The Lord of Glory MEDITATIONS ON THE PERSON, THE WORK AND GLORY OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST BY A. C. GAEBELEIN PUBLICATION OFFICE OF "OUR HOPE, " 456 Fourth Avenue, New York, N. Y. PICKERING & INGLIS, L. S. HAYNES, GLASGOW, 502 Yonge Street, SCOTLAND TORONTO, CANADA Copyright 1910 by A. C. Gaebelein. Printing by Francis Emory Fitch of New York Contents Preface Dedication The Lord of Glory Jehovah. The "I am" That Worthy Name The Doctrine of Christ The Pre-eminence of the Lord Jesus Christ Ye are Christ's--Christ is God's The Wonderful Honor and Glory unto Him Christ's Resurrection Song The Glory Song The Firstborn The Waiting Christ A Vision of the King The Fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord Out of His Fulness, The Twenty-second Psalm The Exalted One A Glorious Vision My Brethren The Patience of Christ He Shall Not Keep Silent The Love of Christ The Joy of the Lord This same Jesus The Wondrous Cross His Legacy What Have I to do with Idols The Never Changing One Be of Good Cheer Make Haste Preface. For a number of years the first pages of each issue of "Our Hope"have been devoted to brief meditations on the Person and Glory ofour adorable Lord Jesus Christ. Three reasons led the Editor to dothis: 1. He is worthy of all honor and glory, worthy to have thefirst place in all things. 2. The great need of His people to haveHis blessed Person, His past and present work, His power and glory, His future manifestation constantly brought before their hearts. 3. There is an ever increasing denial of the Person of our Lord. In themost subtle way His Glory has been denied. It is therefore eminentlynecessary for those who know Him to tell out His worth. Long andlearned discussions on the Person of the Lord have been written inthe past, but are not much read in these days. We felt that shortand simple meditations on Himself would be welcomed by allbelievers. All these brief articles were written with much prayer and oftenunder deep soul exercise. It has pleased the Holy Spirit to own themin a most blessed way. Hundreds of letters were received telling ofthe great blessing these meditations have been and what refreshingthey brought to the hearts of His people. Weary and tired ones werecheered, wandering ones restored and erring ones set right. Manywrote us or told us personally that the Lord Jesus Christ has becomea greater reality and power in their lives after following thismonthly testimony. Suggestions were made to issue some of these notes in book form sothat these blessed truths may be preserved in a more permanent form. We have done so and send this volume forth with the prayer that theHoly Spirit, who is here to glorify Christ, may use it to the praiseand glory of His worthy Name. We are confident that such will be thecase. A. C. G. New York City, October 1, 1910. Dedication. "Unto Him who loveth us and washed us from our sins in His ownblood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God His Father; toHim be glory and dominion forever. "--Rev. I: 5-6. "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, andwisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing. "--Rev. V:12. "Then they that feared the Lord spake one to another: and the Lordhearkened and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written beforeHim for them that feared the Lord and that _thought upon His Name_. "--Mal. Iii: 16. "Let us go forth, therefore, unto Him without the camp bearing Hisreproach. For here we have no continuing city, but we seek one tocome. By Him, therefore, let us offer the sacrifice of praise to Godcontinually, that is the fruit of our lips, _confessing His Name_. "--Hebrews xiii: 13-15. "Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so. Come Lord Jesus. "--Rev. Xxii: 20. The Lord of Glory. 1 Cor. Ii:8. OUR ever blessed Lord, who died for us, to whom we belong, with whomwe shall be forever, is the Lord of Glory. Thus He is called in 1Cor. Ii:8, "for had they known they would not have crucified the_Lord of Glory_. " Eternally He is this because He is "the expressimage of God, the brightness of His Glory" (Heb. I:3). He possessedGlory with the Father before the world was (John xvii:5). This Glorywas beheld by the prophets, for we read that Isaiah "saw His Gloryand spake of Him" (John xii:41). All the glorious manifestations ofJehovah recorded in the Word of God are the manifestations of "theLord of Glory, " who created all things that are in heaven, and thatare in earth, visible and invisible, who is before all things and bywhom all things consist. He appeared as the God of Glory to Abraham(Acts vii:1); Isaac and Jacob were face to face with Him. Mosesbeheld His Glory. He saw His Glory on the mountain. The Lord ofGlory descended in the cloud and stood with him there (Exod. Xxxiv:5). How often the Glory of the Lord appeared in the midst ofIsrael. And what more could we say of Joshua, David, Daniel, Ezekiel, who all beheld His Glory and stood in the presence of thatLord of Glory. In the fulness of time He appeared on earth "God manifested in theflesh. " Though He made of Himself no reputation and left Hisunspeakable Glory behind, yet He was the Lord of Glory, and as suchHe manifested His Glory. In incarnation in His holy, spotless lifeHe revealed His moral Glory; what perfection and loveliness we findhere! We have the testimony of His own "We beheld His Glory, theGlory as of the only begotten of the Father" (John i:14). "They sawHis Glory" (Luke ix:32) when they were with Him in the holymountain. They heard, they saw with their eyes, they looked upon, their hands handled the Word of life, the life that was manifested(1 John i:1-2). In His mighty miracles the Lord of Glory manifestedHis Glory, for it is written "this beginning of miracles did Jesusin Cana of Galilee and manifested forth His Glory" (John i:11). And this Lord of Glory died. The focus of His Glory is the cross. Hewas obedient unto death, the death of the cross. He gave Himself forus. Without following here all the precious truths connected withthat which is the foundation of our salvation and our hope, that theLord of Glory, Christ died for our sins, we remember that God"raised Him up from the dead and _gave Him Glory_" (1 Pet. I:21). Hewas "received up into Glory" (1 Tim. Iii:16). "Ought not Christ tohave suffered these things and to enter into _His Glory_" (Lukexxiv:26). The risen Lord of Glory said: "I ascend unto my Father andyour Father; to my God and your God. " He is now in the presence ofGod, the Man in Glory, seated in the highest place of the heaven ofheavens "at the right hand of the Majesty on high. " He is there "farabove all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, andevery name that is named, not only in this world, but also in thatwhich is to come" (Eph. I:21). He is highly exalted, the heir of allthings. In that Glory He was beheld by human, mortal eyes. Stephenbeing full of the Holy Spirit "looked up steadfastly into heaven andsaw the _Glory of God_, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God"(Acts vii:55). This was the dying testimony of the first Christianmartyr. Saul of Tarsus saw this Glory; he "could not see for theGlory of that light" (Acts xxii:11). John beheld Him and fell at Hisfeet as dead. And we see Him with the eye of faith. "But we seeJesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the sufferingof death _crowned with Glory and Honor_" (Heb. Ii:9). But this is not all. The unseen Glory of the Lord and the unseenLord of Glory will some day be visible, not to a few, but to thewhole universe. He will come in the Glory of His Father and the holyangels with Him (Matt. Xvi:27). The Lord of Glory will be "revealedfrom heaven with His mighty angels" (2 Thess. I:7). He will come inpower and Glory, come in His own Glory (Luke ix:26) and sit on thethrone of His Glory (Matt. Xxv:31). His Glory then will cover theheavens (Hab. Iii:3) and "the earth will be filled with theknowledge of the Glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea"(Hab. Ii:14). The heavens cannot be silent forever and He who now isthe object of the faith of believers, and the One whom the world hasrejected, will come forth in all His Majesty and Glory and every eyeshall see Him. Then every knee must bow at the name of Jesus andevery tongue confess Him as Lord. In that manifestation of the Lordof Glory and the Glory of the Lord we His redeemed will bemanifested in Glory. He will then be glorified in His saints andadmired in all them that believed (2 Thess. I:10). He will bring Hismany sons to Glory (Heb. Ii:10). We are "partakers of the Glory thatshall be revealed" (1 Pet. V:1). The God of all Grace hath indeedcalled us unto His eternal Glory by Jesus Christ. "And when thechief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of Glory thatfadeth not away" (1 Pet. V:4). "But rejoice inasmuch as ye arepartakers of Christ's sufferings, that when His Glory shall berevealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy" (1 Pet. Iv:13). But ere this visible Glory is manifested over the earth and on theearth and He comes forth as the King of kings and Lord of lords Hisown will be gathered unto Him and be caught up in clouds to meet Himin the air. Then we shall see Him as He is and be like Him. TheGlory which the Father has given Him as the head of the body will bebestowed upon the whole body; for thus He prayed "the Glory, whichthou hast given me I have given to them" (John xvii:22). And in theFather's house where He is, in the Holy of Holies we shall beholdHis Glory. We shall be changed into the same image "that He might bethe first born among many brethren" (Rom. Viii:29). And now, dear reader, joint heir with the Lord of Glory, called byGod unto the fellowship of His Son, in meditating on these wonderfulfacts given to us by revelation, does not your heart burn withinyou? What a blessing, what a place, what a future is ours linkedwith the Lord of Glory, one with Him! What a stupendous thought thatHe came from Glory to die for us so that He might have us with Himin Glory! And these blessed truths concerning the Lord of Glory and the Gloryof the Lord we need to hold ever before our hearts in these drearydays when darkest night is fast approaching. To walk worthy of theLord, to be faithful to the Lord, to render true service, to be morelike Him and show forth His excellencies, we but need one thing, toknow Him better and to behold the Glory of the Lord. It is written"But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the Glory of theLord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even asby the Spirit of the Lord. " Guided by the Spirit we can look on theLord of Glory and His Glory, mirrored in all parts of the Word ofGod. And then as we look on this wonderful person and His relationto us and ours to Him, as we behold His glory both moral andliteral, in humiliation and exaltation, past, present and future, weare changed into the same image. Our path will be from Glory toGlory! And some day there will come that supreme moment when weshall be _suddenly_ changed "in a moment, the twinkling of an eye. "Oh child of God see your need! It is Christ, the Lord of Glory setbefore your heart; all worldly mindedness, all insincerity, alldiscouragement, all unbelief, all unfaithfulness must flee when wefollow on to know the Lord and daily behold "as in a glass the Gloryof the Lord. " "Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to presentyou faultless _before the presence of His Glory_ with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion andpower, both now and ever. Amen. " Jehovah. The "I Am. " WHEN Moses in the desert beheld the burning bush God answered hisquestion by the revelation of His name as the "I Am. " "And God saidunto Moses, I am, that I am: and He said, Thus shalt thou say untothe children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you" (Exod. Iii:14). He who spake thus out of the bush to Moses was the same who in thefullness of time appeared upon the earth in the form of man. OurLord Jesus Christ is no less person, than the I AM. If we turn tothe fourth Gospel in which the Holy Spirit pictures Him as the Sonof God, one with the Father, we find His glorious title there as theI AM. In the eighth chapter of that blessed Gospel we read that Hesaid to the Jews, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abrahamwas, I am" (v:58). And the Jews took stones to cast them upon Him. In the fifth chapter we read that they wanted to kill Him, not onlybecause He had violated the Sabbath, but also said that God was HisFather, making Himself equal with God (v:18). They wanted to stoneHim because in saying that word "Before Abraham was, I am" He hadclaimed that holy name for Himself, which was revealed to Moses. TheJews then, as the orthodox Jews do still, reverenced that name tosuch a degree that they did not even pronounce it, but substitutedin its place the word "Adonai. " Little did they realize that thesame "I am" who spoke to Moses out of the bush, saying, "I am;" whodescended before Moses later in a cloud and proclaimed the name ofthe Lord (Exod. Xxxiv) was standing in their midst in the form ofman. And this is not the only time He used this word. We find it inthe xviii chapter of John. When the band and officers of the chiefpriests and Pharisees came with lanterns, torches and weapons, Jesusstepped majestically into their presence with the calm question:"Whom seek ye?" When they had stated that they were seeking Jesusthe Nazarene He answered them with one word "I AM. " What happened?They went backward and fell to the ground. What a spectacle thatmust have been. The dark night, a company of people, all on the samesatanic errand, with their lanterns, torches and different kinds ofweapons. And then the object of their hatred steps before them andutters one word and they fall helpless to the ground. What warningit should have been to them. Once more He asks the question; againHe answers with the "I am" and with the understanding that His ownshould be free, He allows Himself to be bound. He likewise called Himself "I am" in talking with the Samaritanwoman. In John iv:26 we read, "Jesus saith unto her, I that speakunto thee am he. " This does, however, not express the original. Thisreads as follows: "I AM that speaks to thee. " After this mighty wordhad come from His lips the woman had nothing more to say, but lefther waterpot and went her way back to the city. The I AM had spokento her. In chapters vi:20 and viii:28 we find Him using the same "Iam" again. In the former passage "It is I" should read "I am. " Besides these passages in which He speaks of Himself as theself-existing Jehovah, the great "I am, " He saith seven times in thisGospel what He is to His own. I am the Bread of life (chaptervi:35. ) I am the Light of the world (chapter ix:5). I am the Door(chapter x:7). I am the Good Shepherd (chapter x:11). I am theResurrection and the Life (chapter xi:25). I am the Way, the Truthand the Life (chapter xvi:6); and I am the true Vine (chapter xv:1). But this does not exhaust at all what He is and will be now andforever to those who belong to Him. In the Old Testament there areseven great names of the "I AM" which are deep and significant. Inthem we can trace His rich and wonderful Grace. _Jehovah. --Jireh_--The Lord provides. The lamb provided (Genesis xxii). _JehovahRophecah_--I am the Lord that healeth thee (Exodus xv). _Jehovah--Nissi_--The Lord is my banner, He giveth the Victory (Exod. Xvii). _Jehovah shalom_, the Lord is Peace. He is our Peace (Judges vi). _Jehovah Roi_--The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want (Psalmxxiii). _Jehovah-Tsidkenu_, the Lord is our righteousness (Jeremiahxxiii). _Jehovah shammah_, the Lord is there (Ezek. Xlviii). But this does not exhaust what He is. I AM--what? Anything andeverything what we need in time and eternity. "When God would teach mankind His name He called Himself the great, I AM, And leaves a blank--believers may Supply those things for which they pray. " Happy indeed are we, beloved reader, if we know Him, who died for usas the I AM, if we learn more and more to trust Him as the allsufficient One and know that the I AM will supply all our need. Inthese days in which the person of Christ is so much belittled, attacked; He as the Holy One, the great Jehovah rejected, not by theoutside world alone, but by those who call themselves after His ownblessed name, let us have for an answer to all these attacks of theenemy a closer walk with Him, a more intimate fellowship with the IAM; a better acquaintance with our Jehovah-Jesus, our gracious Lord. Oh what a union is ours, One with Him the I AM, what a happy, glorious lot. Hallelujah. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come (Rev. Ii:8). I am thebright and morning star (Rev. Xxii: 16). What, oh what will He befor His own in all eternity! That Worthy Name. James ii:7. IN the second chapter of the Epistle of James the Holy Spirit speaksof our ever blessed Lord as "that worthy Name. " Precious Word!precious to every heart that knows Him and delights to exalt Hisglorious and worthy Name. His Name is "far above every Name that isnamed, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come. "(Ephes. I:21. ) It is "as ointment poured forth" (Song of Sol. I:3);yea, His Name alone is excellent (Psalm cxlviii:13). But accordingto His worth that blessed Name is far from being fully known anduttered by the Saints of God. "Thou art worthy" and "Worthy is theLamb" shall some day burst from the glorified lips of redeemedsinners, brought home to be with Him. In that blessed day when atlast we see Him face to face, forever with the Lord, we shall beginto learn the full worth and glory of that Name, the Name of the LordJesus Christ. In a feeble way here below we get glimpses of Hisprecious, worthy Name, of His beauty and loveliness, and then onlythrough the power of the Holy Spirit. The aim of the Spirit of Goddwelling in our hearts will always be to tell us more of Himself. Like Abraham's servant who had so much to say to the elect brideabout Isaac, so the Holy Spirit ever delights to show us more ofChrist, the Christ of God. Oh! how He is eager to tell us more ofHis worth, of His glory, of His grace and of all He is and all Hehas. How it grieves Him when our hearts do not respond to the greatmessage He has for us and when instead we turn to something else togive us joy and comfort. Only Christ can give joy and comfort, peaceand rest to the hearts of those who are His. The days are evil andthe time is short. Is your heart increasingly attracted to thatworthy Name? Do you have a greater burning desire in your heart forHimself? Does He, that worthy Name, become more and more day by daythe absorbing object of your heart and life? Do you often weep overyour coldheartedness, your lack of real devotion to Him andcommunion with your Lord? Do you appreciate Him more than everbefore? Is the Apostle's longing cry "that I might know Him" comingalso from your heart? Dear reader, these are searching questions. Abetter knowledge of our blessed Lord, a deeper acquaintance withthat worthy Name and greater devotion to Him, is the only truespiritual progress which counts. If you live but little in thereality of all this you lack that joy and rest which is trueChristian happiness and the Spirit is grieved. Oh let Him unfold toyour heart that worthy name and show you from His Word, Hiswonderful person, then His power will attract your heart more andmore. This is what all God's people need. "That worthy Name, " theLord in all His blessed fulness and glorious reality is what weneed. And what the written Word has to tell us of "that worthy Name"! Oh, the titles, the attributes, the names, the glories, the beauties ofHimself. And we have discovered but so few of these blessed things. Perhaps a few hundred of the descriptions of that worthy Name areknown to God's Saints; but there are hundreds, still hidden, we havenever touched. Yes, God's Spirit is ever willing to make them knownto our hearts. Just for a few moments think of some of the familiar titles andnames of that Name which is above every other name. How these titlesof our blessed Lord, what He is and what we have in Him should fillour hearts with praise and our lips with outbursts of praise, liftus above present day conditions and give us courage and boldness. "That worthy Name"; who is He? The Son of God, the Only Begotten of the Father, the living God, theeternal Life; Emmanuel, the God of Glory, the Holy One; Jehovah, theeverlasting God, the Lord strong and mighty, the Lord of Peace, theLord our righteousness, the Upholder of all things, the Creator, theAlpha and Omega, the express image of God. He is the Word, the Wordof God, the Word of Life, the Wisdom of God, the Angel of the Lord, the Mediator of the better covenant. The good Shepherd, the greatShepherd, the chief Shepherd, the Door, the Way, the Root andoffspring of David, the Branch of Righteousness, the Rose of Sharon, the Lily of the valley, the true Vine, the Corn of Wheat, the Breadof God, the true Bread from heaven. He is also the Light of theworld, the Day dawn, the Star out of Jacob, Sun and Shield, theBright and Morningstar, the Sun of Righteousness. Thus we read ofthat worthy Name, that He is, the Great High-priest, the Daysman, the Advocate, Intercessor, Surety, Mercy Seat, the Forerunner, theRock of Salvation, the Refuge, the Tower, a strong Tower, the Rockof Ages, the Hope of Glory, the Hope of His people, a living Stone. And what else? the Gift of God, the Beloved, the Fountain of Life, Shiloh, He is our Peace, our Redeemer, He is precious, the Amen, theJust Lord, the Bridegroom, the Firstborn from the Dead, Head overall, Head of all principality and power, Heir of all things. He isCaptain of the Lord's Host, Captain of their salvation, Chiefestamong Ten Thousand, the Leader, the Counsellor, the Lion of thetribe of Judah, the Governor, Prince of Peace, the Prince of Life, the Prince of the Kings of the earth, the Judge, the King, the Kingof Israel, King of Saints, King of Glory, King over all the earth, King in His Beauty, King of Kings and Lord of lords. All these names and attributes of that worthy Name are familiar. What dignity, what power, what grace and blessing for us for whom Hedied and shed His precious blood they express. Who can fathom thesenames? Who can tell out His worth? And hundreds more could be added, and many, many more, which are still undiscovered in the Word ofGod. What a Lord He is! We worship and adore Thee, Thou worthy One. Draw us O Lord and we will run after Thee. What a joy and delight itought to be to follow Him, to exalt Him, to be devoted to such aOne! Oh! our failures! And still He carries us in kindness andpatience. And He also has a Name, which expresses the fulness of Hiswork and glory. No one knows what _that_ is. "He had a name written, that no man knew, but He Himself" (Rev. Xix:12). That unknown Namemay never be made known. But oh! the blessedness which is before us His redeemed people. Ofus it is written "They shall see _His face_": That blessed, blessedface of that worthy Name, we shall behold at last. We shall see Hisface! Oh the rapture which fills the heart in the anticipation ofthat soon coming event. "And His Name shall be on their foreheads"(Rev. Xxii:4). We shall be like Him, we shall be a perfectreflection of Himself. The Doctrine of Christ. 2 John 9-11. "WHOSOEVER transgresseth and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hathboth the Father and the Son. If there come any unto you, and bringnot this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid himGod speed. For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evildeeds" (2 John 9-11). What then is the doctrine of Christ? It is therevealed truth concerning the person of our Lord Jesus Christ, thatHe is the Son of God, whom the Father sent into the world. "God soloved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoeverbelieveth on Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. " Thisis the doctrine of Christ. Anyone who does not hold the doctrine ofChrist that He is absolutely God, one with the Father come into theworld, hath not God. He is without God and hope in the world. He isan Anti-christ. "Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ iscome in the flesh is of God; and every spirit that confesseth notthat Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God; and this isthat spirit of Anti-christ, whereof ye have heard that it shouldcome; and even now already is it in the world" (1 John iv:2-3). Sucha denier of the Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ is no christian atall and all fellowship even to the greeting must be denied to him. This seems severe and intolerant. But it is not if we consider whatthe denial of the Person of our holy and blessed Lord means. Godgrant unto us, who hold the doctrine of Christ, a divine jealousyfor His honor and glory, manifested by separation from all who inany way deny the doctrine upon which all Christianity rests. But how blessed to faith to see in the first Epistle of John thedoctrine of Christ revealed and the blessings and comforts broughtforth, which are for those who abide in this doctrine. In the Gospelof John the beloved disciple writes by the Holy Spirit about the Sonof God, how He came from the Father and was in the world and how Heleft the world to go back to the Father. The Son of God is also thetheme of the Holy Spirit in the first Epistle of John. "Ourfellowship is with the Father, and with His _Son_ Jesus Christ"(i:3). This fellowship means that we share the Father's thoughtsabout His Son and to enjoy with the Son His own blessed and eternalrelationship with the Father. In the measure our faith enters intothe doctrine of Christ in that measure we shall have deeperfellowship with the Father and His Son. Is your cry, dear reader, for more reality in this fellowship? There is one way only whichleads to this. It is an increase in the knowledge of the Son of Godand as you abide there, you _have_ the Father and the Son. And now we shall call to our remembrance other passages in the firstEpistle of John in which our blessed Lord as the Son of God ismentioned. They are sweet and precious to faith and if read in theSpirit they will bring the joy, the blessing, the peace and thecomfort of the doctrine of Christ to our hearts. "The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin" (i:7). That precious blood, His own blood, has cleansed us once and forall. "For this purpose the _Son of God_ was manifested that He mightdestroy the works of the devil" (iii:8). "And this is hiscommandment, that we should believe on the name of His _Son_ JesusChrist and love one another as He gave us commandment. And he thatkeepeth His commandments (which are: believing on Him and loving oneanother) dwelleth in Him and He in him. And hereby we know that Heabideth in us, by the Spirit which He hath given us" (iii:23-24). "In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that Godsent His _only begotten Son_ into the world that we might livethrough Him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that Heloved us, and sent _His Son_ into the world to be the propitiationfor our sins. " "Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to loveone another" (iv:9-11). "And we have seen and do testify that theFather sent _the Son_ to be the Saviour of the world. Whosoevershall confess that Jesus is _the Son of God_, God dwelleth in himand he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God hathto us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love, dwelleth in Godand God in him" (iv:14-16). "Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is _the Son of God?