhopeless ruin that man gets a full, clear, delivering view and sense\nof God's salvation. It is when man gets to the end of himself in every\nshape and form--his bad self and his good self, his guilty self and\nhis righteous self--that he begins with a Saviour-God. This is true\nat the starting-post, and true all along the way. The fulness of God\never waits on an empty vessel. The great difficulty is to get the\nvessel empty: when that is done, the whole matter is settled, because\nthe fulness of God can then flow in.\n\nThis surely is a grand, fundamental truth; and in the chapters which\nstand at the head of this paper we see it in its application to the\nLord's earthly people of old. Let us turn to them for a moment.\n\nIn the opening of chap. 4 we find Israel defeated by the Philistines;\nbut instead of humbling themselves before the Lord, in true contrition\nand self-judgment because of their terrible condition, and accepting\ntheir defeat as the just judgment of God, there is utter insensibility\nand hardness of heart. \"And when the people were come into the camp,\nthe elders of Israel said, Wherefore hath the Lord smitten us to-day\nbefore the Philistines?\" Now it is very evident from these words that\nthe elders were not in their right place. The word \"wherefore\" would\nnever have dropped from their lips had they but realized their moral\ncondition. They would have known too well why it was. There was\nshameful sin in their midst--the vile conduct of Hophni and Phinehas.\n\"Wherefore the sin of the young men was very great before the Lord;\nfor men abhorred the offering of the Lord\" (chap. 2:17).\n\nBut alas! the people had no true sense of their terrible condition,\nand, as a consequence, they had no true sense of the remedy. Hence\nthey say, \"Let us fetch the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of\nShiloh unto us, that, when _it_ cometh among us, _it_ may save us out\nof the hand of our enemies.\" What a delusion! What utter blindness!\nThere is no self-judgment, no confession of the dishonor done to the\nname and worship of the God of Israel, no looking to Jehovah in true\nbrokenness and contrition of heart. No; there is the vain notion that\nthe ark would save them out of the hand of their enemies.\n\n\"So the people sent to Shiloh, that they might bring from thence the\nark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts, which dwelleth between the\ncherubim: and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there\nwith the ark of the covenant of God.\" What a fearful condition of\nthings! The ark of God associated with those ungodly men whose\nwickedness was about to bring down upon the whole nation the just\njudgment of a holy and righteous God. Nothing can be more dreadful,\nnothing more offensive to God, than the daring attempt to connect His\nname, His truth, with wickedness. Moral evil, under any circumstances,\nis bad enough; but the attempt to combine moral evil with the name and\nservice of Him who is holy and true, is the very highest and darkest\nform of wickedness, and can only bring down the heavy judgment of God.\nThose ungodly priests, the sons of Eli, had dared to defile the very\nprecincts of the sanctuary with their abominations; and yet these were\nthe men who accompanied the ark of God into the field of battle. What\nblindness and hardness of heart! That one sentence, \"Hophni and\nPhinehas were there with the ark of the covenant of God,\" embodies in\nits brief compass the terrible reflection of Israel's moral condition.\n\n\"And when the ark of the covenant of the Lord came into the camp, _all\nIsrael shouted with a great shout_, so that the earth rang again.\" How\nvain was the shout!--how hollow the boast!--how empty the pretension!\nAlas, alas! it was followed, as must ever be the case, by humiliating\ndefeat. \"The Philistines fought, and Israel was smitten, and they fled\nevery man into his tent: and there was a very great slaughter; for\nthere fell of Israel thirty thousand footmen. And the ark of God was\ntaken, and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain.\"\n\nWhat a condition of things! The priests slain; the ark taken; the\nglory departed. The ark in which they boasted, and on which they\nconfidently built their hope of victory, was actually in the hands of\nthe uncircumcised Philistines. All was gone. That one terrible\nfact--the ark of God in the house of Dagon--told the melancholy tale\nof Israel's complete failure and ruin. God must have reality, truth\nand holiness in those with whom He deigns to dwell. \"Holiness becometh\nThy house, O Lord, forever.\" It was a privilege of the very highest\norder to have Jehovah dwelling in their midst; but it demanded\nholiness. He could not connect His name with unjudged sin.\nImpossible. It would be a denial of His nature, and God cannot deny\nHimself. He must have the place where He dwells suited to His nature\nand character. \"Be ye holy, for I am holy.\" This is a grand,\nfundamental truth, which must be tenaciously held and reverently\nconfessed. It must never be surrendered.\n\nBut let us glance for a moment at the history of the ark in the land\nof the Philistines. It is at once solemn and instructive. Israel had\nsignally failed and shamefully sinned. They had proved themselves\nwholly unworthy of the ark of the covenant of the Lord; and the\nPhilistines had laid their uncircumcised hands upon it, and actually\npresumed to bring it into the house of their false god, as if the Lord\nGod of Israel and Dagon could be in the same house! Blasphemous\npresumption! But the glory which had departed from Israel was\nvindicated in the darkness and solitude of the temple of Dagon.\n\nGod will be God, however His people may fail; and hence we see that\nwhen Israel had utterly failed to guard the ark of His testimony, and\nallowed it to pass into the hands of the Philistines,--when all was\nlost in man's hand,--then the glory of God shone out in power and\nsplendor: Dagon fell, and the whole land of the Philistines was made\nto tremble beneath the hand of Jehovah. His presence was intolerable\nto them, and they sought to get rid of it as soon as possible. It was\nproved beyond all question to be utterly impossible that Jehovah and\nthe uncircumcised could go on together. Thus it was, thus it is, and\nthus it ever must be. \"What concord hath Christ with Belial?... And\nwhat agreement hath the temple of God with idols?\" None whatever.\n\nLet us now turn for a few moments to chap. 7. Here we find another\ncondition of things altogether. Here we shall find something of the\nempty vessel, and, as is ever the case, the fulness of God waiting\nupon it. \"And it came to pass, while the ark abode in Kirjath-jearim,\nthat the time was long; for it was twenty years: and _all the house of\nIsrael lamented after the Lord_.\" In chaps. 5 and 6 we see that the\nPhilistines could not do _with_ Jehovah. In chap. 7 we see that Israel\ncould not do _without_ Him. This is striking and instructive. The\nworld cannot endure the very thought of the presence of God. We see\nthis from the very moment of the fall, in Gen. 3. Man fled away from\nGod ere God drove him out of Eden. He could not endure the divine\npresence. \"I heard Thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because\nI was naked; and I hid myself.\"\n\nThus it has ever been, from that moment to the present. As some one\nhas said, \"If you could put an unconverted man into heaven, he would\nget out of it as soon as possible.\" What a telling fact! How it stamps\nthe whole human race, and accounts for any depth of moral pravity into\nwhich a member of that race may sink! If man cannot endure the\npresence of God, where is he fit for, and what is he capable of?\nWeighty and solemn questions!\n\nBut \"all the house of Israel lamented after the Lord.\" Twenty long,\ndreary years had rolled on without the blessed sense of His presence;\n\"And Samuel spake unto all the house of Israel, saying, If ye do\nreturn unto the Lord _with all your hearts_, then put away the strange\ngods, and Ashtaroth, from among you, and _prepare your hearts_ unto\nthe Lord, and serve Him _only_, and HE\"--not the ark--\"will deliver\nyou out of the hand of the Philistines. Then the children of Israel\ndid put away Baalim and Ashtaroth, and served the Lord only. And\nSamuel said, Gather all Israel to Mizpeh, and I will pray for you unto\nthe Lord. And they gathered together to Mizpeh, and drew water, and\npoured it out before the Lord, and fasted on that day, and said there,\nWe have sinned against the Lord\" (chap. 7:2-6.)\n\nHere we have a different condition of things altogether from that\npresented in chap. 4. Here we see the empty vessel getting ready to\nreceive the fulness of God. There is no hollow assumption, no looking\nto an outward form for salvation. All is reality, all heart-work here.\nInstead of the boastful shout, there is the outpoured water--the\nstriking and expressive symbol of utter weakness and good-for-nothingness.\nIn a word, man is taking his right place; and that, as we know, is the\nsure precursor of God taking His place. This great principle runs like\na beauteous golden line all through the divine volume, all through the\nhistory of God's people, all through the history of souls. It is\nwrapped up in that brief but comprehensive clause, \"Repentance and\nremission of sins.\" Repentance is man's true place. Remission of sins\nis God's response. The former is the empty vessel; the latter, the\nfulness of God. When these meet, all is settled.\n\nThis is very strikingly presented in the scene now before us. Israel\nhaving taken their true place, God is free to act on their behalf.\nThey had confessed themselves to be as water poured upon the\nground--perfectly helpless, perfectly worthless. This was all they had\nto say for themselves, and this was enough. God can now enter the\nscene and make short work with the Philistines. \"If God be for us, who\ncan be against us?\"\n\n\"And Samuel took a sucking lamb, and offered it for a burnt offering\nwholly unto the Lord: and Samuel cried unto the Lord for Israel; and\nthe Lord heard him. And as Samuel was offering up the burnt offering,\nthe Philistines drew near to battle against Israel\"--How little they\nknew whom they were coming against, or who was about to meet them!\n\"But the Lord thundered with a great thunder on that day upon the\nPhilistines, and discomfited them; and they were smitten before\nIsrael.... Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and\nShen, and called the name of it Eben-ezer (the stone of help), saying,\nHitherto hath the Lord helped us.\"\n\nWhat a contrast between Israel's boastful shout in chap. 4 and\nJehovah's thunder in chap. 7! The former was human pretension; the\nlatter, divine power. _That_ was instantly followed by humiliating\ndefeat; _this_, by splendid triumph. The Philistines knew nothing of\nwhat had taken place--the water poured out, the penitential cry, the\noffering up of the lamb, the priestly intercession. What could\nuncircumcised Philistines know about these precious realities? Just\nnothing. When the earth rang with Israel's pretentious shout, they\ncould take cognizance of that. The men of the world can understand and\nappreciate self-assertion and self-confidence; but these are the very\nthings that shut out God. On the other hand, a broken heart, a\ncontrite spirit, a lowly mind, are His delight. When Israel took the\nlow place, the place of self-judgment and confession, then Jehovah's\nthunder was heard, and the host of the Philistines was scattered and\nconfounded. The fulness of God ever waits on an empty vessel. Blessed,\nprecious truth! May we enter more fully into its depth, fulness,\npower, and scope!\n\nEre closing this brief paper, I would just observe that 1 Sam. 4 and 7\nremind us of the churches of Laodicea and Philadelphia, in Rev. 3. The\nformer presents to us a condition which we should sedulously avoid;\nthe latter, a condition which we should diligently and earnestly\ncultivate. In that, we see miserable self-complacency, and Christ left\noutside. In this, we see conscious weakness and nothingness, but\nChrist exalted, loved, and honored; His Word kept, and His Name\nprized.\n\nAnd be it remembered that these things run on to the end. It is very\ninstructive to see that the last four of the seven churches give us\nfour phases of the Church's history right on to the end. In Thyatira,\nwe find Romanism; in Sardis, Protestantism. In Philadelphia, as we\nhave said, we have that condition of soul, that attitude of heart,\nwhich every true believer and every assembly of believers should\ndiligently cultivate and faithfully exhibit. Laodicea, on the\ncontrary, presents a condition of soul and an attitude of heart from\nwhich we should shrink with godly fear. Philadelphia is as grateful as\nLaodicea is loathsome to the heart of Christ. The former, He will make\na pillar in the temple of His God; the latter, He will spew out of His\nmouth, and Satan will take it up and make it a cage of every unclean\nand hateful bird--Babylon! An awful consideration for all whom it may\nconcern. And let us never forget that for any to pretend to be\nPhiladelphia is really the spirit of Laodicea. Wherever you find\npretension, assumption, self-assertion or self-complacency, there you\nhave, in spirit and principle, Laodicea--from which may the good Lord\ndeliver all His people!\n\nBeloved, let us be content to be nothing and nobody in this scene of\nself-exaltation. Let it be our aim to walk in the shade, as far as\nhuman thoughts are concerned, yet never be out of the sunshine of our\nFather's countenance. In a word, let us ever bear in mind that \"_the\nfulness of God ever waits on an empty vessel_.\"\n\n                                                        C. H. M.\n\n\n\n\n                           DIVINE TITLES.\n\n\nIt is at once interesting, instructive and edifying to mark the\nvarious titles under which God appears in the Holy Scriptures. These\ntitles are expressive of certain characters and relationships in which\nGod has been pleased to reveal Himself to man; and we are persuaded\nthat the Christian reader will find solid profit and real spiritual\nrefreshment and blessing in the study of this subject. We can do\nlittle more in this brief paper than offer a suggestion or two,\nleaving the reader to search the Scriptures for himself, in order to a\nfull understanding of the true meaning and proper application of the\nvarious titles.\n\nIn the first chapter of Genesis we have the first great title--\"God\"\n(Elohim): \"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.\"\nThis presents God in unapproachable, incomprehensible Deity. \"No man\nhath seen God at any time.\" We hear His voice and see His work in\ncreation; but Himself no man hath seen or can see. He dwelleth in the\nlight which no man can approach unto.\n\nBut in Gen. ii. we have another title added to God, namely, \"Lord\"\n(Jehovah). Why is this? Because man is now on the scene, and \"Lord\" is\nexpressive of the divine relation with man. Precious truth! It is\nimpossible to read these two chapters and not be struck with the\ndifference of the titles \"God\" and \"the Lord God\"--\"Elohim\" and\n\"Jehovah Elohim\"; and the difference is at once beautiful and\ninstructive.[1]\n\n  [1] We shall here give the various divine titles given in Scripture;\n  and the reader can, if so led, examine for himself the passages in\n  which they occur, and see the way in which they are applied.\n\n  \"Elohim\"--God. \"Jehovah\"--Lord. \"Adonai,\" also rendered Lord; see Ps.\n  xvi. 2. Adonai, or Adon, has been taken to mean _Ruler_, or\n  _Sovereign_, from the root \"Dan,\" to judge. In some English Bibles,\n  Jehovah is rendered in capital letters, LORD; Adonai, Lord. Thus the\n  distinction is easily seen. \"O my soul, thou hast said, Jehovah, Thou\n  art my Adonai\" (Ps. xvi. 2). This is very striking, and most\n  beautiful.\n\n  Then, in Gen. xiv. 22, we have \"Elion\"--the Most High God. This is His\n  millennial title. And in chapter xvii. 1 we have \"Shaddai\"--the\n  Almighty. \"I am the Almighty God: walk before Me, and be thou\n  perfect.\" In Psalm xci. 1. 2, we have a very beautiful application:\n  \"He that dwelleth in the secret places of Elion shall abide under the\n  shadow of Shaddai. I will say of Jehovah, He is my refuge and my\n  fortress; my Elohim; in Him will I trust.\" All this is full of\n  precious instruction; and we trust the reader may be led to pursue the\n  study for himself. It is hardly needful to add that, for the ineffable\n  title and relationship of \"Father,\" we must turn to the New Testament.\n\nGen. vii. 16 presents an interesting example, \"And they that went in,\nwent in male and female of all flesh, as _God_ had commanded him: and\nthe _Lord_ shut him in.\" God, in His government, was about to destroy\nthe human race, and every living thing. But Jehovah, in infinite\ngrace, shut Noah in. Mark the distinction. If a mere man were writing\nthe history, he might transpose the titles, not seeing what was\ninvolved. Not so the Holy Spirit. He brings out the lovely point of\nJehovah's relationship with Noah. Elohim was going to judge the world;\nbut as Jehovah He had His eye upon His beloved servant Noah, and\ngraciously sheltered him in the vessel of mercy. How perfect is\nScripture! How edifying and refreshing to trace the moral glories of\nthe divine volume!\n\nLet us turn to a passage in 1 Sam. xvii., where we have the record of\nDavid's encounter with Goliath. He boldly tells the giant what he is\nabout to do, both to him and to the host of the Philistines, in order\n\"that all _the earth_ may know that there is a _God_ (Elohim) in\nIsrael. And all this assembly shall know that the _Lord_ (Jehovah)\nsaveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is Jehovah's, and He\nwill give you into our hands\" (vers. 46, 47).\n\n\"All the earth\" was to know and own the presence of God in the midst\nof His people. They could know nothing of the precious relationship\ninvolved in the title \"Jehovah.\" This latter was for the assembly of\nIsrael alone. They were to know not only His presence in their midst,\nbut His blessed mode of acting. To the world He was Elohim, to His\nbeloved people He was Jehovah.\n\nWell may these exquisite touches command our hearts' admiration. Oh,\nthe living depths, the moral glories, of that peerless Revelation\nwhich our Father has graciously penned for our comfort and\nedification! We must confess it gives us unspeakable delight to dwell\non these things and point them out to the reader, in this infidel day\nwhen the divine inspiration of Holy Scripture is boldly called in\nquestion, in quarters where we should least expect it. But we have\nsomething better to do just now than replying to the contemptible\nassaults of infidelity. We are thoroughly persuaded that the most\neffective safeguard against all such assaults is to have the word of\nChrist dwelling in us richly, in all its living, formative power. To\nthe heart thus filled and fortified, the most plausible and powerful\narguments of all infidel writers are but as the pattering of rain on\nthe window.\n\nWe shall give the reader only one more illustration of our subject\nfrom the Old Testament. It occurs in the interesting history of\nJehoshaphat (2 Chron. xviii. 31). \"And it came to pass, when the\ncaptains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, It is the\nking of Israel. Therefore they compassed about him to fight: but\nJehoshaphat cried out, and _the Lord_ (Jehovah) helped _him_; and\n_God_ (Elohim) moved _them_ to depart from him.\"\n\nThis is deeply affecting. Jehoshaphat had put himself into an utterly\nfalse position. He had linked himself with the most ungodly of\nIsrael's kings. He had even gone so far as to say to the wicked Ahab,\n\"I am as thou art, and my people as thy people; and we will be with\nthee in the war.\" No marvel, therefore, if the Syrian captains\nmistook him for Ahab. It was only taking him at his word. But when\nbrought down to the very lowest point--into the very shadow of\ndeath--\"he cried out;\" and that cry went up to the gracious and\never-attentive ear of Jehovah, who had said, \"Call upon Me in the day\nof trouble; I will deliver thee.\" Precious grace!\n\nBut mark the lovely accuracy in the use and application of the divine\ntitles--for this is our thesis. \"He cried out, and Jehovah helped\nhim;\" and--what then? A mere human author would doubtless have put it\nthus: \"Jehovah helped him, and moved them.\" But no; Jehovah had, as\nsuch, nothing to do with uncircumcised Syrians. His eye was upon his\ndear, though erring, servant; His heart was toward him, and His\neverlasting arms around him. There was no link between Jehovah and the\nSyrians; but Elohim, whom they knew not, moved them away.\n\nWho can fail to see the beauty and perfection of all this? Is it not\nplain to the reader that the stamp of a divine hand is visible upon\nthe three passages which we have culled for his consideration? Yes,\nand so it is upon every clause, from cover to cover, of the divine\nvolume. Let no one suppose for a moment that we want to occupy our\nreaders with curious points, nice distinctions, or learned criticisms.\nNothing is further from our thoughts. We would not pen a line for any\nor all of these objects. As God is our witness, our one great object\nin writing this paper is to deepen in the hearts of our readers the\nsense of the preciousness, beauty and excellency of the Holy\nScriptures, given of God for the guidance, help and blessing of His\npeople in this dark world. If this object be gained, we have our full\nreward.\n\nBut we cannot close without referring, for a moment, to the precious\npages of the New Testament. We shall ask the reader to turn to Rom.\nxv., in which we have God presented to us under three distinct titles,\neach one of which is in perfect and beautiful keeping with the\nimmediate subject in hand. Thus, in the opening verses of the chapter,\nwhich properly belong to chapter xiv., the inspired apostle is urging\nupon us the necessity of patience, forbearance, and kindly\nconsideration one of another. And to whom does he direct us for power\nto respond to those holy and much-needed exhortations? \"To the God of\npatience and consolation.\" He presents God in the very character in\nwhich we need Him. Our small stock of patience would soon be exhausted\nin seeking to meet the varied characters which cross our path, even in\nintercourse with our brethren. There are constant claims upon our\npatience and forbearance; and most surely others have need of patience\nand forbearance with us. Where are we all to get the means of meeting\nall these claims? At the exhaustless treasury of \"the God of patience\nand consolation.\" Our tiny springs would soon dry up if not kept in\nunbroken connection with that ever-flowing Fountain. The weight of a\nfeather would be an overmatch for _our_ patience; how much more the\nten thousand things that come before us even in the Church of God!\n\nHence the need of the beautiful prayer of the apostle, \"Now the God of\npatience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward\nanother, according to Christ Jesus; that ye may with one mind and one\nmouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Wherefore\nreceive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of\nGod.\"\n\nHere lies the grand secret, the divine power of receiving one another,\nand going on together in holy love, heavenly patience, and tender\nconsideration. We cannot get on otherwise. It is only by habitual\ncommunion with the God of patience and consolation that we shall be\nable to rise above the numberless hindrances to confidence and\nfellowship that continually present themselves, and walk in fervent\nlove to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity.\n\nBut we must draw this paper to a close, and shall merely glance at the\nother divine titles presented in our chapter. When the apostle speaks\nof the future glory, his heart at once turns to God in the very\ncharacter suited to the subject before him. \"Now _the God of hope_\nfill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in\nhope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.\" If we would have the hope\nof glory heightened in our souls--and truly we need it--we must turn\nour eyes to \"the God of hope.\"\n\nHow marked and striking is the application of the divine titles,\nwherever we turn! Whatever may be the character of our need, God\npresents Himself to our hearts in the very way adapted to meet it.\nThus, at the close of the chapter, when the apostle turns his eyes\ntowards Judea, and the difficulties and the dangers awaiting him, his\nheart springs up to \"_the God of peace_.\" Precious resource in all our\nvaried exercises, anxieties, sorrows, and cares!\n\nIn a word, whatever we want, we have just to turn in simple faith to\nGod, and find it all in Him. God--blessed forever be His name--is the\none grand and all-sufficient answer to our every need, from the\nstarting-point to the goal of our Christian career. Oh for artless\nfaith to use Him!\n\n\n\n\n                         A HELP OR A HINDRANCE: WHICH?\n\n                    (_A Question for All in the Assembly._)\n\n\nOf the many favors conferred upon us by our ever-gracious Lord, one of\nthe very highest is the privilege of being present in the assembly of\nHis beloved people, where He has recorded His name. We may assert with\nall possible confidence that every true lover of Christ will delight\nto be found where He has promised to be. Whatever may be the special\ncharacter of the meeting; whether it be round the Lord's table, to\nshow forth His death; or round the Word, to learn His mind; or round\nthe mercy-seat, to tell Him our need, and draw from His exhaustless\ntreasury, every devoted heart will long to be there: and we may rest\nassured that any one who wilfully neglects the assembly is in a cold,\ndead, dangerous state of soul. To neglect the assembling of ourselves\nis to take the first step on the inclined plane that leads down to the\ntotal abandonment of Christ and His precious interests. See Heb. x.\n25-27.\n\nAnd here, at the very outset, we would remind the reader that the\nobject of this brief paper is not to discuss the oft-raised question,\n\"How are we to know what meeting to go to?\" This is, assuredly, a\nquestion of cardinal importance, which every Christian--man, woman,\nand child--is bound and privileged to have divinely settled ere he\ntakes his place in an assembly. To go to a meeting without knowing the\nground on which such meeting is gathered, is to act in ignorance or\nindifference wholly incompatible with the fear of the Lord and the\nlove of His Word.\n\nBut we repeat, this question is not now before us. We are not occupied\nwith the ground of the meeting, but with _our state and conduct on the\nground_--a question, surely, of vast moral importance to every soul\nprofessing to be gathered in or to the name of Him who is holy and\ntrue. In a word, our thesis is distinctly stated at the head of this\narticle. We assume that the reader is clear as to the ground of the\nassembly, and hence our immediate business with him just now is to\nraise the solemn question in his heart and conscience, \"Am I a help,\nor a hindrance, to the assembly?\" That each individual member is\neither the one or the other is as clear as it is weighty and\npractical.\n\nIf the reader will just open his Bible, and read, thoughtfully and\nprayerfully, 1 Cor. xii., he will find most clearly established the\ngreat practical truth that each member of the body exerts an influence\non all the rest; just as, in the human body, if there be anything\nwrong with the very feeblest and most obscure member, all the members\nfeel it, through the head. If there be a broken nail, a broken tooth,\na foot out of joint; any limb, muscle or nerve out of order, it is a\nhindrance to the whole body. Thus it is in the Church of God, the body\nof Christ: \"If one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or\nif one member be honored, all the members rejoice with it.\" The state\nof each member affects the whole body. Hence it follows that each\nmember is either a help or a hindrance to all. What a profound truth!\nYes, and it is as practical as it is profound.\n\nAnd be it remembered that the apostle is not speaking of any mere\nlocal assembly, but of the whole body, of which, no doubt, each\nparticular assembly ought to be the local expression. Thus he says, in\naddressing the assembly at Corinth, \"Now _ye are the body of Christ_,\nand members in particular.\" True, there were other assemblies; and had\nthe apostle been addressing any of them on the same subject, he would\nhave used the same language; for what was true of each was true of\nall; and what was true of the whole was true of each local expression.\nNothing can be clearer, nothing simpler, nothing more deeply\npractical. The whole subject furnishes three most precious and\npowerful motives for a holy, earnest, devoted life--namely, first,\nthat we may not dishonor the Head to whom we are united; secondly,\nthat we may not grieve the Holy Spirit by whom we are united; and,\nthirdly, that we may not injure the members with whom we are united.\n\nCan anything exceed the moral power of such motives as these? Oh that\nthey were more fully realized among God's beloved people! It is one\nthing to hold and teach the doctrine of the unity of the body, and\nquite another thing to enter into and exhibit its holy formative\npower. Alas, the poor human intellect may discuss and traffic in the\nhighest truths, while the heart, the conscience and the life have\nnever felt their holy influence! This is a most solemn consideration\nfor every one. May we ponder it in our hearts, and may it tell upon\nour whole life and character. May the truth of the \"one body\" be a\ngrand moral reality to every member of that body on the face of the\nearth.\n\nHere we might close this paper, feeling, as we do, that if the\nglorious truth on which we have been dwelling were held in the living\npower of faith by all the Lord's beloved people, then, assuredly,\n_all_ the precious practical results would follow. But in sitting down\nto write, there was one special branch of the subject prominently\nbefore the mind; and that is, the way in which the various meetings\nare affected by the condition of soul, the attitude of heart, and the\nstate of mind, of all who attend. We repeat, and with emphasis, all\nwho attend--not merely all who audibly take part, but all who form the\nmeeting.\n\nNo doubt a special and very weighty responsibility rests on those who\ntake any part in the ministry, whether it be in giving out a hymn,\nengaging in prayer or thanksgiving, reading the Word, teaching, or\nexhortation. All who do so should be very sure that they are simply\nthe instruments in the hand of the Lord for whatever they undertake to\ndo. Otherwise they may do serious damage to the meeting. They may\nquench the Spirit, hinder the worship, interrupt the communion, mar\nthe integrity of the occasion.\n\nAll this is most serious, and calls for holy watchfulness on the part\nof all who engage in any branch of ministry in the assembly. Even a\nhymn may prove a hindrance; it may interrupt the current of the Spirit\nin the assembly. Yea, the precious word of God may be read out of\nplace. In short, whatever is not the direct fruit of the Spirit can\nonly hinder the edification and blessing of the assembly. All who take\npart in the ministry should have the distinct sense that they are led\nby the Spirit in what they do. They should be governed by the one\ncommanding, absorbing object--the glory of Christ in the assembly, and\nthe blessing of the assembly in Him. \"Let all things be done unto\nedifying\" (1 Cor. xiv. 26). If it be not thus, they had better be\nquiet, and wait on the Lord. They will render more glory to Christ and\nmore blessing to the assembly by quiet waiting than by restless action\nand unprofitable talking.\n\nBut while feeling and owning the gravity of all that has to be said in\nreference to the holy responsibility of all who minister in the\nassembly, we are thoroughly persuaded that the tone, character and\ngeneral effect of public meetings are very intimately connected with\n_the moral and spiritual condition of all_. It is this, we confess,\nthat weighs upon the heart, and leads us to pen this brief address to\nevery assembly under the sun. Every soul in the meeting is either a\nhelp or a hindrance, a contributor or a waster. All who attend in a\ndevout, earnest, loving spirit; who come simply to meet the Lord\nHimself; who flock to the assembly as the place where His precious\nname is recorded; who delight to be there because He is there--all\nsuch are a real help and blessing to a meeting. May God increase their\nnumber. If all assemblies were made up of such blessed elements, what\na different tale would have to be told!\n\nAnd why not? It is not a question of gift or knowledge, but of grace\nand godliness, true piety and prayerfulness. In a word, it is simply a\nquestion of that condition of soul in which every child of God and\nevery servant of Christ ought to be, and without which the most\nshining gifts and the most extensive knowledge are a hindrance and a\nsnare. Mere gift and intelligence, without an exercised conscience and\nthe fear of God, may be, and have been, used of the enemy for the\nmoral ruin of souls. But where there is true humility, and that\nseriousness and reality which the sense of the presence of God ever\nproduces, there you have what will most surely, gift or no gift,\nimpart depth of tone, freshness, and a spirit of worship, to an\nassembly.\n\nThere is a vast difference between an assembly of people gathered\nround some gifted man, and one gathered simply to the Lord Himself, on\nthe ground of the one body. It is one thing to be gathered _by_\nministry, and quite another to be gathered _to_ it. If people are\nmerely gathered to ministry, when the ministry goes they are apt to\ngo too. But when earnest, true-hearted, devoted souls are gathered\nsimply to the Lord Himself, then, while they are most thankful for\ntrue ministry when they can get it, they are not dependent upon it.\nThey do not value gift less, but they value the Giver more. They are\nthankful for the streams, but they depend _only_ upon the Fountain.\n\nIt will invariably be found that those who can do best without\nministry, value it most when they get it. In a word, they give it its\ntrue place. But those who attach undue importance to gift, who are\nalways complaining of the lack of it, and cannot enjoy a meeting\nwithout it, are a hindrance and a source of weakness to the assembly.\n\nAnd, alas, there are other hindrances and sources of weakness which\ndemand the serious consideration of all. We should, each one of us, as\nwe take our places in the assembly, honestly put the question to our\nhearts, \"Am I a help, or a hindrance--a contributor, or a waster?\" If\nwe come in a cold, hard, careless state of soul--come in a merely\nformal manner, unjudged, unexercised, unbroken; in a fault-finding,\nmurmuring, complaining spirit, judging everything and everybody except\nourselves--then, most assuredly, we are a serious hindrance to the\nblessing, the profit and the happiness of the meeting. We are the\nbroken nail, the broken tooth, or the foot out of joint. How\nsorrowful, how humiliating, how terrible is all this! May we watch\nagainst it, pray against it, firmly disallow it.\n\nBut, on the other hand, those who present themselves in the assembly\nin a loving, gracious, Christlike spirit; who delight to meet their\nbrethren, whether round the Table, round the fountain of Holy\nScripture, or round the mercy-seat for prayer; who, in their hearts'\ndeep and tender affections, embrace all the members of the beloved\nbody of Christ; whose eyes are not dimmed, nor their affections\nchilled by dark suspicions, evil surmisings, or unkindly feelings\ntoward any around them; who have been taught of God to love their\nbrethren, to look at them \"from the top of the rocks,\" and see them\n\"in the vision of the Almighty;\" who are ready to profit by whatever\nthe gracious Lord sends them, even though it may not come through some\nbrilliant gift or favorite teacher--all such are a divinely sent\nblessing to the assembly, wherever they are. Again we say, with a full\nheart, may God add to their number. If all assemblies were composed of\nsuch, it would be the very atmosphere of heaven itself; the name of\nJesus would be as ointment poured forth; every eye would be fixed on\nHim, every heart absorbed with Him, and there would be a more powerful\ntestimony to His name and presence in our midst than could be rendered\nby the most brilliant gift.\n\nMay the gracious Lord pour out His blessing upon all His assemblies\nthroughout the whole earth. May He deliver them from every hindrance,\nevery weight, every stumbling-block, every root of bitterness. May the\nhearts of all be knit together in sweet confidence and true brotherly\nlove. May He crown with His richest blessing the labors of all His\nbeloved servants at home and abroad, cheering their hearts and\nstrengthening their hands, giving them to be stedfast and unmovable,\nalways abounding in His precious work, in the assurance that their\nlabor is not in vain.\n\n\n\n\n                    THE DISCIPLINE OF THE ASSEMBLY;\n\n                    ITS GROUND, NATURE, AND OBJECT.\n\n     \"Thy testimonies are very sure: holiness becometh Thy house,\n                  O Lord, for ever\" (Ps. xciii. 5).\n\n\nHere we have, plainly set before us, the real ground of discipline in\nthe assembly. The place of God's presence must be holy: \"Be ye holy,\nfor I am holy.\" It is not upon the miserable principle of \"stand by\nthyself, I am holier than thou.\" No, thank God, it is not this. It is\nnot upon the ground of what we are, but what God is, that discipline\nis exercised. To allow unjudged evil, either in doctrine or practice,\nin the assembly, is tantamount to saying that God and evil can go on\ntogether--which is simply wickedness.\n\nBut some persons maintain that we are not to judge, and Matthew vii. 1\nis quoted in proof. We reply that the passage has nothing to say to\nthe assembly; it simply teaches us, as individuals, not to judge\nmotives. Further on in the chapter, we are told to beware of false\nprophets. How can we beware, if we are not to judge? \"By their fruits\nye shall know them.\" So that, even as individuals, we are to judge\nconduct. We are not to judge _motives_ but _fruits_. In 1 Corinthians\nv., the assembly is peremptorily called to judge and put away an evil\ndoer. \"In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered\ntogether, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, to\ndeliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that\nthe spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.\" And then, at\nthe end of the chapter, we read: \"Do not ye judge them that are\nwithin? But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from\namong yourselves that wicked person.\"\n\nThis is clear and conclusive. The assembly is solemnly bound to\nexercise discipline--bound to judge and put away evil-doers. To refuse\nto do so is to become a leavened lump; and, most assuredly, God and\nunjudged leaven cannot go on together.\n\nMark, we speak of _unjudged_ leaven. We know, alas, that there is evil\nin every member of the assembly; but if it is judged and refused, it\ndoes not defile the assembly, or hinder the enjoyment of the divine\nPresence. It was not the evil in the man's nature that caused him to\nbe put away, but the evil in his life. If he had judged and refused\nthe sin in his nature, the assembly would not have been called to\njudge and refuse him. All this is as simple as it is solemn. An\nassembly that refuses to judge evil, in doctrine or morals, is not an\nassembly of God. There may be children of God in it, but they are in a\nfalse and dangerous position; and if the assembly persists in\nrefusing to judge the evil, they should, with firm decision, turn\naway from it. They are solemnly called upon to do so: \"Let every one\nthat nameth the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.\"\n\nBut there are many who do not understand the truth as to the assembly,\nor its discipline, and they bring forward Matthew xiii. 30 as a proof\nthat evil-doers are not to be put away from the assembly, or the\nLord's table. The tares and the wheat are to grow together until the\nharvest, they say. Yes; but where? In the assembly? Nay; but in the\nfield, and \"the field is the _world_\"--not the Church. To argue that,\nbecause the tares and wheat are to grow together in the world,\ntherefore evil-doers are to be knowingly allowed in the assembly, is\nto place the teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ, in Matthew xiii., in\ndirect opposition to the teaching of the Holy Spirit in 1 Corinthians\nv. Hence, this argument cannot stand for a moment, but must be flung\nto the winds. To confound the Kingdom of Heaven, in the Gospel of\nMatthew, with the Church of God, in the epistles of Paul, is to mar\nthe integrity of the truth of God, and plunge the Lord's people into\nutter confusion. Indeed, no human language could adequately set forth\nthe deplorable consequences of such a system of teaching. But this is\na digression from our subject, to which we must return.\n\nHaving proved from the plainest statements of Holy Scripture that the\nassembly is solemnly bound to judge those that are within, and put\naway evil-doers, we shall now proceed to consider the nature,\ncharacter, and spirit of the discipline which the assembly is called\nto exercise. Nothing can be more solemn or more affecting than the act\nof putting away a person from the Lord's table. It is the last sad and\nunavoidable act of the whole assembly, and it should be performed with\nbroken hearts and weeping eyes. Alas how often it is otherwise! How\noften does this most solemn and holy duty take the form of a mere\nofficial announcement that such a person is out of fellowship. Need we\nwonder that discipline, so carried out, fails to tell with power upon\nthe erring one, or upon the assembly?\n\nHow then should the discipline be carried out? Just as 1 Corinthians\nv. directs. When the case is so patent, so clear, that all discussion\nand deliberation is at an end, the whole assembly should be solemnly\nconvened for the special purpose--for, most assuredly, it is of\nsufficient gravity and importance to command a special meeting. All\nshould, if possible, attend, and seek grace to make the sin their own,\nto go down before God in true self-judgment, and eat the sin offering.\nThe assembly is not called to deliberate or discuss. If there is any\ndemand for discussion, the assembly is not called to act. The case\nshould be thoroughly investigated, and all the facts collected by\nthose who care for the interests of Christ and His Church; and when it\nis thoroughly settled, and the evidence perfectly conclusive, then the\nwhole assembly is called to perform, in deep sorrow and humiliation,\nthe sad act of putting away from among themselves the evil-doer. It is\nan act of holy obedience to the Lord's command.\n\nWe cannot but feel that, were the assembly's discipline carried out in\nthis spirit, we should see very different results. How different is\nthis from the formal reading out of a notice in the course, or at the\nclose, of an ordinary meeting--a notice often unheard by many. It is\nan entirely different thing, and it would be attended with very\ndifferent results, both as to the assembly and the person put away.\nThere would be a much more profound sense, on all hands, of the\ngravity and solemnity of the assembly's discipline. And oh, what\nurgent need there is of this in all our assemblies! We are sadly prone\nto be light and trifling.\n\nWe would repeat, and emphasize the statement, that the putting away of\na person from the Lord's table, as well as the reception, must be the\nact of the whole assembly. No one has any right to tell another to\nremain away from the table. If I know of any brother who is living in\nsin, I should seek to exercise his conscience in a pastoral way. I\nshould warn him, and seek to lead him to self-judgment. If he\npersists, I should bring his case before those who really care for the\nhonor of Christ and the purity of His assembly. Then, if there be no\nhope, and no possible ground for demur, the assembly should be called\ntogether to act, and the occasion might be used for setting before the\nconsciences of all the solemnity of the ground occupied by the\nassembly, and the holiness that becometh the house of the Lord\nforever.\n\nWe cannot too strongly protest against the idea of the whole assembly\nbeing called to discuss cases of discipline. We may well say, \"Doth\nnot even nature itself teach\" the unseemliness of bringing the details\nof a case of immorality, for example, before a promiscuous assembly?\nIt is contrary to God, and contrary to nature.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nAnd now, in conclusion, one word as to the object of the assembly's\ndiscipline. The inspired apostle tells us, in Cor. v., that it is\nsalvation--\"that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord\nJesus.\" This is very precious. It is worthy of the God of all grace.\nThe man is delivered to Satan for the destruction of that odious thing\nwhich has caused his humiliating fall, _that his spirit may be saved\nin the day of the Lord Jesus_.\n\nLet us never forget this. We should ever be on the lookout for this\nprecious result when any one has to be put away. We should wait much\non the Lord to own the action of the assembly in this way. We should\nnot put away evil-doers in order to get rid of a disgrace or a trouble\nto us, but to maintain the holiness of the Lord's house, and for the\nultimate salvation of those put away.\n\nAnd here we may remark that the discipline of the assembly can never\ninterfere with the unity of the body. Some persons speak of cutting\noff the members of the body of Christ, when any are refused or put\naway by the assembly. This is a grave mistake. The man in 1 Cor. v.\nwas a member of the body, and nothing could touch that blessed\nmembership. He was put away, not because he was unconverted, but\nbecause he defiled the assembly. But the discipline was used for the\nultimate blessing of a member of the body. No member of the body can\never be cut off. All are indissolubly joined to the Head in heaven,\nand to the members on earth, by the Holy Ghost. \"By one Spirit we are\nall baptized into one body.\"\n\nThis is divinely simple and clear, and moreover it is a conclusive\nanswer to the statement so constantly made, namely, that, provided a\nperson is a Christian, he ought not to be put away or refused by the\nassembly. No such question is ever raised. To put away a person for\nnot being a Christian is opposed to the spirit and teaching of the\nword of God. Even under the Old Testament economy people were not put\noutside the camp for not being the seed of Abraham, or circumcised\nmembers of the congregation, but because they were ceremonially\ndefiled. See Num. v.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nP. S.--There is a character of discipline presented in 2 Thess. iii.\nwhich demands our serious attention: \"Now we command you, brethren, in\nthe name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye _withdraw yourselves_ from\nevery brother that walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition\nwhich he received of us.... If any man obey not our word by this\nepistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be\nashamed. Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a\nbrother.\"\n\nThis is what we may call personal discipline in private life--a very\nimportant thing, much needed, alas, but not generally understood. It\nis not a case calling for the action of the assembly, but for faithful\npersonal dealing. The disorderly walking referred to is a brother not\nworking, but going about as an idle busybody. Such a one was to be\nadmonished, and avoided. Now we cannot help thinking that this form of\ndiscipline is much called for. There are many whose ways, though not\nof such a character as to call for excommunication, do, nevertheless,\ndemand faithful dealing: for example, persons going in debt, living\nbeyond their means, dressing in a vain, fashionable style, unbecoming\na Christian; and many other things inconsistent with the holiness,\npurity and solemnity of the Lord's table and the assembly. If all such\ncases were dealt with according to the apostolic command in 2 Thess.\niii., we believe it would prove a real blessing to many.\n\nWe need hardly add that it needs much grace, much spiritual wisdom,\nmuch of the mind of Christ, much nearness to God, to carry out this\nsort of discipline; but we are persuaded it demands the prayerful\nattention of Christians; and we may confidently count on the grace of\nGod to enable us to act for Him in this matter.\n\n\n\n\nTHE CHRISTIAN'S MISSION: AND HOW TO FULFIL IT.[2]\n\n\n  [2] This little book is sent forth to the Church of God--\"to all that,\n  in every place, call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both theirs\n  and ours\"--with earnest prayer that it may be used of the Holy Spirit\n  to awaken in the hearts of all who may read it a true sense of the\n  Christian's mission, and a fixed purpose to seek, by the grace of God,\n  to fulfil it.\n\n  We need to be reminded, in days like the present, that every child of\n  God, every member of the body of Christ, whatever be his position or\n  sphere of action, has a mission to fulfil--a work to do for Christ. He\n  may not be called to be an evangelist, a pastor, or a teacher: but he\n  is called to live Christ--to represent Him--to be a channel of\n  communication between His loving heart and every form of need, in this\n  poor dark, cold, selfish world. This is the Christian's mission; may\n  every Christian seek to fulfil it!\n\n\"In those days the multitude being very great and having nothing to\neat, Jesus called his disciples unto Him, and saith unto them, I have\ncompassion on the multitude, because they have now been with Me three\ndays, and have nothing to eat: and if I send them away fasting to\ntheir own houses, they will faint by the way; for divers of them came\nfrom far. And His disciples answered Him, From whence can a man\nsatisfy these men with bread here in the wilderness? And He asked\nthem, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven. And He commanded\nthe people to sit down on the ground; and He took the seven loaves,\nand gave thanks, and brake, and gave to His disciples to set before\nthem; and they did set them before the people. And they had a few\nsmall fishes; and He blessed, and commanded to set them also before\nthem. So they did eat, and were filled; and they took up of the broken\nmeat that was left, seven baskets. And they that had eaten were about\nfour thousand, and He sent them away\" (Mark viii. 1-9).\n\nThe foregoing passage presents a very striking and beautiful\nillustration of one special feature of the Christian's mission in this\nworld, which the reader will do well to ponder. It is of immense\nimportance, and of universal application. It concerns every child of\nGod. We have each one to remember, that we are sent into this world to\nbe a channel of communication between the heart of Christ and every\nform of need that may cross our path from day to day.\n\nThis is an interesting and lovely feature of the Christian's mission.\nTrue, it is only one of the many features, but it is one of exceeding\npreciousness and beauty. It is pre-eminently practical too, as we\nshall see.\n\nOf course, of necessity, it assumes that I am a Christian. If I do not\nknow that I have eternal life, if I am at all doubtful as to my\neternal salvation, if I do not know Christ as my own precious Saviour\nand Lord--the portion, the object, and the resting-place of my\nheart--to occupy myself with the Christian's mission is simply to\ndeceive myself, and blind my eyes to my true condition. A known and\nenjoyed salvation, and a known and enjoyed Saviour and Lord, are\nabsolutely essential conditions for it.\n\nHaving said thus much, to guard the reader against self-deception, as\nalso to guard our subject against any misapprehension, we shall look,\nfor a few moments, at the lovely passage which stands at the head of\nthis paper. May the blessed Spirit open and apply it to our hearts!\n\n\"In those days, the multitude being _very great_, and having _nothing\nto eat_.\" Here was the state of the case--great need, and no apparent\nresources to meet it. But Jesus was there--blessed be His holy\nname!--in all the love of His heart, and the almighty power of His\nhand. He was there who, of old, had fed three millions of people, in a\nvast howling wilderness, for forty years. Yes, He was there, and, of\ncourse, He could at once, and directly, have met the need without\ncalling His poor unbelieving and self-occupied disciples into the\nscene at all. He could have summoned angelic messengers from heaven to\nwait upon those hungry thousands.\n\nBut He did neither the one nor the other, because it was His gracious\npurpose to use His disciples as channels of communication between\nHimself and that vast hungry multitude. Not merely as instruments of\nHis _power_, which angels might be, but the very expression of His\n_heart_.\n\nAnd let us note _how_ He did this. Had He merely intended to use them\nas instruments of His power, it would have sufficed to put the ways\nand means into their hands. But no; He wanted to make them channels\nthrough which the tender compassion of His heart might flow out. And\nhow was this to be done? Thus: \"He called his disciples unto Him, and\nsaith unto them, _I_ have compassion on the multitude, because they\nhave now been with Me three days, and have nothing to eat; and if I\nsend them away fasting to their own houses they will faint by the way;\nfor divers of them came from far.\"\n\nHere, then, we have the true secret of preparation for our high and\nholy mission. Our blessed Lord first gathers His disciples round\nHimself, and seeks to fill their hearts with His own feelings and\nthoughts ere He fills their hands with the loaves and fishes. It is as\nif He had said, \"I have compassion, and I want you to have it also. I\nwant you to enter into all my thoughts and feelings, to think as I do,\nand feel as I do. I want you to look with mine eyes at this hungry\nmultitude, in order that you may be in a moral condition to be My\nchannels.\"\n\nThis is uncommonly fine. A person may say, \"I long to be a channel,\nbut it seems quite too high, quite beyond me. How could I ever attain\nto such a height?\" The answer is, Get near enough to Christ to think\nas He thinks, to feel as He feels. Drink into His spirit. This, be\nassured of it, is the true, the only way to be a channel of\ncommunication. If I say, \"I must try and be a channel,\" I shall make a\nfool of myself. But if I drink at the fountain of Christ's heart, I\nshall be filled to overflowing, my whole moral being will be permeated\nby His spirit, so that I shall be in a fit condition to be used by\nHim, and I shall be sure to make a right use of--that is, to use for\nHim--whatever ways and means He may put into my hands. If I get my\nhands full of means, before my heart is full of Christ, I shall not\nuse the means for Him, I shall use them for my own glory, and not for\nthe glory of God.\n\nBrethren, let us ponder this. Let us consider our mission, and the\ntrue secret of fulfilling it. It is a grand point to have the heart\nimpressed with the fact, that we are called to be channels through\nwhich the heart of Christ may flow out to His own, and to a needy\nworld. It is wonderful, it seems too good to be true; but, blessed be\nGod, it is as true as it is wonderful. Let us only seek to take it\nin--to believe it, to make it our own. Let us not content ourselves\nwith admiring it as a beautiful theory, but seek to have it wrought\ninto our souls by the mighty power of the Holy Spirit.\n\nBut mark how slow the disciples were in responding to the desire of\nthe heart of Christ respecting them. It was His gracious purpose to\nuse them as His channels, to bestow upon them this immense privilege;\nbut they, like ourselves, were little able to appreciate it, simply\nbecause they failed to enter into His thoughts, and to apprehend the\nglory of His Person. \"His disciples answered Him, From whence _can a\nman_ satisfy these men with bread here in the wilderness?\" On another\noccasion they said, \"We have here but five loaves and two fishes.\" Did\nthey not know, or had they forgotten, that they were in the immediate\npresence of the Creator and Sustainer of the universe? True, He was\nthere in the lowly form of Jesus of Nazareth. His divine glory was\nhidden from nature's view behind the veil of humanity. But they ought\nto have known better who and what He was, and how to avail themselves\nof His glorious presence, and of His unsearchable riches. Surely, had\ntheir hearts at all apprehended the glory of His Person, they could\nnever have asked such a question as, \"Whence can _a man_ satisfy these\nmen with bread here in the wilderness?\" Moses, of old, had asked,\n\"Whence should _I_ have flesh to give to all this people?\" God is shut\nout by the poor unbelieving heart. Did Jehovah ask Moses to provide\nflesh? Surely not. No mere man could do it. Neither could a mere man\nfeed four thousand in a desert place.\n\nBut God was there. Yes, it was God, speaking through human lips, who\nhad said, \"I have compassion on the multitude.\" It was God who took\naccount of all the circumstances of each individual in that vast\nmultitude of hungry fainting people. He knew the exact distance each\none had travelled, and the length of time each one had been fasting.\nHe took account of the sure consequences of their being dismissed\nwithout food. It was God who gave utterance to those touching words,\n\"I cannot send them away fasting, lest they faint by the way, for\ndivers of them came from far.\"\n\nYes, God was there, in all the tenderness of a love, which could take\naccount of the most minute details of a creature's weakness, and a\ncreature's necessity. There, too, in His almighty power and\nexhaustless resources, and there to enable His poor disciples to be\nthe depositaries of His thoughts, the vessels of His goodness, the\nchannels of His grace. And what did they want, in order to be able to\nfulfil their mission? Did they want to be, or to do, anything? No;\nthey simply wanted to see Him, and to use Him. They wanted to exercise\nthat simple faith which counts on God for everything, and finds all\nits springs in Him.\n\nThus it was with the disciples, and thus it is with us. If we want to\nact as the channels of the grace of Christ, we must have to do with\nHim in the deep secret of our own souls. We must learn of Him; we must\nfeed upon Him; we must know the meaning of communion with His heart;\nwe must be near enough to Him to know the secrets of His mind, and\ncarry out the purposes of His love. If we would reflect Him, we must\ngaze upon Him. If we would reproduce Him, we must feed upon Him, we\nmust have Him dwelling in our hearts by faith. We may depend upon it,\nthat what is really in our hearts will come out in our lives. We may\nhave a quantity of truth in our heads, and flippantly flowing from our\nlips, but if we really desire to be channels of communication between\nHis heart and the needy ones in the scene through which we are\npassing, we must habitually drink into His love. It cannot possibly be\nin any other way. \"He that believeth on Me, as the Scripture hath\nsaid, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water\" (John viii.\n38).\n\nHere lies the grand secret of the whole matter: \"If any man thirst,\nlet him come unto Me and drink.\" If the rivers are to flow, we must\ndrink. It cannot be otherwise. If every member of the Church of God\nwere in the power of this great principle, what a very different state\nof things we should witness! And where lies the hindrance? We are not\nstraitened in our adorable Lord and Saviour. It is His desire to use\nus, just as He used His disciples on the occasion before us. He\ngathered them round Himself, and graciously sought to pour into their\nhearts the compassion of His own heart, in order that they might feel\nwith Him, as the moral qualification for acting _for Him_. We may\nalways feel assured that where the heart is full of Christ, the power\nto act will not be lacking.\n\nBut, alas! as it was with the disciples, so it is with us. They failed\nin appreciating and using the power that was in their midst. They\nsaid, \"Whence can a man?\" when they ought to have said, \"We have\nChrist.\" They practically ignored Him, and so do we. We make excuses\nfor our poverty, our indolence, our coldness, our indifference, by the\nplea that we have not got this, and that, and the other; whereas, what\nwe really want is a heart full of Christ--full of His thoughts, full\nof His love, full of His kindness, full of His tender consideration\nfor others, full of His beautiful self-forgetfulness. We complain of\nour want of ways and means, when what we really want is the right\ncondition of soul--the true moral attitude of the heart, and this can\nonly spring from close intimacy with Christ, communion with his mind,\nand drinking into His spirit.\n\nWe would very earnestly press this subject upon the Church of God. We\nlong to see every member of the body of Christ acting as a channel\nthrough which His precious grace may flow out in living streams to all\naround, shedding freshness and verdure in its course--and not a\nstagnant pool, so strikingly illustrative of a Christian out of\ncommunion.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nNOTE.--We should ever remember, that we are not to be _expectants_\nfrom the scene around us, but _contributors_. A true contributor never\ncomplains of want of love. He walks in love and manifests love: and\nhis language is, \"I have all and abound.\" Oh, that it were thus with\nus all!\n\n\n\n\n                              EPAPHRAS;\n\n                                 OR,\n\n                        THE SERVICE OF PRAYER\n\n                         Colossians iv. 12.\n\n\nThere is a very striking difference between the inspired records of\nthe people of God and all human biographies. The former may truly be\nsaid to be \"_much in little_;\" while many of the latter may as truly\nbe said to be \"_little in much_.\" The history of one of the Old\nTestament saints--a history stretching over a period of 365 years--is\nsummed up in two short clauses--\"Enoch walked with God; and he was\nnot, for God took him\" (Gen. v. 24). How brief! but yet how full, how\ncomprehensive! How many volumes would man have filled with the records\nof such a life! And yet, what more could he have said? To walk with\nGod comprehends all that could possibly be said of any one. A man may\ntravel round the globe; he may preach the gospel in every clime; he\nmay suffer in the cause of Christ; he may feed the hungry, clothe the\nnaked, visit the sick; he may read, write, print and publish; in\nshort, he may do all that ever man could or did do; and yet it may be\nall summed up in that brief clause, \"He walked with God.\" And right\nwell it will be for him if it can be so summed up. One may do nearly\nall that has been enumerated and yet never walk with God one hour;\nyea, one may not even know the meaning of a walk with God. The thought\nof this is deeply solemnizing and practical. It should lead us to the\nearnest cultivation of the hidden life, without which the most showy\nservices will prove to be but mere flash and smoke.\n\nThere is something peculiarly touching in the mode in which the name\nof Epaphras is introduced to our notice in the New Testament. The\nallusions to him are very brief, but very pithy. He seems to have been\nthe very stamp of man which is so much needed at the present moment.\nHis labors, so far as the inspired penman has recorded them, do not\nseem to have been very showy or attractive. They were not calculated\nto meet the human eye or elicit human praise. But oh, they were most\nprecious labors--peerless, priceless labors! They were the labors of\nthe closet, labors within the closed door, labors in the sanctuary,\nlabors without which all beside must prove barren and worthless. He is\nnot placed before us by the sacred biographer as a powerful preacher,\na laborious writer, a great traveler, which he may have been, and\nwhich are all truly valuable in their place. The Holy Ghost, however,\nhas not told us that Epaphras was any of the three; but then, my\nreader, He has placed this singularly interesting character before us\nin a manner calculated to stir the depths of our moral and spiritual\nbeing. He has presented him to us as _a man of prayer_--earnest,\nfervent, agonizing prayer; prayer not for himself, but for others. Let\nus harken to the inspired testimony:\n\n\"Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you,\nalways laboring fervently (agonizing) for you in prayers, that ye may\nstand perfect and complete in all the will of God. For I bear him\nrecord, that he hath a great zeal for you, and them that are in\nLaodicea, and them in Hierapolis\" (Col. iv. 12, 13). Such was\nEpaphras! Would there were hundreds like him in this our day! We are\nthankful for preachers, thankful for writers, thankful for travelers\nin the cause of Christ; but we want men of prayer, men of the closet,\nmen like Epaphras. We are happy to see men on their feet preaching\nChrist; happy to see them able to ply the pen of a ready writer in the\nnoble cause; happy to see them making their way, in the true\nevangelistic spirit, into \"the regions beyond\"; happy to see them, in\nthe true pastoral spirit, going again and again to visit their\nbrethren in every city. God forbid that we should undervalue or speak\ndisparagingly of such honorable services; yea, we prize them more\nhighly than words could convey. But then, at the back of all we want a\nspirit of prayer--fervent, agonizing, persevering prayer. Without\nthis, nothing can prosper. A prayerless man is a sapless man. A\nprayerless preacher is a profitless preacher. A prayerless writer will\nsend forth barren pages. A prayerless evangelist will do but little\ngood. A prayerless pastor will have but little food for the flock. We\nwant men of prayer, men like Epaphras, men whose closet walls witness\ntheir agonizing labors. These are, unquestionably, the men for the\npresent moment.\n\nThere are immense advantages attending the labors of the closet,\nadvantages quite peculiar, advantages for those who engage in them,\nand advantages for those who are the subjects of them. They are quiet,\nunobtrusive labors. They are carried on in retirement, in the\nhallowed, soul-subduing solitude of the divine presence, outside the\nrange of mortal vision. How little would the Colossians have known of\nthe loving, earnest labors of Epaphras had the Holy Ghost not\nmentioned them! It is possible that some of them might have deemed him\ndeficient in zealous care on their behalf: it is probable that there\nwere persons then, as there are those now, who would measure a man's\ncare or sympathy by his visits or letters. This would be a false\nstandard. They should see him on his knees to know the amount of his\ncare and sympathy. A love of travel _might_ take me from London to\nEdinburgh to visit the brethren. A love of scribbling might lead me to\nwrite letters by every mail. Nought save a love for souls, a love for\nChrist, could ever lead me to agonize as Epaphras did, on behalf of\nthe people of God, \"that they may stand perfect and complete in all\nthe will of God.\"\n\nAgain, the precious labors of the closet demand no special gift, no\npeculiar talents, no preeminent mental endowments. Every Christian\ncan engage in them. A man may not have the ability to preach, teach,\nwrite, or travel; but every man can pray. One sometimes hears of a\n_gift_ of prayer. It is not a pleasant expression. It falls gratingly\non the ear. It often means a mere fluent utterance of certain known\ntruths which the memory retains and the lips give forth. This is poor\nwork to be at. This was not the way with Epaphras. This is not what we\nwant and long for. We want a real _spirit_ of prayer. We want a spirit\nthat enters into the present need of the Church, and bears that need\nin persevering, fervent, believing intercession before the throne of\ngrace. This spirit may be exercised at all times, and under all\ncircumstances. Morning, noon, eventide or midnight will answer for the\ncloset laborer. The heart can spring upward to the throne in prayer\nand supplication at any time. Our Father's ear is ever open, His\npresence-chamber is ever accessible. Come when or with what we may, He\nis always ready to hear, ready to answer. He is the Hearer, the\nAnswerer and the Lover of importunate prayer. He Himself has said,\n\"Ask ... Seek ... Knock\"; \"Men ought _always_ to pray, and not to\nfaint\"; \"All things whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye\nshall receive\"; \"If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God.\" These\nwords are of universal application. They are intended for all God's\nchildren. The feeblest child of God can pray, can watch, can get an\nanswer, and return thanks.\n\nFurthermore, nothing is so calculated to give one a deep interest in\npeople as the habit of praying constantly for them. Epaphras would be\nintensely interested in the Christians at Colosse, Laodicea, and\nHierapolis. His interest made him pray, and his prayers made him\ninterested. The more we are interested for any one, the more we shall\npray for him; and the more we pray, the more interested we become.\nWhenever we are drawn out in prayer for people, we are sure to rejoice\nin their growth and prosperity. So, also, in reference to the\nunconverted. When we are led to wait on God about them, their\nconversion is looked for with the deepest anxiety, and hailed, when it\ncomes, with unfeigned thankfulness. The thought of this should stir us\nup to imitate Epaphras, on whom the Holy Ghost has bestowed the\nhonorable epithet of \"a servant of Christ,\" in connection with his\nfervent prayers for the people of God.\n\nFinally, the highest inducement that can be presented to cultivate the\nspirit of Epaphras is the fact of its being so directly in unison with\nthe spirit of Christ. This is the most elevated motive. Christ is\nengaged on behalf of His people. He desires that they should \"stand\nperfect and complete in all the will of God;\" and those who are led\nforth in prayer in reference to this object are privileged to enjoy\nhigh communion with the great Intercessor. How marvelous that poor,\nfeeble creatures down here should be permitted to pray about that\nwhich engages the thoughts and interests of the Lord of glory! What a\npowerful link there was between the heart of Epaphras and the heart of\nChrist when the former was laboring for his brethren at Colosse!\n\nChristian reader, let us ponder the example of Epaphras. Let us\nimitate it. Let us fix our eyes on some Colosse or other, and labor\nfervently in prayer for the Christians therein. The present is a\ndeeply solemn moment. Oh for men like Epaphras--men who are willing to\nlabor on their knees for the cause of Christ, or to wear, if it should\nbe so, the noble bonds of the gospel. Such was Epaphras. We see him as\na man of prayer (Col. iv. 12), and as a companion in bonds with the\ndevoted apostle of the Gentiles (Philem. 23).\n\nMay the Lord stir up amongst us a spirit of earnest prayer and\nintercession. May He raise up many of those who shall be cast in the\nsame spiritual mould as Epaphras. These are the men for the present\nneed.\n\n\n\n\n                               \"READY\"\n\n\nWe want the reader to dwell for a few moments on the little word which\nforms the heading of this paper. If we mistake not, he will find it to\nbe a word of immense depth and suggestive power, as used by the Holy\nGhost in Scripture. We shall just now refer to four passages in which\nour word occurs; and may the One who penned these passages be pleased\nto open and apply them in divine power and freshness to the heart of\nboth writer and reader.\n\n1. And first we shall turn to 1 Peter i. 5, where it is used in\nconnection with the word \"_salvation_.\" Believers are said to be \"kept\nby the power of God through faith unto salvation, _ready_ to be\nrevealed in the last time.\"\n\nHere, then, we are taught that salvation is ready to be revealed at\nthis moment; for we are, as John tells us, in \"the last times.\" And be\nit noted that salvation as here used is not to be confined to the mere\nmatter of the _soul's_ deliverance from hell and perdition: it refers,\nrather, to the deliverance of the _body_ of the believer from the\npower of death and corruption. In short, it takes in all that stands\nin anywise connected with the glorious appearing of our Lord and\nSaviour Jesus Christ. We already possess the salvation of our souls,\nas we are told in the very context from which our text is taken.\n\"Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls....\nWherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the\nend for the grace that is to be brought unto you _at the revelation of\nJesus Christ_.\"\n\nThus we learn in the clearest way that the \"salvation ready to be\nrevealed\" is linked on to \"the revelation of Jesus Christ.\" This is\nconfirmed, were confirmation needful, by Hebrews ix. 28, where we\nread, \"So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto\nthem that look for Him shall He appear the second time, apart from\nsin, unto _salvation_.