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Price Id.

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Issu ed m onth ly by "The Bible S tan dard Pub licat ion S ocie ty, " 24 , M in t La ne, Lincoln .EDITED BY

Geo. A. BRO W N , Pasto r of Mi nt L a ne Baptist Chu rch, Lincoln .

TUE BIBLE STANDARDs devo ted to the exposition of Bib lical Tr uth, espec ially th e doctrine o f Condition al Immorta lity, th e literal Resurrection ofthe Dead, the Final Destruction of the ,,'icked, the S igns of th e Times, the Second Coming of Christ, and His Personal Reign on earth.

No. 4 .

" The Wa ges of Sin is Deat h; bu t the gift of God is Eternal Life throug h Jesus C hri st our Lo rd."

JANUARY, 1877.

THE N EW YEAR .-WE a lways f eel a degree of sadness as we reach the close ofthe year and p ass ove r into a n ew on e. At this part iculartime many good resolut ions are m ade, new plans are arran gedfor being more useful and less selfish than we have everbcen before, and n early everyon e feels that they w ill takea fresh start wi th the comm encement of the N ew Year.But, alas! how r arely are our plan s .matur ed, or our vowskept.

Then, agai n, we b egin to wond er what this new ye ar willbring to pa ss. We f eel desirous to peep into its darknessand obscurity, in orde r to bring forth some of its untold,unknow n events, but a kind Providence bi ds us wait, un til

each new day reveals its own peculiar circumstances andevents, and brings w ith it adequate strength for every newemergency . It i s well that coming days are locked inobscurit y, for, could we know or see each new tri al thatawa its the coming of our feet in thi s new year, our h ear tsmight fail us, our courage would yield to fear, and w e mig htsink into the depths of despair.

We are also at thi s time frequent ly led to take. a re-trospective view of the p ast year . With som e it has b eenfull of startling event s; heavy trials, cru shing afflictio ns havebeen their portio n, and as it passes a way they feel relieved tothink th ey have wea thered the storms of a year, wh ichseemed t o bring forth for them noth ing but trouble, andthey lo ok forward as they step into the new year for abrighter path a nd a calm er sky . May the Lord g rant th emtheir desires!

The year 1877 has been an ev entfu l one in the po liticalworld. Its days have b een spent by many o n the battle-field, homes have been made d esolat e, hearts have beenmade to b leed, mothe rs have received the news that theirlad is dead--the repo rt comes that he fought b rave ly forhis country, but h e fell, and his bones are left to bl each onthe batt le-plain on which he lost his life.

Oh! cruel war, we w ish thy life would come to an end;

we wish thy record-book s were filled up; we wish that thelast story of woe a nd sorrow, which non e can tell so w ell asthee, wer e fini shed; we wish thy f ields were transformedinto P aradise; we' wish thy swords a nd cann ons werehurled into re generating fires, th at they might be tran s-formed into implements of u sefuln ess a nd bl essing .

But w e fear thy story is not yet finished, for th e chapterof th y cruel deeds, began in the year 1877, is not yet corn-pleted ; mo re yet remain s to be reco rded i n the yea r intowhich we h ave ju st entered, and, wo rse than all, there seemsto be indi cations that a new chapter recordin g thy fearfulhavoc w ill be commenced in this new yea r of ours.

The first day, then, of the New Yea r begins with a blackpage, b lackened by war, with th at blackness deepe ning aswe see indications springing up on every hand, that warmay not only be prolonged, but wid ened in its ex tent byembr acing those in its arms whi ch are now at peace.

The Old Year goes out r obed in mournin g and weepingover the fallen, and the N ew Year, instead of coming to usdressed in bridal robe s, comes veiled in bl ack, and deepanxiety seems to be d epicted upon h er count enance. Underthese c il..cum stances we cannot expect to have a very happyNew Year, for, if our h earts are touched with oth ers' woes,we must to some ex tent feel as they feel, weeping withthose who weep.

Our readers may think th at we are dr awing a picturetinged too m uch with the hues of sadness, a picture wh ichought at least to be brightened with some ray o f hope ,bright ened by prom ises o f better days and happ ier years .

We will, dea r fri ends, endeavo ur to bright en th is picture,for the nigh t is but the mother of the morn, and th e dark-ness w hich now surrou nds us is but the prelude to joysunborn , for when we turn our attention to th e revealedword an d mind 9f God, we ca tch th e glimm er of th e breakof day , for we hear in th e distance the comin g of Him Who

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26 THE BIBL E STANDARD.

is d ec la red to be the Pr in ce of P ea ce . W e sp ea k o f Him

Who sti lled the t emp es t lo ng year s ag o , and hu shed th e

troubl ed e lem ent s to s lee p b y Hi s ow n sw ee t wo rd s , " P eac e,

be stil l."

Y es, fri end s , H e is com ing ; th e Word of G od d ecl a res it;

th e tr oub lou s tim es in w hi ch our l ot is ca st d ec la re it .Si gn s in the h ea v ens abov e and on t h e ear th pr oc laim w ith

on e uni ted t e stim ony th at H e is co m ing soon .

A nd, wh en H e co m es, w a rs wi ll c ease , tr ou bl e w ill end ,

sorrow w ill flee away , fo r the promi se ma de by G od

war ran ts u s in te lli ng yo u that a t im e is coming wh en th ere

wi ll b e no m ore tea rs , no m o re sorrow , no mor e d ea th, f o r

th e former th ing s sha ll h ave passed away, the c h apt e rs o f

th e o ld years sha ll a ll h av e b ee n fin ish ed , an d a new era,

us h e rin g in a N ew Yea r, w ith n ew he aven s and new e art h ,

w ith a ll th in gs mad e new , sh a ll com e .

T h is is th e New Y ea r t o wh ich w e d irect your at tent ion,

and in wh ich w e no t onl y wi sh you but c an promi se yo u a

very happ y N ew Y ea r.

