the bible standard july 1883

8/3/2019 The Bible Standard July 1883

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III E Y R EC /VEO rH EWORDWITH AL L REAf)I--JlIss OF MIND Atlf)SEARCHED TflE SCRIP--t(jRES DA ILY WH fTII[Rl7I0STIIIHCS WEflESOtHEREFORE MAHYOF THEM BEL .IVED __ il__ _ __ ::_. ACT.- JU'

No. la. Vol. VI. JULY, 1883. ONE PENNY.VISITING MEMBERS.PROPRIETORS The " Conditional ImmortalityAssociation," Home, Colonial, and Foreign.

Founded 1878.PUBLISHINGEDITOR: Cyrus E. Brooks; Office,Malvern Link, Worcestershire.LONDONAGENT: F. Southwell, 27, Ivy Lane,

E.C. MONTHLYCONTRIBUTORS:BIBLICALEXEGESIS: Rev. B. B. Wale, Malvern.SACREDSONG: Rev. G. P. Mackay, Lincoln.NOTESANDQUERIES: Gen. H. Goodwyn, Reading.FAMILYCIRCLE: Mr. J. J. Hobbs, Poole.BIBLE LETTERS: "Devon."LIFE NOTES: ADVENT NOTES: }POSTALPICKINGS: REVIEWCOLUMN: Editor.SYMPOSIUM:Various Writers .

GENERAL CONTRIBUTORS:Mr. W. Laing, Edinburgh.Col. E. Armstrong, Madras, India.C. Underhill, Esq., J.P., Oxford.W. G. Moncrieff, Esq., London, Canada.Rev. E. B. Taylor, Thames, New Zealand.M. M. Wilson, Esq., Liverpool.Rev. W. Griffith, West Croydon.John Bray, Esq., M.D., Wasbington, U.S.A.N.B.-The Editor declinesto insert criticisms upon thearticles appearing in these pages, with the exception of hisown personal contributions and the Hgymposlum."NOTICETOADVERTISERS:That such may personally judge as to thesuitability of this Paper for their purpose, westate that it circulates in the United Kingdom,Canada, Australia, New Zealand, East and WestIndies, United States, and on the Continent.Terms, on application to the Editor (enclosingcopy of advertisement), or of any of the Agentsnamed herein. No advertisement of stimulantsor drugs can be accepted. No Blocks iuserted.

AVERAGEMONTHLYISSUE 2,400 COPIES.PREPAID POSTALCHARGES:

This Paper is sent free from the PublishingOffice at following rates-

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F O R T H C O M I N G C O N F E R E N C E . Members wishing Apartments or Beds secured,at own charge, are requested to communicatewith the Local Committee, who will see to theircomfort, and make the best terms possible ontheir behalf. Address-The Conference Secretary,10, Carltom Road, Seaside, Eastbourne, Sussex.N.B.-Sufficient Beds are generously guaran-teed by the Local Committee for the use of theExecutive Committee, Speakers, and Delegates.This arrangement does not include Dinner andTea. Unless otherwise instructed by them, allMembers of the Committee, Speakers, andDelegates will be thus located. All communica-tions from. these s7wuld be addressed to theAssociation Secretaru,

THE SIXTHA N N U A L C O N F E R E N C E

Will be held (D.V.) in the

N E W H A L L , S E A S I D E - R D . ,E A S T B O U R N E , .

DELEGA.TES.NTuesday, Wednesday, and

Thursday,September 4, 5, & 6, 1883

(By invitation of the Local Committee).

All "Branch" and "Kindred Associations"and "Subscribing Churches" are invited andentitled to appoint a Delegate to the Conference.His travelling expenses (except as above provided)to be borne by the Branch or Church represented,or by the Delegate personally.It is requested that all such appointments(with name and address) be notified to theAssociation Secretary (together with any pro-posals for the consideration of the Conference)not later than Saturday, August 18th. Other-wise Beds cannot be guaranteed, nor Proposalsappear in Conference Digest.N.B.-No separate notice will besent.

@ drer of J ro .c eeO ings.10-30 a.m., each day-Meeting for Prayer.11-0 a.m., each day-Meeting for Business.Open only to Members, Delegates, InvitedGuests, and Members of the Local Com-mittee. CONFERENCE DIGEST.

A Digest of Proceedings will be privatelypublished a week before the Conference. Thiswill contain Programme of Meetings, Digest ofBusiness, and List of those attending the Con-ference-as far as notified. Posted free to alltaking part in this our Sixth Annual Conference.Afree cQPYsupplied to any Member on application.

130 p.m., each day-Dinner at the Leaf HallSeaside. (Mr. Samuel Darnell, Manager.)Charge each day, Is. 6d.

3-0 p.m., each day-Public Sermon.4-0 p.m., each day-e-Public Paper aud Dis-cussion. CONFERENCE REPORT.

On or before October 1st, the usual extranumber of the Bible Standard will (D.V.) bepublished, containing rh- Ve1'batint Repot t of theConference. Price 2d., by post 3d., or 2s. 3d.per doz., Net (carriage ext1'a) 10s. 6d. per 1UO.Early 01'de1'8m'e invited. .Such can be bookedat once.

530 p.m., each day-Tea at the above. Chargeeach day, Is.7-0 p.m., Tuesday and Wednesday-Two PublicLectu:es each Evening, each followed byQuestions. Thursday-Public Meeting forAddresses.


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122 THE BIBLE STANDARD.It is earnestly hoped that Members and Friends

in all parts of the World will make a SpecialEffort to circulate This NUl1tber,-owing to thelabour and outlay involved in its preparation,and the importance of making the Testimony ojthe Conference as widely known as possible.

CO FERENCE FUND.Our usual Annual Appeal appears in another

column (" Office Notes "). Ea1'ly Donations areearnestly and respectfully invited. Such may besent through any Member of the ExecutiveCommittee.

EASTBOU~NE HO!Eastbourne i~a pleasant, popular, and rapidly-

growing Watering Place on the coast of Sussex,about midway between Brighton and Hastings.It has a resident population of about 25,000persons. This is greatly increased by thesummer- tide of visitors during the season-July, August, and September. It is a terminalstation on the London, Briqhtoti and SouthCoast Railway, and lies 66 miles south of Lon-don. Beachy Head is within easy walkingdistance of the town, and to this noble promon-tory the place owes much of its popularity. Itforms a spur of the South Downs, and is about575 feet in height, commanding extensive viewsof land and sea. It can be approached by foot-path or carriage-road.

The drives and walks fronting the sea extendalong the whole face of the town for above twomiles, and are well laid out with tamarisk andflowering plants. Below this is the sandy beach.Eastbournites claim that their expanse of seafront is unrivalled for beauty and grandeur.

Surely we have said enough to show that ininviting the Association to hold its Sixth AnnualConference amidst such surroundings, the East-bourne Committee has laid us under deepobligations, and given us a much-prized oppor-tunity to enjoy fellowship in and bear testimonyto precious truth, whilst enjoying nature'sministry of pure air and pleasant scenes.

May we express the hope (suggested by ouresteemed Treasurer) that many of the Membersand Friends of the Association will delay theirannual holiday until the first week in September,and spend it in connection with the Conferencein "Elegant Eastbourne H.-the phrase is notours, but that of a writer in the Queen.

~ DUE SUBSCRIPTIONS,-Those Mem-bel's and Subscribers uilio receive the present

numb er in a COLOREDwrapper, will kindlyreqard. it as an intimation that their AnnualSubscriptions are now due; they will gl'eatlyoblige by foruiardinq, as early as convenient,to the SECRETARY.

