Between the British and Spanish territories at Gibraltar there is a quarter of a mile of land which belongs to neither, and is called 'neutral ground'. It is to be feared that many people think there is a wide piece of 'neutral ground' between those who are saved and those who are lost. They dare not say that they are saved, and they will not admit that they are lost. So the devil -- old arch-deceiver that he is -- cheats them alike out of the blessings of the believer and the opportunities of the sinner.

With all the earnestness of which I am capable, I warn you against this delusion. There is no middle class;

Sovereigns are either good or bad, and souls are either saved or lost.

You may be able to say that you are as good as, or better than, most of your neighbours; and it is perhaps your opinion that if you do not get to heaven many others will stand a poor chance. That may be true, but there is an awful possibility that you may find yourself shut out along with them. Suppose that a recruiting sergeant came to your town to enlist soldiers for the Life Guards. Twenty young men apply to be enlisted, and while they are waiting for the sergeant to bring his measuring standard, they begin to measure themselves by one another. One finds he is half-an-inch taller than another. 'I have a better chance than you', he says. He measures himself with another, and finds that he is an inch taller. 'Well', says he, 'if I don't pass, you will

stand a poor chance'. He goes on until he finds that he is the tallest man in the company. Then the sergeant comes in and sets up his standard, and the tallest man steps briskly up to it. 'Pass on', says the sergeant, 'you are too little'. He was taller than all the others, but he was not up to the standard, and was rejected as a Life Guardsman just as much as the shortest man in the company.

In the third chapter of Romans we read these solemn words, "there is no difference; for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God"; and in the same chapter "all the world" is pronounced "guilty before God". Whatever you are before men, or in comparison with others, you are

You have been weighed in the balance and found wanting. You are not up to the standard.

I have spoken to some hundreds of people about salvation, and I never but once met with a man who was bold enough to say that he had never committed any sins. I did not believe him at the time, and I have since heard that he has been in prison for attempting to murder his wife. Now, how many sins do you suppose it would take to keep a man out of heaven? How many sins did Adam and Eve commit before they were driven out of the garden of Eden? Only one. If ONE SIN made them unfit to dwell in the earthly paradise, do you not think that one sin would make a man unfit for the heavenly paradise? "There shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth", Revelation 21:27. You must be whiter than snow or never enter there.

I dare say that you do not FEEL LOST. You are not conscious of being unusually wicked, and you expect to be all right at the last. Let me remind you that it is with GOD you have to do, and His estimate of you

is a true one, for God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. You may deceive others, and, what is worse, may deceive yourself, but you cannot deceive God. Hence the

is to learn what you are in God's sight, and to accept His estimate of yourself rather than your own. The first utterance of God in creation was "Let there be light", and in the new creation of a soul this is the first act of grace. A dirty man in the dark may think he is clean; so a sinner whose conscience has not been enlightened may be satisfied with himself. But when God says, "Let there be light", a Job cries out, "I am vile"; and Isaiah groans, "Woe is me"; Simon the fisherman confesses, "I am a sinful man, O Lord"; and one like Saul of Tarsus can only call himself "chief of sinners".

In the opening verses of Romans 5 we have a fourfold description of those for whom Christ died --

1. "When we were yet WITHOUT STRENGTH".
2. "In due time Christ died for the UNGODLY".
3. "While we were yet SINNERS, Christ died for us".
4. "When we were ENEMIES, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son".

How wonderfully do "GRACE AND TRUTH" shine together in this scripture! Here the foul disease and the certain remedy are seen together. Guilt is fully discovered, but it is in the light of grace. Sin appears in connection with love that puts it away. And if our true character is painted in its darkest colours, it is that we may know the riches of the grace that seeks our blessing in spite of it all. Do not, then, I beseech you, imitate the Pharisees who rejected the counsel of God against themselves, and refused to take the

guilty sinner's place before God. For if the light of God's grace does not find you out and expose you in your true character now, depend upon it the light of God's judgment will find you out by-and-by. Be honest with your own soul and with God, and take home to yourself the solemn truth that you are 'without strength', 'ungodly', 'a sinner', and 'an enemy' needing to be reconciled to God.

If you refuse to accept this four-fold description as being true of yourself, you thereby shut yourself out from the saving value of Christ's death. It was for those who could by no means save, or help to save, themselves that Christ died; it was for ungodly sinners, yea, for those who were enemies to God in their mind, that He gave His life; and if you are not such a one you have neither part nor lot in the blessings which flow from His death. A lifeboat is for the drowning, a physician is for the sick, and a SAVIOUR IS FOR LOST SINNERS.

Do not make a mistake. You may be decent and moral in your life, fair and upright in your dealings with your fellow men, a good husband, a dutiful wife, an obedient child, or a faithful servant, and yet be UNSAVED. You may attend church, chapel, or mission-room, with the greatest regularity, and yet be among the many who are on the broad road. You may even be a communicant, a church member, a liberal giver to charitable and religious causes, a Sunday-school teacher, or a preacher, and at the same time be a lost sinner on the way to death and eternal judgment.

Blame not that honesty of speech which warns you in plain terms of your danger. It is far better to be disturbed from your carnal security in this world than to be damned in the next. Think of

The day speeds on when all that men call great and grand will crumble into the dust: the earth also,

and the works that are therein, shall be burned up, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat. At that day you will either be seated in glory or appear before the great white throne to be judged according to your works -- either inside the pearly-gated city, whose light is the Lamb, or outside, lighted along the dark road to judgment by the crimson torch of a burning world. You must spend ETERNITY either with God and the Lamb and the myriads of the redeemed, or with the devil and the demons and all the damned in the lake of fire.