\"\n\nFrom all this the reader may learn that the salvation which is _ready_\nto be revealed is at the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. For\nthis we are taught, as Christians, to look at any moment. There is\nliterally nothing so far as God is concerned, nothing so far as the\nwork of Christ is concerned, nothing so far as the testimony of the\nHoly Ghost is concerned, to hinder our hearing \"the shout of the\narchangel and the trump of God\" this very night, this very hour. All\nis done that needed to be done. Atonement is made, redemption is\naccomplished, God has been glorified by the work of Christ, as is\nproved by the fact of Christ's present place on the throne of the\nMajesty in the heavens. From the moment that our Lord Christ took His\nseat upon that throne, it could always be said that \"salvation is\n_ready_ to be revealed.\"\n\nBut it could not have been said before. Salvation could not be said to\nbe ready until the divine groundwork thereof was laid in the death and\nresurrection of the Saviour. But when once that most glorious work of\nall works was accomplished, it could at any moment be said that\n\"salvation is ready to be revealed.\" \"The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit\nThou at My right hand, until I make Thine enemies Thy footstool\" (Ps.\ncx. 1).\n\n2. But the apostle Peter gives us another instance and application of\nour word in chap. iv. 5, where he refers to some \"who shall give\naccount to Him that is _ready to judge_ the quick and the dead.\"\n\nHere the word stands before us in a form of awful solemnity. If on the\none hand it be true that _salvation_ is ready to be revealed for the\neverlasting joy of God's redeemed, it is equally true on the other\nhand that _judgment_ is ready to take its course, for the everlasting\nmisery of those who neglect God's proffered salvation.[3] The one is\nas true, and as pointed, and as forcible, as the other. There is\nnothing to wait for in respect to the judgment, any more than there\nis in respect to the salvation. The one is as \"_ready_\" as the other.\nGod has gone to the utmost in demonstrating His grace; and man has\ngone to the utmost in demonstrating his guilt. Both have reached their\nclimax in the death of Christ; and when we see Him crowned with glory\nand seated on the throne, we have the most powerful evidence that\ncould possibly be afforded that nothing remains but for salvation to\nbe revealed on the one hand, and for judgment to take its course on\nthe other.\n\n  [3] As regards the solemn subject of eternal punishment, we shall just\n  refer the reader to three passages of Scripture which establish the\n  truth of it beyond all question: Mark ix. 43-48, the fire is\n  _unquenchable_, and the worm _never dies_; Luke xvi. 26, the great\n  gulf is _fixed_; John iii. 36, the wrath of God _abideth_.\n\nHence it follows that man is no longer under probation. It is a grand\nmistake for any one to think so. It falsifies man's entire position\nand state. If I am under probation; if God is still testing me; if He\nis even now occupied in testing whether I am good for aught; if I am\ncapable of producing any fruit for Him--if this be indeed the case,\nthen it is not and cannot be true that \"He is _ready_ to judge.\"\nNature is not ripe for judgment so long as a probationary process is\npending, if there is yet something to wait for ere judgment can take\nits course.\n\nBut no, reader; we feel bound to press upon you the fact that the\nperiod of your probation is over forever, and the period of God's\nlong-suffering is nearly run out. It is of the utmost importance to\nseize this truth. It lies at the very foundation of the sinner's\nposition. Judgment is actually impending. It is \"ready\" at this moment\nto fall upon the head of the unrepentant--the reader of these lines,\nshould he be one of them. The entire history of human nature--of man,\nof the world--has been wound up and closed forever. The cross of\nChrist has made perfectly manifest the guilt and ruin of the human\nrace. It has put an end to man's probationary season; and from that\nsolemn hour until now the true position of the world as a whole, and\nof each individual sinner--man, woman, and child--has been that of a\nculprit tried, found guilty, and condemned, but the sentence not\nexecuted. This is the present awful position of the unconverted,\nunbelieving reader.\n\nDear friend, wilt thou not think of this? Fellow immortal soul, wilt\nthou not, even this very moment, bend the undivided attention of thy\nsoul to this eternal question? We must speak plainly and pointedly. We\nfeel in some small degree the awfulness of the sinner's state and\nprospect, in view of these weighty words, \"_ready to judge_.\" We are\nconvinced that the present is a moment which calls for serious and\nfaithful dealing with the souls of our readers. We do not, as God is\nour witness, want to write essays or sermons; we want to reach souls.\nWe want the reader to be assured of this; that he is not now reading\nan article on a religious subject prepared for some literary purpose,\nbut a solemn appeal made to his heart and conscience in the immediate\npresence of \"Him who is ready to judge the quick and the dead.\"\n\n3. But this leads us to the third passage of holy Scripture in which\nour weighty motto occurs. The reader will find it in Luke xii. 40: \"Be\nye therefore _ready_ also; for the Son of man cometh at an hour when\nye think not.\"\n\nIf salvation is \"ready\" to be revealed, and if judgment is \"ready\" to\nbe executed, what becomes us but to be \"ready\" also?\n\nAnd in what does this readiness consist? How are we to be ready? It\nstrikes us that there are two things included in the answer.\n\nFirst, we must be \"ready\" in _title_; and, secondly, we must be\n\"ready\" in our moral _state_--ready in conscience, and ready in heart.\nThe one is founded upon the work of Christ _for_ us; the other is\nconnected with the work of the Spirit _in_ us. If we are simply\nresting by faith on the finished work of Christ, if we are leaning\nexclusively on what He has done and what He is, then are we in very\ntruth ready in title, and we may rest assured of being with Him when\nHe comes.\n\nBut, on the other hand, if we are leaning upon our fancied goodness,\nupon any righteousness which we think we possess, upon not having done\nany harm to any one, upon our not being worse than some of our\nneighbors, upon our church-membership, upon our attention to the\nordinances of religion;--if we are leaning upon any or all of these\nthings, or if we are adding these things to Christ, then we may be\nassured we are not ready in title, not ready in conscience. God can\naccept nothing, absolutely nothing, as a title, but Christ. To bring\naught else is to declare that Christ is not needful: to bring aught\nbesides is to affirm that He is not enough. But God has borne ten\nthousand testimonies to the fact that we can do with nothing less, and\nthat we want nothing more, than Christ. Hence, therefore, Christ is\nour all-essential and all-sufficient title.\n\nBut, then, there is such a thing as professing to be ready in title\nwhile at the same time we are not ready in our moral condition or\npractical state. This demands our gravest attention. There is a vast\namount of easy-going evangelical profession abroad at the present\nmoment. The atmosphere is permeated by the rays of gospel light. The\ndarkness of the Middle Ages has been chased away by the brightness of\na free gospel and an open Bible.\n\nWe are thankful for a free gospel and an open Bible. But we cannot\nshut our eyes to the fact that there is a fearful amount of laxity,\nunsubduedness and self-indulgence going hand in hand with the\nevangelical profession of the day. We notice with the deepest anxiety\nmany young professors who have, or seem to have, a very clear insight,\nso far as the intellect goes, into the truth of the sinner's title,\nwho, if we are to judge from their style, deportment, and habits, are\nnot \"ready\" in their moral condition--in the real state of their\nhearts. We are at times, we must confess, sadly cast down when we see\nour young friends decking their persons in the vain fashions of a vain\nand sinful world; feeding upon the vile literature that issues in such\nfrightful profusion from the press; and actually singing vain songs\nand engaging in light and frivolous conversation. It is impossible to\nreconcile such with \"Be ye also ready.\"\n\nWe may perhaps be told that these things are externals, and that the\ngrand point is to be occupied with Christ. It may be said,--it has\nbeen said,--\"Provided we have Christ in our hearts, it does not matter\nwhat we have on our heads or in our hands.\" We reply, \"If we really\nhave Christ in our hearts, it will regulate what we put on our heads\nand take into our hands; yea, it will exert a _manifest_ influence\nupon our whole deportment and character.\"\n\nWe should like to ask some of our young friends this question: \"Would\nyou like the Lord Christ to come and find you reading a love-story, or\nsinging a song?\" We feel assured you would not. Well, then, let us, in\nthe name of the Lord, see to it that we do not engage in anything\nwhich does not comport with our being \"_ready_.\"\n\nWe specially urge this upon the young Christian reader. Let this\nquestion be ever before us, \"Am I ready?--ready in title, ready in\nstate, ready in conscience, ready in heart?\" The times are really very\nsolemn, and it behooves us to think seriously of our true state. We\nfeel persuaded that there is a lack of real, godly heart-exercise\namongst us. There are, we fear, many--God only knows how many--who are\nnot ready; many who would be taken aback and terribly surprised by\ndeath or the coming of the Lord. There are things said and done by\nthose who occupy the very highest platform of profession which we\ndare not indulge in if we are really _looking_ for the Lord.\n\nGod grant that the reader may know what it is to be ready in title and\nready in state; that he may have a purged conscience and a truly\nexercised heart. Then he will be able to enter into the meaning of the\nfourth and last passage, to which we call his attention. It occurs in\nMatt. xxv. 10.\n\n4. \"And while they (the foolish virgins) went to buy, the bridegroom\ncame; and they that were _ready_ went in with him to the marriage; and\nthe door was shut.\"\n\nHow solemn! How awfully solemn! Those who were _ready_ went in, and\nthose who were not ready were shut out. Those who have life in Christ,\nwho are indwelt by the Holy Ghost, will be ready. But the mere\nprofessor--the one who has truth in the head and on the lip, but not\nin the heart; who has the lamp of profession, but not the Spirit of\nlife in Christ--will be shut out into outer darkness--in the\neverlasting misery and gloom of hell.\n\nO beloved reader, let us, as we take a solemn leave of you, put this\nquestion home to your very inmost soul, \"ART THOU READY?\"\n\n\n\n\n                             \"HOLY BRETHREN\"\n\n     \"Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly\n     calling, _consider_ the Apostle and High Priest of our\n     confession, Jesus\" (Heb. iii. 1).\n\n     \"And let us _consider_ one another, to provoke unto love and\n     good works\" (Heb. x. 24).\n\n\nThe two passages we have just penned, are very intimately connected.\nIndeed, they are bound together by the simple fact, that the inspired\nwriter makes use of the same word in each; and, further, that this\nword occurs only in these two places throughout the whole of this\nmarvellous treatise.[4]\n\n  [4] The English word, \"consider,\" occurs four times throughout the\n  Epistle to the Hebrews; but it represents three different Greek words.\n  In chapter vii. 4, \"Consider how great this man was.\" Here the word is\n  \u03b8\u03b5\u03c9\u03c1\u03b5\u03b9\u03c4\u03b5, which occurs, in its various inflections, about\n  fifty-six times in the Greek Testament, but only in this one instance\n  is it rendered by the word \"consider.\" Its simple and general meaning\n  is to \"see\" or \"perceive.\"\n\n  Again, in Hebrews xii. 3, we have, \"Consider Him who endured such\n  contradiction,\" etc. Here the word is \u03b1\u03bd\u03b1\u03bb\u03bf\u03b3\u03b9\u03c3\u03b1\u03c3\u03b8\u03b5, which\n  occurs only in this place throughout the entire New Testament, and\n  expresses the idea of comparison or analogy.\n\n  But in the two verses which stand at the head of this paper, the word\n  is \u03ba\u03b1\u03c4\u03b1\u03bd\u03bf\u03b5\u03c9, which has an intensive force, and signifies an\n  earnest application of the mind.\n\nWe are to consider Jesus; and we are to consider all those who belong\nto Him, wherever they are. These are the two grand departments of our\nwork. We are to apply our minds diligently to Him and to His\ninterests on the earth, and thus be blessedly delivered from the\nmiserable business of thinking about ourselves or our own interests: a\nmorally glorious deliverance, most surely, for which we may well\npraise our glorious Deliverer.\n\nHowever, before proceeding to the great subjects which we are called\nto consider, we must dwell, for a little, on the wonderful title\nbestowed by the Holy Spirit upon all believers--all true Christians.\nHe calls them, \"holy brethren.\" This, truly, is a title of great moral\ndignity. He does not say, we _ought to be_ holy. No; he says we _are_.\nIt is a question of the title or standing of every child of God on the\nface of the earth. No doubt, having through sovereign grace this holy\nstanding, we ought to be holy in our walk; our moral condition ought\never to answer to our title. We should never allow a thought, word, or\nact, in the smallest degree inconsistent with our high position as\n\"holy brethren.\" Holy thoughts, holy words, holy actings are alone\nsuited to those upon whom infinite grace has bestowed the title of\n\"holy brethren.\"\n\nLet us never forget this. Let us never say, never think, that we\ncannot maintain such a dignity, or live up to such a standard. The\nvery same grace which has bestowed upon us the dignity, will ever\nenable us to support it; and we shall see, in the progress of this\npaper, how this grace acts--the mighty moral means used to produce a\npractical walk in accordance with our holy calling.\n\nBut let us inquire on what does the apostle ground the title of \"holy\nbrethren?\" It is of all possible importance to be clear as to this. If\nwe do not see that it is wholly independent of our state, our walk, or\nour attainments, we can neither understand the position nor its\npractical results. We may assert with all confidence, that the very\nholiest walk that ever was exhibited in this world, the highest\nspiritual state that ever was attained, could never form the basis of\nsuch a position as is set forth in the title of which we speak. Nay,\nmore; we are bold to affirm that not even the work of the Spirit in\nus, blessedly essential as it is in every stage of the divine life,\ncould entitle us to enter upon such a dignity. Nothing in us, nothing\nof us, nothing about us, could ever form the foundation of such a\nstanding as is set forth in the title \"holy brethren.\"\n\nOn what then is it grounded? Hebrews ii. II furnishes the reply. \"For\nboth He that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are _all of one:\nfor which cause He is not ashamed_ to call them brethren.\" Here we\nhave one of the most profound and comprehensive statements of truth\ncontained within the covers of the divine volume. Here we see how we\nbecome \"holy brethren;\" even by association with that blessed One who\nwent down into death for us, and who, in resurrection, has become the\nfoundation of that new order of things in which we have our place; the\nHead of that new creation to which we belong; the Firstborn among the\nmany brethren of whom He is not ashamed, inasmuch as He has placed\nthem on the same platform with Himself, and brought them to God not\nonly in the perfect efficacy of His work, but in all His own perfect\nacceptability and infinite preciousness. \"The Sanctifier and the\nsanctified are all of one.\"[5]\n\n  [5] It is a fact of deepest interest, that, to \"Mary Magdalene, out of\n  whom went seven devils,\" was granted the privilege of announcing to\n  the disciples the glad tidings of the new and wondrous relationship\n  into which they were introduced. \"Go to _My brethren_,\" said the risen\n  Saviour, \"and say unto them, I ascend unto _My_ Father and _your_\n  Father; and to _My_ God and _your_ God.\" It is John who, by the Holy\n  Ghost, records this profoundly interesting fact.\n\n  Never before had such an announcement been made. But now the great\n  work was done, the battle over, the victory gained, the foundation of\n  the new edifice laid; and Mary Magdalene was made the herald of the\n  most glorious tidings that ever fell on mortal ears.\n\nWonderful words! let the reader ponder them. Let him specially note\nthe vast, yea, the immeasurable difference between these two words\n\"Sanctifier and sanctified.\" Such was our blessed Lord, personally,\nintrinsically, in His humanity, that He was capable of being the\nSanctifier. Such were we personally, in our moral condition, in our\nnature, that we needed to be sanctified. But--eternal and universal\nhomage to His name!--such is the perfection of His work, such the\n\"riches\" and the \"glory of His grace\" that it can be said, \"As He is\nso are we in this world\"--\"the Sanctifier and the sanctified are all\nof one\"--all on one common ground, and that for ever.\n\nNothing can exceed this as to title and standing. We stand in all the\nglorious results of His accomplished work, and in all the acceptance\nof His Person. He has linked us with Himself, in resurrection-life,\nand made us sharers of all He has and all He is as man--His deity, of\ncourse is incommunicable.\n\nBut let us note very particularly all that is involved in the fact\nthat we _needed_ to be \"sanctified.\" It sets forth in the clearest and\nmost forcible manner the total, hopeless, absolute ruin of every one\nof us. It matters not, so far as this aspect of the truth is\nconcerned, who we were or what we were in our personal history or our\npractical life. We may have been refined, cultivated, amiable, moral,\nand, after a human fashion, religious; or we may have been degraded,\ndemoralized, depraved, the very scum of society. In a word, we may\nhave been morally and socially as far apart as the poles; but inasmuch\nas all needed to be sanctified, the highest as well as the lowest, ere\nwe could be addressed as \"holy brethren,\" there is evidently \"no\ndifference.\" The very worst needed nothing more, and the very best\ncould do with nothing less. Each and all were involved in one common\nruin, and needed to be sanctified, or set apart, ere we could take our\nplace amongst the \"holy brethren.\" And now, being set apart, we are\nall on one common ground; so that the very feeblest child of God on\nthe face of the earth belongs as really and truly to the \"holy\nbrethren\" as the blessed apostle Paul himself. It is not a question of\nprogress or attainment, precious and important as it most surely is to\nmake progress, but simply of our common standing before God, of which\nthe \"First-born\" is the blessed and eternal definition.\n\nBut we must here remind the reader of the vast importance of being\nclear and well-grounded as to the relationship of the \"First-born\"\nwith the \"many brethren.\" This is a grand foundation-truth, as to\nwhich there must be no vagueness or indecision. Scripture is clear and\nemphatic on this great cardinal point. But there are many who will not\nlisten to Scripture. They are so full of their own thoughts that they\nwill not take the trouble to search and see what Scripture says on the\nsubject. Hence you find many maintaining the fatal error that\nincarnation is the ground of our relationship with the First-born.\nThey look upon the Incarnate One as our \"Elder Brother,\" who, in\ntaking human nature upon Him, took us into union with Himself, or\nlinked Himself on to us.\n\nNow such an error involves most frightful consequences. In the first\nplace, it involves a positive blasphemy against the person of the Son\nof God--a denial of His absolutely spotless, sinless, perfect manhood.\nHe, blessed be His name, was such in His humanity that the angel could\nsay to the virgin of Him, \"That holy thing which shall be born of thee\nshall be called the Son of God.\" His human nature was absolutely holy.\nAs a man He knew no sin. He was the only man that ever lived of whom\nthis could be said. He was unique. He stood absolutely alone. There\nwas, there could be, no union with Him in incarnation. How could the\nHoly and the unholy, the Pure and the impure, the Spotless and the\nspotted ever be united? Utterly impossible! Those who think or say\nthey could, do greatly err, not knowing the Scriptures or the Son of\nGod.\n\nBut further: those who speak of union in incarnation are most\nmanifestly the enemies of the cross of Christ; for what need was there\nof the cross, the death or the blood of Christ, if sinners could be\nunited to Him in incarnation? Surely none whatever. There was no need\nof atonement, no need of propitiation, no need of the substitutionary\nsufferings and death of Christ, if sinners could be united to Him\nwithout them.\n\nHence we see how entirely this system of doctrine is of Satan. It\ndishonors the person of Christ, and sets aside His precious atonement.\nAnd in addition to all this, it overthrows the teaching of the entire\nBible on the subject of man's guilt and ruin. In short, it completely\nsweeps away the great foundation-truths of our glorious Christianity,\nand gives us instead a Christless, infidel system. This is what the\ndevil has ever been aiming at; it is what he is aiming at still; and\nthousands of so-called Christian teachers are acting as his agents in\nthe terrible business of seeking to abolish Christianity. Tremendous\nfact for all whom it may concern!\n\nBut let us reverently harken to the teaching of Holy Scripture on this\ngreat subject. What mean those words which fell from the lips of our\nLord Jesus Christ, and are repeated for us by God the Holy Ghost,\n\"Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and _die_, it abideth\nalone\"? Who was this corn of wheat? Himself, blessed be His holy name.\nHe had to die in order to \"bring forth much fruit.\" If He was to\nsurround Himself with His \"many brethren,\" He had to go down into\ndeath in order to take out of the way every hindrance to their eternal\nassociation on the new ground of resurrection. He, the true David, had\nto go forth single-handed to meet the terrible foe, in order that He\nmight have the deep joy of sharing with His brethren the spoils of His\nglorious victory. Eternal halleluiahs to His peerless name!\n\nThere is a very beautiful passage bearing upon our subject in Mark\nviii. We shall quote it for the reader: \"And He began to teach them,\nthat the Son of man _must suffer_ many things, and be rejected of the\nelders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and\nafter three days rise again. And He spake that saying openly. And\nPeter took Him, and began to rebuke Him.\" In another Gospel we are\ntold what Peter said: \"Pity Thyself, Lord: this shall not be unto\nThee.\" Mark the Lord's reply; mark His attitude: \"But when He had\nturned about and _looked on His disciples_, He rebuked Peter, saying,\nGet thee behind Me, Satan, for thou savorest not the things that be of\nGod, but the things that be of men.\"\n\nThis is perfectly beautiful. It not only presents a truth to the\nunderstanding, but lets in upon the heart a bright ray of the moral\nglory of our adorable Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, eminently\ncalculated to bow the soul in worship before Him. \"He turned and\nlooked upon His disciples.\" It is as though He would say to His erring\nservant, \"If I adopt your suggestion, if I pity myself, what will\nbecome of these?\" Blessed Saviour! He did not think of Himself. \"He\nstedfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem,\" well knowing what awaited\nHim there. He went to the cross, and there endured the wrath of God,\nthe judgment of sin, all the terrible consequences of our condition,\nin order to glorify God with respect to our sins, and that He might\nhave the ineffable and eternal joy of surrounding Himself with the\n\"many brethren\" to whom He could, on resurrection ground, declare the\nFather's name. \"_I will_ declare Thy name unto _My brethren_.\" He\nlooked forward to this from amid the awful shadows of Calvary, where\nHe was enduring for us what no created intelligence can ever fathom.\nIf ever He was to call us \"brethren,\" He must _all alone_ meet death\nand judgment on our behalf.\n\nNow why all this if incarnation was the basis of our union or\nassociation?[6] Is it not perfectly plain to the reader that there\ncould be no link between Christ and us save on the ground of\naccomplished atonement? How could there be a link with sin unatoned\nfor, guilt uncanceled, the claims of God unanswered? Utterly\nimpossible. To maintain such a thought is to fly in the face of divine\nrevelation and sweep away the very foundations of Christianity; and\nthis, as we very well know, is precisely what the devil is ever aiming\nat.\n\n  [6] We do not mean that union with Christ as Head of the body is\n  taught in Heb. ii. 11. For the unfolding of that glorious truth we\n  must look elsewhere. It comes not within the range of the epistle to\n  the Hebrews. See Eph. i. 22, 23; v. 30. But whether we view Him as\n  Head of the body, or as the First-born among many brethren, Scripture\n  most distinctly and emphatically teaches us that His death on the\n  cross was absolutely essential to our union, or association, with\n  Christ. _No death, no union._ The corn of wheat had to fall into the\n  ground and die, in order to bring forth much fruit.\n\nHowever, we shall not pursue the subject further here. It may be that\nthe great majority of our readers are thoroughly clear and settled on\nthe point, and that they hold it as a great cardinal and essential\ntruth. Still, we feel it of importance just now to bear a very\ndistinct testimony to the whole Church of God on this most blessed\nsubject. We feel persuaded that the error which we have been\ncombating--the notion of union with Christ in incarnation--forms an\nintegral part of a vast infidel and antichristian system which holds\nsway over thousands of professing Christians, and is making fearful\nprogress throughout the length and breadth of Christendom. It is the\ndeep and solemn conviction of this that leads us to call the attention\nof the beloved flock of Christ to one of the most precious and\nglorious subjects that could possibly occupy their hearts, namely,\ntheir title to be called \"holy brethren.\"\n\nWe shall now turn for a few moments to the exhortation addressed to\nthe \"holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling.\" As we have\nalready observed, we are not exhorted _to be_ holy brethren: we are\n_made_ such. The place and the portion are ours through infinite\ngrace, and it is on this blessed fact that the inspired apostle\ngrounds his exhortation, \"Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the\nheavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our\nprofession, Jesus.\"\n\nThe titles bestowed on our blessed Lord in this passage present Him to\nour hearts in a very wonderful manner. They take in the wide range of\nHis history from the bosom of the Father down to the dust of death;\nand from the dust of death back to the throne of God. As the Apostle,\nHe came from God to us; and as the High Priest, He has gone back to\nGod for us. He came from heaven to reveal God to us, to unfold to us\nthe very heart of God, to make us know the precious secrets of His\nbosom. \"God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in times\npast unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken\nunto us by His Son, whom He hath appointed heir of all things, by whom\nalso He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory, and\nthe express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word\nof His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the\nright hand of the Majesty on high.\"\n\nWhat a marvelous privilege to have God revealed to us in the person of\nChrist! God has spoken to us in the Son. Our blessed Apostle has given\nus the full and perfect revelation of God. \"No man hath seen God at\nany time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father,\nHe hath declared Him.\" \"God, who commanded the light to shine out of\ndarkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the\nknowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ\" (John i.; 2\nCor. iv.).\n\nAll this is unspeakably precious. Jesus has revealed God to our souls.\nWe could know absolutely nothing of God if the Son had not come and\nspoken to us. But--thanks and praise to our God!--we can say with all\npossible certainty, \"_We know_ that the Son of God is come, and hath\ngiven us an understanding, that we may know Him that is true: and we\nare in Him that is true, even in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the\ntrue God, and eternal life.\" We can now turn to the four Gospels; and\nas we gaze upon that blessed One who is there presented to us by the\nHoly Ghost, in all that lovely grace which shone out in all His words,\nand works, and ways, we can say, That is God. We see Him going about\ndoing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; we see\nHim healing the sick, cleansing the leper, opening the eyes of the\nblind, unstopping the ears of the deaf, feeding the hungry, drying the\nwidow's tears, weeping at the tomb of Lazarus, and say, That is God.\nEvery ray of moral glory that shone in the life and ministry of the\nApostle of our confession was the expression of God. He was the\nbrightness of the divine glory, and the exact impression of the divine\nessence.\n\n    \"Thou art the everlasting Word,\n      The Father's only Son;\n    God manifest, God seen and heard,\n      The heavens' belov\u00e8d One.\n\n    \"In Thee most perfectly expressed,\n      The Father's self doth shine;\n    Fulness of Godhead too; the Blest--\n      Eternally Divine.\"\n\nHow precious is all this to our souls! To have God revealed in the\nperson of Christ, so that we can know Him, delight in Him, find all\nour springs in Him, call Him Abba Father, walk in the light of His\nblessed countenance, have fellowship with Him and with His Son Jesus\nChrist, know the love of His heart, the very love wherewith He loves\nthe Son--what deep blessedness! what fulness of joy! How can we ever\nsufficiently praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ for\nHis marvelous grace in having introduced us into such a sphere of\nblessing and privilege, and set us in such a wondrous relationship\nwith Himself in the Son of His love! Oh, may our _hearts_ praise Him!\nMay our _lives_ praise Him! May it be the one grand aim and object of\nour whole moral being to magnify His name!\n\nBut we must now turn for a little to another great branch of our\nsubject. We have to \"consider the High Priest of our confession.\"\nThis, too, is fraught with richest blessing for every one of the \"holy\nbrethren.\" The same blessed One who, as the Apostle, came to make Him\nknown to our souls, has gone back to God for us. He came to speak to\nus about God; and He is gone to speak to God about us. He appears in\nthe presence of God for us; He bears us up on His heart continually;\nHe represents us before God to maintain us in the integrity of the\nposition into which His precious atoning work has introduced us. His\nblessed priesthood is the divine provision for our wilderness path.\nWere it merely a question of our standing or title, there would be no\nneed of priesthood; but inasmuch as it is a question of our actual\nstate and practical walk, we could not get on for one moment if we had\nnot our great High Priest ever living for us in the presence of God.\n\nNow there are three most precious departments of our Lord's priestly\nservice presented in the epistle to the Hebrews. In the first place we\nread, in chap. iv., \"Seeing then that we have a great high priest,\nthat is passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold\nfast our confession. For we have not a high priest which cannot be\ntouched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points\ntempted like as we are, except sin.\"[7]\n\n  [7] \"Yet without sin,\" as given in the \"Authorized Version,\" does not\n  convey the correct thought of the original, which is, \"tempted in all\n  things in like manner [to us], sin apart,\" or \"sin excepted.\" Ed.\n\nChristian reader, only think of the deep blessedness of having One at\nthe right hand of the Majesty in the heavens who is _touched_ with the\nfeeling of your infirmities, who enters into all your sorrows, who\nfeels for you and with you in all your exercises, trials, and\ndifficulties! Think of having a Man on the throne of God--a perfect\nhuman heart, One on whom you can count in all your weakness,\nheaviness, and conflict; in everything, in short, except sin! With\nthis, blessed be His name, He can have no sympathy.\n\nBut oh, what pen, what human tongue, can adequately set forth the\ndeep, deep blessedness of having a Man in the glory whose heart is\nwith us in all the trials and sorrows of our wilderness path! What a\nprecious provision! What a divine reality! The One who has all power\nin heaven and on earth now lives for us in heaven. We can count on\nHim at all times. He enters into all our feelings in a way that no\nearthly friend could possibly do. We can go to Him and tell Him things\nwhich we could not name to our dearest friend on earth, inasmuch as\nnone but He can fully understand us.\n\nBut our great High Priest understands all about us. He has passed\nthrough every trial and sorrow that a perfect human heart could know.\nHence He can perfectly sympathize with us, and He delights to minister\nto us in all our seasons of sorrow and affliction, when the heart is\ncrushed and bowed beneath a weight of anguish which only He can fully\nenter into. Precious Saviour! Most merciful High Priest! May our\nhearts delight in Thee! May we draw more largely upon the exhaustless\nsprings of comfort and consolation that are found in Thy large and\nloving heart for all Thy tried, tempted, sorrowing, suffering brethren\nhere below!\n\nIn Hebrews vii. 25 we have another very precious branch of our Lord's\npriestly work, and that is His intercession--His active intervention\non our behalf, in the presence of God. \"Wherefore He is able to save\nthem to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth\nto make intercession for them.\"\n\nWhat comfort is here for all the \"holy brethren!\" What strong\nconsolation! What blessed assurance! Our great High Priest bears us\nupon His heart continually before the throne. All our affairs are in\nHis blessed hands, and can never fall through. He lives for us, and\nwe live in Him. He will carry us right through to the end. Men speak\nabout \"the final perseverance of the saints.\" Scripture speaks of the\nfinal perseverance of our divine and adorable High Priest. Here we\nrest. He says to us, \"Because I live, ye shall live also.\" \"If, when\nwe were enemies, we were reconciled to God by _the death of His Son_,\"\n(the only possible way in which we could be reconciled) \"much more,\nbeing reconciled, we shall be saved by His life\"--that is, His life up\nin heaven. He has made Himself responsible for every one of the \"holy\nbrethren,\" to bring them through all the difficulties, trials, snares,\nand temptations of the wilderness, right home to glory. Universal and\neverlasting homage to His blessed name!\n\nWe cannot, of course, attempt to go elaborately into the great subject\nof priesthood in a paper like this; we can do little more than touch\nupon the three salient points indicated above, and quote for the\nreader the passages of Scripture in which those points are presented.\n\nIn Hebrews xiii. 15 we have the third branch of our Lord's service for\nus in the heavenly sanctuary. \"_By Him_, therefore, let us offer the\nsacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our\nlips, giving thanks to his name.\"\n\nWhat a comfort to know that we have One in the presence of God to\npresent our sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving! How sweetly it\nencourages us to bring such sacrifices at all times! True, they may\nseem very poor, very meagre, very imperfect; but our great High Priest\nknows how to separate the precious from the vile; He takes our\nsacrifices, and presents them to God in all the perfect fragrance of\nHis own person and ministry. Every little breathing of the heart,\nevery utterance, every little act of service, goes up to God, not only\ndivested of all our infirmity and imperfection, but adorned with all\nthe excellency of the One who ever liveth in the presence of God, not\nonly to sympathize and intercede, but also to present our sacrifices\nof thanksgiving and praise.\n\nAll this is full of comfort and encouragement. How often have we to\nmourn over our coldness, barrenness, and deadness, both in private and\nin public! We seem unable to do more than utter a groan or a sigh.\nWell, Jesus--it is the fruit of His grace--takes that groan or that\nsigh, and presents it to God in all His own preciousness. This is part\nof His present ministry for us in the presence of our God, a ministry\nwhich He delights to discharge--blessed be His name! It is His joy to\nbear us upon His heart before the Throne. He thinks of each one in\nparticular, as if He had but that one to think of.\n\nIt is wonderful; but so it is. He enters into all our little trials\nand sorrows, conflicts and exercises, as though He had nothing else to\nthink of. Each one has the undivided attention and sympathy of that\nlarge, loving heart, in all that may rise in our passage through this\nscene of trial and sorrow. He has gone through it all. He knows, as\nwe say, every step of the road. We can discern His blessed footprints\nall across the desert; and look up through the opened heavens and see\nHim on the throne, a glorified Man, but the same Jesus who was down\nhere upon earth--His circumstances changed, but not His tender,\nloving, sympathizing heart: \"The same yesterday, to-day, and for\never.\"\n\nSuch then, beloved Christian reader, is the great High Priest, whom we\nare exhorted to \"consider.\" Truly we have all we want in Him. His\nsympathy, perfect; His intercession, all-prevailing; His presentation\nof our sacrifices, ever acceptable. Well may we say, \"We have all, and\nabound.\"\n\nAnd now, in conclusion, let us glance for a moment at the precious\nexhortation in Hebrews x. 24: \"Let us _consider_ one another, to\nprovoke unto love and good works.\"\n\nHow morally lovely is the connection! The more attentively we consider\nHim, the more we shall be fitted and disposed to consider all who\nbelong to Him, whoever and wherever they may be. Shew us a man full of\nChrist, and we will shew you a man full of love, and care, and\ninterest for every member of the body of Christ. It must be so. It is\nsimply impossible to be near Christ, and not have the heart filled\nwith the sweetest affections for all that belong to Him. We cannot\nconsider Him without being reminded of them, and led out in service,\nprayer, and sympathy, according to our little measure. If you hear a\nperson talking loudly of his love for Christ, his attachment to Him\nand delight in Him, and, all the while, having no love for His\npeople--no readiness to spend and be spent for them, no self-sacrifice\non their behalf--you may be sure it is all hollow, worthless\nprofession. \"Hereby perceive we the love, because he laid down His\nlife for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But\nwhoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and\nshutteth up his bowels from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?\nMy little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but in\ndeed, and in truth.\" And again, \"This commandment have we from Him,\nthat he who loveth God, love his brother also\" (1 John iii. 16-18; iv.\n21).\n\nThese are wholesome words for all of us. May we apply our hearts most\ndiligently to them! May we, by the powerful ministry of the Holy\nGhost, be enabled to respond with all our hearts, to these two weighty\nand needed exhortations, to \"Consider the Apostle and High Priest of\nour confession,\" and to \"Consider one another!\" And let us bear in\nmind, that the proper consideration of one another will never take the\nform of prying curiosity, or unwarrantable _espionage_--things which\ncan only be regarded as the curse and bane of all Christian society.\nNo, no; it is the very reverse of all this. It is a loving, tender\ncare, expressing itself in every form of refined, delicate, and\nseasonable service--the lovely fruit of true communion with the heart\nof Christ.\n\n\n\n\n                  JEHOVAH'S DEMAND AND SATAN'S OBJECTIONS\n\n     \"Let My people go, that they may hold a feast to Me in the\n                     wilderness\" (Exodus v. 1).\n\n\nWhat a volume of truth is contained in the sentence which we have just\npenned! It is one of those comprehensive and suggestive passages which\nlie scattered up and down the divine volume, and which seize, with\npeculiar power, upon the heart, and open up a vast field of most\nprecious truth. It sets forth, in plain and forcible language, the\nblessed purpose of the Lord God of Israel to have His people\ncompletely delivered from Egypt and separated unto Himself, in order\nthat they might feast with Him in the wilderness. Nothing could\nsatisfy His heart, in reference to them, but their entire emancipation\nfrom the land of death and darkness. He would free them not only from\nEgypt's brick-kilns and task-masters, but from its temples and its\naltars, and from all its habits and all its associations, from its\nprinciples, its maxims, and its fashions. In a word, they must be a\nthoroughly separated people, ere they could hold a feast to Him in the\nwilderness.\n\nThus it was with Israel, and thus it is with us. We, too, must be a\nfully and consciously delivered people ere we can properly serve,\nworship, or walk with God. We must not only know the forgiveness of\nour sins, and our entire freedom from guilt, wrath, judgment, and\ncondemnation; but also our complete deliverance from this present evil\nworld and all its belongings, ere we can intelligently serve the Lord.\nThe world is to the Christian what Egypt was to Israel; only, of\ncourse, our separation from the world is not local or physical, but\nmoral and spiritual. Israel left Egypt in person; we leave the world\nin spirit and principle. Israel left Egypt in fact; we leave the world\nin faith. It was a real, out-and-out, thorough separation for them,\nand it is the same for us. \"Let My people go, that they may hold a\nfeast to Me in the wilderness.\"\n\n1. To this rigid separation, as we very well know, Satan had and still\nhas many objections. His first objection was set forth in the\nfollowing words, spoken by the lips of Pharaoh, \"Go ye, _and sacrifice\nto your God in the land_.\" These were subtle words--words well\ncalculated to ensnare a heart that was not in communion with the mind\nof God. For it might with great plausibility and apparent force be\nargued, Is it not uncommonly liberal on the part of the king of Egypt\nto offer you toleration for your peculiar mode of worship? Is it not a\ngreat stretch of liberality to offer your religion a place on the\npublic platform? Surely you can carry on your religion as well as\nother people. There is room for all. Why this demand for separation?\nWhy not take common ground with your neighbors? There is no need\nsurely for such extreme narrowness.\n\nAll this might seem very reasonable. But then, mark Jehovah's high and\nholy standard! Hearken to the plain and positive declaration, \"Let My\npeople go!\" There is no mistaking this. It is impossible, in the face\nof such a statement, to remain in Egypt. The most plausible reasonings\nthat ever could be advanced vanish into thin air in the presence of\nthe authoritative demand of the Lord God of Israel. If He says, \"Let\nMy people go,\" then go we must, spite of all the opposing power of\nearth and hell, men and devils. There is no use in reasoning,\ndisputing, or discussing. We must obey. Egyptians may think for\nthemselves; Jehovah must think for Israel; the sequel will prove who\nis right.\n\nAnd here let us just offer our readers a word, in passing, as to the\nsubject of \"narrowness,\" about which we hear so much now-a-days. The\nreal question is, \"Who is to fix the boundaries of the Christian's\nfaith? Is it man or God--human opinion or divine revelation?\" When\nthis question is answered, the whole matter is easily settled. There\nare some minds terribly scared by the bugbear of \"narrow-mindedness.\"\nBut then we have to inquire what _is_ narrowness, and what breadth of\nmind? Now, what we understand by a narrow mind is simply a mind which\nrefuses to take in and be governed by the whole truth of God. A mind\ngoverned by human opinions, human reasonings, worldly maxims, selfish\ninterests, self-will--this we unhesitatingly pronounce to be a narrow\nmind.\n\nOn the other hand, a mind beautifully subject to the authority of\nChrist--a mind that bows with reverent submission to the voice of Holy\nScripture--a mind that sternly refuses to go beyond the written\nWord--that absolutely rejects what is not based upon \"Thus saith the\nLord,\"--this is what we call a broad, elevated mind.\n\nReader, is it not--must it not be so? Is not God's word--His mind,\ninfinitely more comprehensive, wide, and full than the mind and ways\nof man? Is there not infinitely greater breadth in the Holy Scriptures\nthan in all the human writings under the sun? Does it not argue more\nlargeness of heart, and devotion of soul to be governed by the\nthoughts of God than by our own thoughts or the thoughts of our\nfellows? It seems to us there can be but one reply to these questions;\nand hence the entire subject of narrowness resolves itself into this\nsimple but very telling motto, \"We must be as narrow as Christ, and as\nbroad as Christ.\"\n\nWe must view everything from this blessed standpoint, and then our\nentire range of vision will be correct, and our conclusions thoroughly\nsound. But if Christ be not our standpoint, but self, or man, or the\nworld, then our entire range of vision is false, and our conclusions\nthoroughly unsound.\n\nAll this is as clear as a sunbeam to a single eye and an honest and\nloyal heart. And, really, if the eye be not single, and the heart true\nto Christ, and the conscience subject to the Word, it is a complete\nloss of time to argue or discuss. Of what possible use can it be to\nargue with a man who, instead of obeying the word of God, is only\nseeking to turn aside its edge? None whatever. It is a hopeless task\nto reason with one who has never taken in the mighty moral import of\nthat most precious word--obey.\n\nWe must now return to our immediate theme. There is something\nuncommonly fine in Moses' reply to Satan's first objection, \"It is not\nmeet so to do; for we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians\nto the Lord our God: lo, shall we sacrifice the abomination of the\nEgyptians before their eyes, and will they not stone us? We will go\nthree days' journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice to the Lord our\nGod, as He shall command us\" (Ex. viii. 26).\n\nThere would have been a lack of moral fitness in presenting to\nJehovah, in sacrifice, the object of Egyptian worship. But, more than\nthis, Egypt was not the place in which to erect an altar to the true\nGod. Abraham had no altar when he turned aside into Egypt. He\nabandoned his worship and his strangership when he went down thither;\nand if Abraham could not worship there, neither could his seed. An\nEgyptian might ask, Why? But it is one thing to ask a question, and\nanother thing to understand the answer. How could the Egyptian mind\nenter into the reasons of a true Israelite's conduct? Impossible. What\ncould such an one know of the meaning of a \"three days'\" Absolutely\nnothing. \"Beloved, the world knoweth us not, because it knew Him not.\"\nThe motives which actuate, and the objects which animate, the true\nbeliever lie far beyond the world's range of vision; and we may rest\nassured that in the exact proportion in which the world can enter into\nand appreciate a Christian's motives the Christian must be unfaithful\nto his Lord.\n\nWe speak, of course, of proper Christian _motives_. No doubt there is\nmuch in a Christian's life that the world can admire and value.\nIntegrity, honesty, truthfulness, disinterested kindness, care for the\npoor, self-denial--all these things may be understood and appreciated;\nbut, admitting all this, we return to the apostolic statement that\n\"The world knoweth us not:\" and if we want to walk with God--if we\nwould hold a feast unto Him--if it is our heart's true and earnest\ndesire to run a consistent heavenly course, we must break with the\nworld altogether, and break with _self_ also, and take our stand\noutside the camp, with a world-rejected, heaven-accepted Christ. May\nwe do so, with fixed purpose of heart, to the glory of His own\nprecious and peerless name!\n\n2. Satan's second objection is very near akin to his first. If he\ncannot succeed in keeping Israel in Egypt, he will at least try to\nkeep them as near to it as possible. \"I will let you go, that ye may\nsacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness; only _ye shall not\ngo very far away_\" (chap. viii. 28).\n\nThere is more damage done to the cause of Christ by an apparent,\npartial, half-hearted giving up of the world, than by remaining in it\naltogether. Wavering, undecided, half-and-half professors injure the\ntestimony of the Lord more than out-and-out worldlings. And, further,\nwe may say, there is a very wide difference indeed between giving up\ncertain worldly things, and giving up the world itself. A person may\nlay aside certain forms of worldliness, and, all the while, retain the\nworld deep down in the heart. We may give up the theatre, the\nball-room, the race-course, the billiard-table, etc., yet cling to the\nworld all the same. We may lop off some of the branches, and yet cling\nwith tenacity to the old trunk.\n\nThis must be carefully seen to. We feel persuaded that what multitudes\nof professing Christians need is to make a clean break with the\nworld--that very comprehensive word. It is utterly impossible to make\na proper start, much less to make any progress, while the heart is\nplaying fast and loose with the holy claims of Christ. We do not\nhesitate to express it as our settled conviction that, in thousands of\ncases, where souls complain of doubts and fears, ups and downs,\ndarkness and heaviness, lack of assurance and comfort, of light,\nliberty, joy, peace, and vivid realization, it is owing to the simple\nfact that they have not really broken with the world. They either seek\nto hold a feast to the Lord in Egypt, or they remain so near as to be\neasily drawn back again; so near that they are neither one thing nor\nthe other.\n\nHow can such people be happy? How can their peace flow as a river? How\ncan they possibly walk in the light of a Father's countenance, or in\nthe joy of a Saviour's presence? How can the blessed beams of that sun\nthat shines in the new creation reach them through the murky\natmosphere that envelopes the land of death and darkness? Impossible!\nThey must break with the world, and make a clear, decided,\nwhole-hearted surrender of themselves to Christ. There must be a full\nChrist for the heart, and a full heart for Christ.\n\nHere, we may rest assured, lies the grand secret of Christian\nprogress. We must make a proper start before ever we can get on; and\nin order to make a proper start we must break our links with the\nworld, or, rather, we must believe and practically carry out the fact\nthat God has broken them for us in the death of our Lord Jesus Christ.\nThe cross has separated us for ever from this present evil world. It\nhas not merely delivered us from the eternal consequences of our sins,\nbut from the present power of sin, and from the principles, maxims,\nand fashions of a world that lieth in the hands of the wicked one.\n\nIt is one of Satan's masterpieces to lead professing Christians to\nrest satisfied with looking to the Cross for salvation while remaining\nin the world, or occupying a border position--\"not going very far\naway.\" This is a terrible snare, against which we most solemnly warn\nthe Christian reader. What is the remedy? True heart-devotedness to\nand fellowship with a rejected and glorified Christ. To walk with\nChrist, to delight in Him, to feed upon Him, we must be apart from the\ngodless, Christless, wicked world--apart from it in the spirit of our\nminds and in the affections of our hearts--apart from it, not merely\nin its gross forms of moral pravity, or the wild extravagance of its\nfolly and gaiety, but apart from its religion, its politics, and its\nphilanthropy--apart from the world in all that goes to make up that\ncomprehensive phrase.\n\nBut here we may be asked, \"Is Christianity merely a stripping, an\nemptying, a giving up? Does it only consist of prohibition and\nnegation?\" We answer, with hearty and blissful emphasis, _No!_ A\nthousand times, _No!_ Christianity is preeminently positive--intensely\nreal--divinely satisfying. What does it give us in lieu of what it\ntakes from us? It gives us \"unsearchable riches\" in place of \"dung and\ndross.\" It gives us \"an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled and\nunfading, reserved in heaven,\" instead of a poor passing bubble on the\nstream of time. It gives us Christ, the joy of the heart of God, the\nobject of heaven's worship, the theme of angels' song, the eternal\nsunlight of the new creation, in lieu of a few moments of sinful\ngratification and guilty pleasure. And, finally, it gives us an\neternity of ineffable bliss and glory in the Father's house above,\ninstead of an eternity in the awful flames of hell.\n\nReader, what sayest thou to these things? Is not this a good exchange?\nCan we not find here the most cogent reasons for giving up the world?\nIt sometimes happens that men favor us with their reasons for\nresigning this, that, and the other branch of worldliness; but it\nstrikes us that all such reasons might be summed up in one, and that\none be thus enunciated: \"The reason for resigning the world--_I have\nfound Christ_.\" This is the real way to put the matter. Men do not\nfind it very hard to give up cinders for diamonds, ashes for pearls,\ndross for gold. No, reader; and in the same way, when one has tasted\nthe preciousness of Christ, there is no difficulty in giving up the\nworld. If Christ fills the heart, the world is not only driven out,\nbut kept out. We not only turn our back upon Egypt, but we go far\nenough away from it never to return. And for what? To do nothing? To\nhave nothing? To be gloomy, morose, melancholy, sour, or cynical? No;\nbut to \"hold _a feast_ to the Lord.\" True, it is \"in the wilderness\";\nbut then the wilderness is heaven begun, when we have Christ there\nwith us. He is our heaven, blessed be His name--the light of our eyes,\nthe joy of our hearts, the food of our souls; for even heaven would be\nno heaven without Him, and the wilderness itself is turned into a\nheaven by His dear, bright, soul-satisfying presence.\n\nNor is this all. It is not merely that the _heart_ is thoroughly\nsatisfied with Christ; but the _mind_ also is divinely tranquilized as\nto the difficulties of the path, and the questions that so constantly\ncrop up to trouble and perplex those who do not know the deep\nblessedness of making Christ their object, and viewing all in direct\nreference to Him.\n\nFor instance, if I am called to act for Christ in any given case, and,\ninstead of looking at the matter simply in its bearing upon Him and\nHis glory, I look at how it will affect _me_, I shall most assuredly\nget into darkness and perplexity, and reach a wrong conclusion. But if\nI simply look at _Him_, and consider _Him_, and see how the matter\nbears upon _Him_, I shall see the thing as clear as a sunbeam, and\nmove with holy elasticity and firm purpose along that blessed path\nwhich is ever illuminated by the bright beams of God's approving\ncountenance. A single eye never looks at consequences, but looks\nstraight to Christ, and then all is simple and plain; the body is full\nof light, and the path marked by plain decision.\n\nThis is what is so needed in this day of easy-going profession,\nworldly religiousness, self-seeking, and man-pleasing. We want to make\nChrist our _only_ standpoint--to look at self, the world, and the\nso-called Church, from thence, regardless of consequences. Oh that it\nmay be so with us, through the infinite mercy of our God! Then we\nshall understand something of the force, depth, beauty, and fulness\nof the opening sentence of this paper, \"Let My people go, that they\nmay hold a feast to Me in the wilderness.\"\n\nNote the way in which Satan disputes every inch of the ground in the\ngrand question of Israel's deliverance from the land of Egypt. He\nwould allow them to worship _in_ the land, or _near_ the land; but\ntheir absolute and complete deliverance _from_ the land is what he\nwill, by every means in his power, obstinately resist.\n\nBut Jehovah, blessed be His eternal name, is above the great\nadversary, and He will have His people fully delivered, spite of all\nthe powers of hell and earth combined. The divine standard can never\nbe lowered--\"Let My people go, that they may hold a feast to Me in the\nwilderness.\" This is Jehovah's demand, and it must be made good,\nthough the enemy were to offer ten thousand objections. The divine\nglory is intimately involved in the entire separation of Israel from\nEgypt, and from all the people that are upon the face of the earth.\n\"The people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the\nnations.\" To this the enemy demurs; and to hinder it he puts forth all\nhis malignant power, and all his crafty schemes. We have already\nconsidered two of his objections, and we shall now proceed to the\nthird.\n\n3. \"And Moses and Aaron were brought again unto Pharaoh: and he said\nunto them, Go, serve the Lord your God: but who are they that shall\ngo? And Moses said, We will go with our young and with our old, with\nour sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our herds we\nwill go; for we must hold a feast unto the Lord. And he said unto\nthem, Let the Lord be so with you, as I will let you go, and your\nlittle ones: look to it; for evil is before you. Not so: go now ye\nthat are men, and serve the Lord; for that ye did desire. And they\nwere driven out from Pharaoh's presence\" (Ex. x. 8-11).\n\nThese words contain a very solemn lesson for the hearts of all\nChristian parents. They reveal a deep and crafty purpose of the\narch-enemy. If he cannot keep the parents in Egypt, he will at least\nseek to keep the children, and in this way mar the testimony to the\ntruth of God, tarnish His glory in His people, and hinder their\nblessing in Him. Parents in the wilderness, and their children in\nEgypt!--how opposed to the mind of God, and utterly subversive of His\nglory in the walk of His people.\n\nWe should ever remember--strange that we should ever forget!--that our\nchildren are part of ourselves. God's creative hand has made them\nsuch; and, surely, what the Creator has joined together, the Redeemer\nwould not put asunder. Hence we invariably find that God links a man\nand his house together. \"Thou and thy house\" is a phrase of deep\npractical import. It involves the very highest consequences, and\nconveys the richest consolation to every Christian parent; and, we may\ntruly add, the neglect of it has led to the most disastrous\nconsequences in thousands of family circles.\n\nVery many--alas, how many!--Christian parents, through an utterly\nfalse application of the doctrines of grace, have allowed their\nchildren to grow up around them in wilfulness and worldliness; and\nwhile so doing they have comforted themselves with the thought that\nthey could do nothing, and that in God's time their children would, if\nincluded in the eternal purpose, be gathered in. They have virtually\nlost sight of the grand practical truth that the One who has decreed\nthe end has fixed the means of reaching it, and that it is the height\nof folly to think of gaining the end while neglecting the means.\n\nDo we, then, mean to assert that all the children of Christian parents\nare, of necessity, included in the number of God's elect; that they\nwill all be infallibly saved?--and if not, that it is the parents'\nfault? We mean to assert nothing of the kind. \"Known unto God are all\nHis works from the beginning of the world.\" We know nothing of God's\neternal decrees and purposes. No mortal eye has scanned the page of\nHis secret counsels.\n\nWhat, then, is involved in the weighty expression, \"Thou and thy\nhouse?\" There are two things involved in it. In the first place, there\nis a most precious privilege; and, in the second place, a deep\nresponsibility. It is unquestionably the privilege of all Christian\nparents to count on God for their children: but it is also their\nbounden _duty_--do we dislike the homely word?--to train their\nchildren for God.\n\nHere we have the sum and substance of the whole matter--the two sides\nof this great question. The word of God, in every part of it, connects\na man with his house. \"This day is salvation come to _this house_.\"\n\"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and _thy\nhouse_\" (Luke xix.; Acts xvi). Here lies the solid basis of the\nprivilege and responsibility of parents. Acting on the weighty\nprinciple here laid down, we are at once to take God's ground for our\nchildren, and diligently bring them up for Him, counting on Him for\nthe result. We are to begin at the very beginning, and go steadily on,\nfrom day to day, month to month, year to year, training our children\nfor God. Just as a wise and skilful gardener begins, while his fruit\ntrees are young and tender, to train the branches along the wall where\nthey may catch the genial rays of the sun, so should we, while our\nchildren are young and plastic, seek to mould them for God. It would\nbe the height of folly, on the part of the gardener, to wait till the\nbranches become old and gnarled, and then seek to train them. He would\nfind it a hopeless task. And, most surely, it is the very greatest\nfolly, on our part, to suffer our children to remain for years and\nyears under the moulding hand of Satan, and the world, and sin, ere we\nrouse ourselves to the holy business of moulding them for God.\n\nLet us not be misunderstood. Let no one suppose that we mean to teach\nthat grace is hereditary, or that we can, by any act or system of\ntraining, make Christians of our children. No! nothing of the kind.\nGrace is sovereign, and the children of Christian parents must, like\nall others, be born of water and of the Spirit, ere they can see or\nenter the kingdom of God. All this is as plain and as clear as\nScripture can make it; but, on the other hand, Scripture is equally\nclear and plain as to the duty of Christian parents to \"bring up their\nchildren in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.\"[8]\n\n  [8] In Abraham we see how paternal control and exercise of authority\n  over his household is coupled with the Lord's promise and blessing:\n  \"And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I\n  do?... For I know him, _that he will command his children and his\n  household after him_, and they shall keep the way of the Lord ... that\n  the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which He hath spoken of him\"\n  (Gen. 18: 17-19). Ed.\n\nAnd what does this \"bringing up\" involve? What does it mean? In what\ndoes it consist? These, surely, are weighty questions for the heart\nand conscience of every Christian parent. It is to be feared, that\nvery few of us indeed really understand what Christian training means,\nor how it is to be carried on. One thing is certain, namely, that\nChristian training means a great deal more than drilling religion into\nour children, making the Bible a task-book, teaching our children to\nrepeat texts and hymns like a parrot, and turning the family circle\ninto a school. No doubt it is very well to store the memory of a\nchild with Scripture and sweet hymns. No one would think of calling\nthis in question. But is it not too frequently the case that religion\nis made a weariness to the child, and the Bible a repulsive\nschool-book?\n\nThis will never do. What is really needed is to surround our children\nwith a thoroughly Christian atmosphere, from their earliest moments;\nto let them breathe the pure air of the new creation; to let them see\nin their parents the genuine fruits of spiritual life--love, peace,\npurity, tenderness, holy disinterestedness, genuine kindness,\nunselfishness, loving thoughtfulness of others. These things have a\nmighty moral influence upon the plastic mind of the child, and the\nSpirit of God will assuredly use them in drawing the heart to\nChrist--the centre and the source of all these beauteous graces and\nheavenly influences.\n\nBut, on the other hand, who can attempt to define the pernicious\neffect produced upon our children by our inconsistencies, by our bad\ntemper, our selfish ways, our worldliness, and covetousness? Can we be\nsaid to bring our children out of Egypt when Egypt's principles and\nhabits are seen in our whole career? It may be we use and teach the\nphraseology of the wilderness or of Canaan; but our ways, our manners,\nour habits are those of Egypt, and our children are quicksighted\nenough to mark the gross inconsistency, and the effect upon them is\ndeplorable beyond expression. We have but little idea of the way in\nwhich the unfaithfulness of Christian parents has contributed to\nswell the tide of infidelity which is rising around us with such\nappalling rapidity.\n\nIt may be said, and said with a measure of truth, that children are\nresponsible spite of the inconsistency of their parents. But, most\nassuredly, whatever amount of truth there may be in this statement, it\nis not for parents to urge it. It ill becomes us to fall back upon the\nresponsibility of our children in view of our failure in meeting our\nown. They are responsible, no doubt, but so are we; and if we fail to\nexhibit before the eyes of our children those living and unanswerable\nproofs that we ourselves have left Egypt, and left it for ever, need\nwe marvel if they remain? Of what possible use is it to talk about\nwilderness life, and our being in Canaan, while our manners, our\nhabits, our ways, our deportment, our spirit, the bent of our whole\nlife, bears and exhibits the impress of Egypt? None whatever. The\nlanguage of the life gives the lie to the language of the lips, and we\nknow full well that the former is far more telling than the latter.\nOur children will judge from our conduct, not from our talk, where we\nreally are; and is this to be wondered at? Is not conduct the real\nindex of conviction? If we have really left Egypt, it will be seen in\nour ways; and if it be not seen in our ways, the talk of the lips is\nworse than worthless; it only tends to create disgust in the minds of\nour children, and to lead them to the conclusion that Christianity is\na mere sham.\n\nAll this is deeply solemn, and should lead Christian parents into the\nmost profound exercise of soul in the presence of God. We may depend\nupon it there is a great deal more involved in this question of\ntraining than many of us are aware of. Nothing but the direct power of\nthe Spirit of God can fit parents for the great and holy work of\ntraining their children, in these days in which we live, and in the\nmidst of the scene through which we are passing. That word falls upon\nthe heart with heavenly sweetness and power: \"My grace is sufficient\nfor thee.\" We can, with fullest confidence, reckon upon God to bless\nthe very feeblest effort to lead our dear children forth out of Egypt.\nBut the effort must be made, and made, too, with real, fixed, earnest\npurpose of heart. It will not do to fold our arms and say, \"Grace is\nnot hereditary. We cannot convert our children. If they are of the\nnumber of God's elect they must be saved; if not, they cannot.\"\n\nAll this is one-sided and utterly false. It will not stand; it cannot\nbear the light of the judgment-seat of Christ. Parents cannot get rid\nof the holy responsibility of training their children for God; that\nresponsibility begins with, and is based upon, the relationship; and\nthe right discharge of it demands continual exercise of soul before\nGod, in reference to our children. We have to remember that the\nfoundation of character is laid in the nursery. It is in the early\ndays of infancy that Christian training begins, and it must be\nsteadily pursued, from day to day, month to month, and year to year,\nin simple, hearty dependence upon God who will, most assuredly, in due\ntime, hear and answer the earnest cry of a parent's heart, and crown\nwith His rich blessing the faithful labors of a parent's hands.\n\nAnd, while on this subject of training children, we would, in true\nbrotherly love, offer a suggestion to all Christian parents as to the\nimmense importance of inculcating a spirit of implicit obedience.\n\nIf we mistake not, there is very wide-spread failure in this respect,\nfor which we have to judge ourselves before God. Whether through a\nfalse tenderness, or indolence, we suffer our children to walk\naccording to their own will and pleasure, and the strides which they\nmake along this road are alarmingly rapid. They pass from stage to\nstage with great speed, until, at length, they reach the terrible goal\nof despising their parents altogether, throwing their authority\nentirely overboard, and trampling beneath their feet the holy order of\nGod, and turning the domestic circle into a scene of godless misrule\nand confusion.\n\nHow dreadful this is we need not say, or how utterly opposed to the\nmind of God, as revealed in His holy word. But have we not ourselves\nto blame for it? God has put into the parents' hands the reins of\ngovernment, and the rod of authority, but if parents, through\nindolence, suffer the reins to drop from their hands; and if through\nfalse tenderness or moral weakness, the rod of authority is not\napplied, need we marvel if the children grow up in utter lawlessness?\nHow could it be otherwise? Children are, as a rule, very much what we\nmake them. If they are made to be obedient, they will be so; and if\nthey are allowed to have their own way, the result will be\naccordingly.\n\nAre we then to be continually chucking the reins and brandishing the\nrod? By no means. This would be to break the spirit of the child,\ninstead of subduing his will. Where parental authority is thoroughly\nestablished, the reins may lie gently on the neck, and the rod be\nallowed to stand in the corner. The child should be taught, from his\nearliest hour, that the parent only wills his good, but the parent's\nwill must be supreme. Nothing is simpler. A look is enough for a\nproperly trained child. There is no need whatever to be continually\nhawking our authority; indeed nothing is more contemptible whether in\na husband, a father, or a master. There is a quiet dignity about one\nwho really possesses authority; whereas the spasmodic efforts of\nweakness only draw out contempt.\n\nWe have found, through many years of experience and careful\nobservation, that the real secret of successful training lies in the\nproper adjustment of firmness and tenderness. If the parent, from the\nvery beginning, establishes his authority, he may exercise as much\ntenderness as the most loving heart can desire or display. When the\nchild is really made to feel that the reins and rod are under the\ndirect control of sound judgment and true affection, and not of a\nsour temper and an arbitrary will, there will be little difficulty in\ntraining him.\n\nIn a word, firmness and tenderness are the two essential ingredients\nin all sound education; a firmness which the child will not dare to\nquestion; a tenderness which takes account of the child's every real\nwant and right desire. It is sad indeed if the idea which a child\nforms of parental authority be that of an arbitrary interference with,\nor a cold indifference to, his little wishes and wants. It is not thus\nthat our heavenly Father deals with us; and He is to be our model in\nthis as in all beside. If it be written, and it is written, \"Children,\nobey your parents in all things;\" it is also, in beautiful adjusting\npower, written, \"Fathers, provoke not your children, lest they be\ndiscouraged.\" Again, if it be said, \"Children, obey your parents in\nthe Lord; for this is right;\" it is also said, \"Ye fathers, provoke\nnot your children to wrath; but bring them up in the nurture and\nadmonition of the Lord.\" In short, the child must be taught to obey;\nbut the obedient child must be allowed to breathe an atmosphere of\ntenderness, and to walk up and down in the sunshine of parental\naffection. This is the spirit of Christian education.[9]\n\n  [9] For further remarks on the deeply important subject of domestic\n  government, the reader is referred to a small pamphlet entitled, \"Thou\n  and Thy House; or, The Christian at Home.\"\n\n  Also an excellent little paper, \"The Training of Children,\" by a\n  Mother. Price of the first is 10 cts; the last is 4 cts.\n\nMost gladly would we dwell further on this great practical subject;\nbut we trust sufficient has been said to rouse the hearts and\nconsciences of all Christian parents to a sense of their high and holy\nresponsibilities in reference to their beloved offspring; and also to\nshew that there is a great deal more involved in bringing our children\nout of Egypt, and taking God's ground for them, than many of us are\naware of. And if the reading of the foregoing lines be used of God to\nlead any parent into prayerful exercise in this most weighty matter,\nwe shall not have penned them in vain.