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l{ y R C /V E O TH EWO R DWI TH ALL REAf) !--IVESS OF MIND AN DSEARCHED TH E SCRIP '"

- rf ./ RE J ' D A IL Y WH ET II ER7710SE THI I IG S WERSO

THEREFORE MANYOF THEMBELIEVED""=......_... ACT~'

EDITED BY OYRUS E. BROOKS: .

The Wages of Sin is Death; but the gift of God is Eternal Life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

No. 8. vei. V. MAY, 1882. ONE PENNY.TABLE OF CONTENTS. PAGE

Divine Immortality 97Preaching to the Dead... 100The Resurrection and the Life.Part V. ... 100ConditionalImmortality. Part VII. 101Baptist Justice in Cheshire... 102Thoughts in Verse-A Pastor's Re-flections .. 102Question Column-Infant Immor-tality; Grace the Earnest ofGlory; Wise and Fooli'sh

Virgins .. 103Notes, News and Reviews 103Correspondence- W'itnessesto Non-

Immortality 105Work and Witness 105Special Notes... 106

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DIVINE IMMORTALITY."FOR I lift up my hand to heaven, and say

I LIVE FOR EVER."ThIs remarkable expression, which occurs in

the Song of Moses (Deut. xxxii, 40), is especiallyworthy of our consideration at this time ofenqui ry as to theassumed inherent immortalityof the rat ional part of creature life.This unique statement forms one of tbe sub-

limest scenes pictured in t)1e Inspired Word ,whereJehovah is presented, standing out alone, inHis matchless dignity, before His creatures, bothangelic, human, and satanic, and lifting up thatcreative hand which on Sinai had launched thelightning and forged the thunderbolt, and inwhich from creation's first epoch had lain thereins which controlled the universe with itscountless worlds revolving in their spheres,saying, "I Live for Ever; and in this grandlysolemn way claiming

ENDLESSDURATIONas His alone prerogative, in contradistinction toall that is called god, angel, man, or devil, to theutmost limits of matter and space.What was thus declared true of the time of

Moses is, by the Lord Jesus, declared to havebeen equally true in His own time, seeing thatHe thus speaks (in John vi. 57): "As the

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98 THE BIBLE STANDARD.LIVING FATHER

hath sent Me, and I live by the Father." Thisexpression (" Living Father" or Living God),unless it be supposed to harmonise with theclaim made in the previous dispensation, has nodistinctive meaning: For, bad pou rer merelybeen the attribute claimed, Creative or AlmightyFather would have best expressed it: or,had the claim been for underived life, thenEternal. or Self-existent Father would have fullyserved to convey it: but, no, whilst both theseatti'ibutes migbt have been justly claimed forGod, it was another thought which struggled inChrist's mind for expression and utterance;that of the possession of life on the Father'spart, which, whilst it was the source of allrational and organic life, was distinct from andsuperior to that possessed by any of His crea-tures; and which, at that time, was shared bynone. Thus, "Living Father" was the birth-formof the Saviour's thought, claiming for J ehovahstill the alone prerogative of Immortality.This claim was equally true of the Apostolicage; long after the death, resurrection, and as-

cension of the Lord Jesus Christ, and at the timewheu the" Gospel of the Kingdom" had beenpreached throughout the Roman Earth, andmultitudes had fallen asleep in the sure andoertain hope (through resurrection) of thatimmortali ty which Apostolic lips had urged themto seek, and live for; but which was yet alonepossessed of God; for Paul, writing to Timothy(1, vi. 17), declares

"WHO [GOD]ONLYHATH IMMORTALITY,dwelling in the light which no man. can approachunto." Jehovah had not parted with His KinglyPrerogative. Tnere was still but One ImmortalBeing in the universe; and that One, the Crea-tor and Sustainer thereof.These three expressions are, clearly, but

different facets of a single diamond of DivineTruth; setting forth one and the same uniquefact that One Being only-Jehovah-possessesthe strictly personal prerogative of Immortality(as far as He has revealed His truth to men).That He alone" lives for ever:" He alone isthe "Living Father:" He only" hath Immor-tality." And, that if any of the highest ordersof angelic being possess it (which is not revealed):it can simply be, as promised to men, by beingmade" partakers of Divine Nature "-01 "Sonsof God."" As the Living Father hath sent Me, and

I LIVE BY THE FATHER."These words of our Saviour were strictly true,

at the time of utterance, as touching His Deity,His pre-existent Oneness with the Father; butonly prophetically true concerning His humanity,yet their chief meaning evidently lies in thislatter application to Him as the (to be) GlorifiedHead and Life-Giver of the human race. Hadthey been used of Him only as the" Logos" or

Word (tbat is, in His essential Deity as the Sonof God), it would have been more correct to havesaid, " I live in or with the Father": For, how-however diverse and numerous may be the mani-festations of the Great First Cause to men, theyare clearly the manifestations of One, and butOne, Self-Existent Being: Thus _Moses spoke:"Hear, 0 Israel; the Lord our God is OneLord." Paul wrote: "There is none other Godbut 9ne." And Christ added: "Father, glorifyThou Me, with the glory which I bad withThee before the world was," "I and My Fatherare One" (Deut.vi 14; 1 C01.viii. 4; John xvii.5; x.30.)In, then, their prophetic sense, as touching

His true humanity (bone of our bone and fleshof our flesh), lies their chief meaning ; and, inthis sense, they were strictly prophetic or future.Of the then present they could not be true-saveas they were true of His fleeting creature life;for in God and by God is the life of every l ivingthing-since, before Christ, there lay the sufferingand isolation of death, to be preceded by the actualseparation from God (in all. b ut creature life) asshown by the exceeding bitter cry, " My God,My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me I" For-saken,-as necessary to His treading the wine-press alone. Thus Isaiah wrote: "Thou shaltmake His soul an offering for sin," "He hathpoured out His soul unto death" (liii. 10, 12) ;_and Jesus said: He came" To give His life(soul,psuche) a ransom for many" (1l1att. xx. 28).Gethsemane's garden had yet to witness the

agonising prayers and bloody sweat of the Sacri-ficial Lamb, Who was to take away the sin ofthe world: Calvary's Cross had yet to bear itsburden of an unresisting Victim, Who in death'sagony should redeem a guilty race from thepower of sin and the grave. The new-hewnSepulchre had yet to receive its first brief oc-cupant, to treasure the tortured form of theperfect Man, and witness the uprising of thefirst-fruits of what will ;yet be a glorious harvest,in the resurrection of the" Son of Man," theTrue Messiah. It is, then, whilst looking for-ward beyond the suffering and shame unto the"glory that should follow," that Christ thusspeaks. Be it remembered that He was the

PROPHE'l' OF THE NEW DISPENSATION,and that, therefore, many of His utterances,like those of earlier times (Isa. ix. 6, for ex-ample), though couched in the present tense,are strictly prophetic; speaking of things thatshould be, as though they then 1ve1e. Thus:" I live by the Father," sets forth the grand andglorious truth that Christ was about to win,through the agony and suffering of death, theprize of

DIVINE nnWRTALITY :And, as true and very man, live-like God andby God-for ever.