And, remember, it will THEN be too late to escape. There will be no Bible to cast its blessed light upon a pathway of safety; no gospel message will ring forth; no evangelists will offer pardon; there will be no Christ to save, and no blood to cleanse. Thank God! it is not yet too late, but do not trifle with present grace. Let me recall the loss of the vessel called the 'Central America'. She was in a bad state, had sprung a leak and was going down, and she therefore hoisted a signal of distress. A ship came close to her, the captain of which asked through the trumpet, 'What is amiss?' 'We are in bad repair, and are going down: lie by till morning', was the answer. But the captain on board the rescue ship said, 'Let me take your passengers on board now'. 'Lie by till morning', was the message which came back. Once again the captain cried, 'You had better let me take your passengers on board now'. 'Lie by till morning', was the reply which sounded through the trumpet. About an hour and a half after, the lights were missing, and though no sound was heard, she and all on board had gone down to the fathomless abyss. Unconverted friend, do not say, 'Lie by till morning'. Now is the accepted time. Today you may enter into life; tomorrow the door may be shut.

WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED?

I now address myself to those in whose hearts the above momentous inquiry has arisen. One part of your need, at least, you are already conscious of, namely, THE NEED OF PARDON FOR YOUR SINS. I should be glad to think that some who will read this book are as anxious to have the knowledge of forgiveness as an elderly lady to whom I once put the question, Are your sins forgiven? I shall never forget the wistful look that came into her eyes, and the earnest trembling tones of her voice, as she said, Sir, I would give all that I possess to know that. I found that she had long known her need of pardon, and that she prayed, and read her Bible, and went to church, and was hoping that it might be well at last. She knew not the grace of God nor the value of the precious blood of His Son. Many are in a similar state, and it is to such I now speak.

Let me assure you, at the outset, that pardon for sins cannot be bought with money, or earned by good works, or won by tears and prayers. If you spent all your life in reading the Bible and in prayers; if you wept out the contrition of your heart in an ocean of penitential tears; yea, if you gave all your goods to the poor, and your body to be burned; none of these things would secure the pardon of your sins. Nay, I will go further, and say that if you could by some means acquire to yourself the combined merits of all the saints of God who ever lived on earth, there is not value enough in all their holy living and dying to absolve one of your sins.

God's word is plain -- "IT IS THE BLOOD that maketh an atonement for the soul", Leviticus 17:11. There is, there could be, no pardon without atonement: no remission apart from redemption. "Without shedding of blood is

Is it not a solemn and humbling fact that though we have almost unlimited power to commit sins, we have no power whatever to atone for them when they are committed? This closes the door against all the pride of man, and shuts up us entirely to God.

GOD HIMSELF is the source of every blessing for lost man, and HE WANTS TO FORGIVE YOU. Listen to some of His words! "Herein is love, not that we loved God, BUT THAT HE LOVED US, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins", 1 John 4:10 The only-begotten Son of God came into the world heralded by the announcement, "Thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins", Matthew 1:21. In view of what He was about to accomplish, that blessed Saviour could say, "This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins", Matthew 26:28. He actually upon the cross

the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God", 1 Peter 3:18; and His resurrection on the morning of the third day put the seal of God's infinite satisfaction upon His great atoning work. Then as the risen Saviour -- the Accomplisher of redemption -- He appeared to His disciples "and said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem", Luke 24:46, 47.

God has provided a Lamb; He has found a Ransom. Full atonement has been made, and in divine righteousness you may be pardoned. God is "just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus", Romans 3:26. Simple faith in Jesus and His blood will

secure you the full and free remission of your sins. "The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin", 1 John 1:7.

GOD IS NOW PROCLAIMING THE PARDON OF SINS to every creature under heaven, through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Listen to Peter -- "To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins", Acts 10:43. Listen to Paul -- "Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins; and by him all that believe are justified from all things", Acts 13:38, 39. Listen to John -- "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God .. . I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake", 1 John 5:13; 1 John 2:12.

Let me beseech you, then, to receive this blood-bought pardon -- to believe NOW on the Lord Jesus Christ. May the language of your heart be --

'On the Lamb my soul is resting,
What His love no tongue can say,
All my sins, so great, so many,
In His blood are washed away.

Sweetest rest and peace have filled me,
Sweeter praise than tongue can tell,
God is satisfied with Jesus,
I am satisfied as well.

Conscience now no more condemns me,
For His own most precious blood
Once for all has washed and cleansed me,
Cleansed me in the eyes of God!' (Hymn 410)

Satan's object is gained if he can induce sinners to despise Christ on the one hand, or to despair of Him on the other. The first he accomplishes by filling the heart with the world and the things that are in the world, so that the blessed Saviour is unthought of and neglected by those for whom He died. The latter

Satan seeks to effect by bringing before us our sins, unworthiness, weakness of faith, inconsistency, and so on.

So long as we were satisfied with the world and its things, and did not think about our souls, or value Christ at all, Satan never suggested any doubts and fears to us. When the strong man armed kept his palace his goods were in peace. It was when the Spirit of God touched our hearts and made us feel that we needed a Saviour, and we began to be somewhat drawn to the Lord Jesus, that doubts and fears began to trouble us. When Satan sees that we no longer despise Christ, he says, I will do my best to make you despair of Him.

The Spirit of God makes us think of our sins, our unworthiness, etc., in order to lead us to despair of self; and Satan tries to use these same things to make us despair of Christ.

When I think of myself, of all that I have done and been, and of what I am, I might well despair if one jot or tittle of my salvation depended on myself, but the precious gospel assures me that Another has undertaken and accomplished the mighty work for me. He loved me, though He knew well that nothing but His own death and the cleansing of His precious blood could make me fit for Himself or for God. Everything in me was so bad and worthless that I deserved to die, and yet His love was so great that He died for me.

Doubts and fears arise from the fact of looking to find something in self to build on. Some look within for experiences, some for feelings of joy and peace, and some for faith. This is not looking simply and only TO CHRIST. It is really looking to find some token of salvation in self, instead of believing God's testimony about His Son, and finding an object of faith, outside self altogether, in the Lord Jesus Christ.

My experiences are often very poor: my feelings

are not always what I should like them to be, and my faith is weak enough, but MY SAVIOUR is crowned with glory and honour at God's right hand, and He is altogether worthy of my heart's confidence. I cannot trust myself, my feelings, or my faith, but I can trust HIM, and this is the faith that saves. "Whosoever believeth IN HIM shall receive remission of sins", Acts 10:43. May God give you to see that in your salvation you must be nothing but a lost sinner, and CHRIST must be everything.

