TH&

Bible Standard.
.. (be ,1ft of fiOClIs fJrrul mc:'

"1. lItII _ lit.

"1 will co.,

VOL. 28.

No. 6.

AUCKLAND,

N.Z., JUNE,

1907.

TWOPENCE.

met with, the Rev. Archibald Brown, who emphatically said, "These are doctrines of demons, and are Satanic. Behind the 'new theology' is the old Devil;" "There is very great danger in this new abolition of the theory of sin which encourages a man to think that if he is following his own instincts he is but pursuing the higher development of himself. INhere, indeed, is this view to end, for the man who drinks too mueh may be very much in earnest indeed as to indulging himself?" that mine adversary would write a book! In the heat of discourse it may be that more is said than is actually intended, or the listener may, by reason of unconscious bias, put more into the words uttered than. the speaker conveyed, or memory may trick us, and lead us to draw unfair deductions; but when an author writes a book the conditions are changed. Then he can calmly and judiciously weigh his words, and balance his sentences, so that they exactly carry his meaning, and the reader can as calmly read and reread to be sure he has caught the camobetrs author's intent. Then sound conclu1Book. sions can be drawn as to the value and truthfulness of the teachings set forth. In view of these well-known facts, we do not wonder that the ancient patriarch was led to wish that his adversary would write a book. ]<-'01' some few months past we have had before us the teachings that bear the general name of "The New Theology," and the wish has been expressed that Dr. Campbell would write a book! This he has done, and now we can take it in hand and sit down to quietly consider its value as a contribution to thought, and its worth a,; an exposition of man's true position Gcdward, and of the real meaning of redemption. It is a noteworthy thing that some of the sec'ular papers are pointing out the weaknesses of the book, whilst many professedly Christian teachers are saying nothing. When the book was issued a representative o-f the London "Daily Telegraph" interviewed a number of leading men in Nonconformist circles, and "in almost every instance the onlv reply was that the moment was not opportune for a statement either in support of Mr. Campbell's beliefs or antagonistic to them." One exception only was H Says the Scotsman, "What, then, is Mr. Camp bell's revised version of the Christian Faith? It is a Christianity that makes no profession of being a supernatural revelation; the modern natural supernaturalism does away with the distinction that renders such a conception possible. Nor IDenies does it Jean on miracle; the only OOtracle. Biblical miracles whieh are not obviously mythical are those which the science of to-day is rapidly becoming able to explain, and which, accordingly, are not miraculous at all. N or, of course, does it defer to the authority of Scripture. 'Paul's opinion is simply Paul's opinion,' " and so on. The idea of Christianity without miracles is no new discovery of Mr. Campbell, or of the modems. J t is the common plea of all who have sought to set aside the Bible supernaturalism. No thoughtful person will deny that morality can be taught, as a present thing, without miracle, but the moment it is viewed in relation to its future consequences, that moment miracle becomes an absolute necessity to gi vc those consequences effect. Onlv by miraculous agency can man be rewarded for faithfulness, or punished for neglect of opportunities. This is putting the matter on very low grounds indeed, but we carry the position further when we have founcl out that the Bible is not primarily a book of moral teaching, but that its morality is connected with the progress of a great purpose, which in the past progressed by miracle, and can be consummated only by miracle, and that without this purpose man is hopelessly lost, leading a life that must end with the grave, his hopes of benefit in the present being continually thwarted by the innate selfishness of the race. 1\IfT. Carnpbell gives no evidence that he has at all understood the facts that 'are. As the Scotsman says, "How is it that humanity still eats its apples of Sodom so

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greedily, and, though it may know the better way, with such lamentable persistence elects the worse?" If there is no miracle in connection with Christianity, then, indeed, might we become deep-dyed pessimists, for there is no ray of hope anywhere. But, blessed be God, miracle belongs to this great purpose of God, and just such power as then wrought, and in just such a manner, will operate again, and the Divine purpose shall be completed. It would almost seem that the late Dr. Parker was gifted with a measure of prescience, some of his sayings so exactly forecasting present events, yet we know that he was but presenting conclusions which history provided. The following passage from a sermon of his, delivered in the Wlas it City Temple on November 29, jforestgbt? 1900, has been unearthed by a Wesleyan minister: "The house in which we are now assembled may one day be as a den of wild beasts. We have had our opportunities of meeting God here, of reading the Holy Word, and besieging, as an army might besiege a fortress, the altar, known by its crimson hue; and yet some day a man may arise who will deny the Lord that bought him, who will preach a Gospel without a Saviour, a salvation without a cross; then write Ichabod upon the frontals of the place, and let it be forgotten as a thing of shame, a memorial of unpardonable treason against the throne of God." Truly, judged by the utterances of the man who now preaches from the platform in Oity Temple, we may say that .the time has come to write "Ichabod" upon the place where these solemn words of Dr. Parker were uttered but little more than six years ago. The real extent of the hold which the "New Theology" has obtained upon the churches generally may be estimated by the fact that at the National Free Church Council recently held at Leeds Mr. Campbell was 'received with prolonged acclamations. As Mr. Campbell rose to 111 tbe Sbeep second a resolution, the audience, 'UracJ;. largely made up of ministers, burst into a roar of applause, repeated again and again, and when he closed his address the demonstration was renewed. The Vl'01'ds of Life adds: "At the close of Mr. Campbell's address there was a solitary delegate who dared to stand up and suggest that the Council's constitution should contain two statements, namely, first, belief in the Divine Sonship of Jesus Christ; secondly, belief in the substitutionary atonement made by the Lord Jesus Christ. The meeting dissented violently." This not only indicates that the sympathies of the Congress were with Mr. Campbell and his teachings, but it is also a pointer, showing to the student of Scripture that the Church has entered upon the path which leads to the Great Apostasy foretold as marking the end of this dispensation. Posing as a "new" thing which presents truth from an intellectual and scientific standpoint, it has captivated many who hold office in the

Church, and now sweeps them along toward a vortex of destruction. Father Vaughan rightly says of this phase of thought, "There is nothing new in 'the new theology,' and nothing true in it. There is no Christianity, and not much theology, in it. It is Campbellism, pure and simple, and as religion it is only-well, good for nothing." Perfectly true; but there are solemn considerations connected with its present manifestation which drive us afresh to the Word, where, in the pure light of prophecy, we may read the significance of this modern phase as a sign of the times. . have been many attempts to demonstrate the of an immortal soul in man, but perhaps the gain wide publicity is reported from Boston, show that in the act of death there is a perceptible loss of weight, which can only be accounted for by the explanaWleigbillg tbe tion that a something, presumably $OU(. the soul, leaves a man in death. The account first appeared in a Boston paper, which, according to another paper issued in the same city, "has a well-established reputation for exaggeration, or for telling things which 'ain't so.''' However, the statement is that this novel experiment was made in the Cullis Consumptive Home. Several patients who were approaching death were placed upon delicately poised scales, and both patients and scales were watched carefully. A physician testifies that in onc case at the moment of death, "instantly the beam of the scales clanged down so that you could hear it all over the room. It took two sil vel' half-dollars to balance the scale." So, in this case the "soul" (!) weighed one ounce. To all which we say, We are not careful to undertake a denial of this statement. All that concerns us is to ask, What does jt prove? That a soul leaves the body at death? But that is to put a great deal more in the conclusion than lies in the premise. Would it not be in order to prove that man has a soul during life which carries consciousness, personality, etc., before it is so readily assumed that such a thing weighs an ounce and leaves man at c1eath? Besides, the whole contention hitherto has been that the soul is immaterial, but this experiment, so j ubilantl v spread abroad, completely subverts that opinion, for weight implies materiality. If material, then it is subject to the laws of matter, and, note it, may be destroyed. But these experimenters have discovered nothing novel, as the following extract from the ::"7 ew Y 01'l.; Press, March 13, shows :-Chicago, March 12.-"If the soul has weight," said an eminent physiological chemist to-day, "it becomes an object of physics. Years ago a group of German stu1Rot a 1Ro"el dents settled this point. If a \test. mouse was permitted to die in a hermetic ally (sealed by fusion, not merely stoppered) sealed bottle, absolutely no loss of weight occurred, even using a scale easily showing 1 milligram (1-4;46~000t~ Qf There existence latest to going to

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that the dead are alive. Both are costly volumes, and no doubt involved much labour on the part of the writers, but neither can be said to prove his point. Of the more ponderous and costly book, the editor of the Exposit01'Y T imes ~ays, "No one (we venture to say) will be persuaded by this book that death does not end all, if not persuaded already." There it is; there is no evidence outside the Bi ble that is of any value on this question, and its testimony is clear and strong, but it knows nothing at all of the immortal soul. It tells of what man is, and what he may become, and is clear and severely logical in its teachings. Why is it not then accepted? you ask. The answer is simple. Because it takes from man all grounds of egotism, and throws him entirely upon the mercy and the provision of God. Immortality may be had on God's terms-man wants it on his own; and because he wants it apart from God, he has accepted the Devil's lie, and in the form of "soulimmortality" has even thrust it into the creeds of the Church, to their certain confusion ani disintegration. George VV. Deffenbaugh, of Kokomo, lnd., died recently, and left a will which gives $50,000 to the Swedenborgian Church of that place "on condition that his spirit be elected a member of the Board of Trustees of the Church, and consulted at every meeting regarding all things relatSpirit ing to the Church." The de\trustee. claration of faith as given out by the Church says, "Man is an immortal spirit, having an earthly body which is laid aside at death; after which he awakes to consciousness in the spiritual world, and dwells in heaven as an angel, or seeks an abode with his like in hell." The children of Mr. Deffenbaugh are contesting the will, claiming that the father was insane, although he provided liberally for his wife and children. In view of the fact that millions of people believe as Mr. Deffenbaugh did, that the spirit is the real man, and lives after the body is dead and is fully conscious and active, what is there that can be classed as unreasonable in Mr. D.'s will? He has simply carried his belief into practice. If this proves that he was insane, then what about the millions who hold the same faith, but who have not the courage to give a practical exhibition of it as he has? Of course, we are not in agreement with him, nor with the millions either, on this question. We hold to the faith that death is man's inheritance from Adam, and none but the second Adam can restore to life. The resurrection from the dead by Christ is the only hope of Mr. Deffenbaugh ever being able to engage in earth's affairs again. Meanwhile, he is so dead that he "knows not anything," and is utterly incapable of transacting any business in conjunction with the trustees of the Swedenborgian Church in Kokomo or anywhere else.The Last Times.

a pound). But if the mouse died in an open vessel a loss within one-half a minute of death of 10 to 20 milligmllll:> was noticeable. That proved clearly that a gas was given off, no weightless substance. A human body is too large to be put into a sealed glass bottle, and thererore repeats the mouse experiment with an open vessel. This is furthermore proved by the amount in the Boston experiment, said to be from one-half to one ounce. This tallies with that of the gases in the body. The average body weighs 150 pounds, or 2400 ounces. The loss therefore was about 1-3000th. A mouse weighs ~O,OOO to 40,000 milligrams. The loss was 1-3000th, or the same ratio for the same phenomenon." On this the II erald of Life pithily comments as follows :-"We learn from this bit of news: First, that the experiments of these Boston physicians were not original, as was supposed; that experiments on a more scientific basis were tried years ago, with results much more satisfactory. jfew Second, we are forced to the conIDet'lucttons. clusion that if the experiments by the Boston phvsicians provc the flight of a soul from the human both bv the loss of weight at death, then a mouse has a soul which takes its flight in the same manner. Third, we learn further that if this loss of weight represents the soul, that by properly enclosing the body before death we can prevent the flight of that soul. This is opposed to the common conception of the nature of the soul. It has always been supposed by believers in the natural immortality of the soul, that it would be impossible to bottle IIp the soul in this manner. The net results of these experiments thus far strengthen the position of believers in conditional immortality. Let us hope that other scientific people will become interested and go on with these experiments."