To the child o f G od w e wou ld dir ect a f ew wa d s o f e x-

ho rtat io n , fo r the h app y N ew Y ea r of whi ch we h ave w ritt en

is for you, and fo r yo u alon e . W e can d raw no b ri ght

pictur e for th e man who is out of Chri st , w e ca nn o t c as t on

ray of hope acro ss hi s d ark ened pat h, w e see n othin g for

him but an ete rna l n igh t, an e tern a l sl ee p , for, a f te r the

Ju dge s h a ll p a ss th e sent enc e upon h im, h e wi ll b e b ani sh ed

from the pre sen ce o f Go d , and f rom t h e g lo ry of His p ower,

and neve r se e no r t as te of th a t et ern a l life and e te rna l joy

w hic h God wi ll b es tow up on th em who have a cce pted His

gif t, and w ho h ave come into cov enant r e la ti o nship wit h

H im , thr ough b e li e f of th e tru th and obedi enc e to His

comma nds. If a ny r ea d th ese lin e s w ho a re ou t o f C h rist,

W e bese ech y ou t o f le e f o r r e fuge. Go wh il e the d oor is op en ,

ask no w wh ile He st oop s to listen t o thy cry , fo r soo n the

do or w il l be s hut , soon H e w il l le ave t h e m ercy -se at , and

th en , o h! s in n e r, th y Icry w ill g o un hee ded, t hy knock ing

w il l brin g no res pon se , t hy p lac e wi ll be without , a nd thy

lot wi ll be bani shm en t into th e land of d ea th .

T o the b e liev e r we would say , "L e t th e comin g yea r b e w ellsp ent . L et you r w alk b e con sistent , and , w ha teve r tri a ls

m ay be w a itin g fo r th e comin g of y our f eet , q u it y ou like

m en . B e s tron g in the Lord, 'Sc a tt e r see d s of k indn ess ,'

c arry lig ht and b less in g to th ose w ho sit in d a rkn ess , m ake

rea l sac rif ice s fo r oth ers ' g ood, and let yo ur good wo rks

g lor if y yo ur Fa th e r w h ich is in h ea v en , and may y ou se ek

w ith u s a d ee pe r w ork of g race , a g re a te r knowl edge o f H is

w or d and w ill , so th a t, wh en th e Maste r com es to brin g in

th a t lon g -lo oked f o r ha ppy New Y ea r, yo u m ay w it h u s

s tand befo re Him , w e lcome d b y Hi s s w eet sm iles , and

ch eere d b y His lovi ng w o rd s, ' W e ll d on e , ent e r th ou i n toth e joys o f th y Lo rd ."

TH E GOSPEL HOPE .

Continu ed f1'0171pa ge 19.H AVI N G exa mi ned, in our l as t n umb er, m any of th e prom ises

mad e by Christ , as reco rc le d i n th e G ospe ls; l e t u s now loo k

at P au l's languag e re la ting t o the Go spe l hope, Acts xx iii. 6,

" Of the hope and res ur rection of th e d ead I am c a ll ed inques tion." T h is pas sage po s iti ve ly show s that h e p reach ed

th e re su rr ec ti o n as th e Go spe l hope , un les s h e was ca ll ed in

ques tion fo r so m e thin g he did n o t p reac h. Bu t le t u s Bee .

Acts xxv i, 6- 8, h e s ay s , " Now I s tand and a m ju dg ed f o r

the hope o f the p romise made o f God unt o OUT fath ers : unto

whi ch p romi se our twe lve trib es , in s ta ntl y se rvin g God day

ni gh t, h ope to com e. Fo r whi ch hope 's sa k e , kin g A g ri pp a,

I am acc u se d o f th e Jew s. Wh y s ho ul d it b e t ho ught a

thi ng inc redib le wi th yo u, th a t Go d sh oul d mise the' dead ? "

H ere aga in is- se en th e bu rd en a nd hope o f A pos to lic pr eac h -

in g . It is a fu tu re lif e by a res urr ect io n f rom th e dea d . H e

adds , v e rses 2 2 -23, " H aving th ere fo re ob ta in ed help of God ,

I cont inu e unto th is clay , witnessing bo th to sma ll and grea t,

say in g non e 'oth e r thin gs t h an th ose whi ch th e pr op hets a nd

Mos es did say s hou ld co me : th a t Chri s t sho u ld su ffe r, and

th a t H e sh ou ld b e the first th a t shou ld ris e from the de ad "

(i.e., to an immort a l l if e) . N ot on ly is th e res u rrecti o n th e

Ap o s to lic burd en and hope , but h e affirm s th e same th ings

we re th e th em e of t h e Pr ophets and Mo se s : the hope is . one .

No t an inti ma tion thu s fa r o f th e no tion of ent e rin g th e ho ly

of h o lie s -h eave n- a t d eath, or a t a ll : i t is th e ho pe o f th eres u rr ection .

W e wi ll now see wh e th e r Pa u l do es no t w ith equa l cl ea r-1 ;lBSS ta te th e hop e of th e Go spe l ill h is Ep ist les , 1 Cm'. xv .

1 2- 1 9, " Now if Ch ris t b e pr eac h ed th a t He r o se fr om th edead , h ow say som e among yojJ . th at t he re is no res u rr ec tion

o f th e d ead? B ut if th e re b e no res u rrect ion of th e d ea d,

th en i s Chr ist no t ri sen th en is you r fa ith vain

th en t he y also w hi ch a re fa llen as leep in C h ris t

a re peri shed, (i.e., th ey a re los t out of b e ing -th e re is no hope

for th em; ) f or, jof in th is lif e onl y w e have hope in Chri st, we

ar e o f al l m en m os t m ise rab le ." T ha t the Apo s tle ha s re -

fe ren ce to the hope of a f u tur e lif e by a res ur recti o n i s c lea r

fr om what h e sa ith a t v e rse 32, " If . a ft e r th e m ann e r o f m enI h ave fought w ith b ea sts a t Ep hes us [exp o sin g m y lif e] ,

w hata dva n ta ge thit me if the dead -rise not?" P la inl y affi rmi ng

he h ad n o hop e o f go in g to heave n a t d ea th, and th at he h ad

ac ted a foo lish part in h azard ing hi s life at E ph es u s , if th e re

be no r es urr ect ion . Su ch a cour se wou ld b e fo ll y ind ee d;

rath e r" L e t u s e a t and drink ," if th e re is no res u rr ection,

. " fo r to- mor row w e, d ie ," and t h e re is no hop e beyond th at.S u ch is th e A po s tl e 's conc lu s io n if th e re is to b e no res urr ec -

tion of th e d ead . B u t thi s reasoni ng is bo th absu rd and

fa lse, if h e cou ld o r wo u ld go to h eav en a t d eat h.