Many a converted man who has joyful seasons in thinking of the love of God and the Person of Jesus, has times of wavering and doubt when he thinks of his sins. When the great white throne rises up before him, and he thinks of the day of judgment, there is an inward tremor lest after all it should not go well with him.

Now the full gospel of the grace of God removes all such fears, whether temporary or chronic, because it shows how all the believer's sins have been put away at the cross after being judged in the Person of Christ, so that every believer stands where judgment can never come. I trust to be able to show you from Scripture that every question of sin and judgment has been settled for the believer by the Lord Jesus Christ on the Cross, and God can never raise those questions again with us who believe on his Son.

You cannot have true

or the proper enjoyment of His grace, until you see this. There is a most beautiful view of the Bay of Naples from the summit of Vesuvius, but some people who ascend the mountain do not enjoy the view. Why? Because it is a volcano, and there are strange rumbling noises, and quiverings of the earth, and from deep within the mountain's burning breast comes hot sulphurous smoke, and people doubt their safety.

They are too much occupied with thoughts of their own danger to enjoy the beautiful scenery; and I am sure you cannot enjoy the magnificent panorama of divine grace and glory which is spread out in the Holy Scriptures until you know that you are in a place of perfect and everlasting security yourself.

I remember reading a book in which the authoress described a terrific thunderstorm that she witnessed among the Alps. She said it was one of the most beautiful sights she had ever seen. But it was her position that enabled her to enjoy it. She was far up on a lofty mountain peak in the calm, still air of a summer's evening, with a cloudless sky over her head, and the storm was in the valley beneath her. The lightning seemed to be writing strange characters of fire on a background of jet, and the thunder rolled in majestic melody amongst the great mountains in their white robes of perpetual snow. She was above the storm. Perhaps the poor people in the valley were trembling for their lives and the safety of their homes. She was above the storm in perfect peace.

Now let me ask, Are you above the storm or under it? -- the storm-cloud of God's judgment charged with eternal thunders? Are you in your sins, an unbeliever in Christ? Then you are under the storm, for we read: "He that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God ABIDETH ON HIM", John 3:36. Are you a believer in Christ? Have you received Him by believing on His Name? Then I want to take you by faith up to the sunny heights of resurrection glory, where your Saviour is seated, and let you look down to the cross to see there, far beneath you,

that burst upon His blessed head when He took your place under judgment and in death. He was under the storm. He has endured its full violence, and He

has come victoriously out of it, and has put you and me above it, where no thunderbolt can ever reach us.

The Lord Jesus Christ has borne and put away our sins. "Christ died for our sins", 1 Corinthians 15:3. He "gave himself for our sins", Galatians 1:4. "His own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree", 1 Peter 2:24. He "was once offered to bear the sins of many", Hebrews 9:28. The many are all of those who believe on His Name; not everybody. Scripture says that He died for all, and that He gave Himself a ransom for all, and that He is the propitiation for the whole world; and the Scriptures show that Christ is available for the whole race of sinners. God says, "whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely", Revelation 22:17. All are invited: none excluded. But Scripture is careful to teach that it is the sins of those who believe which Christ bore and suffered for on the cross.

The Lord Jesus was there in that darkness which no human eye could penetrate, drinking the cup of judgment which our sins had filled. He passed through three terrible hours of soul-suffering which can never be fathomed, and then cried,

The bitter cup was drained to its very dregs. The last burning drop was exhausted. The work was done. Done for your salvation; done as God required it to be done; and done as Christ alone could do it.

Now let me assure you that if the gospel contained no more than the fact that Christ has died, it would fail to give us perfect peace. An element of uncertainty would still remain, and our assurance would not be without a cloud. I believe the great reason why so many converted persons have not peace with God is because IN THEIR FAITH THEY HAVE NOT SEEN BEYOND THE CROSS.

They have never seen by faith

Yet THE RESURRECTION of Jesus was the prominent theme of the apostles' testimony. If we read that Jesus our Lord "was delivered for our offences", it is added "AND WAS RAISED AGAIN for our justification", Romans 4:25. The Holy Spirit says, "Christ that died, YEA RATHER, THAT IS RISEN AGAIN", Romans 8:34. And Paul's summary of the gospel in 1 Corinthians 15:3, 4, is that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; and that He was buried, and THAT HE ROSE AGAIN THE THIRD DAY according to the Scriptures.

The resurrection of Jesus proves that the sins which He bore on the cross are all put away, that the power of death is broken, that the devil is vanquished, and, in short, everything that was against us before God has been completely removed, for God has raised the One who has done it all, in glory and power from the dead, and He is the living and glorious witness to the value and completeness of His own finished work.

Behold Him as He comes into the midst of His disciples, John 20:19. He comes, the mighty risen Saviour, from the stupendous battlefield of Calvary, with the scars of His great conflict fresh upon Him, having put away His people's sins, having defeated all their foes, having silenced every accusing voice, and He says --

His own living presence in resurrection dissolved every doubt, banished every fear, assured every heart, and filled every conscience with divine peace. Dear anxious soul, take these two precious words -- one from the lips of a dying, and the other from those of a risen Saviour -- "IT IS FINISHED" and "PEACE BE UNTO YOU", and bind them round your heart. May they be the assurance and the stay of your soul for ever!

Then there is another part of your need which is plainly pointed out by the following incident. A man deeply exercised about his soul was conversing with a friend on the subject, when the friend said, Come at once to Jesus, for He will take away all your sins from your back. Yes, I am aware of that, said the other, but what about my back? I find I have not only sins to take away, but there is myself; what is to be done with that?

I feel sure that many who will read these lines have discovered, through grace, not only that they have committed sins, but that they have an evil nature. You have found out to your sorrow that when you would do good, evil was present with you, Romans 7:21. Distinct from the sins of which you may have been guilty, your nature is evil. It is important to observe the distinction between SIN and SINS. In Scripture the principle of evil in man is called SIN, and the evil actions which he does are called SINS. One is the tree and the other is the fruit. Sin is man's natural state. You have not to commit some crime or do some wicked action to become a sinner. Every child of Adam's race is born in sin, Psalm 51:5; and as such is a child of wrath, Ephesians 2:3. "The wages of SIN is death", Romans 6:23. Altogether apart from any question as to the number or the magnitude of your actual transgressions, death is your portion as one descended from Adam.