\n\n4. We shall close this paper with the briefest possible reference to\nthe enemy's fourth and last objection, which is embodied in the\nfollowing words, \"And Pharaoh called unto Moses, and said, Go ye,\nserve the Lord; only let your flocks and your herds be stayed: let\nyour little ones also go with you.\" He would let them go, but without\nresources to serve the Lord. If he could not keep them in Egypt, he\nwould send them away crippled and shorn. Such is the enemy's last\ndemurrer.\n\nBut mark the noble reply of a devoted heart. It is morally grand. \"And\nMoses said, Thou must give us also sacrifices and burnt-offerings,\nthat we may sacrifice unto the Lord our God. Our cattle also shall go\nwith us; there shall not a hoof be left behind: for thereof must we\ntake to serve the Lord our God; and\"--ponder these suggestive\nwords--\"_We know not with what we must serve the Lord until we come\nthither._\"\n\nWe must be fully and clearly on God's ground and at His stand-point,\nbefore ever we can form any true idea of the nature and extent of His\nclaims. It is utterly impossible, while surrounded by a worldly\natmosphere, and governed by a worldly spirit, worldly principles, and\nworldly objects, to have any just sense of what is due to God. We must\nstand on the lofty ground of accomplished redemption--in the\nfull-orbed light of the new creation--apart from this present evil\nworld, ere we can properly serve Christ. It is only when, in the power\nof an indwelling Spirit, we see where we are brought by the death and\nresurrection of Christ--\"three days' journey\"--that we can at all\nunderstand what true Christian service is; and then we shall clearly\nsee and fully own, that \"all we are, and all we have, belong to Him.\"\n\"We know not with what we must serve the Lord until we come thither.\"\nPrecious words! May we better understand their force, meaning, and\npractical application! Moses, the man of God, meets all Satan's\nobjections by a simple but decided adherence to Jehovah's demand, \"Let\nMy people go, that they hold a feast unto Me in the wilderness.\"\n\nThis is the true principle we are called to maintain spite of all\nobjections. If that standard be lowered, ever so little, the enemy\ngains his point, and Christian service and testimony are\nundermined--if not made impossible.\n\n\n\n\n                         \"THYSELF AND THE DOCTRINE\"\n\n                        (_A Word for the Workman._)\n\n     \"Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine (or\n     teaching); continue in them: for in doing this thou shall\n     both save thyself, and them that hear thee.\"--1 Tim. iv. 16.\n\n\nThese are solemn and weighty words for all those who labor in the word\nand doctrine. They were addressed by the inspired apostle to his\nbeloved son Timothy, and contain most precious instruction for every\none who is called of God to minister in the assembly, or to preach the\ngospel. It is assuredly a very high and holy privilege to be permitted\nto take part in such a ministry; but it involves a most serious\nresponsibility; and the passage just quoted sets before the workman\ntwo deeply important duties--yea, absolutely essential duties, to\nwhich he must give his diligent, constant, prayerful attention, if he\nwould be an efficient workman in the Church of God--\"a good minister\nof Jesus Christ.\" He must take heed to himself; and he must take heed\nto the teaching.\n\n1. And first, then, let us consider the solemn clause, \"_Take heed to\nthyself_.\" We cannot adequately set forth the moral importance of\nthis. It is, of course, important for all Christians; but for the\nworkman preeminently so; for to such it is here particularly\naddressed. He, above all, will need to take heed to himself. He must\nguard the state of his heart, the state of his conscience, his whole\ninward man. He must keep himself pure. His thoughts, his affections,\nhis spirit, his temper, his tongue, must all be kept under the holy\ncontrol of the Spirit and word of God. He must wear the girdle of\ntruth and the breastplate of righteousness. His moral condition and\nhis practical walk must answer to the truth ministered, else the enemy\nwill most assuredly get an advantage over him.\n\nThe teacher ought to be the living exponent of what he teaches. At\nleast this should be his honest, earnest, constant aim. He should ever\nkeep this holy standard before \"the eyes of his heart.\" Alas, the best\nwill fail and come short; but where the heart is true, the conscience\ntender, and the fear of God and the love of Christ have their due\nplace, the workman will never be satisfied with anything short of the\ndivine standard for his inward state and his outward walk. It will\never be his earnest desire to exhibit the practical effect of his\nteaching, and to be \"an example of the believers, in word, in\nconversation, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity\" (1 Tim. iv.\n12). With this he should ever remember that \"we preach not ourselves,\nbut Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants, for Jesus'\nsake.\"\n\nWe must never for a moment lose sight of the weighty moral fact that\nthe teacher ought to _live_ the truth which he teaches. It is morally\ndangerous, in the extreme, for a man to teach in public what he does\nnot live in private--dangerous for himself, most damaging to the\ntestimony, and injurious to those with whom he has to do. What can be\nmore deplorable or humiliating than for a man to be characterized by\ncontradicting in his personal history and in his domestic life the\ntruth which he utters in the public assembly? It is simply fearful,\nand must inevitably lead to the most disastrous results.\n\nHence, then, may it be the deep-seated, earnest purpose and aim of all\nthose who minister in the Word and doctrine to feed upon the precious\ntruth of God; to make it their own; to live and move and have their\nbeing in the very atmosphere of it; to have the inward man\nstrengthened and formed by it; to have it dwelling richly in them,\nthat thus it may flow out in living power, savor, unction and fulness\nto others.\n\nIt is a very poor, yea, a very dangerous thing to sit down to the word\nof God as a mere student, for the purpose of preparing lectures or\nsermons for other people. Nothing can be more deadening or withering\nto the soul. Mere intellectual traffic in the truth of God, storing up\ncertain doctrines, views and principles in the memory, and giving them\nout with a certain fluency of speech, is at once deluding and\ndemoralizing. We may be drawing water for other people, and all the\nwhile be like rusty pipes ourselves. How miserable this is! \"If any\nman thirst, let him come unto Me and _drink_,\" said our blessed Lord.\nHe did not say \"_draw_.\" The true spring and power of all ministry in\nthe Church will ever be found in drinking for our own souls, not in\ndrawing for others. \"He that believeth on Me, as the Scripture hath\nsaid, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.\" We must\nabide close to the eternal fountain, the heart of Christ; drink\ndeeply, drink continually. Thus our own souls shall be refreshed and\nenriched; rivers shall flow for the refreshment of others, and streams\nof praise ascend to the throne and to the heart of God by Jesus\nChrist. This is Christian ministry--yea, this is Christianity; all\nelse is utterly worthless.\n\n2. We shall now dwell for a few moments on the second point in our\nsubject, namely, the doctrine, or teaching--for such is the true force\nof the original word. And oh, how much is involved in this! \"Take heed\nto the teaching.\" Solemn admonition! What care is needed! What holy\nwatchfulness! What earnest, prayerful, constant waiting upon God for\nthe right thing to say, and the right way to say it! God only knows\nthe state and the need of souls. He knows their capacity. We do not.\nWe may be offering \"strong meat\" to those who can only bear \"milk,\"\nand thus do positive mischief. \"If any man speak, let him speak as\noracles of God.\" He does not say, \"_according_ to the oracles of God.\"\nA man may rise and speak for an hour in the assembly, and every word\nhe says may be in strict accordance with the letter of Scripture, and\nyet he may not at all speak as an oracle of God--as God's mouthpiece\nto the people. He may minister truth, but not the needed truth, at the\ntime.\n\nHow solemn is all this! How it makes us feel the seriousness of the\napostle's admonition, \"Take heed to the teaching\"! How it sets before\nus the urgent need of self-emptied dependence upon the power and\nguidance of the Holy Ghost! Here lies the precious secret of all\neffective ministry, whether oral or written. We may talk for hours,\nand write volumes,--and talk and write nothing unscriptural,--but if\nit be not in the power of the Spirit, our words will prove but as\nsounding brass and a tinkling cymbal, and our volumes as so much waste\npaper. We want to lie much at the Master's feet, to drink deeply into\nHis Spirit, to be in fellowship with His heart of love for the\nprecious lambs and sheep of His flock. Then shall we be in a condition\nof soul to give the portion of meat in due season.\n\nHe alone knows exactly what His beloved people really need at all\ntimes. We may perhaps feel deeply interested in some special line of\ntruth, and we may judge it to be the right thing for the assembly; but\nthis might be quite a mistake. It is not the truth which interests us,\nbut the truth which the assembly needs, that should be given out; and\nfor this we should ever wait upon our gracious Lord. We should look\nsimply and earnestly to Him, and say, \"Lord, what wouldest Thou have\nme to say to Thy beloved people? Give me the suited message for them.\"\nThen would He use us as His channels; and the truth would flow down\nfrom His loving heart into our hearts, and forth from us, in the power\nof His Spirit, into the hearts of His people.\n\nOh that it were thus with all who speak and write for the Church of\nGod! What results we might look for!--what power!--what manifest\nprogress in the divine life! The true interests of the flock of Christ\nwould then be thought of in all that was spoken or written. Nothing\nequivocal, nothing strange or startling, would then be sent forth.\nNothing but what is sound and seasonable would flow from the lips or\nthe pen. Sound speech that cannot be condemned, that which is good for\nthe use of edifying, would alone be sent forth.\n\nMay every beloved workman throughout the length and breadth of the\nChurch of God take home to himself the apostolic admonition, \"Take\nheed to thyself, and to the teaching; ... for in doing this thou shalt\nboth save thyself, and them that hear thee\"!\n\n\"Of these things put them in remembrance, testifying earnestly before\nthe Lord, not to have disputes of words, profitable for nothing, to\nthe subversion of the hearers. Strive diligently to present thyself\n_approved to God_, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly\ndividing the word of truth\" (2 Tim. ii. 14, 15).\n\n\n\n\n                             THE THREE CROSSES.\n\n                             Luke xxiii. 39-43.\n\n\nWe want the reader to turn aside with us for a few moments and\nmeditate upon those three crosses. If we mistake not, he will find a\nvery wide field of truth opened before him in the brief but\ncomprehensive record given at the head of this article.\n\n1. First of all, we must gaze at the centre cross, or rather at Him\nwho was nailed thereon--Jesus of Nazareth--that blessed One who had\nspent His life in labors of love, healing the sick, cleansing the\nlepers, opening the eyes of the blind, raising the dead, feeding the\nhungry, drying the widow's tears, meeting every form of human need,\never ready to drop the tear of true sympathy with every child of\nsorrow; whose meat and drink it was to do the will of God, and to do\ngood to man; a holy, spotless, perfectly gracious man; the only pure,\nuntainted sheaf of human fruit ever seen in this world; \"a man\napproved of God,\" who had perfectly glorified God on this earth and\nperfectly manifested Him in all His ways.\n\nSuch, then, was the One who occupied the centre cross; and when we\ncome to inquire what it was that placed Him there, we learn a\nthreefold lesson; or rather, we should say, three profound truths are\nunfolded to our hearts.\n\nIn the first place, we are taught, as nothing else can teach us, what\nman's heart is toward God. Nothing has ever displayed this--nothing\ncould display it--as the cross has. If we want a perfect standard by\nwhich to measure the world, to measure the human heart, to measure\nsin, we must look at the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. We cannot\nstop short of the cross, and we cannot go beyond it, if we want to\nknow what the world is, inasmuch as it was there that the world fully\nuttered itself--there fallen humanity fully let itself out. When the\nhuman voice cried out, \"Crucify Him! crucify Him!\" that voice was the\nutterance of the human heart, declaring, as nothing else could\ndeclare, its true condition in the sight of God. When man nailed the\nSon of God to the cross, he reached the full height of his guilt, and\nthe depth of moral turpitude. When man preferred a robber and a\nmurderer to Christ, he proved that he would rather have robbery and\nmurder than light and love. The cross demonstrates this tremendous\nfact; and the demonstration is so clear as to leave not the shadow of\na question.\n\nIt is well to seize this point. It is certainly not seen with\nsufficient clearness. We are very prone to judge of the world\naccording to its treatment of ourselves. We speak of its hollowness,\nits faithlessness, its baseness, its deceitfulness, and such like;\nbut we are too apt to make _self_ the measure in all this, and hence\nwe fall short of the real mark. In order to reach a just conclusion,\nwe must judge by a perfect standard, and this can only be found in the\ncross. The cross is the only perfect measure of man, of the world, of\nsin. If we really want to know what the world is, we must remember\nthat it preferred a robber to Christ, and crucified between two\nthieves the only perfect man that ever lived.\n\nSuch, beloved reader, is the world in which you live. Such is its\ncharacter--such its moral condition--such its true state as proved by\nits own deliberately planned and determinedly perpetrated act. And\ntherefore we need not marvel at aught that we hear or see of the\nworld's wickedness, seeing that in crucifying the Lord of glory, it\ngave the strongest proof that could be given of wickedness and guilt.\n\nIt will perhaps be said, in reply, the world is changed. It is not now\nwhat it was in the days of Herod and Pontius Pilate. The world of the\nnineteenth century is very different from the world of the first. It\nhas made progress in every way. Civilization has flung its fair mantle\nover the scene; and, as respects a large portion of the world,\nChristianity has shed its purifying and enlightening influence upon\nthe masses; so that it would be _very_ unwarrantable to measure the\nworld that _is_ by the terrible act of the world that _was_.\n\nReader, do you really believe that the world is changed? Is it really\nimproved in the deep springs of its moral being--is it altered at its\nheart's core? We readily admit all that a free gospel and an open\nBible have, by the rich mercy of God, achieved here and there. We\nthink, with grateful hearts and worshiping spirits, of thousands and\nhundreds of thousands of precious souls converted to God. We bless the\nLord, with all our hearts, for multitudes who have lived and died in\nthe faith of Christ; and for multitudes who, at this very moment, are\ngiving most convincing evidence of their genuine attachment to the\nname, the person, and the cause of Christ.\n\nBut, after allowing the broadest margin in which to insert all these\nglorious results, we return, with firm decision, to our conviction\nthat the world is the world still, and if it had the opportunity, the\nact that was perpetrated in Jerusalem in the year 33, would be\nperpetrated in Christendom now.\n\nThis may seem severe and sweeping; but is it true? Is the Name of\nJesus one whit more agreeable to the world to-day, than it was when\nits great religious leaders cried out, \"Not this man, but Barabbas!\"\nOnly try it. Go and breathe that peerless and precious Name amid the\nbrilliant circles that throng the drawing-rooms of the polite, the\nfashionable, the wealthy, and the noble of this our own day. Name Him\nin the steamboat saloon, in the railway carriage, or in the public\nhall, and see if you will not very speedily be told that such a\nsubject is out of place. Any other name, any other subject will be\ntolerated. You may talk folly and nonsense in the ear of the world,\nand you will never be told it is out of place; but talk of Jesus, and\nyou will very soon be silenced. How often have we seen our leading\nthoroughfares literally blocked up by crowds of people looking at a\npuppet show, or listening to a ballad singer or a German band, and no\npoliceman tells them to move on. Let a servant of Christ stand to\npreach in our thoroughfares and he will be summoned before the\nmagistrates. There is room in our public streets for the devil, but\nthere is no room for Jesus Christ. \"Not this man, but Barabbas.\"\n\nCan any one deny these things? Have they not been witnessed again and\nagain? And what do they prove? They prove, beyond all question, the\nfallacy of the notion that the world is improved. They prove that the\nworld of the nineteenth century is the world of the first. It has, in\nsome places, changed its dress, but not its real _animus_. It has\ndoffed the robes of paganism, and donned the cloak of Christianity;\nbut underneath that cloak may be seen all the hideous features of\npaganism's spirit. Compare Romans i. 29-31 with 2 Timothy iii., and\nthere you will find the very traits and lineaments of nature in\ndarkest heathenism, reproduced in connection with \"the form of\ngodliness\"--the grossest forms of moral pravity covered with the robe\nof christian profession.\n\nNo, no, reader; it is a fatal mistake to imagine that the world is\nimproving. It is stained with the murder of the Son of God; and it\nproves its consent to the deed in every stage of its history, in\nevery phase of its condition. The world is under judgment. Its\nsentence is passed; the awful day of its execution is rapidly\napproaching. The world is simply a deep, dark, rapid stream rushing\nonward to the lake of fire. Nothing but the sword of judgment can ever\nsettle the heavy question pending between the God and Father of our\nLord Jesus Christ and that world which murdered His Son.\n\nThus it is, if Scripture is to be our guide. Judgment is coming. It is\nat the very door. Eighteen hundred years ago, the inspired apostle\npenned the solemn sentence, that \"God is _ready_ to judge.\" If He was\nready then, surely He is ready now. And why tarries He? In\nlong-suffering mercy, not willing that _any_ should perish, but that\n_all_ should come to repentance. Precious words! Words of exquisite\ntenderness and matchless grace! Words that tell out the large, loving,\ngracious heart of our God, and His intense desire for man's salvation.\n\nBut judgment is coming. The awful day of vengeance is at hand; and,\nmeanwhile, the voice of Jesus, sounding through the lips of His dear\nambassadors, may be heard on every side calling men to flee out of the\nterrible vortex, and make their escape to the stronghold of God's\nsalvation.\n\n2. But this leads us, in the second place, to look at the cross as the\nexpression of God's heart toward man. If on the cross of our adorable\nLord and Saviour Jesus Christ, we read, in characters deep, broad,\nand unmistakable, the true state of man's heart Godward; in the\nselfsame cross, we may read, with no less clearness surely, the state\nof God's heart toward man. The cross is the divinely perfect measure\nof both.\n\n    \"The very spear that pierced Thy side,\n    Drew forth the blood to save.\"\n\nWe behold, at the cross, the marvellous meeting of enmity and\nlove--sin and grace. Man displayed at Calvary, the very height of his\nenmity against God. God, blessed for ever be His name, displayed the\nheight of His love. Hatred and love met; but love proved victorious.\nGod and sin met; God triumphed, sin was put away, and now, at the\nresurrection side of the cross, the eternal Spirit announces the glad\ntidings, that grace reigns through righteousness, unto eternal life by\nJesus Christ our Lord. At the cross, the battle was fought and the\nvictory won; and now the liberal hand of sovereign grace is scattering\nfar and wide the spoils of victory.\n\nReader, do you really desire to know what the heart of God is toward\nman? If so, go and gaze on that centre cross to which Jesus Christ was\nnailed, by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God. True it\nis, as we have already seen, man did, with wicked hands, crucify and\nslay the blessed One. This is the dark side of this question. But\nthere is a bright side also, for God is seen in it. No doubt, man\nfully let himself out at the cross; but God was above him. Yes, above\nall the powers of earth and hell which were there ranged in their\nterrible array.\n\nAs it was, in the case of Joseph and his brethren; they told out the\nenmity of their hearts in flinging him into the pit, and selling him\nto the Ishmaelites. Here was the dark side. But then, mark these words\nof Joseph: \"Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves,\nthat ye sold me hither; for God did send me before you to preserve\nlife.\"\n\nHere was the bright side. But to whom were these wondrous words of\ngrace addressed? To broken hearts and penitent spirits, and convicted\nconsciences. To men who had learnt to say, \"We are verily guilty.\" It\nis only such that can at all enter into the line of truth which is now\nbefore us. Those who have taken their true place, who have accepted\nthe judgment of God against themselves, who truly own that the cross\nis the measure of their guilt--they can appreciate the cross as the\nexpression of God's heart of love toward them; they can enter into the\nglorious truth that the selfsame cross which demonstrates man's hatred\nof God sets forth also God's love to man. The two things ever go\ntogether. It is when we see and own our guilt, as proved in the cross,\nthat we learn the purifying and peace-speaking power of that precious\nblood which cleanseth us from all sin.\n\nYes, beloved reader; it is only a broken heart and a contrite spirit\nthat can truly enter into the marvellous love of God as set forth in\nthe cross of Christ. How could Joseph ever have said, \"Be not grieved\nwith yourselves,\" if he had not seen his brethren broken down in his\npresence? Impossible. And how can an unbroken heart, an unreached\nconscience, an impenitent soul enter into the value of the atoning\nblood of Christ, or taste the sweetness of the love of God? Utterly\nimpossible. Joseph \"spake roughly\" to his brethren at the first, but\nthe very moment those accents emanated from their broken hearts, \"We\nare verily guilty,\" they were in a condition to understand and value\nthe words, \"Be not grieved with yourselves.\" It is when we are\ncompletely broken down in the presence of the cross, seeing it as the\nperfect measure of our own deep personal guilt, that we are prepared\nto see it as the glorious display of God's love towards us.\n\nAnd then and there we escape from a guilty world. Then and there we\nare rescued completely from that dark and rapid current of which we\nhave spoken, and brought within the hallowed and peaceful circle of\nGod's salvation, where we can walk up and down in the very sunlight of\na Father's countenance and breathe the pure air of the new creation.\n\"Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift!\"\n\n3. And now, one word, ere closing this branch of our subject on the\ncross as displaying the heart of Christ toward God. We can do little\nmore than indicate this point, leaving the reader to prove its\nsuggestive power, under the immediate ministry of the Holy Ghost.\n\nIt is an unspeakable comfort to the heart, in the midst of such a\nworld as this, to remember that God has been perfectly glorified by\nOne, at least. There has been One on this earth whose meat and drink\nwas to do the will of God, to glorify Him, and finish His work. In\nlife and death, Jesus perfectly glorified God. From the manger to the\ncross, His heart was perfectly devoted to _the_ one great object,\nnamely, to accomplish the will of God, whatever that will might be.\n\"Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of Me) to do Thy\nwill, O God.\" In the roll of Scripture it was written of the Son that,\nin due time, He should come into this world, according to God's\neternal counsels, and accomplish the will of the Godhead. To this He\ndedicated Himself with all the energies of His perfect being. From\nthis He never swerved a hair's breadth from first to last; and when we\ngaze on that centre cross which is now engaging our attention, we\nbehold the perfect consummation of that which had filled the heart of\nJesus from the very beginning, even the accomplishment of the will of\nGod.\n\nAll this is blessedly unfolded to us in that charming passage in\nPhilippians ii. \"Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ\nJesus; who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be\nequal with God; but made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him\nthe form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men; and being\nfound in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient\nunto death, even the death of the cross\" (Vers. 5-8).\n\nHow wonderful is all this! What profound depths there are in the\nmystery of the cross! What lines of truth converge in it! What rays of\nlight emanate from it! What unfoldings of heart there! The heart of\nman to Godward--the heart of God to manward--the heart of Christ to\nGod! All this we have in the cross. We can gaze on that One who hung\nthere between two thieves, a spectacle to heaven, earth, and hell, and\nsee the perfect measure of every one and everything in the whole\nuniverse of God. Would we know the measure of the heart of God--His\nlove to us--His hatred of sin? we must look at the cross. Would we\nknow the measure of the heart of man, his real condition, his hatred\nof all that is divinely good, his innate love of all that is\nthoroughly bad? we must look at the cross. Would we know what the\nworld is--what sin is--what Satan is? we must look at the cross.\n\nAssuredly, then, there is nothing like the cross. Well may we ponder\nit. It shall be our theme throughout the everlasting ages. May it be,\nmore and more, our theme now! May the Holy Ghost so lead our souls\ninto the living depths of the cross, that we may be absorbed with the\nOne who was nailed thereto, and thus weaned from the world that placed\nHim there. May the real utterance of our hearts, beloved reader, ever\nbe, \"God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord\nJesus Christ.\" God grant it, for Jesus Christ's sake!\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nHaving dwelt, for a little, on that marvellous centre cross to which\nthe Lord of glory was nailed, for our redemption, we shall now turn to\nthe other two, and seek to learn some solemn and weighty lessons from\nthe inspired record concerning the men who hung thereon. We shall find\nin these two men samples of the two great classes into which the human\nfamily is divided, from the beginning to the end of time, namely the\nreceivers and the rejecters of the Christ of God--those who believe in\nJesus, and those who believe not.\n\nIn the first place, it is of the utmost importance to see that there\nwas no essential difference between those two men. In nature, in their\nrecorded history, in their circumstances, they were one. Some have\nlabored to establish a distinction between them; but for what object\nit is difficult to say, unless it be to dim the lustre of the grace\nthat shines forth in the narrative of the penitent thief. It is\nmaintained that there must have been some event in his previous\nhistory to account for his marvellous end--some redeeming\nfeature--some hopeful circumstance on account of which his prayer was\nheard at the last.\n\nBut Scripture is totally silent as to aught of this kind. And not only\nis it silent as to any redeeming or qualifying circumstance, but it\nactually gives us the testimony of two inspired witnesses to prove\nthat, up to the very moment in which Luke introduces him to our\nnotice, he, like his fellow on the other side, was engaged in the\nterrible work of railing on the Son of God. In Matthew xxvii. 44, we\nread that \"The _thieves_ also, which were crucified with Him, cast the\nsame in His teeth.\" So also in Mark xv. 32, \"_They_ that were\ncrucified with Him reviled Him.\"\n\nNow, this is divinely conclusive. It proves, beyond all question, that\nthere was no difference between the two thieves. They were both\ncondemned malefactors; and not only so, but when actually on the very\nconfines of the eternal world, they were both occupied in the awful\nsin of reviling the blessed Son of God.\n\nIt is utterly vain, therefore, for any one to seek to establish a\ndistinction between these two men, inasmuch as they were alike in\ntheir nature, in their guilt, in their criminality, and in their\nprofane wickedness. There was no difference up to the moment in which\nthe arrow of conviction entered the soul of him whom we call the\npenitent thief. The more clearly this is seen, the more the sovereign\ngrace of God shines out in all its blessed brightness. \"There is no\ndifference; for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.\"\nAnd, on the other hand, \"There is no difference, for the same Lord\nover all is rich unto all that call upon Him\" (Compare Rom. iii. 22,\n23, with chapter x. 12).\n\nThe only standard by which men are to be measured is \"the glory of\nGod;\" and inasmuch as all have come short of that--the best as well\nas the worst of men--there is no difference. Were it merely a question\nof conscience, or of human righteousness, there might be some\ndifference. Were the standard of measurement merely human, then indeed\nsome shades of distinction might easily be established. But it is not\nso. All must be ruled by the glory of God; and, thus ruled, all are\nalike deficient. \"There is no difference; for all have sinned, and\ncome short of the glory of God.\"\n\nBut, blessed be God, there is another side to this great question.\n\"The same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon Him.\" The\nriches of the grace of God are such as to reach down to the very\ndeepest depths of human ruin, guilt and misery. If the light of divine\nglory reveals--as nothing else could reveal--man's utter ruin; the\nriches of divine grace, as displayed in the person and work of Christ,\nhave perfectly met that ruin, and provided a remedy in every way\nadequate to meet the claims of the divine glory.\n\nBut let us see how all this is illustrated in the striking and\nbeautiful narrative of the penitent thief.\n\nIt is very evident that the Spirit of God, in the evangelist Luke,\ntakes up this interesting case at that special point in the which a\ndivine work had really begun. Matthew and Mark present him as a\nblaspheming malefactor. We can hardly conceive a deeper shade of moral\nturpitude than that which he, according to their inspired record,\nexhibits to our view! There is not so much as a single relieving\ntint. All is dark as midnight--dark almost as hell; yet not too dark\nto be reached by the light that was shining straight down from heaven\nthrough the mysterious medium of that centre cross.\n\nIt is well to get a very profound sense of our true condition by\nnature. We cannot possibly go too deep in this line. The ruin of\nnature is complete--of nature in all its phases and in all its stages.\nIf all have not gone to the same length as the thief on the cross--if\nall have not brought forth the same fruit--if all have not clothed\nthemselves in forms equally hideous, it is no thanks to their nature.\nThe human heart is a seed plot in which may be found the seed of every\ncrime that has ever stained the page of human history. If the seed has\nnot germinated and fructified, it is not owing to a difference in the\nsoul, but a difference in surrounding circumstances and influences.\n\nThe testimony of Scripture on this great question, is distinct and\nconclusive, \"There is no difference.\" Men do not like this. It is too\nleveling for them. Self-righteousness is cut out by the roots by this\nsweeping statement of inspiration. Man likes to establish\ndistinctions. He cannot bear to be placed in the same category with\nthe Magdalenes and the Samaritans, and such like. But it cannot be\notherwise. Grace levels all distinctions now; and judgment will level\nthem all by-and-by. If we are saved, it is in company with Magdalenes\nand Samaritans; and if we are lost, it will be in company with such\nlikewise. There will, no doubt, be degrees of glory; as there will be\ndegrees of punishment; but as to the real nature and character of the\nhuman heart, \"there is no difference.\" \"The _heart_ is deceitful above\nall things, and desperately wicked.\" What heart? Man's heart--the\nheart of the writer and the reader of these lines. \"For out of _the\nheart_ proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications,\nthefts, false witness, blasphemies.\" Out of what heart? Man's\nheart--the heart of the writer and the reader of these lines. These\nthings could not come out of the heart if they were not there; and if\nthey do not come out in action, it is not because they are not there,\nbut that circumstances have operated to prevent.\n\nSuch is the clear and unvarying testimony of Holy Scripture; and\nwhenever the Spirit of God begins to operate on the heart and\nconscience of a man He produces the deep sense and full confession of\nthe truth of this testimony. Every divinely convicted soul is ready to\nadopt as his own these words, \"In me, that is, in my flesh, dwelleth\nno good.\" Every truly contrite spirit owns the fact of his total ruin.\nAll wisdom's children justify God and condemn themselves--there is no\nexception. All who are really brought under the convicting power of\nthe Holy Spirit will, without any reserve, set their seal--the seal of\ntheir whole moral being to the inspired statement, \"there is no\ndifference.\"\n\nAny who hesitate to own this have yet to learn themselves, in the\nlight of the holiness of God. The most refined, polished and\ncultivated person, if enlightened by the Spirit of God, will readily\ntake his place with the thief on the cross, inasmuch as the divine\nlight shining in upon him, reveals the hidden springs of his being,\nleads him to see the profound depths of his nature--the roots and\nsources of things. Thus while relatives, friends and acquaintances--mere\nonlookers, judging from the surface, may think very highly of his\ncharacter, he himself, knowing better, because of divine light, can only\nexclaim, \"O wretched man that I am\"--\"Behold I am vile\"--\"Woe is me, I am\nundone\"--\"I am a sinful man, O Lord.\"\n\nThese are the proper utterances of a divinely convicted soul; and it\nis only when we can thus truly and heartily express ourselves that we\nare really prepared to appreciate the riches of the grace of God as\nunfolded in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Grace takes up real sinners.\n\"The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which is lost;\" and\nthe more fully I realize my lost estate, my hopeless ruin, my utter\nwretchedness, the more fully I can enter into the fulness and freeness\nof God's salvation--a salvation purchased by the blood of the cross.\n\nHence we see how brightly grace shines in the salvation of the thief\non the cross. There can be no possible mistake as to him. Clearly he\nhad no good works to trust in. He had performed no deeds of charity.\nOf baptism and the Lord's Supper he knew nothing. The rites,\nceremonies, and ordinances of religion had done--could do nothing for\nhim. In a word, his case was a thoroughly hopeless one, so far as _he_\nwas concerned. For what could _he_ do? Whither could he turn? His\nhands and his feet were nailed fast to a malefactor's cross. It was\nuseless to talk to him about doing or going. His hands, while he had\nthe use of them, had been stretched forth in deeds of violence; and\nnow they were nailed to the tree, and could do nothing. His feet,\nwhile he had the use of them, had trodden the terrible path of the\ntransgressor; and now they were nailed to the tree, and could not\ncarry him anywhere.\n\nBut, reader, note this. Although the poor thief no longer had the use\nof his hands and his feet--so indispensable to a religion of\nworks--his heart and his tongue were free; and these are the very\nthings that are called into exercise in a religion of faith, as we\nread in that lovely tenth of Romans, \"With the _heart_ man believeth\nunto righteousness; and with the _mouth_ confession is made unto\nsalvation.\"\n\nPrecious words! How suited to the thief on the cross! How suited and\nseasonable for _every_ poor helpless, hopeless, self-destroyed sinner!\nAnd we must all be saved in like manner as the thief on the cross.\nThere are no two ways to heaven. There is not one way for the\nreligionist, the moralist, the Pharisee, and another way for the\nmalefactor. There is but one way, and that way is marked from the\nvery throne of God down to where the guilty sinner lies, dead in\ntrespasses and sins, with the footprints of redeeming love; and from\nthence back to the throne by the precious atoning blood of Christ.\nThis is the way to heaven--a way paved with love, sprinkled with\nblood, and trodden by a happy holy band of redeemed worshipers\ngathered from all the ends of the earth, to chant the heavenly anthem,\n\"Worthy is the Lamb that was slain.\"\n\nWe have said that the heart of the thief was free; yes, free under the\nmighty action of the Holy Ghost, to turn toward that blessed One who\nhung beside him--that One whom he had just been reviling, but on whom\nhe could now fix his repentant gaze, and to whom he could now bear the\nnoblest testimony ever uttered by men or angels.\n\nBut it is most instructive and interesting to mark the progress of the\nwork of God in the soul of the dying thief. Indeed the work of God in\nany soul is ever of the deepest possible interest. The operations of\nthe Holy Spirit _in us_ must never be separated from the work of\nChrist _for us_; and, we may add, both the one and the other are\nfounded upon, and inseparably linked with the eternal counsels of God\nwith respect to us. This is what makes it all so real, so solid, so\nentirely divine. It is not of man. It is all of God, from first to\nlast--from the first dawning of conviction in the soul until it is\nintroduced into the full-orbed light of the glorious gospel of the\ngrace of God. The Lord be praised that it is so! Were it\notherwise--were there a single atom of the creature in it, from\nbeginning to end, that one atom would neutralize and destroy the\nwhole, and render it not worth having.\n\nNow in the case of the penitent thief, we discern the first touch of\nthe Eternal Spirit--the very earliest fruit of His sanctifying work,\nin the words addressed to his fellow, \"Dost thou not fear God?\" He\ndoes not say, \"Dost thou not fear punishment?\" The sanctification of\nthe Spirit, in every case, is evidenced by the fear of the Lord, and a\nholy abhorrence of evil for its own sake. \"The fear of the Lord is the\nbeginning of wisdom.\" There may be a fear of judgment, a fear of hell,\na fear of the consequences of sin, without the smallest particle of\nhatred of sin itself. But where the Spirit of God is really at work in\nthe heart, He produces the real sense of sin and the judgment thereof\nin the sight of God.\n\nThis is repentance; let the reader ponder it deeply. It is a grand\nreality; an essential element, in every case. \"God commandeth all men,\neverywhere, to repent\" (Acts xvii. 30). There is no getting over\nthis--no setting it aside. Some may seek to do away with man's\nresponsibility on the plea of his inability to do anything right or\ngood. They may seek to persuade us that it is useless, yea unsound, to\ncall upon men to repent and believe, seeing that men can do nothing of\nthemselves. But the question is, what is the meaning of the words\nwhich we have just culled from the apostle's address at Athens? Did\nPaul preach the truth? Was he sound in the faith? Was he sufficiently\nhigh in doctrine? Well then Paul declares, in the clearest and most\nemphatic manner, that \"God commandeth _all_ men, _everywhere_, to\nrepent.\" Will any turn round and say they cannot? Will any venture to\ndeny man's responsibility to obey a divine command? If so, where are\nthey? On very dangerous ground. If God commands all men to repent, woe\nbe to those who refuse to do so; and woe be to those who teach that\nthey are not responsible to do so.\n\nBut let us devote a few moments to the examination of this great\npractical question in the light of the New Testament. Let us see\nwhether our Lord and His apostles called upon men--\"all men,\neverywhere, to repent.\"\n\nIn the third chapter of Matthew's Gospel, we read, \"In these days came\nJohn the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Jud\u00e6a, and saying,\nRepent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.\"\n\nIt will, perhaps, be said that John addressed himself specially to\nIsrael--a people in recognized relationship with Jehovah--and hence\nthis passage cannot be adduced in proof of the universal and abiding\nnecessity of repentance. Well, we merely quote it here in order to\nshew that man, whether Jew or Gentile, is responsible to repent, and\nthat the very first voice which falls upon the ear, in the time of\nthe New Testament, is heard calling sinners to repentance. Was the\nBaptist right or wrong? Was he trespassing upon the domain of sound\ndoctrine when he summoned men to repent? Would some of our modern\ntheologians have called him aside, after he was done preaching, and\ntaken him to task for deceiving men by leading them to suppose that\nthey could repent? We should like to have heard the Baptist's reply.\n\nBut we have the example of a greater than John the Baptist, as our\nwarrant for preaching repentance, for in Matthew iv. we read, \"From\nthat time, Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent; for the kingdom\nof heaven is at hand.\" Dare any one turn round and say to the divine\nPreacher, \"We cannot repent. We have no power. We are not\nresponsible!\" Ah, no! men may argue and reason, and talk theology; but\nthere stands the living record before us--Jesus called upon men to\nrepent, and that, too, without entering, in any way, upon the question\nof man's ability here or there. He addressed man as a responsible\nbeing, as one who was imperatively called to judge himself and his\nways, to confess his sins, and repent in dust and ashes. The only true\nplace for a sinner is the place of repentance; and if he refuses to\ntake that place in the presence of divine grace, he will be compelled\nto take it in the presence of divine judgment, when repentance will be\ntoo late. \"God commandeth all men, everywhere, to repent.\"\n\nPassing on to the opening of the Acts of the Apostles, we are\nprivileged to hearken to Peter's address on the day of Pentecost--the\nmost fruitful sermon ever preached in this world--crowned with the\nglorious result of three thousand souls! And what did Peter preach? He\npreached Christ, and he called upon men to repent. Yes, the great\napostle of the circumcision insisted upon repentance--self-judgment--true\ncontrition of heart before God. \"Then said Peter unto them, Repent,\nand be baptized _every one of you_ in the name of Jesus Christ, for\nthe remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy\nGhost\" (Acts ii. 38). And, again, \"Repent ye therefore and be\nconverted, that your sins may be blotted out\" (Chap. iii. 19).\n\nWas Peter right in calling upon men to repent and be converted? Would\nany one be justified in saying to him, at the close of his preaching,\n\"How can men repent? How can they be converted? They can do nothing.\"\nWe should vastly like to hear Peter's reply. One thing is certain, the\npower of the Holy Ghost accompanied the preaching. He set His seal to\nit, and that is enough. \"God commandeth _all men, everywhere_, to\nrepent.\" Woe to all who refuse.\n\nWe have already referred to the preaching of the blessed apostle of\nthe Gentiles, and the great teacher of the Church of God. He himself,\nreferring to his ministry at Ephesus, declares in the audience of the\nelders, \"I kept back nothing that was profitable, but have shewed you,\nand have taught you publicly, and from house to house, testifying\nboth to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and\nfaith toward our Lord Jesus Christ\" (Acts xx. 20, 21). So also, in his\npungent address to Agrippa, he says, \"I was not disobedient unto the\nheavenly vision; but shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at\nJerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Jud\u00e6a, and then to the\nGentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet\nfor repentance.\"\n\nThus we have a body of evidence, drawn from Scripture, such as cannot\nbe gainsaid, proving the universal and abiding necessity of\nrepentance. \"God commandeth all men, everywhere, to _repent_.\" There\nis no avoiding this. Let men beware how they set it aside. No system\nof theology can be sound that denies the responsibility of the sinner\nto repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.\n\nWe have digressed; but the digression was needful, and we now return\nto our theme.\n\nThe case of the penitent thief furnishes a very fine illustration of\nPeter's weighty sentence, \"Repent and be converted.\" It teaches us in\na clear and forcible manner, the true meaning of repentance and\nconversion--two subjects so little understood, so sadly clouded by\nfalse teaching.\n\nThe human heart is ever prone to take divine things by the wrong end;\nand when false theology combines with this tendency of the heart, by\npresenting things in a one-sided manner, the moral effect upon the\nsoul is something terrible. Hence it is that, when men are called upon\nin the gospel message to repent and turn to God, they think it\nneedful to set about doing something or other, in the shape of\nreading, praying, and attending upon the ordinances and offices of\nreligion, so called. Thus they become occupied with their doings\ninstead of judging their state.\n\nThis is a fatal mistake--the result of the combined influence of\nself-righteousness and bad theology--these fruitful sources of\ndarkness and misery to precious souls, and of serious damage to the\ntruth of God.\n\nIt is perfectly marvellous to note the varied forms in which\nself-righteousness clothes itself. Indeed so varied are these forms\nthat one would scarcely recognize it to be what it really is.\nSometimes it looks like humility, and speaks largely of the evil and\ndanger of being too presumptuous. Then again, it assumes the garb and\nadopts the language of what is called experimental religion, which,\nvery often, is nothing more than intense self-occupation. At other\ntimes, it expresses itself in the threadbare formularies of systematic\ndivinity--that stumbling-block of souls and the sepulchre of divine\nrevelation.\n\nWhat then is repentance? It is, in one of its grand elements, the\nthorough judgment of self--of its history and its ways. It is the\ncomplete breaking up of the entire system of self-righteousness and\nthe discovery of our complete wreck, ruin and bankruptcy. It is the\nsense of personal vileness, guilt, and danger--a sense produced by the\nmighty action of the Word and Spirit of God upon the heart and\nconscience. It is a hearty sorrow for sin, and a loathing of it for\nits own sake.\n\nTrue, there are other features and elements in genuine repentance.\nThere is a change of mind as to self, and the world, and God. And\nfurther, there are various degrees in the depths and intensity of the\nexercise. But, for the present, we confine ourselves to that deeply\nimportant feature of repentance illustrated in the touching narrative\nof the penitent thief, which we may term, in one word, self-judgment.\nThis must be insisted upon constantly. We greatly fear it is sadly\nlost sight of in much of our modern preaching and teaching. In our\nefforts to make the gospel simple and easy, we are in danger of\nforgetting that \"God commandeth all men everywhere to repent.\" The\nsinner must be made to feel that he is a sinner, a lost sinner, a\nguilty sinner, a hell-deserving sinner. He must be made to feel that\nsin is a terrible thing in the sight of God; so terrible, that nothing\nshort of the death of Christ could atone for it--so terrible, that all\nwho die unpardoned must inevitably be damned--must spend a dreary,\nnever-ending eternity in the lake that burneth with fire and\nbrimstone.\n\nIs there, then, anything meritorious in repentance? Is there anything\nto build upon or to boast in? Has it aught to do with the ground of\nour salvation, our righteousness, or our acceptance with God? As well\nmight we inquire if the consciousness of bankruptcy could form the\nbasis of a man's credit or future fortune. No, no, reader; repentance,\nin its deepest and most intensified form, has nothing to do with the\nground of our pardon. How could the sense of guilt have aught to do\nwith the ground of pardon? How could the feelings of a drowning man\nhave aught to do with the life-boat that saves him? Or how could the\nagonies of a man in a house on fire have aught to do with the\nfire-escape by which he descends from the burning pile?\n\nLook at the case of the thief on the cross. Hearken to his words:\n\"Dost thou not fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?\n_And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds._\"\nHere are the accents of a genuine repentance, \"we indeed justly.\" He\nfelt and owned that he was justly condemned; that he was reaping only\n\"the due reward of his deeds.\" Was there anything meritorious in this?\nBy no means. It was the judgment of himself, the condemnation of his\nways, the sense of his guilt. And this was right. It was the sure\nprecursor of conversion to God. It was the fruit of the Spirit's work\nin his soul, and enabled him to appreciate God's salvation. It was the\nhearty acknowledgment of his own just condemnation; and, most surely,\nthis could in no wise contribute to his righteousness before God. It\nis utterly impossible that the sense of guilt could ever form the\nbasis of righteousness.\n\nStill, there must be repentance; and the deeper the better. It is\nwell that the plough should do its work in breaking up the fallow\nground, and making deep the furrows in which the incorruptible seed of\nthe Word may take root. We do not believe that any one had ever to\ncomplain that the ploughshare entered too deeply into the soul. Nay,\nwe feel assured that the more we are led down into the profound depths\nof our own moral ruin, the more fully we shall appreciate the\nrighteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ, unto all, and\nupon all them that believe.\n\nBut, be it well understood, repentance is not doing this or that. What\ndid the thief do? What could he do? He could not move hand or foot.\nAnd yet he was truly repentant. He is handed down, on the page of\nhistory, as \"the penitent thief.\" Yes, he was penitent; and his\npenitence expressed itself in the unmistakable accents of\nself-judgment. Thus it must ever be. There must be the judgment of\nsin, sooner or later; and the sooner, the better; and the deeper, the\nbetter.\n\nAnd what then? What is the divine order? \"Repent, and be converted.\"\n\"Repent, and turn to God.\" Beauteous order! It is conviction and\nconversion. It is the discovery of self and its ruin, and the\ndiscovery of God and His remedy. It is condemning myself and\njustifying God. It is finding out the emptiness of self, and finding\nout the fulness of Christ. It is learning the force and application of\nthose few words, \"Thou hast destroyed thyself; but in Me is thy\nhelp.\"\n\nAnd see how all this comes out in the brief but comprehensive record\nof the thief. No sooner does he give expression to the sense of his\nown just condemnation, than he turns to that blessed One who was\nhanging beside him, and bears the sweet testimony, \"This man hath done\nnothing amiss.\" Here he gives a flat contradiction to the whole world.\nHe joins issue with the chief priests, elders, and scribes, who had\ndelivered up the holy One as a malefactor. They had declared, \"If he\nwere not a malefactor, we would not have delivered him up unto thee.\"\nBut the dying thief declares, \"This man hath done nothing amiss.\" Thus\nhe stands forth in clear and decided testimony to the spotless\nhumanity of the Lord Jesus Christ--that grand truth which lies at the\nvery base of \"the great mystery of godliness.\" He turns from a guilty\nself to a spotless Christ; and he tells the world that it had made a\nterrible mistake in crucifying the Lord of glory.\n\nAnd was not this a good work? Yes, truly, the very best work that any\none could do. To bear a full, clear, bold testimony to Christ, is the\nmost acceptable and fragrant service that any mortal can render to\nGod. Millions bestowed in charity, continents traversed in the\ninterests of philanthropy, a lifetime spent in the dreary exercises of\nmechanical religiousness--all these things put together are as the\nsmall dust of the balance when compared with one word of heartfelt,\ngenuine, Spirit-taught testimony to God's beloved Son. The poor thief\ncould do nothing and give nothing; but oh, he was permitted to enjoy\nthe richest and rarest privilege that could possibly fall to the lot\nof any mortal, even the privilege of bearing witness to Christ, when\nthe whole world had cast Him out, when one of His own disciples had\ndenied Him, another had sold Him, and all had forsaken Him. This,\nindeed, was service; this was work; a service and a work which shall\nlive in the records and the memory of heaven when the proudest\nmonuments of human genius and benevolence shall have crumbled and sunk\nin eternal oblivion.\n\nBut we have some further lessons to learn from the lips of the dying\nmalefactor. Not only does he bear a bright and blessed testimony to\nthe spotless humanity of Christ, but he also owns Him as Lord and\nKing; and this, too, at a moment, and amid a scene when, to nature's\nview, there was not a single trace of lordship or royalty. \"He said\nunto Jesus, Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom.\"\n\nReader, think of this! Think of one who had, as it were, a moment\nbefore, been railing on the dying Saviour, now owning Him as Lord and\nKing! Truly this was divine work. Surely this was real conversion--a\ntrue turning to God. \"Lord, remember _me_.\" Oh, how unspeakably\nprecious is this golden chain with its three links! How lovely to see\na poor worthless, guilty, hell-deserving \"_me_\" linked on to the\ndivine Saviour by that one word, \"_remember_!\"\n\nThis was life eternal. A Saviour and a sinner linked together, is\neverlasting salvation. Nothing can be simpler. People may talk of\nworks, of feelings, of experiences; but here we have the matter\npresented in its divine simplicity, and in its divine order. We have\nfirst the fruit of a genuine repentance, in the words, \"We indeed\njustly;\" and then the sweet result of spiritual conversion in the one\nsimple but powerful utterance, \"Lord, remember me.\" \"Repent and be\nconverted, that your sins may be blotted out.\" \"Repent and turn to\nGod.\"\n\nWhat marvellous depth and power in those words! To repent is to see\nthe utter ruin of self. To turn to God, is life, and peace, and\neverlasting salvation. We discover self and we loathe and abhor it. We\ndiscover God and turn to Him with the whole heart, and find in Him all\nwe want for time and for eternity. It is all divinely simple and\nunspeakably blessed. Repentance and conversion are inseparably linked\ntogether. They are distinct, yet intimately connected. They must\nneither be separated nor confounded.\n\nAnd, now, let us note the divine response to the appeal of the\npenitent thief. He had said, \"Lord, remember me when Thou comest into\nThy kingdom.\" What is the answer? \"To-day shalt thou be with Me in\nParadise.\" It is as though the blessed Saviour had said to him, \"You\nneed not wait for the _glory_ of the _kingdom_; this very day thou\nshalt taste the _grace_ of the _house_--the love of My Father's home\nabove; I shall have you with Me in that bright paradise, to enjoy full\ncommunion with Me long before the glories of the kingdom shall be\nunfolded.\" Most blessed Saviour, such was Thy matchless grace!\n\nAnd not one reproving word! Not a single reference to the past! Not\neven a glance at the recent heartless wickedness! Ah, no; there is\nnever aught of this in the divine dealing with a penitent soul. The\nthief had said--said from the depths of a broken and contrite heart,\n\"We indeed justly.\" This was enough. True, it was needful; but it was\nenough. \"A broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise.\"\nNo; and not only will He not despise it, but He will pour into it the\nrich and precious consolation of His grace and pardoning love. It is\nthe joy of God to pardon a penitent sinner; and none but a penitent\nsinner can truly enjoy the pardon of God.\n\n\"_To-day_ shalt thou be _with Me_ in paradise.\" Here the glories of a\npresent, personal, and perfect salvation pour themselves in divine\nlustre upon the gaze of the astonished thief.\n\nAnd, be it noted, that there is not one syllable about doing, or\ngiving, or feeling, or aught else that might turn the eye in upon\nself. The eye had been turned in, and rightly so; and it had seen\nnothing but a deep, dark abyss of guilt and ruin. This was enough. The\neye must henceforth and for evermore be turned outward and upward; it\nmust be fixed on the precious Saviour who was bringing him to\nparadise, and on that bright paradise to which He was bringing him.\n\nNo doubt the thief could never forget what a sinner he had been--never\nforget his guilt and wickedness--he never could, he never shall; yea,\nthroughout the countless ages of eternity, he and all the redeemed\nshall remember the past. How could it be otherwise? Shall we lose the\npower of memory in the future? Surely not. But every remembrance of\nthe past shall only tend to swell the note of praise which the heart\nshall give forth as we think of the grace that shines in those\nprecious words, \"Their sins and their iniquities will I remember no\nmore.\" Such is the style of divine forgiveness! God will never again\nrefer to those sins which His own loving hand has cancelled by the\nblood of the Cross. Never! No, never! He has cast them behind His back\nfor ever. They have sunk as lead into the deep waters of His eternal\nforgetfulness. All praise to His glorious Name!\n\nLet us now fix the eye, for a brief moment, upon the third cross. On\nit we behold--what? A guilty sinner? Not merely that. The penitent\nthief was that. They were in the same condemnation. No one need go to\nhell simply because he is a sinner, inasmuch as Christ Jesus came into\nthe world to save sinners, \"even the chief.\" There is not a sinner\nthis day, outside the precincts of hell, who is not within the reach\nof God's salvation if he only feel his need of it. No one need be\nlost, merely because he is a ruined, guilty, hell-deserving sinner.\n\nBut what do we behold on that third cross? We behold an _unbelieving_\nsinner. This is the solemn point. We may, without any hesitation,\ndeclare that had the occupant of that cross, like his penitent\ncompanion, cast himself upon the grace of the dying Saviour, he would,\nmost assuredly, have met with the same response. There was grace in\nthe heart of Jesus to meet the one as well as the other. But he did\nnot want it, would not have it. He remained impenitent and unbelieving\nuntil the dark shadows of death gathered round him, and the darker\nhorrors of hell burst upon his guilty soul. He perished within arm's\nlength of the Saviour and salvation.\n\nTremendous thought! what finite mind can take it in? Who can fully\nestimate the contrast between those two men? True, the contrast was in\none point; but that one point involved consequences of eternal moment.\nWhat was it? It was this--_the reception or rejection of the Son of\nGod_; believing or not believing on that blessed One who was hanging\nbetween them--as near to the one as He was to the other. There was no\ndifference in their nature; no difference in their condition; no\ndifference in their circumstances. The grand and all-important\ndifference lay in this, that one believed in Jesus, and the other did\nnot; one was enabled to say, \"Lord, remember me;\" the other said, \"If\nthou be the Christ.\"\n\nWhat a contrast! What a broad line of demarcation! What an awful chasm\nbetween two men so like in other respects--so near to one another--so\nnear to the divine Saviour! But it is just the same in all cases,\neverywhere, and at all times. The one simple but solemn question for\neach and for all is this, \"What is my relation to Christ?\" All hinges\nupon this--yes, all for time and eternity. Have I received Christ? or\nhave I not? Am I in Him? or am I not?\n\nThe two thieves represent the two great classes into which mankind has\nbeen divided, from the days of Cain and Abel down to this very moment.\nGod's Christ is the one great and all-deciding test in every case. All\nthe shades of moral character; all the grades of social life; all the\ncastes, classes, sects and parties into which the human family has\nbeen, is, or ever shall be divided--all are absorbed in this one\nmomentous point--\"_In or out of Christ._\" The difference between the\ntwo thieves is just the difference between the saved and the lost; the\nChurch and the world--the children of God and the children of God's\ngreat enemy. True it is that, in the case of the two thieves, the\nmatter is brought to a point, so that we can see it at a glance; but\nit is the same in every case. The person of Christ is the one great\nboundary line that marks off the new creation from the old--the\nkingdom of God from the kingdom of Satan--the children of light from\nthe children of darkness; and this boundary line stretches away into\neternity.\n\nReader, what sayest thou to these things? On which side of this line\nart thou, at this moment, standing? Art thou, like the penitent thief,\nlinked on to Christ by a simple faith? Or dost thou, like his\nimpenitent companion, speak of Christ with an \"if\"? Say, dear friend,\nhow is it? Do not put this question away from thee. Take it up and\nlook it solemnly in the face. Your eternal weal or woe hangs on your\nanswer to this question. Oh, do we beseech of thee, think of it now!\nTurn to Jesus now! Come now! God commands thee! Delay not! Reason not!\nCome just as thou art to Jesus, who hung on that centre cross for us.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nP. S.--The two thieves furnish a powerful answer to the ritualist and\nthe rationalist. In one, we see a man going straight to paradise who\nhad never been baptized, and never received what ritualists call \"the\nholy communion.\" In the other, we see a man who perishes, within arm's\nlength of a Saviour, through a skeptical, rationalistic, infidel\n\"_if_.\" Let all ritualists and rationalists ponder these _facts_.\n\n\n\n\nOUR STANDARD AND OUR HOPE\n\n\nThere are two very important principles presented in Revelation iii.\n3, 11, which are profoundly interesting, but clear, simple, easily\ngrasped, and full of power, when understood--two distinct things which\ncharacterize the overcomer. The first is the truth that has been\ncommunicated; and the second, the hope that is set before us.\n\nWe find these two things illustrated in Israel's history, and in the\nhistory of the Church of God--what He has given us, and what is held\nout before us. These two things are to form your character and mine.\nWe are not to be influenced by the character of things around, or the\npresent condition of the people of God; but we are to be influenced by\nwhat God _has_ given, and what He _will_ give. We are apt to be\ndiscouraged and disheartened by the state of things around, and to\nsurrender everything because of the ruin, and thus get paralyzed; but\nif you get hold of these two things, or rather if they get hold of\nyou, they will enable you to stem the tide, and to be an overcomer.\nYou are to remember what you have received and heard, and cherish the\nhope of glory.\n\nWe have Protestantism before us in Sardis. You must always distinguish\nbetween a work of the Spirit of God and the state of things resulting\nfrom it through man's interference, human management, earthly\nmachinery, stereotyping the form when the power was gone. The\nReformation was a distinct work of the Spirit of God, a wave of\nspiritual power. Protestantism is the powerless form which, through\nhuman weakness and Satan's craft, has followed that glorious season of\ndivine visitation.\n\nFifty years ago there was a very distinct movement of the Spirit of\nGod, which drew many out of the enclosures of Christendom. But what\nuse has been made of it? When the energy, freshness, and bloom of the\nSpirit had departed, what followed, in many cases? Why, people slipped\ninto what may be called dead brethrenism, and there is nothing worse\nthan that, because the corruption of the best thing is the worst\ncorruption. What is our moral safeguard? Simply to hold fast what we\nhave received, and to live in the blessed hope of Christ's coming, to\nrealize in our own souls the power of what God has given and what He\nwill give.\n\nWe find illustrations of this in Old Testament times. All the great\nreformatory movements in Israel were characterized by this very thing.\nIt was so in Jehoshaphat's time, and in Hezekiah's time. The Lord\ncalls back His people to the original standard, to what they had\nreceived at the first. Hezekiah goes back to Moses, as his authority\nto maintain the divine standard in the celebration of the passover.\nMany might have said, Oh, it is all hopeless; your national unity is\ngone. Even Solomon had left abominations behind him. The devil\nsuggests to lower the standard because of the ruin; but Hezekiah did\nnot listen to that. He was an overcomer. A tide of blessing rolled in,\nsuch as had not been known since the days of Solomon (2 Chron. xxx.)\n\nSo, again, in the days of Josiah: a child was on the throne; a woman\nfilling the prophetic office; Nebuchadnezzar almost at the gates. What\ndid Josiah do? The book of the law was read. Instead of lowering the\nstandard on account of the state of things, he acted on the word of\nGod; that was his standard of action, and he kept the passover in the\nfirst month. The result was, there had not been such a passover since\nthe days of Samuel.\n\nThus was it with Hezekiah and Josiah; and we have a still more\nbeautiful example of it in Ezra and Nehemiah. In those days a feast\nwas kept which had not been observed since the days of Joshua the son\nof Nun. It was reserved for that poor, little remnant to keep that\nfeast. They were overcomers; they went back to God, and to what He had\ngiven at the beginning.\n\nAgain, Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego gained a magnificent\nvictory when they refused to eat the king's meat. They would not yield\none hair's breadth. Were not they overcomers? They might have said,\nGod in His governmental dealings has sent us into captivity; why\nshould we refuse to eat the king's meat? But no! they were enabled to\nhold up the standard of God in the midst of the ruin around.\n\nIt was the same with Daniel. He stood in unshaken faithfulness, and\ngained a splendid victory. It was not to make a show that he opened\nhis windows, and prayed towards Jerusalem, but to maintain the truth\nof God; he prayed towards God's centre, and he was called the servant\nof the living God. If these had surrendered, they would have lost\ntheir victories, and God would have been dishonored.\n\nAll this bears upon us in a very distinct way, in the midst of\nProtestantism. It makes the word of God of unspeakable value to us. It\nis not a question of setting up our own opinion or authority, but we\nare called on to maintain the truth of God, and nothing else; and if\nyou do not get hold of that, you do not know where you are. It might\nhave been said to Josiah, when he broke down the high places built by\nSolomon (2 Kings xxiii. 13), Who are you, to set yourself up against\nSolomon, and the institutions set up by a great man like him? But it\nwas not a question of Josiah _versus_ Solomon, but of God _versus_\nerror.\n\nAnd now, as to our second great principle, namely, that our character\nis also to be formed by what is before us--the coming of the Lord. But\nmark here, the church of Sardis, instead of being cheered by the\nChurch's proper hope, the bright and Morning Star, is warned, \"If,\ntherefore, thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and\nthou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.\" This is how He\nwill come upon the world--as a thief. We belong to the region of\nlight; our proper hope is the Morning Star, which is only seen by\nthose who are watching during the night. The reason why Sardis is\nwarned, instead of cheered by the hope of His coming, is, that it has\nsunk down to the world's level: low, lifeless, sapless Christianity;\nand it will overtake them as a thief. This is what Protestantism is\nthreatened with, and what you are threatened with, if you let yourself\ngo down with the stream, like a dead fish. The Lord is awakening the\nhearts of His people to a deeper sense of this. He is giving them to\nsee that nothing will do, save downright reality. If we have not this,\nwe have nothing. It is one thing to have doctrines in the mind, and\nanother thing altogether to have Christ in the heart and Christ in the\nlife.\n\nHe is coming for ME, and I have to watch for the bright and Morning\nStar. Now let my heart rise up, and overcome the condition of things\naround. If I find saints in that condition, I seek to rouse them out\nof it. If you want to instruct saints, you must bring them back to the\ntruth you have received, what God gave at the beginning. Build on what\nGod has given you, and on the hope that is set before you. I find it a\ngreat thing to say to any one, Are you prepared to abandon everything\nthat will not bear the test of the word of God--to take your stand on\nthat? Hold fast the standard of the truth of God, and do not accept\nanything less; even though you may be alone. If a regiment were cut to\npieces, and only one man left, if he hold the colors, the dignity of\nthe regiment is maintained. It is not a question of results, but of\nbeing true to Christ, to be really alive in a scene which is\ncharacterized by having \"a name to live, while dead.\" We want\nsomething more than mere profession. Even the breaking of bread may\nbecome an empty formality. We want more power and freshness, more\nliving devotedness to the person of Christ. We are called to overcome.\nThe hearing ear is found only with the overcomer. May our hearts be\nstirred up to desire it increasingly.\n\n\n\n\n                                LIFE-WORKS\n\n     \"As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all,\n     especially unto them who are of the household of faith\"\n     (Gal. vi. 10).\n\n\nIf aught could enhance the value of these lovely words, it would be\nthe fact of their being found at the close of the Epistle to the\nGalatians. In the progress of this very remarkable writing, the\ninspired apostle cuts up by the roots the entire system of legal\nrighteousness. He proves, in the most unanswerable way, that by works\nof law, of any sort, moral or ceremonial, no man can be justified in\nthe sight of God. He declares that believers are not under law in any\nway whatever, either for life, for justification, or for walk--that if\nwe are under law, we must give up Christ; we must give up the Spirit\nof God; we must give up faith; we must give up the promises. In short,\nif we take up legal ground, in any shape whatever, we must give up\nChristianity and lie under the actual curse of the law.\n\nWe do not attempt to quote the passages, or to go into this side of\nthe question at all, just now. We merely call the earnest attention of\nthe Christian reader to the golden words which stand at the head of\nthis paper--words which, we cannot but feel, come in with incomparable\nbeauty and peculiar moral force at the close of an epistle in which\nall human righteousness is withered up and flung to the winds. It is\nalways needful to take in both sides of a subject. We are all so\nterribly prone to one-sidedness, that it is morally healthful for us\nto have our hearts brought under the full action of _all_ truth. It\nis, alas, possible for grace itself to be abused; and we may sometimes\nforget that, while we are justified in the sight of God by faith\nalone, a real faith must be evidenced by works. We have, all of us, to\nbear in mind that while _law-works_ are denounced and demolished, in\nthe most unqualified manner, in manifold parts of Holy Scripture, yet\nthat _life-works_ are diligently and constantly maintained and\ninsisted upon.