COSMORAMA.W E have received a few letters objecting toour remarks on the" Affirmation Bill" inour last issue. As our Correspondents seem veryanxious that some sort of protest should appear,we make this reference tbereto. The differencebetween our friendly critics and ourselves is notgreat in point of fact. They, however, see onlya man, whilst we see only a meaSU1'e_ To themthe man looms so large that he hides the mea-sure, to us the measure looms so large that ithides the man. Our conviction is that, if passedinto law, the measure would soon relegate theman to his proper and deserved obscurity.

As, however, we do not wish (quite the con-trary) to introduce any discordant matter, or togo outside the pill'pose of our " Association," we,with this brief notice, withdraw this section fromour Columns.

CANON LIDDON ON INEVITABLEIMMORTALITY.

(A Critique upon his Sermon. in St. Paul'sCathedral, April 1, 1883.)By REV. W. GRIFFITH.

PART n.IQUIRER: I have not yet received a fullanswer to the question whether men arenaturally mortal or immortal. Canon Liddondoes not rest the doctrine on a Scriptural basisalone, nor chiefly. He says we have" knowledgeof immortality older than the Gospel," and, "pos-session of immortality," and that the truth. ofimmortality is taught us by our natural reason,at least indistinctly."Obseruer: And it has been intimated that thishigh metaphysical subject can be submitted toanalysis somewhat after the manner of physicalthings. Yea, that only by scrutinizing all theknown elements that enter into the naturalconstitution of man, and severely marking therelation that mortality or immortality, life anddeath, bear to each part, and wbat affinities andinteractions there are between the several partsthemselves,-only by taking the whole idea andcomposition of man carefully to pieces, what is" indistinct" about his immortality can be madeplain. I should like to watch and examine theprocess, and receive instruction at every stepof it.Analytic Scientist: Propositions consist ofparts. Every idea, as distinguished from a sensa-tion, can be resolved into parts: and it is by acareful inspection and comparison of the partsthat the soundness or unsoundness of the wholemust be determined. A house looked at as awhole may appear stable and strong enough: anexamination of its foundations, walls, and tim-bers may reveal rottenness and danger. So it iswith propositions and ideas.

Is man altogether mortal? Is he altogetherimmortal? Is he neither the one nor the otheraltogether, but partly one and partly the other?To speculate upon "mortal" or "immortal,"" partly" or "altogether," is but to scan thetopic at a distance and superficially. You wantto affirm or deny something of man," whichcannot be done intelligently till the meaningand content of the word is severely andaccurately ascertained. Man,-wbat do weunderstand by man? Is the bodily organiza-tion any part of man? Is life, together with allthe vital functions, a part of man? Is there athird part underlying or pervading both the bodyand the life? and if so what are the connectionand influence between the three parts? Doesthe name man include everything in the objectfor which it stands, or only some things? If itbe not absolutely comprebensive, then it is a delu-sion. We shall be conversing about an un-certain, an indefinite thing, and shall end inBabel. The first step therefore towards anyintelligent progress in our subject is to take aman thoroughly to pieces, discriminate andenumerate his parts, and subject each of themto an exhaustive examination, both as to itscomposition and its uses in the economy of thewhole man.Vel'bal Dejinitionist: I think it has beensuggested that "body" is that part of a manwhich consists of material organization, not in-cluding the vital power which organizes, repairs,and animates all its branches?Reasoner : If you confine the word body tothat part which is strictly material, excludingfrom it the idea of vital function, then in stricttruth the body cannot die. For death means thecessation or withdrawal of life. If body meansmaterial organism minus vital function, then lifeis no property of body, consequently the mater-ial organism cannot die. It can only decay likeany other material thing.

Analytic Scientist: Popularly the bodycalled mortal." We often speak of a "debody." Life and organism together makewhat is commonly understood by a man's boThis discrimination, however, of life or vitalfrom the organism which it builds, animates,utilizes, is a necessary stage in our examinatioLife is a working force; body is a materialstrument. The one is clean separable fromother, as death teaches us: therefore we nnot hesitate to keep them separate inthoughts.

Life is often spoken of as though it werebodily function, a separable quality of organismatter. But life is something more than fution, or the sum of vital functions, or we shohave the functions sustaining themselves; whwould be just as absurd as the idea of a bpoising itself upon nothing. This vitality entinto all the experiences of the entire man, bodand mental, and we had better assign itdefinite name.Verbal Dejinitionist: It has been pointedthat tbe Saviour called our natural life "soul(psyche) : and that is a very common use ofword, both in the Old Testament and the NeEven when soul means a person, the life elemerules the application.Canon Liddon: Soul" is that part in us whwills, which feels, which thinks. The sknows itself to be distinct from the body byconsciousness of being indivisibly one."Analytic Scientist: That no doubt ispopular sense of the word soul,-a "spirituapart" of our "natural outfit" which abidessame, while the body is always changing. Bby giving this name to the "spil'itual part,"stead of allowing it to remain, as our Savioput it, the proper designation for our "vitpart," the vital part drops away from suitarecognition, and we fall into cross currentsthought upon our whole subject by a misleadivocabulary. There is no doubt that" soul,"our Saviour used the word, is perishable,precisely the mortal part. But as used by almeverybody to-day, it stands for what would mproperly be called spirit.Esipoeitor: Wben the Saviour said, "Fatheinto Tby hands I commend My spirit," Hepouring out His soul (psyche) unto death,was giving His soul (psyche) f01' the sheep,was making His soul an offering for sin. Awhen Stephen said, "Lord Jesus, receivespirit," his vitality or soul (psyche) was dyiceasing to be. In a popular book like the Bwe do not look for strict logical accuracy alwin the discriminative use of words, but I knnot an instance of soul being used in Scriptufor any "spiritual part" of man in a stateseparation from the body. It is used ofconcrete person, it is used of life or vitality,is also used of a new corpse. But it is neused as synonymous with abstract spirit.Verbal Dejinitionist: As far as I can gathAristotle used psyche in the same sense thatSaviour attached to it. With him it waslife of the man, essential to all human functioand experiences. But he did not regard itsubstance. He spoke of it as a power,principle of energy, ruling both in animal futions, and in intelligence. Plato and his gmaster, Socrates, took another view of psycWith them it was a substance, it was theman, it was indivisible, indestructible,-anemanation from Deity. Plato's idea of the sis pantheistic. Like all speculative philosophehe ignores or dispenses with creation. TPlatonic use of the word was adopted by eaChristian writers, and holds that sense in Chtian thought to-day.Reasoner : Aristotle's mind, I infer, wasmore analytic of the two. He liked tothrough a thing, to take minute notice of allparts, an d especially to mark their bearingsdependencies. Plato was grand in the reasoni