The flesh -- the carnal nature which we possess as children of Adam -- has no good thing in it. From centre to circumference it is wholly and hopelessly bad -- so bad that God does not attempt to mend it. The work of grace in souls begins with THE NEW BIRTH. By a divine operation of the Holy Spirit in connection with the word of God the subject of grace is "born again". God -- so to speak -- rejects the old material altogether, and begins entirely anew. The

very fact that a man must be born again proves that as in the flesh he is utterly unfit for God.

It is an immense step in our progress towards deliverance when we identify ourselves with that which has been wrought in us by God. This point is reached in Romans 7:15 - 17. "Now then it is no more I that do it, but SIN that dwelleth in me". The exercised one identifies himself with that which is of God, and judges everything of a contrary nature to be SIN. He takes sides with God, and passes judgment upon himself as in the flesh -- "I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing", verse 18. The necessity for the new birth proclaimed this on God's part, and the one born again is made to realise it experimentally.

The one who has reached this point knows the need for deliverance. SIN dwells in him: he judges that in him, that is, in his flesh dwells no good thing: evil is present with him: and though after the inward man with whom he now identifies himself, he delights in the law of God, he finds himself in helpless captivity to the law of sin which is in his members. He can only cry, "O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me out of this body of death?" He wants to be freed from all that he is linked with as a child of Adam. Thank God! through Jesus Christ our Lord such a deliverance is possible, and the believer may enjoy it.

The seventh chapter of Romans gives us an outline of the experience of one born anew who is finding out under law the terrible consequences of being linked with Adam. The eighth chapter is the unfolding of Christian liberty, enjoyed by one who knows what it is to be "in Christ Jesus", and who has been made free from "the law of sin and death" by "the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus". It is not my intention to enter into the large and blessed subject of deliverance, which is a subject in advance of my

present theme, but to point out that in the death of Christ the root has been dealt with as well as the fruit. "Our old man has been crucified with him". (Romans 6:6) It is of immense importance for every Christian to know that "our old man" has been fully judged and ended before God. NOT CHANGED OR FORGIVEN, BUT UTTERLY CONDEMNED IN THE DEATH OF CHRIST. "God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh", Romans 8:3. Where sin brought us, love brought Christ -- even to death; and His death is the end before God of all that we were as children of Adam -- men in the flesh.

Then, on the other hand, we learn that the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. We have life in One who is risen from the dead. We did belong to the race of which Adam was head; but the death of Christ is, in God's reckoning, the termination of our history in that character. We now belong to a race the Head of which is Christ risen. We have been transferred by divine grace from Adam to Christ.

Oh! believer, let these marvellous truths enter the depths of thy soul! Why, if Christ bore my sins; if the judgment which those sins deserved fell upon Him; if I, as a child of Adam and a man in the flesh, died with Christ; there never can by any possibility be any judgment for me. Everything about me that should be judged -- my sins and the evil nature that committed them -- has been judged, once for all, at the cross. Christ went down under divine judgment and into death; was buried; and has come up again in resurrection; and just as the children of Israel saw the Egyptians all dead on the shore of the Red Sea, I can see at the cross A PERFECT CLEARANCE before God of everything that could bring judgment upon me.

"We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ", but this, for the believer, is for manifestation and to receive reward, not for condemnation. Everything

in our history will come out there, but this will enhance the sense of the value of Christ's work in our hearts. As we sing --

Then, Lord, shall I fully know --
Not till then -- how much I owe.

The following scriptures prove that there will be no condemnation for the believer: John 3:18; John 5:24; Romans 8:33, 34; 1 John 4:17.

Christ has risen in triumph from the grave. He is for ever beyond death and judgment, and He is the life of every believer. By faith we see that blessed One raised, ascended, glory-crowned, and seated on the very throne which He has vindicated with His blood, and while we gaze on Him with wondering and adoring eyes, the Holy Spirit speaks to our souls, saying, "AS HE IS, SO ARE WE IN THIS WORLD", 1 John 4:17. Not only has Christ taken our place in death and judgment, but we have Him as our life, and His place of acceptance and favour before God is ours. We are "accepted in the Beloved", Ephesians 1:6.

Once we stood in condemnation,
Waiting thus the sinner's doom,
Christ in death has wrought salvation,
God has raised Him from the tomb.

Now we see in Christ's acceptance
But the measure of our own;
Him who lay beneath our sentence,
Seated high upon the throne.

THE ADVOCACY OF CHRIST

It is often asked, But what about sins committed after conversion? How are they dealt with? That this is a very important question no believer would deny, for "if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us", 1 John 1:8; and practically "in many things we offend", James 3:2. At the same time we must remember that there is no

excuse for a Christian when he sins, for we read, "Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh", Galatians 5:16. It is our privilege and responsibility to walk in the Spirit, and if we always did so we should not sin.

In the first place let me recall the fact -- so clearly and fully presented in Scripture -- that there is but ONE efficacious sacrifice for sins. The Spirit of God draws a pointed contrast between the oft-repeated "sacrifices which can never take away sins", and the "one sacrifice for sins" offered by Christ; and He asserts plainly that by God's will "we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ ONCE", and that "by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified", Hebrews 10:10 - 14. The Son of God has by Himself purged our sins, Hebrews 1:3. The work was accomplished centuries before the sins were committed, and in due time, when we believed the gospel, its efficacy was made known to us that we might have purged consciences, and be assured that God will not impute sin to us. Any repetition of the sacrifice is impossible, nor is it ever suggested in Scripture that there can be a RE-application of its cleansing virtue to our souls. On the contrary the believer is 'sanctified' -- he is set apart for God in the unchanging value of the offering of Christ and is 'perfected for ever'. He is continually before God in the efficacy of an eternal redemption. ALL his sins, whether committed before conversion or after, were borne by Jesus. If so much as one of them had not been taken into account at Calvary he must perish, for there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins.