_" (v:5) "If wereceive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for thisis the witness of God which He hath testified of His _Son_. He thatbelieveth on the _Son of God_ hath the witness in himself; he thatbelieveth not God hath made Him a liar; because he believeth not therecord that God gave to _His Son_. And this is the record that Godhath given to us eternal life, and this life is _in His Son_. Hethat hath _the Son_ hath life; he that hath not the _Son of God_hath not life" (v:9-12). "These things have I written unto you thatbelieve on the name of _the Son of God_, that ye may know that yehave eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of _the Sonof God_. And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if weask anything according to His will, He heareth us" (v:13-14). "Andwe know that the _Son of God_ is come, and hath given us anunderstanding, that we may know Him that is true, and we are in Himthat is true, even in _His Son_ Jesus Christ. This is the _true God_and eternal life" (v:20). May our faith lay hold anew of these simple yet deep and preciousrevelations. They are the doctrine of Christ. Into this we mustenter constantly and manifest in our lives the fruits of thisdoctrine, love and righteousness. The increasing rejection of thedoctrine of Christ demands the increased appreciation of thatdoctrine. The more the enemy attacks the Person of Christ, the morethe Holy Spirit demands of us, who belong to Christ, that we exaltHim. Everything in the present time seems to be aimed at the settingaside of the doctrine upon which our Hope rests. Higher Criticism, the evil doctrines, which reject the eternal punishment of thewicked, the spurious gospels, ethical teachings and every otherfalse doctrine strikes at the blessed Person of our Lord. The shadowof _the_ Anti-christ is cast in our days. Let us heed God's Word. Let us be separated from those who deny Christ or we are partakersof their evil deeds. The path of the true believer becomes narrower. It must be so. But Christ becomes more precious, more real to oursouls. What awful times are coming upon this age according to God's Word!With the rejection of the doctrine of Christ this age sidescompletely with Satan and that wonderful being is both blinding hisvictims and using them for his own sinister purposes. The blindnessis fearful. It will be worse before long. The rush into completeapostasy and from there into the delusion with the lying wonders andon into the darkness forever will come next. Let us praise God forthe doctrine of Christ, which is our salvation, and may God give usfaith and courage to walk according to that doctrine. What day ofjoy awaits us, when we shall see him as He is and know the depth ofthe Love of God by being like Him! The Pre-Eminence of the Lord Jesus Christ. WHAT a blessed theme the Person and Glory of our Lord! Howinexhaustible and unsearchable! How refreshing to the souls of Hisredeemed people as well as to the heart of our heavenly Father, who, loveth the Son! To meditate on Him, to behold the Glory of the Lordunder the guidance of the Holy Spirit in the Word of God, meansspiritual growth and spiritual enjoyment. This only can make theunseen Person a blessed reality in our daily walk. We pray that allour beloved readers are drawn closer to Himself through these briefmeditations. Can we truly say the Lord is more precious to ourhearts and that we are living more in His presence than ever before?Has He become the absorbing object of our hearts and lives? Are wemore devoted to Him? God grant that this may be the case with all ofus. It is the great need we have. It is the good part, which Mary, resting at His feet, had chosen. In the great chapter which begins the Epistle to the Colossians, after that blessed description of the Son of God, stands this word"_that in all things He might have the pre-eminence_" (Col. I:18). But who can tell out what a pre-eminence, the pre-eminence of theLord Jesus Christ is? Some day we shall see Him in all His Glory. HeHimself will lead us into the Holiest of the third heaven to beholdthe Glory the Father has given Him (John xvii:24); then we shallknow His pre-eminence fully. And yet from Scripture we can learneven now the pre-eminence of the Lord Jesus Christ. In all eternity the Son of God was the object of Love and Glory. "Son of God the Father's bosom Ever was Thy dwelling place. " He ever subsisted in the form of God. In all creation He has thepre-eminence. This is made known to us, as man could not discoverit, by revelation. We accept this in faith. "Through faith weunderstand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God, so thatthings which are seen were not made of things which do appear" (Heb. X:3). And all which was called into existence was created by Him andfor Him. "For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they bethrones or dominions, or principalities, or powers, all things werecreated by Him and for Him" (Col. I:16). What a marvellous survey!What power and glory belongs to the blessed Son of God! "All thingswere made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that wasmade. " "The world was made by Him" (John i:3, 10). He has the pre-eminence in sustaining His creation. All thingsconsist by Him. He upholds all things by the Word of His power (Heb. I:3). In the Revelation of God He has the pre-eminence. Both books, thebook of Nature and the Book of all books, the written Word of God, the Bible, tell out His Glory. The Bible may be compared to a livingorganism, like the human body. Every book in the Bible has aspecific place and service like the members of the body; the life inthat marvellous divinely constructed organism of the revelation ofGod is the Son of God. Apart from Him there is no revelation fromGod and no manifestation of God. He reveals God throughout theBible, in every part, He holds the pre-eminence. Greater still isHis pre-eminence in redemption. Redemption would be an eternalimpossibility without Him. He came from the Father's bosom to redeemus. He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one can come to theFather but by Him. He gives eternal life. Furthermore as the firstborn from the dead He is the head of the body. That body is thechurch and every believing sinner is a member in that body. Each isunited to Him and possesses His life. This body with its manymembers He keeps, nourishes, builds up, sanctifies and ultimatelyglorifies. In all the great and glorious redemptive work He has thepre-eminence. As the glorified Man He is the Heir of God and as such He holds thepre-eminence in heaven. He has been made so much better than theangels, as He hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent namethan they. Far above all the angelic beings, higher than thearchangel is the Lord Jesus Christ, the Man in Glory. There is a future pre-eminence for Him. The day of His visible Gloryand power is approaching. Now He is rejected, then He will beenthroned. Upon the holy hill of Zion He will be the King of Glory. His Glory will cover the heavens and His Majesty the earth. He willbe King of kings and Lord of lords. He will rule as the onlypotentate and every knee must bow before Him. The song must at lastrise in heaven and on earth "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain toreceive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, andglory and blessing. " Such is, briefly sketched, the pre-eminence ofthe Lord Jesus Christ. Yea, in all things He hath the pre-eminence. Can we do anything less than to give Him the first place in allthings? He is worthy of it. He died for us. He drank the cup ofwrath in our stead. His own self bare our sins in His own body onthe tree. How great has been and still is His love for us, the love, which passeth knowledge. He is worthy of the first place everymoment of our lives. He is worthy to possess all we have and are. Weare bought with a price, we are not our own. We belong to Him. What unspeakable grace from God the Father, that He has brought usinto fellowship with Him to whom He has given the pre-eminence. Weplease the Father as we delight ourselves in the Son and walk inthat blessed fellowship. We must honor Him whom the Father hashonored, and as we serve the Lord Jesus Christ and accord Him thefirst place, the Father will honor us (John xii:26). Our hearts toocan never fully know the blessed peace of God and rest of faith tillwe give our Lord the first place. Anything less than that will meandishonor to Him. "Not I--but Christ" must be the constant cry ofour hearts. Not I--but Christ in our daily walk; Not I--but Christin our service. Oh! that we might realize our great and holycalling, our wonderful privilege, a privilege which is ours for buta little while longer to live Him, live for Him, who has in allthings the pre-eminence. Nothing save Him, in all our ways, Giving the theme for ceaseless praise; Our whole resource along the road, Nothing but Christ--the Christ of God. "Ye are Christ's--Christ is God's. " ONLY a few words, yet how blessedly full of peace and joy! Howprecious they are to faith! If we, to whom they apply, wouldremember them daily, how happy in Him we would be. In all our ways, in good and evil days, yea, every moment the truth contained inthese words ought to be real to the true believer. Is not all ourfailure due to the fact that we live not sufficiently in theconsciousness and reality of this wonderful fact, that we belong toChrist, that we are one with Him? Before these words in the thirdchapter of First Corinthians we find the statement "all things areyours. " And after these words it is written "Christ is God's. " Weare Christ's and Christ is God's; all things are ours because Gracehas brought us into this marvelous relationship. "Christ is God's"gives us once more the whole story of God's Love and Grace. As theOnly Begotten He ever subsisted in the form of God, the Image ofGod, one with Him, absolutely God. But He came down, took upon Himthe form of a servant, taking His place in the likeness of man. Inthe form of man He wrought the great work of redemption on the crossand now after His resurrection, by which He is proven Son of God andHis presence as the glorified Man in the highest heaven, He is theone in whom and through whom, God the God and Father of our LordJesus Christ gives all blessing. "Christ is God's, " then, means whatwe learn from the following scriptures: "The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into His hands" (John iii:35). "Whom Hehath appointed heir of all things" (Heb. I:2). "Christ is God's" isa word which tells us that He who is the Creator of all things, thevisible and the invisible, came in incarnation, redeemed us and isnow, the beginning, the first-begotten from the dead and the Head ofHis Body, which is the Church. This is how God has brought us toHimself in the person of His own Son by whom he has redeemed us, inwhom He has exalted us and with whom He has given us all things. To that wonderful person, Christ, the Christ of God, we belong. Weare His, who is One with God, by whom and for whom all things werecreated. The Son of God for such as we are, became poor, even to thepoverty of the cross. There He took our place and in His own body Hebore our sins and died for us. He saw us then the travail of Hissoul. We can look back to the cross and say, as His Apostle said:"Who love me and gave Himself for me. " We belong to Him, who has allpower in heaven and will have all power before long, as King ofKings and Lord of Lords on earth. We are Christ's, whom God hasappointed as the second Man, the head of the new creation as Heir ofall things. We are Christ's, who is the Head of the Body, to whichwe belong. In Him and with Him we are the Heirs of God. God andChrist are inseparable and so are Christ and we who have trusted inHim and have His life. All Christ has belongs to us; all Christ iswe shall be; where Christ is there we shall be in all eternity. Reader! Child of God, pause! Does your faith lay hold of this? Doyou read it only and enjoy it just for a moment or is this greatfact of your union with Christ and God becoming daily a greaterreality in your life? Is it really so that you enter deeper anddeeper into that love which passeth knowledge? Oh! that it may be sowith the writer and each believer who reads these feeble words on sogreat a theme. "Ye are Christ's. " Then we are _not our own_. That is exactly whatis elsewhere stated in First Corinthians. "Ye are not your own; weare bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body and inyour spirit, which are God's" (1 Cor. Vi:20). Our hearts occupiedwith Himself, increasingly attracted by the glorious Person of ouradorable Lord, realising by the power of His Spirit our glory anddestiny with the Lord of Glory, we shall act and walk as such, whoare Christ's. Every step of the way it will resound in our hearts"ye are Christ's. " In all we do we shall always remember we areChrist's. Cares, anxieties, worldly ambitions, all manner oftemptations, will fall before the fact grasped in faith "I amChrist's. " We are convinced that _only_ the Person of Christ put before theheart of the believer through the Word of God and the power of HisSpirit can keep the Christian in these awful days of apostasy fromgoing along with the fearful current of the last days. If Christ andour blessing in Him become more real to us we will be beyond thereach of the god of this age with his wiles and sinister purposes. Furthermore the demand of the hour is for us to exalt Christ. How Heis dishonored is a dread reality. The rejection of Christ was neverso marked and never so satanic as in these days. God, the God andFather of our Lord Jesus Christ expects from us His children that weexalt Him in the days of His rejection and thus share His reproach. Let us do it! And lastly, if we ever have the Person of Christ before our hearts, we shall walk in obedience to Him as our Lord. Then if we exaltChrist and are obedient to Himself we have the fullest assurancethat the Holy Spirit will be with us, upon us and fill us. There isno need to seek "the power" as some express it, nor a baptism of theSpirit. He will be with us and in us in the measure as we exaltChrist and walk in Him. O gracious Lord, when we reflect How apt to turn the eye from Thee, Forget Thee, too, with sad neglect, And listen to the enemy, And yet to find Thee still the same-- 'Tis this that humbles us with shame. Astonished at Thy feet we fall, Thy love exceeds our highest thought, Henceforth be Thou our all in all, Thou who our souls with blood hast bought; May we henceforth more faithful prove, And ne'er forget Thy ceaseless love. "Him will I make that overcomes And stems the advancing flood, A pillar of might, with glory light, In the temple of my God. On him shall the blest Name divine, And my new name be graven; And the City's name, Jerusalem, That cometh down from heaven. " The Wonderful. Isaiah ix:6. HIS name shall be called "Wonderful" (Isaiah ix:6). And long beforeIsaiah had uttered this divine prediction the angel of the Lord hadannounced his name to be Wonderful. As such He appeared to Manoah. And Manoah said unto the angel of Jehovah, What is thy name, thatwhen thy sayings come to pass we may do thee honor. And the angel ofJehovah said unto Him "why askest thou thus after my name, seeing itis Wonderful" (margin, Judges xiii:17-18). This angel of Jehovah, the Person who appeared repeatedly in Old Testament history is anuncreated angel. Of this Being we read that He is the Redeemer, forJacob speaks of Him "the angel which redeemed me from all evil"(Genesis xlviii:15). He is the angel whose voice must be obeyed, whohas power to pardon transgressions, in whom the name of God is(Exodus xxiii:20-23). He is the angel of His Presence who saved them(Isaiah lxiii:9) and Exodus xxxiii:14 must refer to this Being "Mypresence shall go with thee and I will give thee rest. " This angelof Jehovah speaks in the Book of Judges and declared, "I made you togo up out of Egypt, and have brought you into the land which I swareunto your fathers; and I said I will never break my covenant withyou" (Judges ii:1). He appeared unto Moses in a flame of fire out ofthe midst of the bush and He spoke to Moses as the I am! (Ex. Iii. )The same One appeared before Joshua and he worshipped in Hispresence. With Him Jacob wrestled, with Jehovah, the God of hosts(Hosea xii:4-6). Malachi iii:1 shows that the Lord Himself is thisAngel, the Angel of the Covenant, who also visited Abraham in theform of Man (Genesis xviii). And after all these manifestations, seven hundred years after Isaiahhad announced Him, as the Wonderful, He appeared in human form inthe midst of His people. And now we know by divine Revelation in thecompleted Word of God that He is wonderful in His Person and in hiswork; but no mind can fathom, no heart can grasp, no pen candescribe, how wonderful He is. He is wonderful if we think of Him as the Only Begotten of theFather. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. Allthings were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made thatwas made" (John i:1-3). "By Him were all things created that are inHeaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they bethrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers, all things weremade by Him and for Him; and He is before all things and by Him allthings consist" (Col. I:16-17). He is the image of the invisibleGod, the brightness of His glory and the express image of HisPerson. How wonderful such a One, who ever was, with no beginning, One with God! How wonderful His humiliation. "Who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of noreputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made inthe likeness of men, and being in fashion as a man He humbledHimself" (Phil. Ii:6-8). "For verily He took not on Him the natureof Angels, but He took on Him the seed of Abraham" (Hebrews ii:16). Wonderful condescension that He who created the angels should bemade lower than the angels and lay His Glory by, to appear in theform of man on earth. Wonderful is He in His incarnation, "that holy thing" as the angelannounced Him, truly God and Man. Born of the woman, resting on thebosom of the virgin as a little child and yet He is the One who everis in the bosom of the Father. Wonderful that blessed life He lived on earth of which the beloveddisciple bears such a beautiful witness. "That which was from thebeginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled of the Word ofLife. For the life was manifested and we have seen it and bearwitness and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with theFather, and was manifested unto us" (1 John i:1-2). Wonderful arethe blessed words which came from His lips, wonderful is His moralglory, His untiring service, His love, His patience and everythingwhich the Holy Spirit has been pleased to tell us of His earthlylife. The more our hearts contemplate Him the more wonderful Heappears. But still greater and more wonderful is it that He went tothe cross to give His life as a ransom for many, that the Just Oneshould die for the unjust, that He who knew no sin was made sin forus and pay the penalty of sins on the cross. He is the Wonderful inHis great work on the cross, the depths of which have never beenfathomed. And what can we say of His wonderful Glory, His wonderfulPlace, His wonderful Power, His wonderful Grace! How wonderfully Hehas dealt with us, with each one of us individually. How wonderfulit is that He knows each of His sheep, that He guides each, providesfor, loveth, succors, stands by, restores, never leaves nor forsakeseach who has trusted in Him and belongs to Him. How wonderful areHis ways with us, that He guides with His eyes and that His lovingpower and omnipotent love is on our side. In His comingmanifestation He will be wonderful. Wonderful He will be when weshall see Him and stand in His presence. What a day it will be whenwe see Him face to face! Then we shall know all the loveliness andwonderfulness of His adorable Person and His wonder ways with us. With what wonderment we shall then behold Him. And when He comeswith His Saints, when the Heavens are lit up with untold glory, whenHe comes to judge, to establish His Kingdom, to speak peace to thenations, to restore creation to its right condition, when He reignsand all His redeemed ones with Him--Oh how wonderful it all willbe! He is altogether lovely and he is altogether wonderful. Glory to Hisname! Well has one said: "He pervades the whole of the New Testamentwith His presence, so that every doctrine it teaches, every duty itdemands, every narrative it records, every comfort it gives, everyhope it inspires, gathers about His person and ministers to Hisglory. " So dear does He thus become to the heart of the believer, that Luther may well be excused for exclaiming, 'I had rather be inhell with Christ, than in heaven without Him. ' "We believe in Him as our Saviour, Acts vi:31; confess Him as ourLord, Rom. X:9; we have redemption through His blood, Eph. I:7; welook to Him as our Leader, Heb. Xii:2; we follow Him as our Teacher, Eph. Iv:20, 21; we feed upon Him as our Bread, Jno. Vi:48; we go toHim in our Thirst, Jno. Vi: 37; we enter by Him as our door, Jno. X:9; we are in Him as our vine, Jno. Xv:5; we find in Him our rest, Matt. Xi:28; we have in Him our example, Jno. Xiii:15; He is ourrighteousness, 2 Cor. V:21; we are succored by Him in temptation, Heb. Ii:18; we turn to Him for sympathy, Heb. Iv:15; we obtainthrough Him our victory, 1 Cor. Xv:57; we overcome by Him the world, 1 Jno. V:5; we have in Him eternal life, 1 Jno. V:11, 12; we gain byHim the resurrection, Phil. Iii:20, 21; we appear with Him in glory, Col. Iii:4, we exult in His everlasting love, Rev. I:5, 6. " May the Holy Spirit fill our hearts and eyes with Himself and revealto us through the written Word more of the matchless beauty of thewonderful Person of our Saviour and Lord. We honor and adore Thee, blessed, blessed Lord, and while Thou art rejected we thy feeblepeople would know more of Thyself and keep closer at Thy feet. Amen. "We would see Jesus, for the shadows lengthen Over this little landscape of our life, We would see Jesus, our weak faith to strengthen, For the last weariness, the final strife. We would see Jesus, this is _all_ we're needing; Strength, joy and willingness come with the sight; We would see Jesus, dying, risen, pleading; Then welcome day, and farewell mortal night. " Honour and Glory Unto him. IN Revelation V, that great worship scene, beginning some day inheaven and going on into future ages, we read of the Lamb to whomhonor and glory are due. He alone is worthy. And every heart whoknows Him rejoicing in His love, cries out, "Thou art worthy!" Yea, the sweetest song for the redeemed soul is the outburst of praise, which we find on the threshold of His own Revelation. "Unto Him thatloveth us and washed us from our sins in His own blood and hath madeus kings and priests unto God and His Father; _to him_ be glory anddominion forever and ever. Amen. " Soon the great worship John beheldprophetically may become reality. As long as we His people are here in this present evil age it isGod's call to us to honor and glorify His Son. This surely is Godthe Father's expectation from His children, who are begotten of Him. This is His call to us in the last days of this rapidly closing age. It was on the mountain of transfiguration that the Father borewitness to His Son. "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am wellpleased. " The Father bore not alone this witness, but He vindicatedthe honor of His Son, whose glory flashed forth on that mountain. Peter had spoken; in fact, he was still speaking when the Father'svoice was heard. "Lord, it is good to be here; if Thou wilt let usmake here three tabernacles, one for Thee and one for Moses and onefor Elias. " These were Peter's words. At the first glance theyappear harmless. Indeed, they are generally used in spiritualapplication of having a good time here. But they have a fardifferent meaning. Peter had spoken once more in the impulsivenessof the flesh. By putting the Lord of Glory alongside of Moses andElias, he had lowered the dignity of Him. The One whom he had butrecently confessed as the Christ, the Son of the living God, he nowput into the same position and place with Moses and Elias. He lostsight of the wonderful and glorious person of Christ. When heuttered this human suggestion the Shekinah cloud appeared and itsglorious splendor covered them. Out of that cloud came the Father'svoice vindicating the honor of His Son. Who is Moses? Who is Elias?Sinful men they were, man of failure and weakness. But here isanother. This is my Beloved Son in whom I am well pleased; hear Him. And how that beloved Son is in our day dishonored! He was in all eternity the beloved Son. When God created all things, for Him and by Him, He was the delight of God. This is thefoundation of our faith. When he spoke of coming into the world, aswe read in Hebrews X, to do the Father's will, the Father's love anddelight was upon Him. In humiliation beginning there in Bethlehem Hewas the beloved Son of God. In all He did, every step of the way, the Holy One had above Himself the loving Father. And then He wentto the cross, putting away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. In theawful suffering on the cross, in the hours of darkness, when as thesubstitute of sinners He tasted death, God's holy hand rested uponthat beloved One in judgment, so that He uttered that never to beforgotten cry "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" And Godin His mighty power opened the grave and brought Him forth. Heraised Him from the dead. He was received up in the Glory, exaltedinto the highest position. He is the heir of all things, theupholder of all things, all things consist and exist by Him. God hasgiven Him the pre-eminence in all things. And this blessed One, the beloved Son of God is denied, He isrejected, dishonored and refused. God speaks in Him, by Him, and hewho has made known God, in whom redemption for man was procured isdishonored. But how is He dishonored and robbed of His Glory? Andwhere is He dishonored? Not in the world as such so much but inChristendom. The harvest of this destructive and evil criticism ofthe Bible, rejecting the Bible as the inspired Word of God is beingreaped. After the written Word has been attacked and lowered theenemy who stands behind "Higher Criticism" in a disguised form hasthrown off the mask and bluntly strikes at the Person of the belovedSon of God. First the devil in the garb of "reverend criticism"denied Isaiah vii:14, the promise of the virgin bringing forth ason, as having anything to do with Christ, and now the harvest, thedenial of the virgin birth of our Lord. It would take many pages tomention all how our ever beloved Lord is robbed of His Glory, howHis Person is dishonored. This denial of the Person of Christ is theapostasy. It is the very breath of the personal antichrist, the manof sin, which we feel in these last days. The Father's voice is not heard in these days as it was heard on thetransfiguration mountain. The heavens are silent to all the dishonorheaped upon Him, who is in the heaven of heavens. But God the Fatherlooks to His people in whom the Holy Spirit dwells to honor andglorify His Son. The Holy Spirit gives us the power to stand as boldwitnesses for Himself and to contend earnestly for the faith onceand for all delivered unto the Saints. The Father expects us that westand up for the honor of His Son. His voice to us is "_Honor mySon!