In resurrection therefore, Christ, too, cohave lifted unto the heavens the hand of Hglorified humanity, and said" I live for eveThus: John, in vision, saw in Patmos One" lunto the Son of Man," whose" eyes were asflame of fire; and His feet like unto fine brasand His voice as the sound of many waters; aHis countenance was as the sun shineth instrength:" And He said unto him, " Fear noI am the first and the last: I am He that liveand was dead; and behold, Iam alive for evmore, Amen; and have the keys of hades anddeath" (Rev. i. 14-18).If it be objected here, that Paul, writing af

the Resurrection and Ascension of our Lostill speaks of Immortality as the alone prerogtive of Deity,-" Who only hath Immortality";we reply, truly so, for such is Christ's oteaching also,-as far as it related to His (thto be) GLORIFIEDHUMANITY:-" I live by the Father I" It is not a separaor independent immortality that He possessefor it is ONE LIFE which throbs in bothDivine Father and His Human Son; a life whiin the latter, can have no existence apart fits self-existent and exhaustless source in"Living Fath=r." Thus there is a special fitnin Paul's language, as applied to the Father" Who onlv hath Immortality "-even afterglorification of Christ; seeing tbat the Mansorrows," the" Son of Mary," had been mad

"PARTAKER OF DIVINENATURE."Was it not for this blessing that Christ pra"Glorify Thou Me, with the glory which Iwith Thee before the world was" ? As" SoGod," Divine Glory had been His from eternfor: "In the beginning was the Word, andWord was with God, and the Word was G(John i. 1): But, having glorified His Fatherfulfilled the work given Him to do, Heprays for a kindred glory as " Son of Man."such (" Son of Man") He was at thatmortal: "For the suffering of death:" "verily He took not on Him the nature of angbut He took on Him the seed of Abraham. (ii. 9, 16): He therefore desired to be mimmortal, that, in Resurrection, the DivineHuman might be inseparably united in anthe GOD-MAN." So he that eateth Me, even

HE SHALLLIVE BY ME I"Por long we hesitated to believe all thatSaviour's promise" shall live by Me," convseeing that it implies the possession (infuture) on the part of the Believer-or BodChrist,-of the same Divine Immortalitynow enjoyed by the Saviour-or Head theOur feelings much resembled what is recoof a Malabar Christian, engaged in the wo. translating the New Testament into his ntongue. O-n reaching the third chapter of Jo

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THE BIBLE STANDARD. 99

"I LIVE FOR BVER! "

COURTEOUSREADER:

Such also was the sublime teaching and hopeof the Apostle Peter: "Whereby are given untous exceeding great and precious promises: thatby these ye might be partaker of the DIVINENATURE" (2 Pet. i. 4): "Being born again, notof corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by theWord of God, which liveth and abideth forever" (1 Pet. i. 2, 3). No grander hope can befound in the annals of men or the promises ofGod, than this which animated the ex-fisher-man's breast-to be made a" partaker of theDivine nature," or to live eternally in and bythe Lord Jesus Christ, in the same gloriousmanner as He lives in and by the Father.

Such, too, is the joyous testimony of theApostle John: "When He shall appear we shallbe like Him" (1 John iii. 2) : " This is the record,that

first Epistle, " Behold, what manner of love theFather hath bestowed upon us, that we shouldbe called the SONSor GOD," he laid down hispen, and said to his Christian instructor :

"IT IS TOOMUCH!It is too much! Let me rather write that weshould be permitted to KISSHIS FEET." But wewere at length enabled, with reverential, thoughjoyous awe, to grasp, by faith, even this" ex-ceeding great and precious promise," and torejoice in realizing-in some faint measure-its rapturous intensity of holy meaning.Yes; as the human Christ-through resurrec-

tion-lives by the Living Father, in the gloryand beauty of a perfect, because Divine Immor-tality; so the Christian will-through the firstresurrection (out of orfrom among the dead) liveby the Living Son; receive and ~enjoy the self-same glory and beauty of a perfect, because,Divine Immortality.To attain to such a future was the earnest

desire of the Apostle Paul: "If by any means. Imight attain unto the resurrection. of the dead,"that first resurrection, of which the Spirit (byJohn) says" Blessed and holy is he that hathpart in the first resurrection" (Phil. iii, 11 ; Rev.xx, 6) such forming the Hierarchy of thecoming Kingdom; the Body, of which Christ isthe Head, and God, through Christ, the Life:" For I reckon that the sufferings of the presenttime are not worthy to be compared with

THE GLORYWHICH SHALLBE REVEALEDin us" (Rom. viii. 18); "Henceforth there islaid up for me a crown of righteousness, whichthe Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me atthat day" (2. Tim. iv. 8); "That I may winChrist, and be found in Him t" "That I mayknow Him and the power of His resurrection."(Phil. iii. 8, 9, 10); "To die is gain" (Phil. i,21). Well might Paul write thus rapturously inview of the personal blessing, the resurrection to,the glO1'y revealed and c?:,own rese rve d for, thewinning of, the being found in, and the ultimategain, after death, of the inexpressibly gloriousprize of Divine Immortality; and not for himonly, but for all them, also, who look and longfor Christ's appearing.

GOD'HATHGIVENTO US ETERNALLIFE,

This is your privilege-think on it. Of theglorious future that lies before you-throughfaith in Christ Jesus. Rise to its grandeur-and live for it. Cease to rely for your continuedlife upon that fallacious immortality, supposedto be " born of the flesh "; and seek by" patientcontinuance in wel l-doing" that t rue immortalitywhich comes of the New Birth of the Spirit, inthe "First Resurrection," to "everyone thatbelieveth unto salvation."

NOW! ANDTHEN!Now: A Son of Adam. A poor toiler in a

weary world. The subject of sorrow, suffering,and pain. A unit amongst the 1,500,000,000 orebel worms, who people this planet; goingdown to the grave.THEN: A Son of God. An honoured member

of that Royal Family, whose Head is" King okings and Lord of lords." No longer an unit,but ONlIlWITH THE HEAD. The Eternal Son othe Eternal Father I

and this life is in His Son" (v. 11): "To himthat overcometh will I grant to sit with Me 'inMy throne" (Rev. iii, 21): "And hast made usunto our God Kings and Priests" (v. 10); "Hethat overcometh shall inherit all thirujs ; and Iwill be his God, and he shall be My Son" (xxi.2.) Could even the" disciple whom Jesus loved"bear testimony to a more gracious truth than ishere conveyed? or give sweeter comfort tothose who look for Christ's appearing? Bro-ther: Sister in Christ: look up l He comes andwill not tarry, Who will bestow upon you God'schoicest gift-Divine Immortality. The lifewhich throbs in the Living Father and Sonshall also throb in you, who are thus made par-takers of Divine nature, with him" Who onlyhath Immortality."

WHATIS WRITTEN?"And if children, then heirs ; heirs of God, andjoint-heirs with Christ" (Rom. viii, 17.) Mark:this is a far higher blessing than that enjoyedby the" Body of Christ" here and now! Now,such are children by adoption: "Ye have re-ceived the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry,Abba, Father" (viii. 15). Here, we have a~change of relation-whilst still in the flesh;then, however, in resurrection, we shall enjoy achange of nature also; shall be " heirs ; heirsof God, and joint-heirs with Christ;" Thatwhich has, from eternity distinguished the Fa-ther, and which in resurrection was impartedunto, and has since distinguished the humannature of the Son, will in the same manner beimparted unto us, and distinguish us; evenDivine nature-to the extent of-Divine Irnmor-

WHOIS THIS FATHER?

