The Abiding Spirit

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Chapter 1: The Sword of the Spirit

THE world is praying, as it bas been praying for centuries, for the coming of the Holy Spirit. The hymn-writers of the past, as well as of the present, have embodied this cry, "Come, Holy Ghost, for thee we call," and it is taken up by every lip with more or less of eager, earnest wrestling, especially in these days.

The church never seems to get beyond the present obligation to tarry at Jerusalem. The need of tarrying at Jerusalem was present truth from the day that the command went forth until the . da:y of Pentecost ; but since then, if it has been present truth to any soul, it is because he had inot lived up to his privileges in the Holy Ghost, and had failed to understand the relation of the Spirit of God to the children of men.

[I>]

T!·IJ<} AlHDING SPIRIT.

Unbellef almost Unlverasl ,

Theologically the church believes every word which Jesus spoke, and every word which Paul · uttered ; but practically it does not. Paul said, '' Christ is all, and in all ; ' ' 1 Jesus said, '' Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world ; " 2 and yet the average Christian man sees upon every hand many things which. he is inclined to believe have no relation whatever to Christ. The cry of loneliness, the continual reaching out after and craving for human sympathy npon the part of many an earnest Christian, is a practical denial of the continual satisfying presence and companionship of Him who is the chiefest among ten thousand, and the one altogether lovely.

The Spirit of God is an abiding presence in every life with which there must be contention or agreement. This is plainly taught in the scripture, ''The manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal," 3 which can mean nothing less than that ''the Holy Spirit is in you, a!ld that you can not be sepatated from him." This, '' Lo,

• Matt. 28 : 20.

U"l. :J: 11.

•1 Cor.12: 7.

I am with you,'' is in the present tense, and is present truth in every age and to every condition. When the Sadducees came to Jesus with their questions, he said, '' Y e do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God." 1 And this same ignorance accounts for the universal misunderstanding of the Holy Spirit, - his mission and work,- as well as for all the errors and difficulties which confuse and trouble the world. Many seem to suppose that the Word of God consists only in a certain printed arrangement of vowels, consonants, and sentences which express certain ideas, and that when those words have been committed to memory, or even carefully read a few times, they are known; and that the power of God is something so vague and elusive, so incomprehensible, that it is no use to try to know that; and as to coming into close connection with it, that is risky, if not dangerous,- almost sure to lead to fanaticism. They believe that of course the power of God has its place in the religious world, and will sometime, some far

1 Matt.

22 : 29, away sometime, take hold of and control" ·all things; but that yet awhile, since man must live and work in a world that is full of practical things, the less thought given to this strange power, and the less one has of it, the better it will be; for, they suppose, when, once in a while, some one '' gets the power,'' it always makes him peculiar and impractical. But the truth is so vital to the every-day work of life, that it will not pe unprofitable to study it, if haply we might "feel after it," and find it. 1

First of all, as to the Word of God. He tells us that his thoughts are not as our thoughts, that "as the heavens are higher than the earth," so are his thoughts and ways higher than ours; 2 and therefore the words by which he expresses his thoughts must sometimes be incomparable to any human utteranee.

The fact is, God's Word is so unlike the word of man that it can not be considered as in any sense on the same level. He condescended to publish an edition which men might take and use

Acts 17: 27.

•lsa. 55:9.

just as they do the words of men. They might copy it, print it, bind it up in any style which suited their notion; illustrate it according to fancy; quote or misquote it; plagiarize or paraphrase some biblical epigram, and pass it off as a witty retort; weave its history into song or romance; use its philosophies to point an editorial paragraph, a political harangue, or ba!'l'oom tale,- use or abuse; obey or ignore; wickedly deny and profane it,-just as they chose.

But these are only parts of his ways and fragments of his word, not by any means the most vital. Back of every expressed syllable is a· live principle which is part of the organic God; an essential feature of that glory which is revealed in the face of Jesus Christ.

The Bible is called the Word of God, and with many passes for all there is of it; but it would be a sad thing indeed if the Word of God was dependent upon paper and pt·inters' ink. It would be possible for all the Bibles to be gathered together and burned ; then what would become of the Word of God ? Can it be burned ? When earth

Playing with the Sword.

Parts of His Ways.

Greater than the Book,

God's

Primer.

'l'HE SWORD OF 'rHE SPIRIT.

and heaven shall melt with fervent heat, what about God's Word? Thank God ! it abides forever. Fire can not burn it, water can not dissolve it, hatred and disbelief,- nothing that man or Satan can bring against the Book can touch the Word. That Word is greater than any book, its power is that of the Eternal Abiding Spidt.

To understand this is to begin to appreciate what a weapon God has put into our hands in the '' sword of the Spirit.'' 1 The Bible is simply a small, abbreviated edition of the Word. Our Father had it published to meet the needs of a people who only had rudimentary knowledge ; who could only grasp the most simple propositions ; who knew no truth, and who had to receive all in order to know anything. The Bible is a kind of alphabet, or primer, of God's Word, adapted to the needs of just such children as we are. There are intelligences who have the larger volume. It does not contain just the same tende.r messages which have been given to us, for they had never a prodigal's need. The Word of God to us, which is called the Bible, is, like us, modern compared with the antiquity of the Word.

Jeremiah says, '' Thy words were found, and I did eat them.'' Where were they before they were found ~ They were in the bosom of God, in the principles that made his character, until he began to express them; first in the only begotten Son, then in the created things by which he began to give expression to himself.

The difference between the Word and the Bible is that the Word consists of certain eternal principles, which are the features of God. The Bible is a statement of these principles, and a story of the manner in which men and nations have related themselves to them,· as well as a faithful, unbiased unfolding of the consequences which must always follow such relation,- all of which is for our warning and admonition that we may avoid the deceit of Jacob, the impurity of David, and the treason of Peter. The Holy Spirit abides in these principles and makes them alive, so that if all the Bibles in the world should be burned up, they would be able to rehabilitate themselves again in lEJp4.6:17.

Superior to all Form.

I ndestruct· ible .

language, illustration, and history, to make another Bible just as true, just as safe a guide, as that which we have in our hands to-day. Other men besides those whose names are familiar to us, other nations might be used in illustration of the same great truths ; but the truths, the principles, would be just the same.

The Word of God is superior to, and is capable of controlling, paper and type. If every form in which the Word has expressed itself, from the worlds in space, to the type with which it has been printed, should be utterly destroyed, yet .the vital principle _w hich is in the Word c~uld beg_m ~t the beginning and reconstruct all . thmgs a?'am JUSt ~s they are to-day. Just as it could be 1f th~ Samtarium should be burned; it would not be unpossible to have a Sanitarium. Whatever man has built man can build again. The Sanitarium could be so rebuilt, furnished, and ornamented, that one who had not visited it for years, would say of the new ''Why, this is the same dear old place ! '' alth~ugh not a fragment of the old building had >lUrviverl.

Whatever God has built he can build again. He will never be short of resources ; for his Word is indestructible, and the power of the Holy Spirit can never forsake it. It is thts Word with which we have to reckon in all that we are and do. It is this by which we are to be comforted, admonished, and judged. This is that which we are to eat, by which man shall live instead of by bread alone, for it is the real food for body, mind, and spirit. It is the Word which the farmer plants in the furrow as corn, sows as wheat, gathers as the fruit of orchard and viney;:trd. The Holy Spirit is the j nice of the Word. Every fruit is known by its :flavor, and its :flavor is in its juice. When you come to know the :flavor perfectly, you can never be deceived as to the variety of fmit which you are eating. So, when you come to know the :flavor of the Spirit, you will always be able to distinguish the Word of God from that of any other being.

The time is close at hand when it will be very important to the children of God that they shall not be dece~vable as to his Word. The q nestion

The Juice of the Word.

How the 81· ble is R.ead.

Needs no Defense.

THE Al!IDJNH Sl:'IKIT .

is often asked, '' Is evet·y word in the Bible true ? '' and some timid believer, without stopping to consider, will answer, ''Yes ; of com:se it is ; " and so bring the eternal Word into reproach. A false statement in defense of the Bible is just as displeasing to the Holy Spint as any other untruth: it is, in fact, one of the most fatal of all untruths ; because more depends on accuracy in this than anY. other matter,-so much is involved. Many who are honest in everything else will hold a questionable position with reference to the Bible, because they believe it to be all th~re is of the Word of God, and they have so pitiful a conception of it. It is to them but a lifeless thing, which must be defended. It has been treated all through the generations like an invalid that had to be carried on a pillow, when the fact is that it needs nothing of any man : it is the channel to usward, through which the revelation of God flows.

~very word of God is true ; but every word that is in the Bible is not the word of God. Some words of Satan and of very wicked men are there

THE SWORD OF THE Sl:'JRJ'l', quoted. These are often taken by thoughtless readers with just the same reverence as the words of Jesus himself. So a thing is not necessarily trne because it is in the Bible, but it is in tlw Bible because it is true. There is a great deal of difference between these two ways of putting it. The Bible is a true statement of things which have happened, which were both good and bad, false ~nd untrue ; it is a pure statement of things both tmpure and pure, all of which were recorded for our instruction by men chosen of God.

Up to this day of the world's history, the Bible has not been seriously meddled with, but the time is coming when it will be ; and when, in a sense which is not yet true, it will be true that mnch that will be in the Book will not be true. Just as soon as the wisdom of this world finds out that the only way to stop the onwat·d progress of the Word of Truth, by which worldliness is condemned, will be by making an ally of the Bible _ .

' JUSt as soon as it comes to know that a statement in the Book settles things for a large class of peo·· ple,- then will it a~tempt to make the ''Word of

Meddled With.

Holy Spirit in the Word.

'i' H:E ABib!NG bPilUT.

God," as it will still be called, speak for it instead of for the truth. And, furthermore, ;:ts there shall be false Christa, so will there be errors that will pass for principles ; and they may very easily creep through the printing-press into the old Book itself. Lovers of the pure Word of God will be in great straits before the Lord comes if they have not learned to know its flavor by the Spirit that is its life. But those who are in agreement with the · Abiding Spirit will not be left to misunderstandings. They shall know ; and all things shall be brought to their remembrance just at the crisis when such knowledge and remembrance is needed. The Word can always utter itself over and over to the true-hearted, without the help of printers' ink, as well as in spite of it. Those, however, who have not the principles of God built into character, will be "at sea" in those days, and will be especially susceptible to any lies that may be printed in the form of the old Bible. These things are surely coming to pass, and nothing bnt an acquaintance with the Spirit who inhabits the Word as well as with the Word itself can pre-

THE SWORD OF 'l'HE SPIRIT.

vent any soul from being caught in this snare of Satan.

Jesus said it was '' his meat,''- his food, that by which he lived and gt·ew,- to do the will of his Father which was in heaven ; 1 and that is true of every one who really lives and grows, physically or spiritually ; all others must die the death eternal. To do the will of God is to believe on Him whom he sent; to acknowledge the principle of love that is come in the flesh of Jesus Christ. 2

The Holy Spirit is always at hand to note just what every man does with the things of God, afld will keep just as faithful a record of the few principles that the wicked man obeys as of the many that the Christian man regards. Every act of obedience will have its endorsement and reward. Wherever the principle goes the Spirit goes with it, and will make it "meat," life, salvation, to the man who appropriate~ it, whatever the motive or intention on. his part.

Every man must come into some sort of rela-

John 4:34: Jer. 15:16.

John 0: 29; 1 John 4:2.

Man's Rela• tion to PJ'in· ciples.

tion to these principles. No one can escape them. The arena of life might be likened to a quarry, in which a company of childre? have been left for a day. Com:~ort and safety for more than a day will depend upon the manner in which they relate themselves to those blocks and chips from the Rock of Ages. I£ with shut or blindfolded eyes they go heedlessly around in the dark, somebody will get hurt. God has not intended that any one shall get hurt, but he can not prevent it if we will so relate ourselves to that old rock that it must break us in pieces.

Just as long as God lives, just as long as the New Earth shall stand, it will be true that falsehood, duplicity, lustfulness, selfish ambition, will be contrary to the Word of God, and must bring trouble to any who fall into them. The fact that the time is coming when no one will ever again be untrue, impure, or selfish, will not destroy the principle. The fact that a man is the child of God, will not save him from injury if he enters into thie controversy. The friendship of God could not save Abraham from being a liar when

he lied about Sarah his wife. That David was "a man after God's own heart," could not save him from impurity when he violated the principles of chastity. The fact that a man is an enemy of God, does not prevent him from being physically strong if he accepts and lives out the principle upon which physical strength is based.

The point which I wish to make may be illustrated by a fleet of small boats in tow of a great ocean liner. The ocean liner is Christ ; the fleet is composed of every separate principle of tmth. · These all come together in one grand organic whole in Christ, and it is he alone who is equipped to take the through voyage to the desired haven. But fot· the sake of honest souls who have been caught out in the dark whirling floods of unbelief the small boats have been manned and· set afloat in the hope that each may pick up its man and bring him aboard; but if he insists upon being put ashore at any of the coast harbors, the small boats must leave him there to perish at last. There is the principle of veracity, of accuracy, of honesty, between man and man. It catches

'l'HE SWORD OF Tim SPIRIT.

some candid soul. May be he says, ''This is good enough for me ; I want nothing more of Christ.'' Insomuch as he is true to this one principle, the Abiding Spirit will give his witness and endorsement to that fact. But while to be honest saves him from many things, it alone can not give him eternal life. While the principles of health reform, religious liberty, veracity, abstin~nce, social and personal purity, will not give eternal life, these will all save even the unbeliever from many of the evil things that are coming upon the world. A sound mind and body will escape much of the last outpouring of the wrath of God. As it is true that Jesus Christ can alone take any man through to eternal life, it is also true that no man can go through with him who persists in repudiating any one of the least of these principles which are represented in that floating fleet. Even if he has preached Christ, being ignorant of some apparently trivial principle, as soon as the Holy Spirit has made it clear to him, he will be held responsible for all that is involved, and must confess and accept it, or be thrown overboard into the dark waters of death.

To say '' 0, but I am in Christ, and in him I have all things ; I do not need to consider health reform, the law, the commission to go into the highways and hedges : Christ alone is good enough for me I" will not save him; because since all principle is embodied in Christ, to repudiate a principle is to repudiate Christ. As in the portrait before referred to, suppose the artist should say, "See, it is perfect all but the nose. Where all the rest is so excellent it was not necessary to finish that.'' You would say, "That is no portrait of my son. · Every feature must be perfect. I can not accept it ; it is an offense, unsightly ; away with it!" So in dealing with the principles of God ; -cut off one, and you cut off just so much from his likeness ; and the Holy Spirit will resent such mutilation of the face of the beloved Son.

The same is true of brotherly kindness, gentleness, courtesy, personal cleanliness, refinement, which, to the human character, is what the rose, lily, and a perfumed atmosphere are to the world of nature. These are all principles of God, and will be found in this floating fleet, together with

self-denial, such as controls all habits in eating and every fleshly lust; for the temple of the Holy Spirit must be fair to look upon, and all glorious within. Any principle may stop at the port of selfishness, but the Holy Spirit honors it just as truly, if not in so large a measure.

For instance : Some man says, ''I will abstain from everything that is hurtful in food. I will make my body clean, strong, and sound by strict conformity to every law of health. I will practise continence. I will deny myself all indulgence ; bring myself to endure hardness. I will be chaste iu every thought and habit." He does all this simply ~hat he may have the finely strung nerve, firm, elastic muscle, and pure blood, with which to be able to knock some other man out with his fist. God will honor his self-denial, his continence, his chastity, his endurance, even if he does stop with it all at the port of brutal force. An atheist brings up his family according to the principle of true fatherhood. His children become good and noble men and women. God sets his seal upon the principle which has been obeyed in that home. His neighbor, who is a minister, has disr.egarded the principle of fathm·hood, and his children grow up vile, and God is reproached for standing by himself; for all the world says, "That infidel's children are better than the minister's who is his neighbor. That minister had better go ' and learn from that infidel ! '' and well he might. The minister has depended on the Holy Spirit to endorse his profession of faith, while he ignored the principle upon which the relation between father and child depends. But the Spirit is Truth, and will do in this case just as he did in Abraham's and David's. Honest ignorance will not save the man of faith from reaping a crop of atheism in his children, while honest ignorance of or disbelief in Christ, with intelligent faithfulness to principle, will prepare the way for a crop of Christians in the children of the atheist. The minister may agonize and plead with God but nothing short of repentance, confession, and .obedience to principle, will save his home. His children may repudiate his teachings, accept for themselves that which he has denied, and be saved

Ood Will Stand by Himself in Every Principle.

in spite of him. There is better material for character in the children of the man who had no use for the Lord Jesus Christ, no faith in the Bible, but who did see beauty and life in the principles of which both Christ and the Bible were expressions, and who built them into his children, than in those who were brought up in the atmosphere of so-called faith and prayer, where principle was disregarded.

Christ is all and in all. As the first acorn that dropped into the bosom of the earth had folded up in it all the oaks that have ever been from then till now, so all truth is folded up in Christ ; and to truly, lovingly accept him is to accept all, even if one may be ignorant of every point of doctrine. Adam might have held that first acorn in his hand, but it would have been impossible for him to have comprehended what it enfolded. So with some poor soul in his reception of Christ. He receives him by faith, and with him all ; and through the gerrrtinating power of the Holy Spirit· the Christ-principle will grow in him until it bursts out in the full beauty of the tree of life, with all

THli: SWORD OF THE SPIRIT.

of truth, all · of . principle in leaf, blossom, and fruit. All eternity will be required to develop what it means that Christ is all and in all. 1

The Word, which is the bread of life, misapplied, misquoted, perve-ted, becomes poison. As Paul says, '' We are unto God a sweet savor of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish : to the one we are the savor of death unto death; and to the other the savor of life unto life." 2

This may be illustrated by the manner in which the same testimony concerning the exar~ple of Christ was received by two persons.

At the close of a gospel service one evening, a Christian young woman, who had been one of the workers from the beginning, came to me, and said,- " Please . tell me what is your objection to dancing."

''Why do you think I have any objection to dancing? '' I asked. '' I have not said one word about it."

'Ool. 3:11.

• 2 Oor. 2 : 16.

Word of God nay become Poison.

" I know you have not said anything about it, but I have an idea that you do not believe in it, and I want your reason for objecting.'' "Well," I repli~d, " since I have not said anything about it, I must ask you to tell me why you think I object to it."

"The whole trend of your teaching conveys that impression," she replied.

"I suppose it is the scripture which I quoted, £As he is, so are we in this world,' '' 1 I said. '' Yes,'' she replied, '' that is it.'' "It is late," I said, " and we have not time to go into a discussion of the subject on its merits. I will ask you a question or two, and so help you to find your own answer. Suppose the Lord J esus Christ as a young man of the present day in your own social circle : do you believe that he would dress himself up as young men do for such an occasion, and come to you, a young lady, and invite you to go with him to the most select parlor dance ? "

''Why,'' she cried i'n a tone of almost alarm, " it is sacrilegious to speak of it in that way ! "

I1J o lln4:17.

'l'HE SWORD OF THE SPIRIT .

'' Why sac'rilegious 1 '' " Because he could nut do any such thing."

'' Why could he not 1 '' I asked:

"He would not have time,", she said.

''Time 1 He would have all the time there is ; and if there was not enough he could make more." '' Well, it would be inconsistent with his work.'' ''But the Bible says that ' as he is, so are we in this world,' and that we are to do whatsoever we do in word and deed in the name of the Lord Jesus. 1 That certainly means that his work is ours, too.''

'' But,'' she said, '' of course he would n' t ·do anything like that. I can't think of it."

'' Then if he would not go with you in . the flesh, do you think he would go with you in the Spirit~ I have heard you say that yon want to be filled with his Spirit, be a follower of the Lord Jesus. We will suppose that here is the way in which you are trying to follow him. You come to another way which leads off to some place to which you would like to go for self-indulgence of some sort,- a dance, a card-party, the theater,

Col. 3:17.

a table set with luxurious food,- and you say to him, '0, dear Lord, just let us go over here, you and I ; I want to go and enjoy myself in this dance, this theater; this play of cards, or gratify my appetite at that table.'

The way in which he bas been leading you is the way in which he wishes you to walk with him : do you think he will be coaxed to turn aside with you for these pleasures ? And if he will not go with you in the flesh, can you bribe or coax his representative, the Spirit, to consent to this deviation from the way which the Lord, as your example, marked out for you to walk in?''

I had made a pause at different times for her to answer me, but she stood silent, looking up into my face with an expt·ession which I shall never forget. I continued : -

''If you go over there for your own indulgence, you leave Jesus behind, and walk in continual controversy with the Holy Spirit ; and between the point where you leave the Lord in the way, and the place to which you turn aside for your own pleasure, there will be room for all eternity to

OF THE SPll{IT .

drop in and separate you from him forever. Can you afford it ? ''

We were standing with the altar of the church between us- I inside, and she ,outside. She only waited a moment, then dropping upon her knees, crying out, "0, my Lord ! my Lord ! " she laid her face on the knee cushion at the foot of the altar. I went around, took her in my arms, and held her, while she made a consecration of herself to Christ such as she had never before dreamed of. In another place, after giving the same line of teaching, a man came to me, saying : - "I have an answer to your question as to whether the Lord Jesus Christ would have tumed aside and gone to the theater or dance. He would have gone ! That is my answer. He would have gone, and enjoyed it, too ! " And there came into his face a look of defiance, and in his manner the offensiveness of a pugilist. He showed that the misapplied Word, as embodied in the life of the Lord Jesus Christ, was to him a deadly poison ; while to that penitent young woman it came as the bread of life by which her soul was nourished to

'l'HE ABIDING Sl'IRIT.

arise and follow her Lord in the way of unselfish love and service.

One man sees in the Bible permission to indulge every fleshly lust. He does not believe it contains a scrap of anything that bears out health reform ; while to another the book is so full of it that he wonders that any one can miss it. It all depends upon the manner in which one has related himself to eternal principles of God, and to the

Chapter 2: The Breath of Life

THE word of God, wherever uttered, is always a vehicle for the Holy Spirit. The two are inseparable. The Spirit abides wherever the word is Holy Spirit the Guard ion expressed, to·watch ovm· and give it life. Many of the Word. have seemed to think that a manifestation of the Holy Ghost was never known until the day of Pentecost. This is because of ignorance of the Scriptmes, and of a deplorable misunderstanding of the gospel according to Moses, Job, Isaiah, and Jeremiah, as well as of the entire plan of salvation.

The Holy Spirit has a history in the earth as Ar.tiqutty of ancient as the Word. In the first chapter of .~~~r~~Jy Genesis we are told how he moved upon the face of the waters. The question is often asked if this is the same Spirit which was poured out upon the day of Pentecost, the answer to which is the fact that there is but one Spirit in the uni 1rerse.

If we go to the original Greek and Hebrew, we find that only three words were used for " Spirit; " . -two in Hebrew and one in Greek. One of the Hebrew words means breath, the other wvnd. The one Greek word, which is used all the way through the New Testament, the same in every case excepting two, means ghost, Holy Ghost, life, spirit, wind. In two scriptures (Matt. 14: 26 and Mark 6: 49) the word ''spirit'' is used in the sense of an apparition, a phantom, or phantasm, both referring to the appearance, of Christ as he walked upon the sea, when the disciples supposed it bad been a phantom.

The closest examination into the words used for " Spirit" leaves us no other conclusion than that the Spirit of God is the one omnipresent, all-pervasive power by which all things live and move and have their being ; and that the same Holy Spirit performs all the various offices for which any spirit was required from the beginning of creation until the present time, and will continue until, as stated in Rev·. 22 : 17, the Spirit and the bride shall say " come" for the last time in the history of the world.

The Spirit ·Of God moved upon the face of the waters, communicating both life and power to The result was a everything that it touched. marvel of beauty, which held the admiring eyes of the holy beings, who were watching with wonder the work of creation as it had been begun. It was by this same beauty-breathing Spirit that all the perfection and glory of the heavens were made to appear. "By his Spirit he hath garnished the heavens." 1 David declares that "by the word of the Lord were the heavens made ; and all the host of them by th~- breath of his mouth. '' 2

Not long since I had an opportunity of listening to Elder J. N. Loughborough in a series of discourses on the wonders of the heavens, wherein he told in the most graphic language, and by beautifully colored illustrations unfolded, the story of this garnishing of the heavens by the breath of the mouth of the L01·d; and made his hem·ers realize how marvelous ar~ the resonrces of light and shade as manipulated by the hand of the infinite Artist, and how wonderful are the pos-

!Job26: 13.

The Spirit

Beauty.

TH:Bl ABIDtNG SPIRI1'.

sibilities in the combination of the various lines of beauty when drawn by the unerring pencil of Him who formed ''the crooked serpent " 1 (the line of beauty).

The young, in all ages of Christian experience, have had the idea that to be led by the Spirit of Gvd was to be led away from all light and beauty, into gloom and hardship; so that to receive a call from God was to bid farewell to everything that was beautiful and fair in life. But the relation of the work of the Holy Spirit and its power to all life and beauty, as revealed in the sacred word, if understood, would very soon correct this impression, and open up expectations of joy in a Spirit-crowned ·life, such as can be realized from no other source. The all-pervasive life of the Spirit of God is yet to be recognized by even the average Christian man as manifested in the grass under our feet, the trees which cast their shadows about us, the flowers which beautify the world with bloom , as well as in bird, insect, and . every living creature. His · tones are yet to be understood as they are uttered in the song of the bird;

the 'breath of' the wind, and the murmur of the water, as well as in the human voice, all of which are only as different inflections of the one mighty voice, in which is locked up the thunder of that power which is yet to shake the earth.

This moving of the Spirit over the waters, his breathing of beauty upon the heavens, all had especial reference to the life and destiny of man. God formed man out of the dust of the earth, and as that body lay an inert, beautiful model, which would enrapture, but perplex, every artist for all time with vain efforts to reproduce it in plastic clay or marble, we are told that he breathed into its nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul. Job says, "The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life, '' 1 thus clearly stating the relation between this breath which was breathed into the first man:, and the Spirit of God, as ·one and the same life-giving power. A solemn realization of the sacredness of the breath which he had inhaled from the Holy Spirit caused Job to say, " As God liveth, . . . all the while

J ob 26:13.

Job 33: 4.

Breath Is Spirit.

my breath is in me, and the Spirit of God is in my nostrils; my lips shall not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit; " 1 for under these conditions if his lips should speak wickedness, if his tongue should utter deceit, he would be doing it by, and thereby prostituting, the breath of the Almighty which had been breathed into him by the Spirit of God which was in his nostrils.

The same fact is carried a little further and ' the with mo1·e emphasis, in John's statement in twentieth chapter of his gospel, and the twentysecond verse.

At the time when the disciples were gathered together for fear of the Jews, and Jesus stood in the midst and talked with them, and the disciples in their gladness sat looking upon him, dt·inking in his word, he said to them '' again, Peace be unto you : as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, he b1·eathetl on t/wn.,, ·and S(titlL ~tnto tl!em, Receive ye the IIoly Ghost.''

Beautiful truth ! The breath of Jesus was the Holy Ghost. What must have been the sweetness of that breath, fragrant with the aroma of heaveu, as it· floated out of his sacred lips and touched the cheek and brow of his waiting disciples, canying with it that power which, while it is so awful, is yet so tender, and which is the very elixir of life eternal.

It is the same Spirit, the same breath out of the same lips, that made the first man Adam a living soul, by which the son of Adam, dead in. trespasses and sins, is rehabilitated with the life and power which had been forfeited; and by this same Spirit that he is bound in kinship to every living thing. Man has been wont to congratulate himself that the life which flows in his veins is of a finer and highel' quality than that which courses through the veins of other living r"eatmes, and which sustains the vegetable world. But this is also an error into which he has fallen because he has not understood the Scriptures. At the time when. Paul stood in the midst of Mars' bill and preached to the Athenians the unknown God, whom they ignorantly worshiped, among other things he taught that this God was not '' worshiped with men's hands, as though he needed anything, see-

.Job 27:2-4.

The Same Breath, the Same Spirit.

Common to

All.

"Little Brothers of tile Air."

ing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things. ' ' 1

That all, like all the others in the Book, means all j and by it the inspired teacher intends us to understand that life everywhere is this same breath of God; that it is the life and breath of God that lives and breathes through all things that live. From whence is it if not from him? a1id how can any life coming from him be any less than his own Spirit's exhalation?

By the plain common-sense reading of this word we are related to every living thing, wh ether it be the beast of the jungle, the domestic animals which surround us, the birds upon the wing, the fishes in the sea, or the reptiles under our feet, or the growth by which the world is beautified. I would that every child might know this beautiful and great truth, and so recognize the birds as his ''little brothers of the air,'' the fishes as his kinsmen of the sea, and the insect, which he sometimes wantonly destroys, as so intimately associated with him irt family relations that God saw fit to cover its little life with one of the ten tActs 17 : 25.

commandments; for when he said, "Thou shalt not kill, ' ' he did not qualify it by saying, '' Thou shalt not kill man : " but '' Thou shalt not kill" 1 means, Thou shalt respect all life; for it is of God.

This power of life God chooses to keep in his own hands. He says, ''There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit ; neither hath he power in the day of death: and there is no discharge in that war; neither shall wickedness deliver those that are given to it." 2 No man by the highest skill and knowledge can acquire power to retain the spirit one instant longer than God shall himself determine, nor yet to hasten the day of his death. For, '' If he gather unto himself his spirit and his breath; all flesh shall perish together, and man shall turn again unto dust.'' 3 All life, being but an investment by God in some human, animal, or vegetable organism, is given for a certain specific purpose. It is capital invested with them for the business of this world; but that business must be done according to the law which controls the

'Eccl. 8:8.

"Job 34 : 14, 15,

In Ood's Hands.

Life an In· vestment of Capitol.

No Contro• versy In No• ture.

investment, or it can be held only by a temporary grant.

God's investment in Nature has made him no trouble. The tree grows in harmony with the terms of the contract which God made with it; the bird, the reptile, the beast, each lives out its life according to the law which is written in its members. There is no schism in the realm of instinct or of simple force. Nature has no controversy with the Word as it understands it, and therefore all is harmonious between it and the Holy Spirit. Who could conceive of the most timid creature that ever crept in the dark places of the earth or of the most sensitive of all plants shrinking away from God? It is on_ly man who, because of his dishonest use of life, is afraid; and he, because of his wickedness, shall not live out half his days.

The investment of life and power, when pervet-ted and turned into unhallowed channels, becomes a source of destruction to him whom it was designed to enrich. And when God finds that his Spirit is being thus perverted, and he d!'J- termines to call it back unto himself, no flesh can stand before . this decision.. When he hides his face, '' they are troubled: thou takest away their breath, they die, and return to their dust." 1

But for those who have demonstrated that they are making good use of this investment, he ''sendeth forth his Spirit, they are again created," 2 and for their sake, after the traces· of sin have all been cleansed away, and its desolations have served their purpose as a testirlrony against iniquity, he reneweth the face of the earth, and "the glory of the Lord shall endure forever : the Lord shall rejoice in his works.'' ~

God will be recognized in every gift of power which he has bestowed upon man. '' God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this; that power belongeth unto God.'' 4 ''Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God : the powers that be are ordained of God." 5

Accuracy requires this recognition. • If it were denied, somebody would be responsible for false-

'Rom. 13: l·

aPs. l04 :31.

Investment Withdrawn.

Returned at Resurrec· tlon.

For Truth's Sake.

hood, which can not be tolerated anywhere in the universe. Falsehood is simply a lack of proper adjustment. To deal in falsehood is continually to throw things out of gear. Satan has charged upon God a purpose to exalt himself selfishly, therefore attributing to him the vilest and lowest of all the mbtives which can actuate a fallen being. The reco~nition which God requires is only that which is in accord with the established principle of truth~ which can not be set aside without jeopardizing everything that holds the universe together. Since all the power which is manifested anywhere is the product of the same Spirit of life, for any man to say, "This power, is my own,- it is from my own brain, my own arm, my own heart, my own will; that power is from the government; this other power is from Satan· .

' this and that power is simply personal property, every one has a right to use his own as he will," -is to make a false statement, misrepresent the situation so that many are deceived ' and in their

. perplexities are not able to find the truth, or recognize it when it is brought to their notice.

We have seen in the few Scriptures which have been quoted that all power is the product of life, and all life is contained in the great reservoir of the Holy Spirit, and is conducted through countless channels such as God himself ordained and opened, and which he keeps open and full until such time as he shall choose to close them, and shut off the current.

Life and power are inseparable. They are practically synonymous terms. '' Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God : and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation." 1 He who will not come \ into harmony with this force must suffer in proportion to the power which he misrepresents. The power of God's Spirit is like a great river, flowing from his throne through all the eternities, and our little earth, with everything that it holds, is in that mighty current. We are all in it : there is no possibility of getting out of it. The only thing left for any man to do is so to adjust himself to it by the exercise of the will that has

1Rom.13: 2.

A Question of Adjust• ment Only.

been given him, that the cunent can use him to his own joy and profit, as well as to the praise of the Power.

One of two things will certainly happen to everything that lives, whether archangel, seraph, man, beast, bird, reptile, microbe, the cedar of Lebanon, ot· the hyssop on the wall ; viz., it will come into harmony with the Spirit of God, which is its life, so as to keep musical step with its grand movement without controversy, or sooner or latm· the power will destroy it.

This must be in the natme of things, because of the principles that are involved, - principles which men have already discovered and recognized in the application of power to machinery. It is the law of common sense that machinery must be adapted Ito the cmrent of power by which it is to be operiated, if satisfactory results are obtained.