\n\nYes, beloved Christian reader, we have to bend our earnest attention\nto this. If we profess to have life, this life must express itself in\nsomething more tangible and forcible than mere words or empty\nlip-profession. It is quite true that law cannot give life, and hence\nit cannot produce life-works. Not a single cluster of living fruit\never was, or ever will be, culled from the tree of legality. Law can\nonly produce \"dead works,\" from which we need to have the conscience\npurged just as much as from \"wicked works.\"\n\nAll this is most true. It is demonstrated in the pages of inspiration\nbeyond all possibility of question or demur. But then there must be\nlife-works, or else there is no life. Of what possible use is it to\nprofess to have eternal life; to talk about faith; to advocate the\ndoctrines of grace, while at the same time, the entire life, the whole\npractical career is marked by selfishness in every shape and form?\n\"Whoso,\" says the blessed apostle John, \"hath this world's good, and\nseeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion\nfrom him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?\" So also the apostle\nJames puts a very wholesome question to our hearts, \"What doth it\nprofit, my brethren, though a man _say_ he hath faith, and have not\nworks? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked or\ndestitute of daily food, and one of you say unto them, Depart in\npeace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those\nthings which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?\"\n\nHere we have life-works insisted upon in a way which ought to speak\nhome, in the most solemn and forcible way, to our hearts. There is an\nappalling amount of empty profession--shallow, powerless, worthless\ntalk in our midst. We have a wonderfully clear gospel--thanks be to\nGod for it! We see very distinctly that salvation is by grace, through\nfaith, not by works of righteousness, nor by works of law. Blessedly\ntrue, and our heart praises God for it. But when people are saved,\nought they not to live as such? Ought not the new life to come out in\nfruits? It must come out if it be in; and if it does not come out, it\nis not there. Mark what the apostle Paul says, \"For by grace are ye\nsaved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of\nGod; not of works, lest any man should boast.\" Here we have what we\nmay call the upper side of this great practical question. Then the\nother side, to which every true and earnest Christian will delight to\ngive his attention. The apostle goes on to say, \"We are his\nworkmanship _created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath\nbefore prepared that we should walk in them_.\"\n\nHere we have the whole subject fully and clearly before us. God has\ncreated us to walk in a path of good works, and He has prepared the\npath of good works for us to walk in. It is all of God, from first to\nlast; all through grace, and all by faith. Thanks and praise be to God\nthat it is so! But, let us remember that it is utterly vain to talk\nabout grace and faith, and eternal life, if the \"good works\" are not\nforthcoming. It is useless to boast of our high truth, our deep,\nvaried, and extensive acquaintance with Scripture, our correct\nposition, our having come out from this, that, and the other, if our\nfeet are not found treading that \"path of good works which God hath\nbefore prepared\" for us. God looks for reality. He is not satisfied\nwith mere words of high profession. He says to us, \"My little\nchildren, let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but in _deed_\nand in _truth_.\" He, blessed be His name, did not love us in word or\nin tongue, but in deed and in truth; and He looks for a response from\nus--a response clear, full, and distinct; a response coming out in a\nlife of good works, a life yielding mellow clusters of the \"fruits of\nrighteousness which are by Christ Jesus, to the glory and praise of\nGod.\"\n\nBeloved Christian reader, do you not consider it to be our bounden\nduty to apply our hearts to this weighty subject? Ought we not\ndiligently to seek to promote love and good works? And how can this be\nmost effectually accomplished? Surely by walking in love ourselves,\nand faithfully treading the path of good works in our own private\nlife. For ourselves, we confess we are thoroughly sick of hollow\nprofession. High truth on the lips and low practice in daily life, is\none of the crying evils of this our day. We talk of grace; but fail in\ncommon righteousness--fail in the plainest moral duties in our daily\nprivate life. We boast of our \"_position_\" and our \"_standing_;\" but\nwe are deplorably lax as to our _condition_ and _state_.\n\nMay the Lord, in His infinite goodness, stir up all our hearts to more\nthorough earnestness, in the pursuit of good works, so that we may\nmore fully adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things!\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nP. S.--It is very interesting and instructive to compare the teaching\nof Paul and James--two divinely inspired apostles--on the subject of\n\"works.\" Paul utterly repudiates _law-works_. James jealously insists\nupon _life works_. If this fact be seized, all difficulty vanishes;\nand the divine harmony is clearly seen. Many have failed to do this,\nand hence have been much perplexed by the seeming difference between\nRoman iv. 5, and James ii. 24. We need not say there is the most\nperfect and beautiful harmony. When Paul says, \"To him that _worketh\nnot_, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is\ncounted for righteousness,\" he refers to law-works. When James says,\n\"Ye see then how that _by works_ a man is justified, and not by faith\nonly,\" he refers to life-works.\n\nThis is abundantly confirmed by the two cases adduced by James in\nproof of his thesis, namely, Abraham offering up his son and Rahab\nconcealing the spies. If you abstract faith from these cases, they\nwere bad works. Look at them as the fruit of faith, and they were\nlife-works.\n\nHow marked is the far-seeing wisdom of the Holy Spirit in all this! He\nforesaw the use that would be made of this passage; and hence, instead\nof selecting works abstractedly good, He takes up two from the history\nof four thousand years, which, if they were not the fruit of faith,\nwere bad works.\n\n\n\n\n                        \"THERE IS ONE BODY\"[10]\n\n              Psalm xciii.; 1 Cor. iii. 16, and vi. 19.\n\n\n  [10] Notes of an Address delivered in London.\n\nThese scriptures set forth a truth which I believe to be of cardinal\nimportance to every one of us, individually as well as corporately:\nthe Church as a whole is the temple of God; and every believer is made\nsuch as really, as literally, as absolutely as the temple of old in\nwhich God dwelt, only, of course, in a different way. He dwells in\neach individual believer in this room to-day. Mark that fact; ponder\nit. It is not a question of opinion; it is God's truth. If people do\nnot bow to Scripture, it is of no use to argue with them.\n\nThe truth presented here is not one about which you may think this or\nthat. _God has a house here on the earth._ Take in that fact, beloved;\nponder it. Do not say it is what we _ought_ to be, but what we _are_;\nand then see the conduct that flows from it; see what becomes God's\nhouse: \"Holiness becometh Thy house, O Lord, for ever.\"\n\nThis is the basis of the truth which underlies all discipline from the\ntime that God had a house on earth. We never hear a word about God\ndwelling with man until redemption is accomplished. But the moment\nthat Israel is out of Egypt, on the shore of the Red Sea, the first\nnote that falls on our ear from the lips of a redeemed people is: \"I\nwill prepare Him a habitation.\" And the moment the last pin is put\ninto the earthly tabernacle, the glory of God comes down to take up\nHis abode in the midst of His people.\n\nBut His presence demands and secures holiness. Read Joshua vi., vii.,\nand see how we get there two grand consequences of the self-same\npresence: Jericho in ruins, and the heap of stones in the valley of\nAchor. One man dared to defile the assembly of God! How solemn it is!\nIt was a fine thing to see those bulwarks crumbling to dust beneath\nthe feet of God's people. But mark: the same presence that laid\nJericho in ruins could not allow that one man's sin to escape notice.\nThe Holy Ghost has penned these records for us, and it is our bounden\nduty to hang over them, and to seek to drink into our souls the\ninstruction in them.\n\nThe very instincts of faith ought to have taught Joshua that there was\nsome hindrance. God's people were His habitation. That fact gave them\na characteristic which marked them off from every other nation upon\nearth. No other nation knew aught of that great privilege but Israel.\nBut God is God; He will be true to Himself; He will take care of His\ngreat name. Joshua thought the glory of that great name was involved:\nbut there are more ways than one to maintain that glory.\n\nIf Jehovah is present to give victory over His enemies, He is also\npresent to discipline His people. \"Israel hath sinned!\" God does not\nsay, One man has sinned--find him out. No; it is the six hundred\nthousand of Israel, because Israel is one nation; one divine presence\nin their midst stamped and marked and formed their unity. Do not try\nto reason about it, brethren, but bow down your whole moral being to\nthat truth. Do not judge it, but let it judge you. \"Israel hath\nsinned;\" that is the reason why they could not get the victory. And\nIsrael must come up man by man, so that he who has transgressed the\ncovenant of Jehovah may be taken. God cannot go on with unjudged evil.\nWeakness is no hindrance, wickedness is. Can God lend the sanction of\nHis presence to evil? Never! If we are God's dwelling-place, we _must_\nbe holy. This is one of those eternal principles which can never be\ngiven up.\n\nBut the question is raised: How could it be said that Israel had\nsinned? Six hundred thousand innocent people! The answer is, _the\nnation is one_, and that unity has to be maintained and confessed.\n\nIn Leviticus xxiv. we read, that twelve loaves were placed on the\ngolden table before the Lord continually, with the seven lamps of the\ngolden candlestick to throw their light upon them. The end of the same\nchapter shows us a man brought outside the camp, where all Israel is\nto stone him with stones. Why this grouping of passages? It is full of\nmeaning. The grouping of Scripture is among some of its brightest\nglories; the very way in which the Holy Ghost groups His materials\ncommands our attention. Every fact, every circumstance tends to\nillustrate its infinite depths and its moral glories.\n\nWhy, then, do we find this connection in Leviticus? For the simple\npurpose of illustrating this great principle: faith's power to grasp\nthe eternal truth of Israel's unity, and to confess it in the face of\neverything;--a magnificent, practical truth. There is first the divine\nside: what Israel was in God's mind; and then, what Israel might\nbecome under God's discipline. And it ever behoves the faithful\ncompany to confess and maintain the original truth of God, even in the\nmidst of the ruin around. I earnestly, urgently press the necessity as\nfrom God to-day, to maintain the great truth of the unity of the body\nof Christ as that which we have to hold, maintain, and confess in the\nface of everything.\n\nElijah on mount Carmel, when the kingdom was divided, called for\ntwelve stones with which to build the altar. But Israel is no longer\ntwelve tribes, it might be said; Israel's unity is broken and gone.\nNo; it is an indissoluble unity, a unity which is never to be\nsurrendered. Israel is twelve while God's eye rests on the twelve\nloaves on the golden table, on the twelve stones in Aaron's\nbreast-plate. Faith holds fast that truth, and Elijah builds his altar\nof twelve stones. The unity is never to be given up, though it may be\nlike a chain flung across a river, with the tide flowing over it, so\nthat you cannot see it. The Church was one on the day of Pentecost; it\nwill be one in the glory; and it is as true to-day that there is one\nbody and one Spirit, as it was when the Holy Ghost penned the fourth\nof Ephesians. How is this unity formed? By the Holy Ghost; it is union\nwith the Man at the right hand of God.\n\nThus I get three substantial reasons for a life of holiness: I am not\nto dishonor Him to whom I am united; I am not to grieve the Spirit by\nwhom I am united; and I am not to grieve the members to whom I am\nunited.\n\nI feel my responsibility to urge this truth upon you, beloved hearers.\nLet not the devil cheat you of the blessing of walking in it. See that\nyou realize its formative, influential power. Think how your state and\nwalk at this moment are affecting the saints elsewhere. \"If one member\nsuffer, all the members suffer with it.\" All Israel was affected by\nAchan's sin. He thought nobody saw, nobody knew, and quietly hid the\nforbidden thing in his tent. If this is your state, there is a\ncomplete stoppage at once: there is no more power put forth on your\nbehalf by God; there is power truly, but power not to act for you in\n_victory_, but to act towards you in _discipline_; power to smash you\nto pieces.\n\nLet us not measure the word of God by our consciences, or by our\nsensibilities, but in simplicity believe what it says. We read that\nthere is one Spirit uniting every member to the Head in glory, and\nuniting every single member on the earth to every other. In this body\na saint out of communion is like a waster in a candle; he affects his\nfellow-saints. Confess this great truth, own it simply, whatever the\ncondition. Never deny it, never give it up. You say, Brethren are\nsmashed up! I answer, I am not to be occupied with brethren, but with\nthe truth of God. Take your eyes off brethren, and fix them on the\ntruth of God. Are you conscientiously gathered on the ground of the\none body? I speak freely and pointedly to you, because I believe this\ntruth is assailed. \"He that is joined to the Lord is one spirit,\" and\nis joined to all who belong to Him. There is no such thing as\nindependence in the word of God. The assembly in one place is the\ncorporate local expression of the Church of God, as we saw of the\ntwelve tribes of Israel in the Old Testament.\n\nWhy did Daniel pray towards Jerusalem? The house of God was not there\nto the eye of man; but it was there to faith. Faith still recognizing\nit prays towards it, though the lions' den be its reward.\n\nAgain, when Paul was before Agrippa, the nation scattered among all\npeoples from one end of the earth to the other, but Paul will speak of\n\"the promise unto which our twelve tribes hope to come\" and the noun\nis in the singular (_dodecaphulon_). Could Paul have _shown_ them?\n\nNor can you talk \"joining\" this body. If you are converted to Christ,\nall the \"joining\" is done! you are \"added to the Lord;\" you are a part\nof that which man cannot touch for a moment; no one can cut off one\nsingle member of the body of Christ, which, according to the eternal\npurpose of God, and according to the operation of the Holy Ghost, is\nunited to Him.\n\nThere is no need to organize this body. No, thank God, it is not man's\nwork at all. The Holy Ghost came down at Pentecost to form it, and\nhere it is still. And when our Lord Jesus comes to take it to the\nglory, it will be \"the _holy_ city, the new Jerusalem, prepared as a\nbride adorned for her husband,\" in which He will show forth \"the\nexceeding riches of His grace, in his kindness toward us through\nChrist Jesus.\"\n\n\n\n\n                        ONE-SIDED THEOLOGY\n\n\nWe have lately received a long letter, furnishing a very striking\nproof of the bewildering effect of one-sided theology. Our\ncorrespondent is evidently under the influence of what is styled the\nhigh school of doctrine. Hence, he cannot see the rightness of calling\nupon the unconverted to \"come,\" to \"hear,\" to \"repent,\" or to\n\"believe.\" It seems to him like telling a crab-tree to bear some\napples in order that it may become an apple-tree.\n\nNow, we thoroughly believe that faith is the gift of God, and that it\nis not according to man's will or by human power. And further, we\nbelieve that not a single soul would ever come to Christ if not drawn,\nyea, compelled by divine grace so to do; and therefore all who are\nsaved have to thank the free and sovereign grace of God for it; their\nsong is, and ever shall be, \"Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but\nunto Thy name give glory, for Thy mercy, and for Thy truth's sake.\"\n\nAnd this we believe not as part of a certain system of doctrine, but\nas the revealed truth of God. But, on the other hand, we believe, just\nas fully, in the solemn truth of man's moral responsibility, inasmuch\nas it is plainly taught in Scripture, though we do not find it amongst\nwhat are called \"the five points of the faith of God's elect.\" We\nbelieve these five points, so far as they go; but they are very far\nindeed from containing the faith of God's elect. There are wide fields\nof divine revelation which this stunted and one-sided system does not\ntouch upon, or even hint at, in the most remote manner. Where do we\nfind the heavenly calling? Where, the glorious truth of the Church as\nthe body and bride of Christ? Where, the precious sanctifying hope of\nthe coming of Christ to receive His people to Himself? Where have we\nthe grand scope of prophecy opened to the vision of our souls, in that\nwhich is so pompously styled \"the faith of God's elect?\" We look in\nvain for a single trace of them in the entire system to which our\nfriend is attached.\n\nNow, can we suppose for a moment that the blessed apostle Paul would\naccept as \"the faith of God's elect\" a system which leaves out that\nglorious mystery of the Church of which he was specially made the\nminister? Suppose any one had shewn Paul \"the five points\" of\nCalvinism, as a statement of the truth of God, what would he have\nsaid? What! \"The whole truth of God;\" \"the faith of God's elect;\" \"all\nthat is essential to be believed;\" and yet not a syllable about the\nreal position of the Church--its calling, its standing, its hopes, its\nprivileges! And not a word about Israel's future! A complete ignoring,\nor at best a thorough alienation, of the promises made to Abraham,\nIsaac, Jacob, and David! The whole body of prophetic teaching\nsubjected to a system of spiritualizing, falsely so called, whereby\nIsrael is robbed of its proper portion, and Christians dragged down to\nan earthly level--and this presented to us with the loft pretension of\n\"The faith of God's elect!\"\n\nThank God it is not so. He, blessed be His name, has not confined\nHimself within the narrow limits of any school of doctrine, high, low,\nor moderate. He has revealed Himself. He has told out the deep and\nprecious secrets of His heart. He has unfolded His eternal counsels,\nas to the Church, as to Israel, the Gentiles, and the wide creation.\nMen might as well attempt to confine the ocean in buckets of their own\nformation as to confine the vast range of divine revelation within the\nfeeble enclosures of human systems of doctrine. It cannot be done, and\nit ought not to be attempted. Better far to set aside the systems of\ntheology and schools of divinity, and come like a little child to the\neternal fountain of Holy Scripture, and there drink in the living\nteachings of God's Spirit.\n\nNothing is more damaging to the truth of God, more withering to the\nsoul, or more subversive of all spiritual growth and progress than\nmere theology, high or low--Calvinistic or Arminian. It is impossible\nfor the soul to make progress beyond the boundaries of the system to\nwhich it is attached. If I am taught to regard \"The five points\" as\n\"the faith of God's elect,\" I shall not think of looking beyond them;\nand then a most glorious field of heavenly truth is shut out from the\nvision of my soul. I am stunted, narrowed, one-sided; and not only so,\nbut I am in danger of getting into that hard, dry state of soul which\nresults from being occupied with mere points of doctrine instead of\nwith Christ. A disciple of the high school of doctrine will not hear\nof a world-wide gospel--of God's love to the world--of glad tidings to\nevery creature under heaven. He has only gotten a gospel for the\nelect. On the other hand, a disciple of the low or Arminian school\nwill not hear of the eternal security of God's people. Their salvation\ndepends partly upon Christ, and partly upon themselves. According to\nthis system, the song of the redeemed should be changed. Instead of\n\"Worthy is the Lamb,\" we should have to add, \"and worthy are we.\" We\nmay be saved to-day, and lost to-morrow. All this dishonors God, and\nrobs the Christian of all true peace.\n\nWe do not write to offend the reader. Nothing is further from our\nthoughts. We are dealing not with persons, but with schools of\ndoctrine and systems of divinity which we would, most earnestly,\nentreat our beloved readers to abandon, at once, and for ever. Not one\nof them contains the full, entire truth of God. There are certain\nelements of truth in all of them; but the truth is often neutralized\nby the error; and even if we could find a system which contains, so\nfar as it goes, nothing but the truth, yet if it does not contain the\nwhole truth, its effect upon the soul is pernicious, because it leads\na person to plume himself on having the truth of God when, in reality,\nhe has only laid hold of a one-sided system of man.\n\nThen again we rarely find a mere disciple of any school of doctrine\nwho can face Scripture as a whole. Favorite texts will be quoted and\ncontinually reiterated; but a large body of Scripture is left almost\nwholly unappropriated. For example, take such passages as the\nfollowing, \"But now God commandeth _all men_ everywhere to repent\"\n(Acts xvii. 30.) And again, \"Who will have _all men_ to be saved, and\nto come to the knowledge of the truth\" (1 Tim. ii.) So also, in 2\nPeter, \"The Lord ... is long-suffering to usward, not willing that\n_any_ should perish, but that _all_ should come to repentance\" (Chap.\niii. 9). And, in the very closing section of the volume, we read,\n\"Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.\"\n\nAre these passages to be taken as they stand, or are we to introduce\nqualifying or modifying words to make them fit in with our system? The\nfact is, they set forth the largeness of the heart of God, the\ngracious activities of His nature, the wide aspect of His love. It is\nnot according to the loving heart of God that any of His creatures\nshould perish. There is no such thing in Scripture as any decree of\nGod consigning a certain number of the human race to eternal\ndamnation. Some may be judicially given over to blindness because of\ndeliberate rejection of the light, (see Rom. ix. 17; Heb. vi. 4-6; x.\n26, 27; 2 Thess. ii. 11, 12; 1 Pet. ii. 8.) but all who perish will\nhave only themselves to blame. All who reach heaven will have to thank\nGod.\n\nIf we are to be taught by Scripture we must believe that every man is\nresponsible according to his light. The Gentile is responsible to\nlisten to the voice of creation. The Jew is responsible on the ground\nof the law. Christendom is responsible on the ground of the full-orbed\nrevelation contained in the whole word of God. If God commands all\nmen, everywhere to repent, does He mean what He says, or merely all\nthe elect? What right have we to add to, or alter, to pare down, or to\naccommodate the word of God? None whatever. Let us face Scripture as\nit stands, and reject everything which will not stand the test. We may\nwell call in question the soundness of a system which cannot meet the\nfull force of the word of God as a whole. If passages of Scripture\nseem to clash, it is only because of our ignorance. Let us humbly own\nthis, and wait on God for further light. This, we may depend upon it,\nis safe moral ground to occupy. Instead of endeavoring to reconcile\napparent discrepancies, let us bow at the Master's feet and justify\nHim in all His sayings. Thus shall we reap a harvest of blessing, and\ngrow in the knowledge of God and His word as a whole.\n\nA few days since, a friend put into our hands a sermon recently\npreached by an eminent clergyman belonging to the high school of\ndoctrine. We have found in this sermon, quite as much as in the letter\nof our correspondent, the effects of one-sided theology. For instance,\nin referring to that magnificent statement of the Baptist in John i.\n29, the preacher quotes it thus, \"The Lamb of God, which taketh away\nthe sin of _the whole world of God's chosen people_.\"\n\nBut there is not a word about \"God's chosen people\" in the passage. It\nrefers to the great propitiatory work of Christ, in virtue of which\nevery trace of sin shall yet be obliterated from the wide creation of\nGod. We shall only see the full application of that blessed scripture\nin the new heavens and the new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness.\nTo confine it to the sin of God's elect can only be viewed as the\nfruit of theological bias.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nNOTE.--It is deeply interesting to mark the way in which Scripture\nguards against the repulsive doctrine of reprobation. Look, for\nexample, at Matthew xxv. 34. Here, the King, in addressing those on\nHis right hand, says, \"Come, _ye blessed of my Father_, inherit _the\nkingdom prepared for you_ from the foundation of the world.\" Contrast\nwith this the address to those on His left hand: \"Depart from me ye\ncursed (He does not say 'of my Father') into everlasting fire,\nprepared (not for you, but) for the devil and his angels.\" So also, in\nRomans ix. In speaking of the \"vessels of wrath,\" it says \"fitted to\ndestruction\"--fitted not by God surely, but by themselves. On the\nother hand, when speaking of the \"vessels of mercy,\" it says, \"which\n_He had afore prepared_ unto glory.\" The grand truth of _election_ is\nfully established; the repulsive error of _reprobation_, sedulously\navoided.\n\n\n\n\n            A LETTER TO A FRIEND ON ETERNAL PUNISHMENT\n\n\n  BELOVED FRIEND,\n\nI have been thinking a good deal of late, on the last verse of the\nthird chapter of John. It seems to me to furnish a most powerful\nanswer to two of the leading heresies of this our day, namely,\n_Universalism_ on the one hand, and _Annihilationism_, on the other:\n\"He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life; and he that\nbelieveth not the Son, _shall not see life_; but _the wrath of God\nabideth on him_.\"\n\nThe deniers of eternal punishment, as you know, are divided into two\nclasses, differing from each other very materially. The one professes\nto believe that all will ultimately be restored and brought into\neverlasting felicity; these are the _Universalists_. The other is of\nthe opinion that all who die out of Christ are annihilated, soul and\nbody--made an end of thoroughly--will perish like the beast.\n\nI think you will agree with me that John iii. 36 completely demolishes\nboth these fatal errors. It meets the Universalist by the sweeping and\nconclusive statement that the unbeliever \"shall not see life.\" It\nentirely sets aside the notion of all being restored and eternally\nsaved. Those who refuse to believe the Son, shall die in their sins,\nand never see life.\n\nBut, were this all, the Annihilationist might say, \"Exactly so; that\nis just what I believe. None but those who believe in the Son shall\nlive eternally. Eternal life is only in the Son, and hence, all who\ndie out of Christ shall perish--soul and body shall be made an end\nof.\"\n\nNot so, says the Holy Spirit. It is quite true they shall not see\nlife; but--tremendous fact! \"The wrath of God _abideth_ on him.\" This,\nbeyond all question, gives a flat contradiction to annihilationism. If\nthe wrath of God is to abide upon the unbeliever, it is utterly\nimpossible he can be made an end of. Annihilation and abiding wrath\nare wholly incompatible. We must either erase the word \"abiding\" from\nthe inspired page, or abandon completely the notion of annihilation.\nTo hold the two is out of the question.\n\nOf course, I am merely now referring to this one passage of Holy\nScripture; and truly it is enough of itself to settle any mind that\nsimply bows to the voice of God, as to the solemn question of eternal\npunishment. But, beloved friend, here is just the point. Men _will_\nnot submit to the teaching and authority of Holy Scripture. They\npresume to sit in judgment upon what is and what is not worthy of God\nto do. They imagine that people may live in sin, in folly, in\nrebellion against God, and in the neglect of His Christ, and after\nall go unpunished. They take upon them to decide that it is\ninconsistent with their idea of God to allow such a thing as eternal\npunishment. They attribute to the government of God what we should\nconsider a weakness in any human government, namely, an inability to\npunish evil-doers.\n\nBut ah! the word of God is against them. It speaks of \"_unquenchable_\nfire\"--of an \"_undying_ worm\"--of a \"_fixed_ gulf\"--of \"_abiding_\nwrath.\" What, I would ask, is the meaning of such words, in the\njudgment of any honest, unprejudiced mind? It may be said that these\nare figures. Granted that the \"fire,\" the \"worm,\" and the \"gulf\" are\nfigures, but figures of what? Of something ephemeral--something which\nmust, sooner or later, have an end? Nay; but something which is\neternal, if anything is eternal.\n\nIf we deny eternal punishment, we must deny an eternal anything,\ninasmuch as it is the same word which is used in every instance to\nexpress the idea of endless continuance. There are about seventy\npassages in the Greek New Testament where the word \"everlasting\"\noccurs. It is applied, amongst many other things, to the life which\nbelievers possess, and to the punishment of the wicked, as in Matthew\nxxv. 46. Now, upon what principle can any one attempt to take out the\nsix or seven passages in which it applies to the punishment of the\nwicked, and say that in all these instances it does not mean for ever;\nbut that in all the rest it does? I confess this seems to be\nperfectly unanswerable. If the Holy Ghost, if the Lord Jesus Christ\nHimself had thought proper to make use of a different word, when\nspeaking of the punishment of the wicked, from what He uses when\nspeaking of the life of believers, I grant there might be some basis\nfor an objection.\n\nBut no; we find the same word invariably used to express what\neverybody knows to be endless; and therefore if the punishment of the\nwicked be not endless, nothing is endless. They cannot, consistently,\nstop short with the question of punishment, but must go on to the\ndenial of the very existence of God Himself.\n\nIndeed, I cannot but believe that here lies the real root of the\nmatter. The enemy desires to get rid of the word of God, of the Spirit\nof God, the Christ of God, and God Himself; and he craftily begins by\nintroducing the thin end of his fatal wedge, in the denial of eternal\npunishment; and when this is admitted, the soul has taken the first\nstep on the inclined plane which leads down to the dark abyss of\natheism.\n\nThis may seem strong, harsh, and ultra; but it is my deep and thorough\nconviction; and I feel most solemnly impressed with the necessity of\nwarning all our young friends against the danger of admitting into\ntheir minds the very shadow of a question or doubt as to the divinely\nestablished truth of the endless punishment of the wicked in hell.\nThe unbeliever cannot be restored, for Scripture declares \"he shall\nnot see life.\" Moreover, he cannot be annihilated, for Scripture\ndeclares that \"the wrath of God abideth upon him.\"\n\nO my beloved friend, how much better and wiser and safer it would be\nfor our fellow men to flee from the wrath to come than to deny that it\nis coming; or that, when it does come, it will be eternal.\n\n                          Believe me,\n                              Most affectionately yours,\n                                                    C. H. M.\n\n\n\n\n                \"PUBLICLY AND FROM HOUSE TO HOUSE.\"\n\n\nThe sentence which we have just penned is taken from Paul's farewell\naddress to the elders of Ephesus, as recorded in Acts xx. It is a very\nsuggestive sentence, and sets forth in a most forcible manner the\nintimate connection between the work of the teacher and that of the\npastor. \"I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you,\" says the\nblessed apostle, \"but have showed you and have taught you publicly,\nand from house to house.\"\n\nPaul was not only an apostle, he combined, in a striking way the\nevangelist, the pastor, and the teacher. The two last named are\nclosely connected, as we see from Eph. iv. 11. It is important that\nthis connection be understood and maintained. The teacher unfolds\ntruth; the pastor applies it. The teacher enlightens the\nunderstanding; the pastor looks to the state of the heart. The teacher\nsupplies the spiritual nutriment; the pastor sees to the use that is\nmade of it. The teacher occupies himself more with the Word; the\npastor looks after the soul. The teacher's work is for the most part\npublic; the pastor's work, chiefly in private. When combined in one\nperson, the teaching faculty imparts immense moral power to the\npastor, and the pastoral element imparts affectionate tenderness to\nthe teacher.\n\nThe reader must not confound a pastor with an elder or bishop. The two\nare quite distinct. Elder and bishop are frequently interchangeable,\nbut pastor is never confounded with either. Elder is a local charge;\npastor is a gift. We have nothing about elders or bishops in 1\nCorinthians xii. and xiv., or Ephesians iv., though in these\nscriptures we have the fullest unfolding of the subject of gifts. We\nmust carefully distinguish between gift and local charge. Elders or\nbishops are for rule and oversight. Teachers and pastors are to feed\nand edify. An elder may be a teacher or pastor, but he must keep the\ntwo things distinct. They rest upon a different footing altogether,\nand are never to be confounded.\n\nHowever, our object in this brief article is not to write a treatise\non ministry, or to dwell elaborately upon the difference between\nspiritual gift and local charge, but simply to offer to our readers a\nfew words on the immense importance of the pastoral gift in the Church\nof God, in order that they may be stirred up to earnest prayer to the\ngreat Head of the Church, that He may graciously be pleased to shed\nforth this precious gift more abundantly in our midst. We are not\nstraitened in Him. The treasury of spiritual life is not exhausted;\nand our Lord Christ loves His Church, and delights to nourish and\ncherish His body, and to supply its every need out of His own infinite\nfulness.\n\nThat there is urgent need of pastoral care throughout the Church of\nGod, few can deny who know what pastorship is, and who are at all\nacquainted with the true condition of the Church. How rare is the true\nspiritual pastor! It is easy to take the name, and assume the office;\nbut, in point of fact, pastorship is neither a name nor an office, but\na living reality--a divinely-imparted gift--something communicated by\nthe Head of the Church for the growth and blessing of His members. A\ntrue pastor is a man who is not only possessed of a real spiritual\ngift, but also animated by the very affections of the heart of Christ\ntoward every lamb and sheep of His blood-bought flock.\n\nYes, we repeat it, \"_every_ lamb and sheep.\" A true pastor is a pastor\nall over the world. He is one who has a heart, a message, a ministry,\nfor every member of the body of Christ. Not so the elder or bishop.\nHis is a local charge, confined to the locality in which such charge\nis entrusted. But the pastor's range is the whole Church of God, as\nthe evangelist's range is the wide, wide world. In New York, in\nLondon, in Paris, or Canton, a pastor is a pastor, and he has his\nblessed work everywhere. To imagine a pastor, confined to a certain\ncongregation to which he is expected to discharge the functions of\nevangelist, teacher, elder, or bishop, is something altogether foreign\nto the teaching of the New Testament.\n\nBut, ah, how few real pastors are to be found in our midst! How rare\nis the pastor's gift, the pastor's heart! Where shall we find those\nwho duly combine the two grand and important elements contained in the\nheading of this paper--\"Publicly and from house to house?\" A man may,\nperhaps, give us a brief address on the Lord's day, or a lecture on\nsome week-day; but where is the \"house to house\" side of the question?\nWhere is the close, earnest, diligent looking after individual souls\nday by day? Very often it happens that the public teaching shoots\ncompletely over the head; it is the house to house teaching that is\nsure to come home to the heart. How frequently it happens that\nsomething uttered in public is entirely misunderstood and misapplied,\nuntil the loving pastoral visit during the week supplies the true\nmeaning and just application.\n\nNor is this all. How much there is in a pastor's range that the public\nteacher never can compass! No doubt public teaching is most important;\nwould that we had many times more of it than we have. The teacher's\nwork is invaluable, and when mellowed by the deep and tender affection\nof a pastor's heart, can go a great way indeed in meeting the soul's\nmanifold necessities. But the loving pastor who earnestly,\nprayerfully, and faithfully goes from house to house, can get at the\ndeep exercises of the soul, the sorrows of the heart, the puzzling\nquestions of the mind, the grave difficulties of the conscience. He\ncan enter, in the profound sympathy of an affectionate heart, into the\nthousand little circumstances and sorrows of the path. He can kneel\ndown with the tried, the tempted, the crushed, and the sorrowing one\nbefore the mercy-seat, and they can pour out their hearts together,\nand draw down sweet consolation from the God of all grace and the\nFather of mercies.\n\nThe public teacher cannot do this. No doubt, if, as we have said, he\nhas something of the pastoral element in him, he can anticipate in his\npublic address a great deal of the soul's private exercises, sorrows,\nand difficulties. But he cannot fully meet the soul's individual need.\nThis is the pastor's holy work. It seems to us that a pastor is to the\nsoul what a doctor is to the body. He must understand disease and\nmedicine. He must be able to tell what is the matter. He must be able\nto discern the spiritual condition to apply the true remedy. Ah, how\nfew are these pastors! It is one thing to take the title, and another\nthing to do the work.\n\nChristian reader, we earnestly entreat you to join us in fervent\nbelieving prayer to God to raise up true pastors amongst us. We are in\nsad need of them. The sheep of Christ are not fed and cared for. We\nare occupied so much with our own affairs, that we have not time to\nlook after the beloved flock of Christ. And even on these occasions,\nwhen the Lord's people assemble in public, how little there is for\ntheir precious souls! What long barren pauses and silence of poverty!\nWhat aimless hymns and prayers we hear! How little leading of the\nflock through the green pastures of Holy Scripture, and by the still\nwaters of divine love! And then, all through the week, few loving\npastoral calls, few tender solicitous inquiries after soul or body.\nThere seems to be no time. Every moment is swallowed up in the\nbusiness of providing for ourselves and our families. It is, alas! the\nold sad story; \"All seek their own, not the things that are Jesus\nChrist's.\" How different it was with the blessed apostle. He found\ntime to make tents, and also to \"teach publicly and from house to\nhouse.\" He was not only the earnest evangelist, ranging over\ncontinents and planting churches, but he was also the loving pastor,\nthe tender nurse, the skilful spiritual physician. He had a heart for\nChrist and for His body, the Church, and for every member of that\nbody. Here lies the real secret of the matter. It is wonderful what a\nloving heart can accomplish. If I really love the Church, I shall\ndesire its blessing and progress, and seek to promote these according\nto my ability.\n\nMay the Lord raise up in the midst of His people pastors and teachers\nafter His own heart--men filled with His Spirit, and animated by a\ngenuine love for His Church--men competent and ready to\nteach--\"_publicly and from house to house_.\"\n\n\n\n\n                           ISRAEL AND THE NATIONS\n\n                              Read Psalm lxvii\n\n\nIt would greatly tend to give clearness and definiteness to missionary\neffort to keep fully before our minds God's original purpose in\nsending the gospel to the Gentiles, or nations. This we have stated in\nthe most distinct manner in Acts xv. \"Simeon hath declared,\" says\nJames, \"how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, _to take out of\nthem_ a people for His name.\"\n\nIt gives no warrant for the idea, so persistently held by the\nprofessing Church, that the whole world is to be converted by the\npreaching of the gospel. To convert the world is one thing; to take\nout of the nations a people is quite another.\n\nThe latter, and not the former, is God's present work. It is what He\nhas been doing since the day that Simon Peter opened the kingdom of\nheaven to the Gentile in Acts x; and it is what He will continue to do\nuntil the moment so rapidly approaching, in which the last elect one\nis gathered out, and our Lord shall come to receive His people unto\nHimself.\n\nLet all missionaries remember this. They may rest assured it will not\nclip their wings, or cripple their energies; it will only guide their\nmovements, by giving them a divine aim and object. Of what possible\nuse can it be for a man to propose as the end of his labors something\nwholly different from that which is before the mind of God? Ought not\na servant to seek to do his master's will? Can he expect to please his\nmaster by pursuing other than his clearly expressed object?\n\nIt is blessedly true, that all the earth shall yet be filled with the\nknowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. There is no\nquestion as to this. All Scripture bears witness to it. To quote the\npassages would literally fill a volume. All Christians are agreed on\nthis point, and hence there is no need to adduce evidence.\n\nBut the question is, how is this grand and glorious result to be\nbrought about? Is it the purpose of God to use the professing Church\nas His agent, or a preached gospel as His instrument, in the\nconversion of the world? Scripture says No; with a clearness which\nought to sweep away every doubt.\n\nAnd here let it be distinctly understood that we delight in all true\nmissionary effort. We heartily wish God's speed to every true\nmissionary--to every one who has left home, and kindred, and friends,\nand all the comforts and privileges of civilized life, in order to\ncarry the glad tidings of salvation into the dark places of the earth.\nWe desire to render hearty thanks to God for all that has been\naccomplished in the fields of foreign missions; though we cannot\napprove some modes by which the work is carried on. We consider\nthere is a lack of simple faith in God, and of subjection to the\nauthority of Christ, and the guidance of the Holy Ghost. There is too\nmuch of human machinery, and looking to the world for aid.\n\nBut all this is not our present object. The point with which we are\noccupied in this brief paper is this--_will_ God make use of the\nprofessing Church to convert the nations? We ask not, _has_ He done\nso? for, were we to put the question thus, we could only receive an\nunqualified negative; for the professing Church has been at work for\neighteen long centuries; and what is the result? Let the reader take a\nglance at a missionary map, and he will see in a moment. Look at those\nlarge patches of black, designed to set forth the dismal regions over\nwhich heathenism bears sway. Look at the red, the green, the yellow,\nsetting forth popery, the Greek church, and Mohammedanism. And where\nis--we say not true Christianity, but even nominal Protestantism? That\nis indicated by those spots of blue which, if all put together, make\nbut a small fraction indeed. And as to what even this Protestantism is\nwe need not now stop to inquire.\n\nWhat, then, say the Scriptures on the great question of the conversion\nof the nations? Take, for example, the lovely psalm that stands at the\nhead of this paper. It is but one proof among a thousand, but, we need\nhardly say, perfectly harmonizes with the testimony of all Scripture.\nWe give it in full to the reader.\n\n\"_God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause His face to shine\nupon us; that Thy way may be known upon earth, Thy saving health among\nall nations._ Let the people praise Thee, O God; let all the people\npraise Thee. O let the nations be glad, and sing for joy: for Thou\nshalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth.\nLet the people praise Thee, O God, let all the people praise Thee.\nThen shall the earth yield her increase; and God, even our own God,\nshall bless us. _God shall bless us_; and all the ends of the earth\nshall fear Him.\"\n\nHere, then, the simple truth shines before us. It is when God shall\nhave mercy upon Israel--when He shall cause His light to shine upon\nZion--then will His way be known upon earth, His saving health among\nall nations. It is through _Israel_, not through the professing\nChurch, that God will yet bless the nations.\n\nThat the \"us\" of the foregoing psalm refers to Israel, no intelligent\nreader of Scripture needs to be told. Indeed, as we all know, the\ngreat burden of the Psalms, the Prophets, and the entire Old\nTestament, is Israel. There is not a syllable about the Church in the\nOld Testament. Types and shadows there are in which--now that we have\nthe light of the New Testament--we can see the truth of the Church\nprefigured. But without that light no one could, by any possibility,\nfind the truth of the Church in Old Testament Scripture. That great\nmystery was, as the inspired apostle tells us, \"_hid_\"--not in the\nScriptures (for whatever is contained in the Scriptures is no longer\nhid, but revealed) but it was \"hid in God;\" and was not, and could\nnot, be revealed until Christ, being rejected by Israel, was crucified\nand raised from the dead. So long as the testimony to Israel was\npending, the doctrine of the Church could not be unfolded. Hence,\nalthough at the day of Pentecost we have the _beginning of the\nChurch_, yet it was not until Israel had rejected the testimony of the\nHoly Ghost in Stephen that a special witness was called out in the\nperson of Paul, to whom _the doctrine of the Church_ was committed. We\nmust distinguish between the fact and the doctrine; indeed it is not\nuntil we reach the last chapter of the Acts that the curtain finally\ndrops upon Israel; and Paul, the prisoner at Rome, fully unfolds the\ngrand mystery of the Church which from ages and generations had been\nhid in God, but was now made manifest. Let the reader ponder Romans\nxvi. 25, 26; Ephesians iii. 1-11; Colossians i. 24-27.\n\nWe cannot attempt to go fully into this glorious subject here; indeed,\nto refer to it at all is a digression from our present line. But we\ndeem it needful just to say thus much, in order that the reader may\nfully see that psalm lxvii. refers to Israel; and, seeing this, the\nwhole truth will flow into his soul, that the conversion of the\nnations stands connected with Israel, and not with the Church. It is\nthrough Israel, and not through the Church, that God will yet bless\nthe nations. It is His eternal purpose that the seed of Abraham, His\nfriend, shall yet be pre-eminent in the earth, and that all nations\nshall be blessed in and through them. \"Thus saith the Lord of Hosts,\nIn those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold,\n_out of all languages of the nations_, even shall take hold of _the\nskirt of him that is a Jew_, saying, _We_ will go _with you_; for we\nhave heard that God is with you\" (Zech. viii. 23).\n\nIt would be an easy and a delightful task to prove from the New\nTestament, that, previous to the restoration and blessing of Israel,\nand therefore previous to the conversion of the nations, the true\nChurch of God, the body of Christ, shall have been taken up to be for\never with the Lord, in the full and ineffable communion of the\nFather's house; so that the Church will not be God's agency in the\nconversion of the Jews as a nation, any more than in that of the\nGentiles. But we do not desire at this time to do more than establish\nthe two points above stated, which we deem of importance.\n\n\n\n\n                      LANDMARKS AND STUMBLINGBLOCKS\n\n     \"Thou shalt not remove thy neighbor's landmark, which they\n     of old have set in thine inheritance\" (Deut. xix. 14).\n\n     \"Take up the stumblingblock out of the way of My people\"\n     (Isa. lvii. 14).\n\n\nWhat tender care, what gracious considerateness, breathe in the above\npassages! The ancient landmarks were not to be removed; but the\nstumblingblocks were to be taken up. The inheritance of God's people\nwas to stand entire and unchanged, while the stumblingblocks were to\nbe sedulously removed out of their pathway. Such was the grace and\ncare of God for His people! The portion which God had given to each\nwas to be enjoyed, while, at the same time, the path in which each was\ncalled to walk should be kept free from every occasion of stumbling.\n\nNow, judging from recent communications, we believe we are called upon\nto give attention to the spirit of those ancient enactments. Some of\nour friends have, in their letters to us, opened their minds very\nfreely as to their spiritual condition. They have told us of their\ndoubts and fears, their difficulties and dangers, their conflicts and\nexercises. We are truly grateful for such confidence; and it is our\nearnest desire to be used of God to help our readers by pointing out\nthe landmarks which He, by His Spirit, has set up, and thus remove the\nstumblingblocks which the enemy diligently flings in their path.\n\nIn pondering the cases which have lately been submitted to us, we have\nfound some in which the enemy was manifestly using as a stumblingblock\nthe doctrine of election _misplaced_. The doctrine of election, in its\nright place, instead of being a stumblingblock in the pathway of\nanxious inquirers, will be found to be a landmark set by them of old\ntime, even by the inspired apostles of our Lord and Saviour Jesus\nChrist, in the inheritance of God's spiritual Israel. But we all know\nthat _misplaced_ truth is more dangerous than positive error. If a man\nwere to stand up, and boldly declare that the doctrine of election is\nfalse, we should without hesitation reject his words; but we might not\nbe quite so well prepared to meet one who, while admitting the\ndoctrine to be true and important, puts it out of its divinely\nappointed place. This latter is the very thing which is so constantly\ndone, to the damaging of the truth of God, and the darkening of the\nsouls of men.\n\nWhat, then, is the true place of the doctrine of election? Its true,\nits divinely appointed place, is for those within the house--for the\nestablishment of true _believers_. Instead of this, the enemy puts it\n_outside_ the house, for the stumbling of anxious _inquirers_. Hearken\nto the following language of a deeply exercised soul: \"If I only knew\nthat I was one of the elect I should be quite happy, inasmuch as I\ncould then confidently apply to myself the benefits of the death of\nChrist.\"\n\nDoubtless, this would be the language of many, were they only to tell\nout the feelings of their hearts. They are making a wrong use of the\ndoctrine of election--a doctrine blessedly true in itself--a most\nvaluable \"landmark,\" but made a \"stumblingblock\" by the enemy. It is\nvery needful for the anxious inquirer to bear in mind that it is _as a\nlost sinner_, and not as \"one of the elect,\" that he can apply to\nhimself the benefits of the death of Christ.\n\nThe proper stand-point from which to get a saving view of the death of\nChrist is not election, but _the consciousness of our ruin_. This is\nan unspeakable mercy, inasmuch as I _know_ I am a lost sinner; but I\ndo _not_ know that I am one of the elect, until I have received,\nthrough the Spirit's testimony and teaching, the glad tidings of\nsalvation through the blood of the Lamb. Salvation--free as the\nsunbeams, full as the ocean, permanent as the throne of the eternal\nGod--is _preached_ to me, _not_ as one of the elect, but as one\n_utterly lost_, guilty, and undone; and when I have received this\nsalvation there is conclusive evidence of my election. \"Knowing,\nbrethren beloved, your election of God; for our gospel came not unto\nyou in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in\nmuch assurance\" (1 Thess. i. 4, 5). Election is not my warrant for\naccepting salvation; but the reception of salvation is the proof of\nelection. For how is any sinner to know that he is one of the elect?\nWhere is he to find it? It must be a matter of divine revelation, else\nit cannot be a matter of faith. But where is it revealed? Where is the\nknowledge of election made an indispensable prerequisite, an essential\npreliminary, to the acceptance of salvation? Nowhere, in the word of\nGod. My only title to salvation is, that I am a poor guilty,\nhell-deserving sinner. If I wait for any other title, I am only\nremoving a most valuable landmark from its proper place, and putting\nit as a stumblingblock in my way. This, to say the least of it, is\nvery unwise.\n\nBut it is more than unwise. It is positive opposition to the word of\nGod; not only to the quotations which stand at the head of this paper,\nbut to the spirit and teaching of the entire volume. Hearken to the\nrisen Saviour's commission to His first heralds: \"Go ye into _all_ the\nworld, and preach the gospel to _every_ creature\" (Mark xvi. 15). Is\nthere so much as a single point, in these words, on which to base a\nquestion about election? Is any one, to whom this glorious gospel is\npreached, called to settle a prior question about his election?\nAssuredly not. \"All the world\" and \"every creature\" are expressions\nwhich set aside every difficulty, and render salvation as free as the\nair, and as wide as the human family. It is not said, \"Go ye into a\ngiven section of the world, and preach the gospel to a certain\nnumber.\" No; this would not be in keeping with that grace which was to\nbe proclaimed to the wide, wide world. When the law was in question,\nit was addressed to a certain number, in a given section; but when the\ngospel was to be proclaimed, its mighty range was to be, \"All the\nworld,\" and its object, \"Every creature.\"\n\nAgain, hear what the Holy Ghost saith, by the apostle Paul: \"This is a\nfaithful saying, and worthy of _all_ acceptation, that Christ Jesus\ncame into the world to save _sinners_\" (1 Tim. i. 15). Is there any\nroom here for raising a question as to one's title to salvation? None\nwhatever. If Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, and if\nI am a sinner, then I am entitled to apply to my own soul the benefits\nof His precious sacrifice. Ere I can possibly exclude myself therefrom\nI must be something else than a sinner. If it were anywhere declared\nin Scripture that Christ Jesus came to save only the elect, then\nclearly I should, in some way or another, prove myself one of that\nnumber, ere I could make my own the benefits of His death. But, thanks\nbe to God, there is nothing the least like this in the whole gospel\nscheme. \"The Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was\n_lost_\" (Luke xix. 10). And is not that just what I am? Truly so. Well\nthen, is it not from the standpoint of a lost one that I am to look\nat the death of Christ? Doubtless. And can I not, while contemplating\nthat precious mystery from thence, adopt the language of faith, and\nsay, \"He loved _me_, and gave Himself for _me_?\" Yes, as unreservedly\nand unconditionally as though I were the only sinner on the surface of\nthe globe.\n\nNothing can be more soothing and tranquillizing to the spirit of an\nanxious inquirer than to mark the way in which salvation is brought to\nhim in the very condition in which he is, and on the very ground which\nhe occupies. There is not so much as a single stumblingblock along the\nentire path leading to the glorious inheritance of the saints--an\ninheritance settled by landmarks which neither men nor devils can ever\nremove. The God of all grace has left nothing undone, nothing unsaid,\nwhich could possibly give rest, assurance, and perfect satisfaction to\nthe soul. He has set forth the very condition and character of those\nfor whom Christ died, in such terms as to leave no room for any demur\nor hesitation. Listen to the following glowing words: \"For when we\nwere yet _without strength_, in due time Christ died _for the\nungodly_.\" \"But God commendeth His love toward us, in that _while we\nwere yet sinners_, Christ died for us.\" \"For if, _when we were\nenemies_, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son,\" &c.\n(Rom. v. 6, 8, 10).\n\nCan aught be plainer or more pointed than these passages? Is there a\nsingle term made use of which could possibly raise a question in the\nheart of any sinner as to his full and undisputed title to the\nbenefits of the death of Christ? Not one. Am I \"ungodly?\" It was for\nsuch Christ died. Am I \"a sinner?\" It is to such that God commendeth\nHis love. Am I \"an enemy?\" It is such God reconciles by the death of\nHis Son. Thus all is made as plain as a sunbeam; and as for the\ntheological stumblingblock caused by misplacing the doctrine of\nelection, it is entirely removed. It is as a sinner I get the benefit\nof Christ's death. It is as a lost one I get a salvation which is as\nfree as it is permanent, and as permanent as it is free. All I want,\nin order to apply to myself the value of the blood of Jesus, is to\nknow myself a guilty _sinner_. It would not help me the least in this\nmatter to be told that I am one of the elect, inasmuch as it is not in\nthat character God addresses me in the gospel, but in another\ncharacter altogether, even as a _lost_ sinner.\n\nBut then, some may feel disposed to ask, \"Do you want to set aside the\ndoctrine of election?\" God forbid. We only want to see it in its right\nplace. We want it as a landmark, not as a stumblingblock. We believe\nthe evangelist has no business to _preach_ election. Paul never\npreached election. He _taught_ election, but He preached Christ. This\nmakes all the difference. We believe that no one can be a proper\nevangelist who is, in any wise, hampered by the doctrine of election\nmisplaced. We have seen serious damage done to two classes of people\nby preaching election instead of preaching Christ. Careless sinners\nare made more careless still, while anxious souls have had their\nanxiety intensified.\n\nThese, surely, are sad results, and they ought to be sufficient to\nawaken very serious thoughts in the minds of all who desire to be\nsuccessful preachers of that free and full salvation which shines in\nthe gospel of Christ, and leaves all who hear it without a shadow of\nan excuse. The grand business of the evangelist is to set forth, in\nhis preaching, the perfect love of God, the efficacy of the blood of\nChrist, and the faithful record of the Holy Ghost. His spirit should\nbe entirely untrammelled, and his gospel unclouded. He should preach a\npresent salvation, free to all, and stable as the pillars which\nsupport the throne of God. The gospel is the unfolding of the heart of\nGod as expressed in the death of His Son, recorded by the Holy Spirit.\n\nWere this more carefully attended to, there would be more power in\nreplying to the oft-repeated objection of the careless, as well as in\nhushing the deep anxieties of exercised and burdened souls. The former\nwould have no just ground of objection; the latter, no reason to fear.\nWhen persons reject the gospel on the ground of God's eternal decrees,\nthey are rejecting what is _revealed_ on the ground of what is\n_hidden_. What can they possibly know about God's decrees? Just\nnothing. How then can that which is secret be urged as a reason for\nrejecting what is revealed? Why refuse what _can_ be known, on the\nground of what _cannot_? It is obvious that men do not act thus in\ncases where they wish to believe a matter. Only let a man be willing\nto believe a thing, and you will not find him anxiously looking for a\nground of objection. But alas! men do not want to believe God. They\nreject His precious testimony which is as clear as the sun in meridian\nbrightness, and urge, as their plea for so doing, His decrees which\nare wrapped in impenetrable darkness. What folly! What blindness! What\nguilt!\n\nAnd then as to anxious souls who harass themselves with questions\nabout election, we long to show them that it is not in accordance with\nthe divine mind that they should raise any such difficulty. God\naddresses them in the exact state in which He sees them and in which\nthey can see themselves. He addresses them as _sinners_, and this is\nexactly what they are. _There is nothing but salvation for_ ANY\n_sinner, the moment he takes his true place as a sinner._ This is\nsimple enough for any simple soul. To raise questions about election\nis sheer unbelief. It is, in another way, to reject what is revealed\non the ground of what is hidden; it is to refuse what I _can_ know, on\nthe ground of what I _cannot_. God has revealed Himself in the face of\nJesus Christ, so that we may know Him and trust Him. Moreover, He has\nmade full provision in the atonement of the cross for all our need and\nall our guilt. Hence, therefore instead of perplexing myself with the\nquestion, \"Am I one of the elect?\" it is my happy privilege to rest\nin the perfect love of God, the all-sufficiency of Christ, and the\nfaithful record of the Holy Ghost.\n\nWe must here close, though there are other stumblingblocks which we\nlong to see removed out of the way of God's people, as well as\nlandmarks which are sadly lost sight of.\n\n\n\n\n                       GRACE AND GOVERNMENT\n\n\nThe title of this paper may possibly present a theme to which some of\nour readers have not given much of their attention; and yet few themes\nare more important. Indeed, we believe that the difficulty felt in\nexpounding many passages of Holy Scripture, and in interpreting many\nacts of divine providence, is justly traceable to a want of clearness\nas to the vast difference between God in grace and in government. Now,\nas it is our constant aim to meet the actual need of our readers, we\npurpose, in dependence upon the Spirit's teaching, to unfold a few of\nthe leading passages of Scripture in which the distinction between\ngrace and government is fully and clearly presented.\n\nIn the third chapter of the book of Genesis we shall find our first\nillustration--the first exhibition of divine grace and divine\ngovernment. Here, we find man a sinner--a ruined, guilty, naked\nsinner. But here, too, we find God in grace, to remedy the ruin, to\ncleanse the guilt, to clothe the nakedness. All this He does in His\nown way. He silences the serpent, and consigns him to eternal\nignominy. He establishes His own eternal glory, and provides both life\nand righteousness for the sinner--all through the bruised Seed of the\nwoman.\n\nNow, this was grace--unqualified grace--free, unconditional, perfect\ngrace--the grace of God. The Lord God gives His Son to be, as \"the\nSeed of the woman,\" bruised for man's redemption--to be slain to\nfurnish a robe of divine righteousness for a naked sinner. This, I\nrepeat, was grace of the most unmistakable nature. But then, be it\ncarefully noted, that in immediate connection with this first grand\ndisplay of grace, we have the first solemn act of divine government.\nIt was grace that clothed the man. It was government that drove him\nout of Eden. \"Unto Adam also, and to his wife, did the Lord God make\ncoats of skins, and clothed them.\" Here we have an act of purest\ngrace. But then we read: \"So He drove out the man: and He placed at\nthe east of the garden of Eden Cherubim, and a flaming sword which\nturned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.\" Here we have a\nsolemn, soul-subduing act of government. The coat of skin was the\nsweet pledge of grace. The flaming sword was the solemn ensign of\ngovernment. Adam was the subject of both. When he looked at the coat,\nhe could think of divine grace--how God provided a robe to cover his\nnakedness; when he looked at the sword, he was reminded of divine,\nunflinching government.\n\nHence, therefore, the \"coat\" and the \"sword\"[11] may be regarded as\nthe earliest expression of \"grace\" and \"government.\" True, these\nthings appear before us in new forms as we pass down along the current\nof inspiration. Grace shines in brighter beams, and government clothes\nitself in robes of deeper solemnity. Moreover, both grace and\ngovernment assume an aspect less enigmatical, as they develope\nthemselves in connection with the personal history of the people of\nGod from age to age; but still it is deeply interesting to find these\ngrand realities so distinctly presented under the early figures of the\ncoat and the sword.\n\n  [11] The \"sword\" is the ensign of divine government; the cherubim are\n  the invariable companions thereof. Both symbols are frequently used\n  throughout the word of God.\n\nThe reader may perhaps feel disposed to ask, \"How was it that the Lord\nGod drove out the man, if He had previously forgiven him?\" The same\nquestion may be asked in connection with every scene, throughout the\nentire book of God and throughout the entire history of the people of\nGod, in which the combined action of grace and government is\nexemplified. Grace forgives; but the wheels of government roll on in\nall their terrible majesty. Adam was perfectly forgiven, but his sin\nproduced its own results. The guilt of his conscience was removed, but\nnot the \"sweat of his brow.\" He went out pardoned and clothed; but it\nwas into the midst of \"thorns and thistles\" he went. He could feed in\nsecret on the precious fruits of grace, while he recognized in public\nthe solemn and unavoidable enactments of government.\n\nThus it was with Adam; thus it has been ever since; and thus it is at\nthis moment. My reader should seek to get a clear understanding of\nthis subject in the light of Scripture. It is well worthy of his\nprayerful attention. It too frequently happens that grace and\ngovernment are confounded, and, as a necessary consequence, grace is\nrobbed of its charms, and government is shorn of its solemn dignities:\nthe full and unqualified forgiveness of sins, which the sinner might\nenjoy on the ground of free grace, is rarely apprehended, because the\nheart is occupied with the stern enactments of government. The two\nthings are as distinct as any two things can be; and this distinctness\nis as clearly maintained in the third chapter of Genesis as in any\nother section of the inspired volume. Did the \"thorns and thistles\"\nwith which Adam found himself surrounded on his expulsion from Eden\ninterfere with that full forgiveness of which grace had previously\nassured him? Clearly not. His heart had been gladdened by the bright\nbeams of the lamp of promise, and his person clothed in the robe which\ngrace had fashioned for him ere he was sent forth into a cursed and\ngroaning earth, there to toil and struggle by the just decree of the\nthrone of government. God's government \"drove out the man\"; but not\nuntil God's grace had pardoned and clothed him. That sent him forth\ninto a world of gloom; but not until this had placed in his hand the\nlamp of promise to cheer him through the gloom. He could bear the\nsolemn decree of government in proportion as he experienced the rich\nprovision of grace.\n\nThus much as to Adam's history in so far as it illustrates our\nthesis. We shall now pass on to the ark and deluge, in the days of\nNoah, which, like the coat of skin and the flaming sword, exemplify in\na striking way divine grace and divine government.\n\nThe inspired narrative of Cain and his posterity presents, in lines of\nunflinching faithfulness, the progress of _man_ in his fallen\ncondition; while the history of Abel and his immediate line unfolds to\nus, in glowing contrast, the progress of those who were called to live\na life of faith in the midst of that scene into which the enactments\nof the throne of government had driven our first parents. The former\npursued with headlong speed the downward course until their\nconsummated guilt brought down the heavy judgment of the throne of\ngovernment. The latter, on the contrary, pursued, through grace, an\nupward course, and were safely borne, through the judgment, into a\nrestored earth.\n\nNow, it is interesting to see that, before ever the governmental act\nof judgment proceeded, the elect family, and all with them, were\nsafely shut in the ark, the vessel of grace. Noah, safe in the ark,\nlike Adam clad in the coat, was the witness of Jehovah's unqualified\ngrace; and, as such, he could contemplate the throne of government, as\nit poured its appalling judgment upon a defiled world. God in grace\nsaved Noah, ere God in government swept the earth with the besom of\njudgment. It is grace and government over again. That, acts in\nsalvation; this, in judgment. God is seen in both. Every atom of the\nark bore the sweet impress of grace; every wave of the deluge\nreflected the solemn decree of government.\n\nWe shall just select one case more from the book of Genesis--a deeply\npractical one--one in which the combined action of grace and\ngovernment is seen in a very solemn and impressive way. I allude to\nthe case of the patriarch Jacob. The entire history of this\ninstructive man presents a series of events illustrative of our theme.\nI shall merely refer to the one case of his deceiving his father for\nthe purpose of supplanting his brother. The sovereign grace of God\nhad, long before Jacob was born, secured to him a preeminence of which\nno man could ever deprive him; but, not satisfied to wait for God's\ntime and way, he set about managing matters for himself. What was the\nresult? His entire after-life furnishes the admonitory reply. Exile\nfrom his father's house; twenty years of hard servitude; his wages\nchanged ten times; never permitted to see his mother again; fear of\nbeing murdered by his injured brother; dishonor cast upon his family;\nterror of his life from the Shechemites; deceived by his ten sons;\nplunged into deep sorrow by the supposed death of his favorite Joseph;\napprehension of death by famine; and, finally, death in a strange\nland.\n\nReader, what a lesson is here! Jacob was a subject of\ngrace--sovereign, changeless, eternal grace. This is a settled point.\nBut then, he was a subject of government likewise; and be it well\nremembered that no exercise of grace can ever interfere with the\nonward movement of the wheels of government. That movement is\nresistless. Easier would it be to stem the ocean's rising tide with a\nfeather, or to check the whirlwind with a spider's web, than to stay\nby any power, angelic, human, or diabolical, the mighty movement of\nJehovah's governmental chariot.\n\nAll this is deeply solemn. Grace pardons; yes, freely, fully and\neternally pardons; but what is sown must be reaped. A man may be sent\nby his master to sow a field with wheat, and through ignorance,\ndulness, or gross inattention, he sows some noxious weed. His master\nhears of the mistake, and, in the exercise of his grace, he pardons\nit--pardons it freely and fully. What then? Will the gracious pardon\nchange the nature of the crop? Assuredly not; and hence, in due time,\nwhen golden ears should cover the field, the servant sees it covered\nwith noxious weeds. Does the sight of the weeds make him doubt his\nmaster's grace? By no means. As the master's grace did not alter the\nnature of the crop, neither does the nature of the crop alter the\nmaster's grace and pardon flowing therefrom. The two things are\nperfectly distinct; nor would the principle be infringed even though\nthe master were, by the application of extraordinary skill, to extract\nfrom the weed a drug more valuable than the wheat itself. It would\nstill hold good that \"whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also\nreap.\"\n\nThis will illustrate, in a feeble way, the difference between grace\nand government. The passage just quoted from the sixth of Galatians is\na brief but most comprehensive statement of the great governmental\nprinciple--a principle of the gravest and most practical nature--a\nprinciple of the widest application. \"Whatsoever a man soweth.\" It\nmatters not who he is: as is your sowing, so will be your reaping.\nGrace pardons; nay, more, it may make you higher and happier than\never; but if you sow weeds in spring, you will not reap wheat in\nharvest. This is as plain as it is practical. It is illustrated and\nenforced both by Scripture and experience.\n\nLook at the case of Moses. He spoke unadvisedly with his lips at the\nwaters of Meribah (Num. xx.). What was the result? Jehovah's\ngovernmental decree prohibited his entrance into the promised land.\nBut be it noted, while the decree of the throne kept him out of\nCanaan, the boundless grace of God brought him up to Pisgah (Deut.\nxxxiv.), where he saw the land, not as it was taken by the hand of\nIsrael, but as it had been given by the covenant of Jehovah. And what\nthen? Jehovah buried His dear servant! What grace shines in this!\nTruly, if the spirit is overawed by the solemn decree of the throne at\nMeribah, the heart is enraptured by the matchless grace on the top of\nPisgah. Jehovah's government kept Moses out of Canaan. Jehovah's grace\ndug a grave for Moses in the plains of Moab. Was there ever such a\nburial? May we not say that the grace that dug the grave of Moses is\nonly outshone by the grace that occupied the grave of Christ? Yes;\nJehovah can dig a grave or make a coat; and, moreover, the grace that\nshines in these marvelous acts is only enhanced by being looked at in\nconnection with the solemn enactments of the throne of government.