IN CHRIST.

IN Christ Jesus! As the simple voice of faith this word is ever uttered with joy unspeakable and full of glory. But preacher or commentator who may attempt to sound the depths, or open the treasures of its meaning, must feel his tongue falter under the sense of the inadequacy of every explaining word. Let us, however, at least assert the reality of the fact which it expresses, for it is no symbolical form of speech, but the statement of a fact as real in regard to the spirit, as the fact of our being in the world is real in regard to the body.

How does the vivid consciousness of this reality glow in the pages which are before us now! Christ has been manifested, preached, received, and what is the state which has ensued as exhibited in the consciousness of those who have received Him? They are not merely professors of His name, learners of His doctrine, followers of His example, sharers in His gifts. I may go further. They are not merely men ransomed by His death, or destined for His glory. These are all external kinds of connection, in which our separate life is related to His life only as one man's life may be related to another's by the effect of what he teaches, of what he gives, and of what he does. But it is assumed in the Epistles that believers in Jesus are no longer living a life that is only external, and, as it were, parallel to His life. They are in Christ Jesus, and He also is in them. At the close of His manifestations He foretold a state of consciousness which His disciples had not attained while He was with them in the flesh, but which would be enjoyed by them under the succeeding dispensation" At that day ye shall know that I am in My Father, and ye in Me, and I in you." The language of the Epistles is the echo of this promise. It is the voice of those who have entered on the predicted knowledge, and who view all subjects in the light of it. They know that Christ is in the Father, and the Father in Him. Their living words of argument, or exhortation, or high prophetic testimony, express the same knowledge of this Divine mystery, which an after age (the better to secure it to the Church for ever) embodied in abstract statements and careful definitions of doctrine. They see in this mystery the life of all other truths. "The Father in the Son" constitutes the virtue of the work of Christ on earth. "The Son in the Father" constitutes the power of the mediation of Christ in

heaven. "God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself." "With Christ in God”—the Christian's present life is hid. All that Christ does and is in relation to man derives its virtue from the ineffable union of the Father with the Son, and the Son with the Father.

Furthermore, these writers know that believers are in Christ and Christ in them, and show that knowledge, not only by frequent assertions and a universal supposition of a close and vital union between the members and the Head, but by a full development of both the aspects of this union which the words of the Lord present.

Believers are in Christ, so as to be partakers in all that He does, and has, and is. They died with Him, and rose with Him, and live with Him, and in Him are seated in heavenly places. When the eye of God looks on them they are found in Christ, and there is no condemnation to those that are in Him, and they are righteous in His righteousness, and loved with the love which rests on Him, and are sons of God in His sonship, and heirs with Him of His inheritance, and are soon to be glorified with Him in His glory. And this standing which they have in Christ, and the present and future portion which it secures, are contemplated in eternal councils, and predestined before the foundation of the world.

As the sense of this fact breathes in every page, so also does the sense of the correlative fact, that Christ is in those who believe: associating His own presence with their whole inward and outward life. They know that Jesus Christ is in them, except they be reprobates (rejected ones). They live, yet not they, but Christ liveth in them, and this is their strength and their song. This indwelling of Christ is by the Holy Ghost, so that the same passages speak interchangeably of the Spirit being in us, and of Christ being in us; or of the Holy Ghost being in us, and our members being the members of Christ; and so this word, "I in you," includes the whole life of the Spirit in man, with all its discoveries, impulses, and achievements, its victory over the world, its conversation in heaven, and earnest of the final inheritance.

Thus, through the different but intertwined relations represented by the words, "Ye in me, and I in you," human life is constituted a life in Christ ; and, through the still higher mystery of the union of the Father and the Son, is thereby revealed as a

THE opening note of this part of the hymn is praise for answered prayer. That is the next subject of thanksgiving.

"Full of love am I that the Lord hath heard my voice" is the translation given by Dr. Kay. The subject of thanksgiving here is mainly deliverance from sickness, probably the sickness unto death. Hence the suggestion that it was written by Hezekiah. This may have been so, but it is Messianic, and has reference to our Lord in the Garden, and the temptations which beset Him there. He did die, but yet He was delivered. It was not possible that death could have dominion over Him (Acts ii. 24). Nor, indeed, can death have dominion over any who trust Him. He is the Resurrection and the Life (John xi. 25), Those who believe in Him never die (John xi. 26). They sleep in Jesus (1 Thess. iv. 14). He has the keys of Hades and of death (Rev. i. 18).