A machinist may construct out of the l'Onghest undressed timber a water-wheel of rudest pattern, unsightly to behold ; but if it is tme to the wheel principle, and if it is hung in the stream in proper relation to the cmrent, the power that abides in

tho river will seize upon the wheel, and set it revolving in perfect. time and rhythm. It is ready for the attachments that will connect it with all 1?-anner of machinery, a,nd make it a channel of power. The roughness of the wheel will not hinder its usefulness; the power will not complain of the roughness of the wheel, provided it is made and hung iu harmony with the current.

On the other hand, let the machinist take the most costly wood, polished, and embellished with precious metals ; let him build a wheel such as shall be recognized as the very chiefest product of mechanical art.

Let it be hung in the water, fastened in place by anchors which will hold against the strongest pull of the stream,- everything all right, excepting that it is crisscross of the current, -and its beauty, its truth to the principles of construction, its steadfastness as to its anchorage, will not save it. · The power which would have used it if it could have got hold of it right, will break it into a thousand . pieces, and send it adrift in flotsam npon. the surface, to be ,.

'l'HJ~

Niagara but a Whisper.

tossed hither and thitber, until it is strewn m little heaps here and there along the shore. This tide of the Spirit's power has its head in vast eternal depths, which only the infinite rpind can fathom. Sometimes it is spread out into a lake calm and still, in which a baby's band might play, upon which his little boat might safely ride, with only a cable of his mother's hair to bold it. Again, there are rapids swift and strong, the force of which no created thing can stem, and there are mighty plunges, the thunder of whose power none can understand, of which Niagara is but a faintly whispered echo.

I like to stand on the Canada side, at the head of the great cataract, and listen to this whisper of the voice of the eternal Spirit, and remember that these are but parts of his ways, that all that is heard with the ear of him is so small that Job was constrained to cry out, ''How little a portion is beard of him." 1 That which ear hath not yet heard, that voice in which he is able to command attention, is so vast a volume that we can not

1.Tob2B:14.

comprehend it ; and out of this inexhaustible resource power has beeu drawn and loaned · in· ' vested in every man that he may use it as capital upon which to trade in the market of life ; and everything in his future depends upon the use which he makes of this investment. ''God has given riches and wealth, and power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labor ; this is the gift of God.'' 1 ' ' Thine 0 Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and 'the glory, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine · thine is the kingdom, 0 Lord, and thou ar~ exalted as head above all.

Both riches and honor come of thee, and thou reign est over all · and in thine hand is power and might· and i~ .

' thme hand it is to make great, and to give strength nnto all." 2

By this it appears not only, as before stated, that the birds upon the wing, the micl'oscopical creatures under our feet, are all our kindred, but that the man who kills any living thing tnkes upon

1 E ccl.

'1 Clu·on. 20: 11, 12.

Turalng (iod Out• ofdoors.

THE . BREATH Of LIFE.

himself the responsibility of arbitrarily turning the Spirit of God out-of-doors, taking his work out of his hands, and saying, '' Yon shall no longer inhabit this tenement. I hold a mortgage against it by right of my grant of dominion, which I now choose to arbitrarily foreclose."

But this is not the only act of profanation by which man prostitutes the power of God : he has even dragged it into unhallowed places, and has made it to serve in unholy things. Nothing in all the book of inspiration breathes with more of pathos than the remonstrance of the Lord at the use that is made of this in vestment of his life and. Spirit, when he says through Isaiah the prophet, '' This people have I formed for mysel£. . . : But thou hast not called upon me, 0 Jacob; but thou hast been ·weary of me, 0 Israel. Thou hast not brought me the small cattle of thy burnt offerjugs; neither hast thou honored me with thy sacrifices. I have not caused thee to serve with an offering, nor wearied thee with incense.'' 1 I have been careful of you, I liave not made hard conditio~s in giving you the freedom of all that I have to bestow; but what has been your ·return for my confidence and tender carefulness ~ '' Thou hast bought me no sweet cane with money, neither hast thou filled me with the fat of thy sacrifices; but thou hast made me to serve with thy sins, thou hast wearied me with thine iniquities. I even I ' am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for ' mine own sake, and I will not remember thy sins." Because you are my child, I can not endure to see you defiled. '' Put me in remembrance;" keep your case before me. "Let ut! plead together,'' you and I, one with the other. '' Declare thou,'' make your personal plea, if haply you may be made at peace with the law which you have broken. I know; and keep always in mind, the fact that there are palliating circumstances in your offense, for ''your first father has sinned," and so turned the current of your life into the wrong channel, '' and your teachers have transgressed against me;" you have been taught all wrong; you are not to blame for the condition in which yon found yourself, and for that reason '' I have profaned the very princes

I sa. 43: 21-25.

Making God to Serve.

His Tender Forbearance.

THE ABIDING SPIRJj', of my sanctnai·y." I have sent my "Holy One," my only begotten Son, and the Holy Ghost down into the depths to which you had fallen, to rescue you from the sin of your first father, from the errol'S of your teachers, and from your own perversity. For your sake I have allowed the deceit of Jacob and the idolatry of Israel to be recorded. I had it recorded in plain terms, so that every deceiver and idolater shall know just what is involved in such iniqt1ity, both as regards my life and chamcter and his own destiny. If you go into sin, you take me with you; if you turn me out-of-doors, you do it by the power which I have loaned you as a sacred trust.

No wonder that David cried out, '' 0 God, thou art terrible out of thy holy places." 1 To take advantage of the fatherly love of God to such a degree as to compel him in his efforts to save us, to do his work in an unholy place, or else utterly to forsake us, is to run the risk of coming in direct contact with that wrath of the Lord, which is equal to his fear.

t Ps. 68:35.

The current of a great river is terrible when it is forced out of its channel. I rode all one day in the railroad train along the Alleghany Valley after the river had overflowed its banks, and the .entire country had been flooded: It was a scene of desolation ; -pieces of timber, wrecked houses, scraps of fumiture, and trunks of tree·s, were strewn everywhere.

The fields had not been tilled. It would take months of labor to make tillage possible, because of the debris with which everything had been covered by the devastating sweep of water.

This is but a faint illustration of the terribleness of God when his power must operate outside of his own appointed channel. Give him a consecrated place in which to operate the pov.:-m·s of life according to the divine purpose, and strength, beauty, peace, and joy will be the result. In the channel of his own choosing, God is not to be regarded with terror ; but drag his invested power down, make it to serve unholy ends, then is he terriple indeed. N othirig can stand before him when he . determines that he will make an

THE AlliDING SPIRIT.

end of such forced service, that he will no longer be made to serve with our sinning; when he arises in the overflowing scourge to sweep away the refuge of lies by w~ich he has been misinterpreted. Every hope, every prospect, every chance of salvation, must fall before that awful power of the Spirit of God as manifested in the uncontrolled passions of men. A faint conception of it was in the mind of the poet when he said : '' Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad." The necessity is therefore imperative that the sphere of our life work should be made all holy by a true consecration, so that the current of this delegated power shall not become like fretful rapids, nor be set back into stagnant pools, nor turned aside into channels of selfishness, but flow steadily onward in m~jestic strength, as God intended, through the entire being.

One of the Sanitarium helpers said to me one day, aftm· a lesson in the summer school, "I see now why I have been having a hard time. I thought I was kept at scrubbing altqgether too . long, and I have been ;.vorrying, grumbling, fretting, and was discouraged. I see now that it was because I was not giving the power of God a holy place, a consecrated place, in which to operate through my life. I will see to it from this time that the place where I scrub is kept holy."

God bas left it to every one of us to make a holy place for him to inhabit. "What~ know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God ? " 1 The Spirit of God is always holy. Its power can never be defiled. The question to be settled is whether or not it shall be giv-en a holy place in which to operate, whether it shall be given freedom to work according to the divine will, whether it shall find a ready instrument in the human will, or whether it shall continually be met by controversies, disputing, and antagonism, which it must abate.

J nst as in the beginning the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters, so has it been moving through all the channels of life from that clay until now, and with but one pmpose in view ; viz., to promote life and love, and bring forth a

1 Cor. U: 19.

A Holy Place to Scrub in.

Blotted Out.

perfect manifestation of the glory of God for the admiration of all intelligent beings. And for his own sake he will destroy everything which interferes with this purpose and work. ''I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.'' 1

''I will not," says our Heavenly Father, "be continually forced to meet this unclean trail of the serpent in my house and whenever I go through my beautiful gardens and the fields of the universe. It shall be made clean ; sin shall be blotted out of memory. There shall be no lurking places where it can hide away to offend the sight of any holy being in all the realm over which I hold dominion.

''That proves,'' said one, ''that my sins are ' not always going to be a source of affliction to me. If God blots them out, and forgets them, why am I not fl'ee from them~'' They will indeed be blotted out and forgotten ; but if any one is not willing to be cleansed, if he will cling to defilement, there is· but one resort for the Spil'it of God, and that is that he and his sins shall be

' lsa. 43 : 25.

blotted out together, and together be forgotten. A man's power of <lhoice is as to whether or not the Spirit of God shall cleanse him from sin now, or whether in the final cleansing of the universe, when every sinful thing shall be utterly destroyed, he shall be destroyed with it. Christ, and those who have accepted his salvation, shall not have an eternal reminder of the sorrowful episode of this world's history. No human skill can make things as though they had ne~er been, but God can ; and he has declared his purpose to do it.

A wealthy father, whose son had disgraced him, turned him out-of-doors. The Woman's Christian Temperance Union found him, and made an effort to save him. The father said, "For my own sake I will pay his bills ; but I never want to lay my eyes on him again.'' The boy became a Christian, but died of a . brok~n heart, because his father did not have a love unselfish enough to blot out the memory of his sins. Everything that our Father does for us is for the sake of that unappeased love which must behold his child fair and clean, in good condition, and surrounded by

According to

Thy Fear ,

everything that etemal life and eternal joy can require.

But both the earthly fathet· and the Heavenly Father are alike handicapped in that they can not make character in an unwilling child ; and the character test 'is the only one that will pass in the last accounting.

'' Who knoweth the power of thine anger~ even according to thy fear, so is thy wrath,'' 1 exclaimed David. It would take a long time for us to go down to tile end of this plummet as it searches into the deep things of God. The fear of Christ-whatwas it? We are given a g,limpse in Heb. 5 : 7, where reference is made to the time when in the days of his flesh he offered up _ "prayers and supplications, with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared. " According to that fear is the wrath of God . What was Christ afraid of ? In that descent unto the lowest level to which sin could ever plunge an intelligent being, into which he went down, that he might know the depths of our need as he could , r". oo: It.

not otherwise have_known it, he tasted even that bitterness of feat· which was one element of the death that the unrepentant sinner must die. If we can comprehend for one moment what this involved for the Son of God, we shall be led to stand in awe of the wrath of which it is the opposite pole. I apprehend that Christ feared just what has been realized, ~hat the sacrifice which he was making for man would for many fail; and he surrende1·ed himself to the sinner's death, which could not know a resurrection to immortality. He went down into the grave without any assurance of ever coming from it again to behold the face of his Father, and again share in his glory; otherwise the atonement which he made would not have met the requirement. He was afraid that . the power of the Holy Ghost which he had breathed upon his disciples, that they might be fully equipped to carry on the work which he left unfinish6d, should be prostituted, just as it is being prostituted to-d11y, to the service of Satan; that all the precious outpouring of love and life would not be equal to the need of an apostate

What Jesus Feared.

race. That was the fea1· that .caused the bloody sweat and the cry; this was the agony which he suffered.

God had invested man from the beginning of creation with the richness of his own nature, and all through the centuries there had been a precious stream of power and love pouring through the lips which he had chosen. Then O~rist came· down and caught it in that sacred vessel of his own flesh, that he might show us just how to use it. He came and lived and expended the power of the Holy Ghost with which he had been invested, that we might learn from him how to use muscle, bone, brain, how to walk, how to talk, how to obey, how to minister, how to meet friends and associate with them, how to spend the leisnre hour, how to go off and rest a while; that both young and old might know just how every minute, and every ounce of this precious gift should be expended. He knew that there were those who would fail to use it right, even after he had gone through all the weariness of his life, all the pain of his death; he feared that, even while he wa(l

'l'Hl~

interceding that the Spirit should be poured out at Pentecost, and that after this outpouring of holy powers, men would go on prostituting it; that men who ought to preach the gospel would profane the name of God, and spend his substance in riotous living and with harlots.

Try to put yourself in the place of Jesus and feel as he felt in that time of fear, so that you will never forget it, and that you may be able, in a measure to understand. the wrath of God. Put Jesus for ' a little time in your place. You have worked hard for certain values which you hold. Suppose you have worked all yout· life, and have expended all your time in a certain l'ine to a certain desired end. You have· done it not for your own interest ; you have sacrificed self and selfish as the world reckg ain in doing it · ' .it is reallv " ons, -all loss to you; the gain is all to those who may despise you and all your aims in life. This costly investment has not only been unappreciated, but spent to tear down, instead of to build up, the things which you hold dear. What wonld be your wrath? It could be only measured

Not for Self.

by the agonies, the fears, the weariness of your years of toil and sacrifice.

'' But truly I am full of power by the Spirit of the Lord, and of judgment and of might, to declare unto Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin."

Wherever the power of God is manifested there is a light which reveals sin, and which sets forth judgment, and which gives ·might. " And J esns came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost : teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.'' 2

The gift of this power, even to Jesus, was not for selfish use. He could not use it to save himself. Any effort to that end would have been contrary to the mind of the Spirit and would have made anothe1· controversy in Heaven. He received power that he might go about doing good. 3

Micah 3:8.

Matt. 28: 18-20.

" Acts 10: 38.

We receive it that we may do the same simple service.

In the eight chapter of Acts there ooours the story of Simon the sorcerer, who, li~e many others desired to be able to gear on to this power, that h~ might make it turn his own little machine, for his own selfish gain. He was willing to pay money for the ~se of the power, as for any commercial agent. But Peter said, ''Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.

Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter : for thy heart is not right in the sight of God. Repm~t ' _ ___/ therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, If perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee.'' I have always been glad t~at Peter said ''Repent therefore,'' for although Simon had

h e committed blasphemy in this request, yet smce had not the knowledge or ability by which to appreciate the request which he made, his. ignorance • was made to palliate his offense : It was not charged against him to such an extent that he could not repent and become enlightened.

To be the • Truth.

The sin of Simon, glaring as it looks, was no greater than the sin which is committed in the use of the Spirit of life, which, being poured all through our veins, and woven into the texture of nerve and muscle, brain, tissue, and bone, makes it possible for us to move about, and think and act as we do in common every-day affairs. This life is just as holy, is from precisely the same ,, source, as the power before which Simon stood in such selfish awe. It is not lawful to use the little candle oi the Lord any more selfishly than the great arc-light of the Holy Ghost.

The supreme gift of the Holy Spirit, which is known as a baptism, is for a certain. specific, clearly defined purpose, indicated in• the great commission already quoted, as well as in the promise found in Acts 1 : 8, "But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you : and ye shall be witnesses unto me.'' This greatest endowment is not necessarily for the doing of any great or splendid feat, as such things are estimated in the world, but to make it possible for a man to be the- truth in any sphere, broad or nar-

l'OW, high or low, in which his life is placed ; to make possible a patient, steady, unequivocal testimony to a perfect present salvation from present sinning, in a world where temptation is constant, persistent, and full of surprises.

Peter, in his great sermon preached to the family of Cornelius in his own house, tells ''how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with powm·." 1 No grander statement could be made about any man, nor one capable of awakening higher expectations as to the nature of ' the work which should follow such a manifestation as was grant~d to J esns ; so one would naturally ~xpect some eloquent declaration of magnificent results. jut listen : '' God anointe~ Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and With power: who went about doing good, and heal~ng all that were oppressed of tlw devil. " 2 See him, the man .

of marvelous power, simply gomg a b out l'k l e a quiet, gentle, tender conn try doctor,_:__ on foot, at that -from house to house, from city to city, stop~ing at the wayside here and there to lay his t

Acts 10: 38.

•Ibid.

Jesus- a Country Doctor.

~l'IIU'l'.

hands on the sick, to say comforting words; teaching his few disciples in plain, unadorned, every-day language the truths which untutored minds were capable of comprehending ; clothing great truths in such common speech that even the most unlearned, the simple mothers and the little children who gathered about him, could understand.

The important fact for us is that this great tide of power from the moving Spirit of God is given to keep us alive, with a life that shall be so in harmony with Truth that we shall not despisE! those simple duties which make up the sum of a healthy, natural manifestation of it. God in- Value of tends us to know and feel the value of the small SmaiiThlngs · · t h" mgs w l.

. wou ld •ea

1 d us . to uc h a wor ldl y am b" 1t10n hold in contempt. Any life would be monstrous that was I~ade np wholly of things which are called grectt; so it has been rendered impossible to be all " great," as ambition counts greatness, and the next thing has been to try to belittle, or ignore common duties, to keep them out of sight, out of mind, as far as possible, so as to make it appear that such trivial things had become unneces-

'l'RE HREATH OF LIFE.

sary m some esl?ecially important, exceptionally ambitious life. A life so great as to be unnatural is but the bloated product of decay. But the · work of the Holy Spirit is to bring everything into its natural place, and give it its due recognition ; for with Him nothing is small ; and he intend'> not only to help us eat our food, but to help m prepare it, and to clothe even the most ordinar.r service with dignity and the beauty of holiness.

This with many other wholesome common truths was taught by the lips of .l\'Ioses when the · Lord said to him, "And thon shalt make holy garmen~s for Aaron thy brother for glory and for beauty. And thou shalt speak unto all that are wise h~arted, whom I have filled· with the ~pirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron's garments to consecrate him, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office.'' '' And the Lord The Holy Spirit for spake unto l\'Ioses, saying, See, I have called by Simple name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of Duties, the tribe of Judah : and I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all mam~er of work-

manship, to devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in bras:, and in cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship." 1 This was very common service. It bas its counterpart in the trades of our day, and is left on record to teach us that it was necessary that those who are to make garments, who at·e to handle the metals, the stone, or the timber, or any of the raw material, which is all the Lord's, must be filled with the Spirit of GGd in wisdom, instead of in foolishness. It is the same Spirit, the same ''filling'' which entered into and came upon Jesus, and which he breathed upon his disciples, and which crowned them at the Pentecost.

This same lesson is taught even more practically and beautifully if possible, in a little episode in the history of the early church, as narrated in the sixth chapter of Acts : " And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multipled, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration. Then the twelve called the multitude · o~ the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables.

Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word. And the saying pleased the whole multitude : and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Ghost,'' 1 together with his six associates, to do a work which the apostles supposed must be entirely,~eparate from prayer and the ministry of the word. It was to serve tables, to minister the daily food which they had all in common as one large family, to cook, to wait at table, to wash the dishes, keep everything neat, and all accounts straight, and see that no timid one, who did not know how to "push in," was neglected or defrauded of his share.

The apostles recognized that an honest man, full of the Holy Spirit, was necessary for this work. It would be a trying position, a very

Acts (i:

Stephen, the

Cook.

Dropped Miracles.

'l'HE BREATH OF LU'E.

responsible one, but at the best,.as they supposed, servile; quite distinct from the ministry of the word and of prayer. Stephen undertook the work, and being filled with the Spirit who knew . the part which such a work had to play in the economy of the gospel, and always thinking with that Spirit's thought about it, and acting along the line of such thinking, everything he did was full of power, and he did "great wonders and miracles among the people." His very fingers began to drop miracles as he went about the office of his temporal ministry, so that the attention of the unbelieving was attracted. Those who hated the new religion, which had such power to destroy sin and its selfish profits, began to question about this man, who was so strangely mixing miracles with the meals he served; and convicted in their hearts, they became angry, and suborned men to swear falsely against him; he was brought before the .council to answer for the marvelous things which he had done; and so it came to pass that '' all that sat in the council, looking steadfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel." 1 And a little later, when a witness was required who c~uld not be impeached, he who had been appointed simply to do menial work, was called to answer for the church concerning this new faith and its strange power. Those who ha? given themselves continually to the study of · the word and to prayer, were passed by in this distinguished honor, and it was the face of the ~umble deacon through which the. Spirit shone w1th the glory of transfiguration as he stood the first candidate for the martyr's et·own.

The conclusion to which this study brings us is that the Holy Spirit is, in Christ's stead all and in cdz:______ all of life, and in all power; and that to those who will agree with him, and without disputings, work as he works in them both to will and to do, the promise, "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world,'' 2 is consciously realized in present comfort, companionship, and help.

'Acts 6:15.

' Matt. 28 : 20.

Shone as an Angel.

Chapter 3: The Signal Light

Spirit of God, the source of all life, is not only tho plant of all power by which everything is moved that moves, and by which everything is developed that develops in all the universe, but it is also the plant of the power which enlightens all things. Faith -your practical, honest faith- is the key that turns on both power and light; and since it is the only source of either, it behooves us who are caught in the mazes of this dark world to find out how to avail ourselves of the opportunities which are locked up in it.

Always after dusk all along the line of the railroad track, at certain stations, you will see a red light. It is there by law. It means two things, -on the one side danger, and on the other side safety. It is a startling comment upon the strange perversity of human nature that although it means safety more than danger, and the object

The Danger• signal.

l ~·o J

~- for which it is there is that safety to life and limb may be secured, yet it must be known as a danger-signal to attract attention and be respected. I believe it would have a much more salutary effect on morals if the public could be made will ing to regard it as a sc~fety-signal, and obey it just as carefully, as such, as they do because it is a danger-signal. Something has happened to the average human being which n1akes it necessary that he should" be severely hurt before he will pay any attention to those things that are for his well being. Life has lost its sacredness in the estima- ~tion of the wodd, and this is because its origin in God has been ignored or denied, because man has become so accustomed to consider it as all his own to use as he pleases, recklessly to squander, to '' make merry '' with it at the cost of length of days, that it is well-nigh impossible long to hold attention to any plea based simply on safety, while the claims of eternal life are laughingly thmst aside by even the intelligent man of the world. But the danger-signals here and there burn on, in their appointed places, making constant silent

Safety· signals.

God has a Signal.

appeals for carefulness in the use of the precions gift of life which is contained in such brittle earthen vessel that no one can afford to take any needless risks.

God has also a signal. It means all that safety can mean, as well as all that can be wrapped up in that wrath of God that is according to his fea.·. " Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption; '' 1 that is, do not place yourself crisscross of the current of power; agree with it; do not enter into controversy with Truth after you know it to be the truth. God expects you to demand proof of Truth always; to inquire a reason for all its pretensions. Come let us reason together, 2 he says; and until the Spirit has made it perfectly clear to you that it is truth and not error, he expects every honest soul to hold it off and question it. He expects every man to stand vigorously for that which he believes to be truth, and against whatever he believes to be error, but also to keep step with the Spirit that still moves, leading on by his steady light into all

'Eph. 4:30,

• the truths of _God. The honest, vigorous opponent of the letter of truth is really a better friend of the spirit of it, than an indifferent, half-hearted representative of its spirit, however he may contend for its letter and form. All that is needed to reach the honest opponent is for the representatives of truth to be in such relation to light and power that it can shine and work through them, so revealing it, that the earnest soul may see it as it is; and then will all his energies be transferred from an honest championship of error to truth. Many Christian teachers err in supposing that ~rsonal influence must play an important part in this work ; . but it is "·not by might, nor bypower, but by my spirit, saith the Lord.'' 1 The character of a man's personal influence means more to lLirn than it does to any one else. The only use which it can be made to serve in the Lord's work is as a living testimony concerning the vitality of the truth which he professes. Personal influence is often getting 1n the way; always when it is substituted for the Holy Spirit

Zech. 4:6.

Personal lnfluenc{ in Christian work. In the home is this especially true. A strong stress of feeling, accompanied by tears and protestation, is often brought to bear to accomplish the work which only the Holy Spirit can do in any soul; and mother's grief is made to seem even more grievous than the grief of the Spirit of God.

Let us agree with the power by maintaining our true relation to it, and ceasing to dispute with it. Let us cease to grieve this our one most faithful Grieving the - friend.

To "grieve " means here just what it .Spirit.

does between you and your child. When the child enters into dispute with the mother on some vital point, and is unwilling to surrender his will to what he knows is right, then she is grieved. Real grief is the most tender emotion which the true parent can feel, and is made possible only by the Abiding Spirit. It is, in fact, the same in kind, only a lesser measure of that gt·ief with which ·we are enjoined not to afflict the Holy Spirit. For your own sake, be careful what you do with this power, for everything is at stake;- lif~, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness at·e in

the balance, and self-will will turn the scale against any soul every time.

To grieve the Spirit is to lose the seal which is the signature of God. '' Y e are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ . . . written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God ; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables o.f the heart." 1 Our life is a letter, written by the Spirit of God, in which will be told the exact truth about us, and at its close it will contain a clause endorsing or repudiating all that we have been, all that we have done, according to the ~ts as related by the true witness. A person who employs a stenographer will look over his work, and carefully examine it to see whether or not it is written as it was dictated. If there are mistakes in it, they will be corrected, and the author's signature will be added. This is the business man's imitation of the methods of God. Everything depends upon the correctness of the notes from which the Spirit must make his copy. Was Self-will or Obedience the stenographer~ Can our Lord say, "That is just ~s I dictated it~ It is my

12 Cor. 3: 3.

The Slg· nature of Ood.

Life 11 Letter.

Seal Includes

THE ABIDING SPlRIT.

own life, just as I lived it in that earthly temple. I am not ashamed to place upon it that seal which stands for my own name, my character ; for of that epistle I am all and in all.'' This seal represents all truth, all of God, his whole law, which is only the reflection of his glory in the face of Jesus Christ. To simply keep · one commandment does not give one a right to the seal. Jesus taught that to offend in one point, as to the spirit of it, made a man guilty of the whole. To keep the Sabbath all one's life, and fail in the spirit that leads out into the highways and hedges after the lost, would so deface the beauty of the Christlikeness in the character that God could not endorse it as the reflection of his Son. The seal includes the true Sabbath in both word and spirit, for these two are one ; but Christ who is the W orq, by his righteousness covers the ignorance of any soul who for any reason in keeping the spirit of the law lives in violation · of its letter. The seal includes not only the ten commandments, but every law ·which is written in our members.

These laws of nature, as they a,re

called, are all in harmony with the decalogue. God always agrees with himself; and an agreement with his truth, as written in human flesh and physical conditions, is, as far as it goes, just as acceptable to him as agreement with any other part of his law, and will bring its reward in a corresponding testimony from his Spirit. We are instructed to try the spirits as to whether or not they are of God or in agreement with him, for every spirit that denies that the WORD (Christ) is manifested in the flesh is not in agreement withGod. 1

'' It 1s the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth. '' 2 It is necessary that we should know the truth concerning ourselves. The poison of sin is within us ; it is deadly. It has made havoc with much that is dear to us. We realize that something is wrong because of the things from which we suffer, but are often ignorant of the cause, which is only to be found in our own natures. But in our pride and self-love we are very slow to accept the truth that the seat of the tl John 4 : 1-3.

•1John5:6.

The Truth• teller.

Know Thy· self.

evil is within us ; and who shall make us kuow it as it is 3 for we will not hear of our failings i£ we can avoid it. It is as much as our friendship is worth to the one who loves us best for him to sit down and tell us all he may know about us. It would even build up a barrier between a man and his mother, if she should tell him all she knows and fears about him. He would resent such knowledge as an intrusion into his own private affairs, unless h_e had learned to value and accept reproof. But God knows that our only hope of eternal life must begin with a thorough self-knowledge, and in his earnestness for our salvation he has provided for us a Friend who will not hesitate to tell us the whole trnth,~ a Friend whose love is strong enough to deal candidly with every soul, as well as with the eternal Father whom he represents. He is the Abiding Spirit. Living in us as he does, submitting to let his life and power be used by us as we choose, he knows all about us, and keeps a true record of all that happens in the centers of motive and desire, out of which our actions all spring. He is sent to us in this relation because ·he is true. He can not be bribed, flattered, cajoled or terrorized into bearing a false witness. He will tell us exactly the truth about ourselves, and we must hear when he speaks. He will not be silent until we understand just what it means to be a sinner, and until we have had set plainly before us the hope of the gospel ; until we have seen Jesus, ·and have decided what we will do with him. Jesus said of this Witness, "He shall receive of mine, and shall show it {mto you," 1 and for this reason it was ~p_edient that Jesus should go away. ''For if I go not away,'' he said, ''the Comforter will not come unto you ; but if I depa:rt, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he 'will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment : of sin, because they believe not on me ; of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged." 2

The mission of the Spirit is to give us " solid comfort,'' and he begins his work in the only way

1 John

John 16: 7-12.

The Com• fo.rter Re• proves

He Waits

'our Co-operation.

'l'HE SIGNA L LI CHl'r, which can insure relief from sorrow;-:-by showing us the things which bring discomfort and unhappiness. He will not force comfort upon us, f01; to do that would be to kill it at the start and ' an transform it into an intolerable burden, like unwelcome presence intruded never so kindly upon, our misery.

When the Spirit has made it all clear to us, has shown us just what sin is, and taught us how to put it away, then lw waits. B.e has done all that he can do until he has our co-operation. We must work together with him if we are ever made all clean and comfortable within.

After the Abiding Spirit has convinced us of sin and taught us how we must work with hini for its destruction, there is always a declaration of war, in which we can not occupy a neutral position. We niust take sides either with the Spirit of God against all sin wherever found, or with self and Satan against the Holy Spirit. Victory in this war depends upon the motive which lies at the root of one's resolution to work with the Spirit; for self-interest may even lead a man to try to follow Christ. Many a man has even supposed that he had surrendered to God and yet has failed to find peace. It was peace, only, that he was after-so he could not find it. He did not like that dreadful conviction of sin, and began an effort to get rid of it. He told himself that he was putting sin away, when he was only trying to cover it from his own sight as well as that of God. He did not want to be lost. He saw the depths into which sin would cast him, for the Spirit and Word had made all very clear, that he ..might not be left ''to guess'' at anything. He wanted to get into a safe place, so he began to amend his life and "felt better." Satan helped him to feel better. He would have liked to have him come into just as good a counterfeit Christian experience as was needed to give him comfort without an absolute putting away of sin. He would have liked him to have his self-consciousness comfolted; liked to have had him feel that he was, at least, approved of men; so he encouraged him to be baptized, to keep the Sabbath, join the church, and obey the letter of the law as strictly

THE ABIDING S1>IRIT.

as could be required, so that even the church had been deceived about him. He passed for a good man, and people said, ''The work is genuine in his case;" and since this was all that he had wanted, he thought he ought to have peace- but it came not. He went on, gained influence in the church and community, he became active; but the faithful Spirit within kept on shining on his uncleanness, on his untruthfulness, kept witnessing to the fact that he was a sinner, and his heart became such a battle-ground as the world never saw, -the Spirit warring against the flesh, and the flesh against the Spirit,- for these two are contrat·y the one to the other; and since he would not let the Spirit have his way within him, he could not do as he would, 1 and so be at rest. The hidden evil would keep cropping out and disgracing him in his own eyes, for he was sure that all the world . saw him as he saw himself, and his comforts were very small indeed.

This poor soul wanted rest and comfort more and more as he wearied in the struggle, but he also wanted self-indulgence. He was determined to

' Hom. 7: 23; Gll,l. 5: 17.

'l'HE SIGNAL LIGHT.

have both, and in his efforts to carry his point against the ·Holy Spirit he came into a deadly conflict, which could only end in one of two ways : he must acknowledge that the testimony of the Spirit had been true all the time, confess his secret sin to the insulted Spirit, and uncover the place where he had tried to hide it, and take up his long delayed work of putting it away, humbly consenting to the judgment that was due for his hypocrisy, and make an unconditional surrender to the Larw, which is the living word of Jesus, or he must hope- -leasly grieve the Spirit, so that it will cease to strive with him for his salvation, and he will become a lost soul. The Spirit will never withdraw his testimony, will never allow ignorance again to produce innocence of transgression in the incorrigible, but when he has been too long grieved he will cease to plead and strive, although he will still shine on, so that the conscious soul will never forget that sin is sin, that the law is in full force, and that Christ is a complete Saviour through whom he might have been saved if he would have sacrificed self for Jesus as Jesus did for him.

The Law Embodied.

Transposed into a Promise.

'l'HF; A BIDING SPIRIT.

There is an interpretation of the gospel that teaches surrender to Christ without any reference to the law, claiming that the law was abolished by him. But he himself plainly teaches that he embodied instead of abolishing the law, and hence every soul in sul'rendering to Christ must recognize the law wltich he always has, and always will represent in his own person. To surrender to the law in letter and spirit, is to surre~der to Christ, and to that unspeakable love of which the law is an expression ; and then the astonished soul will find that every commandment has been transposed into a promise, through which the Holy Spirit breathes the power for its per- - fect keeping.

The· twuble with many a man who is struggling with the Spirit of God, and who really wants to be ~L hris~ian, is that he has been taught by teachers who have in their teaching tral)sgressed against God, 1 and having had confidence in these false teachers, he believes that Christ came to keep the la-w for him, so that he need not pa.r any attention to it· that it was so impossible for him to keep

I sa.

it that God saw that he had no right to demand it, and only asked the poor sinner to fall helpless in his lawbreaking into the arms of Christ and find protection. from the law and all its penalties; and that when he had done this the '' witness of the Spirit '' would be given that he was justified, or at peace with the law. But the Spirit is the ':ruth; and will never give any lawbreaker the witness that he is himself a lawkeeper because some one else has kept the law for him. The Spirit bears witness to the fact that Christ did lre~p the law in the flesh, so demonstrating that it could be done ; and then he helps our infirmities, and gives power to every man to he in the world as he (Christ) is in it, 1 both to keep the commandments and teach men so, 2 that there might be no condemnation, but boldness, in the day of judgment to those who will walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit.