\n\nBut again: look at David \"in the matter of Uriah the Hittite,\" Here we\nhave a most striking exhibition of grace and government. In an evil\nhour David fell from his holy elevation. Under the blinding power of\nlust, he rushed into a deep and horrible pit of moral pollution.\nThere, in that deep pit, the arrow of conviction reached his\nconscience, and drew forth from his broken heart those penitential\naccents, \"I have sinned against the Lord.\" How were those accents met?\nBy the clear and ready response of that free grace in which our God\never delights: \"The Lord hath put away thy sin.\" This was absolute\ngrace. David's sin was perfectly forgiven. There can be no question as\nto this. But whilst the soothing accents of grace fell on David's ears\nupon the confession of his guilt, the solemn movement of the wheels of\ngovernment was heard in the distance. No sooner had mercy's tender\nhand removed the guilt, than \"the sword\" was drawn from the scabbard\nto execute the necessary judgment. This is deeply solemnizing. David\nwas fully pardoned, but Absalom rose in rebellion. \"Whatsoever a man\nsoweth, that shall he also reap.\" The sin of sowing weeds may be\nforgiven, but the reaping must be according to the sowing. The former\nis grace, the latter is government. Each acts in its own sphere, and\nneither interferes with the other. The lustre of the grace and the\ndignity of the government are both divine. David was permitted to\ntread the courts of the sanctuary as a subject of grace (2 Sam. xii.\n20) ere he was called to climb the rugged sides of Mount Olivet as a\nsubject of government (2 Sam. xv. 30); and we may safely assert that\nDavid's heart never had a deeper sense of divine grace than at the\nvery time in which he was experiencing the righteous action of divine\ngovernment.\n\nSufficient has now been said to open to the reader a subject which he\ncan easily pursue for himself. The Scriptures are full of it; and\nhuman life illustrates it every day. How often do we see men in the\nfullest enjoyment of grace, knowing the pardon of all their sins,\nwalking in unclouded communion with God, and all the while suffering\nin body or estate the consequences of past follies and excesses. Here,\nagain, you have grace and government. This is a deeply important and\npractical subject; it will be found to aid the soul very effectively\nin its study, not only of the page of inspiration, but also of the\npage of human biography.\n\nI shall close this article by quoting for my reader a passage which is\noften erroneously adduced as an exhibition of grace, whereas it is\nentirely an exhibition of government. \"And the Lord passed by before\nhim, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious,\nlong-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for\nthousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will\nby no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers\nupon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third\nand to the fourth generation\" (Ex. xxxiv. 6, 7). Were we to regard\nthis passage as a presentation of God in the gospel, we should have a\nvery limited view indeed of what the gospel is. The gospel speaketh on\nthis wise: \"God was in Christ, _reconciling_ the world unto Himself,\n_not imputing_ their trespasses unto them\" (2 Cor. v. 19). \"Visiting\niniquity\" and \"not imputing\" it are two totally different things. The\nformer is God in government; the latter is God in grace. It is the\nsame God, but a different manifestation.\n\n\n\n\n                             SAUL OF TARSUS\n\n\nIn contemplating the character of this most remarkable man, we may\ngather valuable principles of gospel truth. He seems to have been\npeculiarly fitted to show forth, in the first place, what the grace of\nGod _can_ do; and, in the second place, what the greatest amount of\nlegal effort _cannot_ do. If ever there was a man upon this earth\nwhose history illustrates the truth that \"salvation is by grace,\nwithout works of law,\" Saul of Tarsus was that man. Indeed, it is as\nthough God had specially designed to present in this man a living\nexample, first, of the depth from which His grace can rescue a\n_sinner_: and, secondly, the height from which a _legalist_ is brought\ndown to receive Christ. He was at once the very _worst_ and the very\n_best_ of men--the chief of sinners and the chief of legalists: as he\nhated and persecuted Christ in His saints, he was a sinner of sinners;\nand a Pharisee of the Pharisees in his moral conduct and pride.\n\nLet us, then, in the first place, contemplate him as\n\n\n                       THE CHIEF OF SINNERS.\n\n\"This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ\nJesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom _I am chief_\" (1\nTim. i. 15). Now, let the reader note particularly what the Spirit of\nGod declares concerning Saul of Tarsus: that he was the chief of\nsinners. It is not the expression of Paul's humility, though, no\ndoubt, he was humble under the sense of what he had been. We are not\nto be occupied with the feelings of an inspired writer, but with the\nstatements of the Holy Ghost who inspired him. It is well to see this.\nVery many persons speak of the feelings of the various inspired\nwriters in a way calculated to weaken the sense of that precious\ntruth, the plenary inspiration of Holy Scripture. They may not mean to\ndo so; but then, at a time like the present, when there is so much of\nreason, so much of human speculation, we cannot be too guarded against\naught that might, even in appearance, militate against the integrity\nof the word of God. We are anxious that our readers should treasure\nthe Scriptures in their hearts' affections, not as the expression of\nhuman feelings, however pious and praiseworthy, but as the depository\nof the thoughts of God. \"For the prophecy came not in old time by the\nwill of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy\nGhost\" (2 Peter i. 21).\n\nHence, therefore, in reading 1 Tim. i. 15, we are not to think of the\nfeelings of man, but of the record of God, which declares that Paul\nwas \"chief of sinners.\" It is never stated of any one else. No doubt,\nin a secondary sense, each convicted heart will feel and own itself\nthe guiltiest within its own range of knowledge; but this is quite\nanother matter. The Holy Ghost has declared this of Paul; nor does the\nfact that He has told us this by the pen of Paul himself interfere\nwith or weaken the truth and value of the statement. No matter how bad\nany one may be, Paul could say, \"_I am chief_.\" No matter how far from\nGod any one may feel himself to be--no matter how deeply sunk in the\npit of ruin--a voice rises to his ear from a deeper point still, \"_I\nam chief_.\"\n\nBut let us mark the _object_ of all this dealing with the chief of\nsinners. \"Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in _me first_,\nJesus Christ might show forth _all_ long-suffering, for a _pattern_ to\nthem who should hereafter believe on Him to life everlasting.\" The\nchief of sinners is in heaven. How did he get there? Simply by the\nblood of Jesus; and moreover, he is Christ's \"pattern\" man. All may\nlook at him and see how they too are to be saved; for in such wise as\nthe \"chief\" was saved, must all the subordinate be saved. The _grace_\nthat reached the chief can reach all. The blood that cleansed the\nchief can cleanse all. The title by which the chief entered heaven is\nthe title for all. Behold in Paul a \"pattern of Christ's\nlong-suffering!\" There is not a sinner at this side the portal of\nhell, backslider or aught else, beyond the reach of the love of God,\nthe blood of Christ, or the testimony of the Holy Ghost.\n\nWe shall now turn to the other side of Saul's character, and\ncontemplate him as\n\n                       THE CHIEF OF LEGALISTS.\n\n\"Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man\nthinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, _I more_\"\n(Phil. 3: 4). Here we have a most valuable point. Saul of Tarsus\nstood, as it were, on the loftiest height of the hill of legal\nrighteousness. He reached the topmost step of the ladder of human\nreligion. He would suffer no man to get above him. His religious\nattainments were of the very highest order. (See Gal. 1: 14.) \"If\n_any_ other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the\nflesh, _I more_.\" Is any man trusting in his temperance? Paul could\nsay, \"I _more_.\" Is any man trusting in his morality? Paul could say,\n\"I _more_.\" Is any man trusting in ordinances, sacraments, religious\nservices, or pious observances? Paul could say, \"I _more_.\"\n\nAll this imparts a peculiar interest to the history of Saul of Tarsus.\nIn him we see, at one view, the power of the blood of Christ, and the\nutter worthlessness of the fairest robe of self-righteousness that\never decked the person of a legalist. Looking at him, no sinner need\ndespair; looking at him, no legalist can boast. If the chief of\nsinners is in heaven, I can get there too. If the greatest\nreligionist, legalist, and doer, that ever lived had to come _down_\nfrom the ladder of self-righteousness, it is of no use for me to go\n_up_.\n\nThe guilt of Saul of Tarsus was completely covered by the blood of\nChrist; and his lofty religious pride and boasting was swept away by a\nsight of Jesus, and Saul found his place at the pierced feet of Jesus\nof Nazareth. His guilt was no hindrance, and his righteousness no use.\nThe former was washed away by the blood, and the latter turned into\ndung and dross by the moral glory of Christ. It mattered not whether\nit was \"_I chief_,\" or \"_I more_.\" The cross was the only remedy. \"God\nforbid,\" says this chief of sinners and prince of legalists, \"that I\nshould glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the\nworld is crucified unto me, and I unto the world\" (Gal. 6: 14). Paul\nhad just as little idea of trusting in his righteousness as in his\ncrimes. He was permitted to win the laurel of victory in the grand\nlegal struggle with his \"equals in his own nation,\" only that he might\nfling it, as a withered, worthless thing, at the foot of the Cross. He\nwas permitted to outstrip all in the dark career of guilt, only that\nhe might exemplify the power of the love of God and the efficacy of\nthe blood of Christ. Saul was no nearer to Christ as the chief of\nlegalists than he was as the chief of sinners. There was no more\njustifying merit in his noblest efforts in the school of legalism than\nin his wildest acts of opposition to the name of Christ. He was saved\nby grace, saved by blood, saved by faith. There is no other way for\nsinner or legalist.\n\nThere is another point in Paul's history at which we must briefly\nglance, in order to shew the practical results of the grace of Christ\nwherever that grace is known. This will present him to our notice as\n\n                 THE MOST LABORIOUS OF APOSTLES.\n\nIf Paul learned to cease working for righteousness, he also learned to\nbegin working for Christ. When we behold on Damascus' road the\nshattered fragments of this worst and best men--when we hear those\npathetic accents emanating from the depths of a broken heart, \"Lord,\nwhat wilt _Thou_ have me to do?\"--when we see that man who had left\nJerusalem in the mad fury of a persecuting zealot, now stretching\nforth the hand of blind helplessness to be led like a little child\ninto Damascus, we are led to form the very highest expectations as to\nhis future career; nor are we disappointed. Mark the progress of that\nmost remarkable man, behold his gigantic labors in the vineyard of\nChrist; see his tears, his toils, his travels, his perils, his\nstruggles; see him as he bears his golden sheaves into the heavenly\ngarner, and lays them down at the Master's feet; see him wearing the\nnoble bonds of the gospel, and finally laying his head on a martyr's\nblock, and say if the gospel of God's free grace--the gospel of\nChrist's free salvation, does away with good works? Nay, my reader,\nthat precious gospel is the only true basis on which the\nsuperstructure of good works can ever be erected. Morality, without\nChrist, is an icy morality. Benevolence, without Christ, is a\nworthless benevolence. Ordinances, without Christ are powerless and\nvalueless. Orthodoxy, without Christ, is heartless and fruitless. We\nmust get to the end of _self_, whether it be a guilty self or a\nreligious self, and find Christ as the satisfying portion of our\nhearts, now and for ever. Then we shall be able to say, with truth,\n\n    \"Thou, O Christ, art all I want,\n    More than all in Thee I find.\"\n\nAnd again:\n\n    \"Love so amazing, so divine,\n    Demands my soul, my life, my all.\"\n\nThus it was with Saul of Tarsus. He got rid of himself and found his\nall in Christ; and hence, as we hang over the impressive page of his\nhistory, we hear, from the depths of ruin, the words, \"I am\n_chief_\"--from the most elevated point in the legal system, the words,\n\"I _more_\"--and from amid the golden fields of apostolic labor, the\nwords, \"I labored _more abundantly_ than they all.\"\n\n\n\n\n                        THE TRUE WORKMAN.\n\n             HIS REBUFFS, HIS RESOURCES, HIS RETURNS\n\n                         Read Matthew xi\n\n\nThere is a never-failing freshness in every part of the word of God,\nbut especially in those portions of it which present to us the blessed\nperson of the Lord Jesus; which tell us what He was, what He did, what\nHe said, how He did it, and how He said it; which present Him to our\nhearts in His comings and goings, and matchless ways; in His spirit,\ntone, and manner, yea, in His very look. There is something in all\nthis that commands and charms the heart. It is far more powerful than\nthe mere statement of doctrines, however important, or the\nestablishment of principles, however profound. These have their value\nand their place, most assuredly; they enlighten the understanding,\ninstruct the mind, form the judgment, govern the conscience, and, in\nso doing, render us invaluable service. But the presentation of the\nperson of Christ draws the heart, rivets the affections, satisfies the\nsoul, commands the whole being. In short, nothing can exceed the\noccupation of heart with Christ Himself as the Holy Ghost has unfolded\nHim to us in the Word, and especially in the inimitable narratives of\nthe Gospels. May it be given us, beloved reader, to prove this, as we\nhang together over the eleventh chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, in\nwhich we shall get a view of Christ, the true Workman, in His rebuffs,\nHis resources and His returns--the rebuffs which He met with in His\nministry; the resources which He found in God; and the returns which\nHe makes to us.\n\nAnd first, let us look at\n\n\n                             THE REBUFFS.\n\nThere never yet was one who stood as a workman for God in this world,\nthat had not to encounter rebuffs in some shape or form, and the only\nperfect Workman is no exception to the general rule. Jesus had His\nrebuffs and disappointments; for had it been otherwise with Him, He\ncould not sympathize with those who have to meet them at every stage\nof their career. He, as man, perfectly entered into everything that\nman is capable of feeling--sin excepted. \"He was in all points tempted\nlike as we are, except sin.\" \"He is touched with the feeling of our\ninfirmities.\" He perfectly understands, and fully enters into, all\nthat His servants have to pass through in their work.\n\nNow, in this eleventh chapter, the Spirit has grouped together a\nseries of those rebuffs or disappointments which the perfect Workman,\nthe true Servant, the divine Minister had to encounter in the\ndischarge of His ministry. The first of these came from a quarter from\nwhich we should not have expected it, namely, from John the Baptist\nhimself. \"Now, when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ,\nhe sent two of his disciples, and said unto Him, Art Thou He that\nshould come, or do we look for another?\"\n\nIt is very evident that at the moment in which the Baptist sent this\nmessage to his Master, his spirit was under a cloud. It was a dark\nseason in his experience. This was nothing uncommon. The very best and\ntruest of Christ's servants have had their spirits overcast at times\nby the dark shadows of unbelief, despondency, and impatience. Moses,\nthat highly honored, faithful servant of God, gave forth on one\noccasion such accents as these, \"Wherefore hast Thou afflicted Thy\nservant, and wherefore have I not found favor in Thy sight, that Thou\nlayest the burden of all this people upon me.... I am not able to bear\nall this people alone, because it is too heavy for me. And if Thou\ndeal thus with me, kill me, I pray Thee, out of hand, _if_ I have\nfound favor in Thy sight, and let me not see my wretchedness\" (Num.\n11: 11-15). Such was the language of the meekest man upon the face of\nthe earth--language drawn forth, no doubt, by very aggravating\ncircumstances, even by the murmuring voices of six hundred thousand\nfootmen--but still it was the language of Moses; and surely it would\nill become us to marvel, for where is the mere mortal who could have\nendured the intense pressure of such a moment? What merely human\nembankment could have resisted the violence of such a mighty tide?\n\nAgain, we find Elijah the Tishbite, in a moment of heavy pressure,\nwhen a dark cloud was passing over his soul, flinging himself down\nunder a juniper tree, and requesting for himself that he might die.\n\"It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life; for I am not better\nthan my fathers\" (1 Kings 19: 4). This was the language of Elijah, one\nof the most highly honored of the servants of Christ--language evoked,\nno doubt, by a combination of the most discouraging influences--but\nstill it was the language of Elijah the Tishbite; and let no one blame\nhim until he himself has passed, without a wavering feeling or a\nfaltering word, through like conditions.\n\nIn like manner also we find Jeremiah, another of Christ's high-favored\nworkmen, when under the smitings of Pashur, and the derisive insults\nof the ungodly around him, giving vent to his feelings in such\nlanguage as this, \"O Lord, Thou hast deceived me, and I was deceived:\nThou art stronger than I, and hast prevailed; I am in derision daily,\nevery one mocketh me. For since I spake, I cried out, I cried violence\nand spoil; because the word of the Lord was made a reproach unto me,\nand a derision, daily. Then I said, I will not make mention of Him,\nnor speak any more in His name.\" And, again, \"Cursed be the day\nwherein I was born: let not the day wherein my mother bare me be\nblessed. Cursed be the man who brought tidings to my father, saying, A\nman child is born unto thee; making him very glad. And let that man be\nas the cities which the Lord overthrew, and repented not: and let him\nhear the cry in the morning, and the shouting at noontide, because he\nslew me not from the womb; or that my mother might have been my grave,\nand her womb to be always great with me. Wherefore came I forth out of\nthe womb to see labor and sorrow, that my days should be consumed with\nshame?\" (Jer. 20: 7-9, 14-18). Such was the language of the weeping\nprophet--language drawn forth, no doubt, by sharp rebuffs and sore\ndisappointments in his prophetic ministry, but still the language of\nJeremiah; and, ere we condemn him, let us see if we could acquit\nourselves better under similar pressure.\n\nNeed we wonder, then, after reading such records as the above, when we\nfind the Baptist, amid the gloom of Herod's dungeon, faltering for a\nmoment? Should we be greatly astonished to discover that he was made\nof no better material than the workmen of former generations? If\nIsrael's lawgiver, Israel's reformer, and Israel's weeping prophet\nhad, each in his day and generation, tottered beneath the ponderous\nweight of his burden, are we to be surprised to find \"John, the son of\nZacharias\" giving way to a momentary feeling of impatience and\nunbelief beneath the dark shadow of his prison walls? Assuredly, not\nuntil we ourselves have sat unmoved amid similar influences.\n\nAnd yet we have ventured to assert, that John's message was a rebuff\nand a disappointment to the spirit of his Master. Yes, that is just\nwhat we assert; and we find the authority for our assertion in the\nstyle of Christ's answer. \"Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and\nshew John again those things which ye do hear and see. The blind\nreceive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and\nthe deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel\npreached to them. And blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in\nMe.\"\n\nIt is very possible, nay probable, that the Baptist, under a passing\nshadow of unbelief, had been tempted to wonder if indeed Jesus was the\nOne to whom he had, in the discharge of his ministry, borne such full\nand unqualified testimony. He was, doubtless, stumbled for the moment,\nwhen he saw himself in the iron grasp of Herod, and heard of the works\nof Christ. His poor heart might indulge itself in such reasoning as\nthis, \"If indeed this be the glorious Messiah for whom we looked,\nwhose kingdom was to be set up in power, then why is it thus with me\nHis servant and witness? Why am I here in the gloom of this prison?\nWhy is not the strong hand of power stretched forth to free me from\nthese bonds and fling open these prison doors?\"\n\nIf such were the reasonings of the captive Baptist, and we can easily\nbelieve it, what a powerful, pointed, pungent answer lay folded up in\nhis Master's reply! He points him to those grand moral evidences of\nHis divine mission, which were amply sufficient to carry conviction to\nevery one that was taught of God. Was it not to be expected that if\nthe God of Israel appeared in the midst of His people, He should\naddress Himself to their actual condition? Was that the moment for the\ndisplay of mere power? Could the Son of David set up His throne amid\ndisease and misery? Was there not a demand for the exercise of\npatient, lowly grace and mercy in the midst of the varied and\nmultiplied fruits of sin? True, mere power could have burst open\nHerod's prison, and set the captive free; but then what about the\nlame, the blind, the deaf, the leper, the dead, the poor, the\nwretched? Could the display of royalty alleviate their condition? Was\nit not plain that something else was needed? And was it not equally\nplain that that something was being supplied by the gracious, tender,\nsoothing ministrations of the lowly Jesus of Nazareth? Yes, and the\nBaptist ought to have known this. But ah! beloved reader, you and I\nmay well tread softly in the prison-chamber of this honored servant of\nChrist, not only because grace would have us so to do, but also\nbecause of the conviction which assuredly must possess our souls that,\nhad we been in his position, the foundations of our personal faith,\nif not sustained by grace, would have given way far more deplorably.\n\nStill, it is important that we should fully comprehend the failure of\nJohn the Baptist, and sedulously gather up the seasonable instruction\nfurnished by his temporary depression. We shall do well to see, with\ndistinctness, what was lacking in his faith, in order that we\nourselves may profit by this touchingly interesting narrative. It\nwould have greatly helped the Baptist had he only understood and\nremembered that this is the day of Christ's _sympathy_, and not the\nday of His _power_. Were it the day of His power, there would be no\ndungeon, no block, no stake, no trial or sorrow of any sort for the\nsaints of God. There would then be no tumultuous waves of the ocean,\nno cloud in the sky, no storm to brave, no roughness to endure. But\nthis is the day of Christ's sympathy; and the question for the tried\nand tempted, the harassed and oppressed, is this, \"Which would you\nrather have, the _power_ of Christ's _hand_ in deliverance _from_ the\ntrial, or the _sympathy_ of Christ's _heart_ in the trial?\" The carnal\nmind, the unsubdued heart, the restless spirit, will, no doubt, at\nonce exclaim, \"Oh! let Him only put forth His power and deliver me\nfrom this insupportable trial, this intolerable burden, this crushing\ndifficulty. I sigh for deliverance. I only want deliverance.\"\n\nSome of us can well understand this. We are so often like a bullock\nunaccustomed to the yoke, restlessly struggling, instead of patiently\nsubmitting; rendering the yoke all the more galling and grievous by\nour senseless and useless efforts to shake it off. But the spiritual\nmind, the subdued heart, the lowly spirit, will say, and that without\na single particle of reserve, Let me only enjoy the sweet sympathy of\nthe heart of Jesus in my trial, and I ask no more. I do not want even\nthe power of His hand to deprive me of one drop of consolation\nsupplied by the tender love and profound sympathy of His heart. I\nknow, assuredly, that He could deliver me. I know that He could, in\nthe twinkling of an eye, snap these chains, level these prison walls,\nrebuke that sickness, raise up that beloved object that lies before me\nin the cold grasp of death, remove this heavy burden, meet this\ndifficulty, supply this need. But if He does not see fit to do so, if\nit does not fall in with His unsearchable counsels, and harmonize with\nHis wise and faithful purpose concerning me so to do, I know it is\nonly to lead me into a deeper and richer experience of His most\nprecious sympathy. If He does not see it right to take me off the\nrough path of trial and difficulty--that path which He Himself, in\nperfection, and all His saints from age to age, in their measure, have\ntrodden--it is His gracious purpose to come and walk with me along\nthat path which, though rough and thorny, leads to those everlasting\nmansions of light and blessedness above.\n\nWe cannot, for a moment, doubt but that the knowledge and\nrecollection of these things would greatly have relieved the heart of\nJohn the Baptist in the midst of his prison experiences; and surely\nthey would serve to soothe and sustain our hearts amid the varied\nexercises through which we are called to pass in this wilderness\nscene. The moment has not yet arrived for Jesus to take to Himself His\ngreat power, and reign. It is the day of His patience with the world,\nof His sympathy with His people. We must ever remember this. He did\nnot put forth the strong hand of power to avert aught of His own\nsuffering. Nay, when Peter, in mistaken zeal, drew the sword in His\ndefence, He said, \"Put up thy sword into its place; for all they that\ntake the sword shall perish by the sword. Thinkest thou that I cannot\nnow pray to My Father, and He shall presently give Me more than twelve\nlegions of angels? But how then shall the Scriptures be fulfilled that\nthus it must be?\" (Matt. xxvi. 52-54).\n\nBut while we fully recognize the momentary failure of John the\nBaptist, and while we clearly discern the points in which his faith\nproved itself defective, let us remember the pressure of his\ncircumstances, and the great practical difficulty of the lesson which\nhe was called to learn within his prison walls. It is very hard for a\nworkman to find himself laid aside. Indeed, there are few things more\ndifficult for an active mind than to learn that we can be dispensed\nwith. We are so apt to think that the work cannot get on without us.\nAnd yet the Lord can soon teach us our mistake. Paul's bonds advanced\nthe cause of Christ. The imprisonment of one great preacher drew out a\nmultitude of minor preachers. Luther's confinement in the Wartburg\nfurthered the cause of the Reformation.\n\nThus it is always; and we have all to learn the wholesome lesson, that\nGod can do without us; that the work can go on without us. This holds\ngood in every case. It matters not, in the least, what our sphere of\naction may be. We may not be apostles or reformers, teachers or\npreachers; but whatever we are, it is well for us to learn that we can\nvery easily be spared from the scene around us. The remembrance of\nthis gives great rest to the heart. It tends amazingly to cure us of\nall that bustling self-importance which is so truly hateful, and it\nenables us to say, \"The Lord be praised! The work is being done. I am\nsatisfied.\"\n\nThe reader will discern a very marked difference between Christ's\nmessage _to_ John and his testimony _of_ John. In speaking to His\nservant, He lets him know, in a way not to be mistaken, that He _felt_\nhis question. We can have no difficulty in seeing this. We feel\npersuaded that the Lord's answer to His servant contained a sharp\narrow. True, that arrow was enclosed in a very delicate case; but it\nwas an arrow, and a sharp one too. \"Blessed is he, whosoever shall not\nbe offended in Me.\" John would, doubtless, understand this, It was\ndesigned to go right home to his very inmost soul. That dear servant\nhad said, in reference to Jesus, \"He must increase, but I must\ndecrease,\" and he was called to enter practically into this, not\nmerely in his ministry, but in his person. He had to be content to end\nhis career by the sword of the executioner, after having spent his\nclosing days in the gloom of a dungeon. How mysterious! What a\nprofound lesson to be set down to! How difficult to flesh and blood!\nWhat need--what urgent need there was, at such a moment, for John to\nhave whispered into his ear these words, afterwards uttered to Peter,\n\"What I do, thou knowest not _now_; but thou shalt know _hereafter_.\"\n\nWhat pregnant words! \"_Now_\" and \"_Hereafter_!\" How much we all need\nto remember them! Often it happens with us that \"Now\" is involved in\ndeep and impenetrable obscurity. Heavy clouds hang upon our path. The\ndealings of our Father's hand are perfectly inexplicable to us. Our\nminds are bewildered. There are circumstances in our path for which we\ncannot account--ingredients in our cup the object of which we cannot\nunderstand or appreciate. We are confounded and feel disposed to cry\nout, \"Why am I thus?\" We are wholly engrossed with \"Now,\" and our\nminds are filled with dark and unbelieving reasonings until those\nprecious words fall, in a still small voice upon the ear, \"What I do\nthou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter.\" Then the\nreasonings are answered, the storm hushed, the dark and depressing\n\"Now\" is lighted up with the beams of a brilliant and glorious\n\"Hereafter,\" and the subdued heart breathes forth, in accents of holy\nand intelligent acquiescence, \"As Thou wilt, Lord.\" Would that we knew\nmore of this! Assuredly, we need it, whatsoever may be our lot in this\nworld. We may not be called, like the Baptist, to the prison and the\nblock; but each has his \"Now\" which must be interpreted in the light\nof \"Hereafter.\" We must look at the \"seen and temporal\" in the clear\nand blessed light of the \"unseen and eternal.\"\n\nBut let us now turn, for a moment, and hearken to Christ's testimony\nof John. \"And, as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the\nmultitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to\nsee? A reed shaken with the wind? But what went ye out for to see? A\nman clothed in soft raiment? behold they that wear soft clothing are\nin kings' houses. But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? Yea, I\nsay unto you, and more than a prophet. For this is he of whom it is\nwritten, Behold, I send My messenger before Thy face, which shall\nprepare Thy way before Thee. Verily I say unto you, Among them that\nare born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the\nBaptist: notwithstanding, he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is\ngreater than he.\"[12]\n\n  [12] In order fully to understand this last clause, we must\n  distinguish between John's personal character and walk, and his\n  dispensational and official position. If we look at him, in his person\n  and walk, few, even in the kingdom, could bear comparison with him, in\n  separation and devotedness. But when we look at him, in his\n  dispensational position, _i. e._, in the place assigned him in the\n  divine economy, the very weakest and least in the kingdom occupies a\n  better and higher place. The same remark holds good with respect to\n  the saints of Old Testament times. If we take Abraham, for example,\n  and compare him with the best of the children of God of this\n  dispensation, the \"father of the faithful\" might stand higher, as\n  regards personal faith and devotedness; the feeblest member of the\n  Church of God occupies, dispensationally, in the divine economy, a\n  place which Abraham never thought of, because it was not revealed.\n  Very many pious and godly people are prevented from seeing the\n  dignities and privileges of the saints of this dispensation, by\n  comparing themselves _personally_ with Old Testament believers. But we\n  must remember it is not a question of what we are in ourselves, but of\n  the _place_ which God, in the arrangement of His kingdom and\n  household, has thought proper to assign us; and if He has been pleased\n  to give us a higher place than that occupied by His people in Old\n  Testament times, it is _not_ true humility on our part to refuse it;\n  yea, rather let us seek grace to occupy it aright, and to walk worthy\n  of it.\n\nSuch was the glowing testimony borne by Christ of His servant, John\nthe Baptist. \"Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a\ngreater than he.\" There is a great principle in this--a principle\nwhich we may see illustrated, again and again, in the record of God's\ndealings with His people. If the Lord had a message to send to His\nservant, He would send it. He would speak to him, plainly and\npointedly. But, the moment He proceeds to speak _of_ him, the case is\ntotally different.\n\nThus it is always, and blessed be God that it is so. We have our ways\nand God has His thoughts; and while He will deal with us faithfully as\nto the former, He can only speak of us according to the latter. What\nrelief for the heart is here! What comfort! What moral power! What\nsolid ground for self-judgment! God has given us a standing, and He\nthinks of us, and speaks of us, according to that. We have our\npractical ways, and He deals with us and speaks to us in reference to\nthem. He will expose us to ourselves, and make us feel our ways and\njudge our doings; but the moment He begins to speak of us to others,\nHe brings out the perfection of His own thoughts respecting us, and\nspeaks of us according to the perfect standing which He has given us\nin His presence, the fruit of His own eternal counsels respecting us,\nand of His perfect work on our behalf.\n\nThus it was with Israel, in the plains of Moab. They had their ways,\nand God had His thoughts; and while He had, often and often, to\nreprove them for their ways, to speak plainly to them about their\nperverseness and stiff-neckedness, yet no sooner did the covetous\nprophet appear upon the scene, to curse Israel, than the Lord placed\nHimself right between His people and the enemy to turn the curse into\na blessing, and pour forth the most sublime and marvelous strains of\ntestimony on their behalf: \"God is not a man, that He should lie;\nneither the son of man that He should repent: hath He said, and shall\nHe not do it? or hath He spoken, and shall He not make it good?\nBehold, I have received commandment to bless, and He hath blessed; and\nI cannot reverse it. He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither\nhath He seen perverseness in Israel: the Lord his God is with him, and\nthe shout of a king is among them. God brought them out of Egypt: he\nhath, as it were, the strength of a unicorn. Surely there is no\nenchantment against Jacob, neither is there any divination against\nIsrael; according to this time it shall be said of Jacob and of\nIsrael, What hath God wrought!\" (Num. xxiii. 19-23).\n\nWhat grace is here! \"I have not beheld iniquity, nor seen\nperverseness.\" What could the enemy say to this? \"What hath God\nwrought!\" It is not, \"What hath Israel wrought!\" They had wrought\nfolly, many a time; but God had wrought salvation. He had wrought for\nHis own glory, and that glory had shone out in the perfect deliverance\nof a crooked, perverse, and stiff-necked people. It was no use the\nenemy's talking of iniquity and perverseness, if Jehovah would not see\neither the one or the other. It is of very little consequence to us\nthat Satan accuses, when God has acquitted; that Satan counts up our\nsins, when God has blotted them all out for ever; that Satan condemns,\nwhen God has justified.\n\n    \"I hear the accuser roar,\n      Of ills that I have done;\n    I know them well, and thousands more,\n      Jehovah findeth none.\"\n\nBut some may feel disposed to ask, \"Is there not danger in the\nstatement of such a principle as this? Might it not lead us into the\ndark and perilous region of antinomianism?\" Reader, be thou well\nassured of this, thou art never further removed from that justly\ndreaded region than when thy soul is basking in the bright and blessed\nbeams of God's eternal favor, and exulting in the stability of His\nunconditional and everlasting salvation. There never was a greater\nmistake than to imagine that God's free grace and full salvation could\never lead to unholy results. Man's notions of these things may have\nthat effect, but wherever grace is fully known and salvation enjoyed,\nthere you will most assuredly find \"The fruits of righteousness which\nare by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God.\" But we know it\nis an old habit of ignorant and self-exalting legality to attribute an\nantinomian tendency to the free grace of God. \"Shall we continue in\nsin that grace may abound?\" is no modern objection to the precious\ndoctrines of grace; and yet those doctrines remain untouched in all\ntheir purity and power, and find their divine centre in the person of\nChrist Himself, who, having died on the cross to put away our sins,\nhas become our life and righteousness, our sanctification and\nredemption, our all in all. He has not only delivered us from the\nfuture consequences of sin, but from the present power thereof.\n\nThis is what God hath wrought, and this is the groundwork of the great\nprinciple on which we have been dwelling, and which we have seen\nvariously illustrated in God's dealings with Israel in the plains of\nMoab, and in Christ's dealings with the Baptist in the dungeon of\nHerod. Jehovah was compelling Balaam to exclaim in the ears of Balak,\n\"How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel,\" at\nthe very moment when those tents and tabernacles were furnishing ample\nmaterial for judgment. So also, Jesus was telling out in the ears of\nthe multitude the greatness of John the Baptist, at the very moment\nwhen the messengers were on their way back to their master, carrying\nwith them an arrow for his heart.\n\nNow, we want the reader to get a clear view of this principle, and to\nbear it in constant remembrance. If we mistake not, it will greatly\nhelp him, not only in the understanding of God's word, but also in the\ninterpreting of His ways. God judges His people. He will not and\ncannot pass over a jot or a tittle in their ways. The splendid\ntestimony of Balaam on Moab's heights, was followed by the sharp\njavelin of Phineas in Moab's plains. \"_Our_ God is a consuming fire.\"\nThis is what _our_ God is now. He cannot tolerate evil. He speaks of\nus, He thinks of us, He acts toward us according to the perfection of\nHis own work; but He will judge our ways. Let an enemy come forth to\ncurse, and what is it? Not a spot, not a stain, all perfect and comely\nand goodly. How could it be otherwise? How could the eye of God behold\nthose sins which have been for ever obliterated by the blood of the\nLamb? Utterly impossible.\n\nWhat then? Does this make light of sin? Far be the thought. Does it\nopen the door for a loose walk? Nay, it lays the only true foundation\nof personal holiness. \"The Lord will judge His people.\" He will look\nafter the ways of His children. He will take care of His holiness; and\nnot only so, but He will make His people partakers of that holiness,\nand chasten them with the rod of faithful discipline for that very\npurpose. It was just because Israel's tents were goodly in the eyes of\nJehovah, that He sent Phineas into those very tents with the javelin\nof righteous judgment in his hand. And so, now, it is because His\npeople are precious to Him, and comely in His eyes, that He will not\nsuffer aught in them, or in their ways, contrary to His holiness. \"The\ntime is come that judgment must begin at the house of God\" (1 Peter 4:\n17). God is not judging the world now. He is judging His people now.\nHe will judge the world by-and-by. But, be it remembered, that it is\nas a \"holy Father\" He judges His people; it is as a righteous God He\nwill judge the world. The object of the former is practical holiness;\nthe issue of the latter will be eternal perdition. Solemn thought!\n\nBut there is another point in connection with this, which we desire to\npress upon the attention of the Christian reader--a point of very\ngreat practical moment, namely this, we must not measure our standing\nby our state, but ever judge our state by our standing. Many err in\nreference to this, and their error leads to most disastrous results.\nThe standing of the believer is settled, perfect, eternal, divine. His\nstate is imperfect and fluctuating. He is partaker of the divine\nnature which cannot sin; but he bears about with him also his old\nnature which can do nothing else but sin. Now his standing is in the\nnew and not in the old. God sees him only in the new. He is not in the\nflesh, but in the Spirit. He is not under law, but under grace. He is\nin Christ. God sees him as such. This is his perfect and unalterable\nstanding; his sins gone; his person accepted; all complete. His\npractical state can never touch his standing. It can very seriously\naffect his communion, his worship, his testimony, his usefulness, his\nspiritual enjoyment, his mental repose, the glory of Christ as\ninvolved in his practical career. These are grave consequences in the\nestimation of every sensitive conscience and well-regulated mind; but\nthe standing of the true believer remains--ever remains _intact_ and\nunalterable. The feeblest member of the family of God has this place\nof security, and is perfect in Christ. To deny this is to remove the\ntrue basis of self-judgment and practical holiness.\n\nHence, if the Christian sets about measuring his standing by his\nstate, he must be miserable, and his mental misery must be\ncommensurate with his honesty and intelligence. There may be cases in\nwhich ignorance, self-complacency, or want of sincerity, will lead to\na sort of false peace; but where there is any measure of light,\nintelligence, and uprightness, there must be mental anguish if the\nstanding is measured by the state.\n\nOn the other hand, let it never be forgotten--indeed the earnest\nChristian never could desire to forget--that the state must be judged\nby the standing. If this wholesome truth be lost sight of, we shall\nvery speedily make shipwreck of faith and a good conscience. We have\nto keep the eye of faith steadily fixed on a risen Christ, and never\nbe satisfied with anything short of perfect conformity to Him, in\nspirit, soul, and body.\n\nA very few words will suffice to present to the reader the remainder\nof those rebuffs with which our blessed Lord had to deal, as recorded\nin our chapter. Having disposed of the question of the Baptist and his\nministry, He turns to the men of that generation, and says, \"But\nwhereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children\nsitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows, and saying, We\nhave piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you,\nand ye have not lamented. For John came neither eating nor drinking,\nand they say, He hath a devil. The Son of man came eating and\ndrinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a\nfriend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her\nchildren.\"\n\nThe piping and the mourning were alike neglected by an unbelieving\nage. \"John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed\nhim not.\" The Lord Jesus came in perfect grace, and they would not\nhave Him. The stern and distant minister of righteousness, with the ax\nof judgment in his hand, and the lowly, gentle Minister of divine\ngrace, with words of tenderness and acts of goodness, were alike\nrejected by the men of that generation. But wisdom's children will\never justify her, in all her doings and in all her sayings. The Lord\nbe praised for this rich mercy! What a privilege to be of the favored\nnumber of wisdom's children! To have an eye to see, an ear to hear,\nand a heart to understand and appreciate the ways and works and words\nof divine Wisdom! \"Oh, to grace how great a debtor!\"\n\n\"Then began He to upbraid the cities wherein most of His mighty works\nwere done, because they repented not. Woe unto thee, Chorazin! Woe\nunto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works which were done in you\nhad been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in\nsackcloth and ashes. But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable\nfor Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment than for you. And thou,\nCapernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to\nhell; for if the mighty works which have been done in thee, had been\ndone in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say unto\nyou, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom in the day of judgment than\nfor thee.\"\n\nWith what deep and awful solemnity does the word \"Woe!\" fall upon the\near, as coming from the lips of the Son of God. It is the woe\nconsequent upon rejected grace. It is no longer merely a question of\nlaw broken, ordinances dishonored and abused, divine institutions\nshamefully corrupted, prophets and wise men rejected and stoned. All\nthis there was, alas! But there was more. The Son Himself had come, in\nrichest grace. He had spoken in their ears such words as none other\nhad ever spoken. He had wrought His mighty miracles in their midst. He\nhad healed their sick, cleansed their lepers, raised their dead, fed\ntheir hungry, opened the eyes of their blind. What had He not done?\nWhat had He not said? He longed to gather them beneath His sheltering\nwing; but they would not nestle there. They preferred the wings of the\narch-enemy to the wings of Jehovah. He had opened His bosom to receive\nthem; but they would not trust Him. All day long had He stretched\nforth His hands to them; but they would not have Him; and now, at\nlength, after long forbearing, He pours forth His solemn woes upon\nthem, and tells them of the appalling destiny awaiting them.\n\nBut, beloved reader, does it not occur to you that the \"woe\" of the\neleventh of Matthew may have a wider range than even Chorazin,\nBethsaida, and Capernaum? Should it not fall with still deeper\nemphasis, and more soul-subduing power, upon the ear of Christendom?\nFor our part, we cannot doubt it for a moment. We cannot attempt to\nenter upon the circumstances which conspire to aggravate the guilt of\nthe professing church--the wide diffusion of scriptural knowledge and\nevangelical light--the numberless and nameless forms in which\nspiritual privileges lie scattered upon the pathway of this\ngeneration. And what is the return? What the true practical condition\nof even those who occupy the very highest platform of christian\nprofession? Alas! who shall venture a reply? We look in one direction,\nand see the dark shadows of superstition enwrapping the minds of men.\nWe turn the eye to another point, and there we see infidelity raising\nits bold and audacious front, and daring to lay its impious hand upon\nthe sacred canon of inspiration. Combined with these, we see the poor\nheart eagerly grasping at everything that can possibly minister to\nease and self-indulgence. In a word, it may be safely affirmed that\nduring the entire history of the world, there has not been exhibited a\ndarker spectacle than that which professing Christianity presents at\nthis very hour. Take Chorazin and its companion cities; take Sodom\nand Gomorrah and the cities of the plain; take Tyre and Sidon; put all\nthese together into one scale, with all their guilt, and Christendom\nwill outweigh them all. For if, in those cities, you find wickedness\nand infidelity, you do not find them, as in Christendom, tacked on to\nthe name of Christ, or covered with the specious robes of christian\nprofession. No; this latter is the aggravated sin of Christendom, and\nhence the terrible \"woe unto thee\" is to be measured by the greatness\nof the privileges and consequent responsibility.\n\nAnd if these lines should be scanned by one who up to this moment has\nrejected the testimony of the gospel, we would affectionately remind\nhim that he should feel the solemnity of the words, \"Woe unto thee.\"\nWe fear that very few, comparatively, realize the awful responsibility\nof continually hearing and rejecting the gospel message. If it was a\nsolemn thing for Capernaum to reject the light which shone upon it,\nhow much more solemn it is for any one now to reject the still\nbrighter light that shines upon him in the gospel of the grace of God!\nRedemption is now accomplished, Christ is exalted to be a Prince and a\nSaviour, the Holy Ghost has come down, the canon of inspiration is\ncomplete, everything has been done that love could do. If, therefore,\nin the face of all this accumulated light and privilege, a man is\nfound still in unbelief, still living in his sins, surely he has much\nreason to fear lest this word be pronounced upon him at the last,\n\"Woe unto thee, gospel rejector.\" \"Because I have called, and ye\nrefused; I have stretched out My hand, and no man regarded; but ye\nhave set at nought all My counsel, and would none of My reproof; I\nalso will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh;\nwhen your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a\nwhirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. Then shall they\ncall upon Me, but I will not answer; they shall seek Me early, but\nthey shall not find Me\" (Prov. i. 24-28). May these words be used by\nthe Holy Ghost to awaken some careless reader, and lead him to the\nfeet of Jesus!\n\nLet us now turn, for a moment, to\n\n                                THE RESOURCES\n\nwhich the true, the perfect, the divine Workman found in God. That\nblessed One had, most surely, His rebuffs in this wretched world; but\nHe had His never-failing resources in God; and, hence, when everything\nseemed against Him, when He might say, \"I have labored in vain, and\nspent My strength for nought and in vain;\" when unbelief, hardness of\nheart, and rejection met His view on every side, \"At that time Jesus\nanswered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth,\nbecause Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast\nrevealed them unto babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in\nThy sight. All things are delivered unto Me of My Father; and no man\nknoweth the Son but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father,\nsave the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him.\"\n\nHere, then, were the resources--the rich and varied resources of the\ntrue Workman, who could thank God in everything, and at all times. He\nwas unmoved in the midst of all. If the testimony was rejected, if the\nmessage fell upon deaf ears and uncircumcised hearts, if the precious\nseed which was scattered by His loving hand fell upon the beaten\nhighway and was borne off by the fowls of the air, He could bow His\nhead and say, \"I thank Thee, O Father. Even so, Father; for so it\nseemed good in Thy sight.\" There was no failure on His part. He ever\nwalked and worked in the perfect line of the divine counsels. Not so\nwith us. If our testimony is rejected, if our work is unproductive, we\nmay have to inquire as to the cause. We may have to judge ourselves in\nthe matter. Perhaps we have not been faithful. The lack of result may\nbe wholly attributable to ourselves. It might have been different had\nwe been more single-eyed and devoted. We might have gathered golden\nsheaves in yonder corner of the field, had it not been for our own\ncarnality and worldliness. We were self-indulgent when we ought to\nhave been self-denying; we were governed by mixed motives. In short,\nthere may be a thousand reasons, in ourselves and in our ways, why our\nlabor has proved unproductive.\n\nBut with the only perfect Workman, this was not the case, and hence He\ncould calmly retire from the rebuffs without into the resources\nwithin. It was all bright with Him there. \"I thank _Thee_.\" He stayed\nHis heart upon the eternal counsels of God. All things were delivered\nunto Him; and, as He says, elsewhere, \"All that the Father giveth Me\nshall come to Me.\" It was all settled, and all right. The divine\ncounsel shall stand, and the divine good pleasure shall be\naccomplished. What a sweet relief for the heart amid rebuffs and\ndisappointments! God will perfect that which concerneth His servants;\nand even where there are mistakes and failures, as alas! there are in\nabundance with all of us, the Lord's rich grace abounds over all, and\nactually takes occasion from our very mistakes to shine out all the\nmore brightly--though, assuredly, the mistakes must produce their own\npainful and humiliating results. It is the remembrance of this which\nalone can give calm repose in the midst of the most discouraging\ncircumstances. If we take the eye off God, our souls must soon be\noverwhelmed. It is our privilege to be able, in our little measure, to\nthank God in view of everything, and take refuge in His eternal\ncounsels, which must be made good despite all the unbelief of man, and\nall the malice of Satan.\n\nBut we must draw this paper to a close, and shall do little more than\nquote the precious words which set forth\n\n                             THE RETURNS\n\nwhich our blessed Lord and Saviour makes to us. \"Come unto Me, all ye\nthat labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke\nupon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye\nshall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is\nlight.\"\n\nThese words are familiar to our readers, and we but introduce them\nhere as completing the lovely picture presented in our chapter. We\nfeel assured the spiritual reader will greatly enjoy the presentation\nof the divine Workman in His rebuffs, His resources, and His returns.\nIt is a marvelous lesson indeed. The Lord Jesus retires from a scene\nof disappointments, and finds all His springs in God; He then comes\nforth into the midst of the very scene that had repulsed Him, and\nmakes His gracious returns. It is all in perfect grace--grace\nunfailing--mercy inexhaustible--patience unwearied. True, He had sent\nan answer to the Baptist; He had faithfully portrayed the men of that\ngeneration; He had denounced a solemn woe upon the impenitent cities;\nbut He can come forth in all the divine freshness and fulness of the\ngrace that was in Him, and say, to every heavy laden soul, \"_Come unto\nMe_.\"\n\nBeloved reader, all this is divine. It draws out our hearts in worship\nand thanksgiving. If _faithfulness_ is constrained, in the view of\naggravated impenitence, to say, \"_Woe_ unto thee,\" _grace_ can\naddress every burdened heart in the touching accents, \"_Come_ unto\n_Me_.\" Both are perfect. The Lord Jesus felt the rebuffs. He would not\nhave been very man if He had not felt them. Yes, He felt the rebuffs.\nHe could say, \"I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and\nfor comforters, but I found none.\" Mark, \"_I looked_.\" His loving\nhuman heart fondly \"looked\" for pity, but found it not. He looked for\ncomforters, but looked in vain. There was no pity for Jesus--no\ncomforters for Him. He was left alone. Loneliness and desolation,\nthirst, ignominy and death--such was the portion of the Son of God and\nSon of man. \"Reproach,\" says He, \"hath broken my heart.\" It is a fatal\nmistake to suppose that the Lord Jesus did not feel in every respect,\nas man should feel, the varied exercises through which He passed. He\nfelt everything that man is capable of feeling except sin, and this\nlatter He bore and expiated on the cross, blessed be His name!\n\nThis is not only a great cardinal doctrine of the christian faith, but\na truth of infinite sweetness to the heart of every true believer.\nJesus, as man, felt what it was to be neglected, to be disappointed,\nto be wounded and insulted. Blessed Jesus! thus it was with Thee, down\nhere, because Thou wast very man, perfect in all that became a man, in\nthe midst of this heartless world. Thy loving heart sought sympathy,\nbut found it not. Loneliness was Thy portion while craving sweet\ncompanionship. This world had no pity, no comfort for Thee.\n\nAnd yet, mark the grace which breathes in those words, \"Come unto Me.\"\nHow unlike us! If we, who so often deserve them, because of our ways,\nmeet with rebuffs and disappointments, what returns do we make? Alas!\nfor the answer. Chagrin and sourness, fault-finding and bitter\ncomplaints. And why is this? It may be said we are not perfect:--certainly\nnot in ourselves; but we may rest assured, that if we were more in the\nconstant habit of retiring from the rebuffs of the world or of the\nprofessing church, into our resources in God, we should be much better\nable to come forth and make gracious returns in the midst of the scene\nwhich had repulsed us. But it too often happens that instead of being\ndriven in upon God, we are driven in upon _self_; and the consequence\nis that, instead of returning grace, we return bitterness. It is\nimpossible that we can make a right return if we fail to realize our\nright resource.\n\nOh, that we may really learn of Jesus, and take His yoke upon us! May\nwe drink into His meek and lowly spirit! What words--\"Meek and lowly!\"\nHow unlike nature! How unlike the world! How unlike us! How much\npride, haughtiness, and self-sufficiency in us! What self-confidence,\nself-seeking, and self-exaltation! May the Lord give us to see\nourselves as He sees us, so that we may be in the dust in His\npresence, and ever walk humbly before Him. May it be given us to\nprove, in this day of headiness and high-mindedness, the moral\nsecurity of a lowly mind and a humble spirit--gladly bearing His\nyoke--the yoke of entire subjection to our Lord's will in all things.\nThis is the secret of true peace and power. We can only taste of true\nrest of heart when the will is kept in subjection. It is when we can\nmeet every dispensation of our Father's hand with an \"Even so,\" that\nrest is our portion. If our will is active, rest must be out of the\nquestion. It is one thing to _receive_ rest of conscience on coming to\nJesus, at the first, and quite another thing to _find_ rest of heart\nthrough taking His yoke and learning of Him. May it be given us to\nknow very much more of the latter, in this day of restless activity.\n\n\n\n\n                          DIVERSITY AND UNITY\n\n\nIt is at once interesting and instructive to mark the varied lines of\ntruth presented in the New Testament, all finding their common centre\nin that blessed One who is the truth. We see this, both in the Gospels\nand in the Epistles. Each of the four Evangelists, under the direct\nguidance and power of the Holy Ghost, gives us a distinct view of\nChrist. Matthew presents Him in His Jewish relations--as the Messiah,\nthe Son of David, Son of Abraham--heir of the promises made to the\nfathers. Mark presents Him as the earnest workman, the diligent\nservant, the laborious minister, the incessant preacher and teacher.\nLuke gives us \"The Man Christ Jesus,\" in His human relations, Son of\nman, Son of Adam. John is occupied with the Son of God, Son of the\nFather, the heavenly Man, in His heavenly relationships.\n\nThus each one has his own specific line. No two are alike, but all\nagree. There is lovely variety, but the most perfect harmony; there is\ndiversity and unity. Matthew does not interfere with Mark; nor Mark\nwith Luke; nor Luke with John. There is no collision, because each\nmoves in his own proper orbit, and all revolve round the one grand\ncentre.\n\nNor could we do without any one of the four. There would be a serious\nblank if one were missing; and it is the Holy Spirit's purpose and joy\nto set forth every ray of the moral glory of the Son of God. Each\nGospel fulfils his own service, under the guiding hand of the Holy\nGhost.\n\nSo also is it in the Epistles. Paul's line of things is as distinct\nfrom Peter's, as Peter's is from John's, or John's from James'.[13] No\ntwo are alike, but all agree. There is no collision, because, like the\nfour Evangelists, each moves in his own appointed orbit, and all\nrevolve round the one common centre. The orbit is distinct, but the\ncentre is one. Paul gives us the great truth of man's relation with\nGod, on the ground of accomplished redemption, together with the\ncounsels of God as to Israel and the Church. Peter gives us the\nChristian pilgrimage and God's government of the world. James insists\nupon practical righteousness. John opens up the grand theme of eternal\nlife; first with the Father, then manifested in the Son, communicated\nunto us, and finally displayed in the glorious future.\n\n  [13] A pamphlet \"The Ministries of Peter, of Paul and of John\" sets\n  forth beautifully the special lines of these various ministries.\n  (Price, 15cts.)\n\nNow, it would be the very height of folly on our part to institute any\ninvidious comparison between those varied lines of truth, or the\nbeloved and honored instruments by whom those lines are presented to\nus. How silly it would be to set up Matthew against Mark, Mark\nagainst Luke, Luke against John, or John against all the rest! How\npuerile it would be for any one to say, \"I go in for Paul's line of\nthings, only. James seems below the mark. Peter and John I do not\nappreciate. Paul is the man for me. His ministry suits me.\"\n\nAll this we should, at once, denounce as sinful folly, not to be\ntolerated for a moment. The varied lines of truth all converge upon\none glorious and blessed centre. The varied instruments are all\nemployed by one and the self-same inspiring Spirit, for the one grand\nobject of presenting the varied moral glories of Christ. We want them\nall. We could no more afford to do without Matthew or Mark than we\ncould do without Luke or John; and it is no part of our business to\nundervalue Peter or James, because they do not give such a lofty or\ncomprehensive range of truth as Paul or John. Each is needful in his\nplace. Each has his work to do, his appointed line of things to attend\nto, and we should be doing serious damage to our own souls, as well as\nmarring the integrity of divine revelation, if we were to confine\nourselves to any one particular line of truth, or attach ourselves\nexclusively to any one particular instrument or vessel.\n\nThe early Corinthians fell into this grave error, and thus called\nforth a sharp rebuke from the blessed apostle Paul. Some were of Paul;\nsome of Apollos; some of Cephas; some of Christ. All were wrong; and\nthose who said they were of Christ were quite as wrong as any of the\nothers. They were carnal, and walked as men. It was a grievous folly\nto be puffed up for one against another, inasmuch as they were all\nChrist's servants, and all belonged to the whole Church.\n\nNor is it otherwise now in the Church of God. There are varied kinds\nof workmen, and varied lines of truth; and it is our happy privilege,\nnot to say our holy duty, to recognize and rejoice in them all. To be\npuffed up for one against another, is to be \"carnal and walk as men.\"\nTo depreciate any of Christ's servants is to depreciate the truth\nwhich he carries, and to forsake our own mercies. \"All things are\nyours; whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or\ndeath, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; and ye are\nChrist's; and Christ is God's.\"\n\nThis is the true and the divine way to look at the matter; and this,\ntoo, is the way to avoid sects, parties, cliques and coteries in the\nChurch of God. There is one body, one Head, one Spirit, one divine and\nperfect revelation--the Holy Scriptures. There are many members, many\ngifts, many lines of truth, many distinct characters of ministry. We\nneed them all, and therefore God has given them all.\n\nBut, most surely, God has not given the various gifts and ministries\nfor us to set one against another, but that we may humbly and\nthankfully avail ourselves of all, and profit by them according to\nHis gracious purpose in giving them. If all were Pauls, where were the\nPeters? If all were Peters, where were the Johns?\n\nNor this only; but what must be the effect of going in for any one\nparticular line of truth, or character of ministry? What but to\nproduce an imperfect christian character? We are all sadly prone to\nonesidedness, and nothing more ministers to this evil than an\ninordinate attachment to some one particular branch of truth, to the\nexclusion of other branches equally important. It is by \"_the truth_\"\nwe are sanctified--by all, not by _some_ truth. We should delight in\nevery department of truth, and give a cordial welcome to each vessel\nor instrument which our God may be pleased to use in ministering His\ntruth to our souls. To be puffed up for one against another is to be\nmore occupied with the vessel than with the truth which the vessel\ncontains, more occupied with man than with God--a grievous mistake!\n\"Who then is Paul, or who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye\nbelieved, even as _the Lord gave to every man_?\"\n\nHere lies the grand principle. God has various instruments for His\nwork, and we should value them all as _His_ instruments, and nothing\nmore. It has ever been Satan's object to lead the Lord's people to set\nup heads of schools, leaders of parties, centres of cliques, thus\nsplitting up the Church of God into sects, and destroying its visible\nunity. Let us not be ignorant of his devices; but in every possible\nway \"_endeavor_ to keep the unity of the Spirit in the uniting bond\nof peace.\"\n\nHow is this great object to be attained? By keeping near the\nCentre--by abiding in Christ--by habitual occupation with Himself--by\ndrinking deeply into His spirit, and walking in His footsteps--by\nlying at His feet, in true brokenness of spirit and humility of\nmind--by thorough consecration to His service, the furtherance of His\ncause, the promotion of His glory, the prosperity and blessing of\nevery beloved member of His body.\n\nThus shall we be delivered from strife and contention, from the\ndiscussion of profitless questions and baseless theories, from\npartiality, prejudice, and predilection. We shall be able to see and\nappreciate all the varied lines of truth converging upon the one\ndivine Centre, the varied rays of light emanating from the one eternal\nSource. We shall rejoice in the great fact that, in all the ways and\nworks of God, in every department of nature and grace, in things on\nearth and things in heaven, in time and eternity, it is not a dull\nuniformity but a delightful variety. In a word, God's universal and\neternal principle is \"DIVERSITY AND UNITY.\"\n\n\n\n\n                           LIVING BY FAITH\n\n\n\"The _just shall live by his faith_.\" This weighty statement occurs in\nthe second chapter of the prophet Habakkuk; and it is quoted by an\ninspired apostle in three of his epistles, namely, Romans, Galatians,\nand Hebrews, with a distinct application in each. In Rom. i. 17 it is\napplied to the great question of righteousness. The blessed apostle\ndeclares himself not ashamed of the gospel; \"for it is the power of\nGod unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and\nalso to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed,\non the principle of faith, to faith: as it is written, The just shall\nlive by faith.\"[14]\n\n  [14] The phrase \"from faith to faith\" is quite unintelligible. We have\n  given in the text the literal rendering of the Greek words \u03b5\u03ba\n  \u03c0\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03b5\u03c9\u03c2 \u03b5\u03b9\u03c2 \u03c0\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd   be obtained. It is not on the ground of\n  works, but of faith; and it is revealed to faith. Our apostle repeatedly\n  contrasts \u03b5\u03ba \u03c0\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03b5\u03c9\u03c2 with \u03b5\u03be \u03b5\u03c1\u03b3\u03c9\u03bd--the principle\n  of faith, with the principle of works. Blessed contrast!\n\nThen, in the third of Galatians, where the apostle is seeking to\nrecall those erring assemblies to the foundations of Christianity, he\nsays, \"But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it\nis evident: for, The just shall live by faith.\"\n\nFinally, in the tenth of Hebrews, where the object is to exhort\nbelievers to hold fast their confidence, we read, \"Cast not away\ntherefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. For\nye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye\nmight receive the promise. For yet a little while, and He that shall\ncome will come, and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith.\"\nHere we have faith presented not only as the ground of righteousness,\nbut as the vital principle by which we are to live, day by day, from\nthe starting-post to the goal of the Christian course. There is no\nother way of righteousness, no other way of living, but by faith. It\nis by faith we are justified, and by faith we live. By faith we stand,\nand by faith we walk.\n\nNow this is true of all Christians, and all should seek to enter into\nit fully. Every child of God is called to live by faith. It is a very\ngrave mistake indeed to single out certain individuals who happen to\nhave no visible source of temporal supplies, and speak of them as\nthough they alone lived by faith. According to this view of the\nquestion, ninety-nine out of every hundred Christians would be\ndeprived of the precious privilege of living by faith. If a man has a\nsettled income; if he has a certain salary; if he has what is termed a\nsecular calling, by which he earns bread for himself and his family,\nis he not privileged to live by faith? Do none live by faith save\nthose who have no visible means of support? Is the life of faith to be\nconfined to the matter of trusting God for food and raiment? What a\nlowering of the life of faith it is to confine it to the question of\ntemporal supplies! No doubt it is a very blessed and a very real thing\nto trust God for everything; but the life of faith has a far higher\nand wider range than mere bodily wants. It embraces all that in any\nwise concerns us, in body, soul, and spirit. To live by faith is to\nwalk with God; to cling to Him; to lean on Him; to draw from His\nexhaustless springs; to find _all_ our resources in Him; and to have\nHim as a perfect covering for our eyes and a satisfying object for our\nhearts--to know Him as our _only_ resource in all difficulties, and in\nall our trials. It is to be absolutely, completely and continually\nshut up to Him; to be undividedly dependent upon Him, apart from and\nabove every creature confidence, every human hope, and every earthly\nexpectation.\n\nSuch is the life of faith. Let us see that we understand it. It must\nbe a reality, or nothing at all. It will not do to talk about the life\nof faith; we must _live_ it; and in order to live it, we must know God\npractically--know Him intimately, in the deep secret of our own souls.\nIt is utterly vain and delusive to profess to be living by faith and\nlooking to the Lord, while in reality our hearts are looking to some\ncreature resource. How often do people speak and write about their\ndependence upon God to meet certain wants, and by the very fact of\ntheir making it known to a fellow-mortal they are, in principle,\ndeparting from the life of faith! If I write to a friend, or publish\nto the church, the fact that I am looking to the Lord to meet a\ncertain need, I am virtually off the ground of faith in that matter.\nThe language of faith is this: \"My soul, wait thou _only_ upon God;\nfor my expectation is from Him.\" To make known my wants, directly or\nindirectly, to a human being, is departure from the life of faith, and\na positive dishonor to God. It is actually betraying Him. It is\ntantamount to saying that God has failed me, and I must look to my\nfellow for help. It is forsaking the living fountain and turning to a\nbroken cistern. It is placing the creature between my soul and God,\nthus robbing my soul of rich blessing, and God of the glory due to\nHim.\n\nThis is serious work, and it demands our most solemn attention. God\ndeals in realities. He can never fail a trusting heart. But then, He\nmust be trusted. It is of no possible use to talk about trusting Him\nwhen our hearts are really looking to creature-streams. \"What doth it\nprofit, my brethren though a man _say_ he hath faith?\" Empty\nprofession is but a delusion to the soul and a dishonor to God. The\ntrue life of faith is a grand reality. God delights in it, and He is\nglorified by it. There is nothing in all this world that so gratifies\nand glorifies God as the life of faith. \"Oh how great is Thy goodness,\nwhich Thou hast laid up for them that fear Thee; which Thou hast\nwrought for them that trust in Thee before the sons of men!\" (Psa.\nxxxi. 19).