B ut ag a in, Pau l s ait h, Rom, viii. 23 , aft e r sp eak in g o f thegro an ing c reat io n, "A nd n o t o n ly i t, bu t our se lve s a lso,

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THE BI B L E ST AN DA RD .' 2 7

wh ich h av e th e fir s t f ru it s o f th e S p ir i t, ev en we ours e lves

groan wi th in ou rse lves, wa it ing [ to g o to h eave n a t d ea th ?

No , bu t] for t h e a doptio n , to wit, th e -redemption of ourb ody ," n o t it s di sso lu tion a t d ea th. . H e add s , " F o r w e a re

save d b y hope: b u t h o p e th a t is see n is n ot h ope: fo r what

a m an see th, w hy do th h e y e t h o p e fo r? But if w e h ope fo r

that we see n o t, t h en d o we wi th p a tience w a it fo r it." And

wh a t d oes the Apo s tle a ff ir m h e a nd th e Chri s ti a n s of hi s

tim e w e re "wai tillg for ? " A nsw e r, " Th e red em p ti on o f

our b od y ," th a t i s , fo r th e . coming o f C hri s t from h eaven an d

the resu rr ect ion, T hi s w ill b e c le ar ly see n b y c om pa ri n g w h a t

h e s aith h e re w ith Phil. ii i. 2 0 -2 1, " Ou r co n ve rsa ti on is inh ea v en ; from uh euce al so we look fo r th e S av iour, th e L o rd

Jes u s Chr is t, Who shall change OUTvile body, th a t it m ay be

fa shi o n ed lik e unto H is g lor iou s b ody ." H e re is no g ro u n d

fo r mi s ta k e or do ubt. P aul was n o t exp ecting to g o to

h eave n a t d ea th , n o r at a ll ; but h e w as loo k in g fo r C h r is t t o

com e from heav en -n ot w h en thi s v ile b od y s h o uld g o t o

co rr u pti o n, bu t w h en th e tim e s hou ld a rri ve fo r i t t o b efas hi on ed li k e to C h ris t's g lo ri o u s b o d y, w h ic h i s no t t il l th e

res u rrec tion . T h is is fur th e r co nf ir m ed by h is la n g u ag e in

the sa m e ch apt er , wh e re h e te lls u s ho w h e labour ed and

su ffe red, " I f b y a n y m ea ns I m ig h t a tt a in u n to th e resu r :

rec tion of the dead! " v e rse 11 . H ow unl ik e is a ll thi s to th ecom m on id e a of an entran ce in to h eave n a t d ea th . Th e h o p e

of P au l is thus di s tin c tly s ta ted ; a r idit is th e gosp el hope, and

d emo n s tra te s th a t mo d e rn C h ris ti a ns a re as igno ran t o f w hat

th a t h ope is as 'the paga n s th emse lv es . In f ac t, th e th eo lo gy --

of t h ese da y s h as sub s titut e d an immor ta l so ul fo r, o r i ns tea d

of Ch ris t; and h enc e a h ope o f go in g to h e ave n a t deat h

instea d o f a fu tur e lif e b y a re su rre c ti o n fr om the d ead , at

th e la s t day , as C hri s t h as pr om ised . A f a ta l mi s ta ke thi s ,

by wh ic h Ch ris t i s robb ed and d ish ono ur ed; w hil e Deat h is

crowned '

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28 THE BIBLE STANDARD.

tion of Je su s Chr is t." Thu s w e se e to w h a t th e g o sp e l h opehas r e fer en ce, a nd w h en it i s to b e r ev ea led: not a t d eat h , bu t

a t t he re tur n o f C h ris t from h eave n . S o ag a in Pet e r ex p re ss es

th is m a tt e r c lea r ly in Acts. iii. 20, w h e re h e sait h " G od s h a llse nd J es u s C hri s t W hom th e h ea v ens mu st r e-

ce iv e [ or r e ta in ] un til th e tim es of r es titut ion o f a ll thin gs

which G od h a th sp ok en ," & c . Thu s, turn whi ch w ay we

will, th e g re at truth, th a t th e gos p e l hop e is "th e return. ojChris t from heave n and t he resu rr ectiou oj the de ad" m ee ts u sin full v iew. Ala s! th a t m en sho uld turn off th e ir ey e s fr om

it to d e ify d ea th, a nd ste al a m a rch to h e av en b y m ea n s of

th e k ing o f t e rror s J

L e t u s turn to on e m o re w itn ess o n thi s s ubj ec t, 1 John iii.2 -3 , " Be lo ve d , no w a re w e th e s on s of G od, and it doth

n ot y e t appea r w h a t we s h a ll b e : b u t we kn ow th a t wh en

[we di e? No, but w h en ] H e sh a ll app ea r, w e s h a ll b e lik e

H im; for w e s h a ll see Him a s He i s ." Su re ly w e sh a ll no t

. b e lik e H im at d ea th; f o r He h as Hi s res u rrec ti on a nd

g lo ri ou s body. D eat h, th en , is n ot th e p o in t of tim e Jo h n s peakso f. No-it i s wh en H e shall app ear-wh en He com es out of