I do not wish to lessen in any Christian's mind the sense of the evil of sin. That which cost Christ such untold agonies to put away, cannot be lightly thought of. But it is deeply important for every believer to know that if he does sin his standing in Christ remains

unchanged, his relationship with God as one of His children is not thereby broken off, and he is not put back to the position which he occupied before he was converted.

What, then, is the consequence of a sin committed by a believer? His heart condemns him; his communion as a child with God is interrupted; and, consequently, he loses his spiritual joy; but he is still a child, though a naughty child. What he needs is to have his communion and joy restored, and for this there is a provision made, as we read in 1 John 2:1, 2, "And if any man sin, WE HAVE AN ADVOCATE with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: and he is the propitiation for our sins". The One who has made full atonement for our sins on the cross is now our Advocate with the Father. The believer's sin requires, and calls into exercise, this gracious activity of divine love. Nor does our blessed Advocate delay His service until we repent and judge ourselves; His advocacy is rather the secret producing cause of every movement in our souls towards restoration. Consequent upon His advocacy up there, the Holy Spirit down here makes us feel the sorrow and shame of the sins we have committed, and we 'judge ourselves'. Then "if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness", 1 John 1:9. It is not a question of putting sin away before God -- that was settled at the cross; but a Father forgiving a child, and communion being restored.

THE GIFT OF THE SPIRIT

I shall be thankful if this paragraph -- brief as it is -- awakens interest and exercise in my Christian reader, and especially if the scriptures referred to are consulted and prayerfully considered. It is a great and precious fact that the Holy Spirit -- one of the Persons in the

ever-blessed Trinity -- is now on earth, residing in the hearts of God's children, and constituting their bodies His temple! Before such a thing could be, redemption had to be accomplished and Jesus glorified, John 7:39. It is consequent upon the death, resurrection, and glorification of Jesus, that the Holy Spirit has come, and now dwells in all those who have believed in the Lord Jesus for the remission of sins, Acts 10:43 - 45; it is they that believe on Him who receive the Spirit, John 7:39; Acts 15:7, 8; Galatians 3:2, 14; Ephesians 1:12 - 14. Because we are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba, Father", Galatians 4:6; Romans 8:15; He sheds God's love abroad in our hearts, Romans 5:5; He makes our bodies His temple, 1 Corinthians 6:19; He abides with us for ever, sealing us unto the day of redemption, John 14:16; Ephesians 4:30. He testifies of Christ, John 15:26; He convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment, John 16:8 - 11; He makes intercession for us, Romans 8:26; and He is the earnest of glory, 2 Corinthians 1:21, 22; 2 Corinthians 5:5; Ephesians 1:12 - 14.

Then, further, He forms all believers on earth into one body, 1 Corinthians 12:12,13; for "there is one body, and one Spirit", Ephesians 4:4. The church is the body of Christ. "We are members of his body", Ephesians 5:30. Christ has been rejected from the earth and is no longer here personally, but His body is here to display in the power of the Spirit all His graces and moral perfections. It is evident that when this truth is apprehended it must operate powerfully to deliver Christians from sectarianism. Many sects and denominations have arisen, and every sect has its own membership distinct from the membership of every other sect. Thus divisions, so strongly condemned by the Holy Spirit in 1 Corinthians 1:10; 1 Corinthians 3:4, are perpetuated in the church of God, and the true character of the church as the body of Christ is

practically denied. Many Christians have felt this so deeply that they have been constrained to act upon the instructions given in 2 Timothy 2:19 - 22, and separate themselves from all sectarian bodies, refusing to take any name or to assume any position but such as in Scripture are common to all the children of God. Gathered simply in the Lord's name, they have found His presence with them, according to His word, Matthew 18:20, and they have been greatly blessed as they have sought to continue "in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers", Acts 2:42.

THE COMING OF THE LORD

There can be no doubt that this is a subject which has attracted much attention in recent years. It is a theme which ought, surely, to excite the deepest interest of every heart that loves the Lord Jesus Christ. I dare say that very many of the children of God who will read this little paper are expecting to end their pilgrimage on earth by death, but I hope to show from the plain testimony of Scripture that

to a believer: on the contrary, no believer on the Lord Jesus Christ ought to expect to die. The proper object of a Christian's hope is not death, but the coming of the Lord.

Many believe and teach that the Lord Jesus comes at the death of the Christian, and they quote such scriptures as "Be ye therefore ready also; for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not", in reference to death. To look at one or two scriptures will prove in the clearest possible manner that death and the Lord's coming are entirely different events.

John 21:20 to 23. The Lord had been pleased to signify to Peter the manner of his

death. Peter turns, and seeing John, says to Jesus, "Lord, and what shall this man do?" The Lord replies, "If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?" Now, if we suppose that the Lord's coming takes place at death, we not only rob these words of all meaning, but make them positively ridiculous. If death and the Lord's coming are the same thing, these words simply mean, "If I will that he lives till he dies, what is that to thee?" It is evident there is no sense in such a statement.

Then we have the clearest possible proof that the disciples who heard these words did not think that death was what the Lord meant when He spoke of His coming, for immediately they began to say that John was not going to die; though, as we are told here, Jesus did not say that he should not die, but "IF I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?" The Lord Jesus suggested that it was possible that he might tarry until the coming, but did not say that he would do so.

1 Thessalonians 4:15. The apostle, writing by the Holy Spirit, penned these words: "We which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord". Is it possible that he meant "we which are alive until the time of our death?" Certainly not: no one could suppose such a thing. It is clear then that the Lord's coming is not the same thing as the death of the believer.

Read John 14:1 - 3. Surely the blessed Lord meant these words to be precious to the hearts of His disciples. From an earthly point of view their circumstances and prospects were of the most dark and gloomy character. The priests and the people were all against them. Satan had entered into Judas, who was at the very moment bargaining with the

chief priests for the betrayal of his Lord. Dark clouds of satanic enmity and human wickedness were gathering round the heaven-sent Saviour. Men and devils had joined hands in a hideous conspiracy against the Lord of life and glory. He had gathered His disciples round Him for the last time to tell them He was about to leave them. It was in the darkest, blackest hour that ever came upon the disciples of Christ, in the moment of their deepest sorrow, that He said to them in all the tenderness of His loving heart: "Let not your heart be troubled .. . I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I WILL COME AGAIN, and receive you unto myself".