\n\nBeloved reader, how is it with you in reference to this great\nquestion? Are you living by faith? Can you say, \"The life that I live\nin the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and\ngave Himself for me?\" Do you know what it is to have the living God\nfilling the whole range of your soul's vision? Is He enough for you?\nCan you trust Him for everything--for body, soul, and spirit--for time\nand eternity? Or are you in the habit of making known your wants to\nman in any one way? Is it the habit of your heart to turn to the\ncreature for sympathy, succor, or counsel?\n\nThese are searching questions; but we entreat you not to turn away\nfrom them. Be assured it is morally healthful for our souls to be\ntested faithfully, as in the very presence of God. Our hearts are so\nterribly treacherous, that when we imagine we are leaning upon God, we\nare really leaning upon some human prop. Thus God is shut out, and we\nare left in barrenness and desolation.\n\nAnd yet it is not that God does not use the creature to help and bless\nus. He does so constantly; and the man of faith will be deeply\nconscious of this fact, and truly grateful to every human agent that\nGod uses to help him. God comforted Paul by the coming of Titus; but\nhad Paul been looking to Titus, he would have had but little comfort.\nGod used the poor widow to feed Elijah; but Elijah's dependence was\nnot upon the widow, but upon God. Thus it is in every case.\n\n      What raised the wondrous thought?\n      Or who did it suggest?\n    \"That we, the Church, to glory brought,\n      Should WITH the Son be blest.\"\n\n      O God, the thought was Thine!\n      (Thine only it could be,)\n    Fruit of the wisdom, love divine,\n      Peculiar unto Thee.\n\n      For, sure, no other mind,\n      For thoughts so bold, so free,\n    Greatness or strength, could ever find;\n      Thine only it could be.\n\n      The motives, too, Thine own,\n      The plan, the counsel, Thine!--\n    Made for Thy Son, bone of His bone,\n      In glory bright to shine.\n\n      O God, with great delight\n      Thy wondrous thought we see,\n    Upon _His_ throne, in glory bright,\n      The bride of Christ shall be.\n\n      Sealed with the Holy Ghost,\n      We triumph in that love,\n    Thy wondrous thought has made our boast,\n      \"Glory WITH Christ above.\"\n\n  PRACTICAL REFLECTIONS\n\n  ON THE\n\n  LIFE AND TIMES\n\n  OF\n\n  ELIJAH.\n\n  _By C. H. M._\n\n  NEW, REVISED EDITION.\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n\n                                                          PAGE\n\n  INTRODUCTION                                               5\n\n  SECTION I.\n\n  THE PROPHET'S FIRST MESSAGE                                9\n\n  SECTION II.\n\n  THE PROPHET IN RETIREMENT                                 21\n\n  SECTION III.\n\n  THE HOUSE OF AHAB                                         50\n\n  SECTION IV.\n\n  THE PROPHET ON MOUNT CARMEL                               60\n\n  SECTION V.\n\n  THE PROPHET ON MOUNT HOREB                                81\n\n  SECTION VI.\n\n  THE PROPHET'S RAPTURE                                    106\n\n  CONCLUDING REMARKS\n\n  ON THE DOCTRINE OF THE CHURCH                            125\n\n\n\n\nPRACTICAL REFLECTIONS\n\nON THE\n\nLIFE AND TIMES OF ELIJAH THE TISHBITE.\n\n\n\n\n                              INTRODUCTION.\n\n\nThe exercise of prophetic ministry in Israel, of old, was always a\nproof of the nation's decline. So long as the great national\ninstitutions were maintained in their vigor, and the machinery of the\nMosaic economy carried out according to its original design, there was\nno need of anything extraneous, and therefore the voice of a prophet\nwas not heard; but when failure had set in--when those laws and\ninstitutions which had been enacted, and set on foot by God Himself,\nceased to be carried out in their pristine spirit and power, then\nthere was a demand for something additional, and that something was\nsupplied by the energy of the Spirit in the prophets.\n\nThere were no materials in the whole range of Levitical rites and\nceremonies for the formation or maintenance of such a ministry as that\nof Elijah the Tishbite; there was too much of the carnal element in\nthem for that. The message of a prophet could only be delivered in the\npower of the Holy Ghost, and therefore, so long as the Levitical\ninstitutions fulfilled their end, the Spirit had no need to put forth\nany fresh energy. There was no need of such a minister as Elijah in\nthe days of Solomon's glory and greatness; all was in order then--the\nwhole machinery was in a sound condition--every wheel and every screw\nworked effectually in its own place--the king on the throne wielded\nthe sceptre for the maintenance of Israel's civil interest--the priest\nin the temple discharged in due order his religious functions--the\nLevites and the singers were all at their respective posts: in a word,\nall moved on in such a measure of order as to render the voice of a\nprophet unnecessary.\n\nHowever, the scene soon changed; the mighty tide of evil soon set in,\nand swept away the very foundations of Israel's civil and religious\nsystem: ungodly men, in process of time, ascended the throne of David,\nand sacrificed the interests of the people of God at the shrine of\ntheir own vile lusts; and to such a height did wickedness rise, that\nat last the wicked Ahab, with his consort Jezebel, occupied that\nthrone from which Solomon had administered the judgment of God.\nJehovah could no longer forbear; He could not allow the tide of evil\nto rise any higher, and He therefore sent forth from His quiver a\npolished shaft to pierce the conscience of Israel, if haply He might\nbring them back to their place of happy allegiance to Himself. This\nshaft was none other than Elijah the Tishbite--the bold and\nuncompromising witness for God who stood in the breach at a moment\nwhen every one seemed to have fled from the field of conflict, unable\nto stem the overwhelming torrent.\n\nBut, before we proceed to the consideration of the life and ministry\nof this remarkable man, it may be well just to make one observation\nupon the twofold character of prophetic ministry. We shall find, in\nconsidering the ministry of the prophets, that, not only had each\nprophet a distinct ministry committed to him, but that, also, in one\nand the same prophet, there was a double purpose carried out: the Lord\ndealt with the conscience about present evil, while He pointed the eye\nof the faithful one to the future glory. The prophet, by the Holy\nGhost, brought the light and truth of God to bear upon the heart and\nconscience--he laid open fully and faithfully the hidden chambers of\nevil within--he spoke plainly of the people's sad declension and\ndeparture from God, and removed the foundations of that false\nreligious system which they were erecting around them.\n\nBut the prophet did not stop here; it would have been sad indeed had\nhe been confined to the humiliating story of Israel's failure, and the\ndeparture of their ancient glory; he was able, through grace, to add\nto the solemn announcement, \"O Israel, _thou_ hast destroyed thyself,\"\nthe consolatory assurance, \"but IN ME is thy help;\" and herein we have\ndeveloped to us the two elements which composed the ministry of the\nprophets, namely, Israel's total failure, and God's triumphant\ngrace--the departure of the glory as connected with, and based upon,\nthe obedience of Israel, and its final return and establishment as\nconnected with, and based upon, the obedience and death of the Son of\nGod.\n\nTruly, we may say, this was ministry of a very elevated and holy\ncharacter; it was a glorious commission to be told to stand amid the\nfragments of a crushed and ruined system, and there to point to the\ntime--the happy time--when God would display Himself in the immortal\nresults of His own redeeming grace, to the joy of His ransomed ones in\nheaven and on earth.\n\n\n\n\n                               _SECTION I._\n\n\n                      THE PROPHET'S FIRST MESSAGE.\n\n\nThe reign of Ahab, the son of Omri, was a dark and dreary time for the\nhouse of Israel; iniquity had risen to a fearful height; the sins of\nJeroboam were little when compared with the black catalogue of Ahab's\ntransgressions; the wicked Jezebel, the daughter of the uncircumcised\nking of the Zidonians, was chosen to be the partner of his heart and\nhis throne, and this circumstance alone was enough to secure the\noppression of Israel, and the entire subversion of their ancient\nworship. In a word, the Spirit sums up the whole matter with these\nwords, \"Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than\nall the kings of Israel that were before him\" (1 Kings xvi. 33). This\nwas saying enough for him. The whole line of kings from Jeroboam down,\nhad done evil in the sight of the Lord; but to do more than all of\nthem, marked a character of no ordinary degree of guilt. Yet such was\nAhab--such was the man that occupied the throne of God's ancient\npeople, when Elijah the Tishbite entered upon his course of prophetic\ntestimony.\n\nThere is something particularly sorrowful to the spirit in\ncontemplating a scene like that which the reign of Ahab presents.\nEvery light had been extinguished, every voice of testimony hushed;\nthe firmament in which many a brilliant luminary had shone from time\nto time, had become overcast with dark clouds; death seemed to spread\nitself over the whole scene, and the devil to carry every thing with a\nhigh hand, when, at length, God in His mercy to His poor oppressed and\nmisguided people, raised up a bright and powerful witness for Himself\nin the person of our prophet. But then it is just at such a time that\na real witness for God is likely to produce the most powerful effect,\nand exert the most extensive influence. It is after a long drought\nthat a shower is likely to be felt in all its refreshing virtue. The\nstate of things at this time in Israel called for some mighty man of\nvalor to come forth and act in divine energy against the tide of evil.\n\nHowever, it is instructive to observe that Elijah is presented to us,\nin common with all his fellow-servants, in circumstances of secret\ntraining and exercise ere he appears in public. This is a feature in\nthe history of all the servants of God, not excepting Him who was\nemphatically _the Servant_; all have been trained in secret with God\nprevious to their acting in public with man; and, moreover, those who\nhave entered most deeply into the meaning and value of the secret\ntraining will be found the most effective and permanent in their\npublic service and testimony. That man has much cause to tremble for\nhis destiny who has arrived at a position in public which exceeds the\nmeasure of his secret exercise of soul before God; he will assuredly\ncome short. If the superstructure exceed the measure of the foundation\nbelow, the building will totter or fall. If a tree shoot forth its\nbranches into the air to a degree exceeding the depth of its roots, it\nwill be unequal to the violence of the storm, and will come to the\nground: so is it with the man who enters a place of public service; he\nmust be _alone with God_; his spirit must be exercised in private; he\nmust pass through the deep waters in his own experience, otherwise he\nwill be but a theorist, and not a witness; his ear must be opened to\nhear, ere his tongue can be fitted to speak as the learned. What has\nbecome of all those apparently brilliant lights which have suddenly\nflashed across the path of the Church of God from time to time, and as\nsuddenly disappeared behind the cloud? Whence came they, and whither\nhave they gone, and why have they been so evanescent? They were but\nsparks of human kindling; there was no depth, no power of endurance,\nno reality in them; hence they shone for a time, and speedily vanished\naway, producing no result save to increase the darkness around, or at\nleast the sad consciousness thereof. Every true minister of God should\nbe able, in measure, to say with the apostle, \"Blessed be God, even\nthe Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the\nGod of all comfort, who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we\nmay be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort\nwherewith we ourselves are comforted of God\" (2 Cor. i. 3, 4).\n\nI Kings xvii. gives us Elijah's first appearance in public; but the\nSpirit, in James, has graciously furnished us with the account of a\nyet earlier stage in his history, and one full of instruction to us,\nbe our sphere of service what it may. The sacred historian introduces\nour prophet in a way which might seem abrupt. He presents him to us as\nat once boldly entering upon his sphere of labor, with this grand and\nsolemn announcement, \"Thus saith the Lord.\" But he does not tell us,\nin this place, anything of the prophet's previous exercise; he speaks\nnot of how it was he came to learn how the Lord would have him to\nspeak: of all this, though most important for us to know, the Spirit\nin the historian says nothing; He simply introduces him to our notice\nin the holy exercise of a power which he had obtained in secret with\nGod: He shows us Elijah acting in public, and nothing more. But the\napostle lets us into the secret of Elijah's prayer _to God_, before\never he came out in active service before _man_. \"Elias was a man\nsubject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it\nmight not rain; and it rained not on the earth by the space of three\nyears and six months\" (James v. 17).\n\nNow, if the Holy Ghost had not informed us about this important fact,\nby the pen of James, we should have lacked a very powerful incentive\nto prayer; but Scripture is perfect--divinely perfect, lacking nothing\nthat it ought to have, and having nothing that it ought to lack;\nhence it is that James tells us of Elijah's secret moments of prayer\nand wrestling, and shows him to us in the retirement of the mountains\nof Gilead, where he had, no doubt, mourned over the lamentable state\nof things in Israel, and also fortified his spirit for the part he was\nabout to act.\n\nThis circumstance in the life of our prophet teaches us a truly\nprofitable lesson. We live in a time of more than usual barrenness and\nspiritual dearth. The state of the Church may well remind us of\nEzekiel's valley of dry bones. We have not merely to cope with evils\nwhich have characterized by-gone ages, but also with the matured\ncorruption of a time wherein the varied evils of the Gentile world\nhave become connected with, and covered by, the cloak of the Christian\nprofession. And when we turn to the state of those whose knowledge of\ntruth and high profession might naturally encourage the expectation of\nmore healthy and vigorous Christian action, we find alas! in many that\nthe knowledge is but cold and uninfluential theory, and the profession\nbut superficial, having no power over the feelings and affections of\nthe inward man. Amongst persons of this class it will also be found\nthat the truth of God possesses little or no interest, or attractive\npower; they know so much in the intellect that nothing can be\npresented to them with which they are not already acquainted: hence\nthe lifelessness with which they harken to every statement of truth.\n\nIn such a condition of things, what is the resource of the faithful\none? To what should he betake himself? Prayer; patient, persevering\nprayer; secret communion with God; deep and real exercise of soul in\nHis presence, where alone we can arrive at a true estimate of\nourselves, and things around us: and not only so, but also obtain\nspiritual power to act for God amongst our brethren, or toward the\nworld without. \"Elias was a man of like passions with us;\" and he\nfound himself in the midst of dark apostasy, and wide-spread\nalienation of heart from God. He beheld the faithful failing from\namongst the children of men; he saw the tide of evil rising around\nhim, and the light of truth fast fading away: the altar of Baal had\ndisplaced the altar of Jehovah, and the cries of the priests of Baal\nhad drowned the sacred songs of the Levites; in a word, the whole\nthing was one vast mass of ruin before his view. He felt it; he wept\nover it; he did more--\"_he prayed earnestly_.\"\n\nHere was the resource--the sure unfailing resource of the grieved\nprophet; he retreated into the presence of God; he poured out his\nspirit there, and wept over the ruin and sorrow of his beloved people;\nhe was really engaged about the sad condition of things around him,\nand therefore prayed about it--prayed as he ought, not coldly,\nformally, or occasionally, but \"earnestly,\" and perseveringly.\n\nThis is a blessed example for us. Never was there a time when fervent\nprayer was so much needed in the Church of God as at this moment. The\ndevil seems to be exerting all his malignant power to crush the\nspirits and hinder the activities of the people of God; with some, he\nmakes use of their public engagements; with others, their domestic\ntrials; and with others, personal sorrow and conflict; in a word,\n\"There are many adversaries,\" and nothing but the mighty power of God\ncan enable us to cope with them and come off victorious.\n\nBut Elijah was not merely called to pass unscathed, as an individual,\nthrough the evil; he was called to exert an influence upon others: he\nwas called to act for God in a degenerate age; he had to make an\neffort to bring his nation back to the God of their fathers; how much\nmore, therefore, did he need to seek the Lord in private; to gather up\nspiritual strength in the presence of God, whereby alone he could not\nonly escape himself, but be made an instrument of blessing to others\nalso. Elijah felt all this, and therefore \"he prayed earnestly that it\nmight not rain.\"\n\nThus it was he brought God into the scene, nor did he fail of his\nobject. \"It rained not.\" God will never refuse to act when faith\naddresses Him on the ground of His own glory, and we know it was\nsimply upon this ground that the prophet addressed Him. It could\nafford him no pleasure to see the land turned into a parched and\nsterile wilderness, or his brethren wasted by famine and all its\nattendant horrors. No; it was simply to turn the hearts of the\nchildren to the fathers--to bring the nation back to its early\nfaith--to eradicate those principles of error which had taken fast\nhold of the minds of the people: for such ends as these did our\nprophet pray earnestly that it might not rain, and God harkened and\nheard, because the prayer was the offspring of His Spirit in the soul\nof His dear servant.\n\nTruly we may say, _it is good to wait upon God_: it not only leads to\nhappy results as seen in God's answer to it, but there is also much\nsweetness and comfort in the exercise itself. How truly happy it is\nfor the tried and tempted believer to find himself alone with God! how\nblessed to allow his spirit to flow out, and his affections to ascend\nto Him who alone is able to lift him above the depressing power of\npresent things into the calmness and light of His own most blessed\npresence! May we all be found, then, waiting more upon God--making the\nvery difficulties of our day an occasion for drawing near to the\nmercy-seat, and then we shall not only exert a salutary influence in\nour respective spheres, but our own heart will be comforted and\nencouraged by private waiting upon our Father, for the promise has\nnever yet failed, \"They that wait on the Lord shall renew their\nstrength!\" Precious promise! May we make full proof of it!\n\nThus, Elijah the Tishbite entered upon his path of service; he came\nforth armed from the sanctuary of God with divine power to deal with,\nand act upon, his fellow-men. There is much power in the words, \"as\nthe Lord God of Israel liveth _before whom I stand_;\" they bring\nbefore us in a very special way the basis on which the soul of this\neminent servant of God was resting, as also the principle which\nsustained him in his course of service. He stood before \"THE LORD GOD\nOF ISRAEL,\" and so standing, he could speak with a measure of power\nand authority.\n\nBut how very little did Ahab know of the secret exercises of Elijah's\nsoul, ere he had thus come forth to speak to his conscience! He knew\nnot that Elijah had been on his knees in secret before he presented\nhimself in public. He knew nothing of all this, but Elijah did, and\nhence he could boldly confront the very head of the evil; he could\nspeak to king Ahab himself, and announce to him the judgments of an\noffended God. In this, our prophet may be viewed as a fine model for\nall who are called upon to speak in the name of the Lord. All who are\nso called should feel themselves, in virtue of their divine\ncommission, entirely lifted above the influence of human opinion. How\noften does it happen that men who can speak with a measure of power\nand liberty in the presence of some, are before others cramped, and,\nit may be, altogether hindered! This we know would not be the case did\nthey but realize with distinctness, not only that they had received\ntheir commission from on high, but also that they executed it in the\npresence of _the living God_. The messenger of the Lord should never\nbe affected by those to whom he delivers his message; he should be\nabove them, while at the same time he takes the humble place of a\nservant. His language should be, \"But with me it is a very small\nmatter that I should be judged of you, or of man's judgment.\"\n(\u03b1\u03bd\u03b8\u03c1\u03c9\u03c0\u03b9\u03bd\u03b7\u03c2 \u03b7\u03bc\u03b5\u03c1\u03b1\u03c2.)\n\nThis was pre-eminently the case with our blessed Master. How little\nwas He affected by the thoughts or judgments of those to whom He\nspoke! They might thwart, oppose, and reject, but that never led Him\nfor a moment to lose sight of the fact that He was sent of God. He\ncarried with Him, throughout His entire course, the holy,\nsoul-sustaining assurance expressed in the synagogue of Nazareth, \"The\nSpirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach\nthe gospel to the poor,\" etc. (Luke iv. 18). Here was the basis of His\nministry as Son of man. It was \"in the power of the Spirit,\" and hence\nHe ever felt Himself to be the minister of God, and as such raised\nquite above the influence of those with whom He had to do. \"My\ndoctrine is not Mine,\" said He, \"but His that sent Me.\" He could truly\nsay, \"The Lord God of Israel, _before whom I stand_:\" He was ever \"the\nLord's messenger,\" speaking \"in the Lord's message unto the people\"\n(Hag. i. 13).\n\nAnd should not all who fill the place of servants or messengers of the\nLord, seek to know more of this holy elevation of mind above men and\ncircumstances? Should they not aim at being less under the power of\nhuman thoughts and feelings? What have we to do with the thoughts of\nmen about us? Nothing. Whether they will hear, or whether they will\nforbear; whether they will accept, or whether they will reject;\nwhether we shall be highly esteemed for our work's sake, or made of no\nreputation--still let it be our aim, our constant aim, to \"approve\nourselves as the ministers of God.\"\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nBut observe further, the power and authority with which our prophet\nspeaks, \"There shall not be dew nor rain these years but according to\nmy word.\" He felt such perfect assurance in the fact that he was\nstanding in the Lord's presence, and speaking the Lord's words, yea,\nthat he was thoroughly identified with Him, that he could say,\n\"according to my word.\"\n\nSuch was the privilege of the Lord's messenger, when delivering the\nLord's message. Such are the wondrous results of secret prayer. \"Elias\nwas a man of like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it\nmight not rain; and it rained not on the earth by the space of three\nyears and six months.\" May it prove a powerful incentive to all those\nwho desire to act for God in this day of weakness! We want to be more\nin the presence of God, in the real sense of our need; if we felt our\nneed more, we should have more of _the spirit of prayer_. And it is\nthe spirit of prayer we want--that spirit which puts God in His own\nproper place of _giver_, and us into our proper place of _receivers_.\nBut how often are we deceived by the mere form of prayer--with the\nformal utterance of words which have no reality in them! There are\nmany who make a kind of god of prayer--many who let their very\nprayers get between their souls and the God of prayer. This is a great\nsnare. We should always take care that our prayers are the natural\noutflow of the Spirit within us, and not of the mere superstitious\nperformance of what we think ought to be done.[15]\n\n  [15] I would offer a few words here on the subject of united prayer\n  among Christians, an exercise which seems so sadly neglected by us at\n  a time when it is so specially needed. It will be generally found that\n  collective life and energy, service and testimony, will be in\n  proportion to the measure of collective waiting upon God. Where there\n  are not public prayer-meetings, there is sure to be a lack of service\n  and testimony; the interests of the Church of God are not realized,\n  and, as a consequence, the things of earth occupy a place of undue\n  prominence in the minds of Christians. If we _felt_ our collective\n  weakness, there would be a collective utterance of that weakness, and,\n  moreover, a renewal of our collective strength. Now I think it will be\n  found that all important movements among the people of God have been\n  the result of united heartfelt prayer. And surely we may say it is\n  natural that it should be so. We are not to expect that God will pour\n  forth His reviving grace on those who rest satisfied with their\n  deadness and coldness. The word is, \"Open thy mouth wide, and I will\n  fill it.\" If we will not open our mouths, how can they be filled? If\n  we are satisfied with what we have, how can we expect to get more? Let\n  it be, therefore, the aim of the Christian reader to stir up his\n  fellow-Christians around him to seek the Lord in united prayer, and,\n  he may be assured of it, the happy results will speedily be seen.\n\n\n\n\n                              SECTION II.\n\n                      THE PROPHET IN RETIREMENT.\n\n\nHardly had our prophet delivered his testimony when he was again\ncalled away from public observation into retirement and solitude. \"And\nthe word of the Lord came unto him, saying, Get thee hence, and turn\nthee eastward, and _hide thyself_ by the brook Cherith, that is before\nJordan.\"\n\nThese words are full of deep instruction. Elijah had taken a very\nprominent place in the presence of Israel, and though his having done\nso was the result of previous retirement and exercise of soul in the\npresence of God, yet did the faithful One for whom he was acting see\nit needful to have him away again into privacy, that so he might not\nonly occupy a high place in the presence of his brethren, but also a\nlow place in the presence of God. All this is full of teaching for us.\nWe must be kept low. Flesh must be crushed. Our time of _training in\nsecret_, must far exceed our time of _acting in public_. Elijah stood,\nas it were, for a brief moment, in public testimony, and that too,\nafter having been alone with God, and he must at once be led away into\nseclusion for three years and a half.\n\nOh! how little can man be trusted; how badly can we bear to be set in\na place of honor! How soon we forget ourselves and God! We shall see\npresently, how much our honored prophet needed to be thus kept in\nretirement. The Lord knew his temperament and tendencies, and dealt\nwith him accordingly. It is truly humiliating to think how little we\ncan be trusted in the way of public testimony for Christ; we are so\nfull of self; we vainly imagine that _we_ are something, and that God\nwill do much by _us_: hence it is that we need, like our prophet, to\nbe told to \"hide ourselves,\" to get away from public view, that we may\nlearn, in the holy calmness of our Father's presence, our own proper\nnothingness. And the spiritual mind can at once see the importance of\nall this. It would never do to be always before the eye of man; no\ncreature could stand it: the Son of God Himself constantly sought the\nsolitary place, apart from the din and bustle of the city, where He\nmight enjoy a quiet retreat for prayer, and of secret communion with\nGod. \"Jesus went unto the Mount of Olives.\" \"Rising up a great while\nbefore day, He departed into a solitary place and there prayed.\"\n\nBut it was not because He needed to hide Himself, for His entire path\non earth was, blessed be His name, a hiding of self. The spirit of His\nministry is brought out in these words, \"My doctrine is not Mine, but\nHis that sent Me.\" Would that all the Lord's servants knew more of\nthis! We all want to hide self more,--much more than we do. The devil\nacts so on our poor silly hearts; our thoughts so revolve round\nourselves; yea, we so often make our very service, and the truth of\nGod, a pedestal on which to show forth our own glory. No marvel,\ntherefore, that we are not much used: how could the Lord make use of\nagents who will not give Him the glory? How can the Lord use Israel,\nwhen Israel is ever prone to vaunt himself? Let us then pray to be\nmade more truly humble, more self-abased, more willing to be looked\nupon as \"a dead dog, or a flea,\" or \"the off-scouring of all things,\"\nor nothing at all, for the name of our gracious Master.\n\nIn His lonely retreat by the brook Cherith, Elijah was called to\nsojourn many days; not, however, without a precious promise from the\nLord God of Israel in reference to his needed provision, for he went\naccompanied by the gracious assurance, \"_I have commanded_ the ravens\nto feed thee there.\" The Lord would take care of His dear servant\nwhile hidden from public view, and minister to his necessities, even\nthough it should be by the instrumentality of ravens. What a strange\nprovision! What a continual exercise of faith was there involved in\nbeing called to look out for the daily visits of birds that would\nnaturally desire to devour the prophet's meal! But was it upon the\nravens that Elijah lived? Surely not. His soul reposed in the precious\nwords, \"_I have commanded_.\" It was God, and not the ravens, for him.\nHe had the God of Israel with him in his hiding place--he lived by\nfaith. And how truly blessed for the spirit thus to cling, in\nunaffected simplicity, to the promise of God! How happy to be lifted\nabove the power of circumstances, in the apprehension of God's\npresence and care! Elijah was hiding himself from man, while God was\nshowing Himself to Elijah. This will ever be so. Let us only set self\naside, and we may be assured that God will reveal Himself in power to\nour souls. If Elijah had persisted in occupying a prominent and a\npublic place, he would have been left unprovided for. _He must be\nhidden_; for the streams of divine provision and refreshment only\nflowed for him in the place of retirement and self-abasement. \"I have\ncommanded the ravens to feed thee _there_.\" If the prophet were\nanywhere else but \"_there_\" he would have gotten nothing at all from\nGod.\n\nWhat teaching for us in all this! Why are our souls so lean and\nbarren? Why do we so little drink of the streams of divinely provided\nrefreshment? Because we are not hiding self sufficiently. We cannot\nexpect that God will strengthen and refresh us for the purpose of\nearthly display. He will strengthen us for Himself. If we could but\nrealize more that we are \"not our own,\" we should enjoy more spiritual\npower.\n\nBut there is also much meaning in the little word \"_there_.\" Elijah\nshould be \"_there_\" and nowhere else, in order to enjoy God's\nsupplies; and just so is it with the believer now; he must know where\nGod would have him to be, and there abide. We have no right to choose\nour place, for the Lord \"orders the bounds of our habitation,\" and\nhappy for us is it to know this, and submit to His wise and gracious\nordering. It was at the brook Cherith, and there alone, that the\nravens were commanded to convey bread and flesh to the prophet; he\nmight wish to sojourn elsewhere, but, if he had done so he should have\nprovided for himself: how much happier to allow God to provide for\nhim! So Elijah felt, and therefore he went to Cherith, for the Lord\nhad \"commanded the ravens to feed him _there_.\" The divinely appointed\nprovision is alone to be had in the divinely appointed place.\n\nThus was Elijah conveyed from solitude to solitude. He had come from\nthe mountains of Gilead, with a message from the Lord God of Israel to\nIsrael's king, and having delivered that message, he was again\nconducted, by the hand of God, into unbroken solitude, there to have\nhis spirit exercised, and his strength renewed in the presence of God.\nAnd who would be without those sweet and holy lessons learnt in\nsecret? Who would lack the training of a Father's hand? Who would not\nlong to be led away from beneath the eye of man, and above the\ninfluence of things earthly and natural, into the pure light of the\ndivine presence, where self and all around are viewed and estimated\naccording to the judgment of the sanctuary? In a word, who would not\ndesire to be alone with God?--alone, not as a merely sentimental\nexpression, but really, practically, and experimentally alone; alone,\nlike Moses at the mount of God; alone, like Aaron in the holiest of\nall; alone, like our prophet at the brook Cherith; alone, like John in\nthe island of Patmos; and above all, alone, like Jesus on the mount.\n\nAnd here, let us inquire what it is to be alone with God. It is to\nhave self and the world set aside; to have the spirit impressed with\nthoughts of God and His perfections and excellencies; to allow all His\ngoodness to pass before us; to see Him as the great Actor _for_ us,\nand _in_ us; to get above flesh and its reasonings, earth and its\nways, Satan and his accusations; and, above all, to feel that we have\nbeen introduced into this holy solitude, simply and exclusively\nthrough the precious blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.\n\nThese are some of the results of our being alone with God. But, in\ntruth, it is a term which one can hardly explain to another, for each\nspiritually-minded saint will have his own feelings on the subject,\nand will best understand what it means in his own case. This, at\nleast, we may well crave, to be truly found in the secret of our\nFather's presence; to be done with the weariness and wretchedness of\nendeavoring to maintain _our character_, and to know the joy, the\nliberty, the peace, and unaffected simplicity of the sanctuary, where\nGod in all His varied attributes and perfections rises before our\nsouls and fills us with bliss ineffable.\n\n    \"To find my place within the veil,\n      To know that God is mine,\n    Are springs of joy that will not fail,\n      Unspeakable, divine.\"\n\nBut, though Elijah was thus happily alone by the brook Cherith, he was\nnot exempt from the deep exercise of soul consequent upon a life of\nfaith. The ravens, it is true, in obedience to the divine command,\npaid him their daily visits, and Cherith flowed on in its tranquil and\nuninterrupted course, so that the prophet's bread was given him, and\nhis water was sure, and thus, as far as he was personally concerned,\nhe might forget that the rod of judgment was stretched out over the\nland. But faith must be put to the test. The man of faith cannot be\nallowed to settle on his lees; he must be emptied from vessel to\nvessel; the child of God must pass from form to form in the school of\nChrist, and having mastered, through grace, the difficulties of one,\nhe must be called to grapple with those of another. It was, therefore,\nneedful that the soul of the prophet should be tried in order that it\nmight be seen whether he was depending upon Cherith, or upon the Lord\nGod of Israel; hence, \"it came to pass, after awhile, that _the brook\ndried up_.\"\n\nWe are ever in danger, through the infirmity of our flesh, of having\nour faith propped up by circumstances, and when these are favorable,\nwe think our faith is strong, and _vice versa_. But faith never looks\nat circumstances; it looks straight to God; it has to do exclusively\nwith Him and His promises. Thus it was with Elijah; it mattered little\nto him whether Cherith continued to flow or not; he could say,\n\n    \"In vain the creature streams are dry,\n      I have a fountain still.\"\n\nGod was his fountain, his unfailing, exhaustless fountain. The brook\nmight yield to the influence of the prevailing drought, but no\ndrought could affect God, and the prophet knew this; he knew that the\nword of the Lord was as certain a portion, and as sure a basis in the\ndrying up of Cherith, as it had been during the time of his sojourn\nupon its banks; and so it was, for \"the word of the Lord came to him,\nsaying, Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and\ndwell there; behold _I have commanded_ a widow woman there to sustain\nthee.\"\n\nElijah's faith must still rest upon the same immutable basis. \"I have\ncommanded.\" How truly blessed is this! Circumstances change; human\nthings fail; creature streams are dried up, but God and His word are\nthe same yesterday, to-day, and forever. Nor does the prophet seem to\nhave been the least disturbed by this fresh order from on high. No;\nfor, like Israel of old, he had learned to pitch and strike his tent\naccording to the movement of Jehovah's cloud. The camp, of old, was\ncalled to watch attentively the wheels of that heavenly chariot which\nrolled onward toward the land of rest, and here and there halted in\nthe wilderness to find them out a resting-place; and just so was it\nwith Elijah; he would take up his solitary post by the banks of\nCherith, or tread his weary way to Zarephath of Zidon in undeviating\nobedience to \"the word of the Lord.\" Israel of old were not allowed to\nhave any plans of their own; Jehovah planned and arranged everything\nfor them. He told them when and where they were to move and halt; at\nvarious intervals He signified His sovereign pleasure to them by the\nmovement of the cloud above their heads. \"Whether it were two days, or\na month, or a year, that the cloud tarried upon the tabernacle,\nremaining thereon, the children of Israel abode in their tents, and\njourneyed not; but when it was taken up they journeyed. At the\ncommandment of the Lord they rested in their tents, and at the\ncommandment of the Lord they journeyed\" (Num. ix. 22, 23).\n\nSuch was the happy condition of the Lord's redeemed, while passing\nfrom Egypt to Canaan. They never could have _their own way_, as\nregards their movements. If an Israelite had refused to move when the\ncloud moved, or to halt when it halted, _he would have been left to\nstarve in the wilderness_. The rock and the manna followed them while\nthey followed Jehovah; in other words, food and refreshment were alone\nto be found in the path of simple obedience. Just so was it with\nElijah; he was not permitted to have a will of his own; he could not\nfix the time of his sojourn at Cherith, nor the time for his removal\nto Zarephath; \"the word of the Lord\" settled all for him, and when he\nobeyed it he found sustenance.\n\nWhat a lesson for the Christian in all this! The path of obedience is\nalone the path of happiness. If we were more successful in doing\nviolence to self, our spiritual condition would be far more vigorous\nand healthy than it is. Nothing so ministers to health and vigor of\nsoul as undeviating obedience; there is strength gained by the very\neffort to obey. This is true in the case of all, but specially so as\nregards those who stand in the capacity of ministers of the Lord. Such\nmust walk in obedience if they would be used in ministry. How could\nElijah have said, as he afterwards did, upon Mount Carmel, \"If the\nLord be God, _follow Him_,\" if his own private path had exhibited a\nwilful and rebellious spirit? Impossible. The path of a servant must\nbe the path of obedience, otherwise he ceases to be a servant. The\nword _servant_ is as inseparably linked with _obedience_, as is _work_\nwith _workman_. \"A servant,\" as another has observed, \"must move when\nthe bell rings.\" Would that we were all more alive to the sound of our\nMaster's bell, and more ready to run in the direction in which it\nsummons us. \"_Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth._\" Here is our\nproper language. Whether the word of the Lord summons us from our\nretirement into the midst of our brethren, or from thence into\nretirement again, may our language ever be, \"Speak, Lord, for thy\nservant heareth.\" The word of the Lord, and the attentive ear of a\nservant, are all we need to carry us safely and happily onward.\n\nNow, this path of obedience is by no means an easy one; it involves\nthe constant abandonment of self, and can only be pursued as the eye\nis steadily kept on God, and the conscience kept under the action of\nHis truth. True, there is a rich reward in every act of obedience, yet\nflesh and blood must be set aside, and this is no easy work. Witness\nthe path of our prophet. He was first called to take his place by the\nbrook Cherith, to be fed by ravens! How could flesh and blood\nunderstand this? Then again, when the brook failed, he is called away\nto a distant city of Zidon, there to be nourished by a destitute widow\nwho seemed to be at the very point of dying of starvation! Here was\nthe command: \"Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon,\nand dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to\nsustain thee.\"\n\nAnd what confirmation did Elijah derive from appearances, upon his\narrival at this place? None whatever; but everything to fill him with\ndoubts and fears had he been looking at circumstances in the matter.\n\"So he arose, and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of\nthe city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks; and\nhe called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a\nvessel, that I may drink. And as she was going to fetch it, he called\nto her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine\nhand. And she said, As the Lord thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but\na handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and\nbehold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for\nme and my son, that we may eat it, and die.\"\n\nThis was the scene that presented itself to the eye of the prophet\nwhen he had arrived at his divinely appointed destination. Truly a\ngloomy and depressing one to flesh and blood. But Elijah conferred not\nwith flesh and blood; his spirit was sustained by the immutable word\nof Jehovah; his confidence was based upon the faithfulness of God, and\nhe needed no aid from things around him. The horizon might look dark\nand heavy to mortal vision, but the eye of faith could pierce the\nclouds, and see beyond them all \"the firm foundation which is laid for\nfaith in Jehovah's excellent word.\"\n\nHow precious, then, is the word of God! Well might the psalmist say,\n\"Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage forever.\" Precious\nheritage! Pure, incorruptible, immortal truth! How should we bless our\nGod for having made it our inalienable portion--a portion which, when\nall sublunary things shall have vanished from view, when the world\nshall have passed away and the lust thereof, when all flesh shall have\nbeen consumed as withered grass, shall prove to the faithful a real,\nan eternal, an enduring substance. \"Thanks be to God for His\nunspeakable gift.\"\n\nBut what were the circumstances which met the prophet's eye upon his\napproach to Zarephath? A widow and her son starving, two sticks, and a\nhandful of meal! And yet the word was, \"I have commanded a widow woman\nthere to sustain thee.\" How trying, how deeply mysterious, was all\nthis! Elijah, however, staggered not at the promise of God through\nunbelief, but was strong in faith, giving glory to God. He knew that\nit was the Most High and Almighty God, the possessor of heaven and\nearth, that was to meet his necessities; hence, though there had been\nneither oil nor meal, it would have made no matter to him, for he\nlooked beyond circumstances to the God of circumstances. He saw not\nthe widow, but God. He looked not at the handful of meal, but at the\ndivine command; therefore his spirit was perfectly calm and unruffled\nin the midst of circumstances which would have crushed the spirit of\none walking by sight, and he was able, without a shadow of doubt, to\nsay, \"Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not\nwaste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the\nLord sendeth rain upon the earth.\"\n\nHere we have the reply of faith to the language of unbelief. \"Thus\nsaith the Lord\" settles everything. The moment the spirit apprehends\nGod's promise, there is an end to the reasonings of unbelief. Unbelief\nputs circumstances between the soul and God; faith puts God between\nthe soul and circumstances. This is a very important difference. May\nwe walk in the power and energy of faith, to the praise of Him whom\nfaith ever honors!\n\nBut there is another point in this lovely scene to be particularly\nnoticed: it is the way in which death ever hovers around the spirit of\none not walking by faith. \"That we may eat it and die\" is the language\nof the widow. Death and unbelief are inseparably linked together. The\nspirit can only be conducted along the path of life by the energy of\nfaith: hence if faith be not in energy, there is no life, no power, no\nelevation. Thus was it with this poor widow: her hope of life was\nbased upon the barrel of meal and the cruse of oil: beyond these she\nsaw no springs of life, no hope of continuance. Her soul knew not as\nyet the real blessedness of communion with the living God to whom\nalone belong the issues from death. She was not yet able against hope\nto believe in hope. Alas, what a poor, frail, tottering thing is that\nhope which rests only on a cruse of oil and a barrel of meal! How\nscanty must be those expectations which only rest on the creature!\n\nAnd are we not all but too prone to lean upon something quite as mean\nand paltry in God's view as a handful of meal? Truly we are; and it\nmust be so where God is not apprehended by the soul. To faith it is\neither God or nothing. A handful of meal will afford, in the hand of\nGod and to the view of faith, as efficient materials as the cattle\nupon a thousand hills. \"We have here but five loaves and two small\nfishes; but _what are these amongst so many?_\" This is the language of\nthe human heart; but faith never says what are _these_ amongst so\nmany? but what is _God_ among so many? Unbelief says _we_ are not\nable; faith says, but _God_ is well able.\n\nAnd would it not be well, ere we turn from this interesting point in\nour subject, to apply these principles to the poor, conscience-smitten\nsinner? How often is such an one found clinging to some vain resource\nfor the pardon of his sins, rather than to the accomplished work of\nChrist upon the cross, which has forever satisfied the claims of\ndivine justice, and ought therefore, surely, to satisfy the cravings\nof his guilty conscience. \"I have no man, when the water is troubled,\nto put me into the pool; but while I am coming, another steppeth down\nbefore me.\" Such is the language of one who had not as yet learned to\nlook beyond all human aid, straight to Jesus. \"_I have no man_,\" says\nthe poor, guilty, unbelieving sinner: but I have _Jesus_, says the\nbeliever; and he may add, Thus saith the Lord, The cleansing efficacy\nof the blood shall not fail, nor its preciousness diminish, until the\ntime that the Lord shall have safely housed His ransomed forever in\nHis own heavenly mansions.\n\nHence, if these pages should meet the eye of any poor, halting,\ntrembling, fearful sinner, I would invite him to take comfort from the\nprecious truth that God has, in His infinite grace, set the cross of\nJesus between him and his sins, if only he will believe the divine\ntestimony. The great difference between a believer and an unbeliever\nis this: the former has Christ between him and his sins; the latter\nhas his sins between him and Christ. Now, with the former, Christ is\nthe all-engrossing object: he looks not at the enormity of his sin,\nbut at the value of the blood and the preciousness of the person of\nChrist: he knows that God is not now on the judgment-seat, but on the\nmercy-seat: if He were on the former, His thoughts would be simply\noccupied about the question of sin, but being on the latter, His\nthoughts are, blessed be His name, as purely occupied about the blood.\nOh for more simple and abiding communion with the mind of Heaven, and\nmore complete abstraction from the things and thoughts of earth! The\nLord grant more of both to all His saints!\n\nIt has been already observed that the man of faith must be emptied\nfrom vessel to vessel; each successive scene and stage of the\nbeliever's life is but his entrance upon a new form in the school of\nChrist, where he has to learn some fresh and, of course, more\ndifficult lesson. But, it may be asked, what more trying circumstances\nhad Elijah to grapple with at Zarephath than at Cherith? Was it not\nbetter to be cast upon human sympathies than to have ravens as his\nchannel of supply? And further, was it not more pleasing to the spirit\nto be domesticated with human beings than to dwell in the loneliness\nand solitude of the brook Cherith? All this might have been so, no\ndoubt; yet solitude has its sweets, and association its trials. There\nare selfish interests which work amongst men, and hinder that refined\nand exquisite enjoyment which human society ought to yield, and which\nit will yield, when humanity stands forth in its divinely-imparted\nperfections.\n\nOur prophet heard no such words as \"_me and my son_\" when he took up\nhis abode by the brook. There was there no selfish interest acting as\na barrier to his sustenance and enjoyment. No, but the moment he\npassed from his retirement into human society, then he was called to\nfeel that the human heart does not like to have its own objects in\nthe least interfered with; he was called to enter into the deep\nmeaning of the words \"_me and my son_,\" which unfold the hidden\nsprings of selfishness, which actuate humanity in its fallen\ncondition.\n\nBut it will doubtless be observed that it was natural for the widow's\nheart to entertain thoughts of herself and her son in preference to\nany one else, and surely it was _natural_; it is what nature ever\ndoes. Harken to the following words of a genuine child of nature:\n\"Shall I then take my bread, and my water, and my flesh that I have\nkilled for my shearers, and give it unto men whom I know not whence\nthey be?\" (I Sam. xxv. II).\n\nNature will ever seek its own first; nor does it come within the\ncompass of this perishing world so to fill the human soul as to make\nit overflow for the benefit of others. It is the province of God alone\nto do this. It is utterly in vain to try to expand the heart of man by\nany instrumentality save the abundant grace of God. This it is which\nwill cause him to open wide the door of his affections to every needy\napplicant. Human benevolence may do much where abundant resources\nprevent the possibility of personal privation, but grace alone will\nenable a man to trample personal interests underfoot to meet the\nclaims of another. \"Men will praise thee when thou doest well to\nthyself.\" This is the world's principle, and nothing can make us\nunlearn it but the knowledge of the fact that God has done well for\nus, and, morever, that it is our best interest to let Him continue to\ndo so unto the end.\n\nNow it was the knowledge of this divine principle that enabled our\nprophet to say, \"Make _me_ thereof a little cake _first_, and bring it\nunto _me_, and _after_ make for thee and thy son.\" Elijah was, in his\naddress, simply putting in the divine claim upon the widow's\nresources; and, as we know, the result of a true and ready response to\nthat claim will be a rich harvest of blessing to the soul. There was,\nhowever, a demand upon the widow's faith in all this. She was called\nto act a trying and difficult part, in the energy of faith in a divine\npromise, \"Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall\nnot waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the\nLord sendeth rain upon the earth.\"\n\nAnd is it not thus with every believer? Undoubtedly it is; we must act\nin faith. The promise of God must ever constitute the great moving\nprinciple in the soul of the Christian. There would have been no room\nfor the exercise of faith on the part of the widow had the barrel been\nfull; but when it was exhausted, when she was reduced to her last\nhandful, to be told to give of that handful to a stranger _first_, was\nsurely a large demand, to which nothing but faith could have enabled\nher to respond. But the Lord often deals with His people as He dealt\nwith His disciples in the matter of feeding the multitude. \"This He\nsaid to prove them, for He Himself knew what He would do.\" He\nfrequently tells us to take a step involving considerable trial, and\nin the very act of taking it we not only see the reason of it, but\nalso get strength to proceed. In fact, all the divine claims upon us\nfor action are based upon the principle involved in the command to the\nchildren of Israel of old, \"Speak to the children of Israel that they\ngo forward.\" Whither were they to go? Through the sea. Strange path!\nYet behind this trying command we see grace providing the ability to\nexecute it in the word to Moses, \"But lift thou up thy rod, and\nstretch out thy hand over the sea, and divide it; and the children of\nIsrael shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea\" (Ex. xiv.\n16). Faith enables a man, being called, to go out not knowing whither\nhe goes.\n\nBut there is more than the mere principle of obedience to be learned\nfrom this truly interesting scene between Elijah and the widow of\nZarephath: we learn, also, that nothing but the superior power of\ndivine grace can lift the human mind above the freezing atmosphere of\nselfishness in which fallen man lives, and moves, and has his being.\nThe effulgence of God's benevolence shining in upon the soul disperses\nthose mists in which the world is enveloped, and enables a man to\nthink and act upon higher and nobler principles than those which\nactuate the moving mass around him. This poor widow had left her house\ninfluenced by no higher motive than self-interest and self-preservation,\nand having no more brilliant object before her mind than death. And is\nit in any wise different with multitudes around us? Yea, is it a whit\nbetter in the case of any unregenerate man on earth? Not a whit. The\nmost illustrious, the most intellectual, the most learned--in a word,\nevery man upon whose spirit the light of divine grace has never shone,\nwill be found, in God's estimation, like this poor widow, influenced\nby motives of self-interest and self-preservation, and having no\nbrighter prospect before him than death.\n\nThe truth of God, however, speedily alters the aspect of things. In\nthe case of the widow it acted most powerfully: it sent her back to\nher house occupied about and interested for another, and with her soul\nfilled with cheering thoughts of life. And so will it ever be. Let but\nthe soul get into communion with the truth and grace of God, and it is\nat once delivered from this present evil world, it is turned aside out\nof the current which is rapidly hurrying millions away upon its\nsurface. It becomes actuated by heavenly motives, and animated by\nheavenly objects. Grace teaches a man to live and act for others. The\nmore our souls taste the sweetness of redeeming love, the more earnest\nwill be our desire to serve others. Oh that we all felt more deeply\nand abidingly the constraining power of the love of Christ, in this\nday of lamentable coldness and indifference! Would to God we could all\nlive and act in the remembrance that we are not our own, but bought\nwith a price!\n\nThe widow of Zarephath was taught this truth. The Lord not only put in\nHis claim to the handful of meal and the cruse of oil, but also laid\nHis hand upon her son--the cherished object of her affections. Death\nvisits the house in which the Lord's prophet, in company with the\nwidow and her son, were feeding together on the precious fruits of\ndivine benevolence. \"It came to pass, after these things, that the son\nof the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick; and his sickness\nwas so sore that there was no breath left in him.\" Now this son, as we\nknow, had, in common with herself, stood in her way in the matter of\nher ready response to the divine claim as put forward by Elijah; hence\nthere is solemn instruction for the saint in the death of this child.\nSo surely as we allow _any object_, whether it be parent or child,\nhusband or wife, brother or sister, to obstruct us in our path of\nsimple obedience and devotedness to Christ, we may rest assured that\nobject will be removed. This widow had given her son a higher place in\nher thoughts than the Lord's prophet, and the son was taken from her\nthat she might learn that it was not merely \"the handful of meal\" that\nshould be held in subjection to the Lord and in readiness for Him, but\nalso her dearest earthly object.\n\nIt needs no small measure of the spirit of Christ to hold everything\nin mere stewardship for God. We are so prone to look upon things as\nours, instead of remembering that all we have, and all we are, belongs\nto the Lord, and should ever be given up at His call. Nor is this a\nmere matter of rightful obedience; it is for our lasting benefit and\nhappiness. The widow responded to God's claim on her handful of meal;\nand what follows? She and her house are sustained for years! Again\nthe Lord lays His hand upon her son; and what follows? Her son is\nraised from the dead by the mighty power of God, thus teaching her\nthat the Lord could not only sustain life, but impart it.\nResurrection-power is brought to bear upon her circumstances, and she\nreceives her son now, as she had received her supplies before,\ndirectly from the hand of the Lord God of Israel. How happy to be a\ndependent upon such bounty! How happy to go to our barrel of meal, or\nour cruse of oil, and find it daily replenished by our Father's\ngenerous hand! How happy to hold the dearest object of our affections\nin the power of resurrection ties! Such are the privileges of the\nweakest believer in Jesus.\n\nBefore, however, I turn from this branch of our subject, I would\nobserve that the effect which the divine visitation produced upon this\nwidow was to awaken a solemn inquiry in her conscience as to her sin.\n\"Art thou come to call my sin to remembrance?\" When the Lord comes\nnear to us, there will always be observed a divine quickness and\nsensitiveness of conscience which are most earnestly to be sought\nafter. One may often pass on from day to day in the ordinary routine\nof life, in the enjoyment, too, of a replenished barrel and cruse,\nwithout much deep exercise of conscience before God. The latter will\nonly be found where there is really close walking with God, or some\nspecial visitation of His hand. Had the Lord merely met the poor\nwidow's need from day to day, there might never have been a question\nof \"sin\" raised in her mind; but when death entered, conscience began\nto work, for death is the wages of sin.\n\nThere is a twofold action in all the divine dealings with us, namely,\nan action of _truth_, and an action of _grace_. The former discovers\nthe evil, the latter puts it away; that unfolds what man is, this what\nGod is; that brings out into the light the hidden workings of evil in\nthe heart of man, this brings out, in contrast, the rich and\nexhaustless springs of grace in the heart of God. Now, both are\nneedful: _truth_, for the maintenance of God's glory; _grace_, for the\nestablishment of our blessing; that, for the vindication of the divine\ncharacter and attributes, this for the perfect repose of the sinner's\nheart and conscience. How blessed to know that both \"grace and truth\ncame by Jesus Christ.\" The divine dealings with the widow of Zarephath\nwould not have been complete had they not elicited from her the\nconfession contained in the last verse of our chapter, \"By _this_ I\nknow thou art a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in thy mouth\nis _truth_.\" She had learnt _grace_ in the marvelous supply of her\nneed; she learnt _truth_ in the death of her son.\n\nAnd if we were only more spiritually sensitive and quick-sighted, we\nshould at all times perceive these two features in our Father's mode\nof dealing with us. We are the constant recipients of His grace, and\nagain and again we get examples of His truth in the dealings of His\nhand which are more particularly designed to bring out the evil from\nthe hidden chambers of the heart, in order that we may judge and put\nit away. While we see our barrel and cruse replenished, conscience is\napt to slumber, but when Jehovah knocks at the door of our hearts by\nsome chastening dispensation, forthwith it wakes up and enters with\nvigor upon the seasonable work of self-judgment.\n\nNow, while we cannot too strongly deprecate that form of\nself-examination which frequently genders doubt as to the fact of the\nsoul's acceptance, yet we must remember that _self must be judged_ or\nwe shall break down altogether. The believer is not told to examine\nhimself with any such idea as that the examination may issue in the\ndiscovery that he is not in the faith. This idea is often based upon\nan unsound interpretation of 2 Cor. xiii. 5, \"Examine yourselves,\nwhether ye be in the faith,\" etc. Now, the idea in the mind of the\napostle was the very reverse of what is sought to be deduced from his\nwords, as may at once be seen by a little attention to the context. It\nwould seem that the assembly at Corinth had given a place amongst them\nto certain false apostles who presumed to call in question the\nministry of the apostle Paul, thus rendering it necessary for the\nlatter to enter upon a defense of his apostleship, which he does,\nfirst, by a reference to his general course of service and testimony;\nand secondly, by a touching appeal to the Corinthian saints. \"Since,\"\nsays he, \"ye seek a proof of Christ speaking in me, ... examine\nyourselves.\" The most powerful and, to them at least, affecting proof\nof the divine authority of his apostleship was to be deduced from the\nfact that they were in the faith. It cannot therefore for a moment be\nsupposed that he would have told them to examine themselves in order\nto prove his heavenly mission if that examination were to issue in the\ndiscovery that they were not in the faith at all: on the contrary, it\nwas because he had a well-grounded assurance that they were\n\"sanctified in Christ Jesus,\" that he could confidently appeal to them\nas an evidence that his mission was from above.\n\nThere is, however, considerable difference between what is called\n\"self-examination\" and self-judgment; not so much in the abstract\nthings themselves as in the ideas which we attach to them. It is a\nmost blessed exercise to judge nature--honestly, solemnly and rigidly\nto judge that evil nature which we carry about with us, and which ever\nclogs and hinders us in running the race set before us. The Lord grant\nus all more spiritual power to exercise this judgment continually. But\nthen we must take great care that our examination of self does not\nsavor of mistrusting God. It is upon the ground of God's grace and\nfaithfulness that I judge myself. _If God be not God, there is an end\nof everything._\n\nBut there was also a voice in this visitation for Elijah. He had\npresented himself to the widow in the character of a man of God, and\nhe therefore needed to establish his claims to that character. This\nJehovah graciously did for him by the resurrection of the child. \"By\n_this_ I know,\" said she, \"that thou art a man of God.\" It was\nresurrection that vindicated his claim upon her confidence. There must\nbe the exhibition of a measure of resurrection power in the life of\nthe man of God ere his claim to that character can be fully\nestablished. This power will show itself in the form of victory over\nself in all its odious workings. The believer is risen with Christ--he\nis made a partaker of the divine nature, but he is still in the world,\nand bears about with him a body of humiliation; and if he does not\ndeny himself, he will soon find his character as a man of God called\nin question.\n\nIt would, however, be but a miserable object merely to seek\n_self-vindication_. The prophet had a higher and nobler aim, namely,\nto establish the truth of the word of the Lord in his mouth. This is\nthe proper object of the man of God. His own character and reputation\nshould be matters of small moment with him, save as they stand\nconnected with the word of the Lord in his mouth. It was simply for\nthe purpose of maintaining the divine origin of the gospel which he\npreached that the apostle Paul entered upon the defense of his\napostleship in his epistles to the Galatians and Corinthians. It\nmattered little to him what they thought of Paul, but it mattered much\nwhat they thought of Paul's gospel. Hence, for their sakes, he was\nanxious to prove that the word of the Lord in his mouth was truth. How\nimportant, then, was it for the prophet to have such a testimony to\nthe divine origin of his ministry before entering upon the scenes in\nwhich he is seen moving in chap, xviii.! He gained thus much at least\nby his retirement at Zarephath; and surely it was not a little. His\nspirit was blessedly confirmed; he received a divine seal to his\nministry; he approved himself to the conscience of one with whom he\nhad sojourned for a long period, and was enabled to start afresh upon\nhis public career with the happy assurance that he was a man of God,\nand that the word of the Lord in his mouth was truth.[16]\n\n  [16] I may just add a word here on the subject of self-vindication. It\n  is truly sorrowful when the servant of God is obliged to vindicate\n  himself; it shows there must be something wrong either in himself or\n  in those who have rendered it needful for him thus to act. When,\n  however, such a course becomes necessary, there is one grand object to\n  be kept clearly before the mind, namely, the glory of Christ, and the\n  purity of the truth committed to his trust. It too frequently happens\n  that when any charge is brought either against our ministry or our\n  personal character, the pride of our hearts is drawn out, and we are\n  quick to stand up in self defense. Now, we should remember that, apart\n  from our connection with Christ and His saints, we are but vile atoms\n  of the dust, utterly unworthy of a thought or word; it should\n  therefore be far from our thoughts to seek the establishment of our\n  own reputation. We have been constituted the depositaries, to a\n  certain extent, of the reputation of Christ; and provided we preserve\n  that unsullied, we need not be careful about self.\n\n  The Lord grant us all grace to walk in the abiding consciousness of\n  our high dignities and holy responsibilities as the \"epistle of\n  Christ, known and read of all men\"!\n\nWe have now arrived at the close of a very important stage of Elijah's\nhistory, embracing a period of three years and a half, during which he\nwas hidden from the view of Israel. We have been occupied simply with\nthe consideration of those principles of truth which lie on the\nsurface of Elijah's personal history. But may we not draw instruction\nfrom his course viewed in a mystic sense? I believe we may. The\nreference of Christ Himself to the prophet's mission to the Gentile\nwidow may justly lead us to see therein the blessed foreshadowing of\nthe gathering of the Gentiles into the Church of God. \"But I tell you\nof a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the\nheaven was shut up for three years and six months, when great famine\nwas throughout all the land; but unto none of them was Elias sent,\nsave unto Sarepta, a city of Zidon, unto a woman that was a widow\"\n(Luke iv. 25, 26). The Lord Jesus had presented Himself to Israel as\nthe prophet of God, but found no response; the daughter of Zion\nrefused to hear the voice of her Lord. \"The gracious words which\nproceeded out of His mouth\" were answered by the carnal inquiry, \"Is\nnot this Joseph's son?\" He therefore finds relief for His spirit, in\nthe view of Israel's scorn and rejection, in the happy reflection that\nthere were objects beyond Jewish bounds to whom the divine grace of\nwhich He was the channel could flow out in all its richness and\npurity. The grace of God is such that if it be stopped by the pride,\nunbelief, or hardness of heart of some, it will only flow more\ncopiously to others, and so, \"Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall\nI be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, and My God shall be My\nstrength. And He said, It is a light thing that Thou shouldst be My\nservant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved\nof Israel: I will also give Thee for _a light to the Gentiles_, that\nThou mayest be My salvation unto the end of the earth\" (Isa. xlix. 5,\n6). The precious truth of the call of the Gentiles is largely taught\nin Scripture, both by type and precept, and it might be serviceable at\nanother time to enter fully upon the consideration of it in its\nvarious ramifications; but my object, in this paper, is rather to\nconsider the life and ministry of our prophet in a simple and\npractical way, with the hope that the Lord would be graciously pleased\nto acknowledge such simple reflections for the comfort and edification\nof His people of every name and denomination.\n\n\n\n\n                               SECTION III.\n\n                            THE HOUSE OF AHAB\n\n\nWe must now leave our prophet, for a season, and turn our attention to\nthe sad condition of things in Israel during the time that he was\nhidden with God. Terrible indeed must be the condition of things on\nearth when \"the heaven is shut up.\" Sterile and dreary must be the\naspect of this lower world when heaven withholds its refreshing\nshowers, and specially of that land which was to \"drink water of the\nrain of heaven.\" Egypt might not have regarded much the shutting up of\nheaven, seeing she had never been wont to look thither for her\nsupplies. She had her resources in herself. \"My river is mine own,\"\nwas her independent language. But such was not the case with the\nLord's land--\"the land of hills and valleys.\" If heaven yielded not\nits supplies, all was parched and sterile. Israel could not say, \"My\nriver is mine own.\" No; they were ever taught to look up; their eyes\nwere always to be upon the Lord, as the Lord's eyes were ever upon\nthem. Hence, when anything arose to hinder the intercourse between\nheaven and earth, the land of Canaan was made to feel it with painful\nintensity.\n\nThus it was \"in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three\nyears and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land.\"\nIsrael was made to feel the dreadful consequences of departure from\ntheir only source of real blessing. \"There was sore famine in Samaria,\nand Ahab said unto Obadiah, Go into the land, unto all fountains of\nwater, and unto all brooks; peradventure we may find grass to save the\nhorses and mules alive, that we lose not all the beasts. So they\ndivided the land between them, to pass throughout it; Ahab went one\nway by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself.\" Israel had\nsinned, and Israel must feel the rod of Jehovah's righteous anger.\nWhat a humbling picture of God's ancient people, to see their king\ngoing forth to look for grass! What a contrast between all this and\nthe rich abundance and glory of Solomon's day! But God had been\ngrossly dishonored, and His truth rejected. Jezebel had sent forth the\npestilential influence of her principles by the instrumentality of her\nwicked prophets--Baal's altar had superseded the altar of God; hence\nthe heaven above was iron, and the earth beneath brass; the physical\naspect of things was but the expression of Israel's hardness of heart\nand low moral condition.\n\nNow there is not so much as a word about God in Ahab's directions to\nhis servants--not a syllable about the sin that had called down the\nheavy displeasure and judgment of God upon the land. No; the word is,\n\"Go unto all fountains and brooks.\" Such was Ahab's thought, his poor\ngroveling thought; his heart turned not, in true humility, to\nJehovah; he cried not to Him in the hour of his need; hence his word\nis, \"peradventure _we may find grass_.\" God is shut out, and self is\nthe all-engrossing object. Provided he could find _grass_, he cared\nnot about finding _God_. He could have enjoyed himself in the midst of\nJezebel's idolatrous prophets, had not the horrors of famine driven\nhim forth: and then, instead of searching out the cause of the famine,\nin true self-judgment and humility, and seeking for pardon and\nrestoration at the hand of God, he goes forth, in impenitent\nselfishness, to look for grass. Alas! he had sold himself to work\nwickedness; he had become the slave of Jezebel; his palace had become\na cage of every unclean bird; Baal's prophets, like so many vultures,\nhovered around his throne, and from thence spread the leaven of\nidolatry over the whole land. Oh, it is a truly awful thing to allow\nthe heart to depart from the Lord. One cannot tell where it may end.\nAhab was an Israelite, but he had allowed himself to be ensnared by a\nfalse religious system, at the head of which was Jezebel his wife; he\nhad made shipwreck of faith and a good conscience, and was driven\nheadlong into the most abandoned wickedness. There is no one so bad as\nthe man who turns aside from the ways of God. Such an one is sure to\nplunge into more profound depths of wickedness than even the ordinary\nvictims of sin and Satan. The devil seems to take special delight in\nmaking such an one an instrument in carrying out his malignant designs\nagainst the truth of God.