_" We feel deeply impressed with this great call of God to us at thepresent time of increasing darkness and apostasy. Let each child ofGod act accordingly. Honor your Lord wherever you are. "Be thou notashamed of the testimony of our Lord" (2 Tim. I:8). If you cannotpublicly stand up and honor Christ then honor Him, speak well ofHim, in the home circle or wherever you are. O child of God, walkclose to Him! Sit more at His feet! Cast yourself more upon Him! LetHim be your all in all! And as He is the sole object of your heartyou will honor Him in the day when He is rejected. But this will mean something else. It means separation. God's callto His people is to stand aloft from all which dishonors His Son. This means much in our days. How can we honor the Beloved One if wehave fellowship with that which dishonors Him? No child of Godshould go on with any institution, school or church where thewritten Word is set aside or belittled. The second Epistle ofTimothy, which has special reference to our times is very clear onthis separation. No one needs to wait for a special call from God toact and separate from the corruption of Christendom. It is all givenbefore hand by the Holy Spirit. "From such turn away" (2 Tim. Iii:5). And those from whom God commands us to separate are personswho have the form of godliness and deny the power thereof. Again itis written: "But in a great house there are not only vessels of goldand of silver, but also of wood and of earth, and some to honor andsome to dishonor. If a man therefore purge himself from these, heshall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified and meet for the master'suse, prepared unto every good work" (2 Tim. Ii:20-21). Hear the Wordof the Lord! Hear His call! Be faithful to Him! Keep His Word and donot deny His Name! Honor and glorify Him who is our Lord whom wesoon shall see face to face. Christ's Resurrection Song. WHEN the blessed Lord appeared in the midst of His disciples andthey beheld the risen One in His glorified body of flesh and bonesand He ate before them, He told them that all things which werewritten in the Law of Moses, and the Prophets and _in the Psalms_concerning Him, had to be fulfilled (Luke xxiv:44). While on the wayto Emmaus He said to the two sorrowing and perplexed disciples"Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter intoHis glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets he expoundedunto them all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. " Itseems to us He must have then spoken much of the Psalms, thesewonderful prayers and songs of praise, with which His Jewishdisciples were so familiar. In the Psalms the richest propheciesconcerning Christ are found. There we behold Him in His divineperfections as well as in His true humanity; in His suffering and inHis glory; in His rejection and in His exaltation. Oh that we, theLord's people, might read the Psalms more, so that the Holy Spiritcan reveal Christ more to our hearts. In many unexpected places wecan find Him in these songs. There is for instance the xxxvii Psalm, so much enjoyed by the Saints of God. It contains such preciousexhortations to faith, to be patient and to hope. But in taking thecomfort of these blessed exhortations and their accompanyingpromises, we are apt to overlook some verses which tell us of ourLord. Verses 30-33 apply to Him. "The mouth of the righteousspeaketh wisdom and His tongue talketh of judgment. The law of HisGod is in His heart; none of His steps shall slide. The wickedwatcheth the righteous, and seeketh to slay Him. Jehovah will notleave Him in his hand, nor condemn Him when He is judged. " Our Lordis this righteous One. Words of wisdom and judgment, mercy and truthflowed from His lips while righteousness in heart and life, andperfect obedience were manifested in Him. Then His death anddeliverance are indicated in these words. However, care must betaken not to apply all the experiences of the Psalms to Christ. Wesaw recently an exposition of Psalm xxxviii:7. The words "For myloins are filled with a loathsome disease and there is no soundnessin my flesh" were applied to Christ. This is a very serious mistake. He knew no sin and therefore no loathsome disease could fill Hisloins. Such exposition is evil. Many joyous expressions of praise to God are found in the Psalmswhich properly belong first to Him, who is the leader of the praisesof His people (Heb. Ii:12). One of these sweet outbursts of praiseis contained in the opening verses of the xl Psalm. The first threeverses may be called "the resurrection song of Christ": "I waited patiently for the Lord, And He inclined unto me And heard my cry. He brought me up also Out of an horrible pit, Out of the miry clay; And set my feet upon a rock, Established my goings. And He has put a new song in my mouth; Praise unto our God; Many shall see it and fear, And shall trust in the Lord. " It is the experience of our Saviour, which must here first of all beconsidered. Patiently He had waited for Jehovah. Himself Jehovah Hehad taken the place of dependence under God His Father and patientlyHe endured. He was obedient unto death, the death of the cross. Heendured the cross, despising the shame. He cried to God. "Who in thedays of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplicationswith strong crying and fears unto Him that was able to save Him fromdeath, and _was heard_ in that he feared; though He were Son, yetlearned He obedience by the things which He suffered" (Heb. V:7-8). The place of death is given in this Psalm: "the horrible pit and themiry clay. " Who can describe all what is meant by these words!"Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet wedid esteem Him stricken and smitten of God and afflicted. But He waswounded for our transgressions, the chastisement of our peace wasupon Him; and with His stripes we are healed" (Isa. Liii:45). Hewent into the horrible pit, or as it reads literally, the pit ofdestruction, the place which belongs to fallen man by nature, sothat we might be taken out of it. He went into the jaws of death andthere the billows and waves, yea all the billows and waves of thejudgment of the holy God passed over Him. In another Psalm the HolySpirit describes His agony. (Ps. Lxix). There we read His cry "Saveme, O God; for the waters are come in unto my soul. I sink in deepmire, where there is no standing; I am come into deep waters, wherethe floods overflow me. I am weary of my crying, my throat is dried;mine eyes fail while I wait for my God. " And deeper He went for oursakes. The miry clay has a special meaning. Any one who sinks into apit filled with miry clay cannot help himself. All his strugglingdoes not help; the more he labors the deeper he sinks. One who is inthe miry clay cannot save himself. And does this not remind us ofthe Lord and of what was said of Him "He saved others, Himself Hecannot save. " He was in the miry clay. He might have saved Himselfbut He would not. His mighty love it was, that love which passethknowledge, which brought Him from Heaven's Glory down to thehorrible pit, the miry clay. But the sufferings of our adorable Lord are not so much before us inthis Psalm as the fact of His resurrection. His cry was heard. Theprayers and supplications with strong crying and tears wereanswered; His resurrection from the dead was God's blessed answer. While in other Scriptures it is stated that Christ Himself arose, here His resurrection is seen as an act of God. "He brought me up. "This act of God bears witness to the completeness and perfection ofthe accomplished salvation. "We believe in Him who raised up Jesusour Lord from the dead. Who was delivered for our offences and wasraised again for our justification" (Rom. Iv:24-25). But we readalso that His feet were set upon a rock. "And set my feet upon arock. " He is the first born from the dead. Sin and death areabolished by His mighty work. "Knowing that Christ being raised fromthe dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over Him. For inthat He died, He died unto sin once, but in that He liveth, Heliveth unto God" (Rom. Vi:9-10). Upon that rock the feet of everybelieving sinner securely rest. But His ascension is likewise mentioned in this resurrection song. "And established my goings. " He "whose goings forth have been fromold, from everlasting" (Micah v:2) and who came from everlastingglory to walk in obedience to the cross and the grave has gone backinto heaven. He was received up into glory; He ascended on high andled captivity captive. And the mighty victor sings now a _new song_. It is the triumphantsong of redemption, to the praise of God. On account of Him, what Hehas accomplished in His death on the cross and Who is raised fromthe dead and in glory "many shall see it and fear and shall trust inthe Lord. " But this wonderful resurrection song the Lord sings notalone. We, who have trusted in Him and know Him have part in thissong. Believing in Him we are taken out, yea forever, from theterrible pit and the miry clay. There is no more death and no morewrath for us. We are also risen with Him, our feet are planted uponthe rock, our goings are established. We belong to the heavenlieswhere He is. We sing praises in His name unto our God, His God andour God, His Father and our Father, the God and Father of our LordJesus Christ. Oh! that our hearts may enter deeper into this song ofaccomplished redemption "praise unto our God;" the loving God whospared not His only Begotten. And indeed "many shall see and fear and trust in the Lord. " Thisreaches into the future. Israel too will be taken from the place ofspiritual and national death, and raised to life to join the newsong. Nations will see it and fear and trust Jehovah. At last thegreat new song of resurrection and the new creation will swell inits divinely revealed length and breadth, heighth and depth. Now Hesings the song, and His co-heirs sing it too in feebleness, yet byHis Grace and through His Spirit. Ere long in His presence all theRedeemed will praise in Glory with glorified lips. Heavenly beingswill utter their praise and in a wider circle down on earth, everycreature will join in. "And they sung a _new song_ saying, Thou art worthy to take the bookand to open the seals thereof; for thou was slain, and hast redeemedus to God by thy blood, out of every kindred and tongue, and people, and nation. And hast made us unto _our_ God, Kings and priests, andwe shall reign over the earth. And I beheld, and I heard the voiceof many angels round about the throne and the living creatures andthe elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times tenthousand, and thousands of thousands. Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, andwisdom, and strength and honor, and glory and blessing. And everycreature which is in heaven, and on the earth and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard Isaying, blessing, and honor, and glory and power, be unto Him thatsitteth on the throne, and unto the lamb forever and ever" (Revel. V:9-13). That song will never end. Oh may we learn to sing it now, and in His Name sing praises unto our God. May we follow the great leader of Praise, Him who is anointed withthe oil of gladness above His fellows. May the path He followed downhere become more and more ours. May we serve, be obedient, give up, wait patiently for the Lord, after His own pattern, suffer with Him, be rejected with Him, bear His reproach and through it all rejoicein Him and sing "the new song. " How happy we ought to be as linkedwith Him, the blessed Christ of God. And as we walk in Hisfellowship the heart longs to see Him as He is. Even so; come LordJesus. The Glory Song. Rev. I:5-6. "UNTO Him who loveth us and washed us from our sins in His own bloodand hath made us kings and priests unto God and His Father: To Himbe glory and dominion forever and ever, Amen" (Rev. I:5-6). Thisgreat outburst of praise may well be called "the Glory Song. " Itglorifies the Lord Jesus Christ; it reveals also the Glory of thoseHe has redeemed and will be heard throughout eternity. There willnever be a moment in the countless ages of eternity when this Glorysong will be hushed or forgotten. We begin to sing it here on earth. The more we know the Christ of God and His great love for us, themore we delight to praise and to worship Him. Such worship of theheart in the power of the Spirit is the atmosphere of heaven uponearth. And some day we shall see Him whom we worship and adore infaith. In that glorious moment, when we shall see Him as He is weshall realize for the first time the length and breadth, the heighthand depth of His love and know the Glory to which He has brought us. Then we and all the redeemed will sing this song in a better andmore perfect way than we have ever done here. "Thou art worthy * * *for Thou wast slain and hast redeemed us to God by Thy blood out ofevery kindred, and tongue, and people and nation; and hast made usunto our God kings and priests and we shall reign over the earth"(Rev. V:9, 10). This blessed Word of Praise is placed by the Holy Spirit in theforeground of the book which bears the name, the Revelation, or, Unveiling of Jesus Christ. In it is found the great unveiling of thefuture, the great coming tribulation and judgment period throughwhich the earth must pass, events which precede the gloriousmanifestation of the Lord. But in this last great Bible book thereis also a complete unveiling of the Person, the Glory and thedignity of Him to whom all judgment is committed. Not alone are inthis book many of the prophecies, given of old by the holy men ofGod, rehearsed, but all He is, His Name, His power, His Glory, Hiswork, and many of his titles are restated. Think of what He iscalled and how He is described in this book. We find Him called theSon of God, the Son of Man, the Almighty, the Lord, the Alpha, theOmega, the First, the Last, the Beginning of the Creation of God, the Amen, the faithful Witness, the First begotten from the dead, the Word of God, the Lamb, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, themighty Angel, He that liveth, He that was dead, He that is aliveevermore, the Root and Offspring of David, the bright and Morningstar, the Prince of the kings of the earth, the King of kings, theLord of lords. What an array of titles. On earth great ones, kingsand princes, have numerous titles. They concern only earthlyglories; they are but for a moment. But His titles concern the earthand the heavens. They belong to Him because He is God, while othersare acquired through His great work of redemption. His Glory and Hisdignity are indescribable. One who reads the Book of Revelation andreads it again will be increasingly impressed with the Glory of Him, whom John beheld in all His Majesty. Before the Spirit of God records this Glory song, the utterance ofpraise to be used and to be enjoyed by redeemed sinners, He mentionsthree titles of our Lord. The faithful Witness; the First begottenfrom the dead, and the Prince of the kings of the earth. These threetitles take in His earthly life, His redemption work and His futureGlory. On earth He was the faithful witness. He glorified theFather. He had come into the world to bear witness unto the truth. He was faithful and nothing marred His witness. He came as the Onlybegotten of the Father and the faithful witness, the Son of God wentto the cross to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. The openand empty tomb is the witness that it was perfectly and righteouslyaccomplished. Now He is the First begotten from the dead as well asthe First fruits. His death and His resurrection are, therefore, inview in this second title. His glorious future is beheld in thethird title, the Prince of the kings of the earth. The kingdoms ofthe earth belong to Him; He has a perfect right and title to theearth and its government. Now still the god of this age rules, butere long He comes "whose right it is" and claims His inheritance. Inthese three wonderful titles we behold all the Son of God as Son ofMan has accomplished in His mighty work. He lived the path of faithand obedience on earth, as the faithful witness. He has put away sinand conquered death and the grave as well as him who has the powerof death, that is the devil. In the future He will be King of kingsand Lord of lords. And then follows this outburst of Praise. The Holy Spirit, who ishere on earth to glorify Him, breaks forth at once into singing anddirects the heart to worship Him. Beloved readers if the Holy Spiritis ungrieved in us He will lead our hearts into such praise andadoration of the Lord; nothing grieves the Holy Spirit more thanwhen a believer does not appreciate the Lord Jesus Christ andmanifest this appreciation by praise and worship. Three things are stated in this blessed doxology: _He loved us. _ _He washed us. _ _He hath made us. _ These three things correspond to the three titles which precede thisdoxology. Love it was, which brought Him down from the Glory to walkupon this earth in humiliation, the faithful witness, and that loveknew and saw the cross. Love led Him there to die for such as weare. What love it was! Who can ever declare it! The true translation is not "who loved us, " but "who _loveth_ us. "His love is an abiding love. He does nothing but love those whobelong to Him, who have trusted Him and are the Beloved of God. Oursins, our weaknesses, our infirmities and failures can never affector diminish His love. Never, oh child of God, doubt His abidinglove. Yea, whatever our circumstances are, in trials, in the hardplaces, in troubles, burdened with cares and full of anxiety, in allour failures we can look up and say, "He loveth me. " It is an everpresent and eternal love. Never, oh child of God, measure that loveby your changing feeling or by your experience. And this love Hemanifested by dying for us. He has washed us from our sins in Hisown blood. To this His title as "The First begotten from the dead"refers. "Who His own self bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness, bywhose stripes ye are healed" (1 Pet ii:24). The precious blood ofChrist has washed us from our sins. They can never come up again. Ohblessed knowledge! Cleansed by His own blood, the precious blood ofthe Lamb without spot and blemish! And the blessedness of all thatis connected with this! Oh, the peace forever flowing From God's thoughts of His own Son! Oh, the peace of simply knowing On the cross that all was done! Peace with God, the blood in heaven Speaks of pardon now to me: Peace with God! the Lord is risen! Righteousness now counts me free. Peace with God is Christ in glory; God is just and God is love; Jesus died to tell the story, Foes to bring to God above. But more than that "He hath made us kings and priests unto God andHis Father. " This belongs also to His mighty love. His future ofGlory as the Prince of the Kings of the earth, the King of kings andLord of lords, His fathomless love leads Him to share with those forwhom He died, whom He purged and fitted by His own blood. He hathmade us kings and priests. It is all His work. A more correcttranslation is "He hath made us a Kingdom. " This, however, does notmean that He has linked us with a Kingdom in which we are to besubjects and governed by Him. We are not subjects of a Kingdom, but_are_ a Kingdom, partakers of it in rule with Himself. We shall ruleand reign with Him over the earth. And because He will be "a priestupon _His_ throne" (Zech. Vi:13) we, too, will be priests. What itall includes, what glories await us, what enjoyment with Him, whatriches and blessings, power and honor, no mind can grasp and notongue nor pen can describe. "To Him be glory and dominion forever and ever, Amen. " All glory anddominion to Him! Thou art worthy! Thou art worthy! This is theheart's cry, which really knows Him and is devoted to Him. "Thou artworthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power. " Our crowns wecast before Thy throne. Amen and Amen. Reader can you add your "Amen"--your, "be it so" to all this? Doyou sing this Glory song? In a day when He, who is worthy, is butlittle praised, do you praise Him thus? Do you live in the dailyenjoyment of His love? Do you give Him the pre-eminence to whom Godhas given the pre-eminence in all things? Amen! And oh the happythought, which helps us so in these evil days, that soon He, wholoveth us, who washed us, who hath made us a Kingdom and priests, may call us into His own glorious presence. The Firstborn. "THE Firstborn" or "The Firstbegotten" is one of the names of ourblessed Lord. It is applied to Him after His resurrection from thedead. As the Only Begotten He came into this world, the unspeakablegift of God to a lost and ruined world; after the accomplishment ofHis work on the cross He left the earth, He had created, as theFirstborn. As the Firstbegotten He is now in the highest heaven andas the Firstbegotten the Man of Glory He will be sent back to thisearth and rule in power and glory. Paul wrote to the Philippians "towrite the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous but foryou it is safe" (Phil. Iii:1). Peter's preaching in the openingchapters of the Acts might have been called monotonous, for he knewbut one theme. The Spirit of God filling him gave but one messageand that was, the rejected Jesus of Nazareth risen from the dead. Inthe Gospel of the Glory of the blessed God (1 Tim. I:11), asrevealed to the Apostle of the Gentiles we have one theme, oneabiding, ever satisfying, eternal object and that is Christ who diedfor our sins, risen from the dead, as Firstborn in Glory and ourblessed union with Him. Paul who knew Him as the Firstborn so wellfound it not grievous to write the same thing. Indeed the more Heknew Him the more His heart cried out "that I may know Him" (Phil. Iii:10). There is an attraction in Him which is supernatural. Everychild of God will increasingly enjoy the contemplation of this oldyet ever new and blessed theme, the Firstborn from the dead. Only inthis our hearts can find perfect rest and abiding joy. And if yourheart, dear reader, is not attracted and absorbed by Himself, it isbecause there is a broken communion between you and your Lord. Oh, return unto thy rest, my soul! The drifting masses of Christendomhave no use for such a theme. The words written in 2 Cor. Iv:3-4find a fearful application in our time. "But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this age hathblinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of theglorious gospel of Christ who is the image of God, should shine untothem. " How little of the Gospel of the Glory is preached! It is not wanted. All the present day preaching of ethics, of doing good, selfimprovement and self culture is anti-christian. The preaching which leavesout the cross of Christ, the resurrection of Christ, the Glory ofChrist, differs not in the least from the ethical-philosophicaljumble of Buddhistic and other oriental heathen teachers. Itis an awful thing which is done in Christendom today, thisrejection of the Lord, the Firstborn. Some day and that soon, God will judge those who have rejected that Gospel and deal withthem for the sin of all sins which is unbelief (John xvi:9). But ourhearts, beloved in the Lord, must turn more and more to Him and findtheir delight in Him, who is the Firstbegotten. And this we shall donow by meditating on a few Scriptures which tell us of Him. "He isthe _Firstborn_ from the dead" (Col. I:18). "Jesus Christ, who isthe faithful witness, the _Firstbegotten_ of the dead, and thePrince of the Kings of the earth" (Rev. I:5). What blesseddeclarations these are! In the first chapter of Colossians it isfully revealed who He is, who was dead and who is alive forevermore. Not a creature but the Creator, the one who images forthGod, because He is God. By Him were all things created, "that are inheaven, and that are on earth, visible and invisible, thrones ordominions, or principalities, or powers; all things were created byHim and for Him. " And such a One made peace through the blood of Hiscross. Such a One took our place on the cross of shame, tasted deathin our stead and all the billows of wrath and judgment passed overHis holy head. Because He wrought out our redemption it is completeand perfect. Raised from the dead, not held by death but burstingforth, leading captivity captive, He is the Firstborn and to Himbelongs all Glory and Power. "But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the _Firstfruits_ of them that slept" (1 Cor. Xv:20). ByHis glorious resurrection He became the Firstfruits. All who believein Him will rise too by virtue of being one with Him, who is theResurrection and the Life. The mighty power of God which raised Himfrom the dead and seated Him in the highest place, at His own righthand, that exceeding greatness of His power is towards us, whobelieve. That power has quickened us with Christ, raised us uptogether and seated us in the heavenly. In some future day thatmighty power, which raised Him so that He became the Firstfruitswill raise all the saints to meet Him in the air. "And again, when He bringeth in the _Firstbegotten_ into the world, He saith, and let all the angels of God worship Him" (Heb. I:6). God will bring the Firstbegotten back to this earth again. This is avery strong passage revealing the second coming of Christ to thisearth. The same blessed Person, who walked on this earth as man, whois Emanuel, God with us, who died on the cross for our sins, whobecame the Firstbegotten from the dead, the Firstfruits of them thatslept, He who is now as Man in Glory, the same Person, theFirstbegotten, will be brought back to this world by the power ofGod. Then worshipping angels will be His attendants and He willbring His Saints with Him. "For whom He foreknew, He also did predestinate, to be conformed tothe image of His Son, that He might be the _Firstborn_ among manybrethren" (Romans viii:29). Conformed to the glorious image of God'sever blessed Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, is the destiny of all, whohave cast themselves as lost sinners upon Christ and have been savedby Grace through faith. It is true even now by beholding as in aglass the glory of the Lord we are changed into the same image fromglory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord (2 Cor. Iii:18). It is true if we abide in Him, we shall walk even as He walked (1John ii:6). The exhortation in our great salvation Epistle is, notto be conformed to this age, but to be transformed, or as it mightbe translated, transfigured (Rom. Xii:2). _But_ to be fullyconformed to the image of His Son is never to be expected in thisworld, where sin is ever present; When the Firstbegotten calls usinto His own presence, when the Heir of God summons His belovedco-heirs to meet Him and to enter with Him into the blood-boughtinheritance, then each saved sinner will be conformed to the imageof Himself. Each will shine forth the excellencies of theFirstbegotten. _We shall be like Him for we shall see Him as He is. _Hallelujah! This is why God gave up His Son, that He might be ableto lift those who are His enemies by wicked works into the Sonplaceand make them like His Son in Glory. "Yet have I set my King upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declarethe degree; the Lord hath said unto Me, Thou art my _Son_; this dayhave I begotten Thee" (Ps. Ii:6-7). In this prophecy He is likewiseseen as the Firstbegotten. It does not mean the eternal Son of God, for as such He had no beginning, but the day in which He wasbegotten is the third day when He was raised from the dead. Paulgives us this truth when He spoke to the Jews in Antioch and said:"God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that He hathraised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second Psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten Thee" (Acts xiii:33). Upto this time He is not yet enthroned upon the holy hill of Zion. When He returns as the Firstbegotten and finds the nations of theearth not converted, but in opposition to Him (Ps. Ii:1-3), He willbecome the King and take His throne. "Also I will make Him my _Firstborn_, higher than the Kings of theearth" (Ps. Lxxxix:27). This reveals the exalted station, which Hewill assume, when His blessed feet touch this earth again. He willbe the King of kings, and the Lord of lords. This is the Glory of the Firstborn, the loving Sinbearer who enduredthe cross and despised the shame. He is the Heir of God, the Heir ofall things, the Head of all principality and power, the Head of Hisredeemed people, the church. He that filleth all in all, theFirstborn, will share His glorious title and possessions with Hisredeemed. The church to which God's marvelous Grace has brought usis the church of the _Firstborn_. (Heb. Xii:23), because theFirstborn is the Head and beginning and those who are begotten againby the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead have their portionwith the Firstborn. Oh! glorious future we have as His redeemedpeople! God our Father, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, by Thy Holy Spirit, keep the Glory of Thy Son, the Firstborn, beforeour hearts, that we may be changed into the same image and overcomein these dark and evil days. Amen. Soon shall our eyes behold Thee With rapture, face to face; And, resting there in glory, We'll sing Thy pow'r and grace: Thy beauty, Lord, and glory, The wonders of Thy love, Shall be the endless story Of all Thy saints above. The Waiting Christ. WAITING for the coming of the Lord is one of the blessedcharacteristics of true Christianity. In the parable of the tenvirgins the three great marks of a true believer are stated by ourLord. These are: _Separation_, indicated by the virgins having goneforth. _Manifestation_, they had lamps, which are for the giving oflight, and _Expectation_, they went forth to meet the Bridegroom. With five of them it was only an outward profession. The foolishvirgins are the type of such who are Christians in name only and donot know the reality of these characteristics. The Lord knew themnot. These three characteristics are seen in Paul's first epistle tothe Thessalonians. That model assembly was composed of such memberswho possessed these three things. They had turned to God fromidols (separation); they served the true and the living God(manifestation); they waited for His Son from heaven (expectation), 1 Thess. I:9, 10. The same is revealed in the epistle to Titus. "Forthe Grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men. "That