th e holy of h o li es , " from h ea v en; " th a t is th e gospel hope;and John add s , "E ve ry m an th a t hath this hope in Hi mpu rifi e th him se lf, eve n as He is pur e;" that i s th e e ff ect of

thi s ho p e ; it s te nd ency i s to promot e h o lin ess . S uch i s th e

ch a rac te r and influ en ce of th e hop e of the gos p e l. L e t a ll

rem emb e r thi s truth, a nd lay it to h eart , m en pr o fess ing th e

hop e o f th e go sp e l, who a re not mad e C hrist- l ik e by it , li ave

reas on to c a ll in qu esti on th e re ali ty of th ei r h ope. I f we

h o ld th e hop e w e h ave b ee n sp eaki ng of, in th eor y , th e

g re at e r w ill b e our g uilt if w e do not let it h av e it s pr a cti ca l

res ult on ou r h ea rt s a nd li v es . Agai n, w e repea t th eapo s to lic a ff irm a ti o n-" E very m an th a t h a th thi s h op e in

H im puri fie th him se lf, ev en as h e [C h r ist ] is pur e." N o

oth e r s ta nd a rd will an swe r. How much r ea so n h ave w e to

b ewa il our p as t shortcomin g s? L e t u s h a ste to God, thr o u gh

our High Pri es t, whi le He i s ye t in th e hol y of holi es, fo r

th a t m e rc y which sh a ll blot out o ur p as t s in s , and en able u s

fo r tim e to com e to wa lk as Ch ris t a lso w a lk ed; th at w h en

He sh a ll a pp ea r-com e out of th e ho ly pl a ce- w e may m ee t

Him w ith j o y, and r ece ive th e cro w n of lif e . Am en.

LIFE EVERLASTING.IN th e op enin g of hi s fir s t epi s tle , th e mind of th e Apo stl e

John is burd ened with a gr ea t thought which human

langu age is unab le fully to expr ess . Yet, as he knows its

immen se v a lu e to th e who le bod y of divine truth, a s a sun

in a plan e tary syst em, essential to it s v e ry exist e nc e , he is

anx iou s so to pres ent it that no one may mi stake his m ean-

ing. Th e hum an mind m ay not compr eh end it s br ea dth,

a nd length, and d epth, and he ight, yet it may be correct ly

realised as far a s the m ind is ab le. We may see that it

mea n s s om et hin g of tr a n sc end en t im por tan ce, tho u gh all

th a t it m ean s w e m ay not gras p no w, no r per h aps in the

ages to com e . A cc ordin g ly, h e ar res ts a tte ntion by an

emph at ic ass ur an ce, as an h o nes t and truthful witn ess, t h a t

he had heard, see n, s teadily look ed upon , a n d tou ched the

W ord of Lif e , th e sa m e bl esse d On e Who se e te rnit y a nd

D eity h e d ec la res in th e op enin g of hi s gos p e l; an~ th en

before he proce ed s with his l e tt e r, p ens this g rand p a ren-th es is : "For th e lif e wa s manif e s ted , a nd w e ha ve see n it,

and b ea r witn ess , and show un to you th a t e te rna l lif e w h ich

wa s with th e F a ther, a nd w as manifest e d unto u s ."

Is ther e a nything in th e Bibl e mor e s tri k in g a nd import-

a nt than th a t? Th ere is a pp arent r e p e titi on in J o hn 's in-

troductory word s , but it i s lan g u age tr emblin g u n der th e

w eight of its bur de n ; it i s th e lovin g he a rt lin ge rin g on a

th eme of surp ass in g int e res t; it i s th e facet s of a g reat

brilli a nt, throwin g lig ht in ev ery dir e ction ; an d the stren g th

of th e revel a tion is cond en sed in th e p a renth es is. W e do

no t c a re to vindicat e th e Apo s tle from th e char ge of

taut o lo gy , which tho se who know more of p h ilolo g y th an

th eology bri+ J 'g ag ain st him. Lov ed truth s h ang upon the

lip s like fr ag ranc e on the ro se, and John 's a im was not

e lega nce of di c tion- thou g h he i s often e le ga nt even to

sublimity-but exactne ss in doctrine, that w e mi g h t know

th e love which God h as to u s , and return our tribut e of filial

adoration.

-Tl ie - Apo s tle s e es around him a wor ld of mort a ls: the

fa ilure of the fir s t m an w as of cour se the f a ilur e of a ll me n

to ri se abov e th e s tat e of morta lit y ; th e po ss ible pri ze of

Ed en has b ee n lo s t; a nd corruption, s in, and death ar e c o-

ext en s iv e with th e human rac e . Y e t ther e is no ton e of

di sa ppoi n tm ent in hi s word s , as if man 's hi g hes t conc ep tion,

that of immorta lity, w e re a ltog eth e r a d e lu s ion. No; so

fa r from that, hi s h ea rt is boundin g at th e v e ry thou ght,

and he say s , " I w rit e thi s unto you th a t y our joy m ay be

full ." The p oss ibili ty of immort a lit y is n o t a mi sta k e , only

you are to look f o r it fa r abov e and b eyond th e hum an r a ce ;

not in Ed en, but in h e av en ; not in m an, but in Chri s t;

for "the E te rn a l Lif e was with the Fath er," aw ay b ack, fa r,far back, long before months and year s b eg an to be, or the

mea suring lin e of tim e wa s put into th e hand s of mort a ls .

But the period d e termined by p e rf ect w isdom h as come, thefulness of time for the incarnation of the Lo go s; and the

Eterna l Lif e whi ch w as with th e F a th e r h as been m anif es ted

unto u s . Th e Word, the L ife , th e Et e rn a l Lif e , h as come

from the Father to g ive sonship and life everl a stin g to so

many as rec e ive Him; and w e decl a re this unto you th a t y e

al so may hav e fe llow ship , communion, p a rt ic ip a tion with us

in this divine and permanent life; and trul y our f e llow ship-

I sp ea k of myself and my br e thr en who a re in Chri s t-is

with the Father and with His Son J e sus Chr is t.