\n\nReader, if you have ever been taught to value the ways of truth and\nholiness, if you have ever taken delight in God and His ways, be\nwatchful; \"keep thy heart with all diligence;\" beware of false\nreligious influence; you are moving through a scene in which the very\natmosphere you breathe is noxious, and destructive of spiritual life.\nThe enemy has with hellish sagacity--a sagacity sharpened by well-nigh\nsix thousand years' acquaintance with the constitution of the human\nmind--laid his snares on all sides of you, and nothing but permanent\ncommunion with your heavenly Father will avail to preserve your soul.\nRemember Ahab, and pray continually to be kept from temptation.\n\nThe following passage of Scripture may well be used, in connection\nwith Ahab, as a solemn and seasonable warning: \"Cursed be the man that\ntrusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth\nfrom the Lord. For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall\nnot see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the\nwilderness, in a salt land and not inhabited\" (Jer. xvii. 5, 6).\n\nSuch was the wretched Ahab--wretched though favored with a diadem and\na sceptre. He cared neither for God nor his people. In his sayings and\ndoings, on the melancholy occasion to which we are referring, we find\nas little about Israel as about God. There is not one word about the\npeople that had been committed to his care, and who ought, after God,\nto have been his great object. His earthly mind seems to have been\nunable to reach beyond \"the horses and mules.\" Such were the objects\nof Ahab's anxious solicitude in the day of Israel's direful calamity.\nAlas, what a contrast between all this low and groveling selfishness\nand the noble spirit of the man after God's own heart, who, when the\nland was trembling beneath the heavy stroke of Jehovah's chastening\nrod, could say, \"Is it not I that have commanded the people to be\nnumbered: _even I it is that have sinned and done evil indeed_; but as\nfor _these sheep_, what have they done? let Thy hand, I pray Thee, O\nLord my God, be on me, and on my father's house; but not on Thy\npeople, that they should be plagued\" (I Chron. xxi. 17).\n\nHere was the true spirit of a king. David, in the spirit of his\nblessed Master, would expose his own bosom to the stroke, in order\nthat the sheep might escape; he would \"stand between them and the\nfoe;\" he would turn the sceptre into a shepherd's crook; he thought\nnot of his \"horses and mules;\" yea, he thought not of himself or his\nfather's house, but of the people of God's pasture, and the sheep of\nHis hand. Happy, ineffably happy, will it be for Israel's scattered\ntribes to find themselves again under the tender care of the true\nDavid.\n\nIt might be profitable to follow out a little more fully the history\nof Ahab; to dwell upon his unprincipled treatment of the righteous\nNaboth; of the alluring influence exerted by him over the mind of the\ngood king Jehoshaphat, and of many other circumstances in his unhappy\nreign; but all this would lead us too far from our subject. We shall\ntherefore advert for a few moments to the character of an important\nmember of Ahab's household, and then return to Elijah.\n\nObadiah, the governor of Ahab's house, was one who, in the secret of\nhis own spirit, feared the Lord, but who was planted in a most\nunhallowed atmosphere. The house of the wicked Ahab, and his still\nmore wicked consort, must have been a painful school for the righteous\nsoul of Obadiah; and so he found it. He was hindered in service and\ntestimony. What he did for the Lord was done by stealth. He was afraid\nto act openly and decidedly; yet he did quite enough to show what he\nwould have done had he been planted in a more congenial soil, and\ncherished by a more healthful atmosphere. \"He took a hundred prophets,\nand hid them by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water.\"\nThis was a most precious token of devotedness of heart to the Lord--a\nblessed triumph of divine principle over the most untoward\ncircumstances.\n\nThus it was with Jonathan in the house of Saul. He, too, was sadly\nhindered in his service to God and to Israel. He should have stood\nforth in more entire separation from the evil in which his father\nlived, and moved; his place at Saul's table should have been vacant as\nwell as David's; the cave of Adullam would have been his proper place,\nwhere, in holy companionship with the rejected David and his despised\nband of followers, he might have found a wider and more suited range\nin which to manifest his affectionate devotedness to God and His\nanointed.\n\nHuman expediency, however, might, and doubtless would, have\nrecommended Jonathan to remain in Saul's house, and Obadiah to remain\nin Ahab's house, as being \"the sphere in which Providence had placed\nthem;\" but expediency is not faith, nor will it aid a man in his path\nof service, whatever it may be. Faith will ever lead a man to break\nthrough the freezing rules of human expediency, in order that it may\nexpress itself in a way not to be mistaken. Jonathan felt constrained\nat times to leave the table of Saul in order that he might embrace\nDavid: but he should have abandoned it altogether; he should have cast\nin his lot entirely with David; he ought not to have rested satisfied\nwith speaking _for_ his brother, he should have identified himself\n_with_ him. But he did not do so, and therefore he fell on Mount\nGilboa, by the hand of the uncircumcised. Thus, in his life he was\nharassed and hindered by the unrighteous principle of rule which Saul\nhad set up to entangle and bind the consciences of the faithful, and\nin his death he was ingloriously mingled with the uncircumcised.\n\nJust so it was with Obadiah. It was his lot to stand in connection\nwith the man who occupied the lowest step of that ladder of apostasy\nwhereby the kings of Israel had descended from original principles.\nHence he was obliged to act stealthily for God and His servants; he\nwas afraid of Ahab and Jezebel; he lacked boldness and energy to\nstand out in decided testimony against all abominations; he had no\nroom for the development of his renewed energies or affections; his\nsoul was withered by the noxious vapors around him, and he could\ntherefore exert but little influence on his day and generation. Hence,\nwhile Elijah was boldly confronting Ahab, and openly serving the Lord,\nObadiah was openly serving Ahab, and stealthily serving the Lord.\nWhile Elijah was breathing the holy atmosphere of Jehovah's presence,\nObadiah was breathing the polluted atmosphere of Ahab's wicked court.\nWhile Elijah was receiving his daily supplies from the hand of the God\nof Israel, Obadiah was ranging the country in search of grass for\nAhab's horses.\n\nTruly a most striking contrast! And is there not at this moment many\nan Obadiah similarly occupied? Is there not many a God-fearing man\nsharing, in common with the children of this world, its death and\nmisery, and laboring in co-operation with them to avert its impending\nruin? Doubtless there is. And is this fit work for such? Should \"the\nmules and horses\" of an ungodly world engross the thoughts and\nenergies of the Christian, instead of the interests of the Church of\nGod? Ah no! it should not be so. The Christian should have a nobler\nend in view--a higher and more heavenly sphere in which to use his\nenergies. God, and not Ahab, demands and deserves our devotion.\n\nThis is a very wide question, and there are few amongst us that may\nnot learn a lesson from it. Let us ask ourselves honestly, as before\nthe Searcher of hearts, what are we doing? What object are we\ncarrying out? What end have we in view? Are we sowing to the flesh?\nAre we working for merely earthly objects? Have we no higher end in\nview than self or this present world?\n\nOh these are searching questions, when rightly put! The tendency of\nthe human heart and affections is ever downward--ever toward earth and\nthe things of earth. The palace of Ahab holds out far more powerful\nattractions to our fallen nature than the lonely banks of Cherith or\nthe house of the starving widow of Zarephath. But ah, _let us think of\nthe end_! The end alone is the true criterion by which to judge in\nsuch matters. \"Until I went into _the sanctuary of God_; then\nunderstood I _their end_\" (Psa. lxxiii. 17).\n\nElijah knew, by being in the sanctuary, that Ahab stood in a slippery\nplace; that his house would speedily crumble in the dust; that all his\npomp and glory was about to end in the lonely tomb, and his immortal\nspirit to be summoned to render its final account. These things the\nholy man of God thoroughly understood, and he was therefore well\ncontent to stand apart from it all. His leathern girdle, his homely\nfare, his lonely path, were far better, he felt, than all the\npleasures of Ahab's court. Such was his judgment, and we shall see,\nere we close this paper, that his judgment was sound. \"The world\npasseth away, and the lust thereof, but he that doeth the will of God\nabideth forever.\" Would that all who love the name of Jesus were more\nuncompromising and energetic in their testimony for Him! The time is\nrapidly approaching when we would give worlds that we had been more\n_true and real_ in our ways here below. We are too lukewarm, too much\ninclined to make terms with the world and the flesh, too ready to\nexchange the leathern girdle for the robe in which Ahab and Jezebel\nare most willing to array us.\n\nMay the Lord give all His people grace to testify against this world\nthat the deeds thereof are evil, and to stand apart from its ways, its\nmaxims and principles; in a word, from everything which properly\nbelongs to it. \"The night is far spent, and the day is at hand.\" Let\nus then cast off the works of darkness and stand clothed in the armor\nof light; let us, as those that are risen with Christ, set our\naffection on things above, and not on things on the earth; having \"our\ncitizenship in heaven,\" let us, with unceasing eagerness, \"look for\nthe Saviour from thence, who shall change the body of our humiliation,\nthat it may be fashioned like unto the body of His glory, according to\nthe working whereby He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.\"\n\n\n\n\n                               _SECTION IV._\n\n                        THE PROPHET ON MOUNT CARMEL\n\n\nIn the opening verse of chapter xviii. a new order is issued to our\nprophet. \"And it came to pass, after many days, that the word of the\nLord came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go show thyself unto\nAhab, and I will send rain on the earth.\"\n\nHere Elijah is summoned away from his retirement at Zarephath, to make\nhis appearance in public and stand again before king Ahab. To one\noccupying the position, and exhibiting the spirit, of a true servant,\nit matters not what summons he receives. Whether it be \"Go _hide_\nthyself,\" or \"Go _show_ thyself,\" he is ready, through grace, to obey.\nThe Lord had been training His servant for three years and a half in\nsecret. At Cherith and Zarephath He had taught him many important\nlessons; and when the time was come for his showing unto Israel, he\nwas called to leave the desert and appear again as the public witness\nof Jehovah.\n\nNor did he hesitate. No, not for a moment, however much he might have\npreferred retirement to the stormy scenes and harassing vicissitudes\nof public life. Elijah was a _servant_, and that was enough. He was as\nready to confront the angry Ahab, and all the prophets of Baal, as he\nhad been to seclude himself for three years and a half. Truly we may\nwell covet the spirit of a servant--a humble, obedient servant. Such a\nspirit will carry us through many difficulties; will save us from much\ncontention; will send us along the path of service while others are\ndisputing about it. If only we be willing to obey, and to serve, we\nshall never lack opportunity, nor be at a loss as to the path we\nshould pursue.[17]\n\n  [17] In every age the servant character is marked by the Holy Ghost as\n  one of special value. It is, in fact, the only thing that will stand\n  in times of general declension. Of this we have numerous examples in\n  Scripture. When the house of Eli was about to fall before the divine\n  judgment, Samuel occupied the position of a servant whose ear was\n  opened to hear. His word was, \"Speak, Lord, for _Thy servant_\n  heareth.\" When all Israel had fled from the face of the Philistine\n  champion, the servant character again stood prominently forth. \"Thy\n  _servant_ will go and fight,\" etc. The Lord Jesus Himself had the\n  title of Servant applied to Him by Jehovah, in the words of the\n  prophet, \"Behold my _Servant_,\" etc. Furthermore, when the Church had\n  failed, and had become \"the great house,\" \"the _servant_ of the Lord\"\n  was told how he ought to carry himself. And lastly, it is mentioned as\n  one of the special features of the heavenly Jerusalem, that \"His\n  _servants_ shall _serve_ Him.\" The Lord grant us more of this spirit!\n\nWe have already had occasion to notice the prophet's unhesitating\nobedience to the word of the Lord. Such obedience will ever involve\nthe abandonment of self. To be told, for example, to leave one's sweet\nretreat in order to appear before an angry tyrant who, with his wicked\nqueen, led on to the contest a host of idolatrous prophets, called\nfor no small measure of self-renunciation. But Elijah, through grace,\nwas ready. He felt he was not his own. _He was a servant_, and as such\never stood with girded loins and open ears to attend his Master's\nsummons, whatever it might be. Blessed attitude! May there be many\nfound therein!\n\nElijah, therefore, goes to meet king Ahab, and we are called to follow\nhim now into one of the most important scenes of his life.\n\nBefore, however, he comes in contact with Ahab, he crosses the path of\nObadiah, and his meeting with him is perfectly characteristic. Obadiah\ncertainly does not meet the prophet with that affectionate cordiality\nwhich ought to appear in the bearing of one brother towards another,\nbut rather in the cold formality of one who had been moving much in\nthe world's society. \"Art thou that _my lord_ Elijah?\"\n\nNow, though all this might have been occasioned by the overawing\nsolemnity of Elijah's appearance and manner, still the thought forces\nitself upon one that there ought to have been more holy familiarity\nbetween two servants of the Lord. Elijah, too, seems to maintain this\ndistance. \"I am,\" said he; \"go tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here.\"\nElijah felt himself to be the depositary of the secret of the Lord, of\nwhich secret his brother knew nothing.\n\nAnd how could he? Ahab's house was not the place to obtain an entrance\ninto the divine counsels. Obadiah was out on a mission perfectly in\nkeeping with the place from whence he had come, and with the person\nwho had sent him; and so was Elijah. The former had as his immediate\nobject grass--if peradventure he might find it; and as his ultimate\nobject, the preservation of Ahab's horses and mules; the latter had as\nhis immediate object the announcement of Jehovah's indubitable purpose\nconcerning rain; and as his ultimate object, the bringing back of the\nnation to its early faith and devotedness.\n\nTrue they were both men of God; and, moreover, it may be said by some\nthat Obadiah was as much in his place as Elijah, seeing he was serving\nhis master. No doubt he was serving his master; but should Ahab have\nbeen his master? I believe not. I believe his service to Ahab was not\nthe result of communion with God. True it did not rob him of his name\nand character as one that feared the Lord greatly, for the Holy Ghost\nhas graciously recorded this concerning him; but truly it was a\nmiserable thing for one that feared the Lord greatly to own as his\nmaster the worst of Israel's apostate kings. Elijah would not have\ndone so. We cannot think of him as going forth on such a mission as\nthat which was commanding the energies of his more worldly brother.\nElijah would not own Ahab as his _master_, though he was bound to own\nhim as his _king_.\n\nThere is a great difference between being _a subject_ and one in a\nposition under a monarch. People argue thus: \"The powers that be are\nordained of God,\" therefore it is right to hold office under them.\nBut those who argue thus seem to lose sight of the manifest\ndistinction between being _subject to_ and _co-operating with_ the\npowers that be: the former is a sound and scriptural service--an act\nof positive obedience to God; the latter is an unsound and\nunscriptural assumption of worldly authority, for the wielding of\nwhich we have no direction, and which, moreover, will be found a sad\nobstruction in the path of the servant of God.\n\nWe would not enter into judgment upon those who feel they can enlist\ntheir energies in the government of this world; but this much we would\nsay--they will find themselves in an extremely awkward position in\nreference to the service of their heavenly Master. The principles of\nthis world are diametrically opposed to those of God, and it is\ntherefore hard to conceive how a man can be carrying out both at the\nsame time.\n\nObadiah is a remarkable example of this. Had he been more openly on\nthe Lord's side, he would have had no need to say, \"Was it not told my\nlord what I did?\" His hiding the prophets seems, in his estimation, to\nhave been such a remarkable thing that he wondered if all had not\nheard it. Elijah had no need to ask such a question; it was well known\n\"what he did.\" His acts of service to God were no phenomena in his\nhistory. And why? Because he was not trammeled by the arrangements of\nAhab's house. _He was free_, and could therefore act for God without\nreference to the thoughts of Ahab or Jezebel.\n\nIn acting thus, however, he had to lie under the charge of troubling\nIsrael. \"Art thou he that troubleth Israel?\" The more faithful one is\nto God and His truth, the more exposed he is to this charge. If all be\nallowed to sleep \"in dead supineness,\" the god of this world will be\nwell pleased, and his domain untroubled; but only let some faithful\none make his appearance, and he is sure to be regarded as a troubler,\nand an intruder upon peace and good order. But it is well to have that\npeace and order broken up which stand connected with the open denial\nof the Lord's truth and name. The hearts of the earthly-minded may\nonly be occupied with the question, \"Is it peace?\" utterly regardless\nas to whether that peace is procured at the expense of truth and\nholiness. Nature loves ease, and may often be found, even amongst\nChristians, pleading for peace and quietness, where faithfulness to\nChrist and His principles would call for plain dealing with unsound\ndoctrine or evil practice.\n\nThe tendency of the age is to hold all religious questions in\nabeyance. The things pertaining to the world and the flesh are of far\ntoo much importance, in the estimate of this generation, to have them\ninterfered with for a moment by questions of eternal importance.\nElijah, however, thought not so. He seems to have felt that the\npeaceful slumber of sin must be interrupted at all cost. He beheld the\nnation wrapped in the deep sleep of idolatry, and he thought it well\nto be the instrument of raising a storm around them.\n\nSo it was, and so it is. The storm of controversy is always preferable\nto the calm of sin and worldliness. Truly happy is it when there is no\nneed of raising such a storm; but when it is needed--when the enemy\nwould stretch forth over the people of God \"the leaden sceptre\" of\nunholy repose--it is a matter of thankfulness to find that there is\nlife enough even to break in upon such repose. Had there been no\nElijah in Israel in the days of Ahab and Jezebel, had all been like\nObadiah or the seven thousand, Baal and his prophets might have held\nundisputed sway over the minds of the people. But God raised up a man\nwho cared not about his own ease; no, nor about the nation's ease, if\nthat ease were to be purchased at the expense of God's honor and\nIsrael's early principles. He feared not, in the strength of the Lord,\nto face a terrific array of eight hundred and fifty prophets, whose\nliving depended upon the nation's delusion, headed, as they were, by a\nfurious woman who could turn her weak-minded lord whithersoever she\nwould.\n\nAll this, surely, called for no small amount of spiritual vigor and\nenergy. It needed deep and powerful convictions of the reality of\ndivine truth, and a very clear insight into Israel's low and degraded\ncondition, to enable a man to leave his quiet retreat at Zarephath and\nburst into the midst of Baal's votaries, thus to bring upon himself a\nfierce storm of opposition from every quarter. Elijah might, to speak\nafter the manner of men, have remained in quiet retirement, in\nundisturbed repose, had he been satisfied to let Baal alone, and to\nallow the strongholds of idolatry to remain untouched. But this he\ncould not do, and therefore he comes forth and meets the angry Ahab\nwith these solemn and heart-searching words, \"I have not troubled\nIsrael; but thou and thy father's house, in that ye have forsaken the\ncommandments of the Lord, and thou hast served Baalim.\"\n\nThis was tracing the evil up to its right source. It was departure\nfrom God and His holy commandments that had brought all this trouble\nupon them. Men are ever prone to forget the sin that has occasioned\ntrouble, and think only of the trouble; but true wisdom will ever lead\nus to look from the trouble to the procuring cause.\n\nThus, too, when unsound doctrine has insidiously crept in, and gained\npower over many minds,--if some faithful one should feel called to\nmake a firm and decided stand against it, he must count upon being\nregarded as a troubler, and as being the cause of all the commotion\nconsequent upon such acting; whereas the intelligent and reflecting\nmind will at once trace the matter, not to the faithful one who has\nmade a stand for truth against error, but to him who may have\nintroduced the error, and to those who have received and entertained\nit.\n\nTrue, the defender of truth will need to watch his spirit and temper,\nlest, while he attacks error in doctrine, he fall into evil in\npractice. Many who have set out in real sincerity of heart to\nvindicate some neglected or disputed truth have failed in this\nparticular, and have thus, in a great degree, nullified their valuable\ntestimony; for their sagacious enemy is always ready to act upon the\nnarrow-mindedness and unreasonableness of men by leading them to\nfasten upon the petty infirmities of temper, and lose sight of the\nimportant principle advocated.\n\nBut our prophet entered the arena well equipped; he had come from \"the\nsecret place of the Most High;\" he had been learning, in solitude,\nthose lessons of self-judgment and self-subjugation which could alone\nqualify him for the momentous scenes on which he was about to enter.\nElijah was no angry or stormy controversialist; he had been too much\nin the secret of the divine presence for that; he had been blessedly\nsolemnized in his spirit ere he was called to confront Baal's host of\nprophets. Hence he stands before them in all the calm elevation and\nholy dignity which ever marked his bearing. We see no haste about him,\nno perturbation, no hesitancy. He was before God, and therefore he was\nself-possessed and tranquil.\n\nNow it is in such circumstances that a man's spirit is really tested.\nNothing but the mighty power of God could have maintained Elijah in\nhis extraordinary position on Mount Carmel. \"He was a man of like\npassions with us;\" and being the only one of his day who possessed\nsufficient moral courage and spiritual power to make a public stand\nfor God against the power of idolatry, the enemy might readily suggest\nto his poor heart, \"What a great man you are to stand forth thus as\nthe solitary champion of Israel's ancient faith!\" But God held up His\ndear servant so far. He carried him through this very trying scene,\nbecause he was His witness, and His servant.\n\nAnd so it will ever be. The Lord will ever stand by those that stand\nby Him. Had Obadiah only made a stand against Ahab and Jezebel, the\nLord would have owned him and carried him through, so that instead of\nbeing the servant of Ahab, he might have been the yokefellow of Elijah\nin his great reformation. But this was not the case, and therefore,\nlike Lot of old, \"his righteous soul was vexed\" by the errors and\nevils of an idolatrous house.\n\nO dear Christian reader, let us aim at something beyond this! Let us\nnot be chained down to earth by deliberate connection with this\nworld's systems or plans. Heaven is our home; there, too, our hope is;\nwe are not of the world; Jesus has purchased us, and delivered us from\nit, in order that we might shine as lights and walk as heavenly men\nwhile passing onward to our heavenly rest.\n\nHowever, it was not merely in his deportment and manner that Elijah\nacquitted himself as a servant of God; he also showed himself to be\none taught of God in reference to those principles on which the needed\nreformation should be based. Personal deportment and manner would\navail but little if soundness in the faith were lacking. It would be\nan easy thing to put on a leathern girdle, and assume a solemn and\ndignified manner; but nothing save a spiritual apprehension of divine\nprinciples will enable any one to exert a reforming influence on the\nmen of his age. But Elijah possessed all those needed qualifications.\nBoth his appearance and his faith were such as, in an eminent degree,\nsuited a thorough reformer. Conscious, therefore, that he was in\npossession of a secret which would deliver the spirits of his brethren\nfrom the unhallowed thraldom of Baal, he says to Ahab, \"Now,\ntherefore, send and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the\nprophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the\ngroves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel's table.\"\n\nHe is determined to bring Baal and the God of Israel face to face, in\nthe view of the nation. He felt that matters should be brought to a\ntest. His brethren must no longer be left to \"halt between two\nopinions.\" What strength there is in the prophet's word as he stands\nbefore the assembled thousands of Israel! \"How long halt ye between\ntwo opinions? If the Lord be God, follow Him; but if Baal, then follow\nhim.\"\n\nThis was very simple. The prophets of Baal could not gainsay nor\nresist it. The prophet only asked for decision of character. There\ncould be nothing gained on either side by vacillating ways. \"I would\nye were either cold or hot.\" We know from the Lord's own words to\nElijah, in the next chapter, that there were seven thousand in Israel\nwho had not bowed the knee to Baal, and who, we may suppose, were\nonly waiting for some vigorous hand to plant the standard of truth in\norder that they might rally round it. No one amongst them would seem\nto have had power for such a bold step, but they would no doubt\nrejoice in Elijah's boldness and ability to do so. This has often been\nthe case in the history of the people of God. In times of greatest\ndarkness there have always been those whose spirits mourned in secret\nover the widespread evil and apostasy, who longed for the bursting in\nof spiritual light, and were ready with joy to welcome its earliest\nbeams. God has never left Himself without a witness; and although it\nis only here and there we can perceive a star of sufficient magnitude\nand brilliancy to pierce through the clouds of night and enlighten the\nbenighted Church in the wilderness, yet we know, blessed be God, that\nlet the clouds be ever so dark and gloomy, the stars have been there\nin every age, though their twinkling has been but little seen.\n\nThus it was in the days of Elias; there were seven thousand such stars\nwhose light was obscured by the thick clouds of idolatry--who would\nnot yield to the darkness themselves, though they lacked power to\nenlighten others; yet was there but one star of sufficient power and\nbrightness to dispel the mists and create a sphere in which others\nmight shine. This was Elijah the Tishbite, whom we now behold, in\nheavenly power and light, breaking into the very stronghold of Baal,\nupsetting Jezebel's table,[18] writing folly upon the whole system of\nBaal's worship, and in fact, by God's grace, effecting a mighty moral\nchange in the nation--bringing the many thousands of Israel down into\nthe dust in real self-abasement, and mingling the blood of Baal's\nprophets with the waters of Kishon.\n\n  [18] False religion has always sought the sunshine of this world's\n  favor, whereas true religion has always been more pure and genuine\n  when the world has frowned upon it. \"_The prophets of the groves eat\n  at Jezebel's table._\" If Jezebel had had no table, she would have had\n  no prophets either; it was _her table_, and not _her soul_, they\n  sought.\n\nHow gracious of the Lord to raise up such a deliverer for His deluded\npeople! And what a deathblow to the prophets of Baal! We may safely\nassert they never offered a more unwilling sacrifice to their idol\nthan that which our prophet suggested. It was the sure precursor of\nhis downfall, and of theirs also. What a sad aspect they present,\n\"crying and cutting themselves with knives and lancets till the blood\ngushed out,\" and crying out, with unavailing earnestness, \"O Baal,\nhear us!\" Alas, Baal could not hear nor answer them! The true prophet,\nconscious in his inmost soul of the sinful folly of the whole scene,\nmocks them: they cry more earnestly, and leap with frantic zeal upon\nthe altar; but all in vain. They were now to be unmasked in the view\nof the nation. Their craft was in imminent danger. Those hands which,\nthrough their influence, had so often been lifted up in the diabolical\nworship of a sinful absurdity, were speedily about to seize them and\ndrag them to their merited fate. Well, therefore, might they cry, \"O\nBaal, hear us!\"\n\nHow solemn, how immutably true, are those words of Jeremiah, \"Cursed\nis the man whose heart departeth from the Lord\"! It matters not on\nwhom, or on what, we place our confidence: whether it be a religious\nsystem or a religious ordinance, or anything else, it is a departure\nof the heart from God; a curse follows it, and when the final struggle\ncomes the Baal will be invoked in vain; \"there will be neither voice,\nnor any to answer, nor any to regard.\"\n\nHow awful is the thought of departure from the living God! How\ndreadful to find, at the end of our history, that we have been leaning\nupon a broken reed! O reader, if you have not found solid and abiding\npeace for your guilty conscience in the atoning blood of Jesus, if you\nhave a single emotion of fear in your heart at the thought of meeting\nGod, let me put the prophet's question to you, \"How long halt ye\nbetween two opinions?\" Why do you stand aloof when Jesus calls you to\ncome unto Him and take His yoke upon you? Believe me, the hour is\ncoming when, if you have not fled for refuge to Jesus, a greater than\nElijah will mock at your calamity. Harken to these solemn words:\n\"Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out My hand,\nand no man regarded; but ye have set at naught all My counsel, and\nwould none of My reproof; I also will laugh at your calamity; I will\nmock when your fear cometh; when your fear cometh as desolation, and\nyour destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish\ncometh upon you\" (Prov. i. 24-27).\n\nAwful words! inconceivably awful! How much more awful the reality!\nReader, flee to Jesus. Betake yourself to the open fountain, and there\nfind peace and refuge, ere the storm of divine wrath and judgment\nbursts upon your head. \"When once the master of the house has risen up\nand shut to the door,\" you are lost, and lost forever. Oh think of\nthis, I implore of you, and let not Satan drag your precious soul into\neverlasting perdition!\n\nWe now turn to another side of the picture. The prophets of Baal were\nsignally defeated. They had leaped, cut themselves, and cried to no\npurpose. Their whole system had been proved a gross fallacy; the\nsuperstructure of error had been trampled to the ground, and it only\nnow remained to rear the magnificent superstructure of truth in the\nview of those who had been so long enslaved by vanity and lies. \"And\nElijah said unto all the people, Come near unto me. And all the people\ncame near unto him. _And he repaired the altar of the Lord that was\nbroken down._ And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number\nof the tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of the Lord\ncame, saying, Israel shall be thy name: and with the stones he built\nan altar in the name of the Lord.\"\n\nIt is always well to wait patiently, and allow evil and error to find\ntheir own level. Time will surely bring the truth to light; and let\nerror array itself ever so carefully in the venerable robes of\nantiquity, yet will time strip it of these robes, and display it in\nall its naked deformity. Elijah felt this, and therefore he could\nstand quietly by and allow all the sands of Baal's glass to run out\nere he began to exhibit the pattern of a more excellent way. Now it\nneeds a very real apprehension of divine principles to enable one to\nadopt this patient course. Had our prophet been shallow-minded, or\nbadly taught, he would have been in much greater haste to display his\nsystem and raise a storm of opposition against his antagonists. But a\nspirit gifted with true elevation is never in haste, never perturbed;\nhe has found a centre round which to move, and in revolving round that\nhe finds himself carried out of the region of every other influence.\nSuch an one was Elijah, a really elevated, independent, holy man--one\nwho in every scene of his extraordinary career maintained a heavenly\ndignity which is earnestly to be sought after by all the Lord's\nservants. When he stood on mount Carmel, beholding the fruitless\nbodily exercise of Baal's prophets, he presented the appearance of one\nwho was fully conscious of his heavenly mission; and not only in his\nmanner, but also in his principles of acting, he acquitted himself as\na prophet of the Lord.\n\nWhat, then, were those principles on which Elijah acted? They were, in\na word, those on which the unity of the nation was based. The first\nthing he does is to \"repair the altar of the Lord that was broken\ndown.\" This was Israel's centre, and to this every true reformer\ndirected his attention. Those who seek to carry out a one-sided\nreformation may rest satisfied with merely throwing down that which is\nfalse, without proceeding further to establish a sound basis on which\nto erect a new superstructure: but such reformation will never stand;\nit will carry with it too much of the old leaven to admit of its being\na testimony. The altar of Baal must not only be thrown down, but the\naltar of the Lord must be set up.\n\nSome there are who would sacrifice to the Lord on the altar of Baal;\nin other words, they would retain an evil system, and rest satisfied\nwith giving it a right name. But no; the only centre of unity which\nGod can recognize is the name of Jesus--simply and exclusively that.\nThe people of God must not be looked at as members of a system, but as\nmembers of Christ. God sees them as such, and it should be their\nbusiness to reckon themselves to be what God tells them they are, and\nmanifestly to take that blessed place.\n\nAnd we may further remark that Elijah in his actings on mount Carmel\ndoes not stop short of the recognition of Israel's unbroken unity. He\ntakes _twelve stones_, according to _the number of the sons of Jacob_,\nunto whom the word of the Lord came, saying, \"_Israel shall be thy\nname._\" This was taking high ground--yea, the very highest. Solomon\ncould have taken no higher. To recognize the twelve tribes of Israel\nat a time when they were divided, and weakened, and degraded,\nevidenced true communion with the mind of God in reference to His\npeople. Yet this is what the Spirit will ever suggest. \"Our twelve\ntribes\" must never be given up. True they may, through their own\nweakness and folly, become scattered and divided; yet the God of\nIsrael can only think of them in that unbroken unity which they once\nexhibited, and which, moreover, they will exhibit again when, having\nbeen united by the true David, they shall in holy fellowship tread the\ncourts of the Lord forever.\n\nNow the prophet Elijah, through the Spirit, saw all this. With the eye\nof faith, he penetrated the long, dreary time of Israel's humiliating\nbondage, and beheld them in their visible unity, no longer Judah and\nIsrael, but _Israel_, for the word is, \"_Israel shall be thy name_.\"\nHis mind was occupied, not with what Israel was, but with what God had\nsaid. This was faith. Unbelief might say, \"You are taking too high a\nstand; it is presumption to talk about twelve tribes when there are\nbut ten; it is folly to speak of unbroken unity when there is nothing\nbut division.\" Such will ever be the language of unbelief, which can\nnever grasp the thoughts of God, nor see things as He sees them. But\nit is the happy privilege of the man of faith to rest his spirit on\nthe immutable testimony of God, which is not to be nullified by man's\nsinful folly. \"_Israel shall be thy name_.\" Precious promise! Most\nprecious! Most permanent! Nothing could for a moment interfere with\nit--neither Rehoboam's childishness nor Jeroboam's cunning policy; no,\nnor yet Ahab's vileness could hinder Elijah from taking the loftiest\nposition that an Israelite could take, even the position of a\nworshiper at an altar built of twelve stones, according to the names\nof the twelve tribes of Israel.\n\nNow in Elijah the Tishbite we have an example of the power of faith in\nthe promise of God at a time when everything around him seemed to\nstand opposed. It enabled him to rise above all the evil and sorrow\naround him, and to build an altar of twelve stones with as much holy\nconfidence and unclouded assurance as did Joshua when, amid the\ntriumphant hosts of Israel, he erected his trophy on the banks of\nJordan.\n\nBut I must bring this section to a close, having already extended it\nfurther than I had intended. We have seen the principle upon which our\nprophet desired to carry out the reformation. It was a sound one, and\nGod honored it. The fire from heaven at once confounded the prophets\nof Baal, confirmed the prophet's faith, and delivered the people from\ntheir sad condition of halting between two opinions. Elijah's faith\nhad given God room to act; he had made a trench and filled it with\nwater; in other words, he had made the difficulty as great as possible\nin order that the divine triumph might be complete: and truly it was\nso. God will always respond to the appeal of simple faith. \"Hear me,\"\nsaid the prophet, \"O Lord, hear me; that this people may know that\nThou art the Lord God, and that Thou hast turned their heart back\nagain.\"\n\nThis is intelligent prayer. The prophet is engaged solely about God\nand His people. He does not say, \"Hear me, that this people may know\nthat I am a true prophet.\" No; his only object was to bring the people\nback to the God of their fathers, and to have the claims of God\nestablished in their consciences, in opposition to the claims of Baal.\nAnd God harkened and heard; for no sooner had he concluded his prayer\nthan \"the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and\nthe wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that\nwas in the trench. And when all the people saw it they fell on their\nfaces: and they said, 'The Lord, He is the God; the Lord, He is the\nGod.'\"\n\nTruth triumphs! The prophets are confounded! The prophet, in holy\nindignation, mingles their blood with the waters of the Kishon, and\nthus, evil being judged, there remains no further hindrance to the\ncommunication of the divine blessing, which Elijah announces to Ahab\nin these words, \"Get thee up, eat and drink, for there is a sound of\nabundance of rain.\" How do these words convey to us Ahab's true\ncharacter! \"_Eat and drink._\" This was all he knew, or cared to know.\nHe had come forth to look for grass, and nothing more; and the prophet\nconveyed to him that intelligence which he knew he desired. He could\nnot ask him to come and join him in thanksgiving to God for this\nglorious triumph over evil, for he knew well he would meet with no\nresponse. And yet they were both Israelites: but one was in communion\nwith God, and the other was the slave of sin; hence, while Ahab found\nhis enjoyment in getting up to \"eat and drink,\" Elijah sought his in\nretirement with God. Blessed, holy, heavenly enjoyment!\n\nBut mark the difference between Elijah's bearing in the presence of\nman and in the presence of God. He had met Obadiah, a saint in wrong\ncircumstances, with an air of dignity and elevation; he had met Ahab\nin righteous sternness; he had stood amid the thousands of his deluded\nand erring brethren with the firmness and grace of a true reformer;\nand lastly, he had met the wicked prophets of Baal with mocking, and\nthen with the sword of vengeance. Thus had he carried himself in the\npresence of man. But how did he meet God? \"He cast himself down upon\nthe earth, and put his face between his knees.\" Thus he carried\nhimself before God. All this is lovely. Our prophet knew his place\nboth before God and man. In the presence of man he acted in the wisdom\nof the Spirit, as the case demanded; in the presence of God he\nprostrated himself in unfeigned and reverent humility. Thus may all\nthe Lord's servants know how to walk in all their complicated\nrelations here below.\n\nWe must now accompany our prophet to widely different scenes.\n\n\n\n\n                              _SECTION V._\n\n                       THE PROPHET ON MOUNT HOREB\n\n\nThere are few who have taken a prominent place in the history of the\nChurch of God whose course has not been marked, in a special manner,\nby vicissitude: of such, as of \"those that go down to the sea in\nships, that do business in great waters,\" it may be said, \"They mount\nup to the heaven, they go down again to the depths; their soul is\nmelted because of trouble.\" They are sometimes seen on the mount,\nsometimes in the valley; at one time basking in the sunshine, at\nanother beaten by the storm.\n\nNor is this the case merely with prominent characters; almost every\nChristian, be his path ever so retired and noiseless, knows something\nof this vicissitude. Indeed, it would seem as if no one could run the\nrace which is marked out for the man of faith without finding\ninequalities in his way. The path through the desert must be rough,\nand it is well that is so; for there is no right-minded person who\nwould not rather be set in a rough than in a \"slippery\" way. The Lord\nsees our need of being exercised by roughness and hardness, not only\nthat we may find the rest at the end sweeter, but also that we may be\nthe more effectually trained and fitted for the place we are yet to\noccupy.\n\nTrue we shall have no need for trials in the Kingdom, but we shall\nhave need of those graces and habits of soul which were formed amid\nthe trials and sorrows of the wilderness. We shall yet be constrained\nto acknowledge that our path here below was not a whit too rough, but\nthat on the contrary we could not have done without a single exercise\nof all those that had fallen to our lot. We now see things\nindistinctly, and are often unable to see the needs-be for many of our\ntrials and sorrows: moreover our impatient nature may often feel\ndisposed to murmur and rebel; but only let us be patient and we shall\nbe able without hesitation, and with the full assent of every thought\nand feeling, to say, \"He led us forth by _a right way_, that He might\nbring us to _a city of habitation_.\"\n\nThe above train of thought is suggested by the circumstances of our\nprophet in chapter xix. He seems to have had little anticipation of\nthe terrific storm which was about to burst upon him: he had come from\nthe top of mount Carmel, and in the energy of the Spirit outstripped\nAhab in his chariot to the entrance of Jezreel; but there he was\ndestined to receive a check, and that, too, from one who had hitherto\nkept herself in the background. This was the wicked Jezebel. I say,\nshe had kept herself in the background; but she had not been idle\nthere. She had no doubt influenced her weak-minded lord, and used his\npower for her wicked ends. She had opened her house and spread a table\nfor the prophets of Baal. These things she had done in furtherance of\nher master's interests.\n\nJezebel is not to be looked at merely as an individual: she stands\nbefore the spiritual mind as the representative of a class--yea, more,\nas the impersonation of a principle which has from age to age been\nworking in hostility to the truth of God, and which appears in its\nfull maturity in the person of the great whore spoken of in the\nApocalypse. The spirit of Jezebel is a persecuting spirit--a spirit\nthat will carry its own point in opposition to everything--an active,\nenergetic, persevering spirit, in which satanic vigor appears very\nmanifestly.\n\nVery different is the Ahab spirit. In Ahab we see one who, provided he\ncould attain the gratification of his carnal and worldly desires,\ncared but little about religion. He troubled himself but little to\ndecide between the claims of Jehovah and those of Baal. To him they\nwere all alike. Now it was such an one that Jezebel could wield\naccording to her mind. She took care to have his desires gratified\nwhile she actively and sagaciously used his power in opposition to the\ntruth of God. The Ahabs are always found to be fit instruments for the\nJezebels; hence, in the Apocalypse, where all those principles which\nhave been, are now, or are yet to be, at work, are seen in their full\nmaturity, we find the woman riding the beast: that is, corrupt\nreligion wielding the secular power, or the full-grown Jezebel-spirit\nmaking use of the full-grown Ahab-spirit.\n\nAll this has a solemn voice for the present generation; and those that\nhave ears to hear, let them hear. Men are becoming increasingly\nheedless as to the interests and destinies of the truth of God in the\nearth. Christ and Belial are all alike, provided the wheels of the\nvast machine of utilitarianism be not clogged in their movement. You\nmay hold what principles you please provided you hold them in the\nbackground; and thus men of the most conflicting principles can unite\nand hold those principles in abeyance while with ardor and energy they\npursue the phantom of worldliness.\n\nSuch is the spirit and tendency of the age, and all that is needed is\nthat a Jezebel spirit should arise and lead men on along the path upon\nwhich they have manifestly entered--a path which will most assuredly\nend in the blackness of darkness forever. Solemn, most solemn thought!\nAgain I say, \"He that hath ears to ear, let him hear.\"\n\nBut we have said it was from Jezebel that the prophet Elijah received\nthe check which seems so to have overwhelmed his spirit. \"And Ahab\ntold Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all\nthe prophets with the sword.\" Observe, \"Ahab told Jezebel;\" he had\nneither sufficient interest in the matter to lead him to take an\nactive part himself, nor, even if he had the interest, did he possess\nsufficient energy. To him, perhaps, the abundance of rain seemed to\nstand connected with the death of the prophets, and therefore he could\nquietly stand by and see them put to death. What was Baal to him, or\nJehovah either? Nothing. Let Ahab and all of that school get enough to\n\"eat and drink,\" and all questions of truth and religion will be but\nlightly regarded. Gross and unmeaning abomination! Miserable,\ninfatuated sensualism! Ye children of this world, whose sentiments are\nexpressed in the words \"let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die,\"\nthink of Ahab; remember his terrible end--the end of his eating and\ndrinking. What was it? \"The dogs licked his blood.\" And as to his\nsoul--ah, eternity will unfold its destinies!\n\nBut in Jezebel we see one who lacked neither interest nor energy. To\nher the controversy was one of the deepest moment, and she was\ndetermined to act with decision. \"Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto\nElijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not\nthy life as the life of one of them by to-morrow about this time.\"\n\nHere then the prophet was called to endure the storm of persecution.\nHe had been on mount Carmel, where he had stood against all the\nprophets of Baal; his course had hitherto been a triumphant one, the\nresult of communion with God; but now his sun seemed, in his view, to\nbe about to go down, and his horizon to become dark and gloomy. \"And\nwhen he saw that, he arose _and went for his life_, and came to\nBeersheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there. But\nhe himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat\ndown under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might\ndie; and said, It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life; for I am\nnot better than my fathers.\"\n\nElijah's spirit sinks altogether; he looks at everything through the\ndark cloud in which he was enveloped; all his labor seems, in his\nview, to have been for nought and in vain, and he has only to lie down\nand die. His spirit, harassed by what he deemed fruitless efforts to\nbring the nation back to its faith, longed to enter into rest.\n\nNow, in all this we perceive the workings of impatience and unbelief.\nElijah said nothing about longing to depart when he stood on mount\nCarmel. No; there all was triumph; there he seemed to be achieving\nsomething--he seemed to be of some use, and therefore he thought not\nof his departure. But the Lord would show His servant not only what he\n\"must do,\" but also what he \"must suffer.\" The former we like well\nenough, the latter we are not so well prepared for. And yet the Lord\nis as much glorified in a patient sufferer as in an active servant.\nThe graces that are developed by one who is enabled to endure\nprotracted suffering are as fragrant in their perfume as all the\nfruits of active service. This our prophet should have borne in mind.\nBut ah, the heart can well understand and sympathize with him in his\ngloom and despondency.\n\nThere are few of the Lord's servants who have not, at some time or\nother, eagerly desired to put off their harness and cease from the\ntoils of conflict, particularly at times when all their labor and\ntestimony would seem to be in vain, and when they are disposed to look\nupon themselves as mere cumberers of the ground. Yet we must wait\nGod's time, and until then seek to pursue our way in patient,\nuncomplaining service. There is a vast difference between longing to\nget away from trial and sorrow, and longing to be at home in our\nFather's house. No doubt the thought of rest is sweet, ineffably\nsweet, to the laboring man. It is sweet to think of the time when our\nown gracious God shall wipe away all tears from our eyes, sweet to\nthink of those green pastures and living fountains to which the Lamb\nwill lead His flock throughout the coming ages of glory. In a word,\nthe whole prospect presented to the view of faith is sweet and\ncheering; yet we have no right to say, \"O Lord, take away my life.\"\nNothing but an impatient spirit could ever dictate such language.\n\nHow different is the spirit breathed in the following words of the\napostle Paul! \"For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to\ndepart, and to be with Christ, which is _far better_. Nevertheless, to\nabide in the flesh is _more needful for you_. And having this\nconfidence, I know that _I shall abide and continue with you all, for\nyour furtherance and joy of faith_\" (Phil. i. 23-25).\n\nThese words exhibit a truly Christian spirit. The servant of the\nChurch should seek the Church's good, and not his own advantage. If\nPaul had considered himself, he would not have tarried a moment on\nearth; but when he considered the Church, he desired to abide and\ncontinue for the purpose of furthering its joy and faith. This should\nhave been Elijah's desire too: he should have desired to remain for\nthe benefit of the nation. But here he failed. He had fled into the\nwilderness under the influence of unbelief, and for the purpose of\nsaving his life, and then desired that his life might be taken away\nsimply to escape from the trials which his position involved.\n\nIn all this we may learn a most profitable lesson. Unbelief is sure to\ndrive us from the place of testimony and service. So long as Elijah\nwalked by faith, so long he occupied the place of a servant and a\nwitness; but the moment his faith gave way, he abandoned both and fled\ninto the wilderness. Unbelief ever unfits us for the place of service,\nand renders us useless. We never can act for God save in the energy of\nfaith. We should remember this at a time like the present, when so\nmany are giving up and turning aside. I suppose we may lay it down as\na fixed principle of truth, that whenever a man abandons any\ndistinctive position of testimony, it is from positive unbelief in the\ntruth which led him into it.\n\nThus, for example, at the present day we see many who at one time took\nup a very distinct and prominent position from having learnt (as they\nstated) that great truth, the presence of the Holy Ghost in the\nChurch. Now, when this truth is really learnt, and held in power, it\ndelivers from man's authority in matters of faith, and leads\nChristians out of those systems where such authority is acknowledged\nand defended. If the Holy Ghost rules in the Church, then man has no\nright to interfere, no right to decree and institute ceremonies; for\nin doing so he is most presumptuously interfering with the divine\nprerogative. If therefore a man sincerely believe this important\ntruth, his belief will certainly influence his conduct so far that he\nwill feel himself called upon to bear testimony against every system\nin which this truth is practically denied, by separating from it.\n\nIt is not a question of what or whom he will attach himself to. No;\nthis is another, and an after, consideration. A man's first business\nis to \"cease to do evil,\" and after that to \"learn to do well.\"\n\nHowever, many who once professed to see this truth, and to act upon\nit, have since lost confidence in it, and as a consequence have\nretired from their distinct position, and gone back to those systems\nfrom which they had emerged. Like Elijah, they had not realized all\ntheir expectations; the results which they looked for have not\nappeared, therefore they have fled from the scene, and doubtless many\nhave felt disposed to say, \"_It is enough_.\" Yes, many a heart which\nonce cherished high and fond expectations respecting the Church is now\nbowed down with sorrow and disappointment. Those who professed to see\nand act upon the truth of the presence of the Holy Ghost in the\nChurch, and other collateral truths, have, to say the least, failed\nto carry them into practice, and not only failed, but in many\ninstances have made a most humiliating exhibition of themselves; and\nthe enemy has not been backward in making his own use of all this. He\nhas used it especially to discourage the hearts of those who, no\ndoubt, desired to stand in testimony for Christ, but who, seeing the\nfailure of everything like corporate testimony on the earth, have\ngiven up in despair. However, let Christians observe this: it was\nunbelief that made Elijah fly into the wilderness, and it is unbelief\nwhich causes any one to give up that position of testimony into which\nthe truth of the Holy Ghost's presence in the Church would necessarily\nlead him.\n\nThose who thus retreat prove that it was not with God and His eternal\ntruth, but with man and his circumstances, that they had to do. If\nGod's truth be the basis of our acting, we shall not be affected by\nman's mutability and failure. Man may, and assuredly will, fail in his\nvery best and purest efforts to carry out the truth of God; but shall\nman's failure make the truth of God of none effect? \"God forbid; yea,\nlet God be true and every man a liar.\" If those who profess to hold\nthe blessed doctrine of the unity of the Church should split into\nparties; if those who hold the doctrine of the Spirit's presence in\nthe Church for the purpose of rule and ministry should nevertheless\npractically lean upon man's authority; if those who profess to be\nlooking for the personal appearance and reign of the Son of man\nshould be found grasping with eagerness after the things of this\npresent world, shall these things nullify those heavenly principles?\nCertainly not. Thank God, truth will be truth to the end. God will be\nGod, though man should prove himself a thousandfold more imperfect\nthan he is. Wherefore, instead of giving up in despair because men\nhave failed to make a right use of God's truth, we should rather hold\nfast that truth as the only stay of our souls amid universal ruin and\nshipwreck. Had Elijah held fast the truth which filled his soul when\nhe stood on mount Carmel, he would never have been found beneath the\njuniper tree, nor would he have given utterance to such words as \"Take\naway my life, for I am not better than my fathers.\"\n\nYet the Lord can graciously meet his poor servant even asleep under a\njuniper tree. \"He knoweth our frame, He remembers that we are dust,\"\nand therefore, instead of granting the petulant request of His\nharrassed and disappointed servant, He rather seeks to feed and\nstrengthen him for further exertion. This is not \"the manner of man,\"\nbut it is, blessed forever be His name, the manner of God, whose ways\nand thoughts are not as ours. Man would often deal roughly and harshly\nwith his fellow, making no allowance for him, but acting towards him\nin haste and severity. Not so God. He ever deals in the deepest pity\nand tenderness. He understood Elijah, and He remembered the stand he\nhad recently made for His name and truth, and therefore He would\nminister to him in the season of his depression. \"And as he lay and\nslept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and\nsaid unto him, Arise and eat. And he looked, and behold, there was a\ncake baken on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. And he did\neat and drink, and laid him down again. And the angel of the Lord came\nagain the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat;\nbecause the journey is too great for thee. And he arose, and did eat\nand drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty\nnights unto Horeb the mount of God\" (chap. xix. 5, 8).\n\nThe Lord knows better than we do the demands that may be made on us,\nand He graciously strengthens us according to His estimate of those\ndemands. The prophet wished to sleep for sorrow, but the Lord wished\nto strengthen and nerve him for future service. Like the disciples in\nthe garden, who, overwhelmed with deep sorrow at the apparent failure\nof all their fondly cherished hopes, allowed themselves to sink into\nprofound slumber while their blessed Master would have had them\ngirding up their loins and nerving their arms for the trying scenes on\nwhich they were about to enter.\n\nBut Elijah did eat and drink; and being thus strengthened, he\nproceeded to mount Horeb. Here again we have to trace the sorrowful\nactings of an impatient spirit. Elijah seems determined to retire from\nhis place of service and testimony altogether. If he cannot sleep\nunder the juniper tree, he will hide himself in a cave. \"He came\nthither unto a cave, and lodged there.\" When once a man allows himself\nto slip aside from the position in which faith would keep him, there\nis no accounting for the extremes into which he may run. Nothing but\nabiding faith in the word of God can maintain any one in the path of\nservice, because _faith makes a man satisfied to wait for the end_,\nwhereas unbelief, looking only at surrounding circumstances, sinks\ninto complete despondency.\n\nThe Christian must make up his mind to meet with nothing but trial and\ndisappointment here. We may often dream of rest and satisfaction in\nsome condition or other here; but it is only a dream. Elijah had no\ndoubt hoped to see a mighty moral change brought about by his\ninstrumentality; and instead of that, his life was threatened. But he\nought to have been prepared for this. The man who had fearlessly faced\nAhab and all the prophets of Baal ought surely to have been able to\nbear a message from a woman. Yet no; his faith had given way. When a\nman's faith gives way, his own shadow will deter him. In contemplating\nthe prophet's position on Mount Horeb, one is disposed to ask, Can it\nbe the same man whom we saw so recently standing on Mount Carmel, at\nan altar of twelve stones, and there so blessedly vindicating the God\nof Israel in the presence of his brethren? Alas! what a powerless\ncreature man is when not sustained by simple faith in the testimony of\nGod! David could, at one time, meet Goliath in the power of faith,\nand afterwards say, \"I shall one day perish by the hand of Saul.\"\nFaith gets above circumstances and looks at God; unbelief loses sight\nof God, and looks only at circumstances. Unbelief says, \"We were in\nour own sight as grasshoppers, and so were we in their sight;\" faith\nsays, \"We are well able to overcome them.\"\n\nHowever, the Lord does not leave His servant in the cave; He still\nfollows him, and seeks to bring him again and again back to that post\nwhich he had abandoned in his impatience and unbelief. \"And behold,\nthe word of the Lord came to him, and He said unto him, What doest\nthou here, Elijah?\" What a reproof! Why did Elijah thus bury himself\nin a cave? Why had he retreated from the honorable post of testimony?\nBecause of Jezebel's message, and because his ministry had not been as\nfully owned as he expected. He thought to have reaped a more cheering\nharvest from all his labor than a threatening message and apparent\ndesertion, and therefore he had sought the retirement of a mountain\ncave, as a place suited to indulge his feelings.\n\nNow, it must be admitted that there was much--very much to wound the\nprophet's spirit; he had come from his quiet retreat at Zarephath to\nface the whole nation, headed by Jezebel and a host of wicked priests\nand prophets. He had confounded the latter, through God's grace; God\nhad sent down fire from heaven in answer to his prayer; all Israel had\nseemed to acknowledge the truth as proclaimed by him. All these\nthings must have raised his expectations to no ordinary height; yet,\nafter all, his life is threatened, he sees no one to stand by him, he\nis enveloped in a thick cloud, he abandons the field of conflict, and\nhides himself in a cave.\n\nIt is much easier to censure another than to act aright, and we must\nbe exceedingly slow in pronouncing judgment upon the actions of so\nhonored a servant as Elijah the Tishbite. But though we should not\ndeal much in censure, we may, at least, draw instruction and warning\nfrom this section of our prophet's history. We may learn a lesson of\nwhich we stand very much in need. \"What doest thou here?\" is a\nquestion which might justly be put to many of us from time to time,\nwhen, in impatience or unbelief, we leave our proper place of service\namongst our brethren, to sleep under a juniper tree, or hide ourselves\nin a cave.\n\nAre there not many at this moment who, aforetime, were powerful\nadvocates of the principles connected with the unity and worship of\nthe people of God, to be found either asleep or hidden in caves? that\nis, they are doing nothing for the furtherance of those truths which\nthey once advocated. This is a truly sorrowful reflection. To such the\nquestion, \"What doest thou here?\" should come with special force. Yes,\nwhat are such doing? or rather, what are they not doing in the way of\npositive mischief to the sheep of Christ? A man who thus retires is\nnot merely harmless, he is noxious; he is really injuring his\nbrethren. It would be far better never to have appeared as the\nadvocates of important truth, than having done so to retire; to call\nspecial attention to some leading principles of divine truth, and then\nto abandon them, is most culpable. \"If any man be ignorant, let him be\nignorant.\" We can pity ignorance, or endeavor to instruct it; but the\nman, who, having professed to see truth, afterwards abandons it, can\nneither be looked upon as an object of pity, nor a subject for\ninstruction.\n\nBut it is not merely unbelief and disappointment in reference to\ncertain truths that drive men into unhappy isolation; apparent failure\nin ministry has the same effect. The latter was, perhaps, what more\nespecially affected Elijah. The triumph on Mount Carmel had,\ndoubtless, led to much elation of spirit in reference to the results\nof his ministry, and he was not prepared for the sad reverse.\n\nNow, the sovereign remedy for both these maladies, that is, for\nunbelief in important truth and disappointment as regards our\nministry, is to keep the eye simply and steadily fixed on Jesus. If,\nfor example, we see men professing those two grand and all-important\ntruths--the unity of the Church, and the abiding presence of the Holy\nGhost in the Church--professing, I say, to see these things, and yet\nfailing most sadly in carrying them out, shall we turn aside, and say\nthere is no unity, and no abiding presence of the Holy Ghost? God\nforbid. This would be to make God's truth dependent upon man's\nfaithfulness, which cannot be endured for a moment by the spiritual\nmind. No, let us rather look into the precious word of God, and see\nthe Church as the body of Christ, each member thereof written in God's\nbook from everlasting to everlasting.\n\nAnd, in like manner, when we see Jesus at God's right hand in the\nheavens, we see the unfailing ground of the Spirit's presence in the\nChurch. Thank God for the blessed stability of all this. \"The gifts\nand calling of God are without repentance.\"\n\nFinally, if any be tried in the matter of their ministry, if the enemy\nwould endeavor to make them give up in chagrin or disappointment, let\nthem try to keep their eyes more simply on Jesus, remembering that,\nhowever depressing the aspect of things here may be, the time is\nspeedily approaching when all who have served the Lord simply, from\nlove to Him, shall reap a full reward. We must take care, however,\nthat we allow not our ministry, or the fruits thereof, to get between\nour souls and Christ. There is great danger of this. A man may set out\nin unaffected devotedness to his Master, and yet, through the craft of\nthe enemy, and the weakness of his own heart, he may, ere long, give\nhis work a more prominent place in his thoughts than Christ Himself.\nHad Elijah kept the God of Israel more before him, he would not have\ngiven up in despair.\n\nBut we learn the real state of the prophet's soul from his reply to\nthe divine challenge; \"I have been very jealous,\" said he, \"for the\nLord God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Thy\ncovenant, thrown down Thine altars, and slain Thy prophets with the\nsword: and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life to take it\naway.\" How different is this language from that which dropped from his\nlips on Mount Carmel! There he vindicated God,--here he vindicates\nhimself; there he endeavored to convert his brethren by presenting\nbefore them the truth of God,--here he accuses his brethren, and\nrecounts their sins before God.[19]\n\n  [19] It is instructive to observe the order in which Elijah recounts\n  the sins of Israel: 1st--\"they have forsaken Thy covenant;\" 2nd--\"they\n  have thrown down Thine altars;\" 3rd--\"they have slain Thy prophets\n  with the sword.\" The ground of all this evil was their having forsaken\n  the covenant of God, the natural consequence of which was the throwing\n  down of God's altars, and the abandonment of His worship, which latter\n  was followed out by killing the prophets. We can understand this\n  order.\n\n\"I have been very jealous;\" but \"they have forsaken,\" etc. This was\nthe strain in which the disappointed prophet spoke from his cave on\nMount Horeb. He seems to have looked upon himself as the only one that\nhad done, or was doing, anything for God. \"I only am left, and they\nseek my life to take it away.\" Now all this was the natural\nconsequence of his position. The moment a man retires from his place\nof testimony and service among his brethren, he must begin to extol\nhimself, and accuse them; yea, his very act expresses at once the\nassumption of his faithfulness, and their failure. But to all who\nthus separate from, and accuse their brethren, the searching question\nis, \"What doest thou here?\" \"He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.\"\n\nOur prophet, however, is called forth from his isolated place. \"Go\nforth,\" said Jehovah, \"and stand upon the Mount before the Lord. And,\nbehold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the\nmountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord\nwas not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord\nwas not in the earthquake: and after the earthquake a fire; but the\nLord was not in the fire: and after the fire _a still small voice_.\"\n\nThe Lord, by these solemn and varied exhibitions of Himself and His\nwondrous actings, would teach His servant most impressively that He\nwas not to be confined to one agent in carrying out His designs. The\nwind was an agent, and a powerful one, yet it did not accomplish the\nend; and the same might be said of the earthquake and the fire. They,\nby their very terribleness, served but to pave the way for the last,\nand apparently the weakest agent, namely, the still small voice.\n\nThus the prophet was taught that he must be satisfied to be an agent,\nand one of many. He might have thought that all the work was to have\nbeen done by him. Coming, as he did, with all the terrible vehemence\nof the mighty wind, he supposed he should have carried off every\nobstacle, and brought the nation back to its place of happy\nallegiance to God. But ah! how little does even the most elevated\ninstrument apprehend his own insignificance! The most devoted, the\nmost gifted and the most elevated are but stones in the\nsuperstructure, screws in the vast machine; and whoever supposes he is\n_the_ instrument, will find himself much mistaken. \"Paul may plant,\nand Apollos water, but God giveth the increase.\" And so Elijah had to\nlearn that the Lord was not confined to him. He had other shafts in\nHis quiver, which He would discharge in due time. The wind, the\nearthquake, and the fire must all do their work, and then the still\nsmall voice could be heard distinctly and effectually. It is the sole\nprovince of God to make Himself heard, even though He speak in \"a\nstill small voice.\" Elijah remained in the cave until this voice\nreached his ear, and then \"he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went\nout, and stood in the entering in of the cave.\"\n\nIt is only \"before the Lord\" that we get into our right position. We\nmay conceive high thoughts of ourselves and our ministry, until we are\nbrought into the divine presence, and then we learn to wrap our face\nin a mantle; in other words, we learn, in reality, to hide ourselves.\nWhen Moses found himself in the divine presence \"he trembled, and\ndurst not behold.\" When Job found himself there, \"he abhorred himself,\nand repented in dust and ashes;\" and so has it been with every one who\nhas ever gotten a view of himself in the light of God's presence; he\nhas learned his own thorough nothingness, he has been led to see that\nGod could do without him. The Lord is ever ready to acknowledge the\nsmallest act of service done to Him, but the moment a man makes a\ncentre of his service, the Lord will teach him that He wants him no\nlonger. Thus it was with Elijah. He had retired from the field of\nlabor and conflict, and earnestly desired to be gone: he thought\nhimself a solitary witness, a forsaken and disappointed servant, and\nJehovah makes him stand forth before Him, and there, as it were, give\nup his commission, and hear the names of his successors in the field\nof labor. \"The Lord said unto him, Go, return, on thy way to the\nwilderness of Damascus; and when thou comest, anoint Hazael to be king\nover Syria: and Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king\nover Israel: and Elisha the son of Shaphat, of Abel-meholah, shalt\nthou anoint to be prophet in thy room. And it shall come to pass, that\nhim that escapeth the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay; and him that\nescapeth the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay. Yet I have left Me seven\nthousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and\nevery mouth which hath not kissed him.\"\n\nThis statement must have thrown much light on the prophet's mind.\nSeven thousand! although he had thought himself left alone. Jehovah\nwill never be at a loss for instruments. If the wind will not do, He\nhas the earthquake; and if the earthquake will not do, He has the\nfire; and last of all, He has \"the still small voice.\" And so Elijah\nwas taught that Israel had to be acted upon by other ministry besides\nhis: Hazael, Jehu, and Elisha had yet to appear on the scene, and as\nthe still small voice had proved effectual in drawing him forth from\nhis mountain cave, so would the gracious ministry of Elisha prove\neffectual in drawing forth from their lurking-places the thousands of\nfaithful ones whom he had altogether overlooked. Elijah was not to do\nall. He was but one agent. \"The eye cannot say to the hand I have no\nneed of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.