Dear fellow believer, our whole position as Christians hinges upon those words "IF I GO". Put yourself, if you can, in the place of Peter or John as they hear these words. They were Jews with Jewish hopes of earthly blessing, and they had been following the Lord Jesus for three years and a half with the expectation that He would soon take His throne as the Messiah and set everything right on earth. And now He speaks of going away without having effected any improvement on earth at all. Nay: He was going away as a despised and rejected Man, by a death of untold ignominy and shame. How rudely must every cherished hope have been shattered! All earthly expectations must have been blown to the winds!

But listen! He speaks of a new place! "In MY FATHER'S HOUSE are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I GO TO PREPARE A PLACE FOR YOU". Do you not see, my fellow believer, how our blessed Lord by these words transfers the interests and the hopes of His own from the earth to the Father's house? I press this upon your attention because there are teachers of very evil doctrines who beguile unstable souls by speaking of the Lord's

coming, but you will find that such people almost always speak of it as connected with events on earth. I wish you to see that the hope of the Lord's coming for the church is

The Lord Jesus Christ who died for us on the cross, and whose blood cleanseth us from all sin, is now glorified in heaven. His work on the cross was of such wondrous atoning value that repentance and remission of sins are now preached in His name to all nations. Yea, Scripture declares that by Him all that believe are justified from all things, and that such are perfected for ever by His one offering. Now made new creatures in Christ Jesus we can give thanks unto the Father which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. Yes! the precious work of Christ makes every believer in Jesus ready for the Father's house, and now the presence of our glorified Saviour yonder prepares the Father's house for our reception. We have a hope laid up for us in heaven, Colossians 1:5, and it is from thence that "we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ", Philippians 3:20.

The earth-rejected Saviour is honoured and glorified IN HEAVEN, and it is not our business to improve the state of things on earth, but as the apostle says, "If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God", setting our mind on things above, not on things on the earth, Colossians 3:1, 2. The Lord Jesus has gone from this earth, where He had but a cross and a grave, into the heavenly blessedness of the Father's house. With what heavenly meaning then do these words fall upon our ears: "IF I GO AND PREPARE A PLACE FOR YOU, I WILL COME AGAIN, AND RECEIVE YOU UNTO MYSELF: THAT WHERE I AM, THERE YE MAY BE ALSO".

Read Mark 13:32 - 37. There are other parables in Matthew and Luke whose teaching is similar to this one. In all of them there are servants waiting for the return of their master, and exhorted to watch because the moment of his arrival is uncertain. There are two events to which these parables are commonly applied. Some teach that they refer to the coming of Christ at the end of the world. They cannot mean this, because as all Christians agree, according to Scripture, there is to be a millennium -- a thousand year's of peace and blessing -- before the end of the world, and how can you tell a man to 'watch' for an event which he knows to be a thousand years off?

Then another and more usual explanation of these parables is that they refer to death. I have already given scriptural proof that the Lord's coming is not death. Moreover, in all these parables the coming of Christ is spoken of as being at an unknown and unexpected time. Now this is not usually the case with death, which in the vast majority of cases gives full warning of its approach.

It is clear that these parables neither refer to the end of the world nor to the hour of death. Their application is to the coming of the Lord. Christ tells us most distinctly here that no man knoweth the day or the hour. If these servants had known that the master was not coming until morning, they would have gone to sleep, but he desired them to watch till he came, and therefore he did not tell them the hour he was coming. The Lord has not told us when He is coming, that we may watch for Him always. If it had been recorded that the Lord was not coming for nineteen hundred years, it would have robbed the early Christians, and all past generations of believers, of that 'blessed hope' which had such a prominent place in the teaching of the apostles,

and was such a cherished part of the faith which believers held in those early days.

Much discredit to the truth has been brought about by the vain imaginings of men who have pretended to discover from prophecy the exact date of the Lord's return. One simple scripture is sufficient to disclose the unspiritual character of their pretensions. You will always find that these men fix dates more or less distant from the present moment. If they say the Lord is coming in ten years, or one year, or next week, it is saying in substance, "My Lord delayeth his coming", and that is the utterance of the wicked servant. Luke 12:45. The Lord's coming may take place AT ANY MOMENT, and He expects every believer to be waiting and watching for Him.

But has not

before Christ comes?

In 2 Timothy 3 we have a prophetic description of the professing church in the "last days". Do we read anything there about a triumphant gospel, and a converted world? On the contrary, we find there a picture of evil which is almost identical with that which the Spirit of God has given us of the heathen world before Christianity came in it. Compare with Romans 1:29 - 32.

Be not deceived; the future of the professing church is summed up in one dark word -- APOSTASY. Soon Jesus will come and receive every saved soul, every true believer, to Himself. He will then completely disown the great mass of empty profession which will be left behind, spewing it out of His mouth, Revelation 3:16. The professing church, deprived of every living member of Christ's body will continue its history on earth as Babylon, whose haughty pride and whose fearful doom are so vividly described in Revelation 17 and 18.

Believe me, I speak the truth in Christ. There is not one prophecy to be fulfilled before Christ may come. His coming is our present hope.

But does it not say plainly that it is

Read the scripture, Hebrews 9:26 - 28. Speaking of Christ's one offering, it says, "Now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself; and as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: so Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation".

It is in the order of nature that men should die, but why is this stated here? Simply to bring out the fact that Christ has taken man's place and endured the death and judgment which man and his sins deserved. The believer sees the judgment of his sins at Calvary, by faith reckons Christ's death as his own, and has eternal life in the risen, glorified Son of God. Read John 5:24, where the word translated "condemnation" is the same as is here in Hebrews 9:27, translated "judgment", and tell me if your deliverance from death and judgment could be more complete. Everlasting glory be to God and to the Lamb!

If the Lord should tarry we may fall asleep, but "we shall not all sleep". If the Lord comes this hour "we shall all be changed in a moment", and have our vile bodies fashioned like unto His glorious body without dying at all.