All glory to the Father, Who of His great loveand grace designed such immortality for men.All glory to the Son, Who of His great love andgrace purchased through the "suffering ofdeath" such immortality for every member ofHis Body the Church. All glory to the HolySpirit, Who of His great love and grace impartsto us here that germ of life which shall producesuch immortality in us hereafter. All glory tothe Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit ;and iet every member of that family of whomChrist is the Head, respond-Amen !

Look around upon this earth, its varied scenesof mountain and hill, of valley and plain;upon its lakes and rivers, its seas and oceans.He made it! At His will it was! By Hispower it is! This globe of 24,000 miles circum-ference is, however, but one of the smallerplanets of our sun's system! seven otherscircle with it round that central orb-whichwould require 500 such planets to make a bodyequal to itself in bulk. He made these planets,and that sun I Let your eye scan the heavensand see yet other suns, each with its attendantplanets. He made these too! Take youtelescope. Behold I new heavens start forth tview; with new suns and systems. He madethese also! Turn to the "milky way; " whato the naked eye appeared merely a streak owhite is now a further heaven of countless sunand systems. "Our Father" made these, likewise, and sustains them by His daily skill anpower."As the Living Father hath sent Me, and

live by the Father: so he that eateth Me, evehe shall live by Me." Lay down your earthlytoys and baubles. Subordinate all 0Yher interestsunto this. Cry" God be merciful to meSinner:" "What shall I do to be saved?"And give prompt and good heed to the respons"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thoshalt be saved:" that you may become the

tality.Thus: as did the Father, in the Dispensation

of Law; as could also the Son, in the Dispensa-tion of Gospel grace; so will also the Believer,in the Dispensation of Millennial Grace, beenabled to lift up his hand unto the heavens andsay -with perfect truth-

IMMORTALSONOF SUCHA FATHERIFor to such, and such only, is such a pricelesblessing vouchsafed.Malvern. Editor.[Separately Published. See Advertisement.]

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100 THE BIBLE STANDARD .PREACHING TO THE DEAD.

By GENERAL H. GOODWYX.WE are now prepared to examine a well-

known, but somewhat misunderstood,passage, from 1 Peter iii. 18-20, which isthought to prove that the spirits of the deadwereconfined in a prison under the earth, andthat they are possessed of the powers of sense,yet destitute of the organs; for on the strengthof the languageused, it is said that Christ inthe spirit after death went and preached to thosespirits of the Antediluvians. Now, even sup-posing that the immaterial spirit (pneuma,breath of life,) was capable of perceptibilityapart from the organs of sense, can any soundreason be givenwhy these particular spirits, ofwhom such special mention is made, shouldhave been thus favored above all other spiritsup to the period of the Crucifixion? I thinknot. At any rate, if the reader will be carefulnot to isolate any portion, but read the entirepassage, to the end ofverse20, the meaningwillbe found to differ from the generally receivedopinion, and to harmonisewith the rest of theWord onthe subject. BishopLeighton has ablyexplained the text, and his explanation I heregivein an abbreviatedform.He states that there are two points for con-

sideration, apart from the application thatfollows in verse 21, 22. (1) An assertion con-cerning the preaching of Christ, and the objectsHepreached to. (2)A descriptionof the periodor age wherein that preaching occurred, andthe particular way of God's dealing with thepeople of that age. These two points takentogether state, "By which spirit He (Christ)went and preached to the spirits in prison (mark,not' that wel'e in prison'), whi~hsometimeweredisobedient, when once the long-suffering ofGodwaited in the days of Noah while the Ark wasa preparing, whereinfew,that is, eight soulsweresavedbywater."This sameApostle (1Pet. i. 10, 11,) declares

" The Spirit of Christ" to have testified before-hand, through" the prophets," of "the suffer-ings ofChrist, and the glorythat should follow."Now Noah was a preacher of righteousness(2Pet. ii. 5), and received from God the powerof the Spirit prophetically to warn the dis-obedient of the impending flood (Gen. vi). But.inasmuchas the Second Person is, and alwayshas been the manifested activity of the God-head, and source of all ministry, it was theSpirit of Him, foreknown as the Christ, thatspokein Noah-just asHespokeby the prophetsafterwards-the words of righteous warningconcerning judgment at hand. Moreover, weread that this same Spirit had been beforestriving in testimony with these disobedientones (Gen. vi. 3), which wasbrought to a closewith that of Noah.

In regard to the persons preached to, thereare two things bywhich they are characterised.Their present condition when the Apostlewaswriting,-" spirits in prison; " and their formerconditionwhen the Spirit of Christ in Noahwaspreaching to them,-" sometime disobedient."The latter was first in time. The Greekword translated "sometime disobedient," isaWHIif}O'aO'L, they werenot persuaded" when inthe flesh, therefore are they now "spirits inprison." It was to their spirits, then, as theirmental state resulting from certain action onthe organs of sense, that the words of warningwere addressed by the Spirit of Christ "whenonce the long-suffering of God waited in thedays of Noah."Thespirits ofthosemen arenow" in prison "

(< / > V A W C 1 j) , a place of ward (see Matt. xiv. 10,xviii. 30), in the safekeeping of God, wherethespirits of all other men are who have died(Eccles. xii. 7), to be re-joined to their bodiesrespectively at the resurrection. Let now thewords of the Lord Jesus and of Stephen, attheir respective deaths, be remembered, whenthe former commended His Spirit to the safekeeping of the Father, and the latter to that ofthe risen Lord, when the true meaning of thepassage, as above explained, can hardly fail tobe admitted.-By request, from "Truth andTradition," pp. 38-40.ACorrespondent (Geo.W. Barber, Notting-

ham) writes, concerning the above subject:-I confidentlyrecommend to your readers a four-penny tract by R. Govett, dated 1850. It isvery argumentative. It gives the variousviewsentertained by others, showing their fallacy;and also giveswhat he believes to be the trueinterpretation, and what, I think, cannot beoverthrown. I givea fewextracts :-" It speaks of spirits, not men, of spirits not

preached to while alive, nor by a man in theflesh, but disobedient to God's commandstilldeath, cast into a place of punishment, therepreached to by Jesus, &c."The case is presented as mysterious and

exceptive: This is apparent in the expression(lost in our translation) 'even to the spirits inprison,' also see chap. iv. 6, 'even to the dead,'(in this last text the NewVersion has the word, even' added.) This is very significant, andmore apparent byreferring to Luke xii. 7; Matt.viii. 27 ; Acts v. 39 ; x. 45; xi. 18."Suppose that the spirits to whomJesus went

,wereangels,who deserted their post to livewithmen, and thus offended God, and, perishing atthe flood, were confined in 1. 1 placeof punish-ment called Tartarus, and that they, are inchains and darkness; they received death as apart of the penalty due to the sinners of men,God accounted them as men in this penalty:He might so account them as subjectsof mercy.