\\'ith what perversity men will hold to that cherished belief in the existence of an immortal soul, and build upon it, as upon an assured foundation, their philosophic and religious svstems. Yet, at the same time, thev are ever in quest of some tittle of evidence which will certify its exist\tbe lElusi"e ence. On the one hand are those ~roofs. who claim that reason establishes its ex istence, but no sooner are the reasons made public than thcv are riddled with criticisms which rob them of value. Then spiritism professes to be able to supply .the testimony required, but raps and dubious manifestations, darkened rooms and credulous sitters, together with the possibility admitted by many of the votaries that there are deceiving spirits, make this a very doubtful ally. Within our recollection there have been many volumes issued to establish the popular idea, but that not one hitherto has been satisfactory is evident from the fact that it is followed by others. Almost everv month wc notice some such attempt. This month we note that two -books are issued endeavouring to prove

"Westward the tide of empires takes its way." For long this has expressed the outgoings of mankind, but now there are not a few indicatious that the East, from

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JUNE,1907.

in the past, leaving it almost tenantless, is again becoming the place of human habitation and enterUbe HwaRing prise. So much so, that already lEast. is mooted a scheme for a new railway to Bagdad. At a meeting of the Royal Geographical Society Captain Sykes gave a paper on his "J ournevs in North Mesopotamia," anci, referring to the possibilities of the Bagdad railway, the report states: "Anyone riding over the road between Aleppo and Meskene some ten years ago would have found what was tantamount to a desert ; a few ruins, or some scatter ell encampments, and half a dozen villages would have been all that would have met the eve. Last March he passed over the road, and never left 'cultivated land until he was within three hours' ride of the Euphrates; again, he passed over the road in October last, and the culti vated land had been extended to within two hours' ride of the Euphrates." This little item may be remembered as in some slight degree showing that the Holy Scriptures, which so emphaticallv declare that the ancient lands of Babylorria and Assyria shall be revived, and be the lands where the dominion of evil shall lift itself up for the last time against God and His purposes, are now receiving a measure of confirmationj n the awakening vitality in those lands, and the interest, commercial and other, taken in them by inhabitants of other nations.

~elltile 1btgb",,tll~e~lleaa.
THE suprema(;) 0 f the nations over Israel, gi vcn first to the Babylonian monarch, was God-ordained. That supremacy " , the Times' of the Gentiles, has continued to the present. But the goodness of God to the nations has been grossly abused. 'I'his predominance has produced an arrogance quite opposed to J ehovah's purposes. Taking advantage of their exalted position, the Gentiles have pressed the heel of oppression deep and cruel into the neck of Jewry, even the enlightened nations in their vaunting conceit meting out injustice and barbarity to the chosen people. However, it. is not to this phase of Gentilism that attention is just now desired ; the Iulness of the Gentiles is fast coming in.

Ube 3-nspiration of tbe Scriptures.

THE modern theories of some professed Christian writers leave us wholly 'at a loss to decide where Christianity ends and infidelity begins. They forget one great and important distinction between the works of any writers who do not pretend to Divine revelation and the books of the sacred writers. We may hold such works, for instance, as those of Aristotle, or Cicero, or Bacon, in great esteem, without believing what we find in them any further than our own reason approves, and even if :we reject, without sufficient reason, some part of what these authors teach, and thus lose a part of the truths they inculcate, we may yet profit by another part, and he in no danger of continually rejecting more and more. But it if' not so with a writer who professes (as the apostles do) to be communicating a Divine revelation imparted to him through the means of miracles. In matters, indeed, unconnected with religion, such as points 01 historv or natural philosophy, he may be as liable to error as other men, without any disparagement to his pretensions: but if we reject as false any part of the reliqio which he professes himself Divinely sent to teach, we cannot consistently believe but that his pretensions are either an imposture or a delusion, and that he is wl/OUy nnworthv of credit. So difficult is it to stop short of a rejection of Scripture, if we once begin, by making 0111' own (011[eciures the standard by which to try Scripture. instead 01' takin~ Scripture as the standard for ourselves.WHATELY.

It is the high-mindedness, or conceit, so pronounced in Christianity, that particularly cans for remark. As we survey the claims and pretensions of Christendom, professing Gentile Christians, and compare them with the testimony of Seer and Apostle, we can assuredlv sav that they are wise in their own conceits. Widely held is the opinion that Israel is cast aside for ever, some believing this on account of .Iudah crucifying their Messi.ah. Moreover, the great body of Christians believe that to the Church has been entrusted the conversion of the worlc1, and that such will be attained by Christian Gentile effort. In short, everything that the Millennial Era will bring to Mankind, will be accomplished bv Christianity. ,rT;" The great sect of Christendom, the Roman Catholic, the Greek Catholic, and largelv the Reformed Faith also. have nothing but loathing for the Jew. They rob Israel of the glorious promises as to the future; in doing this they have also closecl their eyes to Apostolic warning and injunction. Owing to I srael's failure, the ministrv of reconciliation, that is. the call to men to repent ancl hecome reconciled to God through Him who is the Mediator, was given to the Church. Become proud, lusting after the pomp and power of the world, sadlv indeed has Christian Gentilism proclaimed its message. Worldly Gentilism has not continued in God's goodneRs: neither, alas, has the professing Church of God. The Founcler of the Gentile Faith was "meek and lowly in heart." The Ephesians were besought to walk in all lowliness and meekness, the Philippians to do nothing through vainglory. So far as the Church itself is concerned, its puffed-up conceit arises larzolv from its failure to grasp aright the Dispensational character of the Sacred Writings. So. unfor+unatelv. its horizon iR ri1'eumscribed, and this has led to much haughty presumption. H Christian Gentiles had a wider vision, and noted their peculiar calling and place (most honoured and blessed as it is), they would not nroclaim themselves as The Kingclom of Gml. nor would they assume that the final purposes of J ehovah were zathered np jn the Church. Wise in their own conceits, manv spurn and . despise the Lord's brethren according to the flesh.

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8S

Truly, indeed, the Ohurch needs to learn from the Older Testimony more fully how the Almighty is working out His predetermined designs. With a mind thus tutored, it can then the more easily comprehend the "mystery" of Apostolic teaching. The first Gentile converts had a divinely illumincd teacher to explain to thew this "mystery" 01 the calling of the Church, and of the setting aside of the Israel nation. Particularly were they warned against vaunting pride, and we may contrast the humility of Ohristians of the first tiro centuries with the self-glorification of the Gentile Church of to-day. It was this very misapprehension that the grcat Apostle desired his hearers to bc free from. "You that are Gentiles," said he to those at Home, as he expressly called to their notice the mystery of God's dealings with Israel, "For 1 would not, brethren, have you ignorant of this mystery, lest ye be wise in your own conceits." That very thing which Paul dreaded has indeed come to pass. The Apostle disclosed to the Roman Gentiles how that some of the natural branches, Israel, were broken off, and they were grafted on to the Israel stock. If there was to be any glorying, it was not in the castaway state' of Israel, but that they were joined on to the Abrahamic Seed. "It is not thou that bearest the Root, but the Root thee." A remembrance of this would keep them from boastful conceit. "Be not high-minded, but fear." Why? Because the natural branches were cast aside through proudness of heart, and excision awaits a presumptuous Christianism. Israel's casting away is but temporary; when purged and cleansed, Israel shall enjoy once more J ehovah's peculiar favour. Then shall the happy sons of J acob corne with singing unto Zion. They shall be the channel whereby blessings both spiritual and temporal shall come to all families of the earth. Their city, Jerusalem, shall be called 'I'hc Throne of the Lord, their temple the House ,)[ Prayer for all Nations. 'I'hrough Israel's disobedience grace and mercy have come to us, and their reception by God again will bring to creation abundant blessing ami felicity (Rom. xi. 15). Mindful of a boastful Christendom, acknowledging that for Apostate Gentile Christianity judgment is at the door even as there was for Apostate J udaism, and, viewing the bright and elevated future Goel has appointed for Israel, should we not go s.if'tly ? May our hearts be deeply grateful to Him who has wrought out our salvation, and as we trace out His wondrous workings our hearts shall burst into praise. "For to Him be the .3"loryunto the ages." Amen.