\"\n\nSuch, I believe, was the important lesson taught to our prophet by the\nimpressive scenes on Mount Horeb. He had gone up thither full of\nthoughts of himself alone; he stood there filled with the idea that he\nwas _the_ witness, the _only_ witness; he went down from thence with\nthe humbling yet wholesome consciousness that _he was but one of seven\nthousand_. A very different view of the case indeed. None can teach\nlike God. When He desires to teach a lesson He can teach it\neffectually, blessed be His name. He had so taught Elijah his own\ninsignificance that he was satisfied to retrace his steps, to come\nforth from his cave and down from the Mount, to lay aside all his\ncomplaints and accusations, and humbly, silently, obediently, and\nwillingly cast his prophetic mantle over the shoulders of another.\n\nAll this is most instructive. The silence of Elijah, after he hears of\nthe seven thousand, is most remarkable. He had learnt a lesson which\nmount Carmel could not teach him--a lesson which neither Zarephath\nnor Cherith had taught him. In these places he had learnt much about\nGod and His truth, but on Horeb he had learnt his own littleness, and\nas the result of that learning he comes down from the mount and gives\nup his office to another; and not merely this, but in so doing he\nsays, \"What have _I_ done?\"\n\nIn a word, we see in this dear servant the most complete renunciation\nof self from the moment he learnt that he was but one of many. He\ndelivers a message to Ahab in the vineyard of Naboth; a message to\nAhaziah in his sick chamber; then he takes his departure from earth,\nleaving the work which he had begun to be finished by other hands.\nLike John the Baptist, who, as we know, came in the spirit and power\nof Elias, he was satisfied to usher in another and then retire.\n\nOh that we all knew more of this humble, self-renouncing spirit--the\nspirit which leads a man to do the work and think nothing of it; or if\nit should be so, to see the work done by others and rejoice therein.\nThe Baptist had to learn this as well as the Tishbite; he had to learn\nto be content to end his brilliant career in the gloom of a prison\nwhile another was doing the work. John too thought it strange that it\nshould be thus with him, and sent a message to Christ to inquire, \"Art\nThou He that should come, or look we for another?\" As if he had said,\nCan it be possible that He to whom I have borne witness is indeed the\nChrist and yet I am left to perish, neglected, in Herod's dungeon?\n\nThus it was, and John had to learn to be content. He had said at the\ncommencement of his ministerial course, \"He must increase, but I must\ndecrease;\" but it may be he had not just counted upon such a mode of\ndecreasing: yet such was the divine counsel concerning this honored\nservant. How different are God's thoughts from those of man! John,\nafter having fulfilled a most important mission, even the mission of\nushering in the Son of God, was destined to have his head cut off at\nthe will of a wicked woman, and lest an ungodly tyrant should break\nhis oath.\n\nJust so was it with Elijah the Tishbite. His course, no doubt, had\nbeen a most brilliant one; he had passed before the eyes of Israel in\nall the dignity and majesty of a heavenly man--a heavenly messenger.\nDivine truth had fallen from his lips, and God had abundantly honored\nhim in his work; yet the moment he began to think of himself as\nanything; the moment he began to say, \"_I_ have been very jealous, and\n_I_ only am left,\" the Lord taught him his mistake, and told him to\nappoint his successor.\n\nMay we learn from all this to be very humble and self-renouncing in\nour service, whatever it be. Let us not presume to survey ourselves as\nif we were anything, or our service as if we had achieved some great\nthing. And even though our ministry should be unproductive, and we\nourselves despised and rejected, may we be able _to look forward to\nthe end_, when everything shall be made manifest. This was what our\nblessed Master did. He kept His eye fixed on \"the joy that was set\nbefore Him,\" and regarded not the thoughts of men as He passed along.\nNor did He complain of or accuse those who rejected, despised, and\ncrucified Him. No; His dying words were, \"Father, forgive them.\"\nBlessed Master, impart unto us more of Thy meek, loving, gracious and\nforgiving spirit! May we be like Thee, and tread in Thy steps across\nthis dreary world!\n\n\n\n\n                            _SECTION VI_\n\n                        THE PROPHET'S RAPTURE\n\n\nFrom the moment that Elijah had cast his mantle upon the shoulders of\nElisha we may consider his prophetic career as almost ended. He\ndelivered a message or two, as has already been noticed; but as\nregards his ministerial connection with Israel, it may be looked upon\nas closed from the moment that Elisha the son of Shaphat, of\nAbel-meholah, was anointed to be prophet in his room. Indeed, he\nabandoned the work himself. \"He arose, and fled for his life;\" so that\nit was, to speak after the manner of men, high time to think of\nappointing a successor.\n\nBut we must not confine our thoughts to Elijah's ministerial character\nwhen reflecting upon his life and times. We must not only look at him\nas a _prophet_, but also as a _man_; not only as a _servant_, but also\nas a _child_; not only _officially_, but also _personally_. As a\nprophet, the steady continuance and successful termination of his\ncourse would depend, in a great measure, on his own faithfulness.\nHence, when he allowed himself to be carried away by a spirit\ninconsistent with the character of a genuine servant, he had to resign\nhis office into the hands of another.[20]\n\n  [20] It may be needful just to notice an objection which may be made\n  to the view I have taken of the prophet's actings. It may be said that\n  he was raised up at a special era of Israel's history, and for a\n  special purpose, and that when that purpose had been effected another\n  kind of instrument was needed. All this is most true. Yet we can have\n  no difficulty in perceiving the haste and impatience of Elijah in\n  desiring to resign his post because things had not turned out as he\n  had expected. God's counsels and man's actings are very distinct. The\n  ministry of Elijah had filled its proper place in the nation's\n  history, no doubt; and moreover, another kind of instrument might be\n  needed; yet this leaves quite untouched the question of his spirit and\n  actings in the matter. Joshua might be needed to succeed Moses; and\n  yet it was for hastiness of spirit that Moses was refused permission\n  to go over Jordan.\n\nThere were, however, better things in store for Elijah. He might be\nhasty; he might hide himself in a cave, and from thence make\nintercession against Israel; he might impatiently long to depart from\nthe trying scene in which he had been called to move; he might do all\nthis, and in consequence thereof be called to resign his place: still\nthe blessed God had thoughts of grace about him which never could have\nentered into his heart.\n\nHow truly blessed to allow God to adopt His own manner in dealing with\nus! We are sure to sustain loss when we interfere with the divine\nmethod of proceeding; and yet it has ever been man's tendency thus to\ninterfere. Man will not allow God to adopt His own method of\njustifying him, but will ever be intruding into the wondrous plan of\nredemption: and even when he has submitted himself, through the\noperation of the Holy Ghost, to God's righteousness, he will again\nand again, notwithstanding repeated experience of God's superior\nwisdom, seek to interfere with the divine method of training and\nleading him; as if he could make better arrangements for himself than\nGod! Presumptuous folly!--the fruits of which, to some, will be\neternal perdition; to others, present forfeiture of blessing in the\nway of enlarged knowledge and experience of God's character and ways.\n\nHad Elijah received his request, how much he would have lost! How much\nbetter to be carried up to heaven in a chariot of fire, than to be\ntaken away in a fit of impatience! Elijah asked for the latter, but\nGod gave him the former. \"And it came to pass, when the Lord would\ntake up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with\nElisha from Gilgal\" (2 Kings ii. 1).\n\nIt would be foreign to my present design to dwell upon the\ncircumstances of Elisha's introduction into the prophetic office, his\nslowness at first in accompanying Elijah, and his unwillingness\nafterward to leave him. We find him in this chapter accompanying\nElijah from Gilgal to Bethel, and from Bethel to Jericho, and from\nJericho to Jordan. All these places were famous in Israel's history.\nBethel, or the house of God, was the spot where Jacob of old had seen\nthe mystic ladder stretching from earth to heaven, the apt expression\nof God's future purposes concerning the heavenly and earthly families.\nTo this same place did Jacob return, by the express command of God,\nafter he had cleansed himself from the defilement of Shechem (Gen.\nxxxv. 1).\n\nBethel, therefore, was a spot of deep interest to the heart of an\nIsraelite. But alas, it had become polluted! Jeroboam's calf had\neffectually obliterated the sacred principles of truth taught by\nJacob's ladder. The latter conducted the spirit from earth to\nheaven--it led upward and onward; upward to God's eternal purpose of\n_grace_; onward to the display of that purpose in _glory_. The former,\non the contrary, bound the heart down to a degrading system of\npolitical religion--a system in which the _names_ of things heavenly\nwere used to secure for self the things earthly. Jeroboam made use of\n_the house of God_ to secure for himself _the kingdom of Israel_. He\nwas well content to remain at the bottom of the ladder, and cared not\nto look upward. His earthly heart desired not to scale those sublime\nheights to which Jacob's ladder led; earth and its glory were all he\nwanted; and provided he obtained these, he cared not whether he\nworshiped before Baal's calf at Bethel, or Jehovah's altar at\nJerusalem. What was it to him? Jerusalem, Bethel, or Dan, was but a\nname in the estimate of this politico-religious man--yea, and in the\nestimate of every other such man. Religion is but an instrument in the\nhands of the children of this world--an instrument by which they dig\ninto the bowels of the earth; not a ladder by which they mount from\nearth to heaven. Man pollutes everything sacred. Place in his hands\nthe purest, the most heavenly truth, and ere long he will defile it:\ncommit to his guardianship the most precious, the most impressive\nordinance, and he will ere long convert it into a lifeless form, and\nlose therein the principles sought to be conveyed. So was it with\nBethel. So was it with everything sacred that man had anything to do\nwith.\n\nThen as to Gilgal, the place from whence the two prophets started: it\ntoo was a place of interest. It was there the Lord rolled away the\nreproach of Egypt from His people; there Israel kept their first\npassover in the land of Canaan, and were refreshed by the old corn of\nthe land. Gilgal was the rallying-point for Joshua and his men of war;\nfrom thence they went forth in the strength of the Lord to obtain\nglorious triumphs over the uncircumcised, and thither they returned to\nenjoy the spoils. Thus was Gilgal a place round which the affections\nof a Jew might well entwine themselves--a place of many hallowed\nrecollections. Yet it too had lost all its reality. The reproach of\nEgypt had rolled back upon Israel. The principles which once stood\nconnected with Gilgal had lost their sway over the hearts of God's\nprofessing people. Bochim (the place of weepers) had long since taken\nthe place of Gilgal in reference to Israel, and Gilgal had become an\nempty form--ancient, no doubt, but powerless, for Israel had ceased to\nwalk in the power of the truth taught at Gilgal.\n\nAgain, as to Jericho. There it was that the hosts of the Lord, under\ntheir mighty Captain, gained their first victory in the land of\npromise, and exhibited the power of faith. And lastly, at Jordan it\nwas that Israel had had such an impressive manifestation of Jehovah's\npower in connection with the ark of His presence. Jordan was the place\nwhere death had been, in type, overcome by the power of life; and in\nits midst, and on its banks, it presented the trophies of victory over\nthe foe.\n\nThus were these varied places--namely, Bethel, Gilgal, Jericho, and\nJordan--deeply interesting to the heart of a true child of Abraham;\nbut their power and meaning were lost: Bethel had ceased to be the\nhouse of God save in name; Gilgal was no longer valued as the place\nwhere the reproach of Egypt had been rolled away. The walls of Jericho\nwhich had been destroyed by faith were built again. Jordan was no\nlonger viewed as the scene of Jehovah's power. In a word, all these\nthings had become mere form without power, and the Lord might, even in\nElijah's time, have to speak to the house of Israel concerning them in\nthe following impressive words: \"Thus saith the Lord unto the house of\nIsrael, _Seek ye Me_, and ye shall live: but seek not Bethel, nor\nenter into Gilgal, and pass not to Beersheba: for Gilgal shall surely\ngo into captivity, and Bethel shall come to naught. Seek the Lord, and\nye shall live\" (Amos v. 4-6). Here is an important truth for all those\nwhose hearts are prone to cling to ancient forms. We are taught by\nthis striking passage that nothing but the divine reality of personal\ncommunion with God will stand. Men may plead in defense of forms their\ngreat antiquity, but where can we find greater antiquity than that\nwhich Bethel and Gilgal could boast? Yet they failed and came to\nnaught, and the faithful were admonished to abandon them all and look\nup in simple faith to the living God.\n\nThrough all the above places, then, our prophet passed in the energy\nand elevation of a heavenly man. His destination lay beyond and above\nthem all. He would seek to leave Elisha behind him while he pressed\nonward along his heavenward path; but the latter clings to him, and\naccompanies him as it were to the very portals of heaven, and checks\nthe busy intrusion of his less intelligent brethren by the words \"Hold\nye your peace.\" But Elijah moves on in the power of his heavenly\nmission. \"The Lord hath sent me,\" says he; and in obedience to the\ndivine command he passes through Gilgal, Bethel, Jericho, and on to\nJordan; leaving far behind him all those ancient forms and sacred\nlocalities which might engage the affections of any who were not, like\nElijah the Tishbite, carried forward by a heavenly hope. The sons of\nthe prophets might tarry amid those things, and perhaps, too, have\nmany a hallowed recollection awakened by them; but to one whose spirit\nwas filled with the thought of his rapture to heaven, things of earth,\nbe they ever so sacred, ever so venerable, could present no\nattraction. Heaven was his object, not Bethel or Gilgal. He was about\nto take his departure from earth and all its harassing scenes; he was\nabout to leave Ahab and Jezebel behind to meet their terrible doom; to\npass beyond the region of broken covenants, ruined altars, and slain\nprophets--in a word, to pass beyond the gloom and sorrow, trial and\ndisappointment of this stormy world; and that not by the agency of\ndeath, but by a heavenly chariot. Death was to possess no power\nagainst this heavenly man. No doubt his body was changed in the\ntwinkling of an eye, for \"flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom\nof God, neither doth corruption inherit incorruption;\" but death can\nhave no power over him; he rather stepped like a conqueror into his\ntriumphal chariot, and thus passed away into his rest.\n\nHappy man! his conflict was over, his race run, his victory secure. He\nhad been a stranger here--unlike the men of this world; yea, unlike\nmany of the children of the kingdom. He had come forth from the\nmountains of Gilead as the girded witness, and the stern intruder upon\nthe course of a professing world. He had no home or resting-place here\nbelow, but as a stranger and pilgrim pressed onward toward his\nheavenly rest.\n\nElijah's path from first to last was a unique one. Like John the\nBaptist, he was a voice \"crying in the wilderness,\" away from the\nhaunts of men; and whenever he did make his appearance, he was like\nsome heavenly meteor, the origin and destiny of which were alike\nbeyond the reach of human conception. The man with the leathern girdle\nwas only known as the witness against evil--the bearer of the truth of\nGod. He had no fellowship with man as such, but in all his ways\nmaintained an elevation which at once repulsed all intrusion and\nsecured reverence and respect. There was so much of the sacred\nsolemnity of the sanctuary about him that vanity or folly could not\nlive in his presence. He was not, like his successor Elisha, a social\nman; his path was solitary. \"He came neither eating nor drinking.\" In\na word, he was peculiar in everything; peculiar in his entrance upon\nhis prophetic career, peculiar in his passage out of it. He was an\nexception, and a marked one. The very fact of his not being called to\npass through the gates of the grave would be quite sufficient to draw\nspecial attention to him.\n\nBut let us observe the path pursued by our prophet as he journeyed\ntoward the scene of his rapture. He retraced the path of the camp of\nold. Israel had journeyed from Jordan to Jericho, but Elijah journeyed\nfrom Jericho to Jordan. In other words, as Jordan was that which\nseparated the wilderness from the land, the prophet crossed it, thus\nleaving Canaan behind him. His chariot met him, not _in the land, but\nin the wilderness_. The land was polluted, and was speedily to be\ncleansed of those who had introduced the pollution; the glory was soon\nto take its departure from even the most favored spot. Ichabod might\nbe written upon it all; wherefore the prophet leaves it and passes\ninto the wilderness, thus pointing out to the spiritual mind that\nnothing remained for heavenly men but the wilderness and the rest\nabove. Earth was no longer to be the resting-place, or portion, of the\nman of God; it was polluted. The Jordan had been divided to allow\nIsrael to pass from the wilderness to Canaan; it was now to be divided\nto allow a heavenly man to pass from Canaan to the wilderness where\nhis chariot awaited him, ready to convey him from earth to heaven.\nEarthly things and earthly hopes had passed away from the mind of\nElijah, he had learnt the thorough vanity of everything here below,\nand nothing now remained for him but to look beyond it all. He had\ntoiled amid Israel's broken altars; he had labored and testified for\nyears among a disobedient and gainsaying people; he had longed to\ndepart and be at rest; and now he was about to do so in a way worthy\nof God--Jehovah Himself was about to place His everlasting arms around\nand underneath His servant to shield him from the power of death. In\nhis case death was to have no sting and the grave no victory. Elijah\nwas privileged, as he stood upon the sand of the wilderness, to look\nright upward and, unimpeded by the humiliating circumstances of\nsickness and death, see heaven open to receive him. Not one of the\ncircumstances of fallen humanity fell to the lot of our prophet in the\nmatter of his exit from earth. He exchanged his prophet's mantle for a\nchariot of fire. He could cheerfully let his mantle drop to earth\nwhile he ascended to heaven. To him earth was but a perishable and\npolluted speck in God's creation, and most happy was he to lay aside\neverything which marked his connection with it.\n\nWhat a position! And yet it is only the position which every heavenly\nman should occupy. Nature and earth have no longer any claims on the\nman who believes in Jesus. The Cross has broken all the chains which\nonce bound him to earth. As Jordan separated Elijah from Canaan, and\nbrought him into the wilderness to meet Jehovah's chariot, so the\nCross has introduced the believer into new ground; it has brought him\ninto purely wilderness circumstances; it has placed him, too, at the\nother side of death, with no other object before him than his rapture\nto meet the Lord in the air.\n\nSuch is the real, unquestionable portion of every saint, be he ever so\nweak, ever so ignorant. The happy experience thereof is, of course, a\nvery different thing. To attain to this we need to be much alone with\nGod, and much in the exercise of a spirit of self-judgment. Flesh and\nblood can never be brought to understand the rapture of a heavenly\nman.\n\nIndeed, we find that the sons of the prophets did not understand it\neither, for they say to Elisha, \"Behold now, there be with thy\nservants fifty strong men: let them go, we pray thee, and seek thy\nmaster, lest, peradventure, the Spirit of the Lord hath taken him up,\nand cast him upon some mountain, or into some valley.\" Here was their\nhighest thought about the prophet's rapture--\"The Spirit of the Lord\nhath cast him upon some mountain, or into some valley.\" They could not\nconceive such a thing as his being carried up to heaven in a chariot\nof fire.[21] They still tarried amid the things of earth, and had not\ntheir spiritual senses sufficiently exercised to perceive and\nappreciate a truth so glorious. Elisha yielded to their importunity,\nbut they learnt the folly of their thoughts by the fruitless toil of\ntheir messengers. Fifty strong men could nowhere find the raptured\nprophet. He was gone; and it required other strength than that of\nnature to travel the same road. \"The natural man receiveth not the\nthings of the Spirit of God, neither can he know them, because they\nare spiritually discerned.\" Those who walk in the Spirit will best\nunderstand the prophet's privilege in being delivered from the claims\nof mortality, and being introduced in a manner so glorious into his\nheavenly rest.\n\n  [21] It has been observed by another that the little children who came\n  out of Bethel, and said to Elisha, \"Go up, thou bald head,\" were\n  mocking the idea of rapture. If this be so, they afford a sample of\n  the world in their thoughts about the rapture of the Church.\n\nSuch, then, was the end of our prophet's course. A glorious end! Who\nwould not say, \"Let my last end be like his\"? Blessed be the love that\nso arranged it that _a man_ should be thus honored! Blessed be the\ngrace that led the Son of God--the Prince of life--to stoop from His\nglory in the heavens and submit to a shameful death upon the cross, by\nvirtue of which, even though yet only in prospect, the prophet Elijah\nwas exempted from the penalty of sin, permitted to pass into the\nregions of light and immortality without the smell of death having\npassed upon him! How we should adore this love, dear Christian reader!\nYes; while we trace the footsteps of the remarkable man whose history\nwe have been dwelling upon; while we follow him from Gilead to\nCherith, from Cherith to Zarephath, from Zarephath to Carmel, from\nCarmel to Horeb, and from Horeb TO HEAVEN, we must feel constrained to\ncry out, \"Oh, the matchless love of God!\" Who could conceive that\nmortal man could tread such a course? Who but God could bring about\nsuch things? The path of Elijah the Tishbite magnifies exceedingly the\ngrace of God, and confounds the wisdom of the enemy. The rapture of a\nsaint to heaven is one of the richest fruits and most magnificent\nresults of redemption. To save a soul from hell is in itself a\nglorious achievement, a splendid triumph; to raise up the body of a\nsleeping saint is even a more marked display of divine grace and\npower; but to take a living man, in the freshness and energy of his\nnatural existence, and carry him from earth to heaven, is a finer\ndisplay of the power of God and the value of redemption than anything\nwe can conceive.\n\nThus it was with Elijah. It was not merely the salvation of his soul,\nnor the resurrection of his body; but it was the rapture of his\nperson--\"body, soul, and spirit.\" He was taken away from the midst of\nall the turmoil and confusion around him. The tide of evil might yet\nhave to flow onward; men and principles might continue to work and\nshow themselves. The measure of Israel's iniquities might still have\nto be filled up and the proud Assyrian enter the scene as the rod of\nJehovah's anger to chastise them; but what was all this to the\nraptured prophet? Nothing. Heaven had opened upon him as he stood a\nhomeless wanderer in the wilderness. He was now to be done with the\nland of Canaan, with its defilement and degradation, and to take his\nplace above, there to await those momentous scenes in which he was,\nand is yet, to take a part.\n\nHaving thus seen our prophet go into heaven, our reflections on his\nlife and times might naturally close. Yet there is one scene in\nparticular in which he appears in the New Testament; and did we not\ndwell for a little upon it, our sketch of him would be incomplete. I\nallude to the mount of transfiguration, where Moses and Elias appeared\nin glory, and spoke with the Lord Jesus Christ of His decease which He\nshould accomplish at Jerusalem.\n\nThe Lord Jesus had taken with Him Peter, James, and John, and brought\nthem up into a high mountain, apart, in order to exhibit in their view\na sample of His future glory, that thus their spirits might be\nfortified against the trying scenes through which both He and they had\nyet to pass.\n\nWhat a company! The Son of God, in white and glistering raiment:\nMoses, type of those who sleep in Jesus; Elias, type of the raptured\nsaints; and Peter, James, and John, who have been styled the pillars\nof the New Testament Church! Now it is evident that our Lord designed\nto prepare His apostles for the scene of His sufferings by showing\nthem a specimen of the glory that should follow. He saw the cross,\nwith all its accompanying horrors, in the distance before Him. Shortly\nbefore His transfiguration He said to them, \"The Son of man must\nsuffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and chief priests,\nand scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day:\" but previous\nto His entering into all this, He would show them something of His\nglory. The Cross is in reality the basis of everything. The future\nglory of Christ and His saints, the joy of restored Israel in the land\nof Canaan, and the deliverance of creation from the bondage of\ncorruption, all hang upon the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. His\nsorrows and sufferings have secured the Church's glory, Israel's\nrestoration, and the blessing of the whole creation. No marvel,\ntherefore, that the Cross should form the subject of discourse between\nChrist and His glorious visitors. \"They spoke of His decease which He\nshould accomplish at Jerusalem.\" Everything hung upon this. The past,\nthe present and the future all rested on the Cross as upon an immortal\nbasis. Moses could see and acknowledge in the Cross that which\nsuperseded the law, with all its shadowy rites and ceremonies; Elijah\ncould see and acknowledge in it that which could give efficacy to all\nprophetic testimony. The law and the prophets pointed to the Cross as\nthe foundation of the glory which lay beyond it.\n\nHow profoundly interesting, therefore, was the subject of converse\nupon the mount of transfiguration, in the midst of the excellent\nglory! It was interesting to earth, interesting to heaven, interesting\nto the wide creation of God. It forms the centre of all the divine\npurposes and counsels; it harmonizes all the divine attributes; it\nsecures upon immutable principles the glory of God and the sinner's\npeace; on it may be inscribed in indelible characters \"Glory to God in\nthe highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.\" No marvel,\ntherefore, again I say, that Moses and Elias could appear in glory and\ntalk of such a momentous subject. They were about to return to their\nrest, while their blessed Master had to descend again into the arena\nof conflict to meet the Cross in all its tremendous reality; but they\nknew full well that He and they would yet meet in the midst of a glory\nwhich shall never be overshadowed by a cloud--a glory of which He, the\nLamb, was to be the source and the centre forever--a glory which shall\nshine with everlasting brilliancy when all human and earthly glories\nshall be overcast by the shadows of an eternal night.\n\nBut what of the disciples during all this wondrous converse? How were\nthey employed? They were asleep! Asleep while Moses and Elias\nconversed with the Son of God concerning His cross and passion!\nMarvelous insensibility! Nature can sleep in the very presence of the\nexcellent glory.[22] \"And when they were awake they saw His glory,\nand the two men that stood with Him. And it came to pass, as they\ndeparted from Him, Peter said unto Jesus, Master, it is good for us to\nbe here; and let us make three tabernacles--one for Thee, one for\nMoses, and one for Elias--not knowing what he said.\" No doubt it was\ngood to be there--far better than to go down from their elevation and\nglory to meet all the contradiction and trying obloquy of man. When\nPeter saw the glory, and Moses and Elias, it instantly occurred to his\nJewish mind that there was no hindrance to the celebration of the\nfeast of tabernacles. He had been asleep while they spoke of \"the\ndecease;\" he had been indulging nature whilst his Master's sufferings\nhad formed the subject of discourse; and when he awoke, he would fain\npitch his tent in the midst of that scene of peace and glory, beneath\nthe open heavens. But ah, he knew not what he said. It was but a\npassing moment. The heavenly strangers were soon to depart; the Lord\nJesus was to be delivered into the hands of men. He was to pass from\nthe mount of glory to the place of suffering; Peter himself, too, had\nyet to be sifted by Satan--to be deeply humbled and broken under a\nsense of his shameful fall--to be girded by another, and carried\nwhither he would not; a long and a dreary season, a dark night of\nsorrow and tribulation, was in store for the Church; the armies of\nRome were yet to trample the holy city in the dust, and lay waste her\nbulwarks; the thunders of war and political revolution were yet to\nroll, with terrible vehemence, over the whole civilized world;--all\nthese things, and many more, were to come to pass, ere the fond\nthought of poor Peter's heart could be realized on earth. The prophet\nElijah must visit the earth again \"before the coming of the great and\ndreadful day of the Lord\" (Mal. iv. 5). \"Elias must first come and\nrestore all things.\"\n\n  [22] It is not a little remarkable that we find these same disciples\n  asleep during the season of our Lord's agony in the garden. They slept\n  in the view of the glory, and also in the view of the cross. Nature\n  can as little enter into the one as the other. And yet the blessed\n  Master does not rebuke them in either case, save to say to the most\n  prominent and self-confident among them, \"Couldst _thou_ not watch\n  with Me one hour?\" He knew whom He had to do with; He knew that \"the\n  spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.\" Gracious Master, Thou wast\n  ever ready to make allowance for Thy poor people, and didst say, \"Ye\n  are they who have continued with Me in My temptation,\" to those who\n  had slept on the mount, slept in the garden, and who were about to\n  deny and desert Thee in the hour of Thy deepest need!\n\nHow long, O Lord? May this be the continual inquiry of our hearts as\nwe pass along to that rest and glory which lie before us. \"Time is\nshort,\" and eternity, with all its divine and glorious realities, is\nat hand. May we live in the light of it! May we ever be able, by the\neye of faith, to see the bright beams of the millennial morning--the\nmorning without clouds--irradiating the distant hills! Everything\npoints to this; every event that happens, every voice that reaches the\near, tells of the speedy approach of the kingdom: the sea and the\nwaves may be heard roaring--nations are convulsed, thrones\noverturned;--all these things have a voice for the circumcised ear,\nand the voice is, \"Look up!\" Those who have received the Holy Ghost\nhave received the earnest of the future inheritance; and the earnest,\nas we know, is part of the thing to be received. They have been on the\nmount; and although the cloud may overshadow them too,--although they\ntoo may have to come down from the mount to meet the trial and sorrow\nbelow,--yet they have a foretaste of the joy and blessedness which\nshall be theirs forever; and they can unfeignedly thank God, as they\njourney on from day to day, that their hopes are not bounded by this\nworld's gloomy horizon, but that they have a home beyond it all.\n\n    \"Oh wondrous grace, oh love divine,\n      To give us such a home!\n    Let us the present things resign,\n      And seek this rest to come.\n    And gazing on our Saviour's cross,\n      Esteem all else but dung and dross;\n    Press forward till the race be run,\n      Fight till the crown of life be won.\"\n\n\n\n\n                         CONCLUDING REMARKS\n\n\nAlthough, in the character of his ministry, Elijah the Tishbite much\nresembled John the Baptist, as has been already observed, yet looking\nat him personally, and considering his unearthly and pilgrim path, and\nspecially his rapture to heaven, he stands before us as a remarkable\nillustration of the Church, or heavenly family. Taking this view of\nhim, I think a few observations on the important doctrine of the\nChurch will not be considered out of place as a conclusion to the\nforegoing sketch of his life and times.\n\nIt is of the utmost importance that the Christian reader should\nunderstand the doctrine of the Church's heavenly character. It will be\nfound to be the only preservative against the varied forms of evil and\nunsound doctrine which prevail around us. To be soundly instructed in\nthe heavenly origin, heavenly position, and heavenly destiny of the\nChurch, is the most effectual safeguard against worldliness in the\nChristian's present path, and also against false teaching in reference\nto his future hopes. _Every system of doctrine or discipline which\nwould connect the Church with the world, either in her present\ncondition or her future prospects, must be wrong, and must exert an\nunhallowed influence._ The Church is not of the world. Her life, her\nposition, her hopes, are all heavenly in the very highest sense of\nthat word. The calling and existence of the Church are, humanly\nspeaking, consequent upon the present rejection of Israel and the\nworld. The garden of Eden and the land of Canaan were successively the\nscenes of divine operation; but sin, as we have often heard, marred\nthem both, and now all who believe the gospel of the grace of God,\npreached to them in the name of a crucified, risen and ascended\nSaviour, are constituted living members of the body of Christ, and are\ncalled upon to abandon every earthly hope. Being quickened by the\nvoice of Him who has passed into the heavens, and not only so, but\nbeing united to Him by the Holy Ghost, they are called to occupy the\nplace of strangers and pilgrims on earth. The position of Elijah the\nTishbite as he stood on the wilderness side of Jordan, waiting for his\nrapture to heaven, aptly represents the condition of the Church\ncollectively or the believer individually.[23] The Church, properly so\ncalled, finds (as another has said) \"the termini of her existence to\nbe the cross and the coming of the Lord;\" and surely, we may say,\nearth has no place between these sacred bounds. To think of the Church\nas a worldly corporation, be it ever so sound and scriptural, is to\nsink far below the divine thought about it.\n\n  [23] When I say the wilderness side of Jordan, I only speak of Jordan\n  in reference to the prophet's path. If we look at it in reference to\n  the path of Israel from Egypt to Canaan, we learn a different truth.\n  The spiritual reader will understand both.\n\nThe doctrine of the Church's heavenly character was developed in all\nits power and beauty by the Holy Ghost in the apostle Paul. Up to his\ntime, and even during the early stages of his ministry, the divine\npurpose was to deal with Israel. There had been all along a chain of\nwitnesses, the object of whose mission was exclusively the house of\nIsrael. The prophets, as has been already observed in the opening of\nthis paper, bore witness to Israel, not only concerning their complete\nfailure, but also the future establishment of _the kingdom_ agreeably\nto the covenant made with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and David. They spoke\nnot of the Church as the body of Christ. How could they, when the\nthing was a profound mystery, \"not revealed to the sons of men\"? The\nthought of a Church composed of Jew and Gentile, \"seated _together_ in\nthe heavenlies,\" lay far beyond the range of prophetic testimony.\nIsaiah, no doubt, speaks in very elevated strains of Jerusalem's glory\nin the latter day; he speaks of Gentiles coming to her light, and\nkings to the brightness of her rising; but he never rises higher than\nthe kingdom, and as a consequence never brings out anything beyond the\ncovenant made with Abraham, which secures everlasting blessedness to\nhis seed, and through them to the Gentiles. We may range through the\ninspired pages of the law and the prophets, from one end to the other,\nand find nothing concerning \"_the great mystery_\" of the Church.\n\nThen, again, in the ministry of John the Baptist we observe the same\nthing. We have the sum and substance of his testimony in these words:\n\"Repent, for _the kingdom_ is at hand.\" He came as the great precursor\nof the Messiah, and sought to produce moral order amongst all ranks.\nHe told the people what they were to do in that transition state into\nwhich his ministry was designed to conduct them, and pointed to Him\nthat was to come. Have we anything of the _Church_ in all this? Not a\nsyllable. The _kingdom_ is still the very highest thought. John led\nhis disciples to the waters of Jordan--the place of confession in view\nof the kingdom; but it was not yet that character of repentance\nproduced in them who are made members of the body of Christ.\n\nThe Lord Jesus Himself then took up the chain of testimony. The\nprophets had been stoned; John had been beheaded; and now \"the\nFaithful Witness\" entered the scene, and not only declared that the\nkingdom was at hand, but presented Himself to the daughter of Zion as\nher King. He too was rejected, and, like every previous witness,\nsealed His testimony with His blood. Israel would not have God's King,\nand God would not give Israel the kingdom.\n\nNext came the twelve apostles, and took up the chain of testimony.\nImmediately after the resurrection they inquired of the Lord, \"Wilt\nthou at this time restore again _the kingdom_ to Israel?\" Their minds\nwere filled with the thought of the kingdom. \"We trusted,\" said the\ntwo disciples going to Emmaus, \"that it had been He which should have\nredeemed Israel.\" And so it was. The question was, _when_? The Lord\ndoes not rebuke the disciples for entertaining the thought of the\nkingdom; He simply tells them, \"It is not for you to know _the times\nor the seasons_, which the Father hath put in His own power. But ye\nshall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and\nye shall be _witnesses_ unto Me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea,\nand in Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth\" (Acts i. 7,\n8).\n\nAgreeably to this, the apostle Peter, in his address to Israel, offers\nthem _the kingdom_. \"Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your\nsins may be blotted out, and the times of refreshing shall come from\nthe presence (\u03b1\u03c0\u03bf \u03c0\u03c1\u03bf\u03c3\u03c9\u03c0\u03bf\u03c5) of the Lord; and He shall send\nJesus Christ which before was preached unto you; whom the heaven must\nreceive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath\nspoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began.\"\n\nHave we here the development of the Church? No. The time had not yet\narrived for this. The revelation of the Church was yet to be, as it\nwere, forced out as something quite extraordinary--something quite out\nof the regular course of things. The Church as seen in the opening of\nthe Acts exhibits but a sample of lovely grace and order, exquisite\nindeed in its way, but not anything beyond what man could take\ncognizance of and value. In a word, it was still the kingdom, and not\nthe great mystery of the Church. Those who think that the opening\nchapters of Acts present the Church in its essential aspect have by no\nmeans reached the divine thought on the subject.\n\nPeter's vision in Acts x. is decidedly a step in advance of his\npreaching in chapter iii. Still, however, the grand truth of the\nheavenly mystery was not yet unfolded. In the council held at\nJerusalem for the purpose of considering the question that had arisen\nin reference to the Gentiles, we find the apostles all agreeing with\nJames in the following conclusion: \"Simeon hath declared how God at\nthe first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for His\nname. And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written,\nAfter this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of\nDavid, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof,\nand I will set it up; that the residue of men might seek after the\nLord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom My name is called, saith the\nLord, who doeth all these things\" (Acts. xv. 14-17).\n\nHere we are taught that the Gentiles, as such, are to have a place\nwith the Jews in the kingdom.\n\nBut did the council at Jerusalem apprehend the truth of the Church, of\nJews and Gentiles so truly formed in \"one body\" that they are no more\nJew nor Gentile? I believe not. A few members might have heard it from\nPaul (see Gal. ii. 1, 2), but as a whole they do not seem to have\nunderstood it as yet.\n\nWe infer, therefore, that the preaching of the gospel to the Gentiles\nby the mouth of Peter was not the development of _the great mystery_\nof the Church, but simply the opening of _the kingdom_, agreeably to\nthe words of the prophets, and also to Peter's commission in Matt.\nxvi.: \"And I say unto thee that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I\nwill build my Church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against\nit. And I will give unto thee the keys _of the kingdom_ of heaven: and\nwhatsoever thou shalt bind _on earth_ shall be bound in heaven; and\nwhatsoever thou shalt loose _on earth_ shall be loosed in heaven.\"\n\nMark, it is \"the kingdom,\" and not the Church. Peter received the keys\nof the kingdom, and he used those keys, first to open the kingdom to\nthe Jew, and then to the Gentile. But Peter never received a\ncommission to unfold the mystery of the Church. Even in his epistles\nwe find nothing of it. He views believers on earth; as strangers, no\ndoubt, but yet on earth; having their hope in heaven and being on\ntheir way thither, but never as the body of Christ seated there in\nHim.\n\nIt was reserved for the great apostle of the Gentiles to bring out, in\nthe energy and power of the Holy Ghost, the mystery of which we speak.\nHe was raised up, however, as he himself tells us, before the time.\n\"Last of all, He was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.\"\nThings were not sufficiently matured for the development of the new\nrevelation of which he was made the peculiar minister, and hence he\nstyles himself one born _before_ the time; for such is the real force\nof the original word. And how was he before the time? Because Israel\nhad not as yet been finally set aside. The Lord was still lingering\nover His beloved city, unwilling to enter into judgment; for, as\nanother has said, \"Whenever the Lord leaves a place of mercy, or\nenters a place of judgment, He moves with a slow and measured pace.\"\n\nThis is most true; and hence, although the apostle of the Gentiles had\nbeen raised up and constituted the depositary of a truth which was\ndesigned to carry all who should receive it far away beyond the bounds\nof Jewish things, yet did he make the house of Israel his primary\nobject; and in so doing he worked in company with the twelve, although\nnot a debtor to them in any one way. \"It was necessary,\" says he to\nthe Jews, \"that the word of God should _first_ have been spoken to\nyou; but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of\neverlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles\" (Acts xiii. 46).\n\nWhy was it necessary? Because of God's long-suffering and grace. Paul\nwas not only the depositary of the divine counsels, but also of divine\naffections. As the former, he should act upon his peculiar commission;\nas the latter, he would linger over \"his brethren, his kinsmen\naccording to the flesh:\" as the former, he was called upon to lead the\nChurch into the knowledge of \"a mystery which in other ages was not\nmade known to the sons of men;\" as the latter, he would, like his\nMaster, with \"a slow and measured step,\" turn his back upon the\ndevoted city and the infatuated nation.\n\nIn a word, as the gospel with which he was entrusted could only be\nproclaimed upon the ground of the total abandonment of earth, the\nearthly city, and the earthly nation, and as Paul's heart yearned over\nthat nation and city, therefore it was that he was so slow to make\nknown publicly the gospel which he preached. He delayed for fourteen\nyears, as he himself informs us. \"Then fourteen years after I went up\nagain to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and took Titus with me also. And I\nwent up by revelation, and communicated unto them that gospel which I\npreach among the Gentiles, but privately to them which were of\nreputation, lest by any means I should run, or had run, in vain\" (Gal.\nii. 1, 2). This is a very important passage on the question now before\nus. Paul had been raised up quite out of the regular course of things;\nhis ministry was totally divested of the earthly, human and Jewish\nelement; so much so indeed as to give rise to numerous questions as to\nits divine origin.[24]\n\n  [24] There have not been wanting modern teachers who have labored to\n  deprive Paul's ministry of its peculiarly heavenly character by\n  placing him among the regular college of apostles, whose aspect and\n  bearing were manifestly Jewish. This they do by calling in question\n  the election of Matthias. But to all those who need more than the\n  exercise of spiritual judgment to guide them in this matter it may be\n  sufficient to say that the Holy Ghost raised no question as to the\n  validity of Matthias's election, for He fell upon him in common with\n  his fellow-apostles. However, we can well understand why those who\n  feel themselves called upon to uphold human systems should labor so\n  diligently to reduce our apostle's ministry to a human, or earthly\n  level.\n\nTo him was committed what he emphatically styles _his_ gospel. But, as\nhas been remarked, it was a question whether things were ripe as\nregards the divine counsels respecting Israel, for the public\ndevelopment of this gospel. The apostle felt this to be a momentous\nquestion: hence his caution in communicating it _severally_ to a few.\nHe could not, even in the midst of the Church at Jerusalem, speak\nopenly on this grand question, because he feared that the full time\nhad not come, and that, should he develop it prematurely, few had\nsufficient spiritual intelligence or largeness of mind to understand\nor enter into it. His fears, as we know, were well grounded. There\nwere few at Jerusalem who were at all prepared for Paul's gospel. Even\nsome years later we find James, who seems to have taken a very\nprominent place in the Church at Jerusalem, inducing Paul to purify\nhimself and shave his head. And what was this for? Just to prevent a\nbreak-up of the earthly thing. \"Thou seest, brother,\" said James, \"how\nmany thousands of Jews there are which believe; and they are all\nzealous of the law. And they are informed of thee that thou teachest\nall the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying\nthat they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk\nafter the customs. What is it therefore? The multitude must needs\ncome together; for they will hear that thou art come. Do therefore\nthis that we say to thee: we have four men which have a vow on them;\nthem take, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges with them,\nthat they may shave their heads; and all may know that those things\nwhereof they were informed concerning thee are nothing, but that thou\nthyself also walkest orderly, and keepest the law\" (Acts xxi. 20-24).\nHere, then, we have abundant proof of the fact that the great mystery\nwas not understood and would not be received by the Church at\nJerusalem.[25]\n\n  [25] The circumstance to which allusion is made in the above quotation\n  occurred some years later than the visit to which Paul refers in Gal.\n  ii. The latter would seem to have been occasioned by the controversy\n  respecting the Gentiles. This fact gives additional force to the\n  expression \"Severally to them which were of reputation.\" Paul could\n  not communicate his gospel to them _en masse_.\n\nNow, one can well understand how the spirit of James would have shrunk\nfrom the terrible break-up which must have resulted from the public\ndeclaration of Paul's gospel amongst those whose hearts still clung to\nthe earthly thing. True, it was the privilege of believing Jews to\nbreathe a purer atmosphere than that of an earthly sanctuary, yet they\nwere not prepared for the strong meat of Paul's gospel, and moreover\nthe heart would cling with peculiar fondness to the thought that\nJerusalem was to be a great focus of Christian light and testimony\nfrom whence the rays of gospel truth should emanate to enlighten all\naround. But if the mystery which Paul had communicated to them\nprivately were to be made known to the multitude, \"the many thousands\nof Jews\" would not receive it, and thus the great centre of light\nwould have become the centre of division.\n\nMoreover, the very same motive which had actuated Paul on the occasion\nof his former visit to Jerusalem, when he communicated his gospel only\nto a few, lest he should run in vain if things were not ripe for the\nrevelation--the same motive, we say, might have led him at a later\nperiod to hold his gospel in abeyance, and accommodate himself to the\nthoughts and feelings of those who had not as yet got beyond the\nearthly order of things. Every affection of Paul's heart as a man and\na Jew would have led him to linger at Jerusalem, and also to hesitate\nin the development of a doctrine which would cast Jerusalem and all\nearthly things into the shade, and raise the thoughts and affections\ninto a far higher and purer region than had yet been realized. Paul\nknew full well the vanity and emptiness of vows and purifications. He\nsaw nothing in the temple and its splendid ceremonies save a vast\nsystem of shadows of which the substance was in heaven. Yet his\naffectionate heart yearned over his brethren who were still captivated\nby it all, and therefore he hesitated to let the full blaze of the\nlight which had been communicated to him shine upon them, lest it\nshould dazzle them, habituated as they were to the shadows of bygone\ndays.\n\nIf this be a sound view of the conduct of our apostle in the matter of\nthe vow, etc., it places him before us in a most truly interesting\npoint of view, and also brings out very distinctly the two features of\nhis character, namely, as the participator in the divine affections\ntowards Israel, and also as the depositary of the divine counsels\nrespecting the Church. Both these are lovely in their way. His fervent\naffection for Israel and his faithfulness to his own peculiar\ncommission are both exquisite. Some may think he allowed the former to\ninterfere at times with the latter, as in the matter of the vow; but\nit was an interference which we can well understand and account for.\nHis heart, however, led him to tarry in Jerusalem; yea, to tarry until\nthe Lord had to compel him to leave it. His commission was to the\nGentiles; and yet, again and again he betakes himself to Jerusalem,\nand in his unwillingness to depart from it reminds us of the \"slow and\nmeasured steps\" with which the glory as seen by Ezekiel had departed\nfrom the temple. But the Lord would insist upon His servant's leaving\nJerusalem. \"_Make haste_,\" said He, \"and _get thee quickly_ out of\nJerusalem; for they will not receive _thy_ testimony concerning Me.\"\nPaul's Jewish heart still lingers. He replies, \"They know that I\nimprisoned and beat in every synagogue them that believed on Thee; and\nwhen the blood of Thy martyr Stephen was shed, I was also standing by\nand consenting unto his death, and kept the raiment of them that slew\nhim.\"\n\nWhat pleading is here! \"Their unbelief is all my fault; my vileness\nacts as the great barrier to their reception of the testimony--only\nlet me remain.\" Impossible! \"Depart: for I will send thee _far hence,\nto the Gentiles_.\" Yes; the truth must be brought out; the divine\ncounsels must be fulfilled; the time was come, and it was in vain for\nJames to seek to stem the mighty current of events, or for Paul to\nlinger or hesitate any longer: the crisis had arrived, and if Paul\nwill after all this return to Jerusalem again, he must be carried away\nfrom it in bonds! He does return again. The passage we have just\nquoted is Paul's own account of what the Lord had said to him on a\nformer occasion, to which we have no allusion till now. Thus, although\nhe had been expressly told to depart from Jerusalem because they would\nnot receive his testimony, he goes thither again; and we know the\nresult of this visit. It was his last. The very thing that James\ndreaded and sought to avoid came upon them: an uproar was raised, and\nPaul was delivered over into the hands of the Gentiles. The Lord was\ndetermined to send him to the Gentiles. If he would not go as a free\nman, he must go as \"an ambassador in bonds.\" He could say, however,\nthat it was for \"the hope of Israel that he was bound with this\nchain.\" If his heart had not longed so after Israel, he might have\nescaped the bonds. He left Israel without excuse, but he himself\nbecame a prisoner and a martyr.\n\nThus then, at length, Paul took leave of Jerusalem. He had visited it\nagain and again, and would have tarried there; but it was not his\nplace. Jerusalem had been for ages the object of divine regard and the\ncentre of divine operation, but it was speedily about to be trodden\ndown of the Gentiles; its temple was about to be laid in ruins, and\nthe flock of Christ that had been gathered there was about to be\nscattered abroad; a few short years, and that spot which had stood so\nlong connected with all God's thoughts about earth would be laid low,\neven with the dust, beneath the rude foot of the Roman.\n\nNow Paul's departure may be looked upon as the immediate precursor of\nall this. The peculiar truth of which he was the depositary could only\nbe brought out in all its fulness and power in connection with the\nabandonment of earth as the _manifested_ scene of divine operation.\nHence Paul's journey from Jerusalem to Rome must be viewed with\ndeepest interest by the intelligent and reflecting Christian.[26]\n\n  [26] It is a thought full of interest, in connection with the subject\n  before us, that Paul's voyage to Rome gives us the history of the\n  Church as regards its earthly destinies. The vessel sets out in due\n  order, as a compact and well regulated thing, framed to endure the\n  violence of the stormy ocean over which it had to pass. After a time\n  the apostle offers a certain suggestion, which, being rejected, the\n  ship is dashed to pieces by the waves. There was, however, an\n  important distinction between the vessel and the individuals on board:\n  the former was lost, the latter were all saved. Let us apply all this\n  to the history of the Church in its earthly path. The testimony, as we\n  know, emanated from Jerusalem, whence Paul started on his way to Rome.\n  Apostolic testimony was designed to guide the Church in its earthly\n  course, and preserve it from shipwreck; but this being rejected,\n  failure and ruin were the consequences. But, in the progress of the\n  failure, we perceive the distinction between the preservation of the\n  Church's corporate testimony and individual faithfulness and\n  salvation. \"He that hath ears to hear\" will always find a word of\n  instruction and guidance for him in times of thickest darkness. The\n  waves may dash in pieces the corporate thing--everything connected\n  with earth may vanish away, \"but he that doeth the will of God abideth\n  forever.\" The above picture might be traced far more minutely by those\n  who feel they have intelligence and warrant to do so.\n\nBut we may ask did our apostle, when he turned his back upon\nJerusalem, take leave also of Israel? No; he did not yet despair. True\nthey had not received his testimony at Jerusalem, but perhaps they\nmight receive it at Rome: they had not given him a place in the East,\nperhaps they would in the West. At all events he would try. He would\nnot abandon Israel, though Israel had rejected him. Hence we read that\n\"after three days (from the time of his arrival at Rome) Paul called\n_the chief of the Jews_ together; and when they were come together, he\nsaid unto them, Men and brethren, though I have committed nothing\nagainst the people or customs of our fathers, yet was I delivered\nprisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans.... For this\ncause therefore have I called for you, to see you, and to speak with\nyou; because that for the hope of Israel I am bound with this\nchain.... And when they had appointed him a day, there came many to\nhim into his lodging; to whom he expounded and testified the kingdom\nof God, persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses\nand out of the prophets, from morning till evening\" (Acts xxviii. 17,\n20, 23).\n\nHere, then, we have this blessed \"ambassador in bonds\" still seeking\nout \"the lost sheep of the house of Israel,\" and offering them, in the\nfirst place, \"the salvation of God.\" But \"they agreed not among\nthemselves,\" and at last Paul is constrained to say, \"Well spake the\nHoly Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers, saying, Go unto\nthis people and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and not understand; and\nseeing ye shall see, and not perceive; for the heart of this people is\nwaxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have\nthey closed, lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their\nears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted and I\nshould heal them. BE IT KNOWN THEREFORE UNTO YOU, THAT THE SALVATION\nOF GOD IS SENT UNTO THE GENTILES, AND THAT THEY WILL HEAR IT.\"\n\nThere was now no more hope. Every effort that love could make had been\nmade, but to no purpose; and our apostle, with a reluctant heart,\nshuts them up under the power of that judicial blindness which was the\nnatural result of their rejection of the salvation of God. Thus every\nobstacle to the clear and full development of Paul's gospel was\nremoved. He found himself in the midst of the wide Gentile world--a\nprisoner at Rome and rejected of Israel. He had done his utmost to\ntarry among them; his affectionate heart led him to delay as long\npossible ere he would reiterate the prophet's verdict; but now all was\nover--every expectation was blasted--all human institutions and\nassociations present to his view nothing but ruin and disappointment;\nhe must therefore set himself to bring out that holy and heavenly\nmystery which had been hid in God from ages and generations--the\nmystery of the Church as the body of Christ united to its living Head\nby the Holy Ghost.\n\nThus closes the Acts of the Apostles, which, like the Gospels, is more\nor less connected with the testimony to Israel. So long as Israel\ncould be regarded as the object of testimony, so long the testimony\ncontinued; but when they were shut up to judicial blindness, they\nceased to come within the range of testimony, wherefore the testimony\nceased.\n\nAnd now let us see what this \"mystery,\" this \"gospel,\" this\n\"salvation,\" really was, and wherein its peculiarity consisted. To\nunderstand this is of the utmost importance. What, therefore, was\nPaul's gospel? Was it a different method of justifying a sinner from\nthat preached by the other apostles? No; by no means. Paul preached\nboth to the Jews and also to the Gentiles \"repentance toward God, and\nfaith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.\" This was the substance of his\npreaching. The peculiarity of the gospel preached by Paul had not so\nmuch reference to God's way of dealing with _the sinner_ as with _the\nsaint_; it was not so much how God justified a sinner as what He did\nwith him when justified. Yes; it was the place into which Paul's\ngospel conducted the _saint_ that marked its peculiarity. As regards\nthe justification of a sinner, there could be but one way, namely,\nthrough faith in the one offering of the Lord Jesus Christ. But there\ncould be numerous degrees of elevation as regards the standing of the\nsaint. For example, a saint in the opening of Acts had higher\nprivileges than a saint under the law. Moses, the prophets, John, our\nLord in His personal ministry, and the twelve, all brought out varied\naspects of the believer's position before God. But Paul's gospel went\nfar beyond them all. It was not the kingdom offered to Israel on the\nground of repentance, as by John the Baptist and our Lord; nor was it\nthe kingdom opened to Jew and Gentile by Peter in Acts iii. and x.;\nbut it was _the heavenly calling of the Church of God composed of Jew\nand Gentile, in one body, united to a glorified Christ by the presence\nof the Holy Ghost_.\n\nThe epistle to the Ephesians fully develops the mystery of the will of\nGod concerning this. There we find ample instruction as to our\nheavenly standing, heavenly hopes, and heavenly conflict. The apostle\ndoes not contemplate the Church as a pilgrim _on earth_, (which, we\nneed not say, is most true,) but as sitting _in heaven_: not as\ntoiling _here_, but resting _there_. \"He hath raised us up together,\nand made us _sit_ together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.\" It is\nnot that He _will_ do this, but \"He hath\" done it. When Christ was\nraised from the dead, all the members of His body were raised also;\nwhen He ascended into heaven, they ascended also; when He sat down,\nthey sat down also; that is, in the counsel of God, and to be\nactualized in process of time by the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven.\n\nSuch was the thought and purpose of the divine mind concerning them.\nBelievers did not know this at the first; it was not unfolded by the\nministry of the twelve, as seen in the Acts of the Apostles, because\nthe testimony to Israel was still going on; and so long as earth was\nthe manifested scene of divine operation, and so long as there was any\nground of hope in connection with Israel, the heavenly mystery was\nheld back; but when earth had been abandoned and Israel set aside, the\napostle of the Gentiles, from his prison at Rome, writes to the\nChurch, and opens out all the glorious privileges connected with its\nplace in the heavens with Christ. When Paul arrived at Rome as a\nprisoner, he had, as it were, arrived at the end of all human things.\nHe no longer thought of the Church as exhibiting anything like a\nperfect testimony on earth. He knew how things would turn out as\nregards the Church's earthly path; he knew that it would fare with it\neven as it had fared with the vessel in which he had sailed from\nJerusalem to Rome; but his spirit was buoyed up by the happy\nassurance that nothing could touch the unity of the body of Christ,\nbecause it was a unity infallibly maintained by God Himself.[27] This\nwas the spring of Paul's joy as he lay a despised and neglected\nprisoner in the dungeon of Nero. He was not ashamed, for he knew that\nthe Church, though broken in pieces here, was nevertheless held in the\neverlasting grasp of the Son of God, and that He was able to keep it\nuntil the happy moment of its rapture to meet Him in the air.[28]\n\n  [27] I believe it is of the deepest moment that the believer should\n  avoid all looseness of thought, or indifference, in reference to the\n  presence of the Holy Ghost in the Church and the unity of the body of\n  Christ. The man who holds the former will assuredly seek the latter.\n\n  [28] A letter has been put into my hand, from a dear and valued\n  servant of Christ, from which I extract the following statements,\n  which are well worthy of attention: \"The Holy Ghost came down from\n  heaven to form one body on the earth; 'for by one Spirit are we all\n  baptized into one body.' This is the unity we are responsible to\n  maintain--the unity of the Spirit; the other, final one, God secures\n  infallibly. If God set in the Church 'healings,' it certainly is not\n  in heaven. One has only to read 1 Cor. x. 11 to learn that the unity\n  of the Church on earth is a fundamental, essential, divine\n  institution--the cardinal truth which will distinguish, I believe,\n  those who have faith to walk devotedly in these last days, and without\n  which the expectation of Christ will be only personal deliverance, and\n  not 'The Spirit and the Bride say, Come.'\"\n\nBut it may be asked: How can believers be said to be seated in\nheavenly places when they are yet in the world, struggling with its\ndifficulties, its sorrows and temptations? The same question may be\nasked in reference to the important doctrine of Rom. vi.: How can\nbelievers be represented as dead to sin when they find sin working in\nthem continually? The answer to both is one and the same. God sees the\nbeliever as dead with Christ, and He also sees the Church as raised\nwith and seated in Christ; but it is the province of faith to lead the\nsoul into the reality of both. \"Reckon yourselves to be\" what God\ntells you you are. The believer's power to subdue indwelling\ncorruption consists in his reckoning himself to be dead to it; and his\npower of separation from the world consists in his reckoning himself\nto be raised with Christ and seated in Him. The Church, according to\nGod's estimation, has as little to do with sin and the world as Christ\nhas; but God's thoughts and our apprehensions are very different\nthings.\n\nWe must never forget that every tendency of the human mind not only\nfalls short of but stands actually opposed to all this divine truth\nabout the Church. We have seen how long it was ere man could take hold\nof it--how it was forced out, as it were, and pressed upon him; and we\nhave only to glance at the history of the Church for the last eighteen\ncenturies to see how feebly it was held and how speedily it was let\ngo. The heart naturally clings to earth, and the thought of an earthly\ncorporation is attractive to it. Hence we may expect that the truth of\nthe Church's heavenly character will only be apprehended and carried\nout by a very small and feeble minority. It is not to be supposed that\nthe Protestant reformers exercised their thoughts on this momentous\nsubject. They were made instrumental in bringing out the precious\ndoctrine of justification by faith from amid the rubbish of Romish\nsuperstition, and also in letting in upon the human conscience the\nlight of inspiration in opposition to the false and ensnaring dogmas\nof human tradition. This was doing not a little: yet it must be\nadmitted the position and hopes of the Church engaged not their\nattention. It would have been a bold step from the church of Rome to\nthe Church of God; and yet it will be found in the end that there is\nno distinct neutral ground between the two; for every church, or, to\nspeak more accurately, every religious corporation, reared up and\ncarried on by the wisdom and resources of man, be its principle ever\nso pure and ever so hostile to Catholicism, will be found, when judged\nby the Spirit, and in the light of heaven, to partake more or less of\nthe element of the Romish system. The heart clings to earth, and will\nwith difficulty be led to believe that the only time wherein God\nceases to be manifestly occupied about earth--that the only unnoticed\ninterval in the history of time--is just the period wherein He, by the\nHoly Ghost, is gathering out the Church to form the body of Christ;\nand moreover, that when God was dealing publicly with earth, the\nChurch, properly so called, was not contemplated; and that when He\nshall resume His public dealings with the earth and with Israel, the\nChurch will be out of the scene.\n\nTo understand all this requires a larger measure of spirituality than\nis to be found with many Christians.[29] The question naturally arises\nin the mind of the inquirer after truth, \"What is the most scriptural\nform of Church government?\" \"To what body of Christians should I\nattach myself?\" The answer to such questions is, \"Attach yourself to\nthose who are 'endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond\nof peace.'\" Sects are not the Church, nor religious parties the body\nof Christ. Hence, to be attached to the sects is to find ourselves in\nsome of those numerous tributary streams which are rapidly flowing\nonward into the terrible vortex of which we read in Rev. xvii. and\nxviii. Let us not be deceived--principles will work, and systems will\nfind their proper level. Prejudice will operate, and hinder the\ncarrying out of those heavenly principles of which we speak. Those who\nwill maintain Paul's gospel will find themselves, like him, deserted\nand despised amid the splendid pomp and glitter of the world. The\nclashing of ecclesiastical systems, the jarring of sects, and the din\nof religious controversy, will surely drown the feeble voices of those\nwho would speak of the heavenly calling and rapture of the Church. But\nlet the spiritual man who finds himself in the midst of all this sad\nand heart-sickening confusion remember the following simple principle:\n_Every system of ecclesiastical discipline, and every system of\nprophetic interpretation, which would connect the Church, in any one\nway, with the world, or things of the world, must be contrary to the\nspirit and principles of the great mystery developed by the Holy Ghost\nin the apostle of the Gentiles._\n\n  [29] The reader will, I trust, understand the distinction between\n  God's _public_ actings and His secret operations by His providence.\n  The former ceased when Israel was set aside, and will be resumed when\n  Israel comes again into notice; the latter are going on now. God\n  controls the wheels of government and the counsels of kings to bring\n  about His own great designs.\n\n      \"Deep in unfathomable mines\n        Of never-failing skill,\n      He treasures up His bright designs,\n        And works His sovereign will.\"\n\nThe Church stands in no need of the world's aid in the matter of order\nor discipline. The Holy Ghost dwells in the Church, broken and\nscattered though it be, notwithstanding all man's unbelief about it;\nand if there be any introduction of the earthly or human element, it\ncan only have the sad effect of grieving Him whose presence is the\nvery light of believers and the spring and power of ministry and\ndiscipline.\n\nAnd then, as to the Church's hope, \"we look for the Saviour,\" and not\nfor the accomplishment of any earthly event. Thank God, believers are\nnot taught to wait for the revelation of Antichrist, but for the\nappearing of the blessed Son of God, who loved them and gave Himself\nfor them. Christians should understand that they have nothing to look\nfor save their rapture into the air to meet the Lord. The world may\nridicule the idea, and false teachers may build up systems hostile to\nit, for the purpose of shaking the faith of the simple-minded; but\nthrough grace we will continue to \"comfort one another\" with the\nassurance that \"the days are at hand, and the effect of every vision.\"\n\nI must now close this paper. I am deeply conscious of how feebly and\nincoherently I have developed what I have in my mind concerning the\ndoctrine of the Church; but I have no doubt of its real importance,\nand feel assured that as the time draws near much light will be\ncommunicated to believers about it. At present, it is to be feared,\nfew really enter into it. If it were understood, there would be far\nless effort to attain a name and a place on earth. Paul, the great\nwitness of the Church's heavenly calling, must have exhibited a poor\nspectacle in the view of the children of this world, and so will all\nwho maintain his principles and walk in his steps; but he comforted\nhis spirit with the thought that \"the foundation of God standeth sure,\nhaving this seal, the Lord knoweth them that are His;\" and he also\nknew that in the very darkest time there would be a few who would\n\"call on the Lord out of a pure heart.\" May our lot be cast among\nsuch, in the midst of this sorrowful scene, until we shall see Jesus\nas He is, and be made like Him forever!\n\n                                                         C. H. M.\n\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\nTranscriber's note:\n\nArchaic spelling and variations in spelling, punctuation and\nhyphenation have been retained except in obvious cases of\ntypographical error.","title":"Elijah the Tishbite. Miscellaneous Writings of C. H. Mackintosh, vol. V","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":105946}