The witness of the Spirit is according to fact, not sentiment. Sin, which is transgression of the law, is the hardest, stoniest fact in all the universe; and it can not be dissolved by tears of regret that

11 .Tohn 4 :17.

• Matt. 5 : 19.

Po~, not Sentiment.

nust I ?

'l'HJ~

AlllDING SPIHI'1', it l,1as to be given up, uor by tem·s of anger that the conditions of salvation are so hard. '' Must I give up my tobacco~ '' fretfully cries out some soul ; " the food that I so much enjoy~ the style of dress that best pleases my 'fancy? the associations in which I delight ? Can't I have any good times at all, and be saved? How do you know that the first commandment includes such things as these? Must I give up all indulgence of the flesh? What is the flesh for if it is never to be indulged~ If I practise indulgence in a quiet, refined, and Christian manner, who has any right to complain? I have covered my carnal appetites with the sacredness of marriage, and that is all that God requires, I am sure. If my passions are strong, I am as he made me. He knows my frame, he remembers that I am dust, and why should I be, every little while, tormented with the fear that after all that I have done for him and the church I am still unclean and can not enter the kingdom of God? Why ' will not the Holy Spirit witness within me that all is right, and so give me peace? I would like

'l'Hlt; SiliNAL LIGHT.

to be healed,-::_ I have suffered so long I ought to be,- but why must I accept and live out he~th reform to be well ? ''

Ah ! the Spirit is the faithful witness, the friend whose love for us is stronger than our frown or favor. He call not be bribed. A thousand dollars given to build a church, ot· to found a mis- Jion, will not persuade him to say that any man is clean until he is clean, nor to keep him in vigor and life, if he will not live according to principle. " But how can I be clean? What does it mean to be clean before God ? " To be clean means to ·~ keep the law. "But I can not keep the law ! " No, not in yourself, by the smaller measures of the Spirit that supplies you with physical and mental life; but by the fulness of the powet· which the Abiding Spirit has come to supply, you can. No commandment, as S'tteh ctlone, can be kept, as it must be kept to make a man clean. Only when by the work of the Spirit it has been made to us honorable and a delight ; then it can be kept in and by the Spirit; and by that keeping the life is cleansed.

A Faithful Priend.

Cleanliness Means Obedience.

An Unwill· ing nlnd.

Till~

AlliDING Sl'ntl'l'.

'' Now are yo clean through the word which I 'have spoken unto you,'' 1 said Jesus, and nowhere is that " Word " more clearly stated than in hil:l law. Now here has he manifested greater tenderness t.oward man than in the example and in the provision which he has made for its keeping. The only trouble is in an 'wnwilling m ind/ a mind that loves self instead of God. No man can step on any one commandment to reach and keep any other one. Some soul has seen something in dress reform, in health reform, in educational pt-inciples, in personal purity, which he is not willing to accept, and tries to excuse himself by sayii_~.g, "These are not in the law. Where do you find tlwt in the Bible ? '' He begins to quarrel with the Holy Spirit, and soon finds a grumbling in his soul, which he can not silence,- a grumbling which will grow in volume until it will come to be the thunder of the wrath of God, mightier than the roar of Niagara in the ear of one who stands at the head of the cataract, and who can not ''hear himself think.'' (Jontroversy with the Spirit o£ God will drowq.

ohn 1;; : :;.

'fHl<l SIGNAL LIGHT.

the voice of prayer in any soul. While the Spijt I is crying out, '' Sin ! sin ! '' and you are answer- / iug, ''Nay ! nay ! it is only nature, for which \ God is responsible,'' there can be no prayer. i Prayer must be indited by the Spirit, for we know il not how to pray, and he will never breathe a \ prayer through any soul that is at war with him. I It takes a great deal besides words aud volume of 1 voice to make prayer. It is very foolish and unpt•ofitable to dispute with the Holy Spirit, for then Disputing we cut ourselves off from our only help. The sin with God. ag&,inst the Holy Ghost is refusing· to accept his conclusions about us and the witness which he bears, his statements about things, charging him with being a false witness because he says the thing we love and insist on keeping is sin, and in resisting his leading. In these conditions is eternal death.

Maybe yon acknowledge that your .1-. life is not quite right, but " 0, that is such a little sin ! so trifling ! Why should there be so much fuss concerning my personal and domestic habits~ Such things are altogether too small to attract the attention 9£ eo m:ighty a being as God, and such a

Such a Lit• tie Sin.

'fHJI.: STGNAT, LIGHT .

-u.ower as is in the Holy Spirit." Maybe you cry recv n.tly, "Blessed Spirit go through me! Just t~;tke . all thet·e is of me, but let us forget this little matter. It is too small fo1· ns to stop to wor1•y about when etem allife is ut stake. ' But you can not lead the Spirit to go another step out into the nnex,plored territory of yom· nattu·e nutil you acltn.owledg&<thn.t sin and help him put it out of the way. He:, will stay there as long as you have any con ciousness, and bear his true testimony, and arise with you in the second resurrecion the same true witness by whose testimony God shall be vindicated to your own soul and to all the assembled universe, unless you accept his counsel, and let him lead you on by the way of self-denial to purity.

He has come to be a comforter; this is the office he is longing to fill; he cau be satisfied with nothing less. As a child, I was perplexed over th t: two seemingly contradictory expressions in those words of Jesus, which state that the Comforte 1• should reprove. 1 I could not understand it. I did not feel comforted when I was reproved, but very sorrowful and distressed. It took years .~f experience to bring me to see what this correlation of ideas involved. Since I have come to see it, there is nothing more blessed. To be willing to be reproved opens up an avenue through which all the gifts of the Holy Ghost- a white-winged fleet, laden with the best things of heaven for the children of the kingdom- shall come flo ating in. Have you ever had the experience of sitting down by a friend who was in great sorrow, and trying to comfort him? All in the world that yon could do was to take his hand, and weep with him, and be silent. Words were empty, all expressions of sympathy comparatively valueless. The best tbirlg you could do was to be silent. But the Comforter whom Jesus sent is not reduced to any such extremity. He comes charged to remove the cause of all sorrows and discoinforts.

If you could, for your friend, bring the dead to life; if you could plant a good character in that son who is going astray; if you could give that thing which would cause jby in spite of anything that the world could bring to bear upon the sorrowing soul, then

1 .TOillllU: 7,

IJl

A Comforter That Com · forts .

Health through the Spirit.

might begin to do the work of the Comforter. But that is beyond you; the only such comforter is the one who is sent in the name of Jesus. And he will not stop, if he can have his way, until he has laid the ax to the root of the tree that bears all the bitter fruits of sin.

But if we grieve the Holy Spirit we can not be comforted. Before this Comforter can do his office for us, we must be willing to co-operate with him, to take sides with him against the world, the flesh, and the devil. As soon as he can gain our consent and aid, he will go to the work by which sin is cast out, and by which our comforts are multiplied. Perfect restoration may seem to come slowly; we will still grow old, the haiL· will still whiten, wrinkles will still cover brow and cheek ; we will weat· a different color from that which we would have worn if sin had never been in our natures. These marks may remain, but strength shall be constantly l~e­ newed; 1 and being at peace with the Abiding Spirit, the outward man shall change even here ; for '' if the Spirit of him that raised np J esns from the dead

'Isa.40:~t.

dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.'' 1 To feel sixteen will go very far toward making any face lose the appearance of age.

Years do not necessarily make us look old. Who can think of Jesus, in the flesh which he carried back to heaven with him, as wrinkled and aged ? In the new earth all the cycles which shall pass over its inhabitants will not bring a wrinkle, a gray hair, nor a bent form. Infirmity is the wrinkle-maker. We may not be wholly delivered from infirmity until the ~surrection, but the Spirit is sent to help our infirmities, so th~t if we must wear wrinkles, they can be glorified; be made so to shine with the light and joy of the Holy Ghost that all who behold them will recognize them as lines of beauty ; marks made by the finger of God instead of by the foot of time.

It is better to have strength given than the burdens removed. It is better to have comage given than the lions killed; for there might be more bmdens on the shelf, more lions skulking in the

Rom. R: 11.

To Feel Sixteen.

Eternal Youth.

Too Deep lor Words.

jungles. It is better to have the fountain of eternal youth within than to have all the wrinkles " doctored " away; better to keep in touch with the divine Helper through a consciousness of infirmity, than to think we are so strong that we do not need him. If we grieve the Spirit, our infirmities can not be helped, our wrinkles will have no compensating ever-springing fountain of youth; we shall become a prey to every lion, and sink under every burden. If we will not agree with him, we shall not even know how to call out in the hour of our extremity, for we know not how to pray as we ought, but will go OI_l trying and struggling to pray prayers that are not prayers, for the grieved Spirit can not groan them out into words for us. You have had the experience of realizing that your prayer was lying so deep that no words could go down and bring it up, that words often cover far more than they reveal; you have almost felt sometimes that words were a profanation: and yet words must be used, for God says, ''Take with you words, · and turn to the Lord; '' 1 but if the Spirit of God does not at the same time pray for us inside, there can be no praying with the lips. The Spirit groans for us so that we need not groan, so that with our words we may praise him, and rejoice more than plead. I used to like to give Rom. 8 : 26, to those who had just come out of the depths of degradation.· I never hear or 1·ead it but there comes up before me a great company of those called profligate with whom I have sat down, -the Bible betwe~n ns,-and to whom I have tried to open up those comforts of the Helper of our infirmities, and to whom this \ especial scripture has been the bread of consolation.

Yout· infirmity is, maybe, a quick temper, an arbitrary spirit, unclean thinking, anything which marks the trail of the serpent; a point of weakness in the wall with which you would shut Satan out and the Holy Spirit in. Satan knows where it is located, for he made it; and suddenly, some day, he comes against it with all his might to break in and make contention, maybe in the home, if nothing worse, sorrow; for if he can not make you wicked, he will make you miserable if he can.

Hosea 14 : 2.

Your Point of Weakness.

Satan Is too Quick for You.

THE ABIDING Sl'IRI'i'.

'l'fUD SIGNAL LIGHT.

You have been trying to do right, but now you know you can not get in position quickly enough to prevent mischief. Satan is too quick for any human will, but he can not be too quick for the Abiding Spirit. If you have surrendered to him, if he holds the fortress, he will never be caught off guard ; he will know when Satan is coming, and he will place himself with all his power against the weak place in your nature, and Satan will be obliged to pass by discomfited.

The Spirit helps our infirmities, or weak places, by adding more grace, more and more power, more and more, more and more, according to the demand.

You will not be obliged to say that untidy word ; that hasty retort will die in the very thought; you will repudiate that temptation before it can become sin. The Spirit within you is alert, and will make all grace abound toward you, and cause you always to triumph in Christ, and he will make manifest the savor of his knowledge by you in every place. 1

The world is crying out in these days after healing. I often meet those who expect me to tell them just how to be healed as I was, and how to have the Lord keep them well as he does me. Many would be willing to pay cash to be made and kept well by this same quick and perfect method. A wealthy gentleman sat at my left hand at the Sanitarium table for several weeks. One day he said to me : - "Yon do seem to enjoy your simple food."

'' Yes," I said, "I enjoy it, and all the more because it is simple.'' "0, I wish I could be made well as you are ! "

he exclaimed.

" ou can, I replied .

«W 11, jnst as quick ns I c:nn writo it out, 1 will giv e you a ch ck for en thousan d dol lal'B if you will show me how I CUll h mach, ns w ll H

Yon at·e."

'' It does not come by that route, " I sat ·a . '' The only way to find it is by that surrender to the Spirit of God, which will make you a new creature in Chriflt Jesus.''

He sat and looked at me a moment, and thei1 said : - -

Cor. 2 : 14.

Jl;otfor Gold.

Springing

Health.

"I think that is so. I reverence religion."

The Spirit of God, in whom we live and move and have our being, is the source' of health, The lack of health marks the point at which w~ d~scount ~he law of God and the authority of hrs.tr~lth m ~ome way.

God has given us a pre- SCl:tptlOn wl~lCh,~ill make "thine health spring fot.th sp ed1ly, and the Abiding ph·it shall qmcken eve~ this mol'tal bouy, 2 not only a:t ~he l'e mrectlon, bnt here and now, giving health m ~ull proportion to that measure of the Spirit whiCh we appropriate by obedience to the word and by submission in all things; for no son of God was ever called to carry about a sick and de~a!ing body.

"And as many as are led by the Spmt of God, they are the sons of God." 3

The. body is often called a clog to the Spirit. That 1s another point at which we have been so long duped that many have supposed that the body must be abused to make a pure life possible By this the purpose of the Spirit of God has bee~ defeated in many a life. God intended spirit and

I sa. 58: 8.

Please read the whole chapter.

"Rom. B: 11.

"Rom. 8:14.

!19 body to work t~gether, and be mutual helps in all the affairs of life, and he has shown how he esteems the body which he built for us, by d:velling

Body and in it, walking in it, and using it as his own instru- Spirit Mu• ment,· necessary to his plan of work. :Many lines tual Helps. of operation would be closed up to the Spirit in this' world without the human body. I would not say that God could not, if he had chosen, work without it, but he has evidently seen that the best instrument he could get hold of for his pmposc in the world was a human body. It is a means to an important, glorious end; and what God wants is. to have unqualified control of it, so that he can quicken it, and make it just what it should be for the most effective service.

Some will never hear of those principles of' health reform by which the Spirit of God is seeking to bring quickening to the decaying bodies of the sons of God, and the question is often asked,

''Why should people who are doing the very best they can for God, suffer from innocent infractions of the law of health, or any othed" Every infraction of any law must be recognized by the

THE ABIDING SPJRI'l'.

Spirit for just· what it is. If one does not know a certain law of his being, and so violates it he must suffer just the same, whether he loves God or not. He may love God with all his heart but he will have to reap in body and mind th~ penalty of transgression. And yet, because he bas love in his heart, the peace of God will sanctify his affliction; but it will not make him a sound man t~ntil he. consents to the law that it is good, and gives guarantee of obedience in the future. J'_ILen,_ other things all being equal, God will heal hun, If he prays the prayer of faith and thus quicken his mortal body for service. ' But first the healing must be of the mind· ' so that l •t s . 1gnoranc~ shal~ b_e cured by the knowledge of how to live a hfe m harmony with the law which is spiritual in all its adaptability, physical and temporal.

Chapter 4: The Spirit of Wisdom

"BoT,, some one says, ' how shall I know that ' I am led by the SpiJ:it of God ~ I have tried to be all my life, but I never lived a day yet without coming into condemnation about something that I wo1tldn't have done for all the world i£ I had known as much about it befo1·ehand as I did afterward. I would have given anything if I could have gone back and done it over; bu t that was impossible, and I am always condemrte~ and d~- tressed becau e I ca,n not live a perfect hfe. O, 1f o.toLiveOne Perrent De.yl could only live one. perfect day - one t b at I could see wH.s without blemish ! Then I should have some hope that I might be saved nt last. But it would be a great misfot'tnne to look back over R. day, and ee n point wh.e re it conld be improved· that wo,,ld be b C!tnBe you had been wa\kinO' in the shadow o! yOlu- wn self-righteousness instead of tho ligl1t of the pirit.

Satan takes advantage of a temler conscience, to affiict one whom he can not make rebellious, and lead him to believe that he is not a Christian; when if the man only had a better understanding of the word and power of God, he would see that he ought to shout, Hallelujah! instead of coming under condemnation when he recognizes a failure or even a sin; for this recognition proves that he is under the instruction of the true Witness. He would never of himself be able to know failure or sin by sight. Many loyal souls l1ave been made more sad than glad because of this device of Satan.

I will illustrate, by a diagram, what I see to be the truth conlJO

IP Of cerning this almost (} universal cause of perplexity. Let the straight line from M to E represent the life that you wish to live from morning to evening, all these hours in which you have determined in all things to follow Christ, and so make one perfect day. Yon have ear-

'rHE SPIItlT 01<' WISDOM.

oi nestly prayed for the light and lea:ling of the Holy Spirit; you have believed t~at 1t would be given; but when from the evenmg outlook you stand .and gaze down to the morning, you see that it is full of mistakes, if not actual wrongs. Sat.an :;,~o~:;:~~~;~ tells you they are sins. You are grieved, and wtsh you could go back and live it all over. You.see a certain thing done innocently, even consCientiously, but now it looks so imperfect. you wonder how you evei· allowed yourself to do 1t. Perhaps you recall an impulse to anger, and s~1dden.ly remember that anger, even in the heart, IS an mfra~- tion of the sixth commandment; you see how 1f it should become intense, violent, and unrestrained, it would end in murder. Distress fills your soul, and you wonder if there is any hope for you. Satan tells you there is none. As you study the day's record, it seems more and more that almost every commandment has been in some way violated by thoughts, if not words and deeds. you behold the law crossed and recrossed by that which, if you had known as much as yon know now, you would not have allowed for the world,

Unconscious Lawbreaking,

THE SPIRIT Ol!' WISDOM.

and your day's record looks like this ; while the eye of an angry Judge seems fixed upon it, filling you with condemnation. You cry 0 t the right or wrong of any act. The Spirit must illuminate every act for him; so he shines on, revealing just what it is; and as you gaze with the eye of faith and in honest love for God's law, a transformation scene passes over the day's record, by which every illuminated infraction of the perfect law has become as a little candle of experience by which to help enlighten some pitfall set for your feet a little fal'ther on. This light of accepted truth concerning the transactions of your life, constitutes that robe of the righteousness of Christ, which covers from the eye of the Judge every acknowledged transgression.

As we have learned in this study, everything depends at this point upon our acceptance of the testimony of the Spirit concerning the nature of the act.

The Spirit will illuminate it, and leave latm· develvpments to our acceptance or rejection of light. Our rejection of light will not extinguish one of these

~ as did Paul, '' I delight in the law of

God after the inward man, but I see another law in my members warring f1 ag~in~t the law of my mind, and brmgmg me into captivity to the law of sin, which is in my members. 0 wretched man that I ami who shall deliver me from this body of dea~h?" And, like many another, you st~p there,. JUSt . wher~ Satan can have at yon ~1t~ all h1s m1ght, mstead of taking up the JUbllate of the Abiding Spirit, " I thank God ' ' Thanks through Jesus Christ our Lord.'' 1 be to God who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. " 2 This song of deliver~ ance is inspired by a humble acceptance of the witness of the Spirit concerning each act. N 0 man could ever know by any wisdom of his own

' Rom. 7 : 22-~5.

21 Cor, 15:57.

The Candle of the Lord.

1 ·epeat

1 own Up.

little candles of the Lord, but will only change it from a friend to an enemy, and transform into sin an act which may have been innocently performed. To acknowledge a wrong is to nip sin in the bud. To consent to what the Word teaches concerning any act is to be led by the Spirit; for the Word and Spirit always agree. To be led by the Spirit is to be recognized as a son of God, called, not to fear, not to bondage, but to heirship with Christ.'

The fact that yon see wrong and how you might better it, is proof of the presence of the Spirit,- a. sun shining through your life. It is because you have been led, because you see clearer, because you know more at evening than you did in the morning, that, unless your faith is equal to the occasion, Satan finds an opportunity to tempt you to wish that you could go back and live it all over. Sill.ce such a wish is idle and foolish, to entertain it is only an added wrong.

Instead, say, "I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord that I see. I own up to the wrong 011 tho spot. I for -- sake it, and by the power of the Spirit I will never

~-~- it.'' To come to such .a conclusion, is to agree with the Abiding Spirit, and will prev~nt the to tl·anslation of wrong into sin. To apologtze fot· How noke Wrong. the wrong after it is known as such, to excuse it, into Sin. to repeat it, is to make sin of it, no matter how innocently it was performed in the first place, nor how many years may have passed over it.

I could have made myself a lifelong Sabbathbreaker by refusing to accept the light w~ich illuminated the Sabbath for me. Whereas smce I did not stop to quarrel with the Spirit for showing me the truth, but accepted it between the last Sunday which I ~10nestly kept as the Sabba:;l and the next Sabbath which I gladly exalted to u own place of honor, and which I had remembered every hour after that Wednesday night when I first

't the sin of Sabbath-breaking was never saw 1,

imputed to me.

As the Spirit shines with reproof upon any act, tf we agree with it, the white light of the rig~1:- eous ness of r Christ covers the record, the Sptnt burns the sin out, and the result in experience may be illustrated by the -following diagram:-

Hom. 8: 14, 17.

The Cover· ing of Right· eousness.

The Luml· nous Shadow of Jesus.

THE AlHDlNG Sl'lltl'l'.

The little candle of the Lord has become the sun of righteousness, and your soul is filled with the joy of the Holy Ghost.

t/J(E Even the experience of sinning may make

I~ possible a joy peculiar for its sweetness,. if it but be followed by repentance, sanctification, cleansing, m1d perfect agreement with the Abiding Spirit. It will at least provide an opportunity for the revelation of the fatherly love of God, and the brotherly tenderness of Jesus, such as that soul could never otherwise have known. We would probably by some means have come to know these marvelous depths of God's love, even if there had been no sin and no Saviour; but how, we can not conceive. It is only left us to 'rejoice that where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. i

The law of God is the ~uminous shadow cast into h'

· t IS world from the character of Jesus by the glory of the Holy Spirit as it burns and palpitates, a living flame, a sun of inconceivable splendor, all

'Hom . 5:20.

THE SPIRIT vlf WISDOM.

through it from eternity to eternity. It is as inseparable from him, and he from it, a's is substance from shadow, or shadow from substance, wherever there is light. Before the law could be abolished, it would be necessary either to shut off all light (quench the Spirit) or to doom Jesus to annihilation; for, with Jesus as he is, and the Holy Spirit as he is, the law must be eternally as it is.

Since Jesus is the substance of the law, to accept him with all the heart, is to accept the Spirit of the law, even if one should be totally ignorant of the letter of it. I will go further, and say that to love the truth, as such,- pure, simple, disembodied truth,- is to accept Christ who is himself the embodied Truth, and to be in harmony with the Spirit of the law, which means to have love in the heart, although one may never have heard either of Christ, the law, or yet of the Holy Spirit, and may by outward habits of life be in violation of the letter of the law. Paul, at least by inference, taught this when he said that he verily thought he was doing God's service while he was persecuting the followers of Jesus; and when he

Alive with• out the Law.

Wanted: Light, not Argument.

and the lamp, or the paraffin and the wick of the candle, bear to the light which illuminates a dark room. Unlighted, it is of no use. Crown it with flame, and while it may be itself utterly forgotten, it enlightens all who are in the house.

How do we know sin or righteousness ? -By the law, as it is illuminated by the Spirit. To grieve the Spirit is to make the knowledge of right doing a burden, a snare; it is to be given· over to strong delusions, to believe a lie. And of all disasters that Duped : To . t o b e l e ft Believe a Lie. can be f a .1 l a sou 1 , t h e most appa 11' mg IS to believe a lie. It is to be known as a dupe, and to become a laughing-stock of the world. To be a dupe of Satan would provoke the laughter of all beings who could have it in them to laugh. God represents himself as laughmg at such, when he says, '' Because I have called, and ye refused; . . . have set at naught all my counsel, and would none of my reproof : I also will laugh at your calamity; I The Laugh of Ood. will mock when your fear cometh.'' 1

This terrible picture of God, which seems so contrary to all we are wont to think about him, is dmwn in lines so sharp and clear that we are not declared with reference to this ,same period of his own life, '' I was alive without the law once.'' 1 He was an honest lover of the truth; and the Abiding Spirit within him, the tme Witness, made him alive with the very life of Christ as it breathed through the law, while yet he believed Jesus to be an imposter. All that was needed in his case was knowledge; a- light 'that would set everything in its true relation to every other thing in his sight; and as soon as that light struck him, although it blinded his natural vision, it made him able to see as never before, and where he least expected to find it,- in the person of Jesus whom he had hated,-the Truth which he had loved; and so he quickly cried out, ''Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? "

It is this same light that is needed for thousands of truth-lovers to-day ; not argument, but light, such as can burn and shine for this world only through the constant, steady, consistent living of those who have been called to stand for the law of God. Human life and testimony bear the same relation to this '' light of the world '' that the oil t tRom. 7:9.

Prov. 1 : 24-83.

That Means Me.

'l'Hl'j SP IRIT OF W ISDO M .

THE ABIDING SPIRI'l'.

permitted to ignore it. We must take it into account, and reckon with its possibilities in determining what we will do with this faithful witness and friend of every soul of Adam's race, a manife~tation of whom is given to every man to profit wrthal; because, while any intelligent mind can take the law of God and meas~re things by it so as to have some comprehension of what a life ought to be, yet no man would ever be able to a~ply it to himself so as to say, "Tlw,t means me,'~ w1thout the direct illumination of the Spirit. Under this direct and universal illumination which is called conscience, the life of the law' strikes in to the comprehension of the most ignorant heathen, and according to the manner in which each receives it, he is either "alive without the law," or "sin taking occasion" by the spirit of the commandment, as conscience sees it, deceives him, 1 dupes and slays him.

Many a soul is brought into despair at this first work of the Holv Spirit. But again I say, Rejoice if you have bee;1 shown that you are wholly vile, unclean, and lost;

1Rom. 7:9-11.

for God would never allow any such knowledge to Rejoice I come to any soul if he could not follow sin with salvation. To know that yon are a lost sinner is proof of the presence of the Abiding Spirit, who has been sent for your rescue; so take heart of hope, cease to cry after the Spirit, but begin at once to recognize and work with him. To keep crying, '' Come, Holy Spirit ! " is to cry against time, to deny his presence, and so make the necessary co-operation between him and you impossible. "The Comforter, the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance whatsoever I have said unto you," 1 said Jesus. ''Thou gavest also thy good spirit to instruct them," 2 is Nehemiah's testimony, as he is re- The onl; Teacher - counting the · mercies of a faithful God, and Paul says, '' The Sp1rit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God." 3

There is a common idea that the word of God is incomprehensible. In every generation of the church's history there have been those who have

John 14:26.

•Neb. 9:20.

a1 Cor. 2:10.

'!'HE ABIDING SPiRI'l'.

been deceived by this falsehood, and have in turn tried to discourage others; and never has this been more so than in our own day.

"Blind unbelief is sure to err And scan his works in vain. God is his own interpreter,

And he will make it plain."

That ''it" includes all the things that Jesus said should be taught us, and brought to our remembrance, and all those deep things that the Spirit searches out.

We are taught in order that we may know. The deep things are searched out that they may be revealed. But the teaching and the revealing depends on not gl'ieving the Spirit who is sent to make all things clear to our understanding. Agree with him, and all the mines of truth are open, lighted, and accessible to the thoughtful and studious. It is important that we should know the things that the Spirit has to reveal to us- things without which we can not live out half our days even in this world, nor ever know life eternal.

THE SPIRI'l' OF WISDOM .

We need this knowledge of the things of God that we may apply it to such common things as marriage, heredity, conception, birth, the training, feeding, and education of the children. The Holy Spirit is superior to hereditary influences. ''For," as the angel said to Zacharias concerning his child, so would some such messenger like to say to every father about his son, '' he shall be g1·eat in the sight of the LOl'd, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his ·mother's womb.'' 1 It is the right of every child to be conceived and born as was John the Baptist, and, like him, filled with the Holy Ghost from birth. The promise to Zacharias and Elizabeth may be claimed by every man and woman who will accept the conditions ; ~for God is no respecter of persons, and what is true ~f one child could be true of every child. The power of the Holy Ghost is superior to all the influences of an evil heredity. If it were not, it would not be the power from which life springs. God can reproduce, or at least repair, that which lias been destroyed by tl10 power of sin. He

Luke 1:15.

The Holy Ohost a Common Ouest.

TI-ll<: Sl'Il{J'l' OF WISDOM.

Superior to Natural Con· dltlons.

overcame that long line of evil hereditv which was back of .T ohn the Baptist, so that tlw child which was born according to the promise was filled with the Holy Ghost from before his birth· 1 ' and the same power is still further illustrated in tho birth of .T esus. When the angel brought his message to Mary, she said, ''How shall this be, seeing I know not a man~ '' How can I hav-e a child? It is contrary to nature. ''And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, ai1d the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee : therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God." 2 This teaches that the Spirit of God is superior to natme even in human affairs. He can either set them aside or use them as he chooses. When infidels question the nativity of Christ, this truth is the solution of all those questions, which only the Spirit of God can answer. The Spirit that could make Mary the fit mother of .T esus, can make fathers and mothers who shall know how to produce and bring up children who

Luke 1:41.

' Luke 1: 34, 35,

·shall love and .. follow him in the earth, and inherit eternal life.

The Abiding Spirit is able to make known things that nre t<) ·come, and will not fail to reveal whatever the safety of the child of God requires. It is the Spirit of prophecy, and has to do with those things that ''eye hath not seen,· nor ear heard neither have entered into the heart of man, . . . which God hath prepared for them that love him,'' and which he hath revealed unto us by his Spirit. 1 He knows just what will transpire to every soul down to the end of time and through all tho ttges of eternity.

He holds all this knowledge in solution as the light holds the colors of the prism. He can forecast whatsoever, and to whomsoever, he will, in vision, or dream, or by vocal utterance. This is in perfect harmony with the relation which God sustains to his children. In harmony with this principle, holy men of the Lord spake as they were moved by. the Holy Ghost.

'' But,'' says one, ''why this partial gift of such knowledge and power? Why should God

11 COl'. 2:9.

The Spirit of Prophecy.

No Respecter of Persons.

The Burden oft he Vision .

THE SPIRIT OJ<' WISDOM.

send messages to one child by another'! Why not speak to each individual direct~ " 0 how gladly would he have so spoken an through the ages ! AU gifts are without respect of persons, only of conditions. I£ all Israel had had eyes to see and ears to hear, the "burden of the vision" need never have been laid upon the ·few; hut since aU would not agree with, and accept the instruction of, the '' good Spirit,'' 1 since each would not carry his own burden, 2 the few willing and ohedient ones must need be overladen. So it is in our own day. It would be well fm this generation and people if each could realize his own share of the burden of the vision, reproof, and counsel which the Holy Spirit has been compelled to lay upon one tender, motherly heal't for us all. Has your heart ever been touched with sympathy for that often overburdened soul, and would you lighten it if you could? Then make haste to subinit yourself to the Spirit; for when every man and woman among us shall be willing to hear the Spirit, and answer for himself; to ]earn from the Teacher direct, to take and carry his own portion (

N eh. 0 : 20.

~Gal.

'I of the deep things which are to be revealed, then shall that patient, long-sufferi11g mother in our Israel be permitted to go free. But, alas, the time is not yet. It only miqM be, if we would. It can not be, since we are so slow to understand and obey. But none must charge upon God partiality because he has spoken for so many, by so few. The Spirit could use the unwilling tongue, or the tongue of an ass, as he did in Balaam's time, if it were necessary for a clear demonstration of his power or the teaching of his truth; and how much m01·e can he take a willing, though stammering tongue, a slow, but consecrated brain, a body imperfect, deficient, but pmified, and make them mighty in the hands of the Holy Spirit? The only thing to fear is that self will stay in the way, and interfere with natme's quick response to the toJ:!ch of her :Master.

The Spirit has a map of your life. Yon would like so much of the prophetic gift as would open that up before yon. But why ? He is your J COllrier, your caretaker in the journey, and lmow:-; better thau to overload auy sonl with those pet·-

Our Mother in Israel.

Nota Riddle.

sonal matters which he has searched out.

But just so fast as they can be made good use of, they will be revealed; whether it be in a new truth, a new road, a new occupation, a new danger, which must be revealed by a new sorrow or pain, it will be made clear without the shadow of a mistake. The Word is the medium of every revelation of the Spirit_. The Word written, the Word liv~d in the life of Jesus, the Word which, like a sharp sword, drives pain to the marrow of the abused body, theW ord that murmurs in social conditions, and thunders from nation to nation acl'Oss stormy seas of contention The spirit of man, the little candle of the Lord, does its work in the small world of physical life, but the things of God, as they belong to the lover of his kind who would follow his Lord in grand and holy service, are revealed only by the full-orbed splendor of the Holy Ghost. The Word which furnishes the oil aud wick for this light is not a riddle, a mystery; but a simple statement of common truths, which touch all lives in the place where need is most urgent, and therefore most practical.

In the present awakening concerning the Holy Ghost we have not been given the spirit of the world, the spirit of bondage again to fear, that we shall be left to doubt, to confusion and fanaticism, but there has been given the ''spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him" who knows all, and who is all and in all. It is expected that in us the prayer of Paul will be fulfilled, that ''the eyes of your understan!fing being enlightened; . . . ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in· the saints." 1 The inheritance of God in his saints is like a field, in the cultivation of which nothing will be spared that ~an make it fruitful.

In this, as in any other, the value of the first investment calls for all that will be needed to secure it from loss. The Father, who is the husbandman, had invested Christ in every life.

He can not afford to lose him.

As you must follow the first fifty dollars which you spend on your field with another, because you can not .afford the loss of the first investment, so with

Eph, 1; 17, 18.

The Holy Ghost not Fanatical.