Grace accepted separates unto God. "Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we shouldlive soberly, righteously and godly, in this present world. " This ismanifestation. The Grace of God enables us to live thus. "Lookingfor that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great Godand our Saviour Jesus Christ. " Here we have expectation. Othersimilar passages could be quoted. If we divide the New TestamentScriptures into three parts we have the same order. In the Gospelsthe Grace of God in the Son of God appeared. In the Epistles we aretaught how to manifest Him by walking in the Spirit. The great NewTestament prophetic book, the Revelation, looks on towards HisComing. And how His Coming is forgotten! How few of His people trulywait for Him! How few pray that important and almost forgottenprayer, Even so, Come Lord Jesus! But we must also remember that ourLord is likewise waiting. Innumerable multitudes of disembodiedspirits who are saved by Grace are waiting in His own presence forthe moment when they will receive their resurrection bodies, whichwill be when He descends from Heaven and comes into the air. Thefaithful remnant of His people on earth wait for His Coming. Israeland all creation wait for Him as well as the unseen beings in theHeavenly. _But He Himself is waiting. _ This is the testimony of theWord of God. First it is the subject of prophecy. In the brief butgreat 110th Psalm that waiting is predicted. The Christ, who is sooften seen in the Psalms and in the Prophets as King, ruling in Hisearthly kingdom, whose glories in that rule are so blessedlydescribed, is seen in the beginning of that Psalm seated at theright hand of God; this heavenly place will be occupied by Him tillHis enemies are made His footstool. How the Holy Spirit witnessed tothis fact at once after His descent on the day of Pentecost is morefully revealed in the second chapter of Acts. In Hebrews x:13 weread of His waiting attitude in heaven. "But _this man_, after Hehad offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the righthand of God, from henceforth expecting till His enemies be made Hisfootstool. " The better word for expecting is "waiting. " We may wellemphasize the word "Man. " Our blessed Lord is not in the presence ofGod as a Spirit Being, but He is there in the form of Man. Theblessed body He had on earth, which He gave on the cross and whichlaid in the tomb could not see corruption. He was raised on thethird day. He ascended in that glorified body into heaven and He ison the right hand of God as Man, in Him dwells the fullness of theGodhead bodily. Just one Man is there in Glory. But oh! what itmeans! He is the Head of His body, the church and in the future allHis redeemed people will possess glorified bodies, like unto Hisglorious body. No wonder the enemy ever aims at the denial of theLord's bodily presence. From many pulpits it is declared to be "toomaterial. " The denial of this great truth, the _Man_ in glory, is adenial of the entire Gospel. It is at this the enemy strikes. As the glorified Man on the Father's throne He is waiting till Hisenemies are made His footstool. This does not mean, as so manybelieve and teach, that the Lord Jesus Christ is waiting till Hisenemies are gradually overcome, till the church on earth succeeds inconverting the whole world. It does not mean that. His enemies willbe made His footstool in a far different way. It will be a suddenevent. All His enemies will be humbled, all things will be subjectedunder His feet at the time of His second Coming. As there was anappointed time by the Father for His first Coming, so is there anappointed time for His second Coming, when the power of God and Hisown power will triumph over all His enemies. As He is in Hisredemptive work subject to the Father, therefore is He waiting forthat hour. Then the Father will bring in the firstbegotten into theworld (Heb. I:6) and He will receive the nations for His inheritance(Psalm ii). He is waiting for this great event. But He is also waiting for Hisco-heirs, which constitute the church. The church, His body, must befirst completed as to numbers before the hour can come in which Hisenemies are made His footstool. He is patiently waiting for that moment. John speaks of that when hecalls himself "a companion in tribulation and in the kingdom and_patience_ of Jesus Christ" (Rev. I:9). Centuries have come and gonesince He took that place upon the Father's throne, unseen by humaneyes, and during all this time, while the calling out of the churchproceeded, He has waited patiently. Some day His waiting will cometo an end. His church will be completed and then He Himself arisesfrom His seat and descends to that place in the air, where He willmeet His own, for whom His loving heart yearns so much. What amoment that will be at last! Then His waiting as well as Hispatience will be ended and He will receive His kingdom and becrowned Lord of lords and King of kings. No longer will He then beunseen, but His Glory will flash out of heaven and He Himself willbe manifested in Glory. Then the world can reject Him no longer butmust accept His righteous rule in which His redeemed people willshare. What child of God does not wish this to be soon, very soon. Oh that we might cry more earnestly, more in the Spirit, yes, incessantly, "Come Lord Jesus. " But while He waits and the hour has not yet come we must wait as Hewaits on the throne. To the Thessalonians who had listened toteachers who judaized the blessed hope, fearing they were facing theday of the Lord with its tribulation and wrath, the Apostle wrote:"And the Lord direct your hearts in the love of God, and into thepatient waiting for Christ" (2 Thess. Iii:5). But we must not onlywait patiently _for_ Him but also wait _with_ Him. He is therejected One. The world cast Him out. As the rejected One He waitsin patience for the hour of His triumph and His Glory. This place ofrejection is our greatest privilege to share. And where is He morerejected than in that which calls itself by His Name! To bear Hisreproach in these closing days of this present age is our blessedopportunity. To suffer with Him, if not for Him, should be that forwhich our hearts should long, yea, pray. And we will be glad to berejected with Him, to be nothing at this present time, to havefellowship with His sufferings, if He as the patient waiting Lord isever before our hearts. At the close of the one hundred and tenth psalm stands a word, whichwe should also remember. "He shall drink of the brook in the way, Therefore shall He lift up the head. " It has puzzled many readers what this saying might mean. It speaksto our hearts of His humiliation and exaltation. One thinks at onceof the three hundred of Gideon and how they stooped down to drink. The brook is the type of death. He drank of the brook in the way. His way was from Glory to Glory, and between were His sufferings. And, therefore, He shall lift up the head. Wherefore, God has highlyexalted Him. May we all, dear readers, follow in His path and sufferwith Him; ere long in His triumph and glory we shall triumph andglory. "And if children then heirs; heirs of God and joint heirs withChrist; if so be we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorifiedtogether. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time arenot worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed inus" (Rom. Viii:17-18). A Vision of the King. ONE of the most blessed occupations for the believer is theprayerful searching of God's holy Word to discover there new gloriesand fresh beauties of Him, who is altogether lovely. Shall we everfind out all which the written Word reveals of Himself and Hisworthiness? This wonderful theme can never be exhausted. The heartwhich is devoted to Him and longs through the presence andindwelling of the Holy Spirit to be closer to the Lord, to hear andknow more of Himself, will always find something new and precious. The Holy Spirit can do this and reveals to our hearts from theinexhaustible Word of God the Glory of Him, whom to exalt the Spirithas come. Much depends on how we desire just Himself. And Christalone and the heart knowledge of Himself can satisfy the believer, who has His life and is one Spirit with the Lord "O Christ Thou art enough The heart to satisfy. " Soon we shall see Him, whom we contemplate now in faith. Soon weshall be in His own glorious presence and look upon that face, whichwas once marred and smitten, but which now shines out Heaven's andthe Father's Glory. The kingly Glory of our blessed Lord is one of the great themes ofthe Bible. The Man of humiliation, who here on earth walked independence on God, who did His will, suffered and died is now in theFather's presence and on the right hand of the Majesty on high. There He sat down with His Father in His throne, waiting for themoment when His work as the Priest and Advocate of His belovedpeople on earth is accomplished, and when the Father will establishHim as King, when He will receive the kingdom. Alas! that all thisglory, which belongs to Him and which is still future, His Kingship, His kingly glory and rule, as it must be some day, is so unknown andeven disowned in Christendom. It is but the uncovering of thecondition of the heart of the great majority of professingChristians. They may talk of religion, of great reform movements, ofservice to mankind, world progress, but the Christ of God in all HisGlory, past, present and future, has little attraction. Fardifferent it is with the heart which knows Him and has given Him theplace He is worthy of, the first place. That heart delights tomeditate on all His Glory and longs for the time when He willappear, and when at last, crowned with many crowns, He will assumeHis righteous rule. Great is our joy and delight when we followthrough the Scriptures His earthly life so full of His moral Glory. Or when we think of Him as He died for us and bore in His own bodyon the tree our sins; we praise Him for His mighty Love. But whatjoy to think of Him as coming at last into that which belongs to Himthe Lord of Glory, by right of redemption, when He will takepossession of this earth and claim its Satan ruled kingdoms for Hisown. Then it will be true, "The earth is the Lord's and the fulnessthereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. " Then the Seraph'ssong will be realized, "The whole earth is full of His Glory. " How much the Word has to say about the King and His Glory; and wehave never yet taken hold of it with our dull hearts! Take the Bookof Psalms, for instance, that book which has been so belittled bythe destructive criticism. While we read so much in those preciousproductions of the Holy Spirit of Christ's sufferings, Hishumiliation, His prayers, His death, we may find there much moreabout Him as King and His coming manifestation. The tumult of the nations, as predicted in the _Second_ Psalm, andabout to be realized in our own times, the tumult of the nationsagainst the Lord and His Anointed, will be silenced by the coming ofthe King. "I have set my King upon my holy hill of Zion;" this iswhat God declares. The God-man Christ Jesus, the Man, who is withHim now is, His King. His destiny is the government of the nations, with a rod of iron. The entire _Twenty-first_ Psalm tells out the Glory of the King. Christian expositors have rarely discovered this. But Jewishexponents always knew it. Saith a leading Jewish authority of themiddle ages: "Our old teachers have always applied this Psalm asmeaning the King Messiah. " Read its stanzas: "The King shall joy in Thy strength, Jehovah; And in Thy salvation, how greatly shall He rejoice. Thou hast given Him His heart's desire, And hast not withholden the requests of His lips. For Thou hast met Him with the blessings of goodness; Thou hast set a crown of pure gold on His head. He asked Life of Thee; Thou gavest Him length of days forever and ever. His Glory is great through Thy salvation; Majesty and splendor hast Thou laid upon Him. For Thou hast made Him to be blessings forever; Thou hast filled Him with joy by Thy countenance. For the King confideth in Jehovah. Through the loving kindness of the Highest He shall not be moved. " Then comes His future action, when He whom faith sees now crownedwith Majesty and Splendor, who rejoices in the Presence of God, appears to execute the judgments of God. "Thy hand shall find out all thine enemies; Thy right hand shall find out those that hate Thee. Thou shalt make them as a fiery furnace In the time of Thy presence. Jehovah shall swallow them up in his anger, And the fire shall devour them. Their fruit shall Thou destroy from the earth, And their seed from among the children of men. For they intended evil against Thee, They imagined a mischievous device, Which they could not execute. For Thou wilt make them turn their back, Thou wilt make ready Thy bowstring against their faces. Be Thou exalted Jehovah in Thine own strength; We will sing and celebrate Thy power. " And in the _Twenty-fourth_ Psalm we have prophetically thattriumphant shout, which will be heard when the King comesback to enter His City, Jerusalem, again. "Lift up your heads, ye gates And be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors; And the King of Glory shall come in. Who is this King of Glory? Jehovah strong and mighty, Jehovah mighty in battle. " The _Forty-fifth_ Psalm is a song of the Beloved, touching the King. He is described as coming in His Majesty and Splendor, how He dealswith His enemies and that He will be surrounded by His own redeemedones. The Glory and dominion of His Kingdom He will receive is describedin the _Seventy-second_ Psalm. "He shall have dominion from sea tosea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth. " And otherPsalms enlarge upon these glorious visions, which will all be truewhen the King comes. Then Jerusalem will be a praise in the earth. "Also I will make Him, my Firstborn, higher than the kings of theearth" (Ps. Lxxxix:27). And how rich are the prophets in telling us of the Glory of the Kingand the glories of His kingdom. "Behold a King shall rule inrighteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment" (Isaiah xxxii:1). "Thine eyes shall see the King in His beauty; they shall behold theland that is afar off" (Isaiah xxxiii:17). "A King shall reign andprosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth"(Jerem. Xxiii:5). "And there was given Him dominion and glory, and akingdom, that all people, nations and languages, should serve Him;His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His Kingdom, that which shall not be destroyed" (Dan. Vii:14). "The King of Israel, the Lord, is in the midst of thee (the earthlyJerusalem); thou shalt not see evil any more" (Zeph. Iii:15). "Andthe Lord shall be King over all the earth" (Zech. Xiv:6). These and many, many more utterances of God's blessed prophets giveus a vision of the King, of the Glory of Him, who was crowned with acrown of thorns, the thorns of man's curse, and over whose cross itwas written, "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. " And the New Testament fully brings out the same Glory of Him asKing. He is "King of Peace" (Heb. Vii:2); "King of saints" (Rev. Xv:3); "The Lord of lords and King of kings" (Rev. Xvii:14). At last the unfulfilled message of Gabriel will be gloriouslyfulfilled. "The Lord God shall give unto Him the Throne of Hisfather David; and He shall reign over the house of Jacob forever;and of His kingdom there shall be no end" (Luke i:32). But nowhere is He called "King of the church, " nor are we authorizedas believers to address Him "Our King. " He will be King, but then Hewill not be our King, but we shall _be Kings with Him_. He is notKing of the church, but the Head of the Body, the church; Head andBody together, Christ and His church, will rule and reign over theearth. Glory to His Name! In loving tenderness He looks upon us, whopossess His life, He is not ashamed to call us "brethren, " for He isMan, the second Man, and He beholds in us those, who will ere longshare His Kingly Glory, His Kingly rule. Oh, Beloved readers! does it not warm our hearts! Does it not makeus feel like falling down on our faces and confess to Him ourindifference and our nothingness, and humble ourselves in the dust. How little, oh how little we enter into all this. The Lord help usto have through His Word and in the power of His Spirit a greatervision of the King and our blessed, eternal lot with Him. They crown Him King on high; Shall we not crown Him here, The blessed Christ of Calvary, To ransomed sinners dear? They worship Him above, Shall we not worship too, The Son of God, the Lord of love, To whom all praise is due? Up there they see His Face, The Lamb who once was slain, And in a new song praise His Grace; Shall we not join the strain? Yonder His servants still Serve as their Lord commands; Oh may we also do His will With loving hearts and hands. --M. F. The Fellowship of His Son. "GOD is faithful, by whom ye were called into the fellowship of HisSon Jesus Christ our Lord" (1 Cor. I:9). A blessed word this is. Bynature the Corinthians were in another fellowship. The same Epistle(vi:9-11) tells us what some of them were. Like ourselves by naturethey were in the fellowship of sin and death and in fellowship withhim, who is the author of sin and the enemy of God, Satan. But afaithful God called them and has called us by the Gospel into thefellowship of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord. If we have obeyed theGospel and accepted the gift of God we are brought through the Graceof God into the fellowship of the Son of God. All believers are inthe same fellowship, one with the Lord. But that is a truth and a blessed revelation far deeper than ourmind can fathom or our pen could describe. No saint has ever soundedthe depths of this wonderful call of God nor can God's saints fullyknow what that fellowship all means, until the blessed day comeswhen we shall see Him as He is and when joined to Him we shall belike Him. And yet we can remind ourselves of the little we know and through itencourage our hearts. Faith loves to dwell upon the blessed Person, whom faith alone through the Spirit's power can make a livingreality. And God, the faithful God, loves to hear His children speakmuch of Him, whom He loves, the Son of His Love, the Lord JesusChrist. Fellowship means to have things in common. And that is what God hasdone. He has taken us through His Grace out of the fellowship inwhich we are by nature, the things we have in common as enemies andchildren of wrath and has called us into the fellowship of His Son. And now called of God into this fellowship we have things in commonwith His Son the Lord Jesus Christ. This brings before us once morethe old story, which never grows old, but is eternally new andbecomes more blessed the more we hear it. The Son of God, He who isthe true God and the eternal Life, came to this earth and appearedin the form of Man. "The Life was manifested; and we have seen, andbear witness, and show unto you that eternal life, which was withthe Father, and was manifested unto us" (1 John i:2). And He who isthe true God and the eternal life, by whom the worlds were made, gave Himself for our sins. He came to give His life as a ransom formany, to make propitiation for the whole world. He who knew no sinwas made sin for us and on the Cross peace was made. There in Hisown body on the tree He bore our sins. All who believe on Him, whohave accepted Jesus as their Saviour, are taken out of that in whichthey are by nature and are brought into Christ. And here we can withpraising hearts and full assurance sing of our blessed position inHim. Lord Jesus, are we one with Thee? Oh height, oh depth, of love! And crucified and dead with Thee, Now one in heaven above. Such was Thy grace, that for our sake Thou didst from heaven come down; With us of flesh and blood partake, And make our guilt Thine own. Our sins, our guilt, in love divine, Confessed and borne by Thee; The gall, the curse, the wrath, were Thine, To set Thy ransomed free. Ascended now, in glory bright, Life-giving Head Thou art; Nor life, nor death, nor depth, nor height Thy saints and Thee can part. But the fellowship of His Son into which the Grace of God hasbrought us means more than this blessed new relation and thepositional truth that as believers we have been crucified withChrist and that we are risen with Him. The life we possess as bornagain is His own life. We possess the life of Him, who died in ourstead. Christ is our life. This means fellowship of His Son, we areone with Him. We also possess His Spirit. The Spirit of Christdwelleth in us and we are "one Spirit with the Lord. " This oneness with Christ, the fellowship of His Son, that we belongto Him and He to us, that we have an inheritance in Him and He hasan inheritance in us, is a great truth. Like every other revealedtruth it must be a reality in our lives. We are called by God towalk in this fellowship. We know we are in Him, and through Grace weabide in Him. But it is also written, "He that saith he abideth inHim ought himself also so to walk even as He walked. " His own lifemust be manifest. In this fellowship of His Son we have the strengthto walk as He walked, because we have His life and His Spirit. Thereis no need to walk after the flesh, but we can always walk in theSpirit and walking thus we walk as He walked. And this spiritualwalk becomes possible as our hearts dwell in faith on the fact thatwe are called into the fellowship of His Son. We must have thiswonderful fact constantly before our hearts as a real thing. Thenall we do will be governed by it. If this is real how can we be conformed to this world? The world inall its aspects is the enemy of God. In that fellowship we walkedonce "according to the course of this world. " Should we then turnback to it and enjoy its pleasures and ambitions? If we do, we walkin the flesh and then we do not know the joy and peace of thefellowship of His Son, but are joyless and miserable. But if thefact of the fellowship of God's Son is a reality in power, it willkeep us from being conformed to this world. We believe the Spirit of God presses this home to the consciences ofHis people and calls us to a separated walk. And this must lead to another phase of the fellowship of His SonJesus Christ. It is written "always bearing about in the body thedying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be mademanifest in our body" (2 Cor. Iv:10). This stands in connection withpersecution and suffering. Walking in the fellowship of His SonJesus Christ the Apostle had one great desire, "That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of Hissufferings, being made conformable to His death" (Phil. Iii:10). Tothe Colossians he wrote "who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in myflesh for His body's sake, which is the church" (Col. I:24). Hesuffered and bore His reproach. His heart in the enjoyment of thefellowship desired the fellowship of His sufferings. We know littleof these because we are conformed to this world and not loyal to ourLord and God's calling. But if we walk in conscious fellowship withHim and are loyal to Him we too will know a little of the fellowshipof His sufferings. Then our hearts long that we may "bear Hisreproach. " The blessed One of God is rejected, can our hearts besatisfied with anything less than being rejected too? Perhaps if wewere to lift up our voices now against the Christ dishonoringthings, both in doctrine and practice, which are the leadingfeatures of the present-day religious world, we would know a littlemore of this fellowship. Called into the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord meansalso to share His work. We are called to serve. He was here as Onethat serveth, and we are "to serve one another in love. " "Whosoeverwill be great among you let him be your minister; and whosoever willbe chief among you, let him be your servant" (Matt. Xx:26-27). Wecan be servants with Him. He is intercessor and burden-bearer and wehave a share in this likewise. And there is the fellowship of His Son in its eternal aspect. God'scalling is to be like His Son. "For whom He did foreknow, He alsopredestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son that He mightbe the firstborn among many brethren" (Romans viii:29). We shall bewith Him forever and like Him. And is it so--I shall be like Thy Son? Is this the grace which He for me has won? Father of glory, (thought beyond all thought!)-- In glory, to His own blest likeness brought! Oh, Jesus, Lord, who loved me like to Thee? Fruit of Thy work, with Thee, too, there to see Thy glory, Lord, while endless ages roll, Myself the prize and travail of Thy soul. Yet it must be: Thy love had not its rest Were Thy redeemed not with Thee fully blest. That love that gives not as the world, but shares All it possesses with its loved co-heirs. May the Holy Spirit hold these great truths before our hearts and inHis power may we be consciously and constantly enjoying thefellowship of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, till we are called byHimself to be with Him. Out of His Fulness. John i:16. "AND of His fulness have all we received, and grace upon grace"(John i:16). This precious word was not spoken by John the Baptist. It must be looked upon as an outburst of praise, similar to the onewhich stands in the beginning of Revelation (Rev. I:5-6). It is theadoring utterance of all believers acknowledging the reception ofthat unfathomable and never failing grace, which flows from theeternal fountain, the Son of God. Out of the fulness of Himselfbelieving sinners receive grace upon grace. His own fulness is thesource, which supplies all the need of those, who by Him believe onGod, that raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory (1 Pet. I:2). That exhaustless fulness is always ready to sustain, to help, tocomfort, to strengthen and to fill those, who are in Christ, onewith Him. But what is this fulness of which we receive and receive soabundantly? The blessed Son of God possessed in all eternityfulness. The Holy Spirit in this chapter bears a testimony to thisfact by a great revelation. "In the beginning was the Word, and theWord was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in thebeginning with God. All things were made by Him; and without Him wasnot anything made 'that was made. ' In Him was life; and the life wasthe light of men" (John i:1-4). What a wonderful revelation this is!The Word which was in the beginning, which ever _was_ God, by whomall was made, without whom nothing came into existence, is the Sonof God. The fulness of the Godhead was His before the world wasmade, for He is God. Then we read in this chapter, "and the Word wasmade flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld His glory, the glory asof the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. " Hecame to this earth, He took on the form of man, the eternal Word wasmade flesh, God manifested in the flesh. And as He walked on theearth the fulness of the Godhead was pleased to dwell in Him (Col. I:19). But before we could ever receive out of His fulness graceupon grace, the Son of God had to die. If He had not died andaccomplished the great work for which He came into the world, Hisfulness would have been forever inaccessible to sinners. But He wentto the cross and finished there the great work. Christ died for us;He who knew no sin was made sin for us. And now it is written ofHim, the glorified One, the Man in Glory. "For in Him dwelleth allthe fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in Him, whichis the head of all principality and power" (Col. Ii:9-10). He, whopossessed eternally all fulness, who came to this earth and in whomthe fulness of the Godhead dwelt, who died on the cross the just forthe unjust, who His own self bore our sins in His own body on thetree, is now as Man in glory and there dwelleth in Him bodily thefulness of the Godhead. It is all for us; we can now receive graceupon grace, because of Him who is the Second Man, the Head of thenew creation and with whom God has made us, who believe, one. Thisis the deep and yet simple Gospel. God gave His blessed Son, who wasforever one with Him, that through Him we might receive of thefulness of the Godhead, grace upon grace. Brought to God in such away, washed, sanctified and justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God, we are receiving all we need. Wereceive it not on our merit, because we labor or agonize for it, butwe _receive of His fulness_. But who can begin to tell out what thatis, grace upon grace? Pages upon pages might be written and filledwith the good things, the spiritual blessings, the joy, the peace, the comfort, the power and the wisdom and many other things, whichare included in "grace upon grace. " And after we mentioned all theseprecious things, we would have to put the pen down and confess ourinsufficiency to tell out the riches, the fulness and vastness of"grace upon grace. " This expression brings a great cataract like Niagara to our mind. Here we stand and behold the mighty waters rushing down. Oh! themighty rushing waters, who can measure them! What a vast, inexhaustible supply! Water upon water dashing down. For ages thishas gone on. Hundreds of years, more than that, thousands of yearshave witnessed the same mighty waters. Every day, every hour, everyminute, every second, every fraction of a second--incessantlymighty rushing waters upon waters! In the same way there is pouring forth out of His fulness, thefulness of the Lord in Glory--grace upon grace. There is anunlimited, inexhaustible supply of the water of life from Him who isthe life. For ages the saints of God, saved by grace, have receivedgrace upon grace. A never ceasing stream of grace has been flowingforth and it has not impoverished the marvellous eternal supply. Still it flows undiminished--still there is grace upon grace. Yeait is grace upon grace by which God's people live. Every hour, everyminute, every second, every moment it is His grace, grace upon gracewhich keeps us, surrounds us, flows upon us and overshadows us. Andthe more we take and enjoy the more we learn to sing. More and more, more and more, _Always_ more to follow! Oh, His matchless, boundless _Grace_, Still there's more to follow! Will it ever stop? No, never! We shall keep on singing in alleternity "still there's more to follow!