The " sorrows " and "pains" are only of passing moment. "The cords of death" may coil around us, "the straits of Hades" may hem us in, anguish and woe may overtake us, nevertheless deliverance is at hand. His anguish was infinite in character, though short in duration; ours may seem to spread over a longer time, but it is limited in power. Moreover, the Great Burden Bearer is near, and, like the refiner and purifier of the precious metals, He sees to it that nothing escapes but the dross. The pure gold is safe. "Many are the troubles of the righteous, but the Lord delivereth him out of them all. He keepeth all his bones, not one of them is broken" (Ps. xxxiv. 20). The prayer, "O Lord, I

beseech Thee deliver my soul," is immediately answered. "Gracious is the Lord, and righteous " (verses 4, 5). But how answered? To Faith. As it was to the Master so it is to the servant. To Him the deliverance tarried, but Faith grasped it it once. "The cup which My Father hath given Me to drink, shall I not drink it?" (John xviii. 11) was the triumphant cry of victory. So with the servant. "Neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy" says Paul (Acts xx. 24). He speaks of being "Joyful in tribulation" (2 Cor. vii. 4), "glorying in tribulations" (Rom. v. 3), and that it is only "through much tribulation that we must enter into the kingof God" (Acts xiv. 22).

Believer, when difficulty perplexes, trouble oppresses, and sorrow threatens to overwhelm you— then cry to the Lord: "I must be delivered." He loves that seemingly bold demand, for He knows it comes from a heart that has discovered that in Him only is deliverance; and though deliverance seem to tarry, it will come. The moment this is believed there is rest, and the thanksgiving breaks out, "Return, my soul, unto thy rest, for the Lord HATH dealt bountifully with thee" (ver. 7).

With the praise comes the returning light. "I shall walk before the Lord in the land of the living" (ver. 9).

The tendency of temptation and suffering is towards unbelief. "I was deeply afflicted; I said, All that is man deceives" (ver. 11) (Kay). But the heart, bounding with the sense of deliverance, and in brokenness of spirit, in godly sorrow, in what the Apostle calls indignation, revenge upon itself (2 Cor. vii. 3), breaks out, 66 What return shall I make unto the Lord for all His bounteous deeds to me?" (ver. 12). The answer is threefold: 1. "I will take the cup of salvation, and call on the name of the Lord (ver. 13).

Is the reference here primarily to the great act of thanksgiving and praise in the Lord's Supper? It would seem so. That had just been instituted. It was to be a perpetual memorial of God's love; of the sacrifice of Christ, and of the hope of His return (1 Cor. xi. 26). Let not the abuses, the blunderings, the false teachings, which have obscured the meaning of that grand institution cause anyone to think lightly of it. It still points backwards to the Cross, with all its sufferings, and all its rich provisions. It tells of fellowship with the

Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; and with the whole Family in heaven and in earth. It points forward to the day of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb (Matt. xxvi. 29). May it be suggested that in addition to the communion with the Lord in praise and thanksgiving for which it provides so precious an opportunity, it also offers time for intercessory prayer on behalf of others- public, social, and private. The "calling upon the name of the Lord" is not only for ourselves, but for others. . . . Do we not lose much by forgetting to pray for others? Job's captivity to self, sorrow, and suffering was not turned till he had prayed for his friends -foolish, and censorious, and misjudging as those friends were (Job xlii. 10).

2. "My vows will I fulfil unto the Lord" (vers. 14, 18. What were these vows? Are they indicated by what follows? "Precious is the death of His saints," and, "Thou hast loosed my bonds." I will testify to these two things-Death is no more an enemy but a friend. If precious in the sight of the Lord, then I am precious. Blessed fact, testified to by the death of the Precious One, who stands ever at the dividing line which separates faith from sight, and admits me to His presence; for the door cannot be opened but by Him (Rev. i. 18).