God's Inheritance.

nustOet Christ Back Again.

our God. He must get Christ back again in some form out of every life,- either in purity, strength, loving service, and in truth, or in vindication of the truth and love which had been repudiated by the incorrigible. Christ must be returned from every life by the testimony of the Abiding Spirit. He is here to assure that nothing be lost. If it is possible to bring any soul into tune with love, that will be done, but at least nothing of truth and love shall fail to be gathered up and returned to the bosom of the eternal Father. This is why the Spirit abides, why he can not be so insulted that he will forsake the post that has been assigned him, and why he is so patient with the controversies of men. How he must _be grieved while the church is comparing carnal tnings with spiritual : words which man's wisdom teacheth, with the truth that the Holy Ghost teacheth, 1 ignoring the fact that the carnal nature can not be subject to the law of God, but is always seeking by some sort of jugglery to make the power of the Holy Ghost and the law of God subject to the natural man that receiveth not the

11 Oor.2:13.

THE SJ>TRI'r OF WTSDOJ\'l .

things of the Spirit of God, t.o wholll they are foolishness.

All Power Is

We started out with the fact that all power is of of Ood. God, even that by which wicked men and women live and move and have their being; and if we would avoid those entanglements of error which have in every age caught the feet of those who were trying to live the life of the Abiding Spirit, we must keep this in mind as the foundation premise of all om conclusion . There is a teaching, after Satan's own school, which inevitably leads to the idea that Sattm hAS succeedecl, and will continue to succeed, in circumventing the plan ' of Jehovah in the earth, if not in heaven; that sin is a stain of so deep a dye that it can never be entirely blotted out of the universe; or that God was so short-sighted as to fail to prepare for the possibilities of sin, and made the mistake of creating man immortal without giving him a chance to prove his ability to remain honest, and so found sin as an incurable spot of leprosy in his Pal- . ace of the Heavens as well as the gardens of the universe; found that Satan has really got penna-

'fHJ<l AHIDINO SPIRIT.

neut possession of the birthright of Jesus, and that the Word, wherever it indicates anything like a perfect redemption of all things, must be taken in a limited sense; that to take it in its large and literal meaning, such as fills the believer with hope and joy unutterable, is fanaticism. But again I say with Paul, Y e, my brethren and sisters, have not received the spirit of the world;·'' for God bath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."

2Tim. 1:7.

Chapter 5: The Spirit of Burning

THJ<J SPIRIT OF BURNING .

WE are living in the presence of the V rsmLE GoD,- visible to any eyes that have been opened to see him. Some are beholding him continually. They are beholding him just now. And the same condition that makes it possible for any, will make it possible for every, eye to see him. A general A General . Astigmaastigmatisrn has been produced, w h ic h h as d rs- tism. totted and perverted human sight, and blinded us to the vision of the Holy One, so that no man can see God. The spirit that is in man is only capable of beholding the things of a man. The Spirit of God alone can behold the features of infinite perfection. But whenever he can find eyes that he is at liberty to use, whenevE1r his power in its fuiness is received, then will the beatific vis- The Beatific ion .be reali~ed. That this is possible is intima- Vision. ted in the words of Christ when he said,· ''Not that any man hath seen the Father, 8(111)8 he which is of God." 1 And the Holy Ghost, speaking through

John 6:46.

the beloved John, said, "Ye are of God," 1 and a little later he adds, ''We know that w~ are of God;" therefore the conclusion to which we must come from these words of. Jesus and John is, that they who are of God shall be able to see God. The great need of each individuctl, is that he shall be, through the operation of the power of the Holy Ghost, capable of seeing God at his ~ork; because no son can do anything "of himself, but what he seeth the Father do." The need of our time is men and women, fathers and mothers, of whom it shall be true that ''what things soever He doeth," these also do they likewise, in the home, in the church, and out in the world.

The time is near when the glorious vision of God in the face of Jesus Oht·ist shall pierce through all blindness, when every eye shall see him; and those who have the hope of being like him, must have had eyes to see him as he is, before that day; and by beholding must have become changed into his likeness.

God-ward blindness is not natural to man. He was created to see and understand that which is

1 John ·l : 4.

spiritual; so that it it~ uot so much that he must have eyesight given, as the astigmatism removed. In a case of impait·ed vision, the first thing is to consult an oculist, locate the trouble; ·and submit to treatment such as is indicated. It is interesting to note how this method of the specialist in all lines of medical practise has been copied from that of the Great Physician. Find and remove the cause of infirmity, is the principle which all acknowledge, and other things being equal the evil must disappear. Our first question, therefore, must be, What is the cause of this blindness which makes it impossible for men and women to behold God, see him at his work all through nature, within and without us, a living Presence, recognizable, tangible, mighty, lovely, desirable above all things.

The cause is indicated by a certain prescription which has been given for every such case by the great Physician himself : '' Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God." Impurity is the stigma which must be removed before we can see. God has made elaborate provision to remove this disease of impurity.

Submit to Treatment.

Impurity the Stigma.

Looking tl1t'ough the book of Leviticus, - and the whole Bible fot· that matter,- it em that evet·ything f~·om beginning to end is on th i one sub-

Clean or Unclean.

'l'H.I<; SPIRIT OF BURNING .

1'RE AiHi:HNG SPIRIT.

ject of how to get rld o:f blindness. The entire plan of the gpspel, as it was pt·eaobed in the . sacrificial types, a~:~d in the person and life of Hlrn who came to fulfil them all, as well as in the demonstration and power of the Holy Spirit, is to show the difference between cleanness and uncleanness, between purity and impurity, to reveal the cause for this astigmatism, to cure it and give us a place among the "blessed," who, having been anointed with purity, can "see him as he is." " Every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pm:e. ' "And tbe Lord spake nuto Aal'Ol , saying, Do not drink wine nor strong dl'ink, thou, nor tby sons with thee, when ye go into the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: it shall be a statnte fore·ver throughout your geMt•ations: and that ye may put diffet·ence between holy and unholy, and between clean and unclean. ' •

'' Tbut ye may p ut diffet·ence;' God bn already

Lev. 10: 8-10.

12!J put difference. A difference exists in the nature of things, between the two. They can not by any means exist in the same territory. There is n~ .a greement between them. And God requires that every man shall come to his standpoint with reference to that which is clean and unclean. There are no modifying terms in these expressions : unholy and holy, unclean and clean. Not almost clean, but clean. God takes it for gmnted that when a thing is clean, it is. A dish that is a little mussy is not clean. A gat·ment that is only partly clean is unclean. A small astigmatism on the eye prevents perfect vision. God requires perfect purity of those who are to be considered like him, for he is perfectly clean, and uncleanness in any degree is a misrepresentation of him. What would a bride do about her robe if it were brought to her marred by a soiled spot~ She would say, "I can not accept it. It must be perfect. That little spot makes it all unclean in my sight."

I once heard a minister, in attempting to illustrate his view of God's good ness. say that a man might give a part of himself to God, and God would be pleased with the gift, were it ever so sma1l, and would accept it and wait until he got ready to give the rest; so that piece by piece he could consecrate himself to God, and know that God would wait patiently upon his willingness. But I have never been able to find any place in the word of God which invited any man to give God a part of his heart and withhold the rest until it should please him to bestow the remainder.

Olea;n, or unclean. That is the word of God. As we look into the depths of our own natures, we may cry out, as Job did, ''What is man, that he should be clean 1 " How is it possible 1 0 the blinding power of an unclean heart ! How can I ever work the work of God, for I can not see him until I am pure, and purity is beyond me ! Many a professed Christian to-day is saying, '' ' What is man that he should be clean 1' It is unreasonable ' to expect a man to be clean, pure, perfect. I will be just as good as I can be; I will keep my life free from grossness; I will be temperate; I will be chaste; I will be refined. But absolute

THI<~

Sl'IRIT OF BURNING.

cleanness, holiness, holy as he is holy,- I know the word of God requires it, if you read it literally; but we must take such terms in a modified sense; they can not mean just what they say, because it is so impossible to be clean." '

A number of years ago, the next evening after

I had given a study on this subject, a man said to me, as I was about ascending the platform to open a service, '' It has been reported all over town that you said last night that a man could become sinless, and should be so holy that he could not sin. I knew that you did not say it, that you would not teach any such doctrine, and so I thought I would ask you to restate this evening just what you said last night, so that the people will understand you." I ascended the platform, opened my Bible to the third chapter of first John, and said, '' This is the statement about which you are in controversy. I did not make it. I would not dare make it; neither do I dare fail to repeat it after God, for he said it, and it means so much to sinful man; it needs no • revision, no additions; it is stated plainly in good

Our Father's Ambition.

'ff!E AlllDING SPIRIT.

language, easy to understand. I have nothing to say about it; it is simply God's word, and this people, like all the rest of the world, are to take it and do with it whatsoever they will, and take the consequences. If there is controversy aboLlt it, the controversy is with the word of God, and not with me."

For myself I thank God that he has such an ambition as pe~·fect cleanliness for me; and that he can not be persuaded to be satisfied with anything less; for satisfaction with uncleanness would discount either his love or power. The only complaint for which I ever have had any ground in all my life has been the difficulty which has existed in my own heart and life· because of the taint of sin. That is the only thing 'that has ever made me any trouble, that has ever cast a shadow over my way. There have been times when, on account of pervet-ted vision, I thought other people were niaking shadows for me to walk in; but I have come to see that the only shadow that can fall on any human life is the shadow of one's own sinning. And so I am glad to be permitted to send out this

message concerning this word of command from our God, this word of hope, this word which is exceeding big with a great joy; I am glad that he requires us to be clean, and that, because he requires it, he has made ample provision for its attainment.

We have an answer to Job's question when he asked, " What is man, that he should be clean ·1 '' " Y e are the sons of God." That is what we are , and as the children of the great King, what right have we to be defiled and unsightly in the eyes of the holy angels, who are his servants and ours as well, sent forth to minister to them that shall be heirs of salvation? What father can endure to see his child all covered with the mire of the pit? Insomuch a~ he can be indifferent to such a condition, he is less than a father. Yon meet your child on the street as you are going about your business; he comes running to you all covered with the filth of the gutter.

You are shocked and offended,- offended with the condition, not with the child. Yon will turn from your urgent business to take the child home to his

What is

Man?- Ood's Child.

mother, that he may be washed and dressed and made presentable, as well as comfortable. For your own sake you must do this. And so our God, for his own sake, will have us clean.'

The wonder of Job at the grandeur of this requirement grows as he looks up and cries out, '' He putteth no trust in his saints; yea, the heavens are not clean in his sight.'' Evei:J. the star-dust, as it falls over the va·s t spaces of ether, is defiled. Even the heavens are not as perfect in his sight as he expects man to be. Just think of it ! He has a higher ambition for man than he has for anythi-ng that exists anywhere in all the universe. He will never be satisfied with us until we are presented befo~·e him '' without blemish, without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing,'' and to this end he has made the most expensive provision for our cleansing, such as is but faintly expressed in any words which even the inspired pen could frame. '' This shall be a statute forever unto you : that m the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict yolll· souls, and do no work

I !SlL.

THE SPIRI'l' OF BURNING.

at all, whether it be one of your country, ot· a stranger that sojourneth among you : for on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the Lord. '' 1

Even if there is a guest to entertain; even if a stranger has come to abide, however distinguished he may be, his presence must not interfere with this work of being made clean. His standards may be different; he may wish to indulge in many things which would seem all right to the blind; but your eyes have been opened to see, and as with the ancient children, so with us, the process by which we are kept clean must take precedence of everything besides.

'' Be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord." 2 And who are they? Some favored few ? " Bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the Lord.'' 3 And who are these ? Who are the chosen and rejected in this service of the Lord's .house ? Once it was a certain class who in the set·- :'ice of the tabernacle and temple cal'l"ied the ves-

Le v. l!i: 29, 30.

"Is a. 52: ll.

rsa. 66: 20.

From All

Sin.

Who Are They.

The Larger Oospel.

sels of the Lord's house, and another certain class that in other vessels brought the offerings. But these two classes included the entire number of the hosts of Israel; not one was left out, unless he had refused to make himself clean; and while in one sense cleanness or uncleanness was optional with each, yet in another important sense, it was not. He must be clean to bear the vessel. The ~essel must not be handled with unclean hands. The means of cleansing were within reach of every man, so that he had no excuse for being counted out, he must be clean or let the vessel alone. This type :is more than fulfilled in our day.

In the larger gospel all class distinction vanished, and when the veil of the temple was ~·ent, and the holy oil was poured forth in the Peutecost, and the solated temple service was abolished, and the word went forth which claimed the human body as the temple of God; then it came to pass that the vessels of the Lord's house were distributed as widely as humanity; and there can be ·found nowhere to-daJ: any hmau being who has not been called to this most sacred office of carrying

'l'HE SPIRIT OF BURNING.

both the vessels of the temple and those that hold the offering. Every organ of the body is a vessel The Vessels of the Lord, that is to be filled with the holy oil of tbe Lord. of the Spirit. God has in au almost prodigal manner abandoned all these holy things to the use of, or abuse by, man. In the old time of tabernacle and temple he kept a most jealous guard over every sacred thing. There was a ''dead line '' The Dead about every article, beyond which, i£ a man should Line. dare to venture, he must die; but since Christ came, God seems to have withdrawn his sentries, opened every door, thrown all the keys into a heap at our feet, and to have said, ''I gave you my Son, and how shall I not with him freely give you all things? '' Here they are; '' all things A.u Are are yours." Do with me and mine what you will, Yours. until at least we perfectly understand each other, until you have demonstrated to all the universe just what you will do with the holy things of my house. A qay of judgment will come, and according to what you have done with these holy vessels will be that judgment; but I leave you free. I have been careful not to trench upon your liberty

TBl1: ABlOlNG SPJRIT.

in Obl'ist; I treat you fo1· his sake as though yon could bo tmsted to do l'ight; you bu.ve disappointed mo mf!,ny times; yon ]Jitve not called upon me; you have been wetu·y of me; yon have not Ul'ougbt mo the small offerings that ru·e right for you to sul'l'ender to me, nor yet the sacl'ifices iu which yon would luwe l'evealed yow· love nnd !lppreciation for my coufideuco aud my g1·eat gift. Bnt I remember tbat you are dust, and so I havo not caused yon to servo with offerings, nor weal'ied you with demands, for I have had regard to you. But what have you done to me~ "Thou hast bought me no sweet cn.ne wil'h money, neithe1· lHLst thou filled me with tho fat of thy sacrifices; but thOU hnst mctd,e ?nO to Se'J'Ve witlt tJ~y si;n_.q, tlwu, IL,c~tSt ~oea1riecl me witiL tl1-y inigttiti~ / " 1 so, for miue own sa.ke, the time is coming when all thy b·ansgressions, which m·o as n thick cloud, shall be blotted out and forgotten. AU nnclennnoss mnst be wiped off tho face of the univeJ·se. Aud if, in that cleansing, it is found tht\L y()u tu·o so wedued to tho nnoloan tltat yon will not forsake it, them yon must shal'e in the genOJ'III

I l lill. ~ij : ~ 2(1,

•ruE SPl:Rl'f 011' UURNINO.

doom of destruction which shall rid me of this n stench in my nostL·Ds. 1 will have Wlll Hoven

. h lB

. •• W ) llC

Clean Unl· my heavens olean. And as long as there 1s oue vcu c. spot of pollntiou in all the midst of them, they can not be olean . ''I, even I, n.m ho that blotteth out thy transg1·essions for mino own sak~, and will not remember thy sins." 1 " Put me m remembrance, let us plead togethe1·," you and I, child of my love, " declare thon " tho rea so~ why thou puttest me to this opeu shame, tbnt 1f possible" thou mayest be justified." I know there is pall intion; ''thy first father hath sinned, and thy ten.chOI'B luwo tt·ansgressed agn.inst me;" thou hast not been tanght the truth, nor al,ways bud a perfect example before thee from those who stood between me and thee, and fo1· this ranson I have even allowed the holiest ministers of my holy plnco to be put to tho most common use, until curses and reproaches have fallen upon my chosen ones and yet, now hear- 0, tho wonderful stor; of healing and of help, $t1C~ ns o?ly div.ino love Cl\n hnNe conceived, and of winch tlus requu·ement of cleanness is a token I

' Isa. <Ia : 2Ji .. ~7.

Among the most precious of the vessels of the

L or d w h' tc h G o d h as 1 e f t m

. our hands to-day, is· his own word, for it has an intimate relation to all the others, and has in our day been placed at the mercy, so to speak, of any and every hand and tongue. This holy word is taken up and carried by everybody clean and unclean. You can not pick up a newspaper, you can scarcely read an editorial upon any subject, nor the report of any market, the discussion of any project, public or private, business, legal, social, national, or in- Tossed About. ternational, that you do not find somewhere some quotation out of the Bible. Men of all classes are constantly quoting the word of God. Saloon men have texts of scripture hung on the walls of the saloon. The ''hoodlum " has fragments of the word of God in his vocabulary, and throws them at his companions with jibe and jest and blasphemy, knowing nothing, caring nothing about where they came from, and if called upon for their origin, wo~ld probably refer you to some comic almanac, or disreputable sheet such as caters to the lowest orders of human thought; and

The Word a tlolyVessel,

THE Sl'IH.lT Olf

BUl~NING .

yet, whet·eve1· found, it is still the word of God, - the holy vessel of his house, filled with the oil of his Spirit. It is always alive with the power to defend and avenge itself, and it is dangerous to take it up and bear it with unclean hands. One thing that has brought this nation into the position it holds to-day, one thing which has produced such hardness of heart and such blindness, is the unwarranted, and careless use of God's word. Many a man would give his right hand if he could have the word of God set free fwm the defilement with which his own handling of it has covered it for him ; for by his use of it, it has become associated in his mind with such unholy things that in the time of his soul's extremity he can see no help in it.

A man whom I knew in my work years ago is an illustration of this fact. He came to me in gt·eat distress of mind because he had begun to realize what it is to be a lost man. He had been for two years· trying to get sober, but had never succeeded. · He had never been willing that we should pray for him; he had no use for Christ nor the

The Spirit the Holy 011 ·

Needed Victory.

I> ragged through Filth.

THE ABIDING Sl'IKIT.

THE SfiRI'r OF BURNING.

gospel, and yet he felt his need. He came on this particular day, and said, '' I£ any poor fellow ever needed victory, I need it; and I want you to help me. But,'' he said, '' you must not give me anything out of the Bible, nor any church phrases.'' Then, seeing, I suppose, the look of perplexity that must have come into my face, he said quickly, '' Not because I have any quarrel with the · Bible any longm·- I have got past that, but you know I am familiar with all you would say in that line. I know the Bible by heart from beginning to end. This little book'' taking his well-worn copy from his pocket, '' has done more saloon work than any old crusader's Bible in the country. I used to win my drinks from the crowd by quoting and interpreting scripture; and every text that. you give to the other men, and that helps them, I have so dragged through the filth of the saloon that it damns me. Every one, whenever I hear it, always brings up some association so vile that it can not do me any good. I£ God ever expects to save me, he must save me by some new process; he must give me some new word." "No," I answered confidently, '.' if you are ever saved, yon must be saved by the same old word, and the same old Blood, which you have counted among unholy things."

It is a terrible extremity for any soul when he has hopelessly polluted the only vessel out of which he can. drink the only draft that can quench his thirst and save him from death. But this man is not the only one who has handled this vessel of the Lord with unclean hands, to his mJury. It is done every day by those who profess to be clean, by light quotations in the home or social circle, by its hurried use at family worship, .before rushing away to business in the morning, by efforts at explaining away its straight, plain meaning, because to take it as it reads is a constant reproof of some darling indulgence, or requires some service which it does not please them to render. To the head of every family comes this injunction with peculiar force : "Be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord," that they be not profaned in the sight of those with whom he is associated in his common daily living.

A Polluted Vessel.

Toke It as It Reads.

uncleanness neans Death.

Keeps a

Record.

Uncleanness means death. The word of God is a savor of death to those who will not be made clean by it. Christ said, '' Now are ye clean chrongh the word which I have spoken unto yon;" and concerning the work of this word in us a careful record is kept, so that all those who from the courts of heaven are watching the working out of the problem of our regeneration shall know that no mistakes have been possible, and so th3:t we shall be ourselves left without any cause for complaint or fear. The word which as we have seen is everywhere at hand, tells us how to become clean; and as we take that word and begin to use or misuse it, to obey or to defy it, there i~ One who sits as a witness to the whole proceeding as it is transpiring in the secret of the heart. It is the Spirit that bears witness, because the Spirit is truth. He is sent to keep a record in every heart of just what the man does with the vessels of the Lord, as well as with the truth which is brought to his comprehension. The Spirit is given this office because he can be trusted to tell us the facts ' about our own motives in handling this word, and because he can not be bribed, coaxed, or cajoled into flattery, neither terrorized into bearing false witness. What he says, goes/ and we stand or fall in the judgment by his testimony. The word is given to teach us how to " put a difference between clean and unclean,'' and how to carry this difference through every act of life, how to perform every function of our being so as to avoid pollution and remain undefiled. Just as in the old time God was even concerned as to what his people should eat, drink, and wear, so now, by the same word, there is for us the same careful teaching, to which has been added the example of our Lord and the developments of science, as applied to healthful living, to disease and its cure. Jesus had reference to all these things when he said, "Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you," -the words of the Bible; the word which was g~ven from Mt. Sinai; the words which were spoken through Moses and all the prophets; the words of instruction which, all through the~r emigration from Egypt to Canaan, followed the hosts of Israel; the words from Jesus'

What He Says. Goes.

Clean through the

Word.

Controversy with the

Word.

own lips; and those spoken by the apostles; and which in these later times are sent us through the servants whom God has chosen; these are all means by which we are to be made clean; and the Spirit that is within us; the Spirit by which we are to understand and incorporate this word into our daily lives, bears a record within us as to what we do with this precious vessel,-whether we make of it a vessel to honor or dishonor by our obedience, repudiation, or perversion.

It is a startling fact that in our day there is a continual and pet·sistent effort to get away from the plain, straight teaching of the word. There is controversy with the word of God, a denial of the true witness almost everywhere; and because of this many are feeble, many are sick, many sleep in the dust who might have lived to see the coming of the Lord in his glory. It is not impossible to-day for a man to be a member of a church and use tobacco, to drink intoxicating liquors, abuse every organ of his body by unhygienic living, impure habits, and un oly uses; such a one can sit comfortably under ordinary preaching, although his life may be absolutely lecherous. There is not yet even a "remnant" of whom it can be said, This is a people who bear the vessels of the Lord with clean hands, and therefore do not need to hear and take to heart the warnings of God; of whom some are not in controversy with the plain teaching of God's word, and as to how literally it is to be taken. And because of this, there is leanness of soul, lack of power, and unreadiness for the baptism of the Holy Ghost. And it is still necessary for the word of God to find advocates and champions who shall plead its ability to make clean that which sin has polluted. Look at the patience of God,-how he stoops to use his word to teach men and women concerning personal purity, concerning purity in conjugal life, that kind of cleanness which makes the whole' man and the whole woman clean, and makes possible the holy seed which he longs for in the children of men. After his word, how he has almost squandered the riches of his grace in order to keep that one true witness in every §9"!11. Auq IWt gnly this 1 but col]cern.

How Ood

.Stoops to Man.

Only the lloly Shall Rem.aln.

ing these same facts '' there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one" (or agreed). And furthermore, '' there are three that hear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood; " 1 and in the testimony of these witnesses the truth shall be so established that no one can be left to feel that he had any right to stand up and accuse God of making a mistake in the Judgment. No one can say, "I was a member of the church all my life; I was a member of it forty years, and I ought to be saved by that record." The doing of mighty works will not acquit any from the charge of uncleanness.

Nothing but cleanness, as recorded by these true witnesses, can do it.

'' And it shall come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, .and he that remaineth in J erusalem, shall be called holy,'' by him who knows what is holy. These who have borne the record are those who shall determine who it is that is holy. " When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of th:e daughters of Zion, and shall havA

1 John 6 : 6-8.

purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning," "Can· thine heart endure, or can thine hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with thee? I the Lord have spoken it, and will do it. And I will scatter thee among To Consume ·

Filthiness. the heathen, and disperse thee in the countnes; and will consume thy filthiness out of thee. Son of man, the house of Israel is to me become dross : all they are brass, and tin, and iron, and lead, in the midst of the f?rnace; they are even the dross of silver. Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Because ye are all become dross, behold, therefore I will gather you into the midst of J ern- . salem. As they gather silver, and brass, and In the ii·on, and lead, and tin into the midst of the fur- Purnace. nace, to blow the fire upon it, to melt it; so will I gather yon in mine anget· and in my fury, and I will leave you there, and melt you. Yea, I will gather you, and blow you in the fire of my wmth, and ye shall be melted in the midst thereof. As silver is melted in the midst of the furnace, so shall ye be melted in the midst thereof; and ye

Not a Vandal.

To Save Vineyard Beauty.

shall know that I the Lord have pomed out my fury upon you,"- to the end that the dl'Oss may be separated from the fine gold and silver. 1 Many are the complaints that fill the world concerning this destructive power, as though it were a vandal, and would make away with all beauty and bloom from the gardens of life.

But nothing is more sure than that the Spirit is not come to destroy any vineyard beauty.

Listen ! Oonceming his vineyard the Lord has said, '' I tl~e Lord do keep it/ I will water it every moment~· lest any A1trt it, I will keep it nig!d and day.

Fury is not in me." As though the Lord had to defend himself against a charge of being wantonly destructive ! "Fury is not in me : who would set the briers and thorns against me in battle? I would go through them, I would burn thmn together.'' I could destroy all things. I am able to save and to destroy.

I save beauty and truth and purity and fruitfulness, and destroy their destroyer. The briers and thorns must be burned up, for they destroy the vineyard. But the fire is not for the vineyard.

The only thing that could ever make it possible for a vine to be destr(/yed would be that it was so entangled with the thorns and briers that it could not be separated from them, could not bear fruit, and so must be pulled up with them and thrown into the same heap. . The only complaint that would ever come from the fmnace would be from the dross. The gold and the silver would exult in its fiercest heat. What is destruction to the dross is the joy of salvation to the metal which is being made ready to reflect the face of Him who stts over it and watches until he sees his perfect image as in a mirror which has no flaw.

All that is combustible is food for the Spirit of burning- and only that. The one mission upon which he is sent forth is to consume all that is capable of destruction- all that mars the clean and pel'fect beauty of the universe of God . . "Thus will I make thy lewdness to cease from thee, and thy whoredom brought from the land of Egypt: so that thou shalt not lift up thtne eyes unto them, nor remember Egypt any more." 1

Eze. 22 : 14-22.

Eze. 23 : 27.

Silver De· lights in the Fire.

To Make Lewdness to Cease.

To Try Every nan's Work.

It is that Egyptian lewdness may cease ; for the consumption of the wood, hay, and stubble -for the testing of every man's work that it may clearly appear to every eye that is watching the working out of the world's problem- that God is kind as well as just, and just as well as kind : for this purpose the spirit of burning shall try every man's work of what sort it is. 1

As he comes to do this office he brings with him the word of instruction the gift of repentance . and the power of obedience; that the people of • God may be saved in the hour when all things that have not already endured the test of the Spirit of burning shall melt as in a furnace.

''There cometh one after me,'' said John the Baptist, "the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose, and be shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire." When that is done, then there shall come to pass the fulfilment of that wonderful promise,-" Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you : and ye shall be witnesses unto me.'' Then there shall go out a volume of testimony from

1 Cor. a: 12, 13.

every heart, from ev~ry life, which ·shall catTy conviction of the truth to all who bear. There will be power in that testimony, such as never invested the crown of any king. It will be the crown of life to all who receive it. Power is a coveted blessing. Anything that will give power is eagerly seized. Simon the sorcerer was only one of the To Buy the Power. many who would give money to buy the power of a spirit-crowned life. But to all such comes the reply, "Thy money perish with thee." The Holy Spirit will not crown an unclean man; but only him who has put the same difference between clean and unclean that God has done, and has become willing to be the truth.

Multitudes of hungry souls are waiting to-day for a testimony which can not be impeached concerning the possibility of being clean. They naturally look to . those who are known by the name of the Heavenly Family to furnish this testimony. Words alone will not carry it. It is too large for human speech, Too Lorge for Speech. it must :flow out of every pore of the human body, and fill the atmosphere which we carry with us. It must speak in the glance of the eye, drop from

The Baptism of Fire.

the tips of the fingers, whether one is transacting business, or ministering in the ordinary affairs of the world. And wherever the world is the vilest, and sin is the darkest, wherever it is the hardest to be a Christian, there is the place where such a testimony will tell for God, and become the most effective weapon against our enemy. It is there that God has special need of a witness, of a testimony, of a living habitation for the Abiding Spirit, and the Spirit of buming has come in this day to make his temple holy- which temple ye are- so that it may be fit for him to live and work in. 1

In Dalmatia the houses are made of a bituminous stone, which is soft, and very easily cut and shaped. The whole house is made of it,- floot·, walls, roof, all finishing, inside and out.

But when it is finished it is uninhabitable because it t·eeks with bitumen of a strong odor, so it is completed by setting it on fire and leaving it to burn. It. burns and burns. It burns like coal. The fire goes through, inside and out, sucking the bitumen from all the pores of the saturated etone,

1 1 Cor. :j:

'rHE SPIRIT OF BURNING .

sucking and burning until everything that can burn has passed away in gas and smoke, an d tho fire flickers and dies out for lack of food. Then, and not till then, the cottage is finished, and stands as white as the: purest marble, habitable and sweet as cleanliness can make it. You might take that house, and set it down in the fiercest forest or prairie fire that ever raged, and there could pass no flame upon it. There remains nothing for the fire to tie to; every combustible element has 'been burned out, and it 1s fire-proof.

The Spirit of burning has been sent to do that same work for us. We are fill ed with combustible material, and that which can be burned, must be, sooner or later. There is to be a :the as m:iversal as the bitumen of uncleanness.

It will burn and burn until nothing is left in all the universe upon which_ a flame can fasten. We can not stay or hind et· that burning. Only the back-fire of the Holy Spirit going through our own natures and buming us out clean, can tum away the wrath of that fierceness. We are given the right and power to choose when and how the Spit·it of

Fire·proof.

~he Back· fire.

buming shall do his work on us. Whethet· it shall be done under the conditions that will leave a beautiful white temple fol' God to inhabit and enjoy, or only ashes under the feet of his saints.

God has chosen that we shall be cleansed, - - that the fire shall pass th1·ough us, and over us, and burn up sin, and leave us absolutely fire~proof.

But his choice for you and for me is not an· arbitrary choice. In one sense, however, it is a1·bitrary; he h6ldtJ himself arbitmrily to one thing: he says, Nothing "I can consent to nothing less than purity, because Less.

this is the child of my love; my son, the King's son; he must be left free to himself choose whether or not he will keep my law; whether or not he will be clean, and so inherit the reward of the holy

01· the vile. He has the right of the king's son to make his own choice, without undue persuasion, or any ovenuling, a1·bitrary force, as to whether or not he shall endm·e '' as seeing Him who is The Astlgma· invisible/'' whether or not, the astigmatism of imtism Re-

. a wor ld moved.

punty remove d , h e s l 1a ll . open h' 18 eyes m in which God has become visible, while he lboks not at the things which are seen, but at the 'chings

which are not seen,- at only the things which are tempo1·al and perish with the using, or at the things which are eternal.

with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.''

There spreads before us a vast expanse of truth upon which we ought to launch in the joy of the Holy Ghost. But since the only way by which we can comprehend what is ours in the resources of the Holy Ghost is by the measure of our own necessities, Satan often takes advantage of the situation to becloud our outlook and dissolve our joys in unavailing tears. But '' again I say rejoice." 2 The need that sends us to the storehouse is an occasion always for hallelujahs: anything that will make a man pray, honestly pray, is a blessing, no matter how it looks. Thank God, that since we are afflicted with the infirmities which sin has produced, he has given us a plummet by which each can make a sounding for himself into the deep seas of the unspeakable gift. This plummet, which is in the hands of every man, is his own consciousness of sin, his own sense of need the ' knowledge of the possibility of his own degradation. When any man has come to comprehend

Chapter 6: With Other Tongues

Consistency.

"Wao is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him show out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdo~." 1 "For there is nothing covered that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known. T.herefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in the closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.'' 2

''And when the day of Pentecost was :fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the ' house where they were sitting. And the1;e appeared unto them cloven tongues, like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak

James a; 13,

Acts 2:1-4,

•Phil. 4:4.

A Plummet.

Nothing Can

Be Covered.

TBE A:tHDING SPIRIT.

the anguish, of a soul thoroughly awakened to its sinning, and has become earnest about putting sin away, then is he far advanced in learning those things that "eye hath not seen, nor ear heard." 1 No man is ever able to conceive of salvation beyond his own conscious need of it; nor of sin, beyond his own possibility of falling. God does not wish any man to comprehend this possibility. He knows that by too long a look into that depth the stoutest heart must become discouraged, and the most innocent, hardened; so he has set a great hope before us, and lifted up for our gaze the man Jesus, to whose perfection we are to look instead of to our own failures, and by whose victories we are to be encouraged when our own defeats would drive us to despair. . For our perfect safety it has been arranged that there can be nothing covered up in our hearts which shall not be clearly revealed in our lives. A sin covered is like a smoldering fire, which must sooner or later break out into devouring flames. The first two children ever born illustl·ated this principle by which the hidden things of the heart are made known. Cain was the child of contention with God and of a fiercely raging passion, which was Satan's exultation at his victory. He should never have been conceived, but was the inevitable result of the angry rebellion of our first parents against the power with which they had come in conflict by disobedience, and against which they would gladly have armed themselves in war if they had not been so helpless. The history of the race compels us to believe that they had it in them to fight for the possession of their beautiful horne, and were only restrained from overt acts against the .decree <;hat sent them forth, by the hopeles~­ ness of the case. Adam bore ingrained in his nature, as disobedience had changed it, the in. stincts of rebellion, perversity, hatred, and crime; and his ~on, begotten under these conditions, could be no less than Cain. He could do no less than publish upon the housetop what transpired at his conception, and in those long hours and months during which his mother nursed rebellion in the secret of her heart.