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THE BIBLE STANDARD. 123art, but the ideal had more charm for him thanthe physical. Aristotle described what he found.Plato described what he imagined or inferred.Aristotle was strong in observing and distinguish-ing physical' data; Plato was strong in reasoningupon any data, or quasi-data. Neither of themis to be implicitly trusted. By following Plato,Christian men have bronght their language andideas into collision with Christ's utterauces onthe soul. Had they followed Aristotle's idea ofthe soul, they would have found it necessary tosupplement his word and idea with the greatterms and thoughts of "regeneration" and"spirit," in order to intelligently receive Christ'steaching of immortality, that is to say, "eternallife." Now "regeneration" in Christian litera-ture is chiefly a metaphor expressing somesacramental- plus-educational-cum,metaphysicalprocess, and "spirit" is a mere synonymfor soul, or a subordinate psychological feature.Would that some Greek scholar, strong in themastery of Aristotle's mode of speech and styleof thought, felt a call to translate into Englishhis work on the soul (PERI PSYCHE.) It wouldhelp to familiarize this age with the Saviour'suse of the word against its current, foisted, andmetaphysical sense.Inquirer: Must we then set aside the wordsoul as a fallacious term, rendered impracticablefor our present purpose by the indefinite senseit has acquired?Expositor; "Upon my soul" or life, thatseems to me, were it practicable, an eminentlywise step to take. If we speak of man underthe two heads body and soul, we shall make noreal progress in our inquiry. For the latterword has become a very hog of idea, and aslough of despond to everyone who tries to wadeabout it. It is no adequate term for spirit, forwhile men try to exaltIt to that serv~ce theycannot divest it altogether of its native andlower sense, that of natural life.Verbal Definitionist: Suppose then we adopt,with the Revisionists (and the earlier translatorstoo in great part) the word life to express thatwhich the Saviour, and Aristotle before Him,called psyche, including in it the principle ofvital energy and the sum of all vital phenomena;and reserve the word spirit for whatever cannotbe brought logically in under either body or life.That will simply break up soul into the twoideas which it now embraces, vitality andspiritual substance: or simply vitality andspirit-anima and amimus,Under the Greek term Aristotle embraces" nutrition, sensibility, locomotion, and intelli-gence." The fourth head he divides into" thepassive and the active intellect." "He tells usthat the active intellect is a priuciple divine,indestructible, eternal; and he hints that it is asubstance." But he is acknowledged not tohave clearly explained himself here. "In thispart of his work" critics" recognize a vaguenessand uncertainty foreign to the resolute and clearcut mind of the Stagyrite." [UNIVERSALBIO-QoRAPHY.]Expositor: Under" the active intellect," as apart of man, Aristotle approaches Plato's eoncep-tion of the soul as a substance which" emanatesfrom God." But there both the meu failed.The one grandly laboured with hard facts,the other sublimely reasoned upon ideas; butneither was able to bring life and incorrnptibilityinto the light. As the Canon says, naturalreason can but show these things" indistinctly."Christ has lifted the veil, and given us the lightof certainty hy such definite words as these," Because I live ye shall live also."Inquirer: What then are the relations andinteractions of the three parts-body, life, andspirit-among themselves? If they coalesce orcombine in one person, the intercommunitymnst be thorough. How do they touch or per-vade, each the others? And what effect willthe withdrawal or failure of any one p~rt haveon the others?

Canon Liddon: "It is clear that the causeswhich bring about the dissolution of a divisibleand ever-changing organism, like the hum~nbody, would not touch the exist.ence. of an .m.divisible, and permanent, and identical beinglike the soul."Reasoner: Does our frieud mean by soul,anima or animus? life or spirit? We shallscarcely get any philosopher or divine, intowhose orthodox thinking soul has become aningraiued factor, to drop its use or slough itsambiguity; nevertheless we must keep o.urattention alive to its vagueness, and measure itssense in every connection.Probably the;Canon:identifies't.he" dissol.utio~of a divisible and ever-changmg orgamsm,with the death of the body; if so it is of thefirst impbrtanee to note that our inquiry has\..Iothing to do with" dissolution of organism."We need not trouble ourselves to go a linebeyond our terms ," mortal" and" immortal,""death" and" deathlessness." Now, death inthe body very often precedes ALL" dissolutiou oforganism." Death byHdrowning, suffocation,and in various ways, leaves the organismabsolutely intact. Death in such cases is evi-dently nothing more than the suppression ofvitality, call'it extinction.Ior withdrawal.la termis of small ;onseqnence just here. Body minusvitality is dead, though its ];organism shonldnever go into ,dissolution.Analytic Scientist: Thus we get a clear con-ception of two parts in the:composition of manand of the'essential relation one of those par~sbears to the other. Disunion of the two isdeath. What beoomes of the body afterwards isanother question, and one of no importauce toour inquiry. What becomes of the vitality is alsoanother question, and one which we must pursue.Reasoner: There is'this, however ,~to be.notedthat the happy-go-lucky explanation 'of death inthe body bytattributing it to the dissolution oforganism is a palpable, though much vauntedfallacy. And this may be asked tentatively,siuce;, deathjto ,the body is!ithe abstraction j'orsuppression [of [its life, why'should not deathensue in the spirit by the abstractionlor suppres-sion:of thelsame~life,in it? ..Canon Liddon: "As Rant remarks m hIS Critique'[of the Pure Reason,' although thesoul might oonceivably perish by a graduallanguor or' extinction of!\its vital force,' or, asothers havesuggested, by the fiat of the AlmightyCreator, yet there is no .prcducible reason forthinking that it willJdo so. ( \i . On the other hand,since the death of the body cannot be reasonablypresumed to affect it, there are 1strong reasonsfor anticipating its continuous life."Verbal. Dejinitionist: Let me interject averbal remark. Rant, you perceive, discrimi-nates between the soul and its vital force,"just as we have been distinguishing the bodyfrom its vital force. Is the vital force whichanimates' the body,"also the vital force of thesoul? or as we shouid say of the spirit?Reasoner: Unless there are two vital forces inthe same man of course it must' be. But passingthat over for the present, does not the Canon,while saying, " there is no producible reason for

thinking" that Kant's "Iconceivable extinctionof the soul's vital force" will ever happen-while sayiug this-does not he himself producesuch a reason in his quotation from the"Critique of the Pnre jReason?" He allowsthat the soul and its vital force are two things.The body perishes, or rather hecomes a deadbody, "by the gradual languor or extinction ofits vital force." Why should not the soul(spirit) perish, or ratherJ\become a dead spirit"by the gradual languor or extinction of itsvital force ?" The body does not die because ofits" divisible and ever-changing organism," butby. the "extinction of its vital force." Why(To be continued. We will repeat this pamgmph in DU"next to {Jive the ctmmection.s

THE NEW CREATION.DEATH AND RESURRECTIONVIEWED FRail! THESTANDPOINTOF THE NEWCREATION.