Any man of honesty and candour and common sense is competent clearly to perceive two things-first, that Jesus did not accommodate Himself to the religious prejudices of His time and country; else He would not have been rejected and crucified by his countrymen, who would bave received Him gladly i I Hc would have CO~lsented to fall in with their notions, and to become such a king as their expectations were fixed on. And, secondly, that His followers would never have knowingly exposed themselves, as they did, to ~corn and persecution and violent death, bu t in. the cause of a religion wh ieh they believed true, and ill attestation of what they had plainly seen and heard; and that consequently we must, jf we would be Christians indeed, and fellow-disciples with them, receive their words (in all that relates to religion) as true, and true in the sense in which they themselves knew that they were understood. What is revealed to us, therefore, in Scripture on various points, is to be received (however different it may be from wha t we might have conjectured) with humble faith and reverent docility.-WHATELY. Heb. x. 34, 39: "There are, however, two allusions therein to the primitive teaching of endless life in Christ only which should not be missed. 'I'he one is couched under a 'reading' now generally accepted by textual critics, according to which we 'ourselves' are the better and abiding possession-which seems indeed to be but an echo of our Lord's own well-known teaching (Matt. xvi. 26, and parallels), to the effect that, no matter what we gain, if we lose ourselves, we lose all. The other allusion springs out of the closing verse of the chapter, when rendered with resolute fidelity. 'We are not of a drawing back unto destruction ; but' (of the opposite) 'of faith unto an acquisition of life' (or 'soul' or 'personal ity'), of a something, therefore, which is not ours naturally and inevitably, but only if we win it in the only way in which it can be acquired. 'The New Testarncnt in Modern Speech' is the only known version which can be named with satisfaction as confirming the above rendering and the explanation based upon it: 'But are among those who believe and gain possession of their souls.' Even this, however, is not entirely satisfactory: since the original for soul (psyche) is in the singular number, and withou t either article or pronoun; and so precisely and naturally suggests that the thing gained is ,'solll,' which, as is well known, is the great Biblical word f'or conveying the idea of 'self' or 'personality.' There ought to be no hesitation to accept the passagc before us in this sense, especially in view of Luke xvii. :3~: 'Whosoever shall saye his life' (or 'soul') 'shall preserve it' (Greek, save it alive}. ~ 0\\', if faith is the grand instrument on our part for winning the abiding acquisition of personality, no wonder that the nature and trinmphs of: faith should be celebrated at largewhich is exactly what awaits us in our next study.".T. B. R01'HERHAJIf in "Siudie in the Epistle to the Hebrews."

T. O. JENKINS.

The ladder of fame has many rotten rounds in it. "The biggest heretic of all is the man who excuses himself from duty by talking about the hvpocrites." "Do not dally with temptation. As quaint Thomas Fuller says: 'If you do not wish to trade with the devil, keep out of his shop.' "

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1907.

THE

RICH

MAN AND LAZARUS.

(Continued.)

That the Lord is not teaching anything new regarding the doom of the faithless, callous Jew, is clear from the language put into the mouth of Abraham, who, twice over, points the sufferer to his own Scriptures as affording all needed information on present conduct and future consequences. "'1'hey have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them; if they hear not Moses and the Prophets. neither will they be persuaded, if one rise from the dead." What is the teaching of Moses and the Prophets? Have they anywhere taught anything of suffering in an intermediate state; or, indeed, have they taught anything of a conscious intermediate state at all? Who in these has ever been able to find any mention of, or allusion to, the doctrine of soul-immortality? Where in them is there the slightest hint of that frightful doctrine of eternal misery, or endless suffering? Yet the language here given implies that Moses and the Prophets had clearly, unmistakeably, adequately told all that was needful to warn men of the exact and full issues of present neglect of Divine commands. What did they say? Moses sets before his hearers and readers, "life and death," with never an allusion to suffering in an intermediate state, or to endless misery. And the prophets? 'I'heir writings contain many warnings, but they never warn men of these things. 'I'hey say that:The DESTRUCTION of the transgressors and sinners shall be together, and they that forsake the Lord shall be CONSUMlW (Isa. i. 28). And the strong shall be as TOW, and his work as a SPARK; and they shall both BURN TOGETHER, and none shall quench them (vel'. 31). But the wicked shall PERISH. And the enemies of the Lord shall be as the excellency of the pastures; They shall CONSUME; in smoke shall they CONSUME AWAY (Ps. xxx ) . For, behold, the day cometh, IT BURNETH AS A FURNACE; and all the PROUD, and ALL that work WICKEDNESS, shall be STUBBLE; and the day that cometh shall BURN THEM UP, saith the Lord of Hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. And they shall be ASHES under the soles of your feet in the day that I do make, saith the Lord of Hosts (Mal. iv. 1-3).

be, "Father Abraham, send someone to warn them that Moses and the Prophets said 'death,' 'perishing,' 'consuming,' 'burning up,' but tell them that these words do not mean these things, but are figurative terms meaning suffering in soul-state, and for ever, the frightful penalty of unending life in misery!" No such plea is recorded. No such plea is required, for no such interpretation has any right whatever to a place in this story, or in any part of the Scriptures. "The wages of sin is death," and he who to uphold the heathenish conception of immortal-soulism would interpret these terms to convey their exact opposite, is to that extent misrepresenting God, and unwarrantably changing His Word. The Pharisees had read, "The soul that sinneth it shall die." And the teaching of the Saviour here would not convey to them that this was figurative speech, but a dread reality. His teaching enforced and rested upon the doctrines set forth by the Old Testament Scriptures. Thus the story, if read in harmony with all that is elsewhere taught in the Word on the dread subject of future punishment, is in perfect accord. It has a vividness all its own, in that it presents the life of callous neglect and its future consequences side by side, so that the contrast may strike the mind more strongly. Dr. Dods, commenting on this parable, has said :-"There are some pictures so constructed that when the spectator is well impressed with the scene before him, a spring is touched, the picture turns upon a pi vot, and exposes its reverse side, that which completes the intended imprcssion. This picture is constructed on similar principles. The feasting Pharisee, and the diseased beggar, filling the eye, the picture is in a moment reversed, and the Pharisee is seen dropped out of all comfort and affluence, craving a drop of water as a boon he has no means of procuring. Whilst Lazarus is lifted to the pinnacle of human sufficiency and glory above all earthly magnificence. There is something intentionally horrifying in the suddenness of the contrast." That is an approach to the true idea of the parable. 'I'he present life of the two men is seen; .their death is recorded; that ends the present. When next seen, they are pictured in that state where the issues of the present life are experienced. This life volume is closed by death for both. The next volume opens, where it will open for all, at the resurrection, and the judgment. So understood, the difficulties of the parable become fewer, and those that remain are those only which belong to the mere drapery of the parable, and do not call for exposition. Let it be recognised that Christ has set in a picture of flame the plain emphatic teachings of Moses and the Prophets, and the lesson will be learnt by us which He sought to impress upon His listeners. But having dealt so far with the parable to rescue It from modern misinterpretation, and to give it its true place and teaching, there yet remains another feature which we may well take note of. Those who put forward this story as affording warrant for their beliefs in a conscious intermediate state and in eternal sufferings,

Such are some of the characteristic statements of the authorities to whom Abraham refers as the clear and true guides on the subject. They use no contradictory . language. Every utterance of theirs agrees with these selected verses. If, however, the rich man actually woke to a suffering in soul-state, and to be continued for ever, he could justly claim that he had never been warned of such a doom. Would not the rightful prayer

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frightful state, can well be left to the imagination. The true inference will not permit this idea to be taught from the story. (5) That beyond resurrection natural sympathies exist. In the bosom of the rich man is first a desire for personal relief, and, that denied, he thinks of others, "lest they also come to this place of torment." On the part of the saved there is also sympathy, for, says Abraham, "they which would pass from hence to you may not be able." In the light of the foregoing texts from the Old Testament Scriptures this is understandable. 'I'he feelings of sorrow and sympathy for those who, spite of the warnings, refused the offer of God's mercy, abide, and would, if that were possible, snatch them from the doom their own persistent rejection of Divine provision had brought upon them. That hint of sympathy has its own lesson to teach. Suffering causes sadness to those who witness it, but sadness shall not continue; therefore the lost shall cease to suffer. How? By release? Nay, "none may cross over from thence to us."

advance from the parable only inferences, which they think can be legitimately drawn from it. As we have put forward an exposition, based not upon inference, but upon fact, we may now invade the orthodox field and inquire, What are the legitimate inferences to be drawn from this narrative? Observe, we say, "legitimate" inferences, and we mean such as shall not contradict or offend any other passage of Scripture. Those which are usually drawn do most certainly oppose clear and positive Bible testimony on the state of death and the punishment of the ungodly. \re are certain that God's Word does not thus contradict itself, and therefore urge that any inferences drawn from this story must agree with its scene and language, and with all other Scripture passages relating to the future. (1) The silence of the parable on either Natural Immortality or Eternal Torment, when linked with the positive statements of Scripture on man's mortality, and the numerous texts which define the nature of future punishment, warrants the inference that man is not immortal and that Torment is not eternal. (2) As corporeal men are pictured before and after death, the resurrection is implied for the second scene, and, further, that neither "soul" nor "spirit" carries personality without the body. Both terms are unnecessary to the story, and need not, therefore, be imported to explain it.

(3) That this is a "kingdom" parable, and has to do with the fulfilment of God's purposes to Israel, for the highest state of bliss pictured, is that of reclining on the "bosom of Abraham," to whom the promises were given. This gives it a special bearing to the Jew, and prepares for the next inference:
(4) That the respective places of bliss and woe close proximity. The rich man in torment can Lazarus in happiness, and we may conclude that rus, as well as Abraham, can "see" the rich man. can this be? The following passages will explain: are in "see" LazaHow

( 6) This is a thought to be again and again insisted upon, that Moses and the Prophets revealed truly and fully the Nature and Duration of the penalty for sin. This is important,' for we can search carefully these writings, and find abundant testimony regarding this theme, but there is never so much as a whisper of an eternal conscious suffering. Every noun and every verb employed has in it the idea of final destruction, affirming in all possible ways that "the soul that sinneth it shall die."
(7) And, lastly, the fact that the man suffers ill) flames suggests extermination. Fire is always the symbol of destruction, and a careful collation of the Bible words dealing with future destruction which convey the thought of fire as the agent would be an education for the reader. From the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah by "fire from heaven" to the closing chapter of Malachi, which affirms that the day that cometh "burneth as a furnace," and that it shall "BURN UP" the wicked, fire is God's cleansing agent by'which "all things that cause stumbling, and THEM THAT DO 11 IQUITY" shall be destroyed. Add to this the thought that, according to this story, the fire acts upon material men, and you have the inference complete that the wicked shall be destroyed by fire. Much more might be added to this exposition, but we deem it wise not to overlay the evidence with too much weight. Let this testimony be carefully read, and compared with the story itself, and with the Scriptures generally, and we have no doubt that the reader will never be satisfied with the current expositions, which, to establish a case at all, ignore the plain writings of Moses and the Prophets, and the equally plain language of Christ and His apostles, and ask us to accept assumptions for which there is nowhere to be found the slightest Bible warrant. ( Concluded. )

"Behold the righteous shall be recompensed IN THE EARTH: How much more the wicked and the sinner 1" (Prov. xi. 31). "Wait 011 the Lord, and keep His way, And He shall exalt thee to INHERIT THE LAND: When the wicked are cut off THOU SHALT SEE IT'' xxxvii. 34). "Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold, And SEE the reward of the wicked" (Ps, xci. 8). "And they shall go forth and LOOK UPON the carcases of the men that have transgressed against Me" (Isa. lxvi. 24).