Abel was the child of penitence and contrition;

1 Cor. 2:9.

Could Be No Less Than Cain.

node Abel Possible.

Pnt·enthood n Publisher of Secrets.

of thoughtful, deliberate submission to God and his law, and of glad expectancy of the fulfilment of the promise which was made to the children that should come of this fallen pair. I like to think of the wholesome discipline, of the labor and pain by which Eve brought forth her firstborn; of its subduing and hallowing effect upon ·her nature; how God consecrated motherhood in her to its holy reformative mission, and through it taught her, as he has her daughters ever since, more of himself than she could ever have known otherwise. And I like to think of how the touch of her baby's little hands upon her breast, and in Adam's tangled beard, together with all the cares which his helplessness required, opened the fountains of repentance, illuminated the principles of obedience, and prepared the way for .that new and better sorrow, that repentance that needed not to be repented of, that made Abel possible.

So do all parents publish abroad the secrets of their hearts, and perpetuate them in the lives of their children; and so may they learn thro~gh

their parenthood the tenderest truths that have been expressed . in Christ.

It is just as true that that which is holy shall be revealed as that which is unholy; so as we look out over this vast sea of truth, we shall be made to rejoice according as we appreciate its possibilities, -rejoice because there bas been found an antidote fot every grain of poison that bas filtered down through long generations of an evil heredity, and which threatens every life with present trouble, or with dangerous developments later on. That antidote is administered by the Spirit, that searchetb out both the poison in us and our children, and the remedy, which is Christ.

When the Holy Ghost fell upon the disciples on the day of Pentecost, they began to speak with other tongues. I do. not doubt that they spoke words which, while strange to their tongues, were I.

. d es o f perfectly understood by tu,e amaze d mu l htu those to whom their language was unknown. I also belie-ve that these new utterances by the Holy Ghost included more than simple speech, that it was also an expression of a life made new; for

Tongue of Fire an En• dorsement of the Heart.

No Easy

Victory.

otherwise the tongue· must very soon have become confused and silent. The Holy Spirit could not have continued to endorse with these new tongues a life that was not in harmony with his own holy impulses. He must have known, as he began to utter himself by these other tongues, that the heart, hand, foot, brain, and every power of the whole body was in keeping with the pure·thoughts and words that he was uttering with these borrowed tongues; and it must always be that whenever the Spirit of God is poured out' upon any man, this fact must be evidenced by every utterance of the life; that he shall truly manifest the character of the Holy Spirit in all things, in all places, in all his dealings with men and women in the world, and in his own home.

But the Holy Spirit is not to be given an easy victory over the enemy which lurks in the human heart, and nowhere does he find stronger entrenchments to bring down and dismantle than in the home life and in the experiences of the yourig. My heart goes out to the young of this generation, and especially to those who walk in the light of present truth; ·for I can but see how they must each stand alone in a place especially peculiat· and separate fi·om the young life abou~ them.

~ strong tide of worldliness and impunty has set m toward the youth in this day, to sweep it away from all anchorage into the abyss of ruin; and the natural anchorages of home, school, and church have become so insecure, so uncertain, that there seems left no visible succor for a temptation-tossed child. If a young man would escape with his soul alive and clean from ~ctu~l impurity, he must in his tender years enltst m a wm;fare before which age and experience have often stood appalled. He must stem a tide of unbelief, as well as of aggressive evil, such as no other generation of youth has ever had to meet; and the more closely he has determined to conform his life to the plain teaching of the word of God the purer the life he would live, the stt·onger the iight in which he would walk, the more will peculiar difficulties beset his way. The profoundest sympathy of the church should be enlisted for the Christian young people of our time; and their

Sympathy for the

Young, fathers and mothers should make sure that in the home there is found all of safe counsel and example that can come from •the largest gifts of the Abiding Spirit in their own hearts.

Especially does all this apply to the young people of Sabbath-keeping churches. They can not go into, and mingle with the workers of, the '' Christian world" with that freedom with which other young people change from church to church. As missionaries, as teachers, or as business men, they meet other young Christians in theit· various associations and societies. They recognize in them the spirit of consecration. A great many of them know what it means to be led by the Spirit of God. They are living up to all the light which they have received, they are crowding eagerly forward into the '' mot·e and more unto the perfect day ' ' 1 that is before them. Our young people, seeing the manifestations of power which accompany them, are inclined to say, "Why can not I join them? Why must I isolate myself, why be so separate and peculiar? When I go into

1.Prov. 4 : 18.

a city, or some other community, why can not I keep the day which ~hese good Christians regard as the Sabbath, and be jist as good a Christian as they? " This is a live question, and it will become more and more so as time passes. It must be faced more and more squarely until the end. And besides this, our young people must meet the fact that these Christians honestly believe them to be in error. Not knowing the Scriptures; with all their hearts believing as they have been taught by those who have transgressed against God in their teaching 1 that our young people are in error; they must, according to the degree of their honesty, put forth efforts to convince them of that error, and to persuade them away from the standards about which all their convictions cluster, and lead them back to that which must be darkness to those who have ever seen the Sabbath.

The difference between these two classes of young people is this: The honest Sunday-keeper, walking in all the truth which he knows, with his face towat·d the light, has the approval of the

1 Isa,.

A Live Ques tion for uur Vouth.

How Con He Know?

Spirit-guide, who is leading him as rapidly as he can follow. But he who has been taught in advance truth, if he would walk with him as a friend, must turn and go with his back to the light to meet him, his face toward the shadow of recognized error; and so he can but stumble and fall out of the way.

But how is he to know the safe way, which has often been hidden from more experienced feet? How is he to realize in the hour of strong temptation which is surely coming, when the suggestion will be made that these young people have just as much truth as anybody can be sure of, that some of them know more about the power of the Holy Ghost than he has ever heard of in all his lifewhen his heart cries out, '' How can all these young people, and their strong, intelligent leaders be wrong? Why must I be considered a sinner, an outlaw, if I join them in this enthusiastic and fruitful Christian life that they live and in which they work?

Why should that which is 'present truth' to them oe so far away from me that I can not GVen be a Ohrietian and 13tand with them in it? ·Why must I be so alone in a peculiar and unpopular faith which in itself is a handicap? " Then when these questions will come, how shall he know for a certainty that the faith represented by his father and mother is the truth? how shall he find his way out of the fog of error, which seems so pure, into the clear light of this latter-day truth?

For a young man or'woman to stand alone in the gaze of a whole community of other young people, under such conditions, will require nothing less than a great conviction, vitalized by the power of the Holy Spirit. And any man and woman who take upon themselves the responsibility of bringing children into a home made peculiat· by a peculiar faith, and so disqualifying them for honorable agreement with all the rest of the '' Christian world,'' have made themselves especially responsible to see that the conditions of power by which alone any shall be able to stand amid the perils of the last days, are as fully met as they can possibly provide. No father and mother can take the place of the Holy Spirit to their children. They

Must Stand

Alone.

can not furnish them with victory over self; they can not surrender for them, nor in their stead choose whom they will serve; but they can give them a living, constant testimony to the truth, which will be food for faith, sufficient to give them strength to lay hold of truth and repudiate error every time, if they so choose.

If the children must be peculiar, they should know why. This knowledge shared with father and mother will beget love for truth, no matter how strange it may be in the eyes of the young about them. These young people were born into these homes without their choice. The peculiar circumstances which surround them are not of their election. That election must come later, by their own free choice, under the enlightenment of the Spirit. Mayhap some of them carry the very mark of Cain; while the parents, conscious of this fact~ and how it came to be, may have been made to believe, as many have, that this '' brand '' is the seal of eternal doom. But this is a monstrous falsehood, intended to embarrass an already difficult situation, so as to make ruin certain through

the despair of parents and children together. I never hesitate, on the· authority of God's Word, to deny that any child was ever left out of that invitation of Christ when he said, Suffer little children to come unto me, 1 or, Come all ye ends of the earth and be ye saved. 2 No conditions of birth can nullify the power of the Holy Spirit. Cain might have been saved. He might have offered just as acceptable a sacrifice as Abel. The time came when the whole responsibility was upon him; and so it will be with every child. The parent must answer for his share; but for no more. Every individual must bare his own sin. Each must have his own consciousness of need, and accept the gift of God for himself. Because of this, there comes out of this vast ocean of truth to-day warning, exhortation, promises, helps, not for the masses, not for the classes, but for every individual soul.

0, the helps! I would not dare come with o, the the message which is burning in my soul if I had Helps I not faith in the helps. If I did not know some-

Matt. 19 :H.

• Isa. 45 : 22.

Pure Flesh .

thing of the power of the Holy Spirit I should lmve to be silent. But in Him is abounding grace. There is uttermost salvation, even for the most delinquent parent, and the most careless of children. That help is to be found, however, in the practical application of Holy Ghost power to the common things of home life,- those things which have been considered as outside of his reach, ,or of the promise of his operation; that have been ignored, ruled out of account, as so entirely of the flef?hly nature, so common to the whole animal creation that they were not subject to the law of God, neither indeed could be. But it is only the mind that is carnal, rebellious, unsanctified, unclean. The flesh is what the mind makes it. Through the mind made clean by the washing of regeneration, and brought by a true consecration into harmony with the Holy Spirit, the flesh in all its functions can become as sweet and pm;e from all suggestions of evil as the spiritual body of the new earth will be. In fact, a fleshly body, so cleansed, must be the soil out of which the perfect flower of life will blossom into beauty, like the lily from the bulb; in the spiritual body-a holy future can never become a re,ality without a holy present somewhere in the experience. No man can live in lust all his days here and awaken in the resurrection to the liberty of Christ. To use liberty as an occasion to the flesh 1 will make cel'tain that the flesh, growing by the indulgence upon which it is fed, will in the end use its liberty to tyrannize over the soul and bind it in chains of 'darkness and pain, from which the second death will be its only release. A home free from every taint of lust is the right of every child. Many can not have it, but yours . should : and if you are in agreement with the Abiding Spirit, they will.

Gal. 5: IH.

'l'HE UNlTY OF THE SPIRI'r .

Chapter 7: The Unity of the Spirit

PAUL has given us a beautiful picture of the Christian Iiome :

" Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; and walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself fot· us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savor. But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient; but rather giving of thanks. For this ye know that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no man deceive you with vain words; for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Be not ye therefore partakers with them, . . . and be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be ye filled with the

Spirit; speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, ~inging and making melody in your heat·t to the Lord; giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our L01·d Jesus Christ; submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God. Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the Saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word. That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: for we are members

Following Father.

of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless let every one of yon in particular so love his wife even as himself ; and the wife see that she reverence her husband." 1

A little girl was one morning playing merrily about the room with her two brothers, when suddenly there was a break in the happy voice, and it fell into heart-broken sobs. I looked up from my work, and saw the child leaning against the window casing, her face wet with tears and dis_ totted with grief, while her wide-open eyes were gazing fixedly upward. I hastened to her, crying, "What in the world is it, darling~" For reply, she lifted her hand and pointed toward the hillside across the way and beyond the village. I followed the gesture, and saw a man with some kind of tool on his shoulder climbing the hillside, while in the narrow path behind him followed on a little girl, trudging, stumbling, sometimes down, then up, but

Eph. 5 :1-7, 18-33.

'l'HE UNITY OF 'l'HE SPIRIT.

merrily, always following. I understood; words were not needed; foi· I knew that in the little cemetery which lay in full view from the same window, the father of this little weeper had been laid to his long sleep only a few weeks before. She had followed his steps up the hillside many a time, but ''never, never again," was the knell that was tolling in her heart.

I have never since that day read, "Be y~ followers of God as dear children," that this scene has not come back 'to me with all its pathetic meaning. If it seems hard, up-hill work to keep up with our heavenly Father's ambition for us, let us stop and think what it would be to be what Satan has tried to make us think we are,-'-- orphans. Let us rejoice in our Father, and in the privilege of following after him. Let us rejoice in the high standard which he has set for us to measure by, in all his commandments, for not one of them is grievous; 1 every one is by the Abiding Spirit made into a promise, and so with joy let us come to study our privileges in the Holy Spirit, and what a Christian home may be, yea, must be.

11 John 5;3.

Fatherless.

Our Father's Ambition for Ul .

The Child's Right.

The Human Unit.

It IS the right of every boy and girl by both precept and example to be taught, and of every father and mother to be able to teach, just what Paul meant in this letter to the Ephesian husbands and wivee, fathers, mothers, and chiid1·en; just what it means to walk in love ; what love is, a applied to tho e relati.ons that make the home · 0 that they may be able to avoid anything which would produce an un avory odol' in the 11ostril f the Abiding Spirit, who has determined to stand by u.s uutil the end and so that they m~y be ab] to fall into line with tht beautiful hat·mony which should distinguisl the b me as God made it and alsp to avoid being deceived by the man o.f fashion, who would, by vain words, lead us into all manner of foolishness.

The word of God everywhere takes note of the ...- fact that man was created male and female, that man and woman must live and work together. It even declares that it is not good for them to be separated; 1 while all the world, and especially the fathers and mothers, in these days seem to think that the only safety is in separation. Satan's first tGen. 2:18.

work in the ho'me was to separate Adam and Eve, and so make it possible to take her alone in the ~nare of temptation; and ever since he has tried to keep the human unit divided. We no longer see man as he was created,- a unit,- but only the two severed halves, each so conscious of the lack of, so perpetually reaching out after, .the other that there seems neither peace, safety, nor purity anywhere; for purity in this relation means the proper relation of these severed halves.

Just as soon as the girl and the boy in neighboring homes begin to take note of the necessity which exists within them, each for the other, the parents, unprepared for this crisis by the cleansing and teaching of the Holy Spirit, not having made any provision in the early training of the children for this inevitable awakening of nature, are at their wits' end; afraid, if they are conscientious; if not, amused ; but always suspicious of mischief. The first notice taken is usually by ridicule, or some sharp command, such as must close up every avenue of sympathy between parent and child, leaving him, bewildered in his ignorance, to ex-

The First Division.

Awakening Nature.

Unconscious Sensualism.

periment for himself with a power, that, understood and obeyed, means life; but otherwise, shame and disaster.

The Christian boy or girl who has 'c ome to the age where each knows that he is but one half of the human unit, has wished a hundred times that he could have some practical and safe counsel as to ~ust how to conduct himself: just what is proper; JUSt what would cover him from ridicule, from reproof, from sneering looks and light remarks that seem to be a part of his inheritance as a youth. He recognizes a continual conflict between the nature within him and the atmosphere of even the Christian world: He is perplexed, and does not know what to do with himself. He is a victim of unconscious sensualism, which is a part of his sinful birthright; the burden of which he realizes but .

' whwh he does not comprehend, and much less know how to meet. And here is the danger. I£ he were instructed and led by those who are wise and pure enough to lead, how different all his future might be. Innocent, unconscious sensualism, unchecked, is a hotbed of every vicious thing; and

~---------~ because it 1s 'universal, it has become the most discouraging feature of the present situation. Scarcely can a boy or girl be found who has escaped its touch. The child does not know what to call it. Perhal)S the father and mother do not. Untaught Parent~age. They may not have ever dreamed of its nature, because they have all been alike entangled. There is, however, a clue to its presence which, once recognized in its true character, accepted and followed, will lead any honest seeker after purity, A Clue to Self·help. back to the inner fountain of his own heart, over which the Holy Spirit stands guard, waiting for a chance to cleanse it of this get·m of foulness, that it may flow out clean and sweet, a stream of life, and not death. The youth who will seek for light on this point will be able to detect in himself the stirring of this secret sensualism, so that if father and mother have not taught him, he may be able to read it for himself, as the Word of God shall reveal it in his own nature for his own warning, and by it be led through the mazes into which his feet may have been caught, so that he need not stumble.

The Spirit within, the W 01·d that is '' nigh thee,' 'r as well as the written Testimony, will keep all helps within reach of eve1·y honest soul. We will suppose that the eye reading this page is that of some girl who is conscious of strange impulses, which keep her self-conscious, because she can not forget one special friend who is her neighbor's son. She sees him approaching the bouse on some errand, and involuntarily her hand slips up to her hair, perhaps she runs to the glass and deftly rearranges it, throws off her soiled apron, places a bit of bright ribbon somewhere about her d1·ess, sticks a i1ower in her hair ot· belt,- anything to make her look a little neater and more modish than she has been all the morning about the house among the home folks. And he, as h'e catch0o sight of her, adjusts his necktie, sets his head a little more bravely upon his shoulders, becomes suddenly conscious of awkwardness, which he painfully tt·ies to overcome, all the while feeling that he is the laughing-stock of all who may be looking on. All these efforts to trim themselves in some way for each other's eyes are un-

' Rom. tO :8.

mistakable indications of that latent sensualism which is the forerunner of unholy thought, desire, and life. The world says that this is only natural, while it laughs and cracks jokes at the expense of the children, and would foster the impulse out of which these manifestations spring. Even father and mother aid in its developments by the atmosphere with which they fill the home, not unlikely giving the gil'l the sly hint which will give her the chance to '' slick up '' before '' he '' comes in sight.

Let the conscious youth who recognizes this as a part of his own experience, pause to think why he should try to appear better in any way for any neighbor's girl than he would for father, mother, or sister, at home. Why appear more attractive than he is naturally? Deceit here is just as deceitful as it is anywhere, and only the spirit that is in controversy with truth will consciously indulge it. In all relations which tend toward the union of two lives and the making of a home, the Holy Spirit would especially inspire the utmost frankness and simplicity. Under his direction there would

Prankness between Young nen and

No "Court· ing."

Dress~s

In .Sight of Holy

Angels.

be no '' putting on " of anything that would not become a permanent, a more perfect Chl'istlikeness. A consciousness of His presence would make every thought between these two young people true, and pure, and safe,- a constant mutual help and development in everything that tends to strength. There would be no '• courting. '' What a hateful word is this to ever have come into the vocabulary of Ch1·istians ! And, with the deceit for which it stands eliminated , burned out by the Spirit of burning from these young breasts, there would be nothing in their conduct toward each other that would provoke ridicule, or even special notice by the free-thinkers about them. The dress which was suitable for the home and its occupants would be always in good taste for each other.

All people, young and old should dress iA a .t . bl ' d b . .

' sm a e an ecommg manner, and no one more so than the follower of Christ ; and the young man who has dressed for the day's work, as a Christian should, in the sight of the Lord Jesus and the holy angels, is dres(led well enough to

meet the one .. of all others with whom he hopes sometime to make a home and spend his life. The young man who is offended because his young lady friend has not made an especial effort to appear more beautiful or stylish than is natural, because she· was expecting him, is not worthy of her regard until he has come to look at her in the light of the Abiding Spirit. Young people should be taught from earliest life to dress, and live, and work, according to principle instead of impulse, so that in every-day clothing about their duties they will carry themselves with the dignity and grace of Nature, which is always in harmony with her God. It is the office of true love to bring all things into the light, that th~re may be no possible misunderstanding. Paul's ideal of the true home is based upon an open-heartedness that leaves no dark corners for the breeding of suspicion . "Let no man deceive you with vain words : for because of these th!ngs cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. Be not ye therefore partakers with them.'' Paul might well have been looking down to our time, and to

The Office ot True Love.

The Deceit· fuJNatureof the Fashions.

Vanity the nother of Shame.

the man who makes the fashions for the world, w h en h e wrote t h ese wor d s. N ot h' mg p 1 ays a more important part in cultivating this unconscious sensual_ism in the young than the manner in which they are made to ape the world in its. fashions, so that by the time they have 'entered their teens they are fully awake to the cut of a collar, the twist of a necktie, the shape of a hat, or the garniture of a dress, to say nothing of what shall be done with the hair. The mother who so curls and dresses her child as to lead thoughtless people to turn and look and drop remarks as to his or her appearance, is sowing the seed of that vanity which is the mother of shame.

Better by far that the hair be clipped close, and the dress be always so plain and so nearly the same as t9: material and style that no one shall ever think of commenting about it, and so that the growing child will be as unconscious of it as the kitten is of hers.

I know one wealthy W. C. T . U. woman whose beautiful daughter I never remember to have seen, in all the years from childhood to young woman-

hood, in anything but a simple dress of navy blue flannel, ma,de perfectly plain, with yoke and belt, tucked, that it might be let down as she grew, and To Prevent entirely untrimmed. I know another who had Vanity. taken delight in her little girl's long curls, but who cut thmn short, without flinching, when she saw the child begin to realize that she was attracting attention by them. She did this for the salvation of· her daughter when she should come to the crisis of her life, and she had her reward. Those who are deceived by the vain words of Misappro- .

f prlatlon of the fashion-maker are led into misappropriatiOn o Funds. funds.

It is often money which can not be afforded- it is always the Lord's money- that is spent to replace the collars which are thrown into the rag- bag only because the corners are round when the fashion calls for square ones ; and not infrequently the young woman who discards her neat hat for a more modish one, has selected a style which, if worn on the streets of the city, Danger In the Latest would subject bet· to bold glances, if not to open Style. insult, simply because that particular style is known by the initiated as a sign of the awful

THE UNI'fY OF THE SPIRIT.

The ObJect of

Clothing.

TH:I<~ traffic in modesty. This is no reckless statem ent, but a fact well known to those who have looked into these matters ; and, in fact, every extl'eme in style is planned to suit the whims of the profligate pleasure-seekers among men and women of the world, and will be instinctively shunned by those who al'e taught of the Spirit.

''But, '' asks one, ''how can one know such things instinctively,even if she is led by the SpiL'it? Are they not matters of taste, and outside of morals and religion ? ''

Remember that I am writing now of and to those who are seeking to come into perfect harmony with the Abiding Spirit. That Spirit never forp;ets the purpose for which clothing was fit·st · made and worn, that it was to conceal,- so to drape the human figure as to prevent those suggestions which would hold the mind in perpetual bondage to the lower nature. The spirit of the world, as manifested in fashion, is constantly try~ ing to make the outlines of the dress ~o suggestive as to minister to the passions of the depraved, and a woman who is taught · by, and in harmony with, the Holy Spirit, will by that saine Spirit have her instincts so refined and quickened that she will see and understand those suggestive lines in the fashionable dress, and avoid them as she would deadly poison. The world is full of men who are in a hand-to-hand struggle with every evil passion, fleeing as for their lives from . Sod om; b~t if at Fleeing from every tnrn,-in prayer ·meeting, in church, in mis- 5odom. sion, in Christian home,-they must meet those . awfully suggestive lines in a woman's dress,- even the dress of those to whom they naturally look for help,- then what is a man who is tormented by carnal appetites to do? then the case become!'! aggravated a hundredfold.

One young man, who had been converted at our mission, positively refused for a long time ·to go into any place where he would meet ladies socially. But we all felt that he must have a social life, such as would help him to ~orget the past, and persuaded him at last to go to the regular Friday night musical and social hour in the church parlors. I could not go myself, so was at home when he came before the evening was half over. He

A Heavenly Place.

Suggestive

Dress.

was pale, weak, and almost in tears. In explanation, after a moment, he said, "I am a lost man. I can not go into the presence of ladies as they get themselves up, and think clean thoughts. I can not do it.'' 0 how ashamed I was of Christian women! But I was glad that I could give him the gospe1 at this poirit just as I had with reference to the , saloon, and assure him that by the power of the Holy Spirit he could make a heavenly place for himself even here in this world, into which no unholy thing should be allowed to enter as s~tch, for the very worst that it could do in that atmosphere would be to publish over again the abundant grace, the uttermost salvation, which had delivered him from its power. He was comforted, encour- . aged to ''lay hold,'' 1 and long since proved that all that I had claimed for the Holy Spil"it was far short of the glorious truth.

This, however, does not change the fact that it is a shaine for any woman to wear lines in the cut or trimming of her dt·ess that ''follow the figure, 1 ' as artists say, in such a suggestive manner as to make her ''an epistle " wherever she goes,

R eb. 6:18.

"known and read of all men, " 1 such as any pureminded woman would die rather than utter. ' It is not unusual that the fashionable dressmaker and mother hitve "a time" with some girl who is still near enough toN ature to have healthy instincts, and who will therefore rebel against the dress in which it has been determined to imprison her. "What did you cut it that way for?" she cries. "What do you want that trimming on so for 1 · I don't think it is decent. I should feel as though every man I met was looking at me.'' "So he will, my dear," laughs the dressmaker; perhaps herself innocent of the meaning of her words, never realizing how those lines were drawn on purpose to produce the worst that her words could mean, all that the awakening womanhood of the young girl could feel in the bold glances from which she had learned to shrink. " ·w ell, I won't wear it; so there ! " she cries. ''I would just as soon go naked;" and again Nature-the Abiding Spirit-within, is right; for no perfectly nude figure would be half , so suggestive of unholy thoughts as the fashionably dressed one. It is pitiful in the

2 Cor. 3:2.

Nature o Rebel.

.. Your Style."

THE .ABlDING SPIRIT.

extreme to see on the streets of a great city some young woman of modest manner, with all the ~okens of truth and purity in. her carriage, dressed m that attempt to be "in style," which marks her as the innocent copyist of the demi-monde.

I have written these things from a most earnest desire to prevent my young sisters in our precious faith from being partakers with them who are deceived by "vain words;" that they may escape ''the ~rath of God '' 'which must come ''upon the chlldren of disobedience." 1 "But," says one, "what shall we do? Wear a uniform, and be always observed for its queerness~"

Not necessarily, although to my mind a simple,. natural garment could never look queer. It is the out-of-date freak of fashion at which everybody laughs. The sensible, rational course is to wear a garment until a new one is needed, then buy such as t~e. market affords as nearly ''your style'' as posstble, never becoming so wedded to any special cut that you must spe:J;J.d more time and money to replace an old garment than it is worth. Where

Ool. 3:17.

Eph. 5:6, 7.

these principles prevail, and the gospel t·ule __:_ '' Whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus " 1- is kept in mind, the home-life has been laid on a safe foundation.

The teachings in such a home will be in harmony with all that Paul has expressed in this fifth chapter of Ephesians. It will be read just as it is written. The husband will never say, "But the Bible says, 'Wives submit yourselves unto your own hnsbands,' " and upon the strength of this command, abbreviated as it usually is, make unreasonable or unholy demands upon his wife. He. As unto will not forget the latter clause, ''As unto the the LGrd . Lord;" and he will remember that the " Lord " here spoken of is the Lord Jesus, and that in his office as husband he is to be the representative of this particular Lord. What is the result of submitting to the Lord Jesus?- No matter how weak, or frail, or timid, or simple, to submit to him is to be refreshed, rested, carried, comforted, relieved of perplexities and burdens, or so re-enforced with his· strength, and harnessed with his yoke, that it

As unto Satan.

is a joy to carry any burden which he would allow; for his yoke is easy, and his burden is light.

One day there came to my room in the Sanitarium a Christian woman whose husband was a member of the same church with her. She came for sympathy and ad vice, under the most trying conditions in which a true and pure woman could be placed; for she found that she could not live a Christian life and submit herself to her husband as he required, and in d~mand of which he quoted this very scripture, abbreviated as it must always be to serve such a purpose. She had pleaded with him, she had lived the truth as she saw it before him, she had read this word of the Lord to him but he would not listen, and at last to cleanse her ' own thoughts and life she was compelled to refuse to grant his unholy demands, and for this alone, because she would live in her home life according to the principles which are taught in God's word, he had gone and left her with her little children, broken in health, helpless, and without resources. Many women have said to me, ''I must leave my husband if I live a chaste life." I do not

believe a woman who is led by the Abiding Spirit needs to resort to such an expedient as this. The power of the Holy Spirit in any woman, if he be given the right to use her as he will, is equal to any man; especially if that man be one who once loved her well enough to seek her in marriage. And yet I realize that marriage is not always for love, that by many it is looked upon as the divinely appointed mask of respectability, with which to hide the shame of· a supposed '' necessary '' licentiousness, than which, no teaching can be more hideous. I was shocked at one meeting in which I was speaking on this subject, to have a man from the audience call out in a tone of great confidence, i "The marriage ceremony takes care of all that; " to which I answered that no marriage ceremony could make domestic licentiousness anything but licentiousness; that the man who lusts after his own wife is just as truly an adulterer as though she belonged to some other husband.

I understand what many a woman, who is trying to live a pure life, must endure in controversy if she would keep the temple of God, which she is,

The nask of Marriage.

Domestic

Licentious· ness.

To Stay or. I' lee}

The tfead of the Woman.

from defilement. And yet I say, do not leave your husband. Let the unbelieving and incorrigible depart, if he will; but let no Spirit-crowned wife run away from the heathen in her own home, but together with God work to rescue and save his soul from death. But this one thing is always true, that her submission to her husband is to be "as unto the Lord" instead of as unto · Satan. And if be will not represent Christ in his relations with her, but will only represent Satan, she is to treat him accordingly; viz., flee frorn l~irn. But . this should be the last resort after every resource of the Abiding Spirit in her bas been exhausted for his rescue.

''The man is the head of the woman, '' says th~ inspired Teacher. But what is it to be the head~ Many years ago I found the substance of an illustration of headship, which is so beautiful and forcible that I could but remember and use it. A great ship is starting out upon its long voyage across the ocean with a thousand souls on board. · The government of that vessel is ' an autocracy of the most arbitrary form. It is literally a one-man power.

ERRATUiiL

I wish to ask my readers to substitute the word "resist" for "flee from " in the first paragraph on page HlG, according to the scripture 'vfhich says, "Resist tlie devil, and he will flee from you." James 4:7.

And since mutual submission, and not resistance, is the law of the Christian home, even resi~tance should under these extreme conditions be the last resort, and then only through and by the Holy Spirit himself ; never with the carnal mind, or the human wilL

Under no circumstances could l ever have thought of teaching that a Christian woman should fl ee from her husband. All who have ever followed me in the studies from which this bOOk was compiled will bear witness to the contrary.

This phrase "tlee from him" is a contradiction which I can not understand, nor can I see· how it has remained undiscovered until four months after publication; but upon its discovery I hasten to repudiate it utterly.

Let SA.tan do all the fleeing. Let his representative in your hdm e flee from the manifestation of the Spirit in you if he will, but as a child of God it is your privilege "to withstand in the evil day, and having done all to stanrl . . . girt about with truth, . , . having on the breastplate of righteousness, and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace." Eph. 6 : 13.

Mns. S. l\L I.

'fEE UNITY OF THE SPIRIT.

Nothing of this, however, appears as long as everything goes well,- the weather fair, the ship stanch and safe. The captain is the courtly host of a party of honored guests, and nothing more, until the n~ed of a head arises. But let danger become im~inent, and the ship be found sinking with its freight of soul~; -let the moment come when orders must be issued and obeyed, let the demand for the head become imperative, and all is changed. The courtly host becomes an autocrat, whose word must be obeyed without question. The ship's company is under orders in a moment, the boats are lowered. Among the company is an idiot boy, without friends,-a strange, helpless waif, with no one to care whether he goes to the bottom· or not; certainly no one to imperil his own chance of life for his safety. The boats are filled on~ after the other, until the last place in the last bo"t~t is taken. The captain and the waif alone are left on the sinking deck. There is room for only one more. Suppose this captain should say, "I am a man of affairs, capable of doing a great work, and the world can not afford to lose me. This poor idiot

Christ as Our Head.

our sins that we might be clean; he bore our burdens, our wounds, and bruises in his own body that our bodies might be fair and strong and sound; and every man who takes a wife, assumes the honor of t~is sort of headship. It is his high privilege to cairy the burdens, take the bruises, practise the self-denial, which will make him to that wife and their children as a sanctuary. It is his glory to give himself for his home as Christ gave himself for the church, that he might present it without blemish, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing. It is for this that the Holy Spirit of God is poured out without measure upon those who will receive it. A home that has a true head is a safe place for the children to g.row up in. The life of the father will hold them to the truth like a strong cable, against all the devices of the world which would draw them away. ~ "Let the wife see that she reverence her husband." Several times in the years of my work, women' have come to me for advice. Some have withheld their names, because in that way only could they shelter their husbands from reproach; boy! ---:-he is only a wreck, and no man. It would be better for him and for the world if he should lie at the bottom of the sea. " And so he forsakes him and the sinking ship, takes the last place in ·the last boat, and· by and by comes safely to a friendly shore. But the story of how he bought his life with dishonor becomes known, and he reaps the execration of the world, simply because he was not capable of appreciating what it is to be the head. As the head, it was his high and holy prerogative to place that broken scrap of humanity in the last place in the last boat, stand and. see it float away, while with folded arms he calmly goes down with the ship. This is the honor to which he was elected. That is what it means to be· the head '' even . as Christ is the head; and he is the Saviour of the body." Christ, our Head,-he whom every husband, by his office, represents, however he may in his own character misrepresent him,-went down to the bottom of. the bitterest self-denial that he might save us from the p~ins of self-indulgence, and teach us how, for the sake of some other life, to follow him iri. sacrifice and victory. He took

Man's High Privilege.