By CHARLES UNDERHILL, J.P.T HE revealed. purpose of God in establishing aNew Creation under the Headship ofChrist. has (as we have seen in the previouspapers), thrown much light upon the inter-mediate steps necessary to the fulfilment of thatpurpose; such as the nature and necessity ofregeneration; the justification of the believer bythe death and resurrection of Christ, &c. Wenow come to the mysterious period which inter-venes between the believer's death and his actualresurrection; and we affirm that the un-scriptural and purely speculative opinions pre-vailing upon the nature of what is called theintermediate or separate state, have been calledinto being solely from the fact, that Christianmen are not disposed to accept frankly the plainteachiug of Scripture respecting the glorifiedfuture of believers in Christ. The Scripturesare unanimous and harmonious in mapping outa future for this earth (when renewed and re-created) in which Christ the Lord will be King,and His redeemed people will be associated withHim in its government; "The meek shallinherit the earth," (Matt. v. 5; also Isaiahxxiv. 23, Dam : vii. 27) If we suffer, we shallalso reign with Him:" (2 Tim. ii. 12.) Glori-fication in the grave or Hades is the very heightof absurdity, and never would have entered thebrains of anyone, had it not been for thePlatonic theory of the indestructibility andimmortality of the soul.Let us give one or two quotations taken fromhundreds as proof of this assertion. "WhenChrist who is our life shall appear then shall yeappear with Him in glory," (Col. iii. 4.) Soalso is the resurrection of the dead. It is sownin corruption: it is raised in incorruption: it issown in dishonor: it is raised in glory," (1C01.xv. 42,43.)First, What is it to be glorified? To beglorified is to be an object of admiration and tosustain a position of great honour. Christ onTabor was transfigured before the eyes of Histhree disciples, His face shone as the sun, andHis raiment was white and glistening, a.voicefrom heaven also declared" This is my belovedSon in whom I am well pleased."John afterwards speaking of this event says,"We heheld His glory, the glory of the onlybegotten of the Father," (John i. 14.) Peteralso says," We saw His glory when we were withHim in the holy mount," (2 Peter i. 16-18.)Now this manifestation of Christ in glory is (inGod's wondrous grace) the pattern of what thebeliever is to be.-" God has predestinated us tobe conformed to the image of His Son" (Rom.viii. 29.) Who shall change our vile body,that it may be fashioned like unto His gloriousbody," (Phil. ill. 21.) He shall come to beglorified in His saints, and to he admired in allthem that believe," (2 Thess i. 10,) Does thisglory take place in the grave? How is it pos-sible, when in the grave or hades state theChristian man is bodiless? and yet one con-tinually meets with the statement, Suddendeath is sudden glory." Verily the ChristianChurch having eyes see not, and having earsthey hear not, and a spirit of blindness is upontheir hearts.Again, Paul in Col. iii. 4, affirms, whenChrist who is our life shall appem', then shall weappear with Him in glory." This statementcommends itself to our common sense, a deadman cannot know either happiness or pain, muchless can a dead and bodiless man be glorified!The first step in dealing with the dead in thematter of rewards either for commendation orpunishment must be to make the dead aliuee- The hour is coming and now is, when thedead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and


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124 THE BIBLE STANDARD.they that hear shall live," (John v. 25.)-" Wemust all stand before the judgment seat ofChrist, that everyone may receive the tbingsdone inhis body" (2 C01 . 5,10), or, to quote DeanAlford, " to receive in the body, the reward ofour deeds, whether good or bad"-resurrectionfrom the dead, or from among the dead, isessential to the realization of the future gloriespromised to tbe believer; if there be no resur-rection from the dead, there can be no futurelife! (1 Cor. xv.) Those then who misquoteScripture by taking passages manifestly relatingto a period subsequent to resurrection, andapply them to the disembodied state, have toshow-either from reason or scripture or both-that it is possible for a dead man to know any-tbing or to have any concern about matterswhich affect the living, (Eccles. ix. 5,6.)

Man Is an organic and tripartite being; tbespirit, the source of intelligence, is dependentupon the organs of sight for seeing, on the earfor hearing, and on the brain for thinking:there are many instances in which throughcerebral injury all thought has been suspendedfor long periods of time: how therefore adisembodied spirit can see, hear, walk, sing, andthink without the corresponding organs it isimpossible to conceive; especially since we havethe corroborative testimony of the Word of God"that the dead know not anything," that"there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge,nor wisdom in the grave, whither thou goest."(Eccles. ix. 10) Surely then those who affirmthat the dead see Christ, enjoy His presence,sing before the throne of God, and realizeperfect felicity, affirm what it is impossible forthem to prove.Again, Hades, or the grave is represented inScripture as a state or condition from whichdeliverance is most desirable-" Having loosedthe pains of deatb, because it was not possi blethat He should be holden of it," (Acts ii. 24.)" I will ransom the m from the power of tbegrave; I will redeem them from death. 0death, I will be thy plague; 0 grave, I will bethy destruction." (Hosea xiii. 14.) "The lastenemy which shall be destroyed is death,"(1 Cor. xv. 26.) The period of deliverance fromthis abnormal condition is tbe resurrection; theresnrrection of the just at the second coming ofChrist; "then shall be brought to pass thesaying that is written, Deatb is swallowed up invictory. 0 death, where is tby sting? 0 grave(Hades), where is tby victory! !" (1 Cor. xv.54, 55.) Christ, as a man-possessing truehuman nature. experiencing birth, growth,suffering and death-has passed through thevarious stages common to our humanity: con-sequently what death was to Christ, tbe samewill it be to us ; if it can be shown that death inour Lord's case was a state of life, that He wasjust as active in His human nature in death asin life; then tbere would be some foundation forthe idea that men do not really die, that thedissolution of his tripartite nature does notaffect its integrity, and that probably his releasedspirit is relegated to some otbersphere of activity.I am aware that there is one passag-e uponwbich is founded conclusions such as these-but in my judgment, incorrectly, (1 Peter iii. 19.)It is an assumption that Cbrist in His ownperson preacbed to tbe antediluvians-Hepreached to them by His servan t Noah; it is anassumption tbat He preached to tbem duringtbe period of His death, Peter first SLates thatHe was" put to death in tbe flesh, but quickened(or made alive) by the Spirit," that is, He wasraised from the dead; it is an assumption tbatthe antediluvians were preached to in theirdisembodied state-He preached to the spirits(should be according to the Syriac version, eculsor persons) now in prison (or hades). Now wherewas Cbrist between His death and resurrection?Tbe Scriptures inform us that He was in Hades;" Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell,' or hades,

(Acts ii. 27) : secondly, the Lord Himself informsMary that He had not yet ascended to HisFather (John xx. 17), consequently He was notin heaven during the period of death; and againwe have the same authority for stating that theintervening period between His crucifixion andHis resurrection was a state of death; "I amHe that liveth and was dead; and behold I amalive for evermore," (Rev. i. IS.) These stagesexperienced by our Lord are the same throughwhich His disciples must pass: they must die;they must be detained in Hades a longer perioddoubtless than that what was experienced bytheir Lord; nevertheless they will be raisedagain from the dead; it shall not be permittedthat death should hold them longer than isnecessary to accomplish the Divine purposes." Every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterwards they that are Christ's at Hiscoming," (1 Cor. xv. 23.) "These all havingobtained a good report through faith receivednot the promise; God having provided somebetter thing for us that they without u. shouldnot be made perfect," (Heb. xi. 39, 40.)The belief in a glorified state upon earth. isconsistent with the whole of Revelation; itsqu res with every doctrine and every purposema e known by our Heavenly Father, but thereverse of'his introduces infinite perplexity andinvolves the believer in endless confusion.Had not the Church abandoned its proper hope,the attempt to people the grave or the hades statewith living nonentities, and shapeless and in-tangible ghosts, covering them with bodilessglories, would never have been made. It is a'matter that should never be lost sight of, thatwhatever the state of the dead, it is only atemporary condition; those who have diedthousands of years ago, and those who dieimmediately before the second coming of Christ;in either case their abnormal condition willthen be eternally changed; their eternal hopeswill then be realised and entered upon; andfurther, that this period (which in my judgmentis a period of unconsciousness) is as nothing,sinks into utter insignificance when comparedwith the final condition which is eternal, " akingdom which cannot be moved," iHeb, xii. 2S .)God grant that we all may have an abundantentrance into the everlasting kingdom of ourLord and Saviour Jesus Christ.Oxford.

BIBLICAL EXEGESISBy REV. BURLINGTONB. WALE, F.R.G.S.