(Ps,

If the inference were true that the unsaved will Buffer eternal misery, then they will suffer in sight of the saved, and the sweets of Heaven will be for ever marred by the view of the torments of the lost. We forbear to enlarge upon this. What it would be to see those whom we have loved, and for whom we have suffered and .toiled, in that

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THEMON~'H .. THEINSPIRATION OFTHESCRIPTURES GENTILE IGH-MINDEDNESS H ECHOESROM F WEST i::i"J"REET ASSOCIATION NOl'ES. THEMOSAIC ACCOUNT OFTHEFALL OFMAN
81-84 84 .. 84-85 86-87 88 89-91 THE RiGH'l' VI~DICA'l'ED 91 VVONDERFUL PURPOSE 92 THEBLACKSMITH'S TEST 92 THEHOME CIRCLE-TALKS ONETERNAL LI>'E.. " 93 LETTERSOAYOUNG T FRIEND 'rHESTUDY ON OFPROPHECY 94 CHURCH AND MISSION NF.W& 95 CHRIS'I'IAN BAND 95 MISCELLANEOUS 96

We have known this tractate for many years, but have not as yet "found in its verbose paragraphs an argument really 'worthy .of review. This, it may be said, is merely an opinion, to which we reply, If any friend will kindly draw out the propositions he thinks are worthy, together with the direct reasoning in support, we will give our attention to them and review 'them; but it is a little too much' to ask us to follow the tortuous pathway trod by Mr. Campbell to reach the ends he desired. He succeeds only by. blinding his readers. '1'11eExecutive desires to 'inform our readers that Bro. T. '0'. J enkins has been engaged for a period of three months as Col porteur- Evangeli s t. Bro. J en kins is wellknown to the Auckland church, and his "Upoilltment will be recei ved with approbation. We are glad that he has felt it laid upon him to accede to the wish of the l";xecutive, and-although he is not able to accept E. longer appointment we trust he will do such work, and gather such experience, as will afford stimulus and encouragemerit for further effort by future workers. He cornmenceshis labours at the beginning of this month, and for the present will be located at Drurv, workiug this and the surrounding districts. Subscribers to the ST1~NDARD the neighbourhood are invited to co-operin ate with hint, assisting him in whatever way possible, to introduce him to sympathisers, to arrange cottage or other meetings, where he may have opportunities of preaching the Word. He will have with him copies of the STANDARD and samples of our literature. vVe r~gret to learn that our respected brother, George Blakeby, of Adelaide, is dead. He was a well-known and highly-respected old colonist. The cutting announcing' his death states: "He was a native of Stoke N ewington, near London, and arrived in the State by the ship Ascendant in 1849. Shortly after his arrival he went to the Victorian goldfields, and after varying success he returned to South Australia, and was in the employ for l~l years of Mr. Alexander Dowie, Rundle Street, before starting in business on his own account. He was the first to introduce improved machinery in the manufacture of boots and shoes. For over 40 years he was a member of the Bentham Street Chapel, and had recently been connected with the church meeting at the Druids' Hall, Beulah Tioad, N orwood. He left a widow, five daughters, and one grand-daughter." We may add that he left the Bentham Street Church because he had accepted Life in Christ teaching, and there was no freedom in that meeting. He and others founded the meeting at Druids' Hall, awl he was from the first one of its elders. On' our visit to Adelaide five years ago we enjoyed our fellowship; with Bro. Blakeby, and listened to his stronglv-stated prophetical views. No one could be long in his company without feeling assured that he held strong convictions on man's nature and destiny, and on God's Word ?f prophecy, and would fearlessly state them . We desire; to express. our sympathy with the bereaved family, and with the Church, which will miss him greatly. " ,

~tb~6ibl~Standard. ~
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MONTHTLY
OF THE

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EDITED BY GEORGE ALDRIDGE.

Jlss~tlatlon.

ASSISTED BYSPECIAL CONTRrBUTlONR,

The. Editor wishes it to be understood that, while he exer-ciaee a g euerul supervision over the articles and Correspondence appearing in the STANDARDtresponsibility for sentiments expr esaed rests upon- the individual writer.

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At the West Street Church a series of addresses on "The Bible and the Monuments" is being delivered on Wednesday evenings. 'I'hese are illustrated by photographs of slabs, cylinders, tablets, statues, etc. The attendances at these addresses have been encouraging. The following inset appears in the last issue to hand of the Faith Library: "In future thel/Zbrary will be published quarterly (in place of monthly), as the N urnbers on .Sale are multiplying too rapidly for the demand. The price per Number will run from One Penny to Two Shillings. The Annual Subscription will remain as before) 3s. Bd. Three Numbers are in preparation for publication during this year at 2d., Is. Gd., and 28., respectively." N C!. 122 of the Faith Library bears the suggestive title, "The 'Platonic Torch; or the Superiority of Revelation over Science in Relation to Man." It contains many quotations from eminent scientists and thinkers, showing'that "science breaks down where knowledge if; sr, intensely desired by man," but that Revelation step., in and fills the void. "Let us then boldly fling down the Platonic torch that we may more fully bask in the glori011S sunshine of Christ's revelation." This tractate can be ha'(1 from theF'aith Office. Price, One Penny.
.

We hear of another spasmodic revival of .interest in Alexander Campbell's pamphlet.> entitled, . "Life ana Death," and quite recently were asked to review it.

we'

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\tbe !IDosaic

accouur
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tbe

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THERE is a breeze in the theological atmosphere, which some think is the commencement of a storm. At the invitation of the Rev. R. J. Camp bell, J\iI.A., a number of ministers recently assem bled in conference at the City Temple, London, and, after considerable discussion, it was agreed to form a society, to bear the name of "The New Theology lJnion," with .iIlr. Campbell as President, and with the object of encouraging, by fraternal discu sion, progressi ye religious thought. Mr. Uampbell claims that this is a movement "which will affect every Church in Christendom, and sooner or later it will call the whole of the civilised world back to God. It will put an end to the alienation of the masses, on the one hand, and the intellectual classes on the other, from religion. It is the gospel of the humanity of God and of the divinity of Man." Whether or no this new movement will prove to be a storm in a teacup, or, on the other hand, it foreshadows a great theological reconstruction, who can say? But, whatever its outcome, we who take the Bible as our Standard utterly refuse to give it countenance; indeed, we present to it a front of utmost hostility. How can we do otherwise toward a movement which denies the Virgin Birth, the Deity of our Lord, the bodily resurrection of Him who died on Calvary, the inspiration of Prophets and Apostles, the credibility of the Scriptures? What we desire in this article specially to call attention to is Mr. Campbell's utterance concerning "The Fall of Man," as recorded in the third chapter of Genesis. The narrative of Eden occurs in the very opening pages of the Bible, and is the root and basis of all that follows. Yet concerning this M1'. Campbell says: "The Fall, in literal sense, is untrue. 'I'he theory of the Fall is in direct conflict with the finding of modern science, or with a true historical method. The truth is that the unideal character of the world is not due to man's fault, but God's will. The Genesis story was taken over into popular thought through St. Paul's rabbinical thoughtforms." Not only is the writing of Moses treated by Mr. Campbell with scant respect, but the comments of the Apostle Paul thereupon are dismissed as utterly irrelevant. At a recent service at the Citv Temple, amid thunders of applause from the crowded audience, Mr. Campbell repudiated the authority of Paul. Said he: "You need no longer be in agreement with Paul about everything. Paul's opinion is simply Paul's opinion, and not necessarilv infallible." '1'0 us the words of Moses and of Paul are inspired words. \Y o believe they wrote "according to the wisdom giyen to them" (2 Peter iii. 15, 16). And if we have to choose between City Temple Theology and Pauline Theo.logy-which are as opposite as light and darkness -we have no hesitation in rejecting that of Campbell,

of London, and holding fast to the teaching of Paul, of Tarsus. The story of Eden is told in the Book of Genesis in as matter-of-fact form as are the travels of Abraham. The account of the trial in Paradise passes on into the history of the Antediluvians without any break in the narrati ve. Seth, Cain, and. Abel seem to. be as real persons as Enoch 0.1' Methusaleh, and their biographies are closely annexed to the narrati ye of Adam and Eve, and their loss in Paradise. Whether the earlier chapters of Genesis be true or not, most certainly the writer of those chapters delivers them as if" he believed them to be true, asui Lrue in tliei: literal sense. The first chapter relates to a very recent action of God in refitting the earth, and in creating the first pair of the Adamic race, together with certain animals; the second and. third recount the moral trial of the newly-made beings, in order to decide the question of obedience to their Maker, with the result that they lost their life through sin, as well as the prospect of immortality. This narrative of the ancestors of our race, Adam and Eve, has through all ages been the object of unmeasured ridicule to an unbelieving world. The attack of Mr. Campbell and others is nothing new. Long years ago men sneered at the notion of "a miraculously talking reptile persuading an inconceivably constituted woman (made out of Adam's rib) to eat an actual apple, by which act men, women and children of alJ generations are accursed." But let us here say that we repudiate the glosses with which this story is adorned, and the conclusions derived therefrom. Read. seriously the narrative and note the dignity of its tone and. the loftiness of its purpose. An "apple" is not mentioned, and not a word concerning Adam's descendants is utteredthere is not a word of Adam and his children having to suffer death in three senses, death spiritual, death temporal, and death eternal (by which is meant eternal misery in hell). This is simply a human addition, part of a huge theological system, which is as cruel as false, no hint of which is found in the guarded Mosaic narrative. The Devil, who was so active in the temptation of Eve, seems to have been equally active in suggesting false comments upon the record of the temptation. The old falsehood has been steadily repeated age after age, "Ye shall not surely die," for man is deathless, quite apart from his conduct to his Maker. It is these traditions, widely-almost uniyersally-heJd in Christendom, which now in their results are making void the revelation of God in Christ for the modern world. We are not altogether surprised if men reject the Mosaic account of the Fall if the Church will persist in propagating the Devil's declaration that we are all immortal beings, and as a consequence that an eternal hell is being filled with untold millions of Adam's children as the result of his sin. And, moreover, that "little ones, dying without baptism, shall be consigned to everlasting damnation." No wonder that under the influence of this teaching Christianity has ceased to possess the joyful power need ful for the conquest of heathenism, and