--still there's more tofollow. " Hallelujah! "That in the ages to come He might show the_exceeding_ riches of His Grace in His kindness toward us throughChrist Jesus" (Eph. Ii:7). _Always more to follow!_ Still there'sMORE to follow. All Praise to Him who died to have it so for us poorlost sinners, whose lot should have been, as it is the lot of allwho reject this marvellous grace--always more to follow--ineternal darkness and despair. And how simple it is to receive "of His fulness grace upon grace. "Look at this never ceasing spring of pure water, it never fails. Youapproach it a weary, thirsty, dustladen traveler. You need to berefreshed. You need the cooling drink. You need washing. What thenis necessary? Oh! to fill your cup. Just to take for it is for you. And so this wonderful grace which flows out of His fulness. It isfor you, just come and take. Fill your cup, fill it again! Drink ohdrink! "Of His fulness have all we received, grace upon grace. " The Twenty-second Psalm. The Cross of Christ. THE Twenty-second Psalm contains a most remarkable prophecy. Thehuman instrument through whom this prophecy was given is King David. The Psalm does not contain the experience of the King, though hepassed through great sufferings, yet the sufferings he speaks of inthis Psalm are not his own. They are the sufferings of Christ. It iswritten in the New Testament that the prophets searched and enquireddiligently about the coming salvation. The Spirit of Christ, whichwas in them testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ (1 Peteri:10-11). David was a prophet, and in this great prophecy the Spiritof Christ testified of the sufferings of Him, who is both David'sLord and David's son. The book of Psalms, so rich and full of Himself, so inexhaustible indescription of our ever blessed Lord, is divided into five books, which correspond to the five books with which the Bible begins, thePentateuch. The first book (Psalm i-xli) contains some of the greatprophecies about the Christ of God; these prophecies are in theso-called messianic Psalms. Perfect and divine is the order in whichthey are revealed. _Son of God_--The Second Psalm. _Son of Man_--The Eighth Psalm. _Obedient One_--The Sixteenth Psalm. _Obedientunto Death_, the Death of the Cross--The Twenty-second Psalm. _Highly exalted by God_--Revealed in each of these Psalms. This isthe order in which the Holy Spirit describes the path of the Lord inPhil. Ii:6-11. How perfect the Word of God is! The Twenty-second Psalm, the center of the first part of the book ofPsalms, the Genesis portion, corresponds to the twenty-secondchapter in the book of Genesis. There we see Isaac bound upon thealtar having been led there and put upon the altar by his Fatherwhile he opened not his mouth. Here we behold the true Isaac on thecross. Everything in this Psalm speaks of our blessed Lord; in thefirst part of His sufferings, in the second part of His Glory andexaltation. And we must not overlook the two Hebrew words the Holy Spirit hasput over this Psalm: _Aijeleth Shahar_. The margin tells us theymean "the hind of the morning. " This has a beautiful, though hiddenmeaning. Some have thought of the innocent suffering of a woundedhind and the dawn of the morning brings relief. They have appliedthis to the death and resurrection (in the morning dawn) of theLord. But the meaning is better still. The oldest Jewish traditionsgive us the key. They take the expression "Aijeleth Shahar" to meanthe Shechina, the glory cloud, which was visible among His peopleand they speak of "the hind of the morning" as being the dawning ofredemption. The dawning of the morning is compared by them with thehorns of the hind, on account of the rays of light appearing likehorns. According to their tradition the lamb was offered as thesacrifice in the morning as soon as the watcher on the pinnacle ofthe temple cried out "Behold the first rays of morning shine forth. " But what pen can describe the predictions and the fulfilment of Hissufferings, the sufferings of the Holy One! Here we behold what itcost Him to redeem us. Here we have the full description of what Hisatoning work meant. Here we see the full meaning of the sin-offering. Well may we bow our heads and hearts here and worship as we gazeupon this picture. The opening word of the Psalm expresses theconsummation of all the sufferings of Christ, that word which camefrom the darkness, which surrounded the cross and in which we areface to face with the unsearchable depths of His atoning work. "MyGod, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me. " He who was ever with theFather, one with Him in all eternity, who could say on earth "I amnot alone" was left alone. He was forsaken of God. But more thanthat. Jehovah bruised Him; He put Him to grief. The spotless Onebore the wrath of God alone. It was then that He who knew no sin wasmade sin for us. How significant it is then that the Holy Spiritputs that word of the Lord Jesus Christ before the predictions ofHis physical sufferings. They tell us what our redemption cost Him--the awful price, forsaken of God. The Psalm also emphasizes whatman under the terrible instigation of Satan did unto Him. We glanceat some of these sufferings as expressed by His own Spirit. "But I am a worm, and not man; a reproach of men, and despised ofthe people" (verse 6). This is His own complaint. No longer a manbut writhing on the ground like a worm, the substitute of sinners, thus the Holy One felt when He was numbered among the transgressors. The Hebrew word "worm", means the small insect, the coccus, fromwhich the scarlet color is obtained by death of this worm, thatcolor which was used in connection with the tabernacle. Thus He diedas our substitute that our sins though they are as scarlet might bewhite as snow. Men reproached Him; His own people despised andrejected Him. Then we read how He was mocked and scoffed at. They"laugh me to scorn, " they "shoot out the lip, " they "shake thehead. " The very language of the leaders of the people as theysurrounded the cross is given by the Spirit of God. "He trusted onthe Lord that He would deliver Him, seeing He delighted in Him"(verse 7). What depths of the depravity of the human heart theyreveal! And in all this, while He suffered thus from man His soletrust was in God (verses 9-10). His whole life was to trust in theLord to lean upon Him, till that moment came when God could nolonger know Him as His own, when the sword, the sword of judgmentawoke against the Man, the fellow, the companion of the Lord ofhosts (Zech. Xiii:7). What that sword did to Him is expressed by thecry of the forsaken One. And what else do we find here? We can follow the whole story of thecross in the first part of this Psalm. His enemies are described, the bulls and the ravening and roaring lion. --"I am poured out likewater. "--"All my bones are out of joint. "--"My heart is like wax;it is melted in the midst of my bowels. " Like fire melteth wax soHis heart melted in the fire of wrath against sin. The strength ofthe mighty One, who fainteth not and knows no weariness, failed. Histongue cleaves to His jaws. "Dogs" and "the assembly of the wicked"--Gentiles and Jews were there. "They pierced my hands and feet;"crucifixion, unknown among the Jews when David lived, is herepredicted by the Holy Spirit. "I may tell all my bones" as well asthe words "all my bones are out of joint" refer to His suffering onthe cross. Then after they hung the Prince of Glory at that cross weread "they look and stare upon Me" (verse 17). "They parted mygarments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture. " What man did toHim, what He suffered from man and from Satan's power is heredescribed. Yet it was God who bruised Him. Concerning man thesufferer spoke what "they" did unto Him; but He also addresses God"THOU hast brought me into the dust of death. " And thus He suffered and died for us. Our sins were laid upon Himand He bore them in His own body on the tree. At what an infinitecost we have been redeemed! What a price has been paid! The Fatherdid not spare His only begotten Son, but delivered Him up for usall. The Son of God, was made sin for us, smitten, stricken andforsaken of God. Jehovah bade His sword awake-- O Christ, it woke 'gainst thee! Thy blood the flaming blade must slake; Thy heart its sheath must be-- All for my sake, my peace to make; Now sleeps that sword for me. The Holy God did hide His face-- O Christ, 'twas hid from thee! Dumb darkness wrapt thy soul a space-- The darkness due to me. But now that face of radiant grace Shines forth in light on me. Wonderful Love! But how unable we are to realize adequately theseblessed facts! How little after all we think of these marvellousthings and how weak is our devotion to that blessed, loving Lord, who loved us thus! And what do we behold about us? An ever increasing darkness; aturning away from the blessed Gospel of the Son of God as it centersin the Cross; a greater rejection and neglection of the greatsalvation which God has so graciously provided in the greatsacrifice. It is fearful to see the enemies of the cross increasingand rushing on to their coming doom. What is to be our attitude? Itis for us to glory more and more in the cross of Christ. We mustexalt and magnify the Person and Work of our blessed Lord as neverbefore. The more He is rejected by the world, His blessed work onthe cross disowned in such latter day delusions as the new theology, Christian Science and the numerous other systems, the more we mustgive Him the pre-eminence. But it means also for us if we are faithful to Him the fellowship ofHis sufferings. God has called us into the fellowship of His SonJesus Christ our Lord. This includes the fellowship of Hissufferings. Never, of course, suffering from God as He did. But asHe is rejected and despised so are we called to share His rejectionand take upon us His reproach. He suffered without the gate and theWord exhorts us "Let us go forth therefore unto Him without thecamp, bearing His reproach. " In these last days we must like Moses"esteem the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures ofEgypt (the world). " And if we are faithful to Him, if we walk in_separation from the world_, including the great "religious world"with its Christ and the Cross rejecting schemes and tendencies, weshall know something of the reproach of Christ and the fellowship ofHis sufferings. Oh! that we might know more of that in these easygoing days. Such a precious Word of God as contained in 1 Peteriv:13-14 ought to make us long for bearing His reproach and forsufferings with Him. "But rejoice inasmuch as ye are partakers ofChrist's sufferings that when His glory shall be revealed, ye may beglad also with exceeding joy. If ye be reproached for the name ofChrist, happy are ye; for the Spirit of glory and of God restethupon you; on their part He is evil spoken of, but on your part He isglorified. " Be true to Christ and to the cross of Christ. Live out the doctrineof the cross "crucified with Christ"--dead to the things herebelow, then you will have some suffering from the side of men andSatan as well. And what will be the awful judgment for the multitudes, the everincreasing multitudes who reject the Cross of Christ, who are eitheropposing it by their ethical gospel, to whom the preaching of thecross is foolishness, or who are indifferent? The Holy Spirit hastold us that where the Gospel, the Cross of Christ is rejected orperverted the Anathema, the curse of God must follow (Gal. I:9; 1Corinth. Xvi:22). Well has one said "Distance from God was theclimax of the Lamb's dying sorrow. " It is a fearful solemn thoughtthat the world while with heedless selfconfidence it still pursuesits way, is no nearer now to God than Jesus was when, under theburden of the world's iniquity, He cried, "My God, my God, why hastThou forsaken me?" How solemn this is! May we learn to say morefully with Paul, "But God forbid that I should glory, save in thecross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified untome, and I unto the world. " The Glory of Christ. The first twenty-one verses of this Psalm describe the sufferings ofChrist. This part closes with an appeal to Jehovah for deliverance. "But be thou not far from me, O Lord; O my strength, haste thee tohelp me. * * * Save me from the lion's mouth. " Then comes the joyfulstatement that He has been heard. The answer He received to His cryis resurrection. We find therefore that the second part of thisgreat Psalm, which reveals so fully the Cross of Christ, is taken upwith the Glory of the forsaken One. God raised Him from the dead, and so we hear at once in this Psalm the notes of triumph comingfrom the lips of Him who is dead and now liveth. His triumph and HisGlory are revealed. All for whom He died, the Church, Israel, theends of the earth, the nations are mentioned. He is seen in themidst of the church as well as in the midst of the future greatcongregation. All the ends of the earth are yet to remember and turnunto the Lord. The nations will come to worship before Him; His willbe the Kingdom, He will rule among the nations. But we must look atsome of these precious predictions a little closer. We need toconsider them as much as the Sufferings, the Cross of Christ. The day of His Resurrection is first mentioned. "I will declare Thy Name unto my brethren "In the midst of the congregation will I praise Thee. " It is a joyous word which stands at the head of the glory section ofthis Psalm. Raised from the dead He met His own with an "All hail"--rejoice. In the Gospel of John we see Him meeting her who soughtthe living One among the dead and telling her "Go and tell mybrethren. " How literally this prediction has been fulfilled. Andwhat He tells her of "my Father and your Father, my God and yourGod" declares that intimate relationship which is the result of Hisdeath on the cross. Brought through Him to God, we are Sons of Godand Heirs of God. "He that sanctifieth and they that are sanctifiedare all of one, therefore He is not ashamed to call them brethren"(Heb. Ii:11). Precious truth! He owns us as brethren. He is theFirstborn among many brethren. The congregation mentioned here isthe church. In the midst of the church His praise is heard (Heb. Ii:12). It is true the church is not revealed in the Old Testamentbut it is anticipated. And as we, saved by Grace, in possession ofHis life, approach God in His worthy Name His own voice is heard; Heis the leader of our prayers and our praises. That new and intimaterelationship brought about by His atoning death at the cross ismentioned first. He gave Himself for the church (Eph. V:25). In thenext place we hear Israel praising Him. "All ye the seed of Jacobglorify Him; and reverence Him all ye the seed of Israel. " They whorejected Him, His people who despised Him and had such a part in thesuffering of Christ, now own Him. They acknowledge Him, whom theythought afflicted of God, as having been heard of God. That time will come when He returns in power and glory, when Israelwill see the Man in Glory, the First begotten coming in the cloudsof Heaven. Then they will realize the full truth of Isaiah liii. Theblessed Lord will then have the travail of His soul and besatisfied. But there is more glory still for Him. A _great_ congregation is mentioned; there too His praises will beheard. All the ends of the earth will remember and turn unto theLord. Nations will worship before Him. "For the Kingdom is Jehovah's And He ruleth among the nations" (verse 28). The great congregation are the nations of the millennial age. Thenthe ends of the earth will remember Him while He ruleth among thenations. What Glory awaits Him! Now we behold Him, who was made alittle lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crownedwith glory and honor. It is a spiritual vision; we see Him there byfaith. But a little while longer and He will appear in the Glory ofHis Father bringing His co-heirs with Him, the Son bringing manysons to glory, the sons He is not ashamed to call brethren, for whomHe was forsaken on the cross. What a procession of triumph and glorythat will be when the Heavens open and He is coming forth, bringingHis church with Him! What will be His Glory when Israel at last ownsHim and nations submit under His rule, when His visible Glory willcover the earth as the waters cover the sea! All hail! Oh blessed, blessed Lord! And we do need to consider all these precious predictions, sonumerous in the Scriptures, the prophecies of His Glory. The God ofthis age Satan is unfolding the glories of this present age which isalmost at the end, with a skilful master hand. He knows how to blindthe eyes not only of those who believe not, but of many who areChristians. He makes everything so attractive and many of God'speople have fallen into his snares. We need to look through the Wordof God upon the brightness of His Glory, the glorious things tocome, so that our eyes may be blinded to the miserable playthings ofthe dust, which the fire of God's vengeance will ere long consume. We need these glorious visions of the great realities so that we cango forward with joyfulness to suffer, be rejected of men and bearthe bright and blessed testimony, the Father expects from Hisbeloved children. Take up the watchword of the last days! _True toChrist--all in Christ--all for Christ--Onward to Glory. _ Soon Hewill call us into His glorious presence. "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are notworthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us"(Rom. Viii:18). "For our light affliction which is but for a moment, worketh a farmore exceeding and eternal weight of glory" (2 Cor. V:17). Oh what will be the day when won at last The last long weary battle, we shall come To those eternal gates the King hath passed, Returning from our exile to our Home; When earth's last dust is washed from off our feet; The last sweat from our brows is wiped away; The hopes that made our pilgrim journey sweet All met around us, realized that day! Oh what will be the day, when we shall stand Irradiate with God's eternal light; First tread as sinless saints the sinless land, No shade nor stain upon our garments white; No fear, no shame upon our faces then, No mark of sin--oh joy beyond all thought! A son of God, a free-born citizen Of that bright city where the curse is not! The Exalted One. Hebrews i. SOME thirty-five years ago, when the so-called "Higher Criticism"had begun its destructive work, a believer living in England, predicted that within thirty years the storm would gather over onesacred head. How this has come true! Satan's work of undermining theauthority of the Bible, a pernicious work still going on, is but thepreliminary to an attack of the Person of Christ. To-day as neverbefore the glorious Person of our Lord is being belittled in thecamp of Christendom. This is done not only in the out and outdenials of His Deity but also in more subtle ways. It is for us who"deny not His Name" (Revel. Iii:8), whose desire is to exalt Him, ever to remind ourselves of the Blessed One and His Glory. At thistime we desire to look briefly at the teachings of the first chapterin Hebrews. This chapter is divided into two parts. In the first part we findanother great description of our adorable Lord, and in the second adescription of His exaltation. The beginning of the chapter gives usthat solid assurance that God has spoken and that the Old Testamentis His Word. "God having spoken in many parts and in many waysformerly to the fathers in the prophets, at the end of these dayshas spoken to us in (the person of the) Son. " The Old TestamentScriptures are the inspired Word of God; at last God spake in Son, as it is in the Greek. The Old Testament announced that God wouldspeak in the person of the Son. For this reason it is impossible todeny the authority of the Old Testament without denying theauthority of Lord Jesus Christ. The written and the living Wordstand and fall together. This is followed by a description of Himself. Seven things arementioned concerning our Lord. 1. Heir of all Things. 2. By whomHe made the worlds. 3. The Brightness of God's Glory. 4. TheExpress image of His Person. 5. The Upholder of all Things. 6. He has purged our sins. 7. He sat down at the right hand of theMajesty on high. What wonderful seven things these are! Oh that wewould meditate more on each, how it would strengthen our faith anddeepen our fellowship with Him. It would give us victory when thehosts of the enemy press upon us. Our defeat is the result of losingsight of the object of our faith, Christ. We also can divide the description of our Lord in the first chapterof Hebrews into three parts. 1. He is the Son of God in eternity;One with the Father, essentially and absolutely God. This is foundin these great statements "By whom He made the worlds; who being thebrightness of His Glory and the express image of His person, andupholding all things by the Word of His power. " This could never besaid of a creature of God. Our Lord is the Creator Himself, theexpress image of the person of God, the one who upholds all things. What it all means! What a Lord we have! All this harmonizes with thedescription of His Person in Colossians. 2. He is the Son of God in incarnation. This is found in thefollowing sentence "When He had Himself purged out sins" or as it isliterally "Having made by Himself the purification of sins. " Forthis great purpose He entered His own world. The mighty Creator, theeternal Son of God, the Holy One is our Redeemer. As Son of God Hewalked on the earth in the Spirit of holiness, the holy, spotlessOne, God manifested in the flesh. And this wonderful Being was madeSin for us, went as the willing sacrifice to the cross. Oh what arecord! "Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth; whowhen reviled, reviled not again: when suffering threatened not; . . . . . . . Who Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, . . . . By whose stripes ye have been healed. " What a foundation for ourfaith, what assurance! He Himself has accomplished the work for usand has made peace in the blood of His cross. He only could do it. 3. The Son of God in resurrection. "He sat down on the right hand ofthe Majesty on high, being made so much better than the angels as Hehath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. " Andin verse 2 we read "Whom He (God) hath appointed heir to allthings. " All this is spoken of Him who had died on the cross and who raisedfrom the dead as glorified Man is at the right hand of the majestyon high. What He is in that resurrection Glory we shall be with Him. His Love does not stop short of this. The Glory the Father gave toHim, He has given to us. He is the image of the invisible God, because He is God. His redeemed people shall be transformed into Hisimage, that He might be the first born among many brethren. What athought this is! We shall image Him forth in all eternity, as Heimages the invisible God. Into what depths we gaze! Then in the second part of this chapter we find a description of Hisexaltation and Glory. The Holy Spirit shows this marvelous themefrom His Word. He quotes from seven Psalms, that book which is oneof the most attacked in the present day. The Holy Spirit gives us akey in these quotations how we should look for Christ in the Psalms. What wickedness in face of such Scriptures to deny the messianicprophecies contained in the Psalms. The Psalms quoted are thefollowing: "The ii; lxxxix (2 Sam. Vii:14); xcvii; civ; xlv; cii andcx. " They reveal His Glory and in what His future Glory will exist. And we shall share that exaltation with Him. We are destined to beHis Co-heirs. We shall rule with Him and shall be priests with Him. He is higher than the angels in His resurrection Glory. He was madea little lower than the angels that He could take us with Himselfinto that place above the angels. All Glory and Praise to His HolyName. We worship and adore Thee, Thou Son of God, our Saviour andLord! What Glory awaits us! What dignity is ours! Oh, child of God, you need just this one thing, to know Him better, to have the HolySpirit make Christ and the things of Christ, the future Glory morereal to your souls. Let Him do it. And soon we shall be with Him. Lamb of God, Thy faithful promise Says, "Behold, I quickly come;" And our hearts, to Thine responsive, Cry, "come, Lord, and take us home. " Oh, the rapture that awaits us When we meet Thee in the air, And with Thee ascend in triumph, All Thy deepest joys to share! A Glorious Vision. THE Epistle to the Hebrews, this profound and blessed portion of theHoly Scriptures, unfolds a most wonderful vision of the Person, theGlory and the great Redemption work of our adorable Lord. Theportion of the Epistle which is the richest in this respect is theSecond Chapter. Here is a vista for the eyes of faith which issublime. Our Lord in His Person, in His humiliation and exaltation, in His suffering and glory, stands out in a way which makes thebelieving heart rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of Glory. WhatHe has accomplished for us, His present place in Glory andintercessory work, His future and dominion over the earth, all arementioned by the Holy Spirit in this brief chapter. His humiliationby incarnation is mentioned in these words "Thou madest Him a littlelower than the angels. " "Forasmuch, then as the children arepartakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part ofthe same. " And He is the One "by whom are all things" (verse 10). His suffering and death and its blessed results are given in thischapter. "By the grace of God He should taste death for every man. ""That through death He might destroy him that had the power ofdeath, that is the devil. " He made "reconciliation for sins of thepeople. " We read of the gracious relations into which all believing sinnersare brought in virtue of His work on the cross. "For both He thatsanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one; for whichcause He is not ashamed to call them brethren. " It is that blessed, deep, eternal relationship of being One with Him and One with God. Then we find here His presence as Man in Glory. "But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering ofdeath crowned with glory and honor. " In that attitude He is now "the merciful and faithful high Priest. ""For in that He Himself hath suffered, being tempted, He is able tosuccor them that are tempted. " The ultimate result of His work is also stated. He is "bringing manysons unto glory. " And that glory will be His own glory. Not only nowbut in that future day of glory He will declare "Behold I and thechildren, which God hath given me. " Furthermore we have the fact of His earthly dominion, that He is tohave possession of the earth. "The world to come, " that is thehabitable earth, not heaven, is to be put in subjection under Him. "Thou hast put all things in subjection under His feet. " All theseblessed truths are stated in this chapter of Hebrews. In regard to a subdued earth we read: "But now we see not yet allthings put under Him. " That was true when the Holy Spirit pennedthese words. This is still true and it will be true until the Fatherbringeth in the First begotten into the world, when not alone allthe angels of God will worship Him (Heb. I:6), but when God willmake His enemies the footstool of His blessed feet (Psalm cx:1). However this coming triumph for Him who was made a little lower thanthe angels is not the glorious vision of this chapter. It is time byfaith we may behold the glorious consummation as revealed in theprophetic Word, but here another vision for our present rejoicingand present help is put before us. While we see not yet all thingsput under His feet "we see Jesus, who was made a little lower thanthe angels for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor. " This is the great vision for the present. This is what the HolySpirit wants us to behold more than anything else. Of Stephen it iswritten: "He being full of the Holy Spirit, looked up steadfastlyinto heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at theright hand of God" (Acts vii:55). And whenever the Holy Spirit fillsus He will direct the vision of the eyes of our heart to Him who wasmade a little lower than the angels and who is now in heaven crownedwith glory and honor. And only the _power_ of the Holy Spiritfilling us can make this great fact and vision a reality. But what does this glorious vision mean to _us?