Parable of the Tares, Matt. xiii.W E pointed out last month, that of the sevenparables. uttered by our Lord in thischapter-c-sze begin with the phrase, "Thekingdom of heaven is like unto :"-and that thephrase kingdom of heaven, or the" kingdom ofthe heavens" (it is plural in the Greek) meansthe present dispensation. We add to thisremark another, and then proceed to a furtheranalysis of the parables. The remark is this :-That each of ihe parables, except the first, whenit passes into historic fact, is continuous in itsaction, right onward and downward to the closeof the present dispensation, so that from a givenstarting point, the movemeut of each parable isparallel with the movements of all the others.In the parable ofTHE WHEATA~D '.rHE TARES,this is clearly stated by Christ Himself in theinterpretation of the parable given by Him tothe disciples in verses 3643.This parable contains several points of specialimportance which we do well to note :-In the parable of the sower, the seed sown wasprinciples, the principles of the Gospel of Christ.In the parable of the tares It is not princtples,but MEN-" The good seed are the children. of the

kingdom; the tares are the children. of thewicked one." The wheat still remains wheat,Satan can never change that into tares, but hemay introduce tares into the field, false pro-fessors into the kingdom, and he has done thislargely. "The field is the kosmos, the goodseed are the children of tbe kingdom, and thetares are the children of the wicked one. Theenemy that sowed them is the devil, the harvestis the end of the aionos (age or dispensation,) andthe reapers are the angels. As therefore thetares are gathered and burned in the fire, soshall it fie in the eod of this age; the Son ofMan shall send forth His angels, and they shallgather out of His kingdom (z.e. , Christendom)all things that offend (z.e., the tares), and themwhich do iniquity, and shall cast tnem into afurnace of fire." Tbus it will be seen that theaction of this parable, beginning iu the ApostolicAge, runs on to the end of this Age, or to theclosiug days of Christendom.Note: Tares-Greek, Zizanion; Arabic, Zouiam ;Hp-brew, Zonin; Zan means nausea. Not vetch,but darnel, at first impossible to distinguish fromwheat, or barley, uutil the wheat's ear is de-veloped, when the thin fruitless ear of the darnelis detected. It" root, too, so intertwining withthat of the wheat that the farmer cannotseparate them without plucking up both, till thetime of harvest. The seed is like wheat, butsmaller, and black, and when mixed with wheat-flour, causes dizziness, intoxication, andparalysis. Hence the French call it I-vraie-tipsy-grass. Latin, Loliuui temulentum ; the onedeleterious grain among all the grains.It is clear from the teaching of this Parablethat the tares and the wheat are to grow togetherin the field uf Christendom till the" end of theage,"-that is till Christ comes, and, conse-quently, the conversion of the world before HisAdvent is merely an enthusiast's dream.

NOTES & QUERIES.EDITED BY GEN. H. GUODWYN.

QUERY BY THE EDITOR: What is the distinctionbetween tlie Kingdom and the Church as to theresult of salvation?ANSWER: I have put this question for the bene-fit of many, as it id often asked. It needs adefinite reply, though an attentive student canscarcely have failed to know that to confound theformer with the latter, is as inconsistent as tosay tbat the dominion of creation conferred uponAdam is identical with Eve, his beautiful part-ner therein.'I'ue question involves a description of both,and though my space is limited, Iwill endeavourto touch lightly on such leading features as willenable the reader to enter into the mind of TheSpn it on the subject. Aod first ofThe Kingdomas about to be manifested in glory on earth;cuncerning which it is plain from Scripture thatthe constituent parts of a monarchy as known tomankind have been modelled according to " thepatterns of tbings in the Heavens." Man hasnot been endowed with originative faculties inmatters of this kind. A kingdom as originallyestablished in Israel, was of God, the principlesof which were heavenly, and had a Divine pur-pose. We may be sure, therefore, that theelemeuts of that Kingdom which are about tobe displayed under the government of The Lordof glory will be found recorded in the Book ofGod. Thus the aggregate of 'I'he Kingdom willconsist of,-1. THE KING. Ps. ii. 6-S. Isa. ix. 6, 7. Johni. 49-51. Heb. ii. 6-~. Dun. vir. 13, 14.

2. JUDICIAL MINISTERS. 'I'ue Cuurcu. 1 Cor.vi. 2. Reo, iii. :11; ri, 26, 27.3. ECCLESIASTICALEXECUTIVE. Exo. xix, 5, 6.Isa. xx vii. 6 ; lii. 7-10; lxi. 6.


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THE BIBLE STANDARD. 1~54. SUBJECTS, AND SPHERE OF GOVERNMENT.PS. ii. 8; xxii. 27,28; Ps. lxxii. 8-11. Isa. Ix.Heb. ii. 7-9.5. METROPOLIe. Jerusalem or Mount Zion. Ps.xlviii 1,52; Ezek. xliii, 7, with xlv. 1-8 ; xlviii. 3.6 . .uAWS. Isa. ii. 3, 4.On the portentous event of the return of theLord, personally to rule over the nations of theearth, many theories have been adopted, manyassumptions hazarded, and traditions invoked.

It has been denied on tbe ground of carnalityand in accord with the wishes of a Satan-governed world: it has been allegorized, per-verting tbe Scriptures that treat of it as a futureevent, into signifying tbe spread of the gospel inthe present age, thus confounding the dispensa-tions through ignorance of tbe mind of God.One circumstance, however, seems to haveescaped both writers and preachers, one tbatplaces tbe Second Advent beyond all question orpossibility of relu tat ion. Tbat circumstance isTf-1E OB'JEO'r for tbeestablisbment of a King-dom of Heaven on earth, having a despoticHeavenly Man for its Sovereign. That OBJECTis tbe completion of the family of God, tbeSALVATIONOF NATIONSas contrasted with tbat ofInd-ividual. now in progress, An object thathas been aimed at in this age by the multipliedagencies of missions, all of which, as to theattainment of any national results, have beenabortive. The reason of which is, that a testi-mony of flesh and blood uuaccompanied bysupernatural signs and wonders, and hinderedby tbe deceptive wiles of Satan at large. isincompetent for tbe work. Israel failed of oldas Isaiah declares (xxvi. 18.) The Ohurch oftbe present day has failed (Rev. ii. iii.}, so itremains for another age on entirely differentprinciples and with migbtier agencies, to fulfiltbe Divine Object. Resurrection testimony isthe only perfect power, and that at a time whenSatan shall be bound in the abyss "that heshould deceive the nations no more l"

Three passages to prove the above I nowadduce:-1. Acts xv. 16,17, d-ctares the object for thefulfilment of which the Lord will return; viz.,to restore the NATIONof Israel according to theCovenant with David (Acts ii. 30, 31); for tbevery purpose of the Salvation of "the residueof men" bitberto in darkness, but foreknown asupon wbom "Tbe Name of tbe Lord shall yetbe called" (ha. lxvi. 19), i.e. an election of gracefrom amongst all nations.2. Isa. li i. 7-25, recounts the means by whichthis object will be effected, viz., by regeneratedand restored Israel with their Messiah at tbeirhead, who Himself will proel.iim to tbe nations,as of old to His disciples, " Peace be unto you."3. Heb. ix. 28, makes a further announcementof the express fulfilment of the object of tbeLord's" APPEARANCE second time," or the fore-ordained consequence of tbe sin-offering at Hisfirst Advent, viz., the" salvation" of those wbowill then bave the opportunity of "looking onHim Who was pierced," and believe.Testimony of the circumstances of the wit-nesses themselves will at tbat time be apparent.