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became in priestly hands a power of darkness and terror until at length the modern intellectual world is revolting from its sway. The Books of the Old Testament and, emphatically, the Books of thc New Testament, with one consent, treat the narrative of the Creation and Fall of Man as historical, and make it the basis of the whole system of Divine dispensation toward our race. And in the teaching of Christ and His Apostles the narrative of Eden is not only taken for historic truth, but is made the basis of Christianity itself-as a religion of redemption. Our Lore! established the sanctity of marriage on the authority of the words of Goel when Adam and Eve first came together (Comp. Matt. xix. 3-6, Gen. ii. 24). Addressing the Pharisees, our Lord again referred to the Edenic narrative when He said: "Ye are of your father the devil. He was a murderer from the beginning. He is a liar" (John viii. 44). If Jesus Christ did not rightly understand the origin of the human race He came to sa ve, and mistook an allegorv-a poetical fancy-for history, and believed the story of Eve and the Serpent, who had no real existence, we cannot seriouslv attach anv importance to His teaching and doctrine. The Apostle John, in his first epistle (iii. 12), speaks of Cain, who murdered Abel, and says he belonged to "the evil one" (evidentlv referring to the Adversary in the garden), beca use he "slew his In-other." Also, hi' says (iii. 8): "For this purpose was the Son of God manifested that He might destroy the works of the devil, i.e., to undo the murderous work of the Serpent, by the gift of eternal life. The Evangelist Luke, in recording the genealogv of Jesus, places "Adam, the son of God,' at the head of the table (ii i. 38), evidentlv with a firm persuasion that Adam was as real a person as uny other of Christ's progenitors. No less than nine times in his epistle to the Romans does the Apostle Paul assume and affirm in the most distinct manner the truths of the narration in Genesis respecting the entrance of death by the offence of the one man Adam. He says: (1) Through one man sin entered into the world. (2) Death reigned from Adam until Moses. (3) 'I'he likeness of Adam's transgression. (4) By the trespass of the one the many died. ( 5) Through one that sinned. (6) The judgment came of one. (7) Death reigned through the one. (8) Through one trespass the judgment came unto all men. (9) Through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners. (Romans v. 14-21.) Nine times in eight verses does Paul affirm the literal truth of the Edenic history. If Paul erred in his belief concerning the Fall, it is qui.te certain that there is nothing left in his doctrinal teaching respecting the Redemption to which any Divine authority can be attached. Paul, as a teacher, is utterly discredited. Again, in Rom. xvi. 20, Paul says: "The God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly." Is not this a manifest allusion to Gen. iii. 15, "The seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent's head?" In 1 Cor. xv.

he tells us, "In Adam all die the first Adam was made a living soul the first man is of the earth" (ver. 15, 45, 49). In 1 Cor. xi. 8 he gives as a reason why women should be subject to men, "The man is not of the woman, but the woman of the man." Is he not referring to Gen. ii. 23, and reasoning from this as true history? In 2 Cor. xi. 3 the Apostle holds up the weakness of EYe as a warning to the philosophic Corinthians, "But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve in his craftiness, your minds should be corrupted." In 1 'I'im, ii. 13 we read, "For Adam was first formed, then Eve; and Adam was not beguiled, but the woman ...... but she shall be saved through the child-bearing" (that is, of the promised "seed of the woman," the Christ) . And the writer to the Hebrews (chap. xi.) speaks of the old fathers from Abel downwards as not "poetical imaginations," but as characters of history. And, lastly, in the Book of Revelation, the Devil and Satan is twice pointed out as "the deceiver of the whole world" (xii. 9, xx. 3), and to fix beyond dispute his identity with the Tempter of Eden, he is further called "the old (ancient) serpent" (xx. 2). If Mr. Campbell and his followers are right, not only Moses was mistaken, but Christ and His Apostles were mistaken also. 'I'hen the Christian Faith is a huge mistake, for the doctrine of redemption by Christ on Calvary is founded on the Fall of Adam in Eden; and if Adam and Eve never existed, or the story of the Fall in Eden is false, it follows that Jesus was never sent by God, and His death was simply that of a good man unjustly condemned. That the temptation of Eve was by means of a serpent is a difficulty to many. Even some good Christians who are perfectly loyal to the Scriptures prefer to think that there was no serpent at all concerned in the transaction, just as they hold that no personal devil tempted Christ in the wilderness. They say that this reptilename "serpent" was assigned allegorically to an invisible spirit, who suggested to their minds the evil thoughts as to the hard nature of the command of their Creator. Let us remember (1) that it is a Scriptural doctrine that there is a host of fallen angels, with one called Satan at their head (Matt. xxv. 41, Eph. vi. 10-16, H. Peter ii. 4). (2) That in the New Testament we have a wonderful account given of the expulsion of evil spirits from the bodies of men, and on one occasion they were permitted "to enter into the swine." That they were "evil spirits" is clear from their awful question to the Son of God, "Art Thou come to torment us before the time" (Matt. viii. 29)? (3) We read, "After the sop Satan entered into Judas,' which is something added to the earlier words, "Satan put it into the heart of Judas" (John xiii. 27, camp. vel'. 2). With these facts in mind, we do not experience the difficulty that some do in believing that the action and speech of the serpent in Genesis was real, supernatural and diabolical Does not Peter tell us in reference to Balaam that "he was rebuked for his own transgression: a dumb ass

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spake with man's voice, and stayed the madness of the prophet?" (Did the angel speak through the ass, as the devil did through the serpent?) And when the Supreme Judge cursed the serpent, there was a covert meaning in the words well understood by the Devil himself., i.e., that he should "lick the dust like a serpent" (Micah vii. 17), with all the enemies of truth and righteousness, and crouch and grovel in the presence of the "woman's seed" when God shall bruise him and his seed under the feet of redeemed mankind. And we may here remark that the truth of this story of Eden is confirmed also by "the sense of shame" possessed by all human beings. Can anyone explain, apart from Genesis iii., why mankind is ashamed of being nalced? Man and woman were created in a state of nakedness, and were not ashamed (Gen. ii. 25), the sense of need of clothing began only with a sense of transgression. The whole world of living creatures is unclothed, or, if dressed in plumage or fur, it is as protection from the weather, or for flight, or for beauty, and not as a need for covering from sense of shame. Clothing is not merely for warmth. In the hottest countries the wildest savages (with but few exceptions of those who have hardly any moral sense) clothe themselves, however slightly it may be. When the ancestors of our race had sinned the impulse came to them to hide and cover themsel ves, and this sense of shame is the perpetual mark of the truth of this Mosaic narrative. H behoves those who hold an unchanged loyalty to Him who is Son of God, as well as Son of Mary, to remember that H~ put His own sign manual to the writings of Moses and the Prophets, and the sanction He thus gave warrants U$ in accepting as true the account that Moses gives us concerning the unhappy Fall of Man through the temptation of the Serpent in the Garden of Eden. Rotorua. C. cnrsr B:ROWN.

was narrowed down to a group of officers, some high in the councils of France. '1'0 shield the guilty a fiendish conspiracy was formed, for there must be a "scapegoat." Dreyfus was accused, and on evidence now known to be the basest forgeries, was degraded from the army and banished from his family and from France to Devil's Island, a desolate, barren isle off the northern coast of South America. Here he remained five cruel years, while his wife and a few other faithful friends kept up an agitation that "would not down." So powerful became the tempest of agitation that Prance was well-nigh rent by the terrible accusations of scandal and intrigue in high army circles. '1'h8 various ramifications of the strange case, and the involved tragedies, read like the most exaggerated romance. 'I'he dispatch sums it up thus:"And so ends a war office scandal that has raged for twelve years, that has brought France al most to the verge of rebellion, that has made the army a by-word in every country of the world, that kept Dreyfus a prisoner for five years on Devil's Island, made Zola a criminal before the law, forced him into exile after his name had been erased from the Legion of Honour, led to the retiring of four Ministers of IVar and a dozen generals, as well as a full Cabinet, caused two suicides after confessions had been made, and divided the army and all France into two factions, the Jcwish and the anti-Jewish, that will keep up a partizan fight for years." The vindication, however, is complete. The pardon granted some years ago was not acceptable to Dreyfus, nor creditable to Prance, as it left him a pardoned crim.inal. The recent decision establishes his honour, reinstates him in the army as an honourable officer, and, by implication at least, brands the wholc brood of his accusers as falsifiers and high criminals. 'I'he decision is to be published in fifty papers of Dreyfus' choosing at the Government expense. And steps are now being taken to give Emile Zola, who was compelled to leave France by reason of his friendship for Dreyfus, a public burial in the Pantheon. The famous Dreyfus case may well be a warning to all unrighteousness, and may well be an encouragement for crushed innocence to hope for vindicatiol1.--Wm7ds Crisis.

\tbe 1Rigbt IDin~icate~.

WHEN wrong and injustice, strong, defiant, and amply

fortified, are on the throne, and when justice and innocence are trampled in the dust, it sometimes requires a strong faith to hold that the former shall be dethroned, and that the latter shall be enthroned in its place. Such a faith, however, has the Word of God and much in human experience for its backing, The France charges is one support decision recently by the Supreme Court of declaring Captain Dreyfus innocent of the under which he has suffered for twelve years, of the most notable examples of all history in of the contention that right shall triumph.

There are times when, if condemnation and judgment were received at the hands of man, it might be severe, and even unjust; but we have a righteous Judge, who doeth all things right.-H. A. Mitchell.

Dreyfus, a Jew, was an officer in the French Army. Some one had been selling State secrets to representatives of a foreign power, and the guilt for the offence

The J eurish. Chronicle says that Damascus enjoys the distinction of being the :first city in the Turkish Empire which is lit by electricity, and has electric tramcars running in its streets. The inauguration of both systems was made the occasion for a public ceremony recently.

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mnon~erful )purpose.
"Thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever BEFORE THEE" (2 Sam. vii. 16).