Hence, they will stand and be judged as methe tribunal of Jesus Christ. (Jude v. 7.)"Here the sin of the angels and their pun

ment comes into question principally. Tsinwas that being angels, (not the angels,)kept not their principality or government.angels in question left, finally and for everheavenwhich God had assigned them asabode, to live likemen upon earth. Theylikemen, they sufferedin the judgment onswept off by the flood and dying, enteretheir punishment. They are coupledSodomand Gomorrha, and add a newfeatutheir sin, unrestrained fornication, joiningtselvesto beings of another order."We have twice found the history of

angels connected with Noahs time (seeGe4; Job xxxviii.4-7; i. 6-21)." The samedoctrineof these angels' fall

much light to various passages of the Provwhich warn against the seductions ofwomen (ii. 16-18; ix. 18; vii. 26, 27; xxIt also explains Job xxvi. 5, 6, which shourendered 'the giants groan beneath the wand the inhabitants thereof.' It expounds,that passage 1 Cor. xi. 10. It expoundswhat is said ofMessiahin Psalm Ixxxviii.4" They will be judged in the bodiesof

as they voluntarily took them, just aswas judged in the body of the serpent."[Whilst quite in sympathy with this w

idea that angels and not men are here refto, weare certainly at a loss to know howcould be preached to when dead! Sincwriter quoted expressly says, they pe1'ishetlie flood. Howthey couldbealive in Tartseeing that they perished in the flood, pour comprehension. Say that theywerebanto Tartarus at the flood, andweretherepreto by Christ after His resurrection, andwholething is clear.-ED. B.S,]THE RESURRECTION & THE LI

PART V.By MARIA GELLETLY.

A GAINlookat Job: "I go,"he says, "w11. Ishall not return, even to the land ofness and theshadowof death, 1 . 1 land of daras darkness itself, and wherethe light is asness" (x, 21,22). That is, though lightit wouldmeet with no reciprocal glance.Job speaks of "I" going to this land ofness. But if "l's" body only goes, "I"to livewith Godwherethere is no darkneswhere darkness is light. Job goes on to"Man lieth down, and riseth not; tilheavens beno more, they shall not awakenraised out of their sleep" (Job xiv. 12).seems here to consolehimself that he shallback to life againafter the heavens beno mtill then, he says, man shall not awake, n

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THE BIBLE STANDARD. 101raised out of his sleep. There can beno mistakehere that Job believed in a resurrection of thedead, not in the dead body and living soul, butin the being asleep and the final awaking;then Job seems, like all truth searchers,the next moment to be in a state of con-sternation and anxiety, and exclaims, "If aman die shall he live again?" Mark, Job doesnot say, "If a man die shall he live on in anotherstate?" but, "Shall a man live again," plainlymeaning, tbat which was, is not, and is again.And if Job believed he would die or sleep, andlive or wake again, he must have believedin a r esurrection of the dead. Again in the 19thchap., verses 25 and 26, Job seems to re-graspthis grand chain of hope, and exclaims-his verymalady the mirror in which he saw his hopesrealised-" I know that my Redeemer liveth, andthat He shall stand at the latter day upon theearth: and though after my skin worms destroythis body, yet in my flesh shall I see God."Notice, "my Redeemer," that is, Onewho is ableto bring me again from death to life.Also, in Psalm vi. 5, it is said, "In death

there is no remembrance of Thee: in the graveiho shall give Thee thanks?" Now, if by deathI am released from my body, and it be hiddenamong the clay, and I, a child of God, why then,it shall be all remembrance of God; it shall beall thanks to God. Neither does David heregive any hope in a continuance of life betweendeath and the resurrection; from which, again,David says," Thou hast redeemed me" (PsalmxxxL 5).Psalm xlix.; notice, in verse 15, the soul is

said to be brought back from the grave, and tobe received by God. Now, if already received byGod, at death, how could death be said to beovercome by God, and that which death held inbondage get free, if never in bondage at all 7Isaiah xxv. 8, "He will swallow up death in

victory." All will understand that" He" hereused, is the Lord of life, and He says, "I willswallow up death in victory." Now, just lookthoughtfully in the face of this grand assertion,How could it be said death would be swallowedup-which clearly means death, which has for atime had power over life or living men, willutterly be destroyed, man released from its grasp,and no trace of its ghastly ravages remain-if itnever h'ad power over the real life of man, if itnever had destroyed life? Had the life of manbeen indestructible, it could not be said to beconquered by death, when death only destroyedthat which was to life what one's clothes are tothe body. Surely no one would say my bodywas burned, when only the clothes on the bodywere burned, and my body escaped untouched.Isaiah xxvL 19, "Awake and sing, ye that

sleep in the dust." Does this verse not indicateto the thinking mind that the singing part of

man belongs to the spiritual, not to the flesh;and if the spiritual part have not its dwelling inthe dust, why bid it awake and sing, if it hasnever ceased to have the power to sing; if thesinging part is in heaven, and only the body inthe grave or dust, should it not rather be, Awakeand join thy spirit singing in heaven?Daniel xii. 2, " And many that sleep in the dust

shall awake, some to everlasting life." Noticehere three states of existence, unmistakablyreferred to, a state of existence previous to sleep,for no one could be said to sleep or die who hadnot lived; a state of non-existence previous toawaking, for no one could be said to awake whohad never slept; a state of life after the sleeping,for no one could be said to get back what theyFever lost,-that is to say, if they possessed itin another form.Hosea xiii, 14, "I will ransom them from the

power of the grave; I will redeem them fromdeath." No one can read this verse and not bestruck with the fact that the man, the wholebeing is included in the "them," not" the bodiesof them I will ransom,"" but them I will ransom,I will redeem." If" them" were already inheaven, it would only be common sense to say,the bodies of them I will ransom; and if thespirit is yonder, it needed not to be ransomed,seeing it never could die.

(To be continued.)CONDITIONAL IMMORTALITY.

PART VII.By SARAH MAGRUDER, VIRGINIA, D.S.A.Iour Reviewer would consider, he would findthat he may also be thus charged, thoughfalsely. He says, according to our view, " thatbut for Christ the sinner would not be subjectto suffering after death." May it not be saidby the same process of reasoning, and in viewof the orthodox system, that but for God thesinner would not be damned: for he could notbe lost, if he had never been made; and thusGod might have saved him from being lost bythe omission to make him.In fact, much of the misunderstanding on

this subject has arisen from a misapprehensionof the cause of Christ's mission. The articlefrom which we quote has expressed the popularbelief on this subject, in the following words:"We fail, in truth, any longer to discern aproper relation between that atoning death andthe end to be effected: for what was required, itappears, was not redemption from the urrath. tocome, but the reconstruction of the nature, byimparting to it the foreign element of immor-tality." Now a mistake is here made in con-founding a consequence, with the purpose.Christ did not come for either of the purposesmentioned. He came to carry out a scheme forthe formation of holiness in character: "to

save His people from their sins" (thus producing holiness), and the immortality isconsequence which will follow the holiness asreward for it; and the suffering the consequencewhich will follow the failure to fall in withChrist's scheme. Suffering in its proper placis the will of God, and Christ used it both foHimself and His followers to produce the besresults.But our view of this subject has been fully