Tbus the Oburcb, tbe Bride of the Lamb, willbe manifested as "Sons of God," exercisingjudicial authority, and as "Kings and Priests"sitting on the throne of the Di vine Melchizedec.-Israel, a "Kingdom of Priests and a holyNATION,regenerated and restored in fulfilmentof all the Divine promises from the dire effectsof banishment, witb their King Emmanuel in theirmidst, prepared at lengtb to carry out tbenational mission to the Gentiles. For, if whenat tbe first tbe effect of tbeir rejection as wit-nesses has been the gathering of believers ofthe present age, "bow much more" abundantlyof the riches of mercy shall not the Gentilespartake when national "FULNESS" shall havecome! (R rm , xi. 12, see also ROIn . xv, 8-12.)

In conclusion then, the OBJEOT of therestored kingdom of national Israel under theirDivine King tbe Son of David, is, as in Isa. lii.,that the Priuce of Peace. He who once wascrucified (or sin, will have come to make beauti-ful with His footsteps tbe mountains of Israel'sLand, to "publish glad tidings of salvation,"and give "all nations," even to "the ends ofthe earth," an opportunity of SEEINGTHE TOKENSof reconciliation when He shall shew them theprint of tbe nails by "making bare His arm"before their eyes!THEN, from chapters liii. to Iv. follows thetestimony of Israel themselves in the very wordsof retrospect, which they will recount in thewondering ears of the beatben. Of tbis therecan be no doubt, for one look at the tense of theverbs will prove it. "We did esteem Himstricken," &c.; ., but by grace we bave discoveredthat He was bruised for OU1' transgressions " ;" wi th His stripes we are bealed." This will bemade manifest by the very circumstances in whichtbey will appear before the heathen. Chap. liv.continues the wondrous story of mercy, andchap. Iv. concludes with an earnest invitation toall nations to do and to be a' Israel will bavedone, ., Seek the Lord whilst He is near them" ;repent and believe, that they may "go forthwith joy, wheu the very hills around will breakforth into singing," and their countries becomeEden-like in beauty (verses 12. 13). Verily theLord will have " come the second time, Himselfthe accepted sin-offering unto tbeir salvation,"as it is written "Israel shall blossom and bud,and FIl,L THE FACEOFTHEWORLDWITH FRUIT! "(Isa. xxvii. 6.) .N.B,-I bave said that a national election willbe saved. This is a Divine principle. It is notto be forgotten that tbere will be rebelliousnations on earth during this long period of theministry of Israel, requiring tbe power of adespotic Government to preserve peace, andprevent any hindrance to tbe witnesses. (Psa.ii. 1-4, 9, cxlix. 5-9, Isa. Ix. 12, Rev. xx. 7-9.)Of the Church in next number, D.V.Reading.

SYMPOSIUM.Subject :-How is PERSONALITY preseroed. inDeath? and in What CONDITION does it

Exist?A modest contribution towards a common

understanding.BY CYRUS E. BROOKS.Ithis article I wish it to be clearly understoodthat I am writing simply and solely of manas man-natural or Obristiau-of what all menpossess in common. (Tbough i: may be well toadd here, in passing, that the arguments here usedto set forth the existence and condition of naturallife in death, under the similitude of a seed,would,in my personal estimation, be equally true of thenew or spirit-Iil- of the Ohristian; or the "in-corruptible seed."-Regarding, as I do, such life,"begotten from above," as conception merely,until developed in the birth of resurrection.

With this brief parenthesis I return to the pre-vious question.) Also that I am writing merelyto indicate a road which, I think, will lead untothe goal of a common unde1'standing, if but moreable and competent minds will condescend tofollow an index finger-which is all I claim fortbis paper-c- to a possible, rather tban a certain.road to that greatly-desirable goal-Divine'I'ruth, aud a common testimony.In WHATdoes the Personality of man consist?In its perfection and manifestation it consistsin that union of soul, body, and spirit which isknown to us as tbe living man. With this con-clusion all the readers of this paper will be foundin hearty agreement, for, in whatever such maysevemlly suppose personality to consist, whatever

such may suppose it to be, this much is commonground. that in the perfection and manifestationof its existence it is found in the entire man-and there alone. And this is equally true, how-ever diverse tbe opinion. Be it soul, body, orspirit-be it memory, consciousness, or will-beit conscience, thought, 01 emotion, all meet here,all unite in tbe living man.But when that union on which its perfection.and manifestation depend is violated, severed bydeath, In what then does the Personality of theDead consist?First we enquire, is Personality DESTROYEDbyDeath? For, if so, it involves a " new creation"in " resurrection"! Thus resurrection becomestbe creation of" new PERSON, taking the placeand name of one who had in death become ex-tinct-gone out of existence, as a practical fact-and not, as the term by itself considered imports,-the awaking or arising of a previouslysleeping person!It is, then, a fair question to put, Are the wordscreation, creature, and resurrection used in Scrip-ture as synonomous terms ? I have looked ateach passage in the New Testament-as givenby Bullinger-und cannot find any which re-quires tbe substitution of the idea of creationwhere resurrection is used, or of resurrectionwbere creation or creature is used: nor one inwhich such substitution ,,"ould make a bettersense; and very Iew but where such substitutionwould completely mar the sense.The term" creation" is applied to that changecommonly called conversion or the new b'irth-amoral and spiritual but not physical cbange-asin 2 COT. v. 17," If any man be in Ohrist he isan~w creature," or creation, but this is a verydifferent cbange to that produced in resurrection.In this the living are the subjects, in that thedead. In tbis the change is moral and spiritual,in that physical also. Tbis is in the present dis-pensation, ranging over 1800 years; that isabsolutely confined to its close, and followingperiods. This, tben, is a sufficient reason for reject-ing the idea of creation in resurrection-unless amore fatal objection can be raised to the mean-ing we place upon the latter term .Of course creation, in its absolute sense, isdistinctly within the power of God, in bringingtbe dead back to life; but that is not the questionraised here, it is not the point at issue, butwhether that is the meaning of the Holy Spiritwhen He speaks of resurrection! For myselfI think otherwise, but if such be His meaning,how are we to escape the conclusion, thu.t deathis therefore destruction, and tbat resurrection istherefore re-creation? If we may regard theSaviour's Resurrection as typical of ours-as faras comparison is possible=-that was not re-crea-tion b7lt re-vivification l And not the less so,because ~ccompanied with powers and properties,not previously manifested.To the query then" Is Personality destroyedby the first death"? I must return a distinct anddecided negative-No 1assuredly not.Second, Is Personality PRESERVEDin Death?From the previous negative of course a presentaffirmative springs-Yes! but understand meclearly. My question is ?lot-is the perfect, themanifested personality, as in the man of soul,body, and spirit, tbe living, active being, pre-served in death 1 but, is Personality preserved inDeath? The man is dead. dissolved into his con-stituent parts. As such he is without activemanifested force, thought, volition, and con-sciousness. But does this involve the perishingor destruction of the PersowLlity ?Yes! undoubtedly! unless Scripture revealsotherwise: for science can find no trace of itssurvival, and tberefore-Sadducean-like-mo"ksat "the resurrection of the dead." But thenScripture does reveal otherwise! It declares thatthe Apostles "preached through Jesus theresurrectioti from. the dead;" that" there shallbe a resurrection of the dead, both of the just