This paraphra se of the Apostle's great testimony IS not

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THE B IBLE STAND AR D . 2 9

submitted t o our r eaders as e ither perfect or exhaustive, butwe b elieve it is accur ate s o far as it goes; that is to say, itfairly sketches the eutlin es of thi s Script ure, and of all o therScripture s that speak on the subject-immort ality only inJesus Chri st. Man has no n atural immortality stretchingout into eternity, but He Who was in the beginning withGod com es down to m en to give the sup erhuman boon to

all who" b elieve on Him to life everla sting." The in spiredwitn ess-h earer, the beloved John, who kn ew hi s Lord andthe sublime obj ects of hi s Lord 's incarnation as fully as everman wa s privileged to know t hem, n eeds no corroborativetestimony ; ye t the doctrin e is of such p aramount imp ort-ance, sheds su ch light on the entire revelation of G od,exhibits so fully the true import of the t erms regeneration,redemption, atonement, s alvation, peri sh, lif e, death, ju sti-fied, sanctified, and the like; and unfolds so delightfully thechara cter of our Heavenl y Father and kin sman Red eemer,that we shall tran scribe a f ew passages for the reader, in th efull belief ~hat he will re gard them not a s the word s of m en,but, a s they a re in truth, th e word s of th e livin g God,meaning stric tly and lit erally wh at they say.

" As M0888 lift ed up th e se rpent in th e wild erness , eve nso mu st the Son of man b e lift ed up , that who soever be-believeth in Him should not p erish, but haveetern al life;for God so lov ed the world, that He ga ve Hi s only begottenSon, th at who soever believ eth in Him should not perish, buthave everlasting lif e. "-J o hn iii. 14-16.

" My sheep hear My voice, and I know th em, and th eyfollow Me : and I give unto them eternal life; and th eyshall neve r perish, neither shall any man pluck th em out of

My h a nd ."-J o h n x. 27-28." Fath er, the hour is come ; glorify Thy Son, that Thy

Son also may glorify The e: as Thou ha st giv en Him powerover all fl esh, th at He should give etern al life to as many asThou hast given Him. And this is life etern al, that th eymight know Th ee the only true God, and Jesus Chri st,whom Thou h ast se nt."-J o hn xvii. 1 -3.

" I am com e that they mi ght have lif e." -J o h n x. 10."Verily, verily, I say unto you, h e that hear eth My word,

and b elievet h on Him th at sent Me , hath everlasting life,and shall not come into condemnation, but i s passed fromdeath unto life. " -John v. 24.

" This is the Father's will Who hath s ent Me, that of allwhich He h ath given Me I should lose nothin g, but shouldraise it up again at the last d ay. And this is the will ofHim that sent M e, that everyon e who s eeth the Son and be-lieve th on Him m ay have ev erlasting lif e; and I will rai sehim up at th e last day. He that b elieveth on M e hatheve rlasting lif e ." - J o h n vi. 3 9, 40, 47.

" To th em who b y patient continuanc e in well doin g seekfor glory and honour an d immortalit y, eternal lif e."-Rom, ii. 7.

" Th at as si n hath reigned unto death, even so migh tgrace reign through r ighteousness unto e ternal l ife by JesusChri st our Lord. " -Rom . v. 21.

" Wh at fruit had y e then in tho se thin gs wher eof ye ar enow ash amed? for th e end of tho se things i s death. Butnow b eing made free f rom sin, and becom e serva nts to God,ye have your fruit unto holines s and th e end ev erlasting

life. F or the wage s of sin is d eath; but the gift of God iseternallif e throu gh Jesus Christ our Lo rd. " -R om . vi. 21-23 .

" He that soweth to h is flesh shall of th e flesh reap cor-ruption; but he th at soweth to th e Spirit shall of th e Spiritreap lif e everlastin g."-Gal . vi. 8.

"Howb eit for this c ause I obt ained mercy, th at in mefirst J esus Christ might show forth all long-suff ering, for ' apatt ern to them who should hereafter b elieve on Him to lifeeverl asting."-l Tim. i. 16.

" Fight the good fi ght of f aith , lay hold on et ernal life,wher eunto thou art also called, and h ast prof ess ed a goodprof ess ion before m any witn esses."-l Ti m, vi. 1 2.

"In ho pe of eternal lif e, which God, th at cannot lie,promi sed before the world bega n."- Tit u s i. 2.

" Th at being justifi ed by Hi s grace, we should b e madeheir s accordin g to th e hop e of et ernallif e."-TittCslii. 7 .

"This is the promi se that H e hath promis ed us, eveneternallif e."-l John ii. 25.

"And thi s is the r ecord, that God hath giv en to usetern al lif e, and thi s life is in His Son. He th at hath theSon hath lif e; and h e that hath not the Son of G od h a thnot lif e. These thin gs have I writt en unto you th at believeon th e name of th e Son of God, th at ye may know that ye

have eternal life, and th at ye m ay believe on th e name ofthe Son of God. We know that th e Son of God is com e,and hath giv en us an understandin g that we m ay knowHim th at is true, and we are in Him th at is true, ev en inHis Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternallife."-1 Jolm v. 11 -13, 20.

" Your lif e is hid with Christ in Go el Chri st ourlife. " -Col . iii. 3-4.

" Bec ause I live, ye shall live al so ." -J o hn xiv. 19 .Why all thi s-and the Bible h as a hundr ed time s more

than this on the subj ect-if it be not th e purpo se of theSpirit to impr ess upon m en that th ere is no such thin g as

immortality e xcept in God's beloved Son, and th at the g iftof etern al life to b elievers in Him is a most m arvelloushonour? We, any of u s, live For Ev er? By our philo-sophic al, poetical, and pa ga,n" immort ality of soul" wehave simply t alked our selves blind. Sur ely, to live for evercan onl y be predicted of God, or of on e to whom God com-munic ates of His own lif e. Now th is is strictly tru e. It i sreally th e case that in the new cre ation in Chri st Jesus, weare made partakers of His life; the " divine nature" i s im-parted; we are" born from above, ">' born of God, " " born

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30 THE BIBLE STAN DARD.

again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by th eword of God, which liv eth and abideth for ever. "It was to P11t aw ay sin, and to brin g in ev erlastin g

righteousn ess , and to m ake us childr en of God, and to giveus thi s won derful, di vine, deathl ess life, that the Son of G od,the Eternal Life, w as manifested amon g us. Look again atthe beginnin g of John 's letter. What i s this?