"Thou hast loosed my bonds." Who can fathom such a word as this? Bonds! It includes forgiveness, freedom from sin's dominion, and all the power of the enemy.

masses now in our streets and halls. Let the thoughtful, the educated, the receivers of such innumerable blessings in our Churches, take up the sound, and echo it back until we hear the chariot-wheels of the Great Deliverer, and behold Him as He is.

HENRY F. BOWKER.

Notices of Books.

Abide in Christ. (222 pp.) By A. M. (Rev. Andrew Murray, of Wellington, South Africa). London: Nisbet & Co.

We have great pleasure in drawing attention to this little book, which has so delighted Pastor Theo. Monod, both for itself and also for the cause which its sale will promote, viz., the work of the Missionary College, at Wellington, South Africa, of which its author is the head. We hope later to make extracts from its pages. Its subject is taken from the wondrous story of John xv., and is set forth with the simplicity and freshness which touches hearts. It flows with milk and honey, and in "a weary land," for the writer's life is spent in one of the "outplaces" of the harvest field. We scarcely think anyone can open the book and not get a blessing; for all through it is true testimony. The words come with the power of "a witness" who has and heard" that which he declares; it contains not only truth, but a still more precious thing-truth

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seen

the Lord, a home, and a strong tower.

3. But the sacrifice is not hidden, but public. "In the courts of the Lord's house. In the midst of thee, Jerusalem!" (ver. 19).

Is not this the testimony that God requires? In the worship of the sanctuary, and before the world. For lack of this our souls have languished, and the whole Church has suffered.

Let us rouse ourselves from this mingling of ingratitude and false humility. "Whoso offereth praise, he glorifieth Me" (Ps. 1. 23), and this praise includes the telling out what the Lord hath done for us (Ps. lxvi. 16).

but feel it. The touch of the Master is upon it, and the rich deep spirituality pervading the whole is from the Presence-chamber of the King, for it comes alone from contact with JESUS.

We believe there is a still deeper experience than that given in "Twenty-seventh Day," but as the writer almost speaks of it in the closing words of the chapter, we add nothing. New light and grander and more glorious possibilities of faith are dawning upon us all! In such a treasury as the book is we know not what to choose. We close with a thought or so culled from the "Fourth Day"

"Without the Vine the branch can do nothing, . Without the branch the Vine can do nothing. Marvel not! It is His own appointment. . . . There is more; as neither is anything without the other, so is neither anything except for the other. All the Vine possesses belongs to the brunches, . . . and all the branch posseses belongs to the Vine."

VOL. IV.

CHRIST'S LOVE-MARK OF CORREC

TION.*

1. THE first love-mark is this: Divine Love

corrects. Turn to the Gospel of St. Mark, 10th chapter and 21st verse, and we find the first person of whom it is written that "Jesus loved" him. We read at the 17th verse, that when Jesus had gone forth into the highway, there came one running and kneeling before him, who said, "Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?" Jesus answering him, said, "Why callest thou Me good? there is none good but one, that is, God." As much as to say, If you do not believe Me to be the Son of God, how can you call Me good? How closely do these words apply to many writers and thinkers in our day, who speak flattering words of our Lord Jesus, but will on no account allow Him to be equal with God! Jesus then proceeds to answer his question: "Thou knowest the commandments." The young man replies with alacrity: "Master, all these have I observed from my youth. Then Jesus beholding him, loved him" ["looking upon him intently, loved him" (Greek)].

What was it that so attracted Jesus? We know that he was a young man of birth and influence; but it must have been his character, his obedience to the law of God, and his zeal after righteousness amid all the glow of youth and wealth, that so arrested the gaze of Jesus. His zeal was great evidently, for he ran and knelt at the feet of Jesus in the open highway, and was not ashamed to do so before all his

From Christ's Love-Marks. New Year's Address, by the Rev. C. A. Fox. (See "Notices of Books.")

[No. 48.

friends and neighbours, who would recognise him at once.