Wifely Reverence.

and to all such my heart has bowed with profoundest regard. It is a crime against Him who is represented in the headship of every home for any wife as long as she calls a man husband, to gossip or enter complaint against him, even to her- own mother. And even if he has gone away, if he is less than a man , the fact that he has been to her a husband, should cause every true woman to cover his name from disgrace if possible.

But some wife may say, as wives have said, "My husband is not worthy of reverence. " Neither are we worthy of Christ. The glory of Christ consisted in lifting up to honor that which was fit only to be trampled underfoot. The- wife of a degraded husband, if she be filled with the Holy Ghost, shall be able to share in this glory of Christ. This is, however, an honor that belongs only to the one who bas recognized and come into · agreement with the Abiding Spirit. It is in every case a question as to what we will allow 'the Spirit of power to do with us,-whether he shall use us or break us.

As we have _seen, the Spirit of God is within us, to furnish power for meeting the practical emergencies which arise in every-day life. It is within our reach. We do not need to ascend into heaven to bring him d.own or de cend into the depths to bl'ing him up; bnt the Word, the vehicle of the Spirit, is nigh thee i n thy heal't and in thy mouth, 1 ready to respond in tantly to the touch of faith, the key which turns on the fulness of power, and the brightness of his glory.

Rom. 10:6-8.

Chapter 8: The Message of Liberty

'' THERE is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law o£ the Spirit o£ life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from -the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh : that the righteousness. of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.'' 1

The Abiding Spirit is the messenger o£ liberty, and the teacher of the law o£ life by which alone any man can be made free. Life is liberty ; liberty is freedom, and ability to do just as one pleaE!es ; and a consciousness o£ liberty is necessary to any strength of purpose or desire in life.

Rom. 8: 1-4.

A sense of limitation or bondage is intolerable, and as circumstances hedge any man about with these (as is always tme sooner or later in this world), resort is had to every possible expedient by which he may rise above and overcome the consciousness of this condition. If he can not be made ft:ee, he must by some means forget his bonds until freedom can be realized, or lose all joy in living, i£ not his reasoning powers.

There is one point at which all liberty is broken ·Liberty . Limited. off. No man can avoid the consequences o £ 1ts exercise. There is no law so arbitrary as that law o£ liberty, which meets every man at every point o£ his life with this solemn warning: Do as you please, but take the consequence ; ''for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.'' 1

Many are the devices to which resort has been had in the effort to break down this unchanging law, against which there is more rebellion than against any other ; and many are the evil habits which have resulted £rom the unreasoning efforts that man has made to feel free, in spite o£ the £act that he is a sla~e. Drugs o£ all kinds, alcoholic

GaL 6: 7.

The Carnal Mind.

drinks, amusements carried to excess, even unremitting toil,- anything which will keep the mind unconscious of its limitations ; all of which it is universally conceded only serve to increase the actual bondage. Man is very slow to learn that the law of sin is the law of death, and that he can only become free through the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. It is .only the man who. has reason to rejoice in anticipated consequences who can know real liberty.

"For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh ; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, . . . because the carnal mind is enmity against God : for it is not subject to the law of God, neither ind~ed can be.'' 1 The carnal mind loves every perversion of natural desit·e. . It takes occasion by every need of nature, seizes hold of every natural appetite, and inflames it with evil imaginings, sensualizes it as to desire, so that lust is the result, and changes the purpose of God into gwssness and self-indulgence. This sort of mind must be crowded out to mak:e room for the mind which is in Christ. The use of any function of mind and body for self-indulgence is npthing shot·t of lust. There is no provision in unperverted nature for this destroyer, and it is from this that the law of life in Christ Jesus aims to set us free.

The teaching of the world i~ that lust is natural, that a perfectly controlled appetite is impossible ; and yet nothing is more despised even by those who live in its indulgence. It is recognized as filthy, unlovely, corrupt, a thing to be hidden; so that in every breast there is a continual protest against it, and a continual cri/ after God manifest in the flesh, such as a perfectly natural life would be, which, in itself, brands this teaching as a slander against nature. Lust would be impossible in any life when there was perfect harmony with the Abiding Spirit ; and we must believe that such a life may be lived, or deny that Christ lived it, as well as the authority of the Word, which requires all men to live as he lived.

The decalogue is simply a miniature of the mind of Christ, and is in harmony with every natural

Rom. 8 : 5-8.

A MlnlaturCI of Christ.

need of man's entire being. All the functions of body and mind, as manifested in Adam, were • transferred to the body and mind of Christ. He was furnished with the same equipment that every human creature must carry about, and for the same uses, that he might teach how the human life was to be lived.

" But," says one, ''Christ was superior to the flesh and all its appetites, so that he was able to use all his organs as instruments instead of being used by then)." Truly; and by this token we know that any man may be superior to his flesh; for we are called to be sons of God, "and if children, then heirs; hei1·s of God, and joint heirs with Christ." 1 Joint heirs 'llnst always share equally; and therefore all there sources which were open t.o om Elder Brother are open to the least one among ns,- the same mind, the same power of selfcontrol, the same perfect liberty, the same joy in consequences, are ours if we will walk in the Spirit as did he.

Everything in man is either of the carnal mind or of the Holy Spirit. That which is camal is

Rom. 8: 17.

I jJ

detected by ifs controversy with the Spirit, and that which is of the Spirit, by its opposition to that which is carnal. These are the sole com- The Sole Combatants. batants in the great warfare in which we have each had experience, Well is it for the man who has learned 'without too bitter a lesson that the power of the camal mind is equal to .. the weight of his own self-esteem, and that the suddenness and depth of one's fall will be according to the selfassurance by which he has tried to lift the carnal into the place which belongs alone to the mind of Christ.

The ambition of God for man is that he should The Ambi· tlon ol God live above the low level of the• flesh. The purvs.

Purpose pose of Satan is that the. spirit should be dragged The ol Satan. down to the lowest level of carnal desire. Thus these two are enmity one towat·d the other. They th~tt are in the Spirit can not serve the flesh, and they that are in the flesh can not please God. Not that the flesh, when kept in its right place, is displeasing to God; far from it. In its legitimate sphere it is honorable. All its natural appetites are in themselves clean, when left to the course flesh or Spirit, Which?

The Lily Will Teach.

of unperverted nature. It is only when the natural order is transposed, so that the flesh dominates the Spit·it, that trouble ensues. The place for the flesh is under. . It is not competent to rule. Dominion belongs to the Spirit. ..Appetite becomes lust when it is so in excess of nature that it crowds the Spirit out" of his sphere as the governing principle.

The lily will leach ua the same truth in its own beautiful way. There is enclosed in the sheath of the bulb everything that goes to produce the perfect flower, with the exception of that which comes from soil, sunlight, and atmosphere, and which constitute ~ts food. The contents of the bulb, acted upon by these forces of light, air, and soil, will produce the perfect flower. The manner of its growth is cont'rolled by a law so arbitrary that nothing can change it. You can qot so place the bulb in the ground that it will< grow downward. If it grows at all, it will certainly force its way upward to the light through every hindrance. It must grow· in the earth if it grows at all. Hang it in the air, and it will dry up.

'l'HE MESSAGE OF LIBERTY.

Throw it on top· of the soil, it will rot. It must be placed nuder the surface, and covered, for it is of ·the earth, earthy.

It represents the human body, which is also of the earth, earthy. All its functions belong to the earth, or the sensual, and by the sensual it must The Sensual Has Its Place. live. If you undertake to subjece"the flesh to the processes by which the spirit lives, the same thing would happen to it that would happen to the bulb if hung in the air,- it would fail to develop; and the only way to save it from death would be to restore it to its natural earth, and give it its natural earthy food.

When the bulb begins to grow, there are other conditions which must be considered. While it is true that its natural food. is the soil, yet if, as the green stock and leaves begin to spring up, you insiprr on giv.ing them the same kind of food as that which the bulb requires, and so pile more and more earth upon it, you will kill it. The stock and foliage must have entirely different food from the bulb or root. They need sunlight, air, and dew. Each must have the environment and treat-

No Flesh, No Jesus.

THE ABIDING Sl'IRI'l'.

ment which is suited for its nature. If you withhold from the flesh, which the bulb represents, all that is earthy, you can not have the beautiful white blossom of spiritual life as manifested in the perfect man. There could have been no Jesus without the flesh. His appetites were human. They took hold of the earth, and in doing so, sanctified the earth, and made it appear that everything which is in the earth may purely minister to the natural, fleshly life of man. There must be appetite. It must be fed with its natural food, or the whole man, body, soul, and spirit, wm cease to be. God is just as much pleased with one part of · man as the other, as long as it is in its proper place, and doing its own proper work in the natural way. In growing the lily you can keep clipping off the stock and foliage so that it will run all to i;oot instead of bud and leaf and blossom. And so you can prevent the development of the spiritual by the manner in which you treat body and soul.

The '' carnal mind''- that which exalts the flesh above the Spirit-'' is enmity against God :

for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." The law of God requires the subjugation of the flesh and the exaltation of the Spirit. It is impossible, therefore, for it to agree with God, fo~· the determination of the flesh, as sin works through it, is to take the first place, and crowd God from his throne in the ~uman heart, as Satan attempted to do in the heavens ; and because of this the pure Word must come in between the two, giving law to the flesh, and utterance to the Spirit, until" all lusts have been crucified, the flesh cleansed, sanctified, and subjugated ; its deformities reduced ; and it has found its own proper place as simply the temple which was built for the Abiding Spirit to inhabit and control.

'' But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you.'' 1 The Spirit of God, working all through every bone nerve, muscle, and drop of blood, builds the body into an holy habitation for himself, in which the mind of Christ can have perfect freedom to manifest itself in thought and purpose according to his own will; and to use the body as

Rom. 8:9.

Law Is for the Flesh.

The Spirit Builds the Body.

A BIDING Sl'IRlT.

'l'fiE MESSAGE OF LIBERTY.

an instrument for his own service, just as was the case between the flesh and spirit in Jesus. It was in this that he gave us a lesson in living, and in which he expects us to follow him.

''And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness; " 1 that is, the body is dead to carnal desires. I was trying once to explain this to one who had been very profligate. He had spent years of his life in the vilest haunts of the city. He was a familiar figure in the " banel houses" of the slum, but a stranger to the respectable portions of the city, excepting as he slipped slyly in under cover of the dark to commit Home depredations against law and order. He came into the mission, and was converted ; ·and, inquiring into the deep things of God, he heard about death to sin, and longed to know what it meant. He could not understand the expression, and in trying to illustrate it, I said:- "What relation is the man who used to lie about the barrel houses on South Clark Street to the one who is now a Christian worker, a member of - - church, respectable and honored; the man who is no longer known .in the places which once knew him, and which he is determined shall know him no more forever? Do you know any one who has come to be that kind of a man? Do you know where he is to be found? Do you know what has become of the old Clark Street bum?"

''That means me," he said ; '' that surely means , me. I am dead to Clark Street. Clark Street knows me no more forever."

'' And dead to Clark Street, in your case, means what?''

'' Dead to Clark Street to me means dead to sin. Ah, I see it ! Alive to the mission, alive to - - church ; that means for me, Christ and life! "

'' Thei·efore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye "shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.'' 1 Paul here teaches by implication that we ((;re debtors to the Spirit, but not to the flesh.

Rom. 8:10.

ll{om. 8: 12. 1a

JAm Dead.

Debtors to the Spirit.

Indulgence Always Destructive.

We are under obligations to the mind of Christ, but not to the flesh to fulfil its lusts. The world is full of disease because it has accustomed itself to think that the flesh must have just so much indulgence. Even those who profess to be Christians are "not free from the profanity of such thinking. Social purity work has had its hardest battle with perverted Christian opinion for the la~t twenty years. One of the greatest hindrances to the gospel is the idea that continence is impossib!e, that man can not maintain his vigor without a certain degree of sexual indulgence. · This statement of Paul is an emphatic denial that any man is under any obligation to the flesh to give any carnal propensity the right to demand any indulgence whatsoever. Every organ of the body has its divinely preappointed office, which is in itself holy: but iri this preappointment no provision has been made for the indulgence of the flesh.

Indulgence anywhere is destructive to that divine order which must be maintained if life and liberty are perpetuated, and good work is done. The highest spiritual development, even the baptism of the Holy Ghost, will not save a man if he turns the flesh uppermost, and so subjects the power of the Holy Ghost to the oppression of carnal appetites.

In such a case soul and body must together sink into common corruption.

There is a teaching that would claim the right to use liberty in Christ for the gratification of the flesh ; or, in other words, that an act performed by a ''holy man," even if in itself sinful, would be made right and pure by his "holiness." But it will be eternally true of any man that if he live after the flesh he shall die · that he must con- '

' tinue thwugh the Spirit to mortify the deeds of the body if he would live. Lust is no respecter of persons, nor of conditions. A lustful man is always corrupt, sinful, and lost/ and no amount of "sanctification " will save hi.m in his lusts.

As SOC?_D as any man begins to subject himself to the Spirit of God, he will have a quarrel with the flesh; because the flesh can not endure the work of the Abiding Spirit, which is to reduce it to its own place as in the Edenic life. When the Abiding Spirit has been given unquestioned con-

Unholy "Sanctlflca· tion.''

Its own Place.

Called to Liberty.

THE ABIDING Sl'IRIT.

trol of every function of the whole man then will perfect health "spring forth speedily," all disease will be eliminated, there will be perfect agreement between the flesh, soul, and Spirit, each doing its own work in the place assigned it ; and then shall liberty be proclaimed throughout the entire nature.

''Brethren, ye have been called unto liberty ; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another." 1

Gal. 5:13.

Chapter 9: The Likeness of the Heavenly

''Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God : therefoi·e the world knoweth us not, because it knew: him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be : but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that . hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.'' 1

Everything that God is doing fot· man by his living Word and the Abiding Spirit is to the end that he may become recognizable as a son of God, and that those who look upon him shall be able readily and without controversy to say, '' I know him as a child of (:!od by the family likeness which he wears." "And every man that hath this hope iu ltirn [of being thus recognizable J purifieth himself. even " as J esns, his elder brother, " is pme."

J1John3:1-3.

1 Know Him.

How Can I Purify My· self?

nust Be Sinless.

''But," one may say, "how can I purify my· self? '' to which we answer, By putting away sin. There is no uncleltnness but sin. Sin is the 'trans~ gression of the law l or Word of God ; therefore, to purify one's self is to cease to transgress, forever to end all controversy with the Word of God. When a man stops disputing with th~t Word, he is clean in tho Scriptural sense. But he can not do that with a carnal heart within him, for this carnal heart will forever make wat· on the Word and Spirit of God.

''But,'' objects some one, ''you imply that one '"'lust be sinless ; and no one can be sinless in this wicked world.'' This objection is constantly made even by many who profess to believe the Bible, and who would be shocked to be consi'dered as not followers of Chl'ist.

Salvation to the uttermost must become a reality in the life of every man who hopes to see our Lord as he is. When he comes, there will be two classes upon the earth, and the sight of him will affect each according to the conditions which they have brought upon themselves by their own deci-

'rRE Llil:ENESI'> OF THE HEAVENLY.

sion as regards the truth. Every man who has made himself pure as Christ is pure, by accepting the process of, the Spirit ordained for his cleansing, shall behold him, and be able to say, "This is our God ; we have waited for him, and he will save us." 1 But those who have been slack concerning his promise, who have clung to defilement, and have been unwilling that their transgres<dons should be blotted out, will be slain by the brightness of his coming, 2 smitten into the dust of the eatth. Everything for two worlds with Elvery man depends upon what he shall do with the truth by which he may be made pure if he will.

The Spirit of God has drawn a portrait of what every man must be who shall behold Jesus as he is. The first man Adam was made a living soul, the last man Adam was made a quickening Spirit. 3 It is a portrait of the man who is created after the like:hess of the last man Adam and illuminated by the quickening Spirit, that I wish to bring before my readers in this study.

' Isa. 25: 9.

•2 Thess. 2: 8.

Everything tor Two Worlds.

After His Likeness.

•1 Cor.l5: 45.

For Present Duty.

A Pattern to Otow by~

''But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you." 1 It is evident from the teaching of the entire eighth chapter of Romans that the quickening spoken of must be done here in this present life, and is to qualify us for present duty. Through the operation of the Spirit of God those who are weak shall be made strong ; those who are infirm shall be given vigor, those who are deformed and crippled shall be made whole. God has no use for weakness infirmity· '

' or deformity. The Abiding Spirit has been given to dwell in ns that we may be delivered 'from infirmities, and made like unto the glorious image which has been revealed as the pattern for us to grow by.

"But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.''" This change is according to the unalterable principle of cause and effect.

!Rom. 8:11.

22 Cor. 3: 18.

All change is wrought by secret thought, and any man:B face and form will be molded and remodeled by that which he continually ponders. A curious fact has been noted by scientific investigators; viz., that a man and woman who have mar· ried young, who have truly loved each other, and have liyed together as man and wife should live will in old age come to look alike. This is scien- ' tifically true, because it is based on one of the eternal principles of God. These two people, loving each other, and living together as they should live, with perfect frankness looking lovingly into each other's face continually, and trying to read each other's heart and mind, to understand each other's spirit, a1·e each changed into the other's likeness.

I have a photograph album in which are many illustrations of this same principle. It contains three photGgraphs of one man. The earliest like- . ness he brought me with the last one. The first was taken during his last drunken spree, at the end of which, disgusted with himself, and with all of life which he knew about, he came to me for

By secret

Thought.

Are Each

Changed?

His Lust

Spree.

Deformed, Reformed, Transformed

THE ABIDING Sl>JRIT.

the pledge aud for help. The second one was taken about two years after he had become a sober, Christian man; and the third, two years later, during which he had been studying the Word of God, yielding to his Spirit, and making himself pure, after the example furnished him in Christ. It seems almost impossible to realize that the first and last pictures were taken from the same face. The three represent the changes ft·om degradation to glory through which the deformed, reformed, and transformed man must pass, in whose hearts are the '' ways of them who, passing through the valley of mulberry trees, make him a well:" who goes on fwm strength to strength, until he " appears in Zion before God " without spot, wrinkle, or any such thing, wearing the image of the heavenly instead of the mark of the beast; " according as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, thwugh the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might ·be partakers of the

divine nature,. having escaped the corl'Uption that is in the world thro1,1gh lust." 1

There is a law of crystallization all through the mineral world. Every precious stone has its own peculiar form. Yon can illustrate this by filling a glass jar with a strong solution of salt, and letting it stand until the water has evaporated. The salt will be found adhering to the glass always in the same saline crystals from which it nevm· deviates. The snow always crystallizes after the same delicate patterns. The diamond is always found in the same shape, obedient to its own law of crystallization; so that when any one understands the lan'guage in which each mineral and precious stone tells its name and story, he will recognize its family, and know its history at sight. So it is with human character. It has its own form of crystallization. The chamcter which has come under the moldi!lg hand and control of the Holy Spivit, whet·evm· it is found, .whatever name it is known by, from the Eternal Father upon his throne down to the humblest of his creatures, will be marked by the same line of life,

The Law of Crystalliza· tion.

2 Peter 1 : 3, 4.

THE ABIDING SPlRIT.

and that life line is obedien ce to p1'l11Ciple. Every one who has submitted to the Abiding Spirit, and · so has been subjected to his transforming work, will manifest that '' from glory to glory '' by which the divine nature is taken on, and will be kn own by th e same family name. 0 precious truth ! Wonderful are the lines of resemblance which mark a man's relationship to God. Sometimes family lin es appear almost grotesque as they are found in the human face, especially when that of a little child recalls the features of the wrinkled grandparent. This is the triumph of Satan over human imperfection and deterioration. But there is nothing grotesque about the lines which mark a man's kinship to his Heavenly Father. ·It is always from glory to glory, and in perfection, and the beauty of holiness.

''Let them that love him [God] be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might.'' 1 ''And he shall be as the light of the moming, when the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds ; as the te~der gl'ass springing out of the earth by clear shining after rain.'' 2 A man who has been be-

The Life Line.

A Family

Likeness.

The Beauty of Holiness.

J u d ges 5 : at. ·

' 2 Sam. 23: 4.

T HE

holding, and has beco me changed, who has gone from glory to glmy nntil be has become partake r of the .divine nature, shall, when finished, ''be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might," and ''as th e light of the morning , when the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds; as the tender grass springing out of the earth by clear shining after rain," for this is th e distinguishing characteristic of that family that has sprung fwrn Him who is the Moming Star and the Sun of Righteousness.

What does it mean for a man to be as the light of the sun ? We must find some practi cal application of this truth, or it is worth nothing to us. Simpl e tlreory must always b1'eak down before th e stern realities of life ; and therefore we must accept nothing which can not be made to serve in the common, every -day affairs of this world. But nothing is more p1;actical even in the kitchen and shop than light ; and its office is always the same. It is a revelator. When darkness settles over the earth, you are obliged to walk carefully lest you stumble and fall. But let the light of the morn-

As the Light.

Light Is

Practical.

You Need Not Stumble.

He Will Be the Truth.

ing spring forth and set everything before you in its true relation to everything else,- you see the trees in their places, the buildings in theirs, the highway all open, the broken bridge, the river, the serpent ready to spring upon you,- nothing is concealed, your way is made plain, you need not stumble ; you need only to look before you step. In the shop and in the home, when darkness falls, all work must cease until something which shall be a substitute for morning light is brought to take its place. And the man who is at one with the Abiding Spit·it, shall carry the equivalent of light with him wherever he goes,- he shall be as the light of a morning without clouds ; and whatever is touched by his influence shall be made to appear just as it is. It shall stand in its true relation to everything else. Anything that would cover up iniquity will find no helper in him. He will say what he believes to be true. at the right time, in the right place, and in the most helpful way. He will be the truth ; it will always speak for itself through him; it will shine forth from his life as the light shines from the clear incandescent globe when the current is on; he will be taught by the Spirit how to use all the light which he has, so that it shall not burst painfully upon weak eyes, although it may come with all the glory of the morning when the sun ariseth,- a morning without clouds. No vapors or mists of doubt and selfishness will mar the perfect beauty of the morning which this man of God represents. The atmosphere which he ·breathes forth will be like the atmosphere of the early dawn,- cool, sweet, and fresh with the dews of heaven, and vocal with praise.

Every human being carries an atmosphere that reveals the spirit that is within him. By this character test, those who have the Spirit of God, shall be able to detect the quality of the mind that i.s in man. The law of attraction and repulsion has long been a subject of interesting investigation by philosophers. Many, theories have been based upon it, but its secret li'es in one's attitude toward the Abiding Spirit. Controversy will breed all manner of atmospheric disturbances that prevent confidence and fellowship.

Without Clouds.

Human Atmosphere.

It is said that children and animals are never deceived as to the character of a man. This is because they are yet near enough to Nature to instinctively sense anything that is unfriendly to her. But any man whose breast is a storm cen.

ter is left to the mercy of every wind that blows. A Tornado In One must be outside the tornado to see it· so he His Breast.

. one m

. h' IS b reast w1 'll always be ' gettmg

w h o carnes into unforeseen trouble.

The time will come when a man who is in harmony with the Spirit of God will recognize · another of the same temper just as soon as they come in sight or spiritual touch with each other.

By this family likeness shall the children of God know each other in the perilous days that are before us.

This man of God shall be not only as a morn- As the Tender ing without clouds, but as the tender grass spring- Orass.

mg out o f t h e eart h b y clear s h' mmg after rain.

How beautiful is the tender grass that, after rain, springs up in the meadow that has been burned with summer heat ! Several years ago there was a very destructive drought over all the West, bro-

ken in the early autumn by copious rains, accom panied by springlike atmosphere. My work took me, about ·October first, into Iowa. At the end of a long railway ride, I was met at a certain point in the early morning, and taken across the countJ'Y by carriage. It was a perfect dawn, and as the sun arose and all the beauty of the landscape was revealed, the scene that spread out before me was eloquent with the language of inspiration. It was near Strawberry Point that all the glory of the scene burst upon me. The trees, in their gorgeous autumnal dress, each separate tree variegated like a great bouquet with all the colors, from green to russet, through almost every shade of yellow and red, had for their setting a carpet of new June-like grass, without a tinge of brown to bring to mind the long drought through which it had passed; and everywhere the grateful sheep and cattle were reveling in its luscious verdure. The effect of this combination - of the beautiful spring color of tender grass and the autumnal gorgeousness of the trees- can not be described. It was the most beautiful surprise which I have ever

A Beautiful Surprise.

Representatives of Jesus.

found in nature. I had the carri11ge stop, and for a long time sat and drank in the inspiration of tliat scene; and always since; as I have recalled it, my heart has swelled with the beauty of the truth which, written on that landscape, was like a pictured illustration of the ~ext which we are studying. That tender grass springing up out of the earth by clear shining after rain: what did it not mean to those young cattle who roamed the plains after those long months of scant pasturage ! And what will not this life of the man of God, always fresh, tender, and sweet, mean to the hopeless, helpless, and needy; to the poor, the old; to the lost sheep, and the lambs astmy upon the sunburned deserts of life ! 0 to be a life that shall spread out like a vast field of sweet, tender grass for the lambs of the scattered flock of God !

''And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a covert from storm and from rain." 1 "And man shall be an hiding-place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place ; as the shadow of a a t!Ba. 4: 6.

great rock in' a weary land.'' 1 Primarily this refers to Jesus, but after him to every child of God. Jesus, no longer here in person, is represented by this man whose photograph we are studying. It was expedient for the world that he should go away, for it was necessary that there should be many who, known by the same name, taught by the same Spirit, should be to the lost world that which he could no longer be in his own flesh. Known by the Same Name. There would always be those who could not b ear the strong light or heat of a morning without clouds. There must be a tabernacle for a shadow in the daytime for those who, footsore and weary, needed such a shelter. Any man whom the Abiding Spirit can use as he will, shall be as such a tabernacle and sanctuary,- a place of refuge for A Shadow of .

R.efuge.

the weak and tempted ; those to whom even • truth may sometimes be a blll'den ; to whom

Jesus is forever repeating, '' I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye can not bear t~em now.'' 2 There must always be a shelter from the beating rain of adversity, a covert from the tem- ACovett from Rain.

pest of temptation, rivers of water in life's dry

Isa. 32:2.

John 16:12.

places, the shadow of a great rock m a weary land, as long as pilgrims must find their way through it toward the heavenly Canaan ; and these must all be supplied in the character of the representative of the Lord Jesus Christ.

In March of 1861, a wedding party started out with saddle horses, tents, carriages, hunting and fishing outfit for a trip into the '' New West,'' with a merry summer in prospect. But the Civil War broke in upon their plans ; the young men enlisted, the rest scattered, and in October the bride and groom crossed a long stretch of the great ''American Desert'' alone, with a prairie fire marching in serried lines before them, with banners of flame by night, and smoke by day, leaving in its wake a waste of ashes under- the feet of their horses. Every external condition of that journey was dreary in the extreme : the smoky atmosphere produced thirst, and the water supply was uncm'tain ; their only shelter was the carriage in which they traveled ; places of entertainment were fe~, an c1 the heat of the sun was like that of midsummer,

HJ<~A VENL Y.

One such day the situation became serious, for even the horses suffered from the thirst and heat. The prairie spread out before them a vast comfortless waste, without promise of shade or refreshment of any sort, until at last away to the southeast, off the line of travel, there appeared a great rock, standing up alone ont of thel evel plain. A great rock meant a great shadow ; and visions of its broad, cool refuge from the heat, and possibly a stream of liying water, invited and encouraged them all the rest of that weary day ; until at last they crept gratefully into its shelter, and sank down close to the rock, and drew in long breaths of cooler air ; and, as never before, they understood what the old Bible verse meant, and found a new joy in it.

Just to think of being to some poor soul such a refuge of Christlike love through the Abiding Spirit! Not to be the Rock, fot· that is always Christ himself ; but its faithful shadow,- the shadow of ·the great Rock of Ages, sweet and cool ; by large and refreshing influences spreading far out over a weary land for the comfort of

A Great Rock, aOreat Shadow.

Its Faithful Shadow.

THE LIKENESS OF THE HEAVENLy.

Blessed.

Like 0. Bride.

those who have been especially exposed to heat and burden.

And not only so, but of this representative of Christ it is said further, ''Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the r'iver, and shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.'' 1 ' ' Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the Law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper." 2

For a soul to delight in the Law of God is like a bride rejoicing in possession of a perfect likeness of her beloved's face, and would in itself be a token of her right to all the grace and glory and

Jer.l7: 7, 8.

privilege that· he had to bestow. Delight in the Law of God is always in proportion to one's love for ~ esus, and ability to see in it an expression of h1s <:haracter. No man can delight in the Law who does not see Christ in it with all the fulness of his gracious promises manifested in every commandment. Without Christ the Law is a lifeless thing, hard and cold as the stone upon which it was ~ritten.

Wherever the Spirit of God shines upon It, the enlightened, believing soul must see the face of his beloved Lord therein, and by this token claim the wonderful promise of eternal life and fruitfulness.

This man ' ' bringeth forth his fruit in his season. his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever h~ doeth shall prosper." It was another time of drought. For three years it scarcely rained at all, and the trees upon the hillside cast their leaves early the third summer, and stood in their bare boles in mute appeal to heaven for rain. But id the meadow-land, skirting the river, the elm trees stood in full foliage just the same. One of the land owners took advantape of this dry season to

The Paceof the Beloved Lord.

Shall Know the Way.

'l'HE LIKENESS OF THE HEAVENLY.

drain a piece of very wet meadow, and as the ditches were being dug he came upon a long, slender, white root, which had evidently grown very rapidly. It aroused his curiosity so that he traced it, and found that it was a conductor which an elm, standing away back in the meadow a long distance from the river, had, by the instinct of self-preservation, sent out, and by which it had laid hold of the fountain which was in the spring under the river, and so had been able to stand as green and fresh as its nearer comrades, apparently never knowing that there had been any drought in all the land.

A genuine soul-delight in .the Law of God is like this living conductor to the tree; and the man.who will come into harmony with the Law through the Abiding Spirit has it in him to instinctively know the way to the fountain under the river of life. He shall have power to lay hold of the secrets of God by which life is sustained, and joy made sure. His lot may be qast in some far away inhospitable land; the heat of life's most torrid zone may bur? up all the blo.om and fruitfulness about him; but he shall be able to keep in communication with the living springs which are in God, and shall stand in full power, ipfiuence, and prosperity in his allotted place. His leaf shall not wither; he shall bring forth fruit in ·his season; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. Error could never stand before a church in whom is this secret of beautiful and perfect life, whose members should wear this glory of transfiguration, whose very homes and places of business should be illuminated with truth. The most ordinary and menial service would become a coveted opportunity to show how practical is the gospel of Jesus as applied to common life and every-day affairs; and this testimony would be so vitalized by the power of the Abiding Spirit that unbelief could not stand before it, and every man would be left, without excuse, to take the consequences of his own acceptance or rejection of that which he knew to be a testimony of a faithful witness.

Shall Not Fall,

Chapter 10: The Spirit of Peace

Domestic Peace.

THE recognition of, and a perfect agreement with, the Holy Spirit in the home life is essential to domestic peace, especially among those who profess to follow Christ.

A comfortable degree of domestic peace is possible among worldlings under conditions that would let loose all the dogs of war in a Christian home ; for there is no strife so hard and bitter anywhere as that into which the Spirit of God must enter as an active factor.

It takes more and more grace to make a conscientious Christian man and woman comfortable in their life together, where amiable people of the world would never have a WOl"d ; for sane, sensible folks, who have no convicti{ms, will " let things slide '' rather than be uncomfortable. If one of the couple falls into open sin, he may laugh and get out of ''the scrape '' as well as he can. If the two get into difficulty which makes life together

• unpleasant, they can have "one grand row," fly apart, and forget, if not forgive.

But when once the Holy Spirit has touched the life, it is either to kill all sin, or all comfort. There can be no half-way work about it. There will be either that conformity to the mind of Christ, that conscientious faithfulness, that sensitiveness about wrong, that leads to a constant manifestation of the Spirit in the life; or there will be a chafing and fretting, a gloom and despair, which, like a pall of death, will settle over everything; destroying all peace, and making the presence of Christ seem like a farce.

When a follower of our Lord falls, even in what. the world considers a laughing matter, he becomes conscious that he has sinned against light, and must repent and confess. Repentance is always bitter, confession is no joke, and some apparently small transgression upon the part of one member of a family may give the whole household a very sorry half-hour, or day, or week ; in fact, for as long time as the controversy with the Spirit shall continue.

No Half Way.

Repentance and Confession No Joke.

The transgressor, coming into this conscious conflict with the Holy Spirit, is made a coward by his conviction, weak, because he has learned how conviction useless it is to match strength with God; and he ":'ill nake is reduced to a condition that opens the way for L1fe 11 Burden.