exhibited. The great good which has been accomplished in this plan of God has made theevil, which necessarily accompanied it, a matterof small moment, when compared, as St. Pauexpresses it, with "the glory that shall be revealed." We must look at the subject, aswhole, to judge of the merits or demerits of ansingle feature. Those who think that nothingcan be the will of God which exhibits severity,have not, as our premises required, formed theiestimate of God from His general government.From the garden of Eden downward', He haexhibited the Sfl,vere as well as the benevolentside of His character. The banishment from.Eden-the Flood-the plagues of Egypt-theoverwhelming of the Egyptians in the ReSea-the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah-the earth's opening and swallowing up KorahDathan, and Abiram, and the two hundred anfifty who consorted with them in offering strangefire to the Lord-the plague which followeddestroying fourteen thousand seven hundredwho murmured against Moses-the overthrowof the nations which fought against Israel-thejudgments of God upon the Israelites, whenthey have sinned-and the plagues, pestilences,and famines which have devastated the earth,prove that God is severe in His judgments,-if great in His mercy. The part of wisdom ito fall in with His purposes, and by faithfulobedience to His commandments, to gain Hifavour.Our Reviewer wishes to know, if man is no

inherently immortal (he sees no objection to hibeing punished to any degree, if he is), why hecannot be "consigned to nothingness at once."We reply: For the same reason,' that thepunishment should not be omitted if he were"inherently immortal." But our Reviewermay answer his own question. He says, "It ithis dread fact, which continues stamped on thepages of the Bible after ingenious criticism andsubtilising theories have done their utmost, thatthe law of Divine retribution in the develop-ment of moral character, must work itself outhereafter without check or mitigation, that thosewho persist in sinning against light and whoreject the Gospel when it is offered, must endurethe irrevocable consequences of their acts, recoil-ing on themselves" (p. 63). We could not morepointedly answer our objector's question.

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102 THE BIBLE STANDARD.THOUGHTS IN VERSE.e see, then, that no ray of hope lightens

the nark picture of the doomed. but the tennina-tion we are led to hope for in "the seconddeath." How long the period of suffering may_be before that termination is reached, none cantell. It is four times spoken of in the Apocalypse(Rev. ii. 11; xx. 6, 14; xxi. 8). When thisshall have done its work, then shall the beliefexpressed by our Reoieuier in the beginning ofhis article, be realized, viz.: "That good willfinally conquer the forces of evil," adding" thisis doubted by no one, least of all by believers inthe truth of Christianity." (p. 56.)But we will consult our Reviewer as to his

understanding of the condition of the lost-ashe affirms himself an orthodox believer. Hesays: "But the suggestion readily occurs, thatevil natures, when placed under invinciblerestraint, and beat upon by the storm of retri-butive vengeance may have a tendency to wearthemselves out, and sink, if not into nonentity,iuto insensibility aud permanent unconscious-ness." In this condition why should it becomea question of importance whetfter they are im-mortal or not?In this view of the case we cannot but see

that the continued existence of the sinnerwould become no longer a punishment to him,but would make him a blot in the universe tomar its beauty to others : as leaving a dead manabout a house would be no inconvenience tohim, but a source of great annoyance to thehealthy inmates of the house. But our Revieweradds, "So much might perhaps be granted asallowable conjecture."We do not rely upon" conjecture," hut upon

the Divine Word which says, furthermore, that" Death and hell shall be cast into the lake offire" (Rev. xx. 14), and it is added (Rev. ii. 14)"that He might destroy him that batb thepower of death, that is, the devil." So that welook forward to the happy period when the in-corrigibly wicked, death, hell, and the devil,shall be no more: when the promise in Rev.xxi. shall be fulfilled, " There shall be no moredeath, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shallthere be any more pam: for the former thingsare passed away."(Our opponents are pleased to escape the idea

of any final extinction of being by appropriatingto the term death-the meaning "consciousexistence in misery." If we, for the sake ofargument, accept the definition, then, by sub-stitution, read Rev. xxi. 4, and it is," Thereshall be no more conscious existence in misery! "Amen, we say, but what do they respond? )

(To be continued.)LIFE AND DEATH: Being Extractsfrom a Work of the late Archbishop Wbately.Will be ready in a few days. 4 pages. 2d perdoz., Is. per 100. Post-free from the Office ofthis Paper.

BAPTIST JUSTICE IN CHESHIRE.A SMA.LL Baptist Church on the banks ofthe Mersey, has been showing to its] pastoranything but" the quality of 7nC1CY."On a Sunday in March he intimated from the

pulpit his intention to preach on the threefollowing Sunday mornings on the subject of" Eternal Punishment." This intimation stirreda hornet's nest among his deacons, who at onceprepared for the good minister a presenb punish-ment to show him that if they could thus dealwith their pastor whom they loved (? ), they werenot likely to forego the pleasure of eternallyregarding with Christian (?) satisfaction thepunishment of those they did not love.They therefore waited upon him on the fol-

lowing week to bold a court of inquisition uponhim. He told them frankly that his views werechanged, concerning the old creed, and that heno longer believed in the" eternal torment" ofsinners. They then forbade his intended course~smmOOL He did, however, touch on the subject thefollowing Sunday morning, speaking from the

words" God is love." If such was the characterof the Being worshipped, it was not. that of thoseworshipping. A Special Church meeting wascalled" to consider urgent affairs concerning thepastorate." At that meeting it was proposedthat the pastor should be heard and judged bythe whole Church, but it found no support. Aresolution was instead put" that he had departedfrom the Articles of the 'Baptist Union.'''This resolution was carried, and he was thenand there without notice dismissed from hispastorate, and not allowed to ascend the pulpitagain. The following is a summary of thespeeches made by some of this enlightened (?)community, at the Meeting on March 16th.(1) "I have heard too much of these views

already. I have many friends, whom I valuevery much, that hold them, but if an angel toldme that he held them I would refuse his teaching.And as Mr. -- so decidedly expressed hisopinions on the subject last Sunday morning, ifhe had preached the sermons we forbad, I couldnot enter the chapel again whilst he remained."(2) "I could not think of giving any of mymoney to support a minister who holds such

views as Mr. --. For J do not believe that heis a man Bent from God. And as he has departedfrom the Articles of tbe 'Baptist Union,' withwhich this Chapel is connected, he cannot beallowed to preach another sermon here."(3) "M1'. - has been very successful duringhis pastorate here, and I must say that I _have

received much benefit under his ministry, for Iwas converted under his preaching; bnt nowthat he has changed his views, I think that heought not to be allowed to preach here anylonger. A's well let an atheist go into the pulpitto preach his opinions, as to allow him to doso."The above report of proceedings comes to us

from an independent and reliable source. It isbut just to the pastor to say we have, as yet, hadno communication from him, As to the Articlesof the" Baptist Union," we have no knowledgewhat they are, but this we do know that thereare Churches connected therewith holding andpropagating these views, wbose right to do sohas never been questioned therel.y ; and wejudge therefore tha.t the" Baptist Union" wusused merely us an excuse, to enable the bigotrvof local creed-mongers to work its an ti-Ohrrstianwill. Thus to remove a min ister without dueand courteous notice, is to trample Christianprinciple and feeling under foot.We shall be happy to put any, larger-minded,