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and unjust." (Acts iv. 2; xxiv. 15.) Since,therefore, a resurrection from the dead, deathcannot be the destruction of the Pereonalitsj !In other words, death is destruction onlyuihere, and as, resurrection is not revealed-ifthere be any exceptions to its quickening power.But death cannot be destruction sohere, and as,resurrection is revealed. In this latter case itcan only carry with it tbe idea of dissolution anddisintegmtion.This, I believe, is indeed the condition of manin the first death-and that without distinction:unless-which here I neither affirm nor deny-there are those who have literally "perishedwithout law."I submit, therefore that Pereonalitu, thoughshorn of its perfection, its power, glory, andmanifestation has not perished in that first deathwhich is common to all men.Here, then, we recur again to our previousquestion-" In what does the Personalitq of thedead consist?"I reply, Not in the Body, for death (as allagree) resolves that into its constituent atoms.Thus if personality was retained in the flesh itwould become divisible into a thousand separateand distinct parts-each atom of the body re-taining its due proportion of the whole.I reply, further, Not in the Spirit, for theNatural. spirit of man (which he possesses incommon with all that breathes our atmosphere)is simply-b1eath. That, then, which at death_is simply exhaled back into the atmosphere,cannot be or contain the Personality. The air-which in our lungs forms breath-is but a com-bination of two or more gases, and, thoughvitally necessary to the living man, is, apartfrom its union with physical life-both animaland vegetable-but WINDI As writer and readerare practically agreed here, I need not stay tobuttress this position, only conceding freely,that spirit is sometimes used as a synonym forlife, probably because the manifestations of lifeare wholly dependent upon breathing, and breathis vitalised by the soul's life.But, having laid aside the body and spirit asdevoid of personality in death, there nowremains but the soul or life to be considered.

I reply, finally, then, it consists in the Soul?What is the soul? An oft repeated question,variously answered according to the standpointof him who answers. From my standpoint it is,That POTENTIALFORCEstored in the seed, bulb,egg, or germ, by which the Great Creator buildsup all things and beings tbat exist; a forcewhich differs very widely in its degree, but is oneand the same in principle, viz., LIFE.

In germ-form (as soul merely) all men, nowdead, once existed before they, became what iscorrectly termed "living creatures" or "vigor-ous breathers"-for such is the corrected render-ing of Gen. ii. 7, "living soul." (As writer andreader are again in agreement here, I do notstay to offer proof.) This was the first, therudimentary or elementary, stage of all humanbeing. From this men have been developedthrough the processes of birth, growth, &c., intoperfect manhood.

Now to the proof. The germ is the rudimen-tary form of all life-animal and vegetable. (Itis also believed that mineral substances-allthat we commonly designate inorganic-firstexisted in germ form, having life, or the prin-ciple of growth. To that I merely refer, anddismiss it, neither affirming nor denying, as notnecessary to my subject.) All which grows-animal and vegetable-has soul or life-the oneterm being a synonym for the other, This is auniversally accepted philosophical fact. I repeatit, to avoid misunderstanding. All germs, seeds,bulbs, eggs, and other forms of elementary orrudimentary being have life 01' soul; and this isequally true whether those forms be animal orvegetable.

THE BIBLE S T A N D A R D .Thus, though a bulb is not a plant, a seed is

not a tree, an egg is not a bird, a germ is not ananimal, yet each, respectively possesses thatpotential force or soul which, under favourableconditions, will produce the plant, tree, bird, oranimal. If those conditions should be absentthe force remains undeveloped, and would ulti-mately perish-though, as we know, a seed willretain its vitality for 4,000 years.

Be it also remembered, that all that is foundin the plant, tree, bird, animal, lay beforehandconcealed and stored, in its potential force, inthe bulb, seed, egg, or germ: body and spirithave only developed, and not produced these;yea, the body, with all its organs, which givevitality to the spirit, was in the seed or germ,Thus the soul is first in point of order andtime. It had a distinct existence (though un-developed) before its life was manifested in birthand growth. Why should it not be last also inpoint of order and time, and survive-as far asits potential force is concerned-the wreck andruin caused by' death? Surely it is distinctlywithin the Divine power; as, also, it seemsdistinctly required to carry out the analogy ofthe scripture-term" sleep" as applied to the firstdeath, and to make resurrection, what its nameimports-an awakening.

Thus, then, may the Personaiitu of a mansurvive the disintegration of his active forces, there-absorption of the spirit (no longer vital,because severed from its vitalising force-thesoul) and the dissolution of the body into itsconstituent atoms. Not, however, on the groundof its own inherent force, but because theCreator so wills it-as necessary to resurrection,to the completion of the redemptive work ofChrist, so that man, himself, may stand up againin resurrection-life-the continuity of his beingunbroken.I may now fairly pass to the question- What isthe CONDITIONf the Soul (life or potential force;in Death? '

The Apostle Paul, when he sought to illus-trate by a natural figure the sublime mystery ofresurrection, went to the vegetable and not to'the animal kingdom, thereby teaching us thatthe latter did not supply an analogous case. In1 G07', xv. 35-38, 42, weread-

"But some will say, How are the dead raisedup ? and with what body do they come? Foolish:that which thou sowest (vegetable seed) is notquickened except it die; And that which thousowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be,but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, 01 ofsome other: But God giveth it a body as it hathpleased Him, and to every seed His own body. So also the 1'esu1'Tection of the dead"-I omit the following verses, as their reference isto the believer only, whilst what I have quoted iscommonly true.

Now, remember, that in all husbandry (thefigure here used) it is living seeds only that aresown-or at least that qermimate, This refer-ence, therefore is not to the dea d. body that menlay in the grave, but to the living seed (in orbeyond the dead body)-the soul, the prin.ciple of life, 01 potential force-which God sows(in virtue of Christ's death and resurrection) inHades (the gmve or beyond it), and which Godwill bring to harvest, in resurrection, For if theseed were dead, as well as the body and spirit,resurrection would not be possible (since theseed could not germinate) and re-creation wouldbe a necessity.

At the risk of repetition, I must retrace mysteps a moment, and remind the reader that,the seed sown is not the grain, plant, tree, orwhatever else may spring from it (the body, Godmay be pleased to give, according to its kind),but the potential. force which, under favourableconditions, will produce the grain, plant, tree,&c. So the soul-as the seed sown in death-isnot the man (though it survives him), but merely

that potential force which will produce-underthe favourable conditions of Divine Power actingin resurrection-the man. But that, withoutthose favourable conditions (or resurrection) iwill ultimately perish.

What, then, is the condition of a seed previousto germination? That of dormant force. It iwholly dependent on germination to developethat force into active life. Here, then, we havean answer to the question-What is the condition of the soul in death? It is a dormantforce, having no conscious, active life, until developed in resurrection.

Let me press upon the reader here an im-portant thought-The seed sown by the husband-man dies in qermination : dies in imparting theforce and likeness of the parent plant to that lifewhich is evolved from it, So also, the seed othe resurrection man-the human soul-dies inqermination, or resurrection. Such is the scopeand force of the Apostle's illustration, and I faito see how it can be fairly evaded or denied.Thus the soul, too, must also die (like the spiritand the body), but does not die (safe sown byGod) until it has imparted its force and likenessto the new life evolved in resurrection.

Thus natural death, " which has passed uponall men," is made complete. First, we have thedisintegration of soul, body, and spirit (or aleast of body and spirit, the soul ceasing toimpart to the spirit vitalising force), that changecommonly called death; second, the absorption,by the atmosphere, of the spirit orbreath-nowreduced to common ail'; third, the dissolution othe body into its constituent atoms: and, finally,in the process of resurrection, we have the deathand the corruption of the only remaining part-the soul, i.e., life, or potential force.