He craved to know, therefore he knelt; he knelt to know-he was right. Kneeling is the best way of knowing, the only way to know spiritual truth. The Lord admired his great earnestness and integrity; for these two things always must attract Jesus-obedience as far as we know, and a zeal to know more. But how, then, did our Lord deal with him? Here was youth, station, wealth, zeal, and high integrity. all kneeling at the feet of Jesus unabashed in the open high road, though now crowded with Passover pilgrims. How natural to have said a word of commendation and encouragement! But our Lord was too faithful for that, He longs to set him perfectly free, and so discovers to him in a single word, accompanied by that wondrous love-look, his one weak point, the single gaping joint in the harness, and this in answer to his own impulsive petition, "What lack I yet?" The young ruler had too quickly concluded that he had done all, more than enough to inherit eternal life, and freely challenges investigation: "What lack I yet?" It was all "What shall I do?" as if acceptance with God was quite within his own compass, to be attained without any impossible effort, and as if no margin was required to be left for God's unfathomable mercy. "What lack I yet?" he begs to know.

Young man, Christ seems to say just this: A full surrender of all, instead of a fine surrender of much. He who would inherit all, must reserve none. If you would truly keep the commandments, which are only love, you must

love yourself away, to Him you love; you lack yet a full, faithful, and final surrender of all. Here is the secret of your life-failure, and the only secret of blessing. "Bring ye now all the tithes into my Storehouse, Christ Jesus, and prove Me now herewith if I will not open to you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, so that there shall not be room enough to receive it." Reader, "Prove Me now." But lo! at once his countenance fell, his pursuit after holiness ceases; sad and sullenly he withdrew, and left the Saviour, because he could not leave his possessions, for he had, we read, great possessions. He little knew what much greater possessions he was leaving behind in Jesus, which he might have had then and there in addition to his own, if he had only first brought his own to Jesus-immediate peace, undying joy, and inalienable glory. But it is necessary that both hands should be empty to take these away.

And how many there are in our own day who are doing the very same thing-running with all eagerness, and kneeling with all humiliation, and crying with all importunity at the feet of Jesus, "What lack I yet?" They have done much, walked consistently, and served zealously, and they cannot understand where is the source of failure, and how it is they do not realise fulness of joy and power. They are bent on getting everything that is to be got. They are bound to have the last spiritual gift, the latest spiritual novelty-they are determined to get it: "What lack I yet?" Nay, believer, the inquiry should rather be, What does God lack yet? "They that will be rich," even in this sense, may fall into a snare through self-aggrandizement.

You want to build up a noble self, a nobler self it may be, which shall have all at any cost. But God wants Himself to have all at any cost, and must have all; and what is more, it must be brought to Him in a broken self; for there must be no reserve--nothing left clinging to the vessel-no suspicion of God, as an austere man, who will not give anything back, and therefore you must keep back something-no

feeling that He will grudge you any good thing, if you let Him see that you are entirely dependent upon Him. No; God indeed wants you to be rich, and have great possessions; but this can only be on one condition- "as having nothing, and yet possessing all things." Sit loose to all, and so lose none.

See, then, how He deals with those whom He truly loves. He puts His finger on the failing, the fault, the weakness, the idol, the sin, and this in the utmost tenderness and love. Young man, thou doest well to keep the commandments; young man, I greatly honour thy zeal and holy ambition; but, young ruler, let me remind you of this, if thou wilt have treasure in heaven, sell whatsoever thou hast. There is one idol which is a stumbling block in your heart and in your path. There is idolatry in thy poor heart. Let that go, and all is thine. And so let us deal honestly with Him to-day, whether rich or poor: let us each run and kneel, and ask, "What lack I yet?" and wait till He places His finger on the secret sin, or the allowed failing, or the idol buried out of sight, and wait on till He sets that secret thing in the sight of His countenance, and then take it back again if you dare.

One thing is quite enough to exclude the blessing. Adam's one sin let in all sin. Moses' one sin—or weakness, as we should now call it

shut out the fulness of the blessing. And it is remarkable that the Pentateuch, or Book of the Law, begins and ends with the solemn consequences of a single sin. The first expelled from Eden, and the second excluded from Canaan. "One thing thou lackest." Christ is still saying it in our ears, and gazing upon us with that look of searching, sifting, and yet alluring love. "One thing thou lackest." Shall we not say instantly, Lord, show me what it is, and there shall be none.

"THOU GAVEST ME NO KISS." CHILD! servant! thou art serving Me apart ; Draw near, and taste the sweetness of my heart; Drink from my lips the love that shall warm thine; Bring thy best gifts, and freely take of mine.