I might quote many scriptures to show how real the hope of the Lord's return was to

The defrauded labourer, suffering injustice, was exhorted to "be patient .. . unto the coming of the Lord", and was comforted by being told that "the

coming of the Lord draweth nigh", James 5:7, 8. The saints at Corinth were "waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ", 1 Corinthians 1:7. The believers at Thessalonica had been converted "to God from idols, to serve the living and true God and to wait for his Son from heaven", 1 Thessalonians 1:9, 10. The Lord's coming was not to them a vague, visionary idea, of little or no importance, as it is alas! to many believers nowadays. It was the object of their fondest hopes, a source of deepest joy. Are you, my fellow believers, imitating their example? The Lord is coming. We are drawing near the glorious and happy termination of our wilderness journey. BEHOLD THE BRIDEGROOM COMETH.

HOW WILL THE LORD COME?

Read 1 Corinthians 15:51 - 54; 1 Thessalonians 4:13 - 18. Study these scriptures prayerfully. They are so clear and explicit as to require no expounding. Some of the believers at Thessalonica had died. The others were sorrowing because they were afraid that those who had died would miss the Lord's coming. Paul writes to comfort them by assuring them that the believers who had died would have part in it as much as those who were alive when He came. The spirits of all departed believers are with Christ in the paradise of God, though their bodies are still here in the grave. When the Lord comes the very first thing that will take place will be the raising of "the dead in Christ". That which was sown in weakness, and dishonour, and corruption, will be raised in power and glory, and invested with the splendour of immortality. As it is said in 1 Corinthians 15"It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body". THEN WE which are alive, upon whom death has not laid

its hand, we who have not descended to the grave, shall be changed and "caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord".

"Dead and living, rising, changing,
In the twinkling of an eye
Shall be caught up altogether,
For the meeting in the air;
With a shout the Lord, descending,
Shall Himself await us there.
Oh! what joy that great foregathering!
Trysted meeting in the air;
Sweet to know He's coming for us,
Calling us to join Him there".

That assembling shout may be heard today. Oh! what a soul-transporting thought it is, that in the twinkling of an eye we may be

with the One who loves us and who gave Himself for us! The last message that has come down from the glorified Saviour is a thrice repeated declaration, "Behold, I come quickly". "Behold, I come quickly". "SURELY I COME QUICKLY", Revelation 22:7, 12, 20. Are you ready to look up now, and say with the beloved John -- "Even so, COME, LORD JESUS"?

Let me now call attention to

of the Lord's coming. Scripture plainly indicates that there are two events -- two acts, as it were -- in the Lord's coming, and if we confound these two events we shall come to wrong conclusions. We gather from Scripture that Christ will come

We have seen that the Lord Jesus is coming again to receive His own to Himself, that where He is they

may be also. This is the true scriptural hope of the church. But there is another event which has a very prominent place in the Holy Scriptures, and that is the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ in great power and glory to judge and reign over the earth. It is this last event which is the grand theme of prophecy throughout Scripture. The great mistake which the Jews made, and in which, as a nation, they are still involved, was that they were so occupied with the scriptures which spoke of Christ coming in glory and power, they overlooked those which spoke of His humiliation and suffering. They lost sight of the fact that Christ was coming in humiliation to suffer, just as Christians now are in danger of losing sight of the fact that HE IS COMING IN GLORY TO REIGN.

Yet all the prophets testify that the Lord is coming to judge the nations, and to rule the earth in righteousness. They speak largely of a time of future blessing for Israel and the whole world: a time when the knowledge of the Lord shall cover the earth as the waters cover the sea: a time when swords shall be beaten into ploughshares, and the nations shall not learn war any more. How are all these things to come about?

At this point I must warn you against a common mistake. Many Christians fail to see the difference between Israel and the church, and they apply to the church Old Testament promises and prophecies which belong exclusively to Israel. The Old Testament is the record of God's past and future dealings with people on earth, and of those dealings Israel is the centre⁺. All the prophecies concerning Israel's

⁺In the Old Testament there is not a line about the Church of God. The church is composed of Jews and Gentiles, formed into one body, and united to Christ in glory by the Holy Spirit. It is thus a complete contrast to everything we read of before. In the Old Testament the Jews were most rigidly separated from the Gentiles, so much so that even in the lifetime of our Lord He commanded His disciples to go not into the way of the Gentiles, and to enter not into any city of the Samaritans. At Pentecost an entirely new thing began. The gospel goes out to every creature, and those who believe, Jews and Gentiles, are united in one body by the Holy Spirit. This is " the mystery which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God." Read the epistle to the Ephesians.

future glory will yet be fulfilled. On account of idolatry and unbelief, and finally because of the rejection of Christ, Israel has been set aside for the present.

"She fell, and her crown of glory
Was struck from her rebel brow,
And with feet all wounded and gory,
She wanders in exile now".

But the day is coming when Israel will be brought from exile, and from wandering, to that promised land where the glory of God shall be her light, and the presence of the Lord her everlasting joy. See Isaiah 11:11 - 16; Jeremiah 16:14, 15; Ezekiel 20:40 - 44; Isaiah 60; etc., etc. The prophetic period of future happiness and peace on earth, commonly spoken of as the millennium, is always connected with the restoration of Judah and Israel to their own land.

This present period of grace in which we live is a gap in God's dealings with Israel. He has laid them aside "until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in", Romans 11:25. God is not now dealing with Israel as a nation: He is gathering out a bride for Christ -- the church -- from among both Jews and Gentiles. But when the church is complete and caught up to meet the Lord, God will resume His dealings with Israel. A number of Jews will be convicted of their sins; and will repent deeply of their individual and national wickedness. They will be brought to acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah, and they will look out for Him to come as their Deliverer and King. They will have to pass through the great tribulation spoken of in Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21, and will

look out for the signs which are there spoken of as preceding the coming of Christ in power and glory.

Many students of prophecy have not distinguished the two parts of the Lord's coming, and have supposed that these things are to happen before He comes for the church. It is an utter mistake for Christians to

Before this time of signs, wonders, earthquakes, and tribulation begins, the church will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air, and will be happy in His presence during the time of all these terrible disasters and calamities on earth. His own word to the church is, "Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth", Revelation 3:10.