. .., all sorts of combinations, such as w1ll make lne a burden to himself and everybody who must live with him. The child of. the household will "catch it" in more senses than one; and if he does not become disgusted with everything that savors of religion, and begin to manifest symptoms of unbelief, it will be because there has been humble repentance and confession, or because some one in whom he has confidence stands tlie strain all this time like a Christian, or because he himself has had an e~perience that gives him an intelligent understanding of what is involved in sinping and repenting. But in any event, sorrow and confusion are the result in the home; and · the Actual Right· only considerations that could make possible the eousness Per· deliberate determination to continue such a life, are manent

· 1 1 t eousness Pe11ce.

that all this warfare lS t at aetna 1 r1g may, sometime, make permanent pe~ce sure. · ln such a home ·the one hope of peace lts that each for himself shall come into that ag•·eement with the Holy Spirit that will bring him into fellow- . ship with every other member of the family. The Holy Spirit is the best and safest mutual friend The nutual Friend, that husband, wife, father, mother, and children can ever have. Sitting as he does in the secret council of every soul, he knows just what is needed, just what is passing in each; and being always true he will have the same thoughts for each; and if each will but come into agreement with him, there can be no ground of dispute; all will see eye to eye. If one is in secret trouble this mutual friend will make it known to the oth· ers, so that sympathy and love will spring forth for his comfort before he can fall into any struggle which will lead to despair.

But there are homes where all are not trying to follow Christ, or where, while all profess to be, yet all do not see eye to eye concerning points of truth and methods of life. There may be honest disagreement as to just what the plain reading of the Scriptures may involve in faith and prac-

THE ABIDING SPIRI'f.

The Price of Silence or .Servitude.

Two to make a Quarrel.

tise, and one may be in harmony with the Abiding Spirit while all the others are in controversy with him; and so there is need of all the fulness of God for the one who alone would represent the righteousness of Christ in both letter and Spirit.

In such a case peace may be the price of silence and of servitude. When Christ was surrounded by the contentious crowd, he was like a -lamb, "and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth,'' and hence no one could quarrel with him. They could spit upon him a few times, they could strike him, they could mock him for a little while ; but it is very dry business spitting, striking, and mocking when· there is no response,- not so much as the lifting of the eyelid, or the finger.

The fiercest gladiator would be very weary of a subject like th~t. He could kill him, he could crucify him if the law gave consent ·; but in this case that we are supposing, the contest is not for blood, but for argument.

It takes at least two to make a quarrel. No matter how much "jawing " one person may do, if the lonely lover of truth is full of that power of the Holy Spirit which will give strength to be silent, the contention must die for lack of fuel.

You may strike a hundred matches, but if the gasoline is not flowing there can be no explosion.

In the household where there is bitterness toward one lone follower of Christ, a willingness upon his pa1't to be the servant of all; quickness to see, and gladness to use, every opportunity to make the others comfortable, will be like a branch from the tree which the Lord showed Moses, and with which he sweetened the waters of Marah.

The soul thus filled with the joy of the Abiding Spirit will be so glad of a chance to reveal his presence and power by patience, by service, by sacrifice, that opposition will be to him only opportunity, aud so will ceiJ.Se to even annoy. Two parties are required to make an insult, to produce nagging or ann.oyance- the one that offers, and the one that takes. If the insult, the nagging, the annoyance is not taken, it must fall to the ground, or remain a source of chagrin to the instigator. There is a wonderful assurance that

Sweetened Waters.

Only Opportunity.

THE ABIDING BPiltli',

Trouble Can

Not Tou~h

Him.

comes right in here, which is so familiar that y<e are in danger of losing sight of the principle which it contains : '' And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose."

No one can ever be annoy'ild, troubled, nagged, insulted, or hurt by anything that he knows is working for his good ; and when this Word of the Lord becomes real to any soul, it will place him where no trouble or vexation from any source can touch him. The darts of Satan will fall· harmless at his feet, when met by such a shield.

The Holy Spirit alone can make the Word of God so personal to us that we can depend upon it for comfort in the ordinary trying affairs of daily life. But he is n~ver absent, and the willing mind shall always apprehend his prese11ce, and the teachable shall be fed and nourished by this honey from the Rock of truth.

I£ the receiving of the Holy Ghost does not make more Christlike husbands and wives, better fathers and mothers, mOl'e obedient children, and safer homes, we shall become a people '' pealed,' ' if not scattered.

:i.Rom. 8; 28.

Chapter 11: The Spiritual Birthright

''FoR the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.''

This statement is fraught with wonderful meaning to one who will take it at its full face value. ''The promise.'' W7~atpromise? ••Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of yon in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the g~ft of the Holy G!wst. For the promise is unto you and your children. '' 1

The question is often raised concerning the extent to which parents are responsible for the salvation of their children. No question has been brought to me more frequently; and as I have studied it, I have been compelled to conclude that we are responsible to the full extent of om: knowl-

' Acts 2 : 38, 39.

Its Full Face Value.

~Hit A.BlDlNG

Jess!

edge and ability to comprehend, the promise of God.

Every child has a right to the very b~s.t th~t God offers. How helpless is the cond1t10n m which he comes into the world ! He is absolutely dependent upon the circumstances which have been created for him by his parents. He has no choice, he his no power to change anything. He must take whatever is given to him; he must move as he is moved; he must go as he is led; he must stay where he is put. He knows noth~ng. His whole life must be made up of those thmgs which he shall be taught. His little feet may be· set in the way which leads to eternal death, and he be utterly unconscious of it. He may be taught that that which is right is wholly wrong, that the wrong is the only right; and to the extent that he has the germ of honesty within him will h~ follow · his teachers, be they right or wrong.

Many a soul, held by a latent integrity to that which he was taught and which he believed to be right, l:ijts gone on faithfully, conscientiously doing

that which was wrong, has even followed a Criminal career, with the same motive that another has been law-abiding.

Just think of it ! How my heart goes out to the children and all those unfortunate beings whose feet have been caught in this awful entanglement of things; who, through false teaching, example, and training have become outlaws from society, if not from God. There are, down in the slums of the city, those who are struggling under the burden of sins which have been bound to them by strong bands of example and teaching. They suffer; their lives are full of pain, sorrow, and distress; they are cast out of society; but they know nothing of why this is so. They are there because of circumsta/nces and influences over which they have no control; only because they have been cheated of their birthright in the Holy Ghost, and, may be, by parents who were called Christians.

As an offset to this pitiful wrong, however, stands the great blessed fact that God is the judge, and that he judgeth according tot~ heart;

Hone3tly Criminal.

Bound to

Sin.

Blessed Judgment.

All the Light He Had, ,

The Child's Inheritance.

that he never commits judgment to man, who can not know the secret sprmg of motive, which alou m&>ke judgment safe. There will be those who will come u1 out of the depths a£ sociltl pollution but who have lived the best they knew to whom the Lord will say, Well l ·oe, ., ju t. the sama as to the faithful and pme ten.cher of the W •·d, who has o.lso nly walked in all the light he hud. This is because his uame i Love; be0ause he is the gre.u Fathe•·, wh0 is dealing with a fttmily of little children who have all caught the deadly contagiou of sin.

But f0r those parents who d know dgbt on · ness and txnth, who have light tmd oppot·tunity, only one thing l'Gll'l!tins_; viz. to see tltat tMiA· cltitiltre?~ /UJII)e a clUJilUNJi that they enter at once on the inheritance that is their's in the Holy Ghost; that they are uot caught away; that t~ey :-we hedged in by holy pl'eserving influences; that they nt•e bound by stt·ong and sac1·ed cords to the horus oi God's sitar· tha;t they are gi.vell such a11 tttmoaphere to breathe that their lives shall become a continu\1 beautiful and sweet offering to Him who bought them, and who looks to them as his only heritage and reward out of the earth for all his sacrifice and deathless love. 1

It is the right of every child to be born undet· the very best possible conditions. These conditions we are assured are the same as those which were selected for Jesus, and his forerunner John; for God is no respecter of persons, and whatever he considered best for one child he would that all should share. · In the message of the angel who came to an· nounce to Zacharias that he was to have a son whose name was John, is heard the. jubilate which should announce the coming of every child: '' An~ thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. " 2 But of how few of the inhabitants of this sad world could this be sung! How many parents who read these pages ever said to son or daughter, " I am so glad God gave you to me. It was a day of great joy when you were born" 1 How many little ones have been compelled to warm and bt·ighten for themselves the homeJuto whieh they came unwelcome! •and not

2Lukel: l4, 15,

The Child's Right.

The Birthday Jubilate .

Unwelcome; Defrauded,

Not for Self.

The Hope

Killer.

'rl1E SPIRITUAL BIR'fHRIGHT.

THE .A.lHDING SPIRIT.

only so, but were defrauded, from the beginning, of their right to the generous overflowing measure of the Holy Spirit; for "he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb."

'' But,'' yon will say, '' that prophecy only refers to John the Baptist." If, however, it was possible for one child to be filled with the Holy Ghost from his birth, it has been, and is, possible, for other children, provided only that the necessary conditions be fulfilled. All the gifts and graces of the Abiding Spirit are held by us as a trust;- every breath, all power, all knowledge; -nothing was given for self. Even the power that was invested in Christ was not for himself. If he had begun to make use of the power which he received when he was baptized with the Holy Ghost simply for selfish purposes, the work for which he was sent into the world would have miscarned ' all would have been lost, and there would . have been no hope. Self is the hope killer If Jesus had not been willing to sacrifice to the last degree, even to give up recognition as the only begotte:tl. Son of the Eternal King, if he had not been willing to. throw' all that he was into the scale death, there would have been no atonement for sin.

Once when I had gone from the city to the conntry (one of my first experiences in country life after I had grown up), I found myself with the peculiar sensation of having been followed, because of a little creature, whom I often saw, and 'who looked like a child of the slum,- in rags, uncombed, unkempt in every way; never clothed for warmth; barefooted in summer; in winter once, as I remember, with shoes bandaged with cloth to keep the soles and uppers together. She was in a wealthy community of Christian people, but no one thought of clothing, feeding, warming, or educating her. Why~- Because her father was the most wealthy man in the country. He owned nearly all the mortgages ; he was the moneylender · the one who exacted the last farthing, ' who would not hesitate to foreclose on any man in spite of any circumstances. He lived in a great mansion which, begun in a former generation and still unfinished, stood a monument to a aga~nst

In Rag•

Why?

A Miser's Lust.

A Neglected

Heiress.

A OreatCry .

miser's thriftless lust. Since it had come into hie hands he had not allowed a dollar to be expended on it. A broken window must be mended with rags, if at all, or pasted over with paper. Two dr three of the rooms, only, were occupied; and they, furnished in the most meager manner. His wife and child were obliged to endure the most scanty possible fare. It was the home of a miser, and it was a miser's fat•e which he meted out to those who were dependent upon him. This. little ragged child was the richest heiress in all the county, but she was growing up neglected, uneducated, and would be uttm·ly unable to make use of her fortune when it should come into her hands. This is a terrible story of greed- but a more terrible is being lived every day in many a so-called Christian home, where bread is plenty and no physical comforts are lacking.

A great cry has been rising more and more terrible thmughout all the borders of Zion these many years. '' Death has come up into our windows, and is entered into our palaces, to cut off the children fmm without, and the young me.n from the streets.'' 1 And why is it so~ let Joel answer: "They have cast lots for my people; and have given a boy for a harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they might drink." 2 "The precious sons of Zion, comparable to fine gold, how are they esteemed 1 '' asks Jeremiah again; and himself answers, '' As earthen pitchers, the work of the hands of the potter ! " 3 And for this reason he calls upon the mourning women, and the men lost in despair, and then counsels them in these words, ''Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches : but let hlm that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the eatth ; "f and it is only righteousness to give your child his due, or, in other words, stop mourning, and begin to do right in the home.

The " Pt·omise of the Father " is due to every child at his conception, and if it has been kept a Lam. 4:2.

< ,Jer. 9: 2~. 24.

• J er. 9 : 21.

"J ool a : 3.

Call for Mourning Women.

Spiritual Rags.

Time Is Short.

The Flr.st Work.

back, as the miser has kept back necessary food, shelter, clothing, and education, so that your child is running about in spiritual rags, like a pauper, the only righteousness possible now is repentance, confession, and restitution, in so far as restitution is possible.

The great problem of our day is how to hold the children to the truth, how to keep them pure. Time is growing too short to admit of much more seeking after the lost. Prodigal sons and daughters, if they get very far away, may not have daylight in which to get back. The work of rescue will soon be ended ; and by some means we must stop this continual dropping of precious souls out of Obri~tian homes into the world, the slums, and places of vice. There is power in the Holy Spirit to do this. Parents must have this enduement of power, and first of all spend it upon their homes. The first work of any ministet· or missionary is in his home. If this bas not been well done, no one can be ready to go o~t into the regions beyond. No man and woman can step over their own children, and take hold of God's "Cause. "

It. will elude their fingers, as gold does those of the sluggard, or honor the thief's. All the world hates a miser of gold, but more miserly is the man who hoards and bides the graces of the Holy Spirit.

To be a miser of the experience of salvation, when all about us are those who are crying of hunger for it! when one's own children are perishing for the lack! Father,- you who are reading these words,- have you ever taken that boy of yours, who has perhaps begun to manifest a reckless nature, and to think of strange things, which are likely to lead him off away from God, and truth, and purity,- did you ever sit down beside him, draw him to you, put your arm about him, and open up to him your own boyhood with its temptations~

Did you ever say, "I know just how yon feel, my son. I have not forgotten how it was when I first thought I 'fell in love,' nor the mis takes I made; nor when I first became acquainted with your mother;~ .? Have you told him how his mother came to be your wife, and how she came to be his mother ? If you have not told these

A rllser of Experience .

'fHE SPIRITUAL BIRTHRIGHT.

things to your boys, if yo,1, mothel·a, ha,ve not told "these things to your sons and daughtet·s, if yon have not been liberal with the experiences of life which should be to them as g~tide-boards along the way, do not blame the children if they make seri-

OtlS mistakes, i£ they give y()u sleepless n ights Do Not and many a helll:t-break. Do not blame them if Blame Th am. t h ey s 1' tp away so f ar t h at t h ey can not b e £· oun d .

our child has a right to profit by all tha-t y0u have learned fro1;n any source.

Yet many a father and mother have said, "But my child mu t

Jearn as others ha,ye learned. I can not talk with • my childt·eu about my experiences and. fe lings.

Then, by and by, when your child has grown np godless, profligate, it may be left fol' orne mission wotlcer, a membel' of some "Life-Boat rew," to go down iut such clepths ns yonr child hotrld never have dreamed of, for his B~ 4 r v our rescue. "Let every man bear his own burden ; '' OwnB urden•. and so spend all that the Holy Sph·i ha~ given him in trust for bis children., that no one wiU ever be obliged to wade into the mite to bring them back to him and to God.

A very busy· mother was one morning sitting at her desk writing on matter which, as she was quite sure, would not admit of interruption. She had always kept her children close to her ; had been honest in dividing to each his share ; but that morning she came very near becoming an embezzler of An Embezthe gift of God,- a CI;iminal, perhaps, for life. zler. Her boy of thirteen stole softly into the room. S~e knew it,. but dl.d not look up. The boy curled himself up m an armchair which stood in the corner, and waited ; .but she was too busy to notice him. She did, however, feel that his eyes were upon her ; she could but understand sundry little efforts which he made to arrest her attention ; but she resisted, and kept on with her work. After a while he drew a long breath, and said : _

'' Mama, are you very busy ? ' ' " Yes, darling, I am very busy;" and she Very Bosy. went right on without one look at the wistful face.

The boy sat still for a long time, until he was forg~tten; but t~e case was so urgent, and his relatwns to his mother were of a nature which made him brave, if not bold; he at last slipped

• down, stole softly to the back of her chair, and surprised her by laying his arms about her neck, his hands uilder her chin, and, drawing her head up and backward toward him, with a pathetic earnestness in his tone exclaimed : -

'' 0 I wonder what a mama is good for any- What Is a

' Mama how!"

. Good fur

Like a stab that cry went through the heart of Anyhow?

that mother. She turned quickly; reached out her arm, and he leaped to her side, threw himself astride the arm of her chair, with his arms about her neck, and the expression of a conqueror who appreciated the value of his victory on his ~ace.

Then his mother answered out of a sudden illumination:- "I'll tell you what a mama is good for. I have just found out. If she is good for nothing else, she is good to help her children to profit by her mistakes;" and in the talk which followed, when she learned what had made her boy so satan'sTrap. patiently determined, she saw the trap which Satan had made out of her necessary and legitimate work for both herself and her boy. She

grew almost sick at heart as she thought what might have happened to them both if he had not petsevered, and ·if she had not yielded to his hands. If Satan can keep a father and mother so' preoccupied that they will fail to give their children the portion of the Holy Spirit which they hold in trust .for them, he has gained his point.

It is the child's most sacred right to know of the dealings of God with your soul. They hear you read and pray at the family altar, they listen to your church testimonies; when the minister calls, they may catch fragments of religious conversation, although sometimes they will be sent off to play, 'so that you can talk more freely of the things of God. They are not unobservant of these things, nor are they entirely unconscious of their rights. They begin early to wonder, and more and more as they grow up do they consider godliness a mystery in a sense which Paul never anticipated. A young man in whose salvation I became interested many years ago, and whom I tried to persuade to come to Christ, at last said to me:-

.Sent off to

Play.

I Would Believe If-.

Confessed to

His Son.

"I don't want to hear anything more about religion at all. I have no use for the church." I questioned him as to the reason. H~ was a candid young man, and I was sure there was something back of such a blunt rebuff as he had given me. Finally he explained:-

'' If this religion that you talk about, or ' sanctifying grace,' as my father calls it in church, would only break his everlasting old 'pipe, and stop him from quarreling with my mother, I would believe in it.'' . ·

That father was one of the leading men iri the church, always ready with his testimony in meeting. I felt very much like going to him with his son's remark, but did not. The son, however, had not hesitated to say the same thing to others, and after a while it came to the father's ears, and broke his heart. The sequel proved that he had heen to a certain extent an honest Christian; for he made a confession to his son, and to the church, and I had the ·great satisfaction of seeing him and his son together come into a new life in Christ J esns. The young man said : -

'' I know now there is a reality in this religion· I know that there is power in the Holy Spirit; because no other power co?ld have caused my father to make the confession which he did tQ e. I know hiin well enough to know that nothing but the power of the Holy Spirit could have done it."

Your child has a right to know, as nearly as you can tell him, how you felt when the Hoi Spirit convinced you of sin. If you have not don~ it _before, take the boy who is hecoming too self- Willed to manage, the gil'l who is growing ''silly," each alone, and in a spirit of comradeship, tell the story of your own awakening, your struggles, your repen_tance, your confessions, and just how the conscwusness of pardon at last comforted your soul. Tell him how you were afterward tempted how yon p_erhaps yielded, how yon fell, how yo 1 ~ got up agam, .and how you have been tested led reprove d , sustamed, or condemned all the way. Do not spare y_ourself. Let him know it all. It will do m_ore to ~oft~n and control that wild young heart that IS beat~ng m his })!'east than anything that hn-

Tell the Children the Story.

Do Not Spare Self.

He Will Share with you.

The Saddest Change.

•ra:I!J

SPIRI'l'.

man influence can do. It will bind him to you as nothing else could bind him; so closely, in fact, that it will not be possible for an unholy association to come in between you and him. An honest payment of what is his due in .the Holy Ghost, which you hold in trust for him, will be met in kind out of that which he may have to share with you; and it will be a long day before anything can steal away the love and confidence which he keeps for you.

How does it e'{er happen that children will go to others with their confidences ~ There was a time when no one could have coaxed the baby from your arms; he would have turned his face away and hid it in your bosom. You may have so taught him that when you said, "Go to the gentleman, dal'ling;" he would have gone because you bade him, but he would h ave leaped back th~ moment you held out your hands and gave him a chance. The saddest of all changes is that which will cause that same baby, grown up to boyhood, to prefer almost any society to that .~ of father and mother, -to feel that if he can only get

·away from home, he would be happy. This can only result from the process of determined pushing away, cheating · him of his rights in the grace of God and the power of the Holy Ghost.

There are misers of love. There are hoards of affe~tion that never get into circulation, while the children starve for it.

Since it is never expressed, how can it be known or understood. I have heard more than once the statement, '' My father and mother never kissed me in the world since I can remember."

I was sitting, after morning worship, in a home where I was to be entertained during a series of evangelistic services, with the father, mother, and daughter, when a young woman came across the street, bareheaded, and entered the open door. No one spoke a word, or seemed to notice her, as she passed through into another room. I thought, This must be the servant, who has been out on some errand, and is just returning. But when she called out, "Mary, where are your curlingirons~ '' I was slightly puzzled. After a while, she came out and passed through our midst into

Mioera Love.

The Custom of the Pamily.

THE AlllDlNG Sl'lltlT.

another part of the house. Still no word of recognition or greeting, while I wondered more and more. As time passed, I discovered that she was a daughter of that home, who had been married a few months before, and lived down the street a block away, and this was her morning call at her father's house. She was never introd~ced to me. She was treated with absolute iridiffet·- ence; and I found this to be the custom of the entire family toward each other. I could not then, I can not now, understand how she could have come in after all the hours since her last visit, and her fa.ther never look up with at teast a "good morning;" nor how it could have been possible that that mother's arms did not drop around her in tender caresses. They loved her,- of course they loved her; -but if she knew it, it was by some subtle sense ~hat was outside· the ordinary range of perceptive power.

There is a natural hunger in the heart for love. God has intended that it shall be satisfied from pure fountains which he keeps fi1led with the Holy Spirit ; aud if you will 110t open the way for yom children to this .fountain, they will surely drift into some one of the byways which lead to the poisoned springs of sensualism and lust, from which they will drink iniquity like water, 1 until the whole nature has become befouled. The Holy Spirit in the home, overflowing from the hearts of father and mother, should be the source from which the child should satisfy this craving for love, so that he will never be exposed to the dangers of an unslaked, consuming thirst. It is possib~e, through this power, to hold every child that is born under proper conditions to the faith and fellowship of the church and to the work of Christ ; and God will call every fathet· and mother to account if their children, defrauded of their inheritance in the Promise, impoverished to spiritual beggary, fail to make a safe . passage through to the 1dngdom of God.

''But,'' says one, '' what when your children are grown, and you know that you have defrauded them in these things? If you have been a miser of love as well as of the Holy Spirit, what can be done then ? ''

.JolJ 15: ltl.

What Can Be Done Then?

A Recon· structed Marriage.

The Holy Spirit is equal to any emergency. He can cau~e that a man and woman whose mat·- riage was all wrong,- so wrong that even the law of the State or of the church that had profanely pronounced them man and wife, could not make their relations anything short of adulterous,- who have hated each other because they could not forget,- even such a condition the Holy Spirit can so change that they shall become truly married in the sight of God. And i£ he can so reconstruct that polluted home, he can certainly help a repentant father and mother to bring their children into fellowship with them in holy living.

More than seventy years ago there occurred- an event in a certain home which illustrates this possibility. It was a family of twelve children, all married but the two youngest sons, aged about twenty-two and twenty. All were living clustered about the old home in a thickly settled Vermont neighborhood.

Their ancestors were Quakers, but the father and mother had revolted from the straightness of this se-ct, and had become thoroughly worldly. They were all musical. The

'rHE SPIRITUAL BIRTHRIGHT.

father and boys had organized themselves into a military band, and were in demand to play for dances and entertainments everywhere about. They had no use for religion of any sort.

A .Methodist camp-meeting was being held a few miles distant, and on Sunday morning the father and mother announced their intention of attending, just to have a good time. And how it came about, no one but God could tell, whose Spirit had evidently led them to this place, and then led them hand in hand to that Methodist altar, where they were soundly converted in good old-fashioned style. They, of course, saw that they had something to do for the family; and in the morning the first thing was to send the boys out to the homes of the children, calling them all into the homestead, for a~ important matter which could not be allowed to wait.

They came trooping in,- sons and daughters, sons-in-law, daughters-in-law, and grandchildren, -for such was the sense of comradeship between father, mother, and children that when such a message was received, it took precedence of every-

A Methodist Cantp•meet· lnsr.

Calling the Children In, thing besides. When they were all there, wondering what it meant, the father, standing before them, told them what had happened; and, taking down He confessed. the old Bible, he confessed his sin, in that he had never opened it before them,· but had brought them up to man- and womanhood, leading them into the world and its follies instead of in the path of life and wisdom. '' I know,'' he said; '' that

I can have but little influence over you. I can only tell yon what God has done for me, and exhort you each to seek and find him out for yourself. · But just this once I want to ask you to Just This Once.

indulge your father and mother, and kne.el with us about this family altar which mother· and I are - going to erect this morning." He then read a chapter from the Bible, and said, "Let us pray;"

and as he and the mother knelt, the entire family circle knelt about them. How could they refuse after such an appeal, backed up by the power of Such An Appeal.

the Holy Spirit? The father prayed, making his conf~ssion to God before his children; · the mother .spoke Their followed, and spoke th~ names of each as only a Names.

mother could, beginning at the eldest down to the

All There.

THE SPIRITUAL lHRTHRIGHT.

youngest, into· the ear of the forgiving Heaven'., Father, and pleaded for his Spirit to do his work in their hearts; and then the voices of those children took up the prayer; many of them were convetted that morning, and two of the sons became ministers of the gospel.

The children are very few who would not respond if father and mother should go to them, and say, "I have sinned, in· that I have withheld the confidences, the love, the experiences, the blessings of the Holy Spirit, which I ought to have shared with yon; in that I have not lived God's life before you; in that I have not paid to you what was your due in the Holy Ghost. I have had a Christian experience, but I have kept it locked up. I have loved yon deeply, but I have never told you so; but now I offer you your due. I ask your forgivenes~, and pray you not to add to the heavy burden which I carry, by rejecting what I am trying to do in atonement for the past." Th~ boy or girl does not live who could persistently resist such an effort if inspired by true faith and self-surrender.

Don't Add to My Burden.

~e s um e

Payment.

The Bond of Peace.

Let me urge all who read these pages to open the closed bank; resume p-a yment of love and experience; honestly return to each child his full share; make the home a place where the boy will love to linger long; to which he will return with delight; from which the daughter will go reluctantly even to one of her own. Let the promised gift of God bind all together in the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace, and give you all to each other again in that day when he, sending forth his Spirit to create all things again in its Edenic beauty, shall renew the face of the earth by the same Spirit, and the same Word, for the same purpose as that which caused the Spirit to move upon the face of the waters in the beginning.

Then shall it come to pass that " the glory of the Lord shall endure forever; the Lord shall rejoice in his works.'' 1 Then shall he be satisfied with the reward which has been rendered to him for his labor of love in the earth.

Chapter 12: Points of Light

. . Do . you think the Spirit of Go'd is a person , or IS It s1mply the power by which God works, and which he has given to man for his use?

A. The pronouns · used in connection with the Spirit must lead us to conclude that he is a person,- the personality of God which is the source of all power and life.

Q. What is it to be blinded by the god of this world?

A. The god of this world is Satan. If any man accepts his suggestions, or, in other words, yields to temptation, and so disobeys God, he will cease to believe the truth,· and will come to believe error, which is equivalent to blindness. To

Tile questions under this head have been asked by the classes to which I ll~ve from time to time given studies on the work of the Holy Sp1rlt, and are inserted here since they a re always coming up wh en these subjects are discussed.

A Person.

Blinded.

Try the Spirits.

2'73 obey produces faith, which is the equivalent of sight; to disobey produces doubt, which is darknesss.

ning, so that the time spent in repentance and confession may be given to praise and testimony, such as shall help to establish the fact that an uttermost salvation is possible even in this world.

Q. What does it mean where it says, '' Believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God " ~ 1

A. That is, believe not every manifesta.tion of spiritual power. Satan and all his followers are using for evil the power which was loaned them of God.

Do not believe any manifestations therefore, until you test them to see whether or not they are in harmony with the Word, which is the ha;rness in which the Spirit works in all places. That which is called an evil spirit is an evil use of the one good spirit. Satanic powm: is a misuse of God's power.

Q. How shall we know whetheJ.· we have received the Holy Ghost or not~

A.· By knowing whether or not we receive the Word with unquestioning obedience.

The Holy Ghost inhabits the Word; and as yon take the Word, you receive him either for peace or war, and you have the witness within yourself 1 as to whether it is to be peace or war between you and the Spirit. It is the Spirit himself that beareth witness concerning the whole process that goes on both before and after one has sun·endered himself to God.

Q. But does the Lord want us to repent o'£ the

Sinning and Repenting, l'OINTS OF LIGH'l'.

same mistakes each day~ Doesn't he want us to move on to liberty~

A. The Lord requires that we should repent as often as we sin, but also that we shall stop sm-

'1 John 4:1.

Q. How ca:n we avoid .falling into the habit of never seeing our own sin, always thinking we ourselves are led by the Spirit while criticizing others? A. By falling into the channE;Jl of truth, accepting the statements and admonitions of the Word

11 John ii: 10.

How Shall We Know?

The note and the

Beam.

The Spirit of Darkness.

concerning judgment, 1 and allowing the Spirit to show us ourselves as we are; by solemnly determining that we will, by instarit repentance and confession, correct the habit as soon as we detect ourselves in its indulgence. Confession on the spot, is good medicine for any such disease as criticism, evil speaking, or falsehood.

Q. If the Spirit of God is always in us, can we ever get to the place where the Spirit will not prompt us to do right ~

A. The Word of God says, '' My Spirit shall not always strive with man.'.' 1

He will not always keep up a controversy with any man, will not always persuade; . will stop prompting us if we will not try to correct our ways accordingly; and when he makes up his mind to ''gather unto himself his spirit and his breath, . . . man shall turn again unto dust;" 2 for no man hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit when he has been called in. God may allow a man to breathe on for a while, but not long after he stops pleading with him.

Q. When the Bible speaks of the spirit of darkness what does it mean ~

A. It means a beclouded mind, a lack of understanding, such as results from a lack of harmony with the Holy Spirit. Misunderstanding is darkness; unbelief is lack of light. If we are not clear in our comprehension of truth, it is because we are not in harmony with God. If we C((!l'b not believe, it is because we are not willing to obey. Obedience is the gauge of faith. If we will not do the will of God so far as we know it, we can not learn anything further on; ability to comprehend will cease, and we must go on in the dark.

John 12: 36. 47.

Will Not Always Strive.

Q. Did Christ have the Holy Ghost from his birth ? If so, when was he sealed ?

A. Jesus was an epistle written by the Father's own hand. There was never any question as to whether Jesus Christ was an authentic epistle. The signature of God was placed upon him from the beginning of the world. When man sinned,

Geu. 6:3.

Job 34:14, 15.

An Authen· tic Epistle.

something had to be done to him, before he ~ould be acknowledged as approved of God; but this was never true of Jesus. When he entered on his ministry, he was publicly acknowledged, or authorized, before the world, as of God, so that men might know that he represented God in the earth; but it was never true of Jesus in the same sense as of you and me that he had to be sealed or authorized. He was like a letter that carries on the face of it its own endorsement; the handwriting of the Father all the way through him was equivalent to the signature.

Q. Must we receive the Holy Spirit by faith as

By Faith Only.

we do the forgiveness of sins?

A. The Holy Spirit is our life. We have that anyhow; . it is by faith, however, that we come into that relation tp him which makes peace; and it is by ·faith in the Word of God alone that we can recognize the ~' Spirit of God in our nostrils'' when we perform the common function of breathing. Faith is faith; the same always and everywhere.

Q. The seal or the Spirit you speak of,- is this the same seal spoken of by the angel in Revelation, who was to se~l the children of God?

A. God has only one seal, and that is his Spirit, which includes all truth. If we ·grieve the Holy Spirit, we lose the seal. Som~ one has said that the seal is the Sabbath; but the seal is larger . than the Sabbath. It includes the Sabbath, but it also includes the whole character of God, and every principle that is in his character. · It is the office of the seal to impress the name (or character) of God on the heart which has been made impressionable by his grace.

Q. What spirit is it that, according to Rom: 8 : 16, beareth witness with our' spirit t Is ''our spil'it" the same as the "spirit of the world" in 1 Cor. 2 : 12 ~

A. The word translated '' spirit '' also means mind and soul, as you will see by reference to the glossary in this book; and here the meaning would be more clear if it read, The Spirit itself beareth witness with our mind (soul, or understanding).

Only One Seal.

A Recognized Difference.

You will notice that in the text a recognized d'ff

· d' lCa t e d b y p 1 acmg

· 1 a t th e

1 erence 1s a captta beginning of one word, while the other is rendered as a common noun.

In 1 Cor. 2 :'12 reference is made to the mind of the world that is in controversy with the mind . or will of God. Here both words are rendered as common nouns which indicates that they both, "our spirit " and "the spirit of the world," refer to that worldly wisdom, or understanding of things which is at variance with the will of God ; like the wheel set crisscross of the current.

Q. Is the Spirit which is called the '' candle of \ the Lord" in Prov. 20: 27 the same as the Spirit in 1 Cor. 2: 10 ~

A. Paul says, "There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.

And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. " ' The " candle of the Lord " is

I Cor.

the physical measure of the Spirit ; it is that little light by which nature can see to perform her functions in the human body. It represents that administration of power by which the machinery of the body is kept running. There is in man the physical measure of the Spirit, and also the intellectual measure, and after that the spiritual fulness ; which reveals the fact that the whole man has come into harmony with the Holy Spirit. When the physical measure, by conformity of the will to all that the Word requires in the life of the body bas been filled with the Spirit, then the rising tide lifts the intellect, or soul, as a boat is lifted in a lock ; and when these b~th (the physical and intellectual man) a1•e filled, so that mind and body are in harmony with the .Spirit, there is added the supreme gift,-- the baptism, or enduement of power,- from the overflowing measure of which there is a going out into the parched desert of the world, with a healing influence.

Q. When the LOL·d says, ''They shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover,'' 1 has he

Mark 16 : 18.

Different

Measures.

Lifted as In a Lock.