_ What does it teachus? Oh, much more than the weak pen of the writer can tell out. The blessed One who is there crowned with glory and honor is the Onewho was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering ofdeath; He bore our sins on the cross and died for us. What ablessed, blessed proof then it is, as we behold Him there, that oursins are completely and forever gone! But more than that. In seeing Him there we behold ourselves. Thedeliverer of our souls at the right hand of God, the second man, crowned with glory and honor, is the pattern and forerunner of allwho belong to Him and whom He is not ashamed to call brethren. Gracehas raised us up together, and has made us sit down together in theheavenlies in Christ Jesus (Eph. Ii:5, 6). Our eternal destiny, beloved in the Lord, is to be like Him, withHim and to share His marvelous inheritance as His co-heirs. Thatglorious vision is the evidence of our coming glory, when we shallbe transformed into His image that He might be the firstborn amongmany brethren. As we gaze in the Spirit on Him who is crowned withglory and honor we can see ourselves. And as the age darkens, as the Laodicean state becomes moreprevalent, temptations and snares increase, the enemy's powers andactivities more marked, we need to open our eyes and hearts wider, to take in the vision of our blessed head in Glory. Only in this waycan we be kept in these evil days. The only way of spiritualprogress, spiritual enjoyment, spiritual worship is to "behold as ina glass the glory of the Lord, " and beholding that glorious visionwe "are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as bythe Spirit of the Lord" (2 Cor. Vii:18). This glorious vision will keep us in the place of separation. Itwill make us heavenly-minded and produce in our lives the practicalresults of the cross of Christ "crucified unto the world and theworld crucified unto me. " Why do real Christians, who know the truthand even know and speak of His Second Coming go along with the worldand delight in its ways? It is because the heart is departed fromChrist and has lost sight of the blessed and glorious vision. Yearsago a saint of God, who is now present with the Lord, made thefollowing statement: "It sometimes happens that Christians have got so far away fromChrist in heart, that they become engrossed in the affairs of thislife, and some can even visit and enjoy the poor empty, tinselledshows of this world's vanity. What could be more lamentable? Theyforget that _death's stamp_ is deeply graven on everything this sideof resurrection. But such actions clearly prove that the heart musthave been away from Christ for some time. " Reader! if this means you return unto thy rest. Arise now and seekHis face and behold your Saviour, who was made a little lower thanthe angels crowned with glory and honor. May all our hearts, dear children of God, cry out with him, who knewHim so well, the prisoner of the Lord "That I may know _Him_, andthe power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death" (Phil. Iii:10). Soon we shallknow Him and all His glory. I see a Man at God's right hand, Upon the throne of God, And there in seven-fold light I see The seven-fold sprinkled blood; I look upon that glorious Man, On that blood-sprinkled throne; I know that He sits there for me, The glory is my own. The heart of God flows forth in love, A deep eternal stream; Through that beloved Son it flows To me as unto Him. And, looking on His face, I know-- Weak, worthless, though I be-- How deep, how measureless, how sweet, That love of God to me. My Brethren. OUR Lord Jesus Christ calls those for whom He died and who havebelieved on Him "_My Brethren_. " What a word it is! The Brethren ofthe Man in Glory! Brethren of Him who is at the right hand of God, the upholder and heir of all things! Pause for a moment, dearreader. Let your heart lay hold anew of this wonderful message ofGod's Grace; Brethren of the Lord Jesus Christ! What depths of loveand grace these words contain! What heights of glory they promise tous, who were bought by His own precious blood! His Brethren now; HisBrethren forever. One with Him, one with His Father and His God. Sharers of His life, sharers of His Spirit, sharers of His glory andHis inheritance. Blessed, glorious truth, He calls us His Brethren. It is in the twenty-second Psalm where we find this truth revealedprophetically for the first time. That Psalm begins, as we have seenbefore, with the utterance of the deepest distress. It closes withthe shout of victory and of triumph. He who was forsaken of God onthe cross, the blessed sin bearer, has received glory. In the midstof the congregation, His redeemed people, He praises God, who hasdelivered Him and who gave Him Glory. In God's own time, in thecoming day of His visible manifestation, all the ends of the worldshall remember and turn unto the Lord, and all the kindreds of thenations shall worship before Him. Then the Kingdom will be theLord's. He who suffered on the cross was heard "from the horns of theunicorn" (Ps. Xxii:21). Resurrection was the answer from God; thepower of God raised Him from the dead. At once, after the great workhad been accomplished, there follows the triumphant declaration ofHim whose voice had cried so bitterly in death, "I will declare ThyName unto my brethren; in the midst of the congregation will Ipraise Thee. " And blessed was the fulfilment on that day of joy, when the tomb was empty and He had come forth, the risen Christ. ToMary Magdalene He said on that glorious resurrection morning, "Butgo and tell _my brethren_, and say unto them, I ascend unto myFather and your Father, and to my God and your God" (John xx:17). What joy must then have filled His loving heart. From His graciouslips there bursts forth a message such as He never gave to His ownbefore His resurrection. The great work on the cross had been accomplished, sin had been putaway by the sacrifice of Himself. The Only Begotten of the Father, God's holy Son, one with God, became Man; then passing throughdeath, in which He fully glorified God, God raised Him from thedead. And now He gives the blessed results of His own work for thosewho believe on Him. He has brought us into the same relationshipwith His Father and His God, which He Himself holds, as the ManChrist Jesus, raised from the dead. His Father, the Father of ourLord Jesus Christ, is our Father; His God is our God. And again wepause as we write this. Let our hearts repeat it: "My Father, yourFather; my God, your God. " He has brought us into fellowship withHis Father; He has brought us to God and the place He has with theFather and with God, is the place God's fathomless Grace has givento us. How little our hearts take it in! How little reality wepossess of all this! And yet He wants us to enjoy it as He enjoysthe fulness of joy in His Father's and His God's own presence. Maythe Holy Spirit work in us unhindered, that through His power we maylay hold in faith of this mighty truth and have it as a _practicalpower_ in our daily lives. My Father, your Father; my God, your Godand Christ, who loved me and gave Himself for me, Christ, who lovethus, is with His Father and His God. In such relationship, brought tothe Father and to God through the Lord Jesus Christ and kept thereby His own Grace and Power, how happy we should be. And because we possess now in virtue of Christ's work this blessedrelationship, He owns us joyfully as His brethren. Hebrews ii:11-12puts this more fully before our hearts: "For both He thatsanctifieth and they that are sanctified are all of one; for whichcause He is not ashamed to call them brethren. Saying, I willdeclare Thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will Ising praise unto Thee. " The Lord Jesus Christ is He that sanctifiethand they that are sanctified by His great work and are in Him, arebelieving sinners, reconciled to God by His blood. Both He thatsanctifieth and we are all of One and this One is God, the Father. Therefore He is not ashamed to call them brethren. It is true wepossess this relationship with the Man in Glory, the Lord JesusChrist, because we are born of God. We have eternal life, His ownlife, and that makes us One with Him. But this is not the truth inview here. It is the truth that He has identified Himself with usand through His death and resurrection we are identified with Him. And what it means "in the midst of the church will I sing praisesunto Thee" we shall not follow at this time. But let us keep it before our hearts a little while longer. The Lordof Glory calls us "My Brethren. " He who is there in the Father'shouse, in the Father's presence and on the Father's throne is notashamed to call us brethren. He knows all about us. He knows all thedepths of sin in which we are by nature; that by nature we wereenemies by wicked works and children of wrath, but He took it allupon Himself and has taken it out of the way and now He looks uponus and all who have accepted Him by personal faith as being one withHim and one with His Father; therefore He is not ashamed to call usbrethren. What a comfort it should be to our hearts! What joy itshould create in our souls! He Himself received from God, Hisheart's desire and the request of His lips (Ps. Xxi:2). And all Hisdesire and request was in our behalf, that He might bring us, Hismany sons, to glory. And now He rejoices in us, for we are Hisinheritance. He wants us to rejoice in Him and with Him in anunspeakable joy and full of glory. Our souls entering into all thisand rejoicing with Him in His salvation, enjoying the comfort of it;this honors Him and honors God. It should end the discouragement and unbelief from which we so oftensuffer. Though we are weak and erring, imperfect in all our ways, yet He is not ashamed to call us brethren. Such a fellowship andrelation into which we are brought once and, for all by the Son ofGod, should, if accepted in faith, dispel any doubt about ourselvesand free us from all gloom and discouragement. Alas! how dull we arenot to enter fully into the joy and comfort Grace has bestowed uponus! And then think of the dignity and honor which is ours. Sons of Godwith Him; Heirs of God with Him; one with Him, perfectly identifiedwith the blessed One in God's presence. Therefore He is not ashamedto call us brethren. To walk worthy of the Lord is our calling; andworthy of the Lord we shall walk if we have the great fact of ourfellowship with the Son of God as a reality before our souls. It isa sad state to speak theoretically of our position in Christ, toknow all this with our intellects and not to manifest it in ourlives and show forth the excellencies of Him, who has called us fromdarkness into his marvellous light. He is not ashamed to call us brethren. It should strengthen the lovefor the brethren. Love one another. The weakest, the most imperfectbeliever, that one who appears to us so unlovable and so ignorant, is nevertheless owned by him. Just let us remember in looking uponall believers, that he is not ashamed to call them brethren, that nomatter where they belong, what their knowledge in the Scripturesmight be, they belong to Christ, and are equally beloved of God. Howwe need it in a day when Satan goes about dividing the people ofGod. Love for the brethren, a deep, real heart love, will possess usas our hearts feed upon the fact of our oneness with him and withHis Father and His God. He is not ashamed to call them brethren. It will be an incentive towitness for Him. Dishonored as He is, it falls upon us to honor Himby our personal witness. While in the Father's presence He sings andis the leader of the praises of His people, we must sing of Him hereand utter His praise on earth. He is not ashamed of us; _how couldwe ever be ashamed of Him?_ What an honor to speak His worth, totell out, though in feeble way, His glory and exalt His name. Andyet we must beware of an unscriptural familiarity with Him, whichthe Holy Spirit does not sanction in the Scriptures. We must notaddress Him, as it is so often done, as "my brother, " or othersentimental terms, which our pen is reluctant to repeat. In all thiswe must not forget His dignity and glory. While He thus identifiedHimself with us and is not ashamed to call us brethren, He isnevertheless the holy Son of God, the Lord of all. As such we mustadore and worship Him. Some blessed day we shall be just like Him. We are predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son, thatHe might be the first born among many brethren (Rom. Viii:29). Thatwill be in the glorious day when we shall meet Him face to face. "Weknow that when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shallsee Him as He is" (John iii:2). What it all will mean? What day ofjoy and triumph for Him, when He stands as the leader of all whomthe Father has given unto Him, when all according to His prayer willbe the sharers of His Glory. Then He will be glorified in His saintsfor they will bear His image and reflect His glory. What a destiny!Like Him and with Him. And this future of perfect conformity to theLord Jesus Christ and possession of the wonderful inheritance, which, in its riches we cannot grasp now with out finite minds, israpidly approaching. How soon it may burst upon us! Oh, friends, beloved in the Lord! Do we all enjoy this now in faith?Is it so that the Lord Jesus Christ becomes daily more real andprecious to us? Do we live in the power of all this? The Patience of Christ. "BUT the Lord direct your hearts into the Love of God and into the_Patience of Christ_" (2 Thess. Iii:5). With these words Paulexhorted the Thessalonian believers. They had many trials anddifficulties. They suffered persecutions and were troubled. Falsealarms had affected their patience of hope in the Lord Jesus Christ. The inspired exhortation puts before their hearts the Patience ofChrist. Comfort and joy, encouragement and peace, would surely cometo their hearts and strengthen them, if they remembered and enteredinto the Patience of Christ. And who can describe or speak fully and worthily of the Patience ofour blessed Lord! It includes so much. All His moral Glory andDivine perfections are concealed and revealed in this Word. The wordpatience has a wide meaning. It means more than we generally expressby it. Submission, endurance in meekness, waiting in faith, quietness, contentment, composure, forebearance, suffering incalmness, calmness in suffering; all and more is contained in theone word, Patience. And such patience in all its fulness andperfection the Son of God exhibited in His earthly life. Whenever welook in the Gospels, we behold this calm, quiet, restful patience. His whole life here on earth is but a continued record of patience. In patience His childhood was spent, and when in His twelfth yearthe Glory of His Deity flashed forth we read "He went down withthem, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them. " In patience, He whose mighty power had called the universe in existence, toiledon, content in Nazareth, submissive to the Father, till after manyyears the day would come, when the work He had come to do should bebegun and finished. To describe that Patience during His publicministry from Nazareth, where He had been brought up, to Golgotha, would necessitate a close scrutiny of every step of the way, everyact and every utterance which came from His holy lips. Whatdiscoveries of His Grace and moral Glory we make, if under theguidance of His Spirit we meditate on His life here below. Humilityand submission under God, patient waiting on Him, utter absence ofall haste, perfect calmness of soul and every other characteristicof perfect patience, we can trace constantly in that wonderful life. What patience is revealed in the forty days in the wilderness, whenHe hungered and was with the wild beasts (Mark i:13). When Satantempted Him and asked for stones to be made bread, He exhibitedstill His patience. In His service, that marvellous service renderedby the perfect servant, no ambitiousness or ostentatiousness canever be discovered. He pleased not Himself but Him who sent Him. Hewas constantly going about doing the Father's will. His kindness andlove were rewarded by rejection and insults, yet no complaint ormurmur ever came from His lips. He was always trusting in God, perfectly calm, perfectly satisfied. And how His patience shines out in dealing with men. What patienceHe had with His disciples and how He bore with them in love. Theywere slow learners. What patience and tenderness in his conversationwith her, whom He had sought, the woman at Samaria's well. Andgreatest above all His patience in suffering. He endured the cross. When He was reviled, He reviled not again; when He suffered, Hethreatened not, but committed Himself to Him that judgethrighteously. (1 Pet. Ii:23). He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; He was brought as a lamb to theslaughter, and as a sheep before his shearers is dumb, so He openednot His mouth. All the buffetings, shame, dishonors, griefs, painsand sorrows He patiently endured. Oh! the patience of Christ, whofor the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame! And into this patience of Christ our hearts are to be directed. Itis to be the object of our contemplation and to be followed by us, who belong to Him. The patience of Christ must be manifested in ourlives. For even hereunto were ye called, because Christ alsosuffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow Hissteps. His humility, submissiveness, contentment, calmness, patiencein endurance, in doing and suffering the will of God, must bereproduced in our lives. But how little we know of it in reality. Impatience is the leading characteristic of the closing days of thispresent evil age. It is alas! but too prominently seen among God'speople who are influenced by the present day currents. How littletrue waiting on the Lord and for the Lord is practiced! How muchreaching out after the things which are but for a moment and whichwill soon perish! In consequence there is but little enjoyment ofthat which is the glorious and eternal portion of the Saints of God. How great the haste and hurry of present day life! How littlequietness and contentment! In suffering and loss, murmurings, fault-finding and words of forced resignation are more frequently heardthan joyful songs of praise. Unrest instead of rest, discontentinstead of contentment, anxiety instead of simple trust, selfexaltation instead of self abnegation, ambitiousness instead oflowliness of mind are found on all sides among those who name thename of Christ and who carry His Life in their hearts. And why? Yourheart, dear reader, is so often out of touch with Christ. You losesight of Him. His Spirit is grieved and in consequence there isfailure and the impatience of the flesh. Return, oh my soul, untothy rest! Direct, O Lord, our hearts into the Patience of Christ. The Patience of Christ. He is still the patient Christ. Rejected bythe world He has taken His place upon the Father's throne. There Hewaits until His enemies are made His footstool. Long ago, in ourhuman reckoning, He entered there. Long ago the Father said to Him, "Ask of Me and I will give Thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost part of the earth for Thy possession" (Ps. Ii:8). Up to now He has not yet asked the Father. When He asks it will meanjudgment for this world. In infinite patience He has waited andwaited in the presence of God. And all this time He has carried onHis work as the Priest and Advocate of His people who live on earth. With what tenderness and patience He has dealt with all who lived inthe past centuries. His mighty power kept them and now they are athome with Him. The same patience He manifests towards us. How oftenwe have failed Him and walked in the flesh instead of walking in theSpirit. We came to Him and confessed and then we found Him so lovingtowards us. But ere long we failed again and in His loving patienceHis arms were again around us. And thus a hundred times. He changethnot. He is the same loving, patient Lord towards His own in Glory asHe was on earth. "He shall not be discouraged, " the prophetdeclared. Even so His Patience knows no discouragement. In all the dishonor done to His holy, worthy Name, He endurespatiently. He is silent to all what is done by His enemies. ThePatience of Christ. May the Lord grant us His Patience. John said tohimself, "I am your brother and companion in tribulation and in thekingdom and _patience_ of Jesus Christ" (Rev. I:9). To that kingdomand Patience of Jesus Christ of which John speaks of belonging webelong. The martyrs belonged to it. Afflictions, persecutions andsufferings were their part. They are ours. In humility, inendurance, unflinching courage, in the patience of Christ, let ussuffer with Him, share His reproach until His Glory is revealed. He Shall Not Keep Silent. THE heavens have long been silent. It is one of the leadingcharacteristics of this present age, the closed, the silent heavens. But they will not be silent forever. "Our God shall come and shallnot keep silence" (Ps. I:3). In His divine Patience the Lord hasbeen at the right hand of God for nearly two thousand years. He willnot occupy that place forever. It is not His permanent station to beupon the Father's throne. He has the promise of His own throne, which He as the King-Priest must occupy. Nearly two thousand yearshave gone since He passed through the heavens and during that timeHe has been rejected by the world. Every possible dishonor, insultand shame has been heaped upon His holy head through theinstrumentality of the enemy, the devil. Never before has therejection of the Man in Glory been so pronounced, so radical, soblasphemous as now. Those who love the Lord Jesus Christ areconstantly seized by an unspeakable grief on account of these awfuldenials of the Christ of God and an horror as well. And still Hepatiently waits. But He will not always wait. His Patience will someday be exhausted. He will pray His unprayed prayer in Glory and askof the Father the nations and the uttermost parts of the earth. TheFather will then send the Firstborn back to this earth. When Hecomes in visible Glory to this earth it will mean the day ofvengeance. The vengeance of God will fall upon His enemies. All theChrist rejecters, the wicked men and women who received not the loveof the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness, the enemies ofthe cross of Christ, though they lived amiable lives (one of Satan'spet phrases), will meet Him not as the patient lamb, but the Judge, the lion of the tribe of Judah. What will it be when His Patience isended? What will it be when the kingdom and the Patience of JesusChrist give way to the kingdom and Glory of Jesus Christ? Rapidlythe day is nearing when the Lord Jesus Christ will be completelyrejected. As long as the true church is still here this completerejection is an impossibility. But the church will some day leavethis earth. Then conditions are ripe for the complete rejection ofthe Christ and the reception of Antichrist who will then appear. Andwhen the beast is worshipped (Rev. Xiii) and the world defies Godand His anointed as never before, when the nations of apostateChristendom stand in battle array (Rev. Xix:19), then He will comeas the King whose patience is ended and claim His Kingdom. What willit mean when His Patience is ended? Who can describe it? Whatjudgments will fall then upon a wicked world and be meted out uponthe enemies of Christ? The day of vengeance is rapidly approaching. It is the day of vengeance for the world. It is the day of the Gloryof Christ. It is the day of the Glory of the Saints. It is the dayof your Glory as a believer. Let us suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. Letus be patient as long as He is patient. "Be ye also patient;establish your hearts for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned;behold the Judge standeth before the door" (James v:8, 9). In His Patience pray for the unsaved. Preach the Gospel, give outthe Gospel, send the Gospel, give for the Gospel, live the Gospel. Alittle while longer and His patience will end. Trusting in the Lord thy God, Onward go. Holding fast His faithful word, Onward go. Not denying His worthy name, Though it brings reproach and shame, Spreading still His wondrous fame, Onward go. Has He said the end is near? Onward go. Serving Him with holy fear, Onward go. Christ thy portion, Christ thy stay-- Heavenly bread upon the way, Leading on to glorious day-- Onward go. The Love of Christ. THE Patience of Christ was recently the object of our meditation inthese pages. Blessed and inexhaustible it is. And now a stillgreater theme is before our hearts. The Love of Christ. The heartalmost shrinks from attempting to write on the matchless, unfathomable love of our blessed and adorable Lord. All the Saintsof God who have spoken and written on the Love of Christ have nevertold out its fulness and vastness, its heights and its depths. "TheLove of Christ which passeth knowledge" (Ephesians iii:19). And yetwe _do_ know the Love of Christ. While we cannot fully grasp thatmighty, eternal Love our hearts can enjoy it and we can ever knowmore of it. And He Himself whose Love is set upon us wants us todrink constantly of the ocean of His never-changing Love and receivenew tokens, new glimpses of it. Surely His own blessed Spirit, though one feels so insufficient for such an object, will guide usin our meditation. He is with us and in us to glorify Him and takeof the things of Christ to show them unto us. The Love of Christ, the Holy Spirit ever longs to make known and to impart to our poorand feeble hearts. The Love of our Lord is an eternal Love. It is not a thing of time. It antedates the foundation of the world. "His gracious eye surveyed us Ere stars were seen above. " He as the Son of God in the bosom of God was the object of Love. "Thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world" (John xvii:24). And then He knew us and His Love was even then set upon us, before we ever were in existence. He knew our sinfulness, ourenmity, our vileness, and in Love which passeth knowledge He lookedforward to the time, when He would manifest this Love to us Hisfallen creatures. "Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it ishigh I cannot attain unto it" (Psalm cxxxix:6). It was Love which brought Him down from the Glory, which He had withGod. What Love to come into this dark, sin-cursed world, a worldfull of enemies. What Love to leave that bright and glorious homeand appear as man, made of a woman entering this world He had calledinto existence. And there was no room for Him in the inn. It passethknowledge. And then that life, which He lived on earth, was lived in thatmighty Love. "A love that led Thee here below To tread a lonely path in grace, To pass through sorrow, grief and woe, The portion of a ruin'd race. " What Love we see in Him, in every step of that lonely path! Whatcompassion, what tenderness in