"That wh ich w e have see n and h eard declare we un toyou, that ye also m ay hav e fellowsh ip with us; and trulyour fellowship is with the Fath er and with Hi s Son J esusChri st." Sur ely th ere is something h ere to corr ect our v ainconception s of;man, and to exa lt our id eal of God 's infinit elove.

So far from individual ind ependent immortalit y being anattribute of man as such, it is .even not an attribute of th esaved . What! not ev en Christian s partak ers of immortali ty?No ; their lif e as God's son s who shall live for ever, i s amatter of fellow ship with t he Fat her and th e So n; that is tosay, they pa rticipa te th is divine and eternal life in common

with the F ather and the Son. Thi s is the won derful andgloriou s doctrine of the New T estament on this subject; theyare one bod y of which the -L if e is Chri st. It is Christ's lif ein them, by the Holy Spirit, not their o wn, that gives themimmortality. "I liv e, yet not I, 'but Chri st liv eth in m e."That is the language which each of th em mu st use if hewould speak scripturallyon this great subject. Chri st cameto give et ernal life to as many as the Father has given Him;but this lif e is not a grant so given as that each who re -ceives it c an henceforth live s epar ate from, and ind ependentlyof, Chri st the Giv er. The et ernal lif e-spring i s in Him;out of th at they are con stantl y sustain ed; because He lives

they live; they are one body in Him, and th ey e njoy th ecertain pro spect of immort ality, because He, their" Life,"is the gloriou s Son of God who, with th e Fath er, only hathimmortality.

One word more. W e have throu ghout this article usedthe term" immort ality" a s the equival ent of etern al lif e, 01'

deathl essness; but the Gr eek word i s incorru ption-in-corrup tibili ty, a lways carrying the id ea of perf ect purit y inresurrection-lif e; a sinful immortality b eing an absurdityand impossibility utterly unknown to the Word of God.If, therefore, it be heterodox to deny the eternity of evil, weaccept the epith et with all it s con sequences , as we pr efer

truth to orthodoxy, and the teac hing of the Hol y Spir it tothat of modern theolo gy.- W. L eask, D.D.

I WILL COME AGAIN.THE first advent was in w eakness; the second will be inpower. Chri st came to di e, but will come a gain to reign.We are "lookin g for th at blesse d hop e, and th e gloriou sappearing of the gr eat God and our Saviour J esus Chri st,who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all

iniquity, a nd p urify unto Himse lf a pecu liar people zealousof good wo rks." He wil l surely come . The promi se isdistinct and positive . Th is earth belongs to Him, and Hewill dwell in and bea utify it. The scene of H is footpr ints,the orb sta ined by His b lood , has a glor ious destiny. It wasgreat ly honou red by His first advent, and sha ll be glorifiedby the se cond . God has many worlds sw inging throug h

boundl ess s pace , but n one can s urpass this ea rth of ours.We d oubt wh ether any comp ares with it i n histor ic int erest.Did th e Son of Go d ever liv e, and walk, and wee p, and l ove ,and bl eed on, and make a tomb of, and redeem any othe rworld? He did all this fo r ours. This ea rth is His sp ecialinheritance.

Whil e here He oft en spoke of going awa y thr ough abapti sm of a gony, and r eturning in gr eat glory. He rose ,ascended, and th e angels comf orted the b erea ved di sciplesby the ass uran ce that He woul d "come agai n." But h owwould He com e? Fearful in majesty? "This same Jesus"sha ll return aga in ju st as loving, app roachable , sympatheti c,

patient, indul gent, as when He dwe lt among men at first.He will b e terrible, ind eed , to t he wicked; but gentle andtender to the s aints. There i s infinit e comf ort i n thepromi se; the very "same Jesus" shall come. The ear lyChristians we re greatly stre ngthened by the prospect. Theybelieve d the promise, and l ooked for the" g lorious appea r-ing." The Savi our int ended that they s hould. H e insertedit in th e Supp er which th ey wer e often to c elebrate. Thatdrinking the cup anew with Chri st in His k ingdom w as everbe'f~re them; " till He come" always sound ed sw eet ly intheir ears, and made m elody in th eir hearts, as ofte n as theydid" show the Lord's death" in the Sac red Supper. Those

three wo rds, "till He come ," are precious beyon d measure.We wonder that they awa ken no m ore enthusiasm . DoChris tians hear tily b elieve - that J esus will come aga in?Do th ey look f or Him ?' Is He expe cted? To u s the timeseems long since the promise was mad e, and a lurkingdoubt of fu lfilm ent cr eeps over us. Our littl e mind s magn ifythe relative l ength of a f ew years of time. W ith God, athou sand y ears are as a day. He delays the coming thatsoul s may prepare, but H e is not slack, " slack conc erningHis promise." " Long-sufferin g" is not sl ackne ss. Un-belief asks, "Where i s the promise of Hi s comin g?" theinspired Word suppli es the an swer.

The des cripti on of Hi s comin g is sub lime . "Fo r theLord Him self shall descend from heave n with a shout, wi ththe voi ce of th e archangel, and the trump of G od-th e LordHim self," in Hi s own p erson, the same Jesus who ascended.The" shout" is one of joy th at the hour to conqu er hascome. Satan shout ed and th e ea rth gro aned wh en Jesusdied; the w ar for ma stery has been sharp and l ong, but willend in victory for our King. Thi s earth belon gs to Chri st;the devil has no right to be here; he is a u surper, an

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enemy, and m ust be ca st out. Our Lord wi ll drive h iminto th e pit; th e .earth w ill be free; the corruption of sinremov ed; ri ghteou sness wil l fill th e earth as the wa ters dothe sea .