A Simple

Prescription.

Healing and Pardon on the Same Basis .

THE ABIDING 1H'1RlT.

reference to some treatment of disease by which people may be cured, or to a special and separate work of the Spirit~

A. In this instruction, God has simply given the divine prescription by which disease may be healed. There is no healing excepting divine healing; God is the only life and health-giver. He always heals according to faith,- sometimes by the application of simple means, sometimes in spite of mal practise and of medication. · Healing is assured only to one who is wholly surrendered to God, and who will live in harmony with his Word, and who will use his strength for his glory. Healing is placed in the gospel on the same basis a~~ forgiveness of sins,- it is the gift of God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and by the accepted indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The measure of the Spirit is according to man's acceptance of Christ. He measures out the Holy Spirit according to the witness which the Abiding Spirit bears concerning personal surrender. Salvation to the uttermost, covering every ailrr.ent, sin, and infirmity is the portion of the children of God,

Q. Will we ever receive the. Holy Spirit if we can not reach the place where we can atop sin- Can We ning~ And ~ does not the Bible teach that we can Stop Sin• ning? not stop sinning, when it says, '' If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves"? 1 How can every one receive the Holy Spirit when they must

' stop sinning first 'I

.A. It is one thing to h(JI/)e the Holy Spirit and another to receive him. In the one case he is like a police officer stationed in your home; in the other, like an invited, honored, beloved guest and friend. 'Ehe officer is an intruder; you can not be at peace as long as he is there. If you could A Pollee convert him into an invited guest, you would hold Officer or Ouest the advantage; but to do this you must yield the point that makes him an intruder; and, to do tl~is, yq"ll must make friends with the law which he represents; or, in other words, stop sinning. If we say, as some do, that there is no sin anywhere, that evil is only another name for good, we deceive ourselves. We have sin, but it must be put away, and will be by those who ever see the Lord. '' Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin·

1 John l :

Any nan

May Pall.

Impressions.

fot· his seed remaineth in him: and be can not sin, because he is born of God.'' 1 That does not mean that he can not go away from God. Even after he has received the baptism of the Holy Ghost, apostasy is po sible fot· any man ; and we ltre given the most solemn waming of hat fact. Any J11.an cau throw over boar I an of Christ that he has ever known , and be lo t at la t; but if h e does, it is without the excuse of ignorance, weakness, temptation, influences, hindrances, or circumstances of any sort. It is because he has repudiated the light, and has chosen to walk in the dark, that he might have a cover for the evil selj' that he loved instead of the truth. - , ~

Q. What is the difference between an imipression and the leading of the Holy Spirit 1 and how can one always distinguish between them 1

A. An impression may arise from numberless sources. It may be a creature of the nerves, of indigestion, of any selfi:sh desire, of any unholy passion or ambition. Any impression that is not in perfect harmony with those eternal principles

'l Jobn

POINTS OF LIGH'r,

• which constitu'te the Word of God is not of the Holy Spirit, but of Satan.

It is with t·eference to the danger of being misled by. i.m~~·essi?ns that we ar~ en~o~ned to "try the spmts (mmds, or those 1magmmgs which result from mental operations) ; for any process of thinking which does not conclude with the great truth that the Anointed One, who was sent to save the people of God from their sin and destroy the work of the devil in their lives, has been already manifested in the flesh, is not in harmony with God. But any mind, or mental process, which does arrive at that conclusion, and so confess th~t Jesus Christ (the Saviour Anointed) has come m the flesh, and is available for all human needs, is of God.'

Any\.._. simple impression, as such things are usually. understood, would be but a very poor makeshtft for the leading of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit always makes an impression when he -takes hold of a man. He uses impressions,- but so does Satan; and because of this reason, for our protection God has given his plain Word for

11 John 4:2, 3.

THE ABIDING SPIRI'i'.

the use of both man and the Holy Spirit, so that through this medium there may be between them an unmistakable basis of a good understanding.

Q. Does the ti.m~ ever com in this life when 1 Tim. 1 : 15 is not true~ What is the diffe1·ence between wr ng-doiug and sinning~

..A. The time must come to very man who would see Jesus as be is, when he shall cease to be a inner ; for it is t this end that J e t1s was manifested, and that the Spil'it is poured out. As to the difference 'between wrong-doing and sinning - many honest people como into trouble • .r" because they do not understand. A mfl.n may am in doing that which is, to outwn.rd appearance, exactly right; while another in doLng that which is, according to the law, all wrong, is guiltless of any sin . All depends upou how much the man know and the motive which lie at the _foundation of h·s act. This is why the right of judgment is not given to mn.n, but is kept entirely in the bands of Rim who knows the heart. Thi is vtby the A~iding Spit·it always remains nt his post l'OIN'l'S OF LIGHT.

in the center of motive, so that no mistake shall be made in attributing righteousness or unrighteousness to any. This is why , righteousness must be of faith instead of by works. The works may be all wrong, because of ignorance when the .

' motlve was pure, tender, and tme. In an earthly court the man who had done the best he knew might be doomed to extreme penalty. Even in natu:e this is so; for if he ignorantly violates physwa~ law, he must suffer just the same physically as 1f he had done it with full knowledge of the wrong. But when it comes to eternal things all judgment must be of the secret motive whicl~ only God can know; for eten,1ity is long, and all that God desires in any soul is the living germ of truth and loyalty, from which perfect obedience will develop, as knowledge broadens out toward the '' ail things " . that the Spirit is appointed to teach to the teachable.

To see God any man must cease to sin as God . .

' munts smmng. The spring of motive must be cleansed l:)efore his understanding can be opened to recognize and do those things by which in-

Ignorantly Violates Law.

The Living: Oerm of Loyalty.

Denominational Differences.

Evade Conduslons.

Creed a Gauntlet.

ward honesty shall express itself in outward righteousness.

Given the deathless principle of mtegnty m any . soul, and all of salvation must follow.

Q. If the Holy Spirit le~ds into a~l truth, ~:: is it that there is such a difference m denomi t!onal beliefs? And how is it that Seventh-day Adventists seem to have come short of many other denominations in receiving the Holy Spirit? Since Seventh-day Adventists believe that they have all tmth should they not have more of Holy Ghost powe~· than any other people ? and ~oes not the lack of Holy Ghost power tend to raise the question as to whether they are in possession of , ~l truth?

A. The ground of denominational differences IS found in the attempt which is constantly made, by even Christians, to evade the conclusions to which an uninterpreted Bible would _lead tb~~· The Bible reads the same in all pulpits, but It Is where the Bible reading ends and the sermon begins that the line of separation is marked. The cree~ is the gauntlet thrown in the face of gentle Faith, but which she bas .never yet deigned to touch with her hands, although she has more than once trodden it undel'foot.

As soon as two men who have been at swords' points on doctrine stop talking · about, and trying to explain, what the words in the Bible mean (over and above common usage and dictionary interpretation), and shall agree to take it as it The Oround reads, they will cease to conte~d, wjll see the of fellowship. same tmths, and come into fellowship one with the other, and realize that the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses from all sin. 1

Any people should have power in proportion to the truth to which ·they have attained, and when any man or church claims to have all tru.th, it must be proved by the necessary accompaniment of all All Truth power, or be discredited. And herein lies n g i'IW e Calls for AU Power. t·esponsibility. Great light is a terrible accuser to all who do not love and practise purity.

One thing is certainly true that the people who luwe, who love, and ag1•ee with the "commandments of God and the faith of Jesus,'' will manifest in the sight of God and men Ezekiel's vision

John 1:7.

The Holy Healing Waters.

No Dead

Fish.

I Feel No Different.

POINTS OF t.IGH't.

of the holy waters. 0 , those tides of power !Tising and t·ising, higher and higher, h ealing everything they touch, for " everythi ng ball live wh ither the river cometh. ' There cao be no shallow, stagnant pools,. no dead fish in the church which has been ' ' healed '' by these waters that '' issue out toward the East country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed.'' '

Q. How can I know that my prayers for the gift of the Holy Spirit are heard, since I do not feel any different from what I did before~

A. We are to know that God hears us ~lien we pray, because he says so. "This is the '~on­ fidence that we have in him, that, if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us: and ~f we know that he hear us, whatsoever W6 ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.'' 2 If we are willing to accept the simple statement of his. word as to whether or not he hears us, then all things are ours.

Many have stumbled over this which is the

Eze. 47 : 8. 9.

•1 John 5:14, 15.

point of faith all their lives. "How shall I know that he hears me~" has been the cry, when all the time he has been saying, ''I hear you ! I hear you I Speak on, I hear you ! " " But," you say, "I want to feel that you hear me, Lord." But how can you feel that another hears anything? Yon can ()n]y know it by some sign or statement, which you mu~t rec~ive by faith to gi;e it any value. Your feelings d? not have anythmg to do with God's hearing of your prayer; but your faith in his statement about it will have a great deal to do with your feelings. He hears you even when you d(? not believe it. Prayer is o~ly tal~ing to God. The answer to prayer is ~1mply h1s reply to what you have said, just as 1f you and some friend were in conversation. Your friend might be in another room where you could not see <~im; you might continue to speak to him, and he say, '' Yes, go on. I hear you.'' Would you not believe it ? You would not expect to f eel the fact that he could hear you. That feeling is for him, not you. It is his ear-drum that catches the sound of your voice and conveys

The Point of Folth.

Prayer lo Only Talk• lng.

Factor

Feeling .

!\ Sensuul t1elper .

A Purtlon to

E11ch.

'rHE ABIDING SPI RIT.

POINTS OJ<' LIGHT.

its meaning to his brain; and you realize that he would have a right to be offended if you persist in disbelieving his statement that he hears. [t is upon this principle that God requires of us a faith such as will take him at his word with - out such a sensual helper as the feelings. Om feelings are always under tho control of what we suppose to be facts, and the feelings which l'esult from faith are entirely !Efferent from th ose that are aroused by disbelief.

Q. If the Spirit of God is in all men, what does the Bible mean when it speaks of the spirit that worketh in the children of disobedience, (a-nd when it says Know ye not that the Spirit of ' i God dwelleth in you, except ye be reprobates~ A. All the differences and diversities which appear in individuals are in the various method~ of appropriating the same Spirit. 3 The parable of the prodigal son is an illustration of this. The Spirit of God is the capital upon which the universe is run. The Lord has given a portion to every living thing, whether it be angel, man,

Eph . 2: 2.

• 2 Cor. 13: 5.

a 1 Cor. 12 : 4- 7.

bea t, herb, or' tree. Each can nse his portion independently of God for the time beil1 g . God d · es not bring a trong pressm e on any man to com· pel him to use it as be wills. All intelligent being hll ve been more or less educated in the knowledge of what will result if this invested capital is used for wrong pmposes or in a wrong manner. Certain principles have been laid down. God bas said , "Son, give me thin hea11·(1, J _ the life. He gave it to you to use just as you please, but be· would like to teach you hmv to use it fo1· yom <~'reatest atisfaction. H e wish to add more and more of the same Spirit .

asks the privilege of enriching you from the resources of heaven more and more. He wishes you to have power to overcome every evil thing, eve1·y temptati011 every perversio11 o.£ that wlrich is good. He would teach you to 'u.se instead o to waste the p ow r of life which bas been given for l'Unning the machin ery 0£ your body, so that it shall increa e to the fulness of the Holy Ghost.

The story of the prodigal son is a story of the pl'Odigal use of this investment of the Spirit of

Prov. 23: 26.

Wl•hcs t o Add nore and More.

A Prodigal Use of the Spirit.

A Spiritual Embezzler.

Immortal nlsuse Not Allowable,

God. That son took his portion, as men are still doing, and went off in~o a far country: and in spending it as he did, since it was the fruit of his father's own labor, he made him to serve in all that he did, even if his conduct was such as his father would loathe, and must repudiate. Our Father's love is shadowed forth in this narrative, although it does not approach the reality, for no narrative can portray love any more than words or brush can paint a perfume.

A reprobate is one who persistently determines that he will use all that has been given him for holy use, in his own selfish gratification,-he is a spiritual embezzler. He loves the sensual( and will not surrender to be lifted up to the spiritual. He will try to drag and hold the spirit down to the baser level, instead of allowing it to lift his whole life up to the higher altitude; and the time comes when God must stop this misuse of life and call in his inve~tment, so it is written that the wicked shall not live out half their days.

They shall be cut off short in this life, and shall not be allowed the Spirit for imm~rtal misuse.

IPsa.. 55:23.

l'OINTS OF LIG HT.

. We .have brought before us here again, in a ll'ttle drff~rent form, the distinction between the candle of the Lord (which, together with that which it called conscience, constitutes the common gift o£ the Spirit to man) and the great ~rc light which is the Holy Ghost; and to answer I must' at the risk of repetition, again refer to the differ~ ent manifestations of the same life-breathing spirit. There is the vegetable manifest;ttion, by which all plant life exists. There is the manifestation called conscience in man, and instinct in the insect a.nd animal world. This instinct the animal portion of man shares with the brute creation and in this he has nothing to boast over any other' animal; for '' man hath no pre-eminence above a beast '' in any of those things which he holds in comm~n with the beast. His '\r-re-eminence is in Christ only.

Solomon throws light on this truth where he says, '' I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that they might clear God and see [margin] that they themselves are beasts. For that which be£alleth the sons o£ men befalleth nan Hath No Pre-eminence Only In Christ ,

AILGo to One Place .

nust Be Returnel1.

l'OINTS OF LIGHT.

beasts ; even one thing befalleth them : as the one dieth, so dieth the other ; yea, they ha':e all orte breath [spirit or mind] ; so that a man hath no pre-eminence above a beast : for all is vanity [or All go unto one place ; less than it should be]. all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again. Who knoweth the spirit [or mind] of man that is ascending [margin], and the spirit [mind] of the beast that goeth downwa1·d to the earth~" 1

There is the larger manifestation of the intellectual life over and above everything that pertains to the animal. This, man shares with the angels of God. There is the fuller manifestation which is equivalent to salvation, and which is given only to the blood-washed, which 6~ man shares with the only begotten Son. And every one of these manifestations is of the same Spirit. 2 The Spirit which was sent forth from the bosom of the Etemal Father, was given to all for life, and it must return to him whenever life ceases in any created thing. Even the Spirit of Jesus was returned to God at his death, and given him again at his resurrection, just as it will be returned to evei·y faithful servant at last for immortal use.

One who has consented to be cleansed from all filthiness of the flesh; in whom this cunent of sal vation has washed away the debris of sin and its pollution; whose whole being has been subjected to God, will have manifested to him, or measured in him, the fulness of the Holy Ghost; and this Holy Ghost life will be like an atmosphere of truthfulness, p11rity, benevolence, courtesy, · gentleness, through all his walk ai1d conversation, revealing the indwelling • Spirit, as perfume reveals the rose.

Even the godless and unbelieving will know and appreciate the difference between this sort of life and the life of the man of the world, or of the ordinary " professor o{_ religion." He would not expect, neither tolerate, the unclean or frivolous jest from the lips of a man who breathes out the Holy Ghost atmosphere (if such a thing could be); he would consider it as blasphemy, equaled only by a stench where he had expected a sweet odor. The whole world would protest against that sort of

Eccl. 3 : 18-21.

•1 Cor. 12: 4, 7.

Perfume Reveals the Rose.

21}6 blasphemy, even though it was the breathiug out of its own vileness. Any man of the world would think, if he did not say, "Well, I am surprised! He is after all no better than all the rest of us; " and he would lose hope of salvation for himself with the loss of confidence in the Holy Ghost life.

The measure of the Holy Ghost is equal to the widest influence of any man, and his seal will rest on whatever the man does who is truly filled with the Spirit. This is the difference that would of necessity be ·manifested between those who had, and those who had not, received that measure of this gift which is known as the baptisrnr--of the Holy Ghost.

The sacri· fice of Christ.

So many questions have come, and keep coming, even since the foregoing pages were in type, and since I considered the manuscript coinplete, concerning the sacrifice of Christ as it has appeared to me, and as I. have long been trying to make it understood, both by voice and pen, that I feel compelled to add to, and perhaps repeat in

more condensed form, som'3 things which have appeareu in the body of the book.

It is clear to me that the ordinary view of the death of Christ is exceedingly superficial, and would take all real significance from it. If he came from heaven and went down into the grave fully assured that after thirty-three years of life, a death on the cross, and three days in the grave, he was to arise and ascend into heaven to be admired for his work by all the hosts thereof, as well as all the inhabitants of earth, it would have been less than many a missi'Onary has done for the heathen. Especially so when you take into account that the eternal years of God were his; that a thousand of them was only as one day to man.

Those three year§ of his actual ministry, wtth all ' that he suffered, would never have met the requirement of the law that demanded the eternal death of the sinner.

It was not simply death, as ordinarily understood, that was called for, but eternal death,-a grad nated death, if you please, which should begin

A Superficial View.

with the sleep in the grave, to be followed for the incorrigible by a shameful resmrection to condemnation, and after that, utter destruction out of the universe of God.

It was the first bitterness of this last extremity of death, which Jesus tasted for every man in Surrendered. that act of his self-surrender in the garden of Gethsemane. He saw then the inevitable doom of the soul condemned under the law, and what it meant to take it upon himself (for he had to Biperlenced. learn-be had to eX'p erience-as any man must); and, appalled at what he saw must come to him as the sinner's substitute, he cried out, "If it be possible, let this cup pass from me. ~reverthe­ less, not my will, but thine be done."~ But it

. could not be allowed to pass if man went fl·ee. ••No."

The Father said "No" to his beloved son'·s prayer ; denied him as you and I have been denied; and so, as he hung on the cross, he drank the dregs of death. When the face of the Father was turned from him, in despair, he cried out, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me ~ '' ll~ truste(i that it would not hve been so, but

The Sinner's Death.

nevertheless he never took back that word, "Thy He Took will be done. " He only said, " It is finished," Nothln~ Back. and died: not that sny man took his life from him, but that he laid it down uncomplainingly, choosing to be true to the eternal principles which he loved better than life, and by which even he must be judged. Otherwise he could not have saved the honor of the great ·name Love, and have accomplished the work for which he was sent out from the bosom of the Father. He had taught that for any man to love his life selfishly was to lose it, and he pteferred to- lose his life and live only in the memory of heaven as faithful u~to death, even if to do this he must leave forever vacant his place as host in the '' many mansions,'' and to other hands the work of prepal'ing them for the saints. '\__

His.portion of tha eternal Spirit he returned to God unsullied by any touch of earthly ambition when he sighed, '' Father, into thy hands I commit my Spirit," and so "gave up the Ghost,"- that Abandoned Bven as th .. Holy Guest that had kept him in life and power Sinner. fot· his work, but who must now abandon ht'm

THE ABIDING SPIRi't.

even as the unrepentant sinner, in whose stead he hung upon the cross, must be, at last, abandoned. How all the host of heaven must have waited o:ri this scene, smiling through their tears, as they hugged to themselves the one precious secret which had been kept from him in this last moment. For was he not to be surprised by the very resurrection which he had relinquished? Was he not to find that not one word of his had been allowed to fail, even if he had made himself sin for a lost world, with all that sin im-plies? And more : as he had learned obedience by the things that he had suffered, he was to learn administration and priesthood by the joyful (deliverance lovingly forced upon him ·in the day~ of his humiliation and self-surrender. He was to learn that his own self-abnegation had given even greater energy,' if it were possible, to his word ~an it had ever known in creation, for while" 'T was great to speak a world from naught, 'Twas greater t o redeem ."

What a lesson to the angels who were looking on, when they saw that this thing called sin re-

gnired bi.m t (~o down into those depths of nnspeakable woe into which uo hope of immortality could evet penetl"ate, and that they must leave him to die uncomforted, under 't he supposition that to make salvation sure for his beloved disciples he must fail to keep the engagement which he made with them to adse after three days, and perhaps be branded as a boaster after all ; that he must break hi promise to the penitent thief, and fail to greet him in Paradise. But what a joy for the angels to understand that becaus·~ he had given up life so completely, and had abandoned everything in order that not one point of the Law should stand unsatisfied, while he knew it not, yet ''his judgment'' (the necessity of being judged) "had been taken away, ' \_and he should not be called to answer.,any further for the sins for which he had made vicarious atonement.

He was j.n tl1e greatness of his loving, in the fuluess of his giving, like one who, having paid the pl'ice that was demanded, yet t•ealizing the immeasl}rable -value of the interest that was at

He Must

Poll to Keep

His Engagement.

His Judgment . .

At Any Cost.

stake determined that no such disaster as the failu:e which he had feared, should be possible; and, at the last, spurred by that fear of possible failure, threw in all he had to make assmance doubly sure at any cost, so as to save the lives that, with the honor of his Father's great name, were in the balance. For is not that name Love? Was it not the inspiration of the Law ~ And must not infinite Love be great enough to compass the uttermost of Law again and yet again, and leave an infinite balance ? This Jesus determined to prove. He would have the Law that represented the character which he shared with the Father translated as a Promise into the vern~ular of man. All this he accomplished, and ~left the darkest depths of sorrow luminous with hope for any soul who will listen to, and be led by, the

Special Note. - For those of my r~aders who would be interested in such a fact, I Will state that one day this summer (1898) at a camp-meeting, while I was giving a study which included some special features of the atonement, the question

POINTS OJ<' LIUFI'l', wu ..ai e I a to the tenabil ity of the position which 1 had taken , as given in the above pat·agrapha nnd the foregoing page cm1cerning the death of Ob1·ist, nt wl1ich ono of the leading bt·etb t·en informed liB t hat the same statements, almost word fo r wot·d, would be fo und in the Testimonies. I had nevel' before hettt·d of this, and have not until now, jn t n the last pages are going to the pt·in ter had opportunity to look the matter up. But after t·ead ing that wond erful story, I am glad to refer those, to whom it will come as special heJp, to." Sufferings of Christ,'' in "Testimonies for the Church,"· Vol. II, p. 210.

Q. How shall I know that I have the power of God ? I have prayed for the Holy Spirit, and hav tl'ied t g t that sense of power until I have become discouraged. .Can yon make it clear to one whJ is honest i n wanting to get hold of this power only to use it for the glory of God ?

A. First of all yon are to know that, if yon have any power at all, yon have the powet· of God ; ~ecause '~there is no pcwer but of God : '' 1 and

Rom.13 :1.

In the Testimonies .

A Senae vs. the Know!• edge of Power.

Knowledge

Never Fails.

You Have

Faith In the

Power.

'l'HE AB!DlNG SPIRIT.

because all power belongetl1 unto God, 1 even the power to breathe, to eat, to lift your hand, to think a thought, to wiil to do anything, is his. It is one thing, however, to know that you hame power, and another to sense it. It is better to know than to sense/ for sensation miqld deceive you, and let you down unmercifully ; but knowledqe never fails. You know that y~ur blood circulates, but you do not ense the power by which it iJ ltept in m tjon no1· that by which you walk, until omethiog happens to oppo. e it. Yon operate all tho o•·gan of yom· body without a thought coucerning thorn until they are nttachd by disease and disabled m resisted.

The power within, np to the capa.ci y of the machine. ·y of muscle and sinew quickly adjusts itself to e weight that i t0 be lifted . Yon do 110t seme the power that is in your al'm, but you have fait!l, i;n. it. When y u look at the object to be lift d, yon bav ftll in tincti belief in yout· ability to lift, up to a el.'tain point· and by cultivation (wbi.cb. sil:ttply meanB adju 'ting the machinery of bone, muscle and sil1ew in thei•· J·elntion to the power), t

• you know that' you can mcrease your ability to lift. You also know that in a sudden, serious crisis you will be able to go fat" beyond the ordinary. The same principle holds good in relation to the mental and spiritual. When the adjustment of will, of motive, of affection, of ambition- of the whole nature- to the Abiding Spirit is complete, although you may, under ordinary circmp.stances, be unconscious of any accr,e tion of powm·, yet by faith you will know that you will be able to " do all things through Christ which strengtheneth" 1 you ; that you shall renew your strength as the eagle does its feathers, and so be able to mount up, to run and not be weary, to walk without fainting, right on and on beyond the point where even the young man in Ris might shall utterly fail. 2 Power in a steady tide shall flow into and through you, and your nature being iq harmony with it, shall, through a ready faith in this unfailing resource, bi_ quickly adjusted to any burden that may be laid upon it.

·No man who is thus related to the power shall ever be '' confounded," because he has failed • Isa. 40 : ao, 81.

'Phil. 4 :n.

ByPalth

You Know

Power Is

Quickly

Adjusted.

The Suffl· clency Is There.

Never for Show.

THE ABIDING SI'IRI'l'.

to lift anything which came in his way; whether it be something that must be taken up and thrown into the depths of the sea, or something that must be said, done, carried, or endured. Just at the instant when the necessary power is needed, and he, through faith in its reliability, sta;rts in with his part of the work, he will find that the sufficiency is there in good shape to take him through.

This power of the Holy Ghost is special, specific, -given for instant use to those who have been specially prepared for it by seeking, by asking, by accepting all the offices of the Spirit as taught in the Word.

It is never given for competition, for show, for self-congratulation. No man can build a reputation of any sort upon it, nor by it increase his worldly goods so as to ~come permanently secure in some selfish ambition. He may go on swimmingly, even if selfishly, for a while, but he will sooner or later come to the place where the Holy Spirit must bear witness to tb,is perversion of power, and the man will fail in such a manner that all will know that he had been guilty of perverting the power of God.

This power, like everything else that belongs to the kingdom of heaven, is without observation. It is for actual wOL·k, such as has bein made necessary by the rescue of the children of God from the dominion of sin, and for nothing else.

Q. You speak of a time ~hen every individual will have to stand alone with God; then what is meant by the unity of the Spirit and Christian fellowship ?

Note. - In answering this question I must touch upon points which will cover another question, so I take the two together, although they are very differently stated.

Q. Will the Holy Spirit teach each parent the same mode of instruction and tmining for the children, or will his teaching admit of different methods?

A. The Spil'it of God can never contmdict himself to accommodate the different opinions which prevail in church or home or anywhere. It is his office to bt·ing all candid minds to "the same standpoint of tn1th. There can be no such thing as

Without Observation .

Alone with Ood.

The Unity of The Spirit.

Two Who Love.

fellmvship. outside tl~e opel'ation of the Holy Spirit. Renee each must be in his own .e xperience a thongL be wer alone in the universe with the one ~l.'eacher of tt·nth, a.nd the one Lea.der, who will teach to each individual the same things as fast as he can learn them. The time must come sooner or later when all who have been willing to be led and taught will see eye to eye. This must finally result in what Paul calls the '' unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." 1

There is surely coming a time when each must stand alone, as far as this world is concerned; and if one shall have come so to love God as to prefer to be alone with him, he will never know loneliness. There is nothing that two who love each other supremely so delight in as to be alope with each other. Each must be so sm·e of hiS)relation to God, so accept the evidence of his Word, and have such confidence in him, that he will be able to settle all questions between himself and God with- • out human intervention; for the emergencies of the work will soon require that each shall be able to decide wisely and quickly without time or oppor-

' Epb. 4:3.

tunity for consultation. In the home life this is always so. Each must so know Truth that al- Will Know though all the world should arise and deity it, he Truth, will know it as truth still. He must so know it that if Satan should even work miracles, and seem to demonstrate that the truth is impossible, he would still know it to be Truth.

Those who live in the last generation, and who go through to the tiri:te when the Lord comes, must each have within himself that principle which will make him stand as a rock amid all Stand as a manner of demonstrations which serve to show Rock.

that the truth of God is a lie. Those who are out in the field of the world at work in those days will not be in crowds, settled down togethet· in populous centers ; they will not be even in groups of a score, nor yet of tens ; they will be scattered One Here, /

' one here and another there, likP,.lamp-posts along One There . • the dark alley-ways of some great city, or lighthouses along a dangerous coast, each holding up His Own Little Point of his own little point of light, perhaps so fat: apart, Light.

and with such depths o£ darkness between them, that they can not catch even one ray from any

Lights Always Agree.

The White Ribbon.

other. All the light any one will have must be in himself by direct personal connection with the power which produces it.

But light always agrees with light ; it never fears to stand alone, though all darkness be marshaled against it. One little incandescent point can hold its ·own, if the current only be on, against all the powers of midnight. It may not shine out very far, but as far as it does shine it will shine with the light of the sun, which is its fountainhead.

We shall each have to stand alone somewhere for the '' Commandments of God and the Faith of Jesus, " 1 for hygienic living, for temperance, for purity in social life, for liberty in Christ.

The time was, a few years ago, when it was almost a supreme test of character for a woman to wear the white ribbon at a social gathering. I know a wealthy woman, all her life from young womanhood a social leader, who consecrated herself to God through W. C. T. U. work, and took that consecrated life into those same social gathererings which she had led in gaiety and fashion; no longer, however, for pleasure, bnt as a testimony to the power of an uttermost salvation, and as a protest against intemperance and impurity; by this means she was able to lead many a woman who had become sick of the emptiness and sinfulness of the world to Christ; because she demonstrated his strength by the ability whi~h he had given her to stand, apparently alone, against the strong tides of worldly social life.

Rev. 14: 12.

Q. When do you. call the Spirit grieved? and what is the unpardonable sin?

A. The Spirit is grieved when he is not allowed to lead you into light and peace; when you will be a prodigal instead of an obedient son. ''As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." 1

The unpardonable sin, the only sin for which there is no remedy, is refusing to be led by the Spirit of God. If one ·will not accept the leading and teaching of the Holy Spirit, there remains no other by whom he can be taught and led; hence he has, by his own act, cut off his last cha11Ce, The Spirit of God is a tender, patient

1 ~OI!l.

The Unpar• 4onable Sin.

. ., Stop It I"

''How Can I?"

Friend, sent to lead us as dear children into the way of eternal life; and the wrath of God which shall be visited upon those who will not receive the Spirit's leading, is in proportion to this tenderness which has been despised.

I had, in a meeting, invited those who would accept the leading of the Holy Spirit to come to the altar. A man arose, his face ghastly white, and said:- " I would like to, but I can't."

"Why can't you?" I asked.

"Because I have sinned away my day of grace; I have committed the unpardonable sin. I have grieved the Holy Spirit.''

''Then," I said, ''my advice to you is to stop it right now."

" Stop it ! " he cried. " How can H "

'' By doing at once what he would lead yon to do."

· '' But when I have grieved him, how can I? '' '' By being willing to be led. The sin against the Holy Ghost is refusing to be led by him

Now let him lead you. Move out with him at once,''

"But what if he will not strive with me, or lead me again? " still questioned the poor sinner.

"But tell me," I rejoined, "where did your desire to follow him just now come from ? from Satan?"

"No, of course not; it must have come from God."

''Then obey it," I said. "If you should obey it, what would you do? '' " I v.•ould go . and kneel down there at that altar, and smrender to God."

''Come," I said.

" After all that I have said to you," he asked, '' do you dare tell me to come ? "

''In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I say to you, poor sinner, come.''

He stood trembling for a moment, then started, and crowded his way forward, and his knees had no sooner touched the altar than he sprang up with a shout of joy. He knew that the bands that had bound him had snapped, and he was free.

It is Satan's purpose to make peop.l e believe that the sin against the Holy Ghost is something "Obey."

"come."

Joy.

Patal Stum• ble lmpossl• ble.

THE ABIDING Sl'IRlT.

~nexplainable, mysteriou~, into which they may mnocently fall so fatally that there can be no ~·emed~ ; but such a thing as that would be entirely 1mpossxble. One must consciously refuse to be led, or to accept the teaching of the Spirit and Word. Tl~en there is, of course, no remedy until repentance shall change the will of the man. As long as a man can exercise his will, as long as he ca;n say yes or no, as long as he can stand for or against anything, he holds his eternal destiny. in h~s o~n hands, and all depends on how he adjusts hxs Will to the Abiding Spirit. "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his own good pleasure ; " 1 and, "We are laborers together with God. '' 2 ' ' We then, as workers . together with him, beseech you als~ that ye receive not the grace [gift] of God in vain." a

• Phil , 2: 1a,

• 1 CO!'· a : ~.

a 2 Cor, 6: 1.

As I have given many studies on the snbject treated in these pages; questions have arisen whicl1 lead me to place in the hands of my readers the following list of l'Oot words, from which the words '' spirit" and '' brea,th '' are rendered into the English Bible.

Under certain conditions these Hebrew and Greek words might be translated in any of the forms given below:-

Nesltamah (Reb.)

Blast Breathed Soul

Breath Breatheth Spirit

Breathe Inspiration

Rfiaclt (Heb.)

Accept Blast Courage Side 'rem pest. Yain

Air

Breath Mind

Smell 'l'ouch Wind

Anger

Cool

Quarter

Spirit

U nderstandi n~· . Whirlwind

·r~HJ

ABl DIN'G S PJRl'l'.

Pneuma (Gr.)

Ghos~

Spirit

Holy Ghost Spiritual

Life Wind

Pltanlallma (Gr.)

Pltantatn occurs buL Lwice, - Mutt. 14: 26; M ark 6:49.

FOlt DR.EA'r.!'l .

NcpMal' (R eb.)

Any Body Dearl

D I soon 1 eo ted Gr eedy H eart

Herself

Lust Uind Own Setr Thing

.Appetite Breath e Deadly Fish Hn.th Hearty Himself Man Mos•t.nlity P erson Stay Will

Beast Os·eaLure Desire GllOSL

He Her Life

Me One

Ple~ure

Soul Power

R«aolt (Reb. ) Is used for Breath: also P IIW, which mt>uns W lud and l<l l::llow.