every action in every word wediscover, ever new and fresh, in that blessed life of God'sunspeakable gift. Wherever we look we behold that Love. Lovingcompassion rested upon the multitudes; with Love He compassed thepoor, the sinful, the oppressed, the heartsick and the outcast. Lovecarried the weak and failing men, who had believed on him, Hisdisciples. A blessed word it is, which stands in the beginning ofthe thirteenth chapter in the Gospel of John. "Having loved His ownwhich were in the world, He loved them unto the end. " His Love forHis own was expressed by serving them. He pleased not Himself buthad come to minister. He then girded Himself and began to wash thedisciples' feet. What humiliation! Yet it was the fruit of Love. AllHe did was born of Love. His was on earth a constant, a never-tiring, an enduring Love. All the selfishness of His disciples couldnot quench that Love. Nothing could quench His Love for His own. Nothing will ever quench it. Peter denied Him. "And the Lord turnedand looked upon Peter" (Luke xxii:61). Was it a look of reproach?Was it a frown of displeasure which Peter saw in that beloved face?Far from it. Love in its divine perfection shone out of the eyes ofthe Son of God. And after His resurrection that Love was still thesame. There was no reproach connected with the restoration of Peterto service. In the greatest tenderness and Love He committed to Hisdisciple, who had so shamefully denied Him, the lambs and sheep sodear to His own loving heart. Again we say, that Love passeth knowledge. How could man'simagination and invention ever have produced such a loving Person asour Lord, revealing the perfection of divine Love! But there is greater Love than the Love which we behold in Hisblessed Life on earth. The greater Love is manifested when He laiddown His life. He came into the world to die, to be the propitiationfor our sins. He came to take our place on the cross. He came todrink the cup of wrath in our stead and suffer the awful penalty ofour sins. "For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died forthe ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yetperadventure for a good man some would even dare to die. _But Godcommendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us_. " God in Love gave thus His Son, and He gave Himself in Love. Fromshame to shame, from suffering to suffering, from pain to pain andagony to agony that Love went on to plunge into the deepest sorrow, to reach at last the place where His loving lips had to cry "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken me?" "To death of shame Thy love did reach, God's holy judgment then to bear; Ah, Lord, what human tongue can teach _Or tell the love that brought Thee there_. " Ah! what human tongue can teach or tell the Love that brought Theethere! It passeth knowledge. But with loving, praising hearts, inworship and adoration we can look up to that cross on which thePrince of Glory died and say with Paul, "He loved me, He gaveHimself for me. " And again we join with the innumerable hosts of Hisown redeemed in the Glory song. "Unto Him that loveth us and washedus from our sins in His own blood and hath made us Kings and priestsunto God and His Father, to Him be Glory and dominion forever. Amen. " And beloved reader, that Love which knew you and us allbefore we ever existed, that Love which came from Glory for you, that Love which went into the jaws of death, endured the cross anddespised the shame, that Love which gave so willingly, gave as wecan never give, that Love is still the same. It changes not. HisLove knows no fluctuations. That perfect Love cannot grow cold orindifferent. We all had our first love; when first we saw Him withthe eyes of faith, how our hearts were enraptured. How soon thatLove began to grow cold and decreased instead of increased. Then ourwalk and service became affected for thus it must ever be when theheart is not responding to His Love and not in living, loving touchwith Himself. Oh! the weeks and months and years of our Christianexperience spent without the full enjoyment of His Love andPresence. But has this changed His Love? Has our unfaithfulness, ourwaywardness, our failure and backsliding affected His Love? No. Heis the same loving Lord, the same loving Christ who has borne us andyearned over us, who has prayed for us and kept us. Whenever we turnto Him with broken hearts, confessing our sins, when in shame wehide our faces and tell Him all our failures, we find Him still thesame loving Lord as He was when His loving eyes rested upon Peter. Oh! how He must love us! How He must love us, with that Love whichpasseth knowledge. What treasures that Love contains! Exhaustless itis ever flowing full and free towards His own. How it must grieve Him to see us so indifferent, neither hot norcold. How it must grieve Him that we enjoy this Love so little thatwe permit that Love so little to serve us and give Him so littleopportunity to manifest His mighty Love towards us. Alas! We evenmistrust that Love. When suffering and loss overtake us, wheninstead of prosperity adversity is our lot, we doubt that Love. Fears and anxieties are nothing less than an impeachment of theLove, which passeth knowledge. His Love will never fail. He will seeus safe home. Let the forces of the enemy roar, let trials andtroubles come, His Love will keep us. His Love is our eternalportion. "For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, norprincipalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able toseparate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus ourLord. " And soon He will have us with Himself. The church He loved, forwhich He gave Himself, the church He sanctified by the washing ofwater, this church He will present to Himself a glorious church(Eph. V:24-27). Even while on earth He made known His lovingpurpose, for He prayed, "The Glory, which Thou hast given me I havegiven to them. " It is His Love which will make us sharers of His own Glory andInheritance. What that Love will do then! How we shall drink deeperof that Love, than we ever could drink here! Oh the depths of theLove to be fathomed in all eternity! Oh the length and breadth andheight to be measured! It can never, no never be exhausted. O, child of God, is not thy poor wandering heart beginning to bewarmed? Is the warmth of His Love, the Love of Christ refreshingyour soul? Thank God for it. It is but a demonstration of His Love. And do we not want more of it? Do we not need it? All our indifference, our cold heartedness, our prayerlessness, ourself indulgences, our inactivity and all else which mars ourChristian lives, is because we do not have the Love of Christ beforeour hearts. If we were constantly enjoying His Love and this mightyLove would constrain us, what self-sacrificing lives we would live!How we would love one another and in love serve one another. Whatpeace there would be among those of like precious faith. With abetter heart knowledge of the Love of Christ, what joy would be oursin all trials and suffering and with what boldness we would approachthe throne of Grace and make constant use of our God-givenprivilege, prayer. The Love of Christ would lead us on and on in love for souls, inservice untiring, and yet the same Love too will make us long andpray for His coming. Oh God our Father, grant unto us all and to allThy people throughout this world a greater, a deeper, a more realknowledge of the Love of thine ever blessed Son, the Love of Christ, and fill us through it with all the fulness of God. Amen. The Joy of the Lord. IT is written "the joy of the Lord is your strength. " Every child ofGod knows in some measure what it is to rejoice in the Lord. TheLord Jesus Christ must ever be the sole object of the believer'sjoy, and as eyes and heart look upon Him, we, too, like "thestrangers scattered abroad" to whom Peter wrote shall "rejoice withjoy unspeakable and full of glory" (1 Pet. I:8). But it is upon ourheart to meditate with our beloved readers on the joy of ouradorable Lord, as his own personal joy. The Blessed One when Hisfeet walked on the earth spoke not only of "My Peace, " but He alsospoke of "My Joy. " While He imparts peace and joy and is the peaceand joy of our hearts, He also possesses His own Peace and His ownJoy. "The Joy of the Lord. " There was a time "when the morning stars sangtogether, and all the sons of God shouted for joy" (Job xxxviii:7). It was in the beginning when the heavens and the earth were createdby Him, who is before all things and by whom all things consist, theSon of God. With what joy He must have beheld what was called intoexistence by Him and for Him (Col. I:16). But even before thefoundation of the world He had joy. With God, in the bosom of theFather Love, Glory and Joy were His eternal portion. All was knownto Him from the beginning. The fall of Satan, the fall of manthrough Satan, the entrance of sin with all its results, the costprice of redemption, the suffering in the flesh on the cross for theredemption of the creature, the multitudes, whom no man can number, redeemed through His work, believing in Him, brought to God, unitedwith Him, Sons and Heirs with Him, the ultimate victory over allenemies, so that God would be "all in all"--all was known to Him. What joy must have filled Him when at His incarnation He announced, "Lo I come to do Thy will O God" (Heb. X:5, 6). And then He came andtook upon Himself the form of a servant, the first word the heavenlymessenger spoke, sent to the virgin to announce the incarnation, wasa word of joy. Never before had Gabriel been sent with such amessage. "Hail" our English version has it; but the greeting means"Joy" or "Oh the joy!" And the angel later announced "good tidingsof great joy. " And that blessed life which was lived upon earth tothe Glory of God, was a life which knew joy. All along the way fromBethlehem to Golgotha He had joy before His heart. It is true Hewept, He had sufferings, He was tempted, He was ill-treated, castout, maligned, accused of evil and rejected, but joy filled Hisheart. His God and Father was His joy, yea, His exceeding joy. To doHis will, who had sent Him was His constant joy. His joy was to walkin confidence, in dependence on Him. His Father's love and delight, which rested upon Him were His joy. "Whom have I in heaven but Thee?and there is none upon earth that I desire beside Thee" (Ps. Lxxiii:25). This beautiful word must have been His constantdeclaration; and that is joy. "I have set the Lord always before me"(Ps. Xvi:8) is another utterance of God's Spirit concerning the holylife of God's well beloved Son. And that meant joy. The seventy Hehad sent forth had returned again with joy, because the demons weresubject unto them. That is sinful man in carnal rejoicing! somepower manifested, some great success fills our proud hearts withjoy. But His words told them of a different joy. They were not torejoice that the spirits submitted to them, but that their nameswere written in heaven. "In that hour Jesus _rejoiced_ in spirit, and said, I thank Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thatThou hast hidden these things from the wise and the prudent, andhast revealed them to babes; even so Father; for so it seemed goodin Thy sight. All things are delivered to Me of My Father; and noman knoweth who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and to whom the Son will reveal Him" (Luke x:21, 22). Thus _He_ rejoiced. In the parable of the treasure in the field Hespeaks of His joy. The man who has found the treasure, for joythereof goeth and selleth all he hath, and buyeth that field ( Matt. Xiii:44). The man in the parable is the Lord Himself and the fieldis the world. With joy He gave up all and came down here to buy usback. And all His suffering from man and from Satan, thepersecutions He suffered from His own people to whom He came wereborne by Him with joy. He told out His own blessed character in thebeatitudes and in speaking of those who are reviled and persecuted, He said, "Rejoice, and be exceeding glad. " Thus He must have borneit all with joy. And then the cross. The cross in which He who knewno sin was made sin for us. He was troubled in His holy soul when Helooked towards the cross (John xii:27). In the garden He saw thecross. "And being in an agony He prayed more earnestly; and Hissweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to theground" (Luke xii:44). And yet it is written "who for the joy thatwas set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and isset down at the right hand of the throne of God" (Heb. Xii:2). Allthe suffering put upon Him by man, acting under satanic impulses andthe shame connected with the cross, He despised, the cross itself Hecould not despise, but He endured that. The joy was that He saw andknew the full and glorious result of all His work He had come to do. He saw then the travail of His soul and was satisfied. But in thatcross there was that suffering, which is unfathomable. God's ownhand rested upon Him. All His sorrowful complaints as predicted byHis own Spirit were then fulfilled. "_Thou_ hast laid me in the dustof death. " "All _Thy_ waves and billows go over me. " "_Thine_ handhas pressed me sore. " "_Thy_ wrath lieth hard upon me. " "_Thy_fierce wrath goeth over me. " "_Thou_ hast laid me in the lowestpit. " Thus He suffered from God--smitten and afflicted of God. Itpleased the Lord to bruise Him. Then from that cross there came thatloud and triumphant cry when He gave His life "It is finished!" Oh!what joy must have filled then His soul, when He knew the work isdone, all is accomplished. And with equal joy God answered the cryof His well beloved Son, when He rent the veil from top to bottom. The risen Lord in meeting His disciples greeted them, with thegreeting of joy, which Gabriel had used. "All Hail"--literally, _Ohthe joy!_ (Matt. Xxviii:9. ) What joy must then have filled Hisloving heart as He met His own again. Oh the joy! thus they hadmocked Him when they crowned Him with a crown of thorns and bowedthe knee and in derision shouted "All hail"--"Rejoice"--"King ofthe Jews. " But in the resurrection He shouts "Oh the Joy!" Thevictory is won. Satan, Sin, Death and the Grave are vanquished. Andwhat joy is His now! What joy will be His ere long! With a shout Hewent up (Ps. Xlvii:5). What a joy when He passed through the heavensand as the glorified man He entered the Holy of Holies! What a joywhen the Father had the well beloved with Him again, and He took Hisseat at His own right hand. What joy for Him and the heavens whenGlory and Honor was put upon Him and He was proclaimed throughoutthe depths of the universe as Heir of all things! What joy! Allpower in heaven and on earth is His. Oh the joy! as sinners aresaved by Grace, whom He redeemed by His blood. And as His body isbuilding He rejoiceth as the bridegroom over the bride. Inunspeakable joy He carrieth on His loving, tender, priestly work inbehalf of those for whom He died. His joy and delight, as well asHis love and His power is with them, who are His. But there is greater joy in the future for Him, the Man in Glory. Though even now He _is_ "anointed with the oil of gladness above allHis fellows. " His joy will increase and be full in the future. Another glad shout will be heard when he leaves the Father's throneand descends into the air. A shout of triumph and joy it will be, which will open the graves of the Saints, which will summon thosewho remain to meet Him in the air. Oh the joy at last the travail ofHis soul will be brought into His presence. Oh the joy! He will haveus then and we will be with Him. With _exceeding joy_ He willpresent us faultless before the presence of His Glory (Jud. 24). Injoy and a glorious triumph He will bring many sons to glory. Whatjoy it will be when He leads forth from heaven's glorious mansions, those who are "God's workmanship created by Christ Jesus!" Then allthe world will know and angels shout once more for joy in the fulland glorious revelation of the new creation. Oh! the Joy for Him! when Israel cries out "Blessed is He thatcometh in the name of the Lord!" Oh the joy! when creation sings hersongs of praise to Him, whose pierced hands have removed the curse. Oh! the joy! when nations hear war no more but sing the worth of theKing of Kings and lay their gifts at His feet. If we could measure all which was accomplished on Calvary's cross, then we could also measure His joy, the joy of the Lord. Reader! If you are saved by Grace, one with the Lord, then all thisis yours. The joy in the Lord and the joy of the Lord is to be yourportion now and in the day of His joy and glory. Murmuring, discouraged, tempted, complaining, bereaved, downhearted, halfhearted child of God, ponder over these words. Let God's Spiritlead you into them. The joy of the Lord is to be your portion. Itwill dispel your gloom. It will end your discouragement. It willgive you songs in the night. It will lift you into a holy walk. Thejoy of the Lord can do this. He wants you to possess His joy. "Thesethings have I spoken unto you, and that your joy might be full"(John xv:11). Let the Holy Spirit, who is given to you of God, makethe Lord Jesus Christ a greater reality in your life. Let the joy ofthe Lord be your joy. Rejoice in God, the God and Father of our LordJesus Christ. Let your joy be to do His will. Accept all from Hishands. Rejoice in all things. "Rejoice in the Lord always, and againI say, Rejoice" (Phil. Iv:4). Rejoice and glory in tribulation. "Count it all joy when ye fall in divers temptations" (James i:2). Having Christ, brought nigh to God, a perfect access into Hispresence, yea the right to come with boldness, a rejoicing andpraising spirit should be manifested by us. And look at the joy which is set before us. How it ought to lift usover all the present day trials and temptations and give us victoryover the cares and anxieties, the pleasures and deceitful riches ofthis present evil and fast closing age. "Enter thou into the joy of_Thy_ Lord. " This _is_ our blessed and glorious future. We shallshare His future joy as we shall share His glory. And it is but alittle while longer and weeping, which endured for the night, willgive way to the _joy of the morning_. "This Same Jesus. " "AND He led them out as far as to Bethany, and He lifted up Hishands, and blessed them. And it came to pass, while he blessed them, He was parted from them, and carried up into heaven. And theyworshipped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy and werecontinually in the temple, praising and blessing God" (Luke xxiv:50-53). Something else is reported in the first chapter in the book ofActs in connection with the Return of our blessed Lord to theFather. "And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He wentup, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? _This sameJesus_, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come inlike manner as ye have seen Him go into heaven". (Acts i:10-11). This blessed message must have been the reason why they returned toJerusalem with _great_ joy. Instead of tears and sorrow at thatparting there was joy, because they knew and believed that He whohad said "I will come again and receive you unto myself, " this sameJesus would come for them. What a blessed truth it is that the sameJesus, the same Lord who walked on earth, who spoke such words ofinfinite love and tenderness, who wept, healed the sick, raised thedead and commanded the demons, who calmed the storm, who had gone tothe cross to die that awful death in our stead--that this sameJesus, raised from the dead, is now in the presence of God for usand our Advocate with the Father. It is the same loving, tender, caring, mighty Lord and Saviour, who is there and this same Jesus, not another, will come again. The reality of this filled thedisciples with joy. They knew He had left them, they knew He livedand that He would come again. This knowledge gave them power towitness and to walk in holiness. The reality of this fills still thebelieving heart with joy and leads as well as keeps in the blessedfaith life of fellowship with Himself, into which we have beencalled by the Grace of God. The heart of the believer under thecontrol of the Holy Spirit has but one desire. It is to know Him andknow Him better. Other desires for blessings may come up, but thatlife which is in the believer ever reaches out after Himself who isour life. "That I may know Him" was the passion of that wonderfulman, who knew Him so well (Phil. Iii:10). And it is just heartknowledge of this same Jesus in His loveliness, His patience, Hispower, His glory, in all His blessed fullness, which we need themost and through this all other needs are met. Look up then in faith, child of God, He who is altogether lovely, whose perfect ways of love and grace, were so blessedly made knownin His life down here, this same Jesus, with all the tenderness ofinfinite love, the love that never grows cold, is with the Father. Jesus Christ, the same, yesterday, to-day and forever. The disciplesheard Him pray His great prayer before He went to the cross (Johnxvii). As they listened to His words addressed to the Father, theylearned as never before, how dear they all were to Him. How He lovedthem, cared for them, what He had done for them, would continue todo and what their future would be. And whenever we read these wordsin His high priestly prayer, we can hear Him still pray. We knowthat love for us cannot change; that prayer to keep does not fail;that concern, so deep and gracious, in all who belong to Him isunchanged, for it is "this same Jesus, " who intercedes for us, whoseloving eyes watch our going in and our going out, our walk downhere. Oh! for the reality of this! This same blessed Lord is with us, forus, above us. We can count on His unchanging love. We can count onHis power. The reality of the Person of our exalted Lord keeps usdown here. Oh, draw near, beloved reader, for it is your privilege, your calling, to know Him and to enjoy Him. His heart is neversatisfied unless you drink deep of His love and you lie in blesseddependence at His feet. Have you failed Him? Are days, weeks, perhaps months of wandering your past, days in which you grievedHim? Return, oh return! it is "this same Jesus" who at the lake ofTiberias so tenderly restored Peter and who waits for thy return. And "this same Jesus" comes again. If the joy was so great when Heleft, because the heavenly messengers gave the good news that thissame Jesus is coming again, what will be the joy when he _does_come! He comes as Saviour, which is the meaning of His blessed name. "For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for theSaviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our body ofhumiliation, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body"(Phil. Iii:20-21). The glorious appearing of the great God and ourSaviour Jesus Christ who gave Himself for us, will some day takeplace. And when He comes into the air and gives the shout, He willbe "this same Jesus. " When we are caught up in clouds to meet Him inthe air we shall meet _Him_, the same blessed Person, who walked onthis earth, who died on the cross, who in His unchanging love keptand carried us and called us home. We shall see Him as He is. Hecomes, this same Jesus, to take us to be with Him. What will be Hisjoy then when all His blood-washed, redeemed people are at last withHim! Then this same Jesus who bore our sins in His own body on thetree will bestow upon us His glory, the glory the Father has givenHim. Reader! Is it even now before you such a living reality, this sameJesus--is coming again; coming to take us all into the Father'shouse with its many mansions, to the place whose portals were openedwith His own blood! And how soon it may be that we shall see Him andbe with Him! If an angelic message were brought to-day to all Christians, we saidrecently in a meeting, and that message would state in termsunmistakably, one week more and the Lord Jesus Christ comes, oneweek more and we shall see Him; what would be the result? We canimagine the eagerness with which all would begin to serve and reachout after the unsaved; what self-denials and boldness we wouldbehold! How all the earthly things, the childish things, theplaythings of the dust, would lose their attractiveness. Thenheaven's glory would break upon us. But such a message is notpromised to us. It is nowhere said that it will take place. No angelwill come to announce the time when "this same Jesus" comes to callus home. The fact is God has told us in His Word, that His everblessed Son will come and that He will come suddenly. He may come_to-day_. He may call us home before another morning comes. And ifwe believe it we shall walk in expectation and in separation. TheLord graciously revive the blessed Hope in our hearts and through itmake us holy in our lives, zealous for the Gospel, untiring inservice and loving towards all the Saints. The Wondrous Cross. WHO can tell out the story of the cross! There was a time when wethought we knew much of it; but oh! the depths, the wonderful depthsof the cross and the work accomplished there, which constantly breakin upon the heart, as one meditates on the cross. One who knew thecross, whose eyes were filled with all its glory, because He beheldHim, who hung on the cross, in highest glory has told us "But Godforbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord JesusChrist, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto theworld. " Crucified unto the world. Dead to the world and to sin arethe blessed effects of the cross. Some time ago while remembering the Lord on the Lord's Day we sang afamiliar hymn: When we survey the wondrous cross On which the Lord of glory died, Our richest gain we count but loss, And pour contempt on all our pride. How true!