OF the importance that lllay attach to the use of one little preposition rather than another, the passage above quoted is a good instance. 'I'he words occur in the great promise made to David, of the establishment of his throne and kingdom. But whereas, in verse 12, it was said: "When thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, and 1 will establish his kingdom," here in verse 16, the words are: "Thy kingdom shall be established before thee." The word rendered "before" here undoubtedly means "in presence of" or "before the eyes of." I t is clear therefore that the 16th verse contains a promise quite distinct in some respects from that of verse 12. In the former, David was to be dead and buried when the fulfilment should take place; in the latter he was to be alive and see it with his own eyes. Such is the true force of the variation in the prepositions used. The Septuagint and Syriac versions, however, and some Hebrew manuscripts, read "before Me" in verse 16 instead of "before thee;" and this reading is preferred by some scholars on the ground that the reading "before thee" gives an unparalleled sense. Perhaps it does. But may not the difficulty of accepting that unusual sense have been the very reason why some versions have altered the pronoun? It is worthy of note that the authors of the Revised Version, with all their inclination to alter the text, have not ventured to do so in this passage, nor given any hint of its doubtfulness. We may therefore adhere to it with some confidence .. If we ask how this strange promise was to be fulfilled to David, there seems but one possible answer. We are not of those who believe that there were really two Davids, and when one "slept with his fathers," the other was alive in the realms of bliss. "David is not ascended into the heavens" (Acts ii. 29, 34; xiii. 36). If, then, he is to be an eye-witness of the establishment of his throne for ever, it must be by resurrection from the dead. Our Lord has taught us that this doctrine of resurrection may lie hid in germ in some very simple phrase (Luke xx. 37), which the careless or unbelieving reader may overlook or undervalue. And it does appear that in this phrase "before thee," we have another instance of the kind. Besides this general reason for so understanding the words, it seems impossible to explain subsequent references to this great covenant on any other theory. David, in his last words (2 Sam. xxiii. 5), says of this everlasting covenant: "This is all my salvation and all my desire:" Can we imagine the spiritually-minded David, whose aspirations after personal fellowship with the living God stand as the model for God's people in all ages, being content in his dying hours with the assurance that after he was dead and gone, his sons and

sons' sons would reign in his stead? N or could it be a matter of such exultation of spirit in him to think of the coming of his "greater Son" in an everlasting Kingdom, unless he himself was to be there, to see and share in that glory. We have the apostolic authority also for finding the resurrection in the promise. In Acts xiii. ;)4 Paul says, of the resurrection of our Lord: "As concerning that lie raised Him up from the dead, now no more to return to corru.ption, He said in this wise: I will give you the sure mercies of Dooid:" 'I'his phrase is from Isaiah lv. :3, and is there used to summarise the promises which gladdened David's heart, and whose fulfilment is sure (coinpare Psalm lxxxix. 34-37). Now, if the giving of these sure mercies to the essiah involved His being raised from the dead to dless life, as Paul informs us, surely it can mean less to David himself in God's good time. N ay, m ~,the use of the phrase in Isa. lv. 3, goes the length of offering this same blessing to "everyone that thirsteth." 'I'o all such the gracious message is: "Hear, and your soul shall LIVE,and I shall make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David." May we not truly say: "Life from the dead is in that word; 'tis Immortality?" Now, all this wonderful depth and breadth of Divine purpose seems to lie involved in that simple preposition used to David-"before thee." Bearsden. M. W. STRANG.

Ube JJ31acksmitb's \test.
"Blessed are they that have been persecuted for righteousness' sake." TI-lE Rev. H. W. Pope tells the story of a Christian blacksmith who had a good deal of affliction, and was challenged by an unbeliever to account for it. This was his explanation:"Y ou know 1 am a blacksmith, and often take a piece of iron and put it into the fire, and bring it to a white heat. 'I'hen I put it on the anvil, and strike it once or twice to see if it will take a temper. If I think it will, I plunge it into the water, and suddenly change the temperature. Then I put it into the fire again, and again plunge it into the water. This I repeat several times. Then I put it on the anvil, and hammer it, and bend it, and rasp it, and file it, and it makes some useful article, which I put into a carriage, where it will do good service for twenty-five years. If, however, when I first strike it on the anvil I think it will not take temper, I throw it into the scrap heap, and sell it at half a penny a pounel. Now, I believe that my Heavenly Father has been testing me, to see if I will take a temper. He has put me into the fire and into the water. I have tried to bear it just as patiently as 1 could, and my daily prayer has been: 'Lord, put me into the fire, if you will; put me into the watef if you think I nced it; do anything yon please, 0 Lord, only don't throw me into the scrap heap:' "--Selected. .

TTTTT~TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

............

,THE
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,

JHBLE

STANDARD.

93
Let me, ask you to note that when our first parents sinned, and were banished from Pa-radise, one of the consequences which fell beca use of transgression was a multiplicity of offspring: "I WILL GREA'.fLYMULTIPLY thy sorrow and thy cone ption" (Gen. iii. 16). Although man had sinned, and had thus destroyed the immediate prospect of a holy, happy race, yet that end is to be reached, and to secure the adequate number, conception is increased to allow for the waste which would follow because of the dominion of sin. Let me add, in view of the widely-scatter-d human race, that that multiplicity is distributed, and is not confined to any one branch of peoples. I am not sure that I catch the full significance of that idea, but the provision for possible waste strikes' me as being consonant with natural facts: At any rate; it deserves attention. Now, let me ask a 'close appreciation of a significant utterance. In the first promise made to Abraham is found the statement: "IN THEE SHALL ALL'THE FAMILIES OF THE EARTH BE BLESSED" (Gen. xi i. 3). The full meaning of tha t sentence' is yet to be understood, but. meanwhile, let 'me sav a blessing' to "all families" is promised. It is not to be immediately conferred, but it is to come when the plan here begun is fully developed. On the way to its realisation the plan involves selection, first, of a man, then of his family, then of the nation, and now of a people "called out." It has been "selection" all the way, and that principle still operates. and till that selective process is accomplished the blessing to all families cannot come. Meanwhile the generations the world over die without knowing of this, and, indeed, without being called into it, so the question stilI press=s, "What of their individual relation to eternal life whilst the plan is beingwrought out?" (To be continued.)

(b~ Hom~ ird~.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
e ,

Talks on Eternal Life.

No. VI. I THINK that our "Talk" on this occasion ca n be profitably given to the consideration of the, conditions upon acceptance of which Et mal Life may bc obtained. . That - is a very requisite thing, and seems to follow logically upon what we have already seen. But it is a question which seems to be somewhat' complicated, as there have been successive dispensa tions in which God has dealt with man; and any consideration of. the subject must give these their due place. Well, 'suppose we deal first with that which is present; and in which we are personally interested? I am agreeable. Indeed, T think it wis=, because then we can note that the conditions are in perfect harmony with the provision. Vile shall appreciate that fact much better if we view it in relation to ourselves, than if it were considered in its application to others of another age. and under other conditions. In the "Gospel-epitome" t-xt it is thus put: "GOD SO LOVED THE WORLn THAT HE GAYEHIS ONLY BEGOTTENSOli'. TITAT WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH Ill' HIM SHOULD NOT PERISH, BUT HAVE ETERNAL LIFE" (Jo. iii. 16). That was the Lord's testimonv to the men of His dav hut. if I may' so say, we have a much 'cleare~ statement in its application to the present in the epistle of salvation in the passage already cited. '''rhe word is nigh thee. in thy mouth, and in thy hea ~t: that is the word of faith. which we preach: because IF THOU SHALT CONFESS WITH THY MOUTH JESUS' A'S I,ORD, AND SHALT BELIEVE IN THY HEART''THAT GOD HATH BAISED HIlIr FROM TilE PEAn, THOU SHALT BE SAVED" (Rom. x. 'S-lO). T'hosconditions are very clearly stated. but how do they speciallv ha rmonise with our findings upon the nature of the "gift of God?" A very brief meditation will show. first. that confession of Christ's Lordshin is demanded. Tn no nlace ' is tho re a hint that His authority thus to he owned is oxercised OVPl' "inllllor1"n 1 souls." but it is definitelv stated to 110 over "dead and Iivirur." 'To 'r aeh th is position' He nassed thr011!!h' death. ;1S tho fol:owing verso declares :-"FOR TO THIS END CHRtS'I' IlIED ANn LIVEn AGAIN. THAT HE MIGHT BE T,ORn OF BOTH DEAn A1\TT) LIVINO" {Rom. xiv. 9). T'hus He became the Head of the r~rp, vif""pd in its entiretv. At the point whe re man's llPpd 'i~ !!r"ntpBt. i,e.. at thf' point of ll{'lnlpssnp~s. hpC'111SP 'of his mortal nu1-11I'P1'hr Lo rrl=h in of Christ is nrf'sentr(l ", th-i t wh ioh can reverse tho power of death nnrl the QTaVf>. The second point to notice is that GOD RAISED Hrxr FROM THE nEAD. Faith must link itself to a fact, 'hiatorie- and tangible. There is no

demand that at its earliest effort it must lay hold of the unseen and the intangible. It must be grounded upon the real and the palpable. In a word, it must believe in a Living Lord, pos sessing an "endless life," because He was raised from the grave. I see. Certainly, thus put, there is a harmony between the facts for faith to hinge upon, and the gift to be bestowed. Being satisfied on thr.t point, there is another phase of the subject that comes before me, on which I crave light. I will put it thus: This Gospel dispensation, in which these terms run, had a commencement. From the very beginning its actual sphere of operations has been limited, though growing. Centuries passed before it could be said to have covered Europe, and it is not until the last century that it passed over to bring its influence to bear upon the "nations that sit in darkness." ~That a bout the great world of men and their relationship to this question of eternal life? That is a very grave subject, one which must not be treated flippantly or hurriedly. I am not of those who can summarily dismiss the matter by assertlng that the "nations" outside the operations of the pr=sent Gospel are lost. On the one hand, the orthodox believer pitilessly consigns them to eternal woe. and, on the other. there are life-believers who affirm that thev have had their life, they die. and are never to he raised from the dead. There is a third .party of various persuasions, claiming that IlS th-se of the past. and many of the present, never have heard the Gospel method of salvation throuzh Christ, they must vet hear it, some sav in an intermediate state: others affirm that it will be in the future, af ter the resurrection from the dead. Well. what ne we to do in face of these diverginz views? 4 Just as IVe have done hitherto-try to find an a 11 ewer in the Scripture. Tt is the Bible whir." compels this question. and it is the Bible alon" which can sup' ply the needed light. So far as it goes, we may travel with safety, but beyond its Iight we must not pass, else we may follow" mere wilI-o'-thewisp. and eventuallv lnnd ourselves in confusion and loss. How shall we find the clue to guide our quest.? There is one fact which must be borne in mind as we enter upon this theme. and that is. that Bible historv is "select.iv=." I mean by that. it do~s not deal h istorioa llv with all. Its commencement has' a universal reference. but no sooner does the history commence to move forward than it narrows, and in selective fashion progresses. leaving out of mention those peoples outside its active operations. This does not mean thn t the great mass of ma nk ind are actua Ilv shut out from its provisions. for it i~ just as elea rlv taught that th(' ~plf>ctive work is opsignpd j-() hnvo fl univ rsa l bearing. Thn t is a helpful thoueht if it can hp established from the RcrintureR. an (1 will probably open the way 'for a' better "understanding on this ,grea;t. theme.' :

THE PROMISES OF GOD. Does your spirit faint? The promises of Cod are a dropping honeycomb, better than .Tona thn.n's. Dip your pilgrim staff into their richness, and put your hand to yonr mouth, like him and your faintness shall pass awav. ' Artl' you thirsty? They are the flowing stream of. the water of life, of which YOll may drink by the way, and lift your head. Are vou overcome bv the sultry burden of the day? They are n s 'thc cool shadow of a great rock in a weary land. Have vour steps well-nigh slipped'? Thev are a staff in your hand, on top of which, betimes. Iiko -Iacob, you may lean, and worship God. Are YOU sad?" There are no such songs to be'guile the road. and to bear you' on with gladness of heart, HS when one goeth with a pipe to come into the mountain of the Lord. P1It but a promise under your head by night, and were vo n r pi llow a stone like tnat of Bethel, you shall have .Tacob's vision. 'I'lle thirstiest wilderness will become an Elirn with palm trees and wells of wat,er,-Sel.