We look for" new heavens and a new earth ." The dayof the Lord will come as a thief in th e night; in wh ich theheaven s sha ll pass a way with a grea t noise , and the e lementsshall melt with ferve nt heat, the earth a lso an d the work sthat are there in shall be burned up. Never theless we ,accordin g to His promise, "look for" n'3W heavens a nd anew ear th, wherein dw elleth righteousness.

The ea rth h as passed through several great geologicalchanges . Stage by stage it has risen in the scale ofdevelopm ent, but i s not yet complet e. One more gr eattransform ation is to come, to m ake the phy sical conf orm tothe mora l beauty of the king dom of Ch rist. For the saint swill be chan ged; in a mom ent, i n the twink ling of an eye ,

they shall be mou lded into t he likeness of th eir Lord. Thn sthe habitation and the inhabitant s will agree; a nd glorywill adorn the earth, wh ere sin and sorrow have so longprevailed . Where s in has done mi schief, Je sus wil l esta blishpeace; wh ere death has so long reigned, immorta lity willswa y its sceptre; wh ere the Lord di ed to s ave, He willgather the red eemed in glory ; the 'people and the veryearth , touc hed by the bl ood o f Chri st, shall be freed from th etaint of sin, and robed in imm ortal beauty. That changewi ll come, for Jesus has promi sed, and He i s able. Howwe know n ot. He wi ll wise ly dir ect. But th e" shou t"wil l be heard ere long, perhaps soon; w e shall hear it; the

sleeping dead wil l hear it, and a ll the righteous will r ejoic e.Is it strange that many are eage r for that hour to arr ive?"Ev en so, com e, Lord J esus; com e quickly," is o n thelips of million s. If we compr ehend. the re sults of Hiscoming, our pr aye rs would be sti ll more earne st. Werejoice in His first advent, but the second wil l exce lJt inblessings, as the h arves t exce eds the s eed-time. We shallknow b etter wh en we s ee and exp erience. Patiently we wi llwait, trustfully we wi ll look, ear nestly we will pray, " Com e,Lord J es u s ."-B ap tis t Un io n .

IT IS HIGH TIME TO AWA KE .-Ro m. xiii . 11.

So says Paul, and we believe it. Sur ely the night has beenlong enough. The pow ers of darkness have sway ed thesceptre of dominion unti l the world has well nigh lost allhope of any relief. Th e vc ry found ation s of society hav ebecom e rot ten, a nd it will requir e the skil l of a m aster-workman t o superintend th e reconstruction . The wo rks ofdarkness , such a s riotin gs, drunkenness , chambering andwantonn ess have prevailed, and the great mass of p eople areintox icated with one thing or another . The fear o f God i snot before their eyes, nor t he fear of the d evil eithe r. They

3 1

are literally stupifi ed, and obliviou s app arently , to everysign of th e com ing day. It seems as if nothing co uld arou sethem short of the terrific judgments ~f God . They littl edream how soon these will b e manifeste d. To them th ebreaking for th of G od's wrath wil l be as un expe cted andsudd en as the quick ly-gat hered s torm on a mid summ er'sday. And, oh! h ow their hearts wil l quake in that dreadfulday. Being outside the str ong tower that God ha s provided(Chr ist), it wi ll be absolutely impossible for them to es cape ." But ye, brethren, are not in darkn ess, that that day shouldoverta ke you a s a thi ef." (1 Thess, v. 4.) Our Fath er ha skindly revea led to u s the signs whi ch indi cate its appr oach.And th ese s igns are now b eing presented, one a fter another,ilnfuick success ion, so that as childr en of th e light we maylift up our heads and say, "Verily our redemption dr awethnigh."

But t he Chu rch is far from p erfect. Th ere are those con-

nected with it who prof ess to be waiting for th e dawn ofIChri st's day, who ar e stran gely indi fferen t to the duti es ofthe hour. Some are immersed in bu siness. So a bsorb edhave they become that it seems as if th eir whol e heart, sou l,and mi ght was being given in that dir ection instead of toGod . (D en t. vi. 5.) And such assiduous attention to thegocl of th is world inv ariably blunt s the Chri stian nature, andrenders it insensible to those heav enly precepts whic h wereso b eauti fully exemp lified by Christ. It rob s men ofsympathy. It even severs the bond of love, which shouldnever be broken, between br ethren. Yes, it cloes mor e; itenables a man to oppr ess his broth er, if b y doing so his

worldly ga in shall be increased. Is it not astoni shing, yea ,perfect ly appa lling to witn ess the sea red consciences of someof thi s class? Tru e, the good see d of the Kin gdom was sownthere , and grew, but th e great thi stles of worldly caresand d esires have well n igh kil led God 's p lant. At any rateit is so completely hidd en as to be inac cess ible to the sun-light or d ews of heav en. It is a sad tho ught, but neverthe-

less true:Then there are others who are carried away with t he

fashion of the wor ld and its : leet ing pleasure s. Tho se thin gswhi ch perish wi th the using seem to occupy a more impor tantplace than th e imp erishabl e thin gs of God. Thi s ought notso to be. We ought to be ready to m ake any sa cri fice forHim W ho hath r edeem ed us. Al l the vain show of thi s wor ldwhi ch seems to b e of so mu ch importanc e now, w ill soon beswe pt away, and give place to th e mor e substanti al thin gs ofGod. If our aff ections rest on th e unr eal and fadin g thingsof to -day, we sha ll be left destitute in that soon- comin gseas on of endu ring realities. Th en all el se will be gone.But we n eed not dw ell upon t he shortcomin gs of the Chur ch.They ar e too well known now . What we ne ed is a great anda speedy reformation, and, oh! may kind h eave n help th osewho r eso lve to reform .

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3 2 THE BIBLE ST ANDARD.