Church into communication with our wrongedand suffering Christian Brother, Editor,

A PASTOR'S REFLECTIONS.A PASTOR watch'd the death-bed of a dying darlinAnd tried to cheat his mem'ry with curious costBut thinking 'twaa a duty, he spoke in whisper'd brAnd told the Sunday scholar how very near was deHe put a pastor's question, with Bible in his hand,But one not there recorded, about some far-off landHe pictur'd fancied glories before the glazing eye,And ask'd with pious fervour, 11 Now, don't youdie? "The boy look'd t'ward the window. and saw the hic1imb'd,He heard the church bell chiming, and startedchim'd!He saw a weeping mother, and heavd a deep-drawnAnd said with boyish candour, 11 Idonot wish to dThe pastor heard the answer his truthful nature gaAnd mus'd, 11 There must be something repulsivegrave;Our prorer nature shuns it,-but why, why should tIf death s the gate to glory !-How comes the mystHWeve taught our Sunday scholars, the momethey die,They go to be more happy with angels in the sky;It seems they don't believe us, altho' they think theBut whose the fault ?-their natures !-or is our dtrue? "The pastor check'd his doubtings, and further wround,To seek the sick and needy, who always may befouA sense of duty nerved him to risk infection's blighAnd soon he found before him a wretched woman'sRelieving wants first pressing, he spoke next

jj soul' tIAnd begg'd her to consider what possibly its goal iIn hope to force repentance, he touch'd the sinner'sAnd hinted pain eternal beyond the yawning tomb!With dismal eyes uplifted, she cried, with piercingUI've borne too much already to think that'8Book! "Then with a piteous effort, she asked, with gloaming"Would you., kind sir, requite me, with endless tothere? "The pastor gave no answer, for pity filled his breasTo see a soul so wretched, and he himself so blest:He felt he could not doom her to endless pain and wAnd fear'd the just reflection-so turn'd away to goIs mortal man more just, then, or does he pity moreThan He whom men and angels, as God of love, adI cannot, should not, think it-there s deeper mhere-Oh! Lord, mine eyes now open, these mists and doclear.So thinking, doubting, praying, he slowlr went hisTo ponder o'er the lessons, and visits, 0 the day:A suff'rers casual question, 11 Is that, Sir, in the BHad started new reflections, deciding him to look.Next day, by note invited, the pastor went to seeA brother by profession, long in the ministry,Who wanted 11 duty" taken, because of taking coldAnd ., fear'd there might be danger, as he was gold! "Well, now, thought he, the riddle will quickly be rIn part, or altogether, my doubtings be dissolvd iAn aged, weary pilgrim, profess'nal man of God,Will long to be with Jesus, nor fear the cold greenHe found the" pilgrim" seated in richly-cushionedNot seeming quite so ill, he thought, but with an aair;The businessflrst was settled,-the parish news nextTill, etiquette ignoring, the visitor grew bold.He ask'd, was it not cheering, for one whose hairhoar,To stand so near the gateway of glory evermore?The happy prospect nearing, 11 to shuffle off this coWhich weighs the "soul > , with matter, and bringcare and toil.His sons had come to honour, his work was wedonejWhat was there now to keep him below this planet'sBut here a nervous movement bet ray'd t..e goodfearOf oiug, yet, to heaven-preferring staying here!His dear old lady saw it, but vainly sought to hideThe instincts of true nature when shrewdly she rep11 The medical adviser forbids his friends to speakOn any gloomJl subject, because his nerves are weakThe pastor, disappointed, sought, therefore, to retraHis footsteps, meditating on what had taken placeWhy many pious persons more dread of heaven reThan other careless sinners of going down to hell

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THE BIBLE STANDARD. 103Another pray'r ascended, for spiritual light,To knowman's real nature and destiny aright;The answer was forthcoming. the light was on its way;But first a dawning glimmer before the light of day!Next evning a procession came wending up the hill, .Towards the parish churchyard, while a ll was bright, butchill ;A slow and mournful tolling kept startling all the air,To tell how death was marring a scene so calm and fair!The bell sank into silence more gladd'ning notes to hear,Which floated down the hill-side, in hopeful accentsclear;Words oft before repeated assum'd new life and pow'r,Which now reveal'd the myst'ry in sad and solemn hour.11 I am the RESURRRCTION/' said Jesus, 11 and the LIFB: 11The echoes of HTHE LOGos" woke, with wondrousimport rife!Thro' understanding utt'rance they now were spirit-words,Which flutter'd in the yew trees, like happy, living birds!HHe that believeth in Me, alrho' he now were dead "-Yes 11 ORAD,"not < gone to heaven," but low in H HADES"laid-H He," he alone, the promise, U &halL LIVE ,. on earth

11 again,"When resurrection clothes him amongst immortal men!The preacher's pray'rs were answer'd, the light had comeat last;It came in words familiar, like mem'ries of the past!Death now was seen as real-all nature telling this -While 11 Resurrection" shows us the 11 Way}' to " Life "and bliss!The sun at length descended beneath the western sea;But flashing tints now promis'd how bright the mcrnwould be!It brac'd one weary mortal to meet approaching night,And whisper'd coming glory, for " eventide was light! "The preacher's manner alter'd, more earnest grew histone;He saw men 11 surely dying," and 11 Life in Christ alone! 11HJESUSand RESURRECTION/'the good news now became;Goo's COMINGSON, and 11 KINGDOM,"and LIFE in Hisgreat 11 NAME! "The Gospel came with power, as in the days of old;Tho' persecution follow'd, which need not now be told:But Conscience gav",;approval, the Spirit, and the Word;Believers being added unto a GRACIOUS Lord!Black,burn. Alber! SmW.[May be had separately as a four-page letter leaflet.

IS. per lOO, post-free from the Author, or the Office ofthis Paper.]

QUESTION COLUMN.INFANT IMMORTALITY.

B.L. (Skip ton) asks :-" Is there any hope ofImmortality found in God's Word for infantswhose parents are Believers in the Christ? Ihave just lost a little one of seven months, and Ifeel deeply interested iu this question."'I'here is no direct evidence upon this question.Nature's voice is strong and clear, as speakingthrough our natural emotions, but the Worddoes not supply us with any authoritative teach-ing. Dogmatise we cannot, as we have not a" Thus saith the Lord; " but yet we are notleft without inferential teaching which is suffi-cient to warrant and enkindle hope. We sum-marise thus :-(1.) Man was created in the Moral andGovernmental image of God. His Fall, thoughdefiling, did not destroy that image. Man re-mained, as before, earth's Lord; the rationalhead of -arthly Creature-Life; a morally con-scious and Accountable Being; and tbe subjectof the Divine Grace and Favour. In Gen. v. 3,we read "And Adam lived 130 years, and begat,. son in his own likeness, after his image."'I'he infant Seth, at birth, was after his father'simage--who was a moral and accountable being-und was, therefore, also a moral, accountablebeing, or candidate for immortality from birth.(2.) In establishing the national rite of circum-cision (Gen. xvii. 10-14), which separated Hispeople from the surrounding nations, God in-cluded infants from eight days old. Since Godincludes, who shall exclude? If included in theNational Israel, why not, also, in the SpiritualIsrael? (a.) Though Israel, all from twentyyears upwards save two, perished in the wilder-ness, the children were specially reserved toenjoy a blessing denied to their parents (Gen.