The period of great tribulation is described in Revelation 6 - 18. To read those chapters is enough to make the heart quake: what will it be to go through the terrible realities which are there so vividly described? But where is the church during that fearful time?

She is seen on earth up to the end of Revelation 3, but in chapters 4 and 5 she appears in heaven under the figure of four-and-twenty crowned elders round about the throne. God has taken pains to let us see that the church will be complete and in glory before a seal is opened, a trumpet sounded, or a vial poured out.

Then AFTER that great tribulation shall all the tribes of the earth see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory, Matthew 24:29, 30. Then shall the Lord Jesus Christ be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 Thessalonians 1:8. This is the event proclaimed in Revelation 1:7.

"Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him; and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him".

How this solemn Second Advent of our Lord introduces

THE MILLENNIUM

you will see clearly by reading Revelation 19:11 to Revelation 20:6, and at the same time you will find proof that before the Lord comes thus publicly, He will have taken us from the earth. For before He comes forth in this majestic character, the marriage of the Lamb takes place in heaven. The church -- as the bride, the Lamb's wife -- is in heaven before the public advent of the Lord. Then we are told that the armies which were in heaven followed Him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. This is the attire of the bride, and is thus explained in verse 8: "the fine linen is the righteousness of saints". This entirely agrees with Colossians 3:4, "When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory". The moment that Christ is manifested in glory to the world we shall be manifested with Him.

Then after the warrior judgment of Revelation 19:15 - 21, will take place the sessional judgment of those then living upon the earth, described in Matthew 25:31 - 46.

In order to understand this scene it is necessary to recite briefly the events which will take place after the church is taken out of the world. As soon as the church is caught up, God will resume His dealings with His ancient and earthly people -- the Jews. They will be convinced of the fact that the despised and rejected Nazarene was indeed the Messiah of the prophetic word, and a number of them will repent deeply of their individual and national rejection of Him. They will learn from the Scriptures that Christ, who

has once been to suffer, is coming again to reign. Then this remnant of repentant Jews will go forth to the benighted millions of heathendom preaching the gospel of the coming kingdom. Christendom -- those nations and people by whom the grace of God has been rejected -- will be given up to strong delusion (Spiritualism, etc.), that they may all be damned because they received not the truth in the love of it, 2 Thessalonians 2:10 - 12. But to the countless millions who have never heard the gospel of the grace of God, the gospel of the kingdom will be carried; the same gospel which John the baptist preached -- "Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand". All the heathen nations will hear this gospel of the kingdom in the interval between the rapture of the church and the appearing of Christ to judge and reign over the earth. And then when He comes, as Matthew 25 tells us, all the nations will be gathered before Him, and their weal or woe will depend on how they have received these Jewish evangelists of the kingdom, whom the Lord calls "my brethren", as indeed they were and are, after the flesh. Those who have received their testimony and befriended them will be called to inherit the glory of that earthly kingdom which God has had in prospect from the foundation of the world. Those nations and people who had refused the message, and would not receive the messengers, will then be consigned to everlasting fire. From Joel 3 we learn that this judgment will take place in the valley of Jehoshaphat, and Zechariah 14 informs us that the Lord will stand upon the mount of Olives, and the mount will open out until a very great valley shall be formed, and there He will plead with the nations. Many important details are necessarily omitted from this brief sketch, but those who wish to enquire more fully into these subjects may do so to profit.

The whole earth will be purged by judgment, and thus prepared for the millennium. When the judgments

of God are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness, Isaiah 26:9. The ten tribes of Israel, long lost, will be found and brought back to Canaan by the Lord, according to Jeremiah 16:14; Jeremiah 23:5 - 8. "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely; and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that they shall no more say, The Lord liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; but, The Lord liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land".

Satan will be bound and cast into the bottomless pit for a thousand years, Revelation 20:1 - 3. The obstinately wicked will be cut off, and the remainder will humble themselves before Christ and own Him as King. Then the wondrous prophecy of Isaiah 11 will have its fulfilment. The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.... They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. Then there shall be peace on earth, for the Lord shall judge among the nations, and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more, Isaiah 2:2 - 4.

In that happy time, all kings shall fall down before the King of kings; all nations shall serve Him. He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from

the river unto the ends of the earth, and the whole earth will be filled with His glory. He will reign in glory where He died in shame.

And, remember, He will not reign alone. We shall

If we suffer, we shall also reign with Him, 2 Timothy 2:12. We shall reign over the earth, Revelation 5:10. "They lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years", Revelation 20:4 - 6. Thus shall we be to the praise of His glory in the dispensation of the fulness of times, when all the counsels and purposes of God the Father, carried into effect by the Son on the ground of redemption, will be displayed in the millennial "age to come".

Then when the thousand years are expired, Satan will be loosed out of his prison, and permitted to go forth for a short season in the world, Revelation 20:7. He will deceive many. A number even as the sand by the sea-shore will prefer the leadership of Satan to the rule of Christ, just as men are doing now. He will gather them together to fight against the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but it will be to their own destruction. The fire of God will come down upon them and devour them, Revelation 20:9, and then will come

THE END OF THE WORLD.

The great white throne will be set up, the wicked, unconverted dead will be raised. The sea -- that great cemetery -- will give up its dead; and death and hell will yield up their prisoners to stand at the bar of the last grand assize. Those who have been for ages awaiting their final sentence, bound hand and foot in outer darkness, will be brought forth to hear the words of doom which will appoint their everlasting portion in the fiery depths of the burning lake. "The heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the

elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up", 2 Peter 3:10.

Then in Revelation 21 we read of a

into which the new Jerusalem, the glorified church, will descend. No trace of sin will ever be found in that new creation: righteousness will dwell there, and God will be all in all. In the past eternity the wisdom of God rejoiced, by anticipation, in the habitable part of the earth, and found its delights with the sons of men, Proverbs 8:31. In the coming eternity this will have its complete fulfilment in a scene where everything is based upon redemption, and where no failure can ever come. "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away", Revelation 21:3, 4.

Christians, this is our destiny. To be part of the display of the glory of God, and this in the blissful company of Him who loved us and gave Himself for us, and to whom we owe everything, FOR EVER AND EVER.