94

THE

BIBLE

STANDARD.

JUNE, 11107. lished till He should return from heaven to earth (Psalms ii., cii.). But Gad would have the Jews know that He is God of Gentiles as well as of Jews-the Supreme Ruler over all the earth. Temporal power was taken from the Jews and given to the Gentiles, just as later on .the religious supremacy called "the Kingdom of Gad" (iMatt. xxi. 43) was similarly taken away and given to a people (the Church) bringing forth the fruits thereof. God raised Nebuchadnezzar to be the unchallenged monarch of the world. And by means of a dream, God made known to him that there should be four great Gentile empires succeeding each other, which should be followed by a fifth-"a kingdom set up by the God of heaven" (Dan. ii. 44). Nineteen hundred years ago all the faregoing prophecies had been fulfilled so far as the caming of the Promised One was concerned. The "fifth monarchy" King, the Son of David, the Prophet like Moses, of the seed of Abraham, the descendant of Seth, the offspring of Adarn, was born into the world. With His rejection came the final burst of prophetic light. Through Him and His apostles was revealed the closing scenes of God's dealings with mankind. First, our Lord warned His disciples that the Kingdam of God was not immediately to appear (Luke xix. 11) . Then He revealed an intermediate prospect. Rejected by earth, He would return to heaven, and after a long absenee would again visit this world. He predicted the fall of Judaism and rise of Christianity. He then indicated what would follow-tribulatian for Israel till they repented and were ready to wel. come their King. He snake also of th. coming oi the Holy Spirit. After his departure the apastles-'-divinely inspired-explained and amplified these predictions of Christ. Indeed, Paul made known a distinctly new revela tion which Gad had kept secret till thenthe mystery concerning the Church (Eph. iii. 1-12). The prophetic utterances are closed by John in the marvellaus book called "The Revelation," in which the apostasy of Christendom IS shown to culminate in the rise and progress of Anti-Christ, to whom Satan gives his power and all' thority. It is a book written in Eastern hieroglyphics which need interpreting. But however students may differ as to the exact meaning of the symbols used, upon one thing they are all agreed, i.e .. that the book is canfirmatory of the plain prophecies of the Apostle Paul eonc-r ninp the latter and closino days of this dispensation. <>. In my next communication I hope to explain the two systems of prophetic interpretation-the futurist and the historical (the literal interpretation n nd the year-day system) -and give reasons why we accept the one and reject the other+-Your friend, CARPUS.

the glorious end was revealed-the Tempter should be crushed by a child of Eve. The prediction to Noah immediately fallowing the flood WlOoS of a cheerful and merciful nature. Never LETTER IV.-A PROPHETIC again would God drown the world by wa ter. But it was towards tbe close of OUTLINE. his life that God endowed Noah with We spirit of prophecy, and enabled him in My DEAR FRIEND,-Praphecy is one some measure to disclose the purpose of connected whole, but the times of the His providence in His dealings with t.he future races of mankind, giving the pregiving of prophecy are m un y. We may ference to the family of his son Shem, with propriety divide the prophetic who was the progenitor of Abraham, word into seven sections, which COlTf.nd so aneestnr of the Hebrews. The spond with the commencement of a prophetic revelation to Abraham was that Gad would make of him a great series of fresh events in human history. nation, and through one of his descendAnd this sevenfald division is cannected ants all the world should be blessed. To with seven memorable names-Adam, the miracle-working Moses was commitNaah, Abraham, Moses, David, Nebuted the exodus of Israel from Egypt, chadnezzar, and the Lard -Iesus Christ. which was their beginning as a nation, Adam was the father of our race. s nd towards the end of his eventful life Seventa=n hundred years later. the anteGad granted a view of the future hisdiluvian age ended, Noah became the tory of the people. With what yearning head of the human family. Three hunanxiety the leader of Israel must have dred veal'S elapse, and Abraham was peered into that page of future history chosen to be the father of the Hebrew which God unrolled to his gaze. Sad race. Five hundred years passed. and and sorrowful is the Mosaic prediction Moses WH~ horn, the founder and l'gisof Israel's apostasy, and terrible the Ia.tor of the Hebrew na tion. Five hunprophecy of the judgment which would dred more veal'S bring ns to tl1(> t ime of follow. (Read Leviticus xxvi. and David. wh~m God appointed to be thDeut, xxviii.) He even foretold the founder of the Hebrew mona rehv, For Raman invasion, wh ich did not take four hundred and fiftv years the family place till 1,500 years after his of David occupied hi~ thrall", r.nd the~ death (Deut. xxviii. 49), which both king and peaple went captive to should be followed by their being Babylon. The fallen Hebrew monarchy "plucked off their awn land and rewas superseded hy Nebuchadnezzar. the moved into all the kingdams of the first and greatest of all the following earth, scattered among all people," and Gentile monarchs-the head of gold in yet should preserve their distinct nathe wondrous in1ft!!" as described in thp tianality. Hp also predicted that God second chapter of Daniel. Six hundred would raise up a prophet like unto himyears went by, and the Lord -Iesus was self (Deut. xvii i. 18. ID). For the fulborn at Bethlehem, even Hp who camp filment of this the Jews anxiausly to establish th Kingdom of God and to waited, and when Christ appeared exbecame the Head of redeemed humanitv, claimer], "This is of a truth that prophet The establishment of this kingdam was that should came into the world" (John postponed because Jew and Gentile alike vi. 14). We now come to Dav id, That rejected the heaven-sent King. He therethe writings of this remarkable man fare returned to His celest.ia 1 abode. were largely prophetic no Christia n b . During His absence and the int-rrupIiever denies. Peter calls him "a pration of the flow of prophecy, God, during phet." Our Lord asserted that "David the last two thousand years. has been wrote in the Psalms concerning Him" gathering out. from mankind-.lew and (Luke xx iv. 44). David was a king as Gentile-n certain number of persons well as a prophet, and to him the revewho, collectively, hereafter will form lation came that it was one of his de"The Church," the body of Christ. scendants who should be the everIast ing When this "body" is complete. Christ Ruler of an eternal kingdom-a kingwill rr-turn and resume His int-rruptcd dam not merely Jewish. but universal. dealings with the world. ncting no Furthermore. it was revealed to him longer as the Lamb of God. gentle and that the King would be Divine as well mild, but as the Lion of the tribe of as human; He would be God and man Judah (Rev. v. 5) will He exercise His in one person-David's son, and yet au thoritv and power until God's KingDavid's Lord. A conception almost imdom shall be established. and His will passible to a Jew of David's day, and done On earth as in heaven. There are esteemed blasphemous bv the Jew of our e dditionnt nrophecies that treat of own day. Moreover, to "David was made nyents after the millennial age is ended. known that the august King of his line but they do not come under ou r view would, before His exaltation, underga a just now. preliminary exp'rience of rejection and The general histary of the world suffering, of death and resurrection. through these seven stages has been foreDavid also made known tha t his illusseen and foretold, And mark, the pretrious San would be called to occupy a dictions of each age are 'singularly defiheavenly throne, and rule from the right nite and simple, so that no one can mishand of God in heaven. And, besides understand their plain meaning. The this. the future ICing was to exercise prophetic revelation is a gradual one , a priestly as well as a kingly sway. clear, and still clearer became the light And David forewarned that the earthly as the ages rolled by. To Adam, only kingdom of his Son would not be estab-

Letters to a Young Friend on the Study of Prop~ecr.

"Lave is the wondrous angel of life that rolls away all stones or sorrow and suffering 'from the pa.~l.rwlt~ of duty.":

JUNE, 1907.

THE
~

BIBLE STANDARD.
who did come spent a very happy time together. After the President's opening address a recitation and sevr-rn 1 .on,,!~ were. rendered by members of thp 'Rond: then 131'0. Morfimer, of Mount 'Ro.l,ill. gave a helpful address on "The Ta lr-nts." exhorting us not to miss opportunities of workin-r for the Mnster. The address was m n=h "D])rp('int"n bv the Band. ann wp feel ""1'" will hel])' us to go forth with !!T!'nt!'r zen l in davs to come. Rpv('1'01 of the Ba.nd a lso gq ve words of tpst imonv n.nd p'H'0111qgement. Light rr-freshmen ts were then handed round. Tn no rtina we ,,-11 felt we had spent a verv en iovablc evening.

Chureh and Mission News.

'" ....illIL-""'L..~...uIlcA4. '11

ject Jno. v. 26-28: "Life possessed (by God), Life given (to Christ), Life offered (to man)." Since our last report we ha ve lost by removal Mrs. Kirby and family, who have gone to Turua. \re miss them from our Sunday School and choir. We are also sorry to know that our Sister Wood and family are about to remove to Auckland. Sti ll, we wish them every blessing and success in their new home. I'Ve trust our sister and sons will enjoy the worship and fellowship of the brethren in Auckland. What higher commendation can we give for long years of f'aith f u l association and work than by saying, "She hath done what she could?" As visitors we have had the presence of Bro. Pearson, of 'I'imaru, and Bro. Fuulk, who we hope may remain here some time. 131'0. Taylor wishes to thank the brethren who have enabled him to attend the Grand Lodge Session of the International Order of Good Templars at Cluistchurch. 13]'0. and Sis. Taylor have richly enjoyed the change and rest. E.C.M. [Received too late for May issue.]