It is hi gh time to awak e out of thi s dream y sleep. Th eday is at hand-the day of God's ju dgments-the day o fChrist's com ing-the day of R esurrection-the day ofRewards for the faithful-th e day of D oom f or the un faithfu l.Can we rema in still indifferent to the Apostle 's warnin gvoice? If so, then the day will com e, and fin d us unpre-pared , having many unfinished matte rs to see to, manymoney-making s chemes but half completed. It will find u swith he arts full of love for mammon, but empt y of lov e for-G o d or th e brethren. What can we say , in such an event,and especially when we are cons igned to the" outer dark-ness ? "-what can we say , but" Amen . Thy judgments arejust and righteous altogether. " Brother, sister, alien, do notforget that the day is at hand. "It is high time to awa keout of sleep I " -T. W .

"BEHOLD , HE COMETH."

Ages ago, in the Eastern lands,They watche d for Him,

List'ning oft for His chariot wheelsAs the day grew dim,

And wond ered if H e would come againFrom Oliv et,

With welcom ing word s' on their lips t hey looked-And He t arries yet.

Every yea r, ac ross winter's snow s,With wi stful eyes ,

Eag er di scip les have w atched for HimTo come from the skie s;

Eve ry year, under summer suns,They hav e sung His praise,

And c ried for Him from th eir yearnin g hearts-But He still delays.

They have died at their wa tch on th e beacon heights,And we take t heir place;

We long, as t hey longed in the olc1en days ,For the si ght of His face;

The sad earth wants Him, in her deep woe,To g ive her rest.

But the years pass on, and He does not comeTo m ake us blest.

Som etimes we look at the floating clouds,And in f ancy trace

The shining robes and the feet of b rass ,And Hi s glorious face;

We hush ou r breath, when the gloamin g com es,And can a lmost hear

The thrilling sou nds of His blessed word s;But He is not near.

Yet, cou rage, b rothers! we have His word,And H e will not fail;

Let us be patient, and watch , and w ait;Ti ll our prayer s prevai l;

He will surely com e, as He said He wou ld,In the light sublim e;

And we s hall forg et, as we see His face, ['Thi s waiting time.

Select ed.

PU BLIO A TIO NSBy H . C O N S T A B L E, . M .A .,

(La te Pr eberuiarsj of cs- , heland).

DURATION AND NAT URE OF FUTURE PUNISH-MENT. 5t h Edit ion , 340 pp . A n e labor a te argu m ent to u chi n gthe Pu uishment of t h e Uu sav ed . I t is pa rtic u la rl y fine in its

ph il ol og ica l ch apt e rs res pect in g th e m ea ning of t h e Greek wordsu se d by th e in spir ed writ e rs to indicate th e doom o f th e lost .'------" P rice 3 s . 6d .

HADE S: or, Th e Intermediate State of Man. Cro wnSvo. P r ice 3 s . Bd. Thi s wo rk pr ese nt s th e B ib le do c tri n e o f thesta te o f ma n b etwe en d ea th .and t h e res u rre ct io n.

RESTIT UTION OF ALL THINGS -The all thin gs spokeno f by th e m o nt hs o f th e Ho ly Pr o ph e ts w h o h ave b ee n si n ce thew o rld b ega n . P rice Sd .

B y J . H . WHITMORE.

THE' DOCTR INE OF IMMOR TALITY- Jew ish andE a rly Ch ri st ian B e l iefs; Ar gume nt s fro m R ea son and Sc rip tur e ;Ad ami c P enalt y; ' I 'ra d u c tio n v . Creat ioni sm; Lif e an d D ea th;Int e rm edi a te S ta te ; C h ris tian R ede m ptio n. Pri c e 3s. 6d .

B y GEORGE A. BROWN .

FORGOTTEN THEMES : or, Facts for Faith. A generalsy nop tica l v iew o f t he s ub jec t o f Li fe onl y in th e C hr is t , and ofot h e rs p e rta in in g . P rice Is .

By MILES GRANT.

NATURE OF MAN : Is he Mortal or Immor tal? Not esa nd Qu e ries . Tho ugh ts o n th e S o ul, & c . E v er y prin c ip a l o bj ec ti o nan swe red . P rice Is .

WHAT IS ' MAN? a nd the Mea ning of Soul, Spiri t,D ea th, a n d H e ll. Pri ce 3 d .

SPIRIT IN MAN : What is it? Price 4d .THE SOUL: a Bib le Vi ew of it s Mean ing. Pri ce 4d.RIC~ MAN AND LAZARUS; THIEF ON THE

C ROSS ; SOU L S UN D ER THE ALTAR; wit h o th e r int e res tin gmat te r . Pr ice 3 d .

To be had of "Th e Bible Sta ndard" P ublication Soc iety,24, Mint -la ne, Lincol n.

Sub s cripti o ns for th e P a per to be s e n t t o the Off ice, No.24 , M int-l a ne . All communic at ions r e l a t in g to t he P a perto be add ress ed to t h e Edit o r, No . 2 , S o u th P a rk Vi l las .

Mint Lane Chapel , Lincoln.Services and Meetings dur ing th e Month a s follows:Sunday: Morni ng at 10-30, Ev ening at 6 .Monday : Praye r Meeting at 7.Wed nesday : Preaching at 7.Friday: Bible Cl ass a t 7-30. (All seekers after

Truth invited.)

The Pastor, G eo. A. BROWN,

Wil l deliver special discourses on Sund ay evenings,through th e mon th o f Janua ry, a s follows:

Jan. 6th. "The W atchm an's Cry."" 13th." The nature of Man, Is he Morta l or Immo rta l? "" 20th." The Sou l, wh at is it ? "" 27th ." Ma n in death."

Prin te d by CHAR LES AKR ILL, S il ve r Str ee t, Li n co ln ; an d pub .lish ed b y "THE B IB L E STA ND ARD PUB LI C ATJONSOCIETY," a t their Off ic e , No. 24, Mint Lane, L incoln.