xiv. 29-34). May it not also be so in resurrec-tion, that whilst many sinful parents suffer the"second death," the children attain unto" eternal life?" (4.) David encouraged himselfin tbe hope that though, for his sin, his childwas removed from him, yet that it would be re-stored in resurrection (2 Sam. xii. 22, 23).Thus, too. may others hope. (5.) Whilst Jer.xxxi. 15-17 clearly refers to the restoration ofJudah and Israel in the latter days, it as clearlyincludes the resurrection of their sleeping dead.Matt. iii. 16-18, applies this promise to theinfant life slain at Bethlehem; If the infants ofJudah return from the grave, why not also thoseof Christendom? (6.) In 1 Cor. xv. 22, weread, " For as in Adam all die, even so in Christshall all be made alive." Here we have resur-rection as wide as the Fall. Since infants diedin Adam (" all ") they rise to life in Christ(" all "). Having a renewed life-with no pre-vious probation-what shall hinder the offerand opportunity of " eternal life ? " The Judgeof "quick and dead" was onc A Himself aninfant. (7.) We group a few further gleams oflight and hope. "Become as little children"(Matt. xviii. 3); "WhoBo shall receive one suchlittle child in My name" (vel'. 5) ; "In heaventheir angels do always behold the face of MyFather which is in heaven" (vel'. 10); "Evenso it is not the will of your Father which is inheaven, that one of these little onts shouldperish" (vel'. 14); "Suffer little children, andforhid tbem not, to come unto Me; for of suchis the kingdom of heaven (xix. 14); For thepromise is unto you and to your children (Acts ii.38, 39); Else were your children unclean;but now art they holy" (1 Cor. vii. 14). Wecertainly think we have here no mean body ofinferential evidence to confirm our naturalemotions, and to encourage us in the hope of aresurrection of infant life. We have no groundof expectation that such can ever form any partof the" Body of Christ," 01'' Sons of God,"such honour being confined to the" overoomers"of this life: but short of this there is hope ofimmortality and bliss for the blossom that earlyfell, as well as for the ripened fruit that willform part of the "great multitude which noman can number."

GRACE THE EARNEST OF GLORY.E.G.B. (London, N.) writes :-'" Grace forgrace' (John L 16), Does this refer to the, heavenly calling?' It seems something special!

So few apprehend what is involved in being'partakers of the heavenly calling,' or know, the truth as it is in Jesus' (Eph. iv.). Theyonly seem to know, as John Baptist preached(John i. 29; Matt. iii.},We should apply it as suggested. Grace nowas the earnest or promise of grace further andfuller hereafter. If asked, 'What further andfuller grace?' we should reply, Of 'power tobecome the Sons of God.' Born" not of thewill of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but ofGod." Truly very few apprehend" the glory that

shall follow." We have endeavoured in ouropening article of this number "to woo tosweefer worlds" of hope and faith.WISE AND FOOLISH VIRGINS.

Further :-" In considering this subject, Ihave been struck with the connection betweenLuke xi. 13, and Rom, viii. 9. And the questionarises-Will those whose belief thus consists inscarcely more than a mere assent to a historicalfact, be amongst the left (Matt. xxv. 11,12)when the Lord gathers His own people to Him-seh? They have not the indwelling of theHoly Spirit (' uo oil in their vessels witb theirlamps ') so are 'none of His' (Rom. viii. 9), 'Iknow you not: And then, again, they-thesefoolish virgins-did believe (as men believe anyfact) because they , went to buy!' In the lightof Rom, x. I cannot think that they will perish.

in the second death. They will miss theheavenly portion, and the Millennium, may be,but will find tbeir lives again on the newearth' after the judgment of the great whi~ethrone; for, does it not appear that there WIllbe two classes of 'dead' there? ' Whosoeverwas not found written in the Book of Life wascast into the lake of fire.' (In vel'. 12 it is-, The books were opened, and another book wasopened, which is the Book of Life.')"We have little more to do thau to assent toyour conclusions. May not, however, Matt. xxv.1 to 13, be a picture of the professed Churchapart altogetber from the" Body of Christ?"This latter forms the first-fruits or Bride.The sleeping virgins are the invited guests.Five have the oil of grace-the indwellingspirit-these, though not of the Bride, enjoyMillennial Blessedness: not of the Bride, be-cause not watching (they slept), but having theoil of grace are admitted as guests. The .re-maining five, thouzh professing, and purportingto enter as guests, ~re yet excluded from Millen-nial Blessedness-not for sleeping, since theothers did that-but because deficient in the oilof grace our lamps are going out "-;-becausenot fully indwelt by the Holy Spirit, Wemerely offer this as a possible explanation, b~t,if correct these are not excluded from LIfeEternal i~ the Second Resurrection. Unlikethe world, they will not perish in the" SecondDeath."

NOTES, NEWS, AND REVIEWS.t::5'" Hell. By G. G. Macleod, Free Church

Minister, 0arnwath. Dublin: Dublin TractSociety, 10, D'olier Street. Price id." Weblush that any minister could write such atract, and that any respectable Publi~hingSociety, such as the" Dublin," could lend ~t~plfto give currency to such savage absurdities,Mark the author's conception of God:-"The reign of iron lasts still! Tbe sameGod-who hurled oceans over Alps and Andes,drowning a world, and scorched Sodom tocinders in hurricane of fire, and choked thestreets of Jericho with corpses, and threw theRoman dogs on Jerusalem, to tear it limb fromlimb until, in wild struggle of darkness and fire,a nation found its grave-reigns still! Thesame God who cursed Cain, and sent remorseupon Esau, and dug a grave for Korah, flungJezebel to the dogs, and slew Belshazzar at hisown banquet-table, and hurried Judas to asuicide's eternity-reigns still, unchanged forever; and what He has done before He can doagain."One shudders at the writer's seeming joy inregarding such exceptional actions of the Deityas an indication of His general character. Still,be it remembered, that this-terrible as it is-isnot one tenth as terrible as the popular hell, to

which it lends no countenance. Death, suddenand lasting, was here the punishment from Godon sin that cried to heaven. Not life in torment.Mark the author's acquaintance with "Con-ditional Immortality :"-" The more populartheory of this age is Annihilationism; that is, I die like my dog.' I die a sinner, and [ amnowhere ever after. The coffin that holds mybody is the grave of my soul, and, of course,punisbment of any kind in eternity is an im-possibility, as there is nobody nowhere to sufferit! Now this theory denies the immortality ofthe soul, which I shall some day have thepleasure of proving beyond the possibility ofdoubt, to anyone who can listen to reason, andrevelation, and history, and common sense.When my body dies, my soul dies! What!Tben there is not a saint in heaven! thoughJohn saw armies of these following Jesus onwhite horses. Moses and Elias are not, thoughthey came from heaven to talk with Jesus-