************.****
AUCKLAND.-Large audiences assemble on Sunday evenings, a great number being visitors, to listen to the lectures on the Book of Daniel, especially those lectures which are illustrated by chart. Accounts of recent finds and discoveries in Babylon, substantiating the truthfulness of the Bible record, are introduced into these lectures, making them specia Jly instructive to Bible students. Sunday, April 28: Bro. Aldridge presided, basing his subject on second chapter of Joshua. With us in fellowship were Bro. and Sis. Battson, of the Thames. In the evening the third lecture on the Book of Daniel was delivered, entitled, "Idolatry in the Plain of Dura." Sunday, May 5: Bro. Wild presided, and spoke from John xxxiii. With us in fellowship, Sis. Wood, of the Thames, Tn the evening the fourth lecture was given on "The King's Insanity." Sunday, May 12: Bro. Wilcock in the morning; subject, 2 Cor. i. In the evening the subject of the fifth lecture was "Belshazza:r's Feast." Sunday, May 19: Bro. C. B. King presided, and Bro. E. Aldridge gave an address, touching upon the New Theology, and showed that the Bible withstands all attacks (2 Tim. ii. 19). In the evening the sixth lecture on Daniel was given, entitled "The Lion's Den." Since our last issue the Bible Class has been held only once, May Ist, the subject for the evening being "The Parable of the Sheep and the Goats." Instead of the weekly class, a short course of lectures was commenced on "The Bible and the Monuments." The first one was delivered on Wednesday evening, May 8, entitled "The Creation and the Deluge: How the Records were Read." The second, on Wednesday evening, May 15, "The Days of the Patriaehs and the Story of a Forgotten Empire;" and on Wednesday, 22nd, the topic was "Israelites in Bondage and a Romance of Egypt." The lucid manner in which these lectures were delivered, together with the beautiful pictures thrown upon the screen. called forth well-merited applause. W.G.

REMEDY

FOR

SUNDAY

SICKNESR.

..
,

On Sundav morning rise at six; use n lentv of cold water on the face; eat n nln.in~ hea.rtv breakfast. Then mix up and take internallv a nose composed of equa 1 narts of the following ingredients, namely:Will. 'Push. l1:nergy. Relf-restraint. Determinat.ion. 'Rpsnp.d. ~or God's day. Respect for Gon's Book. Resner-t for God's house, A desire to hp somebody. Rtir well: add a little love. just to I11n p it. swept. k Rpnpat the dosr- evorv thrpp 'm inu tes until Bible school time. 11nless relief comes sooner. Tf the day is stormy. an external apnlication of overshoes, rubber coats and umbrellas mn v he beneficial. Also the abow' 111av 1)(' helpful to .nme of the disnosed-to-be late ones in chu rch at the morn inv meeting. Read this naracra nh over a few t imos. ann think abont it to impress it on the memory.-Sel.

CHRISTIAN BAND. ~
~~~

THAMEs.-During the month past we have been favoured with visits from 131'0. T. L. Wilcock (March 31), 131'0. L. Falkner (April 7), Bro. A. Page (April 14), all of whom we have been glad to see and hear, and appreciate much the helpful spirit which animates these brethren in coming here at some sacrifice. May they be richly blessed in this interchange of fellowship and work. On April 19 Bro. J. H. Taylor arrived home again, and on April 21 took as his sub-

On Monday, April 22, a Praise, Prayer and Testimony Meeting was held, Bro. Wilcock presiding. Our brother cited the goodness of our Heavenly Father to His children in things pertaining to this life, with the hope of eternal life in the age to come. These things, being ours, should cause our hearts to thrill with praise and gratitude to the Giver. He also showed us the necessity f6r prayer so that we might be strong in the hour of need, and also be able to help others in their distress. To these was added his own personal testimony, showing what a privilege the believer has in making known to others his faith in a Risen Christ. Some of the Band then gave their testimony to God's goodness in bringing them from darkness into light. On April 29 the half-yearly business meeting was held, when a revision of the Band rules was put before the meeting for consideration and approval. After some slight alteration the rules were adopted. The meeting was then adjourned till May 6, when the election of officers was proceeded with. The following were chosen:-President, Bro. C. B. King; Vice-Presidents, Bros. F. Firth and J. Green; secretary, Bro. J. Woodward ; treasurer, Sister E. Phipps; corresponding secretary, Sister M. Green_ (present address, No. 11, Bank of N.Z. Buildings); reporter, Bro. C. Cates. The following committees were then elected: Meetings, Look-out, BIBLE STANDARD, and Sunshine. May 13 the Band held I its 14th Anniversary. This was in the form of a social. The weather being wet and stormy, many who lived at a distance were preven ted from attending. The members of the Band and the friends

BALLAD (By

OF TI-lE HOLY Rollin O. Everhart.)

WAR

What is it worth to live. man, What-is it worth to fight, To toil and wait And buffet fate Manfully for the right? Fighting? It made them men, lad, Lifted them from the dust; For he that's mute Becomes a brute. To. be men, fight we must. Many's the arm that's stilled, - :1IJ any's the soldier dead; But wrong lives on While they are gone, Wha t of the fight they led? And But That Until And never a soldier dead, lad, struck an eternal blow wrong will feel it reel fall, and for ever go. man,

1~

= ~_:7:~_ZZ __

! _ 6%

'tHE

BIBLE

STANDARD.

JUNE,

1907.

And yet there are men-men, too, claiming to be intelligent and philosophical-who will deliberately put these wondrous writings on a par with Chinese and Hindoo oracles. They have never studied them, to be sure-they know as little of the Scriptures as they do of the Vedas and Shasters of which they talk so flippantly -and yet they not only name them together as belonging. to one general class of "sacred books," but seem even to take a strange delight in giving the Bible a secondary place as compared with these "venerable authorities." They do this, too, in the face of the clearest proof, if they will but study it, that what is most "venerable" and most remarkable in these compositions is but the obscured image of one ancient revelation, a deeply-fouled copy from that one antique original now in our possession. But no such plea can he made for those who. are evidently fond of these odious parallels, not more profane religiously than they are revolting to all pure and elevated thought. It is hiifd to be friends with men who can, without compunction, put Jesus and Confucius together, to say nothing of Jesus and Shakespeare; it is hard to feel respect for minds that can see no difference between the Christian Scriptures and the Hindoo books; it is not easy to entertain a sentiment of tolerance for hearts that will place the representations of ineffable holiness, and righteous moral government, and fearful, yet loving personality, such as we find everywhere in the one, on the same level with the pantheistic common pIaces, the vulgar gnosis, the foul nature-worship, and impure symbolism of the other. Is this done knowingly? What must be thought of their appreciation of the .pure and the sublime? Is it done, as is most probable, in utter personal ignorance of these books, and of the grossness of their spiritually disguised sensualism? What must be thought of the anti-Christian hatred that could alone have prompted a parallel as false as it is revolting, as absurd as it is unholy?- The Dioime Human in the Scriptures, TAYLOR LEWIS.

~be :n3ible Stanbarb.

The' Bible Standard can be ordered direct from the Treasurer MR. ALEX. PAGffi, Murdoch Road, Grey Lynn, Auckland.
s, d.

Price per annum, post free .. 2 6 Single copies .. 0 2 BOOK STEWARD-E. H. FALKNER, ueen Street. Q AGENTS FOR THE BIBLE STANDARD: NEW ZEALAND. Auckland-Mr. Bancock, Bookseller, Queen Street. Wellington-H. J. Barraclough, Myrtle Crescent. Dunedin-Mr. Lawrence, Hope Street. Kaiapoi-Mr. James Holland. Rangiora-Mr. Wm. Smith, South BrOOk:. New Plymouth-Mr. Fred Goodacre, Courtney Road. East Oxford-Mr. A. England. Thames-Mr. C. Sanders, Macky Street. Timaru--Mr. H. H. King, Stafford Street. Tinwald, Ashburton-Mr, Shearer. Waihi-Mr. Joseph Foster. SOUTH AUS'l'RALIA. Adelaide-Mr. C. Gamble, Magill Road, Stepney. NEW SOUTH WALES. Sydney-Mr. H. Cropp, Mitchell Street, Kogarah. OommuniClttions to the Editor to be addressed: GEO. ALDRIDGE Brentwood Avenue, Mount Eden. Telegraphic Addres .. Rocky Nook." All communications to the Association and orders for Bible Standard to be addressed to the Secretary and Treasurer MR. ALEX. PAGE, Murdoch Road, Grey Lynn. Auckland.

CHURCH
H uld

OF CHRIST

A. UCKLAND-West

ServIces as under: Street. Sunday, at 11 o'clock a.m., FellowshIp Meetln~ 6.45 p.m., Preaching Service. t!unday School at 2.45. Wednesday evening, Bible Class at 7.4r.. IDvangelist's address=Geo. Aldridge. Brentwood Avenue Mount Eden. Secretary-Wo Oibson, Ponsonby Road.

ROSKILL HALLSunday at 11 a.m., Fellowship Meeting. DUNEDIN-Oddfellows' Hall. Stuart Street. Suudayat 11 a.m .. Fellowship and Meeting. Evening Preaching Servlcl', 6.30. Secretary's Address- S. Laurence, Hope Street .Dunedin.
El ffiLENSVILLE-Foresters'

Ureasurer'B
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Hall. Sunday Morning, Fellowship Meeting. Sunday Afternoon, Sunday Scbool. Sunday EVl'nlng, Preaching. Church Secretary. R. M. Cameron. Street Lectnre Hall. at 11 a.m . Fellowship Mpptlnl(. EvenIng Service at 6.30. I'\unday School at 2.30. Blbte CIsse every Wednesrl"y evel'lnl( at 7.:10 Evangelist--E. H. Taylor, Bowen Street. Par-a.wai. Secretary-ehas. Sanders. Mackay Street, Thames.
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Bcftnowleb~ntelltB.
27TH MAY, 1907.
l'HAMF,l"-Pollpn

Sta'R,dardSubs.-Messrs. W. W. Strang, Le Roy (Barrier), J 1\1 Miller, C. J. Christey, .Tas. Aile, E x-n, A W. Thompson, H. E;tton, H. H. King, Mrs. Broadhead, Mrs. Cox. A.~sociation S1/,bs.-Mesdames Knott, Clarkson, 1\1r. H. H. King. Donatio'II.~.-Mr~. Cox, Mr. W. Husband. ALEX. PAGE, TREASlIRER.

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Mtners' Union Hall. Sunday 11 a.m. Fellowshin Meetinc : .. 2.30 p.m. Sunday School. Sunday Evening. at 7. A Public Bible Address. Church Recretary-D. Donalrlson. F:vILnge1ist--Joseph Foster, Waihi.

l'IMARU-SoDhla Street Hall. Sunday. at 11 a.m .. Fellowship Meettna. Recretary's Address-H. H. King. StatTord Street. Tfmarn ADELAIDE. S.A.-Druids' Hall. BeuIah Road. Norwood. Secretary's Address-F. B. Hughes. Woodvl11e.

\preacbers' \plan.
_ HELENSVJI.LE.. W. J. L. E. FA ULKNER
WILD

_ MON~I__
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B~KDALE.

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