--contempt must be poured on all our pride when onebeholds that sight, the cross on which the Lord of glory died. Butis it so, "and pour contempt on all our pride?" And when we sang the second verse its truth came home still more tothe conscience: Forbid it, Lord, that we should boast, Save in the death of Christ, our God; All the vain things that charm us most, We'd sacrifice them to His blood. How true! If such a one died to deliver us out of this present evilage then the vain things that charm us most, not the sinful things, must be relinquished. But is it really so--all the vain things thatcharm us most--we'd sacrifice them to His blood? There from His head, His hands, His feet, Sorrow and love flowed mingled down; Did e'er such love and sorrow meet, Or thorns compose so rich a crown? Were the whole realm of nature ours, That were an off'ring far too small; Love that transcends our highest powers Demands our soul, our life, our all. And then once more the heart said, How true! Marvelous sight theLord of Glory on that cross for me! Forsaken of God, paying thepenalty of my sins, drinking the cup of wrath, untasted by me. Suchlove surely demands our soul, our life, our all. But is it so? Howoften we sing these blessed truths and our lives are strangers tothem. God grant that we may live out the truth of the cross in ourlives. May the deliverance, the victory, the power of His cross bemanifested in our lives. Dead to the world and the world dead to me. His Legacy. BLESSED and ever precious are the words, which came from the lips ofour loving Lord, before he went to the cross. His own were gatheredaround Him; before He ever comforted them and poured out His lovingheart, He manifested that love by serving them. He arose from thesupper, laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. What a sight the Son of God girded! "After that He poureth waterinto a basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipethem with the towel wherewith he was girded" (John xiii:5). It was agreat symbolical action. He who stooped so low to wash the feet ofHis sinful creatures is the same who declared in the Old Testament"Thou hast made me to serve with thy sins, thou hast wearied me withthine iniquities" (Isaiah xliii:24). The washing typifies theservice our beloved Lord renders to His saints in cleansing themfrom defilement; it is "the washing of water by the Word. " And thusHe continues in loving service till at last all His redeemed peopleare brought home into the presence of the throne and "the sea ofglass like unto crystal" (Rev. Iv:6) where no more defilement ispossible and no more washing is needed. Many and blessed are the words, which then flowed from His lips, after Judas had gone out into the dark night. Only He could speakthus. Thousands upon thousands, countless multitudes have been fedupon His gracious, comforting words and have been strengthened andupheld. Their careful and refreshing power is undiminished. LikeHimself His Words are eternal and inexhaustible. The Father's housewith its many mansions, the fact of His personal return, the gift ofthe other Comforter, who came to abide with and in His own, thepromises concerning prayer and assurance that the Father Himselfloves them and many other precious truths were spoken by Him ere Heleft the world to go to the Father. At that time He gave His blessedlegacy. "_Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you_" (Johnxiv:27). And the last word He spoke to His disciples before Heuttered that marvelous high priestly prayer, contains also theassurance of peace. "These things have I spoken unto you, that _inMe_ ye might have _peace_. In the world ye shall have tribulation;but be of good cheer I have overcome the world" (John xvi:33). The adorable Lord came to this poor sin cursed earth, a world ofsinners and enemies of God by wicked works to make peace. The greatwork of reconciliation was effected on the cross. By His death onthe cross the enemies of God, believing in Him, became reconciled toGod. He made peace through the blood of His cross (Col. I:20). Asbelieving sinners we are justified and _have_ peace with God throughour Lord Jesus Christ. Not our walk or service, not our faith orrepentance or anything we have done or are doing is the ground ofpeace with God, but what Christ has done for us. Yea He Himself isour peace. And because _He_ is our peace, it is a peace which cannever be undone or unsettled. Oh, the peace forever flowing From God's thoughts of His own Son! Oh, the peace of simply knowing On the cross that all was done! Peace with God, the blood in heaven Speaks of pardon now to me: Peace with God! the Lord is risen! Righteousness now counts me free. When all was finished, the mighty victory over sin, Satan, death andthe grave had been gained, when every foe had been met and fullyconquered, the blessed victor appeared in the midst of His beloveddisciples. It was on "the same day" the day when He arose, when themighty power of God opened the grave, on the same day, He suddenlystood in their midst. The doors were shut. The disciples were fullof fears and doubts. Thomas was not there at all. All at once theireyes beheld Him once more who had been crucified, had died and wasburied. "Peace be unto you!" This heavenly greeting came from Hislips and soothed their sorrows, cleared their doubts and dispelledtheir fears. And He who stood thus in their midst was the same whomGideon had seen and who answered His fears with "Peace be unto you;fear not" (Judges vi:23). Jehovah is peace; He is our peace. On theglad and glorious resurrection day the gracious Lord appeared intheir midst and proclaimed peace to them. But He also showed themHis hands and His side. The marks of the nails and of the spear wereseen there. They are the evidences of His death for His people. ButHe who was dead is risen and lives evermore. Ah! that is peace! TheChrist who died for our sins, who is risen and is in God's ownpresence is our peace. Would we enjoy that peace in a greater senseand have it more real, then let us just have Himself, the Person asthe object of our hearts. "Then were the disciples glad, when theysaw the Lord. " Nothing could make them glad aside from the LordHimself. Alas! that some of God's people try to find joy and peacein their service, experiences, knowledge of truth. Dear souls, it isthe Lord only, who gives us peace and gladness. But the blessed legacy of our Lord is not so much the peace withGod, as it is "His own peace. " The peace which He possessed while onearth, that peace like a majestic river, ever flowing on in silencewith not a moment's interruption. His own peace, He bequeathed toHis own. What a peace was His! What restfulness the divinelyreported scenes of that blessed life breathe! We have written beforeon His patience, His joy and His love, the love which passethknowledge. How much might be written too on "His peace. " But nothalf could ever be told. What calmness we see wherever we look. Thethreatening multitudes did not disturb Him, nor did the fierce stormon the Galilean sea; peacefully He rested in sleep, while the angrywaves tossed the little ship aside and the terror-stricken disciplesawoke Him. They cried "Lord, save us; we perish. " And then His eyesopened and in loving tenderness He said unto them, "Why are ye sofearful, O ye of little faith?" _Then_ He arose and rebuked thewinds and the sea and there was a great calm. Ah! poor human heart!how canst thou ever doubt with such a Lord at thy side! And this peace which was His constant portion, was the result of aconstant communion with God. His meat and drink was to do the willof Him that sent Him. That calm, unruffled peace was the fruit ofHis constant trust in God and dependence on Him. And this peace Hewants us to enjoy. In a world full of tribulation, anxiety and care, a world full of increasing evils, conflicts and sufferings, He wantsus to have His own peace. The enjoyment of this peace of our LordJesus Christ depends on our communion with God and the realizationof our union with Him. On that blessed evening of the resurrectionday the Lord spoke a second time, "Peace be unto you. " Why should Herepeat the same greeting? The words which follow explain this. "Asmy Father hath sent me, even so send I you" (John xx:22). AsChristians saved by grace and in Christ we are sent by Him as He wassent by the Father. As we realize this and walk under Him, as we setthe Lord always before our eyes and our life's aim is to do _His_will and not our own, to please Him and not ourselves, to serve Himand not man, to let Him plan and not we ourselves, to be nothinginstead of something, to be in the dust instead of exalted, thenshall we enjoy His legacy "His own peace. " He wants us to have it. He wants us to be kept in perfect peace. Are we willing to have it?And what else honors our absent Lord more than a life whichmanifests His peace. What pleases the Father more than to behold Hischildren reminding Him by their lives of dependence and peace, theresult of the rest of faith, of His own blessed Son. And the HolySpirit, who produces all this in us will ever lead us on in thefuller enjoyment of the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ. We must expect in the coming days greater tests of faith, greaterconflicts, greater trials. It cannot be otherwise in these periloustimes. We must not expect anything else. But He can and will keepus. "Thou wilt keep him in _perfect peace_, whose mind is stayed onThee, because He trusteth in Thee. " And ere long the God of peacewill bruise Satan completely under our feet. What joy--oh what joyawaits us when we shall see Him face to face, who is our peace. "They that trust Him wholly Find Him wholly true. " "Our God is able. " What have I to Do With idols? MUCH is said in reproof of Ephraim by the prophet Hosea. All thewicked dealings and defilement of Ephraim is uncovered--and theLord said: "I will be unto Ephraim as a lion. " Again Jehovah said:"Ephraim is like a cake not turned. " "Ephraim is like a silly dovewithout heart. " "Ephraim hath made many altars to sin. " "Ephraim isjoined to idols, let him alone. " But all reproof and chastisementdid not bring Ephraim back. Nothing seemed to be able to drawEphraim's heart away from the idols. At the close of the ProphetHosea, however, Ephraim is made to speak and a significant word itis. "Ephraim shall say, What have I to do any more with idols? Ihave heard Him, and observed Him; I am like a green fir tree. Fromme is thy fruit found" (xiv:8). A familiar yet blessed truth is contained in this statement. Ephraimdealt with by judgments after the severe rebukes of the Lord couldnot let go the idols. Joined to idols, the Lord said, "Let himalone. " But the day was to come when Ephraim would willingly forsakeall idols and cry out, "What have I any more to do with idols?" Andwhat brought about Ephraim's conversion? Ephraim heard Him andobserved Him. The sight of the Lord, His love and tenderness, Hispatience and kindness beheld in faith, was enough for Ephraim toforsake all idols and cleave to Him alone. Thus Ephraim became likea green fir tree. And this is still true to-day. There is no other way to be separatedfrom idols and walk wholly with the Lord than Ephraim's way. Why areGod's people joined to idols? Why are Christians half-hearted, conformed to this present evil age, given to covetousness, which isidolatry (Col. Iii:5)? There is but one answer. Our hearts do notlisten to that blessed voice, which delights to speak to those whobelong to Him. Our eyes do not look upon Him in all His glory andbeauty. We lose sight of Him who is altogether lovely. Our mindsinstead of being occupied with the things of Christ are centeredupon earthly things. Our thoughts are so little brought intocaptivity to the obedience of Christ and are controlled by our ownimaginations and the spirit of the times. There is no other way ofbeing delivered from idols, from everything which would draw usaway from Himself and all which hinders from giving to Him thepre-eminence. That way is heart occupation with our Lord, consciouscommunion with Him through His Word in the power of His Spirit. Wemust hear Him, we must observe Him. Then He appears to our hearts inall His lowliness, in all His majesty and glory, and that visionwill be enough to disgust us with the playthings of the dust and Hewill become the supreme object of our lives. There is no other wayto practical holiness than hearing Him and observing Him. Hast thou heard Him, seen Him, known Him? Is not thine a captured heart? "Chief among ten thousand" own Him, Joyful choose the better part. Idols once they won thee, charmed thee, Lovely things of time and sense; Gilded, thus does sin disarm thee, Honey'd lest thou turn thee thence. What has stript the seeming beauty From the idols of the earth? Not the sense of right or duty, But the sight of peerless worth. Not the crushing of those idols, With its bitter void and smart, But the beaming of His beauty, The unveiling of His heart. Who extinguishes their taper Till they hail the rising sun? Who discards the garb of winter Till the summer has begun? 'Tis that look that melted Peter, 'Tis that face that Stephen saw, 'Tis that heart that wept with Mary. Can alone from idols draw-- Draw, and win, and _fill completely_, Till the cup o'erflow the brim; What have we to do with idols, Who have companied with Him? Reader! Gaze afresh in that lovely face of transcendent beauty. Think of His great love for you, His never-changing love, Hiseternal love. Follow the dictates of that new nature Grace has givento you and have the Lord constantly before your eyes and heart. Anything less will lead you to idols. What have I to do any morewith idols? I have heard Him and observed Him. The Never Changing One. "JESUS Christ the same yesterday, and to-day and forever" (Heb. Xiii:8). Blessed truth and precious assurance for us poor, weakcreatures, yea, among all His creatures the most changing; _He_changeth not. "For I am the Lord, I change not" (Mal. Iii:6). "Ofold hast Thou laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens arethe work of Thy hands. They shall all perish, but Thou shalt endure:yea all of them shall wax old like a garment, as a vesture shaltThou change them, and they shall be changed; but Thou art the same, and Thy years shall have no end" (Psalm cii:25-27 and Heb. I:10-12). The above blessed statement puts Him before our hearts as theunchanging Son of God, the solid rock of ages. It is a verse whichis like Himself, infinite, inexhaustible. Our adorable Lord is herementioned as having a past, a present and a future, a yesterday, to-day and a forever. This Epistle at the close of which we find thisword gives us a definition of the yesterday, the today and theforever of the Son of God. He is the true God; He had never thebeginning of days, a yesterday, a past without a beginning. By Himthe worlds were made. He is the effulgence of His glory and theexpression of His substance (Heb. I:3). His yesterday is Eternity;His goings forth are from old, from everlasting (Micah v:2). And inthat yesterday, in the bosom of the Father, the great plan ofredemption was blessedly known. Oh! what a love that knew all andwas ever ready to give all to carry out that wonderful scheme. "Wherefore coming into the world, He says, sacrifice and offeringThou willedst not; but Thou hast prepared me a body. Thou hadst nopleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin. Then I said, Lo, I come, in the roll of the book it is written of me, to do, O God, Thy will" (Heb. X:5-7). And then He came to manifest the eternallove of God. He came in the form of a servant; He, whose yesterdayis eternity, was made a little lower than the angles (Heb. Ii:9). And while on earth He was the same as in eternity. He showed Hispower as the Creator, over nature, disease and death. Though inhumiliation, the Son of God had Glory, yet it was hidden. Howblessed it is to trace His way while on earth and what love, mercy, patience, meekness, humility, peace and much more we find here. Andthen His great work of redemption. It behooved Him in all things tobe made like unto "His brethren, that He might be a merciful andfaithful high priest in things relating to God to make propitiationfor the sins of the people (Heb. Ii:7). Who in the days of His fleshhaving offered up both supplications and entreaties to Him, who wasable to save Him out of death; with strong crying and tears (havingbeen heard because of His piety); though He were Son yet learnedobedience from the things He suffered; and having been perfected, became to all of them that obey Him, author of eternal salvation"(v:7-10). In His yesterday He made purification of sins; He put awaysin by sacrificing Himself. He fulfilled the eternal will of God, bywhich will we have been sanctified through the offering of the bodyof Jesus Christ once for all. And this Epistle likewise speaks of His "today, " the Present ofHimself. His "to-day" began with the opened tomb, that blessed, glorious resurrection morn. He is the great shepherd of the sheepbrought again from the dead, our Lord Jesus Christ (xiii:20). He isthe appointed heir of all things, on the right hand of the majestyon high, taking a place so much better than the angels, as Heinherits a name more excellent than they (Heb. I:3-5). He isaddressed by God as high priest according to the order ofMelchisedec (v:10). We gaze into the opened heavens and we see Jesuswho was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering ofdeath, crowned with glory and honor (ii:9). Now a summary of thethings of which we are speaking is: We have such a one high priestwho has sat down at the right hand of the throne of the majesty inthe heavens; minister of the holy places and the true tabernacle, which the Lord has pitched and not man (vii:1). He has a priesthoodunchangeable. Whence also He is able to save to the uttermost thosewho approach by Him to God, always living to intercede for them(viii:25). For the Christ is not entered into holy places made withhands, figures of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear inthe presence of God for us (ix:24). But, He having offered onesacrifice for sins, sat down in perpetuity at the right hand of God, waiting from henceforth until His enemies are made His footstool(x:12). Such and much more is His "to-day. " All power in heaven andon earth is given to Him. His "forever" will begin when He leaves the Father's throne and whenHe is brought into the world again, when all things are to besubjected under His feet and He will be in the fullest exercise ofHis Melchisedec priesthood, a priest upon His throne. And in all, yesterday, in the days of His humiliation, to-day upon the Father'sthrone as our advocate and priest, in His glorious future, upon Hisown throne He is the same, the mighty Jehovah, who changeth not, theAlpha and the Omega, the First and the Last. He is the unmovablerock, no storms, no changes can move the rock upon which we stand, and though heaven and earth pass away neither He, the living, eternal Word, nor His written Word will change. His power, His grace, His love, His patience, is kindness, Hissympathy is ever the same towards His own beloved people, who havetrusted in Him and share His life. Having loved His own, who are inthe world, and loved them to the end (John xiii:1); and that end iseternity. In the beginning of the last book of the Bible, we hearthe voice of the Holy Spirit in the church, worshipping Him, in thatmatchless outburst "Unto Him that loved us and has washed us fromour sins in His own blood. " But it does not say "loved, " but itreads "Unto Him that _loveth_ us. " The love He has for His own is anabiding, an unchanging love. Oh to think more of that love, thatchangeless love, which passeth knowledge! And how true it is what asaint has sung long ago: "Oh! I am weary of my love, That doth so little t'wards Thee move; Yet do I constantly groan, To know the depth of all Thine own. That groan, sweet Spirit, is from Thee, Nor self-begotten e'er can be; No natural heart, oh Lord, of mine Could long to lose itself in Thine. O love of loves, for me that died; The love of Jesus crucified! Who lowly took His part with me, That I as _one_ with Him might be. Loved, and for ever on Thy throne Adored, and loved, Thou changeless One; Thou wilt thro' one eternal day, The height and depth of all display. " Meanwhile, Thou precious, wondrous Lamb Content--at least with this I am, To count my love too mean to own, And know but Thine--"_Thy love alone_. " And yet how often we doubt that love and by fear, when we have comeshort or fallen in sin, insult that mighty changeless love. Howoften, too, when trials are upon us and we suffer, we lose sight ofHim, the unchanging One, who loves His own to the end, and deep downin the heart there is unrest, anxiety, as if some evil could comeupon us. Our weakness, our imperfections, our failures and our sinsdo not change His love and His grace. As He was yesterday with His own and kept them, carried them, wastheir strength, their help, their refuge and their safe hidingplace, their peace and their comfort, so is He to-day, so will He beforever. And in faith we can bring it stiller nearer to our hearts. He is for each the same loving, sympathizing, caring, interestedSaviour, Friend and Lord. He who helped you yesterday, whose lovewas about you in the past, who has not left you since He found youfor a single moment, is the same to-day, and will never be anythingless. He will keep each member of His body, He will carry, He willlead onward, and with His unchanging love and power deal with each, as it pleases Him. Oh that we might cast ourselves more upon Him andspend the remainder of our days here (how few indeed!) in a moreutter dependence upon Him, trusting Him, the changeless One. Oh fora closer walk with Him in these evil days and to taste more of Hislove, His unchanging love. How happy, restful, without care andanxiety God's people _might_ be if only their hearts were fixed uponHim who is the same yesterday, to-day and forever. Alas! how oftenthe things seen are more real to us as the real things, the thingsunseen. What a joy it ought to be to our hearts to follow Him now, to learn over and over again that He is the same, who changeth not, to find His power and strength as of old manifested in behalf of Hisbeloved people. Be of Good Cheer. "BE of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid" (Matthew xiv:27). "Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe in God believe also inMe. In my father's house are many mansions; if it were not so Iwould have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go toprepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you untomyself; that where I am, there ye may be also" (John xiv:1-3). "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you; not as the worldgiveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither letit be afraid" (John xiv:27). "In the world ye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer, Ihave overcome the world" (John xvi:33). "Father, I will that they also whom Thou hast given Me, be with Mewhere I am" (John xvii:24). "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the age" (Matthewxxviii:20). "He hath said I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee" (Hebrewsxiii:5). "Fear not, I am the first and the last; I am He that liveth and wasdead and behold I am alive forevermore, amen; and I have the keys ofhades and of death" (Rev. I:17, 18). "Behold I come quickly; hold that fast which thou hast, that no mantake thy crown" (Rev. Iii:11). "Surely I come quickly. Amen" (Rev. Xxii. 20). These precious words of comfort and cheer came from His loving heartand lips. May we take hold of them. How well it is to remember Hiswords and Himself. How worthy He is; the mighty, the loving, theadorable Lord! How He loveth us His own, how He careth for us, ismindful of us and carrieth us, no heart can fully understand, no pendescribe. How He came from heaven's glory long ago, how He the One, who was rich, became poor for our sakes and died on the cross, thatwe might share eternal riches and glory with Him, is the old story, which never grows old. It is as fresh and new to the believing heartas it ever has been. And He who bought us with His own blood, lovethand carrieth us His poor, weak and sinning people with such love andinfinite patience. The past years of our Christian lives, so all ofus must confess, have been filled with many failures. But as we cometo Him with our failures, our sins, our burdens, we find Him thesame loving, tender Saviour. Ah! who can measure the depths of Hislove! He will never cease loving those, who have accepted him astheir Saviour and whom He has accepted as His own. In His gracioushands we are and all His people. The hands which were pierced for uson the cross are over us and about us. They carry us, guide us, holdus and keep us. We are His and nothing can separate us from Him intime and in eternity. With a joyful heart we can say "I am myBeloved's and His desire is toward me. " O Lord! 'tis sweet the thought That Thou art mine! But brighter still the joy That I am Thine. Oh, dear Christian readers, how happy we might be if only all thiswere constantly real to our hearts and our minds were occupied withthat blessed, glorious One. What joy and blessing we will have, ifwe walk closer with the Lord and live that life to which we havebeen called, live by the faith of the Son of God. And the words He left us are just like Himself, Love, Hope andComfort. There is nothing to fear for one who is in Him. He wouldhave His beloved people free from all fear, anxiety and care. TwiceHe has told us "Let not your heart be troubled. " "Fear not!" "Be notafraid!" How much these words mean if we consider Him who spokethem. They must calm every fear and lift the trusting child of Godover all the dark and difficult things on the way. The blessed wordswe have quoted are the never failing comfort for His people tillthey are gathered in His own presence. The greatest anodyne, however, He has given to us, the anodyne forall pains and sorrows, griefs and perplexities is the blessed Hope. "I will come again and receive you unto myself" was spoken long ago, and yet it is still unfulfilled. Almost the last petition of Hisgreat high-priestly prayer is the petition to have His own withHimself in the Father's house. "Father, I will that they also, whomThou hast given Me, be with Me where I am. " This prayer is stillunanswered. "Behold I come quickly" are His own words in the thirdchapter of Revelation, words so full of meaning for us, exhorting usto hold fast what we have. And in the very end of the Book, almostthe last word of the Bible is the last word He ever spoke. "_Surely_I come quickly. Amen. " He has not spoken again after this lastutterance, so full of assurance. The next time His blessed voicewill speak will be when He comes into the air and gives the mightyshout (1 Thess. Iv:16) which will call the saints from their gravesand ourselves from earth's sorrow together with them to meet Him inthe air. That blessed Hope is the great anodyne, the soothing aswell as inspiring truth of the Bible, which stands next to and inclosest relation with the Gospel. That blessed Hope is an imminentHope. How cheerless it would be to think that the Lord cannot comefor many years, that He cannot fulfill His blessed promise. Howcheerless, yea, how depressing and discouraging it would be if itwere true that the true believers must pass through the greattribulation, suffer under Antichrist, taste of the wrath, which willthen be poured out. Such an expectation would not be a blessed Hope, but a depressing outlook. But blessed be God this is not theteaching of the Word, but only the invention of man. We are not towait for the apostasy, the great tribulation, great earthquakes anddisasters, but for Himself. He may come at any time and call us intoHis presence. To wait daily for Him is the true Christian attitude, which is a mighty power in the Christian life, walk and service. Howwe shall be weaned away from the passing things of this age, how weshall look upon all in its true light and be faithful witnesses forour Lord, if we walk in this daily expectation of meeting Him. Andthis we need. The Lord Jesus Christ must become more real to ourhearts. Our fellowship with Him, our trust in Him, our walk in Him, our waiting for Him, all must become more real. The Holy Spirit inHis power will accomplish this in our lives. In the awful darkness, which is settling upon this age, only such can abide faithful whocling closer to the Lord and who wait for His coming. The Lord grantthis to all His people. He'll come again, And prove our hope not vain; We wait the moment, oh, so fair; To rise and meet Him in the air; His heart, His home, His throne to share-- O wondrous love! Make Haste. THE little book called Solomon's Song, in the Hebrew "the Song ofSongs, " because it exalts and describes the Bridegroom, closes withthat longing cry, "Make Haste my Beloved. " How this appliesdispensationally we do not follow here. It is the same desire forHimself, which is found almost the last thing in the Bible, thegreat prayer, "Even so come Lord Jesus. " The soul which knows Him, follows closely after Him, and gets daily more of Himself will everlong for Him and for His Coming. The desire and prayer will arisemany times each day from such a heart, "Make Haste my Beloved"--"Even so, come Lord Jesus. " The Holy Spirit ungrieved and unhinderedin the believer will not alone produce this desire, but keep italive in the soul and make it more intense. One may hold the SecondComing of Christ in a mere intellectual way; there is no profit inthat. The blessed Hope must have its seat in the heart andaffection. It is therefore a good test of our spiritual state. Ifour hearts are crying more for Him, longing to be with the Beloved, and we daily sigh for Himself to come and take us home, we are thencertainly walking in the Spirit. Such a desire will also lead usinto holiness of life and true service for Him. And as we look aboutus at the condition of things, surely only the Coming of our Lordappears to be the remedy. Nothing less than that event can arrestthe dreadful conditions and bring the long promised deliverance. "The whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together untilnow. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, the redemption of the body" (Rom. Viii:22-23). What a day it will be when at last He descends into the air tocall His own, His Beloved together! What a day it will be whentogether with those who are raised from their graves we shall becaught up in clouds to meet HIM in the sky! What a day when Hepurges the earth by fire and comes with all His Saints to reign. Make haste! Even so, come Lord Jesus! Lord Jesus, come! And take Thy people home; That all Thy flock, so scattered here, With Thee in glory may appear. Lord Jesus, come! "Soon the day-dawn will be breaking And the shadows flee away; Now, by faith, in joy and gladness, I await the coming day, For I know my soul is safely Hidden in His wounded side; And anon He sweetly tells me I shall soon be satisfied. Lo! He tells me _now_ His secret, Cheering with His heavenly smile; Telling me, in love's low whisper, It is but 'a little while;' Yes, for soon, to brightest glory, He will fetch away His bride; Then I'll shine in His own likeness, And be ever satisfied!"