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106 THE BIBLE STANDARD .children of those in fellowship, so that theymay not imbibe the pernicious doctrines taughtamongst the sects."-J.C.A.B.l.cup.-Gospel Mission, Co-operative Hall.-This busy town of 25,OUOpeople, at the head ofthe Grassendale Valley, some seven miles fromRochdale and twenty-two from Manchester, haslong possessed a devoted centre of work andwitness for the" Life." The Church here (Bap.tis t in principle) was founded by the late Rev.Jonas Smith, after his exclusion from EbenezerBaptist Church, and has throughout met in theAssembly Room of the Co- operative Stores-anoble room seated for 1,000 people. At thedecease of Mr. Smith, the Rev. Thos. Vasey,formerly of Bridgnorth, was invited to succeedhim, which he did in Feb., 1881. The Churchof 80 members has now borne harmonious wit-ness for eight years to the Scriptural doctrinesof the Life and Advent, and though isolated fromcommunion with other Churches in the town,has maintained its teaching and its indepen-dence. To-day, as before, it continues to enjoypeace, love, and unity. On March 21i, 26,Special Services were held to celebrate thePastor's Anniversary, following two special ser-mons which had been delivered on the 12th, byMr. W. H. Miller, of Liverpool, to pleased andprofited audiences. The Church was favoured by the presence and advocacy of Capts. H. J.Ward and J. E. Dutton, of Liverpool, whosevisit will not readily be forgotten, or the twosunny addresses-given by them at the Saturdaymeeting. The Service of the following morning.was taken by Capt. Dutton, who gave a powerfuladdress on ,; The Kingdom of God is come nighunto you," accompanying his remarks with solosand hymns, both instrumental and vocal. Thiswas followed by an afternoon address to theSunday-school, also interspersed with musicand song; and crowned by the evening meeting,to which the reputation of the visitors hadbrought a large audience. Capt. Dutton gave atelling exposition of Christ's casting out theevil spirits from the man dwelling amongst thetombs. Capt. Ward followed with an addresson Jer, ix. 23, 24. And the service was closedwith an earnest Gospel address by Capt. Dutton.Thus ended one of the happiest series of gather.ings ever held in Bacup, On the Tuesdayfollowing, five candidates were immersed by thepastor, some of whom had been for monthswaiting this opportunity, including one in memobership with the Church at Cheltenham, butresident near here.-T. V. (Abridged.)

COLONIAL.CANADA..-Toronto.-" I am pleased .to inti-mate that a few of the Brethren have agreed toform the nucleus of a Branch of the

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THE BIBLE STANDARD. 1 0 7expressed the grea.t good which, h ad a.e~r.nedto himBel~ inthe tr aininghe had receivedwhi lstpreaidingover theB ib leClass sa.yingtha.t it ha.d been equal to a.College educationt o h i';'. -O n S un da y A pril16th. Bro. Aldridge.conducted-for the la.st time-the Public Services. There was a largecompany in the morning. to which be gavea.good andstirring address on 'The Rewa.rds in the Coming Ktug-dam,' taking, for the basis of his remarks, th~ wise8.!ldfoo lishbuilders showing hat w e had Eterna lL Ifebyja,thin Christ Jesus 'but that many might have this and yet beou t o r t he K ingdom:that on ly r ight building an d goo d'work for the Master would ensure rewardand place in theComing Kingdom. The Evening Servi eewas a.t~endedbya.bout 200 persons, all av ail ablepace being occupied. Thesubject was I The Hope of Beuniou.' At the close wemetto IRemember the Lord's Death until He come.' It was amost impressive and solemn service. Our Brother willlong be remembered for his ~rea.t ~arne8tness, for the self-denial which has oharacterlzedhIS labonrs amongst us,and 10r the benefits imparted to others and for the glory ofthe Master whom he served He has won tbe esteem andaffection of every person connected with our Ch~rch; andis followed by their united pray~r ~ha.tGod's rtchest andchoicest blessing may rest upon him III the new sphere oflabour to which be haR been called. As weengaged tworeporters for the Evenina Lecture, we shall be able to sendyoua fu ll rep ortfor J un : Bib!e Standard." - w.e .

TH E GREAT CONTROVERSY be-tween God and Man. Its Origin. Progress,and End. By H. L. Hastings. 128 pages,cloth. price Is.THE NATURE OF MAN: Is he M ortal01' Immortal? Questions by A. A. Phelps.Answers by Miles Grant. 115 pages, paper. Bd.WHITMORE 'S DOCTRINE OF IM -mortality. Contents: Historical Inquiry-Jewish Belief-Early Christian Belief-Argu-ment from Reason-Scriptural Argument-Lesson of Creation-Adamic Penalty-Tra-duetionism versus Creationism-Life andDeath-General Testimony of Scripture-Intermediate State-Christian Redemption.264 pagAS. Cloth. 2s. 6d.STRUGGLE FOR ETERNAL LIF E.Or the Immortality of the Just, and theGradual Extinction of the Wicked. By E.Petavel, D.D. With Introduction by the Rev.Rev. R. W. Dale, M.A. 15,1pages, Cloth. 29.BIB LICAL PSYCHOLOGY. By J. L .Forster, Edited by his son. H. L. Forster.Contents: Christian Platonism-Biblical Souland Body-Biblical Spirit or Ghost-Atomicand Organic Agencies-Self-Spiritual Person-ality-Personal Perpetuity-Real and Ideal-Biblical Demonology-c-Spiritual Energiesand Influences-Hades and Gehenna-TheHope of Israel-Life and Immortality-DeathAbolished. 32'1 pages. Cloth. 5s.-l. 'EARNE"8T WORDS FOR HONESTSceptics. Contents: Origin of Bible-SacredBooks of, Other Nations-Science and Bible-Need of Bible-Testimony of Rocks-EarlyProgress of Truth-Miracles-Prophecies ofChrist-Babylon"":"'Idumea-Heathen Oracles-Objections Considered-Study of Scriptures.Cloth. price Is. 6d.BIBLE DOCTRINE OF THE SOUL.By Chas. L. Ives. A.M., M.D . late Professorof Theory and Practice of Medicine in YaleCollege. Being an Answer to the Question:Is the Popular Conception of the Soul that ofHoly Scripture? 130 pages. Cloth, Is. 6d.;Wrapper 9d.THE BIBLE TRIUMPHANT: ByMrs. H. V. Reed. Being a Reply to a Workentitled" One Hundred and Forty-four Self-Contradictions of the Bible" (Published byAn!irewJacksonDavis). This Work has hadalarge sale. Cloth. Is 6d.; Wrapper 9d.P AULINE THEOLOGY; or the Chris-tian Doctrine ofFuture Punishment. as taughtin the Epistles of Paul. the Apostle: and TheDestiny of the Wicked. By H. L. Hastings.With a Preface by the Rev. W. Leask, D.D.Second Edition. Cloth. Is. 4d. ; Wrapper ea .THE STATE OF THE DEAD. ADiscnssion between W. C. Boardman and W.Kellaway. Verbatim Report. First Proposi-tion: That the Scriptures teach that the Deadexist in a living conscions state after theirdecease. Second Proposition: That theScriptures teach that men in death are whollyunconscious, insensible. and unable to performany act whatever; and that they rest in dark-ness. silence. and the dust. Cloth Ls.,Wrapper 6d.JOYFUL MESSAGE. A B ib lical Ex-position of the Gospel. By Jos. B. Rother-ham. Cloth Is.~

8/3/2019 The Bible Standard May 1882

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