Thus is death comple". The chain lacks nsingle link. The original sentence "Dust thouart, and unto dust shalt thou return," is literallyexecuted in all its fulness, and executed too (inits completeness) in that very redemptive acwhich bestows a new life on sinful, erring man.Yet, death is not completed, until it has givenbirth to life (as in the natural seed.) Thus, toois the grace and the providence of God magni-fied, for only by this delay in the full executionof the sentence is it possible (short of re-creation)to carry out the redemptive work, otherwise thewhole race would perish. .In this it is difficult to determine which mosto admire-the love, the wisdom, or the justiceof God. Here is love, in preserving life presentto life future: Here is wisdom, in making thmeans employed to carry out the high behestsof love also tend to the exaltation of Divinejustice: And here is justice, in that every joand tittle of the law is fulfilled!

Before closing this article, I wish to show theadvantages accruing from this view, in the waof harmonising some of the scripture-statementswhich are now the battle ground of contendingforces.

It is in harmony with those decisive referencesto the 6tate of death, that-" the dead know noanything," in that very day his thoughtsperish," " a land of darkness." "their love, antheir hatred, and their envy is now perished.""there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave:" seeingthat whilst there is existence, being, icannot be manifested in the active concious life of thought and emotion, until resur-rection,-when it will be embodied, in-breathedand perfected. Meantime all men, from Adamto the latest sleeper (excepting only Enoch,Elijah, and Christ our Lord,-possibly, alsoMoses) though existent in potential force, ar"where the wicked cease from troubling, andwhere the weary are at rest." Their place,"Hades;" their state "death," yet" sleep:"their hope, " resurrection."

It also harmonises with Matt. x 28" "Fear no


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THE BIBLE STANDARD. 127them which kill the body, but are not able to killthe soul." Since dissolution does not kill ordestroy the potential force, it is not possible forman to kill the soul: God keeps that in His ownpower: it dies only in resurrection : whilst, ifGod so wills, the life it evolves therein can beDivinely destroyed in the judgment day in Ge-henna.Also with 1st Cor. xv. 22, "For as in Adamall die "-reading that in the fullest range ofmeaning that is claimed for it; as we have seen,all do die, both saint and siuner. And also, thefollowing clause of the sentence" even so inChrist shall all be made alive "-for resurrection-life comes to men solely in virtue of themerits of His sacrifice, whose special glory it isto be thus distinguished-" lam the Resurrectionand the Life."This, too, floods with meaning Christ's replyto the Sadducees (Luke xx.) "For He is not aGod of the dead but of the living; for all liveunto Him." Dead-yet alive in potential force,waiting only the inspiration of the Holy Spiritin resurrection, to quicken them into active,breathing life.The same too may be said of John v. 28, " Thehour is coming, in which all that are in theirgraves shall hear His voice.--On this suppositionwe have the soul left to hear. and the life that isevolved from it, to obey the summons.I may add, here, that it minimises the difficultyof t he resurrection from the standpoint of naturalreason, which requires a most stupendous miracleto realize it as commonly understood, inasmuchas it shows how-upon the same principle thatthe man is first developed in natural lifefrom the germ of conception-resurrectionsimply evolves from the seed or germ of thedormant soul the new man-without, of necessityregathering a single atom of the scattered dust;and restores his spirit by re- vitalizing his breath.In conclusion. It is in strict harmony withthe analogy of "sleep," the term so commonlyused in Scripture to designate the state of manin death. A term which forbids, alike, thecommon idea of conscious life in death, andits extreme substitute of non-existence. Thatwhich sleeps, cannot be conscious; neither can it,on the other hand, have ceased to be.I beg the readers of this article in closing toremember that it is, not put forward as thesolution of all doubts and difficulties upon thisquestion-for such a solution, only those wholook for a fool's paradise, will expect to fiud withour present light-but as an interpretation pre-senting fewer difficulties and greater harmoniesthan the systems of interpretation now followed.And let me further beg, that those who mayfollow me in this "Symposium" will striverather, to point out a better path, than merelyto seek to expose my errors and ignorance.Malvern.

FAMILY CIRCLE.EDITED BY J. J. ROBBS.

FATHER: "I don't know what you think,dear," said the husband to his belovedspouse, as they sat down to dinner after theusual Sunday morning service. "I don't knowwhat your opinion may be, but for my part Ifeel quite indignant that a Christian ministershould so far forget himself as to denounce insuch terms the opinions of other people becausethey happen to differ from his own. To mesuch intolerance is simply hateful.""You speak strongly, dear," replied his gentlerand better half; "whilst I too feel vexed withour dear pastor for the warmth of feelingdisplayed, we must remember duty may some-times call upon the preacher to speak out plainlyin words of warning, when the ways of truth areevil. spoken of."

" Yes, that may be. To speak plainly is onething, but to denounce those who may honestlydiffer in opinion as 'heretics,' 'infidels,' 'lepers,'and I know not what, is another. Now, Ihappen to know something of these dreadfulpeople our minister has been pitching into sounmercifully, and I am quite sure if he knewthem, too, he would have spoken in gentleraccents than he did." ." Remember, dear, our pastor aimed his blowsmore at heresies than at the' heretics.' ""No, dear, excuse me, he certainly warned usto beware of the people as being nothing betterthan spiritual lepers, and as such we were tokeep away from them, lest we become infectedwith the leprosy. This I think abominable,when, for ought I kuow, they may be right afterall, The effect such warnings will have uponme will be to awaken sympathy, and lead toenquiry. This very evening I mean to go totheir Chapel as a protest against our minister'sconduct, and I don't care if he knows it."Daughter: "May I go with you, pa? I knowMrs. B., the lady organist, and some of thepeople that attend there, and I hear they havebeautiful singing."" All right, dear; we will go and hear for our-selves what these terrible heretics have to say."

* * * * * *At the supper table.-Father to his gentlerhalf: "I don't feel quite sure, dear, whether wemay expect the privilege of sitting down to thesame table together, seeing we come straightfrom the house of leprosy. Probably we havebrought infection away with us in our veryclothes."" Don't, pa, talk like that; you know I amnot so ridiculous as to fear anything of the kindwhatever others may say.""Pardon my levity, dear; but after theexperiences of to-day, I can't help being sarcas-tic. I only wish you had been with us to-night,and better still, I only wish our clergyman hadbeen there too, and if what he heard wouldn'thave humbled him in the dust, then he is notmade of the material good Christian ministersare supposed to be made of. That's all I haveto say.""But what is it you have heard that makesyou so very emphatic? ""Heard? Why,"12 man, and a preacher, andmore than that, a Gospel too,-such a Gospel as Inever heard before. Yes, something that had thering of good news in it. Did you ever hear such asermon in all your life, Amy? ""No, pa, I never. listened to anything sobeautifuL It seemed to make me so glad andhappy. I do wish ma would go with us nextSunday; I am sure she would like it there."" But what was the sermon about, and whatcould there be in it more than we hear in ourown Church?""The sermon of this evening was by a stranger,preached from the text, 'The wages of sin isdeath, but the gift of God is eternal life,' and inexplaining, he seemed to throw such a lightupon it that made me feel I had been in darknessall my life.""You surprise me, pa. One would think wewere little better than heathens, after all thesermons we have heard, and the books we haveread."" There is no mistake about it, dear. I sayagain, I have never heard the Gospel preached as Ihave to-night. And what I've heard commendsitself to my judgment, and to my heart, andthat's more than I have ever admitted before.To speak the truth, the Gospel, as I always havebeen accustomed to hear it, has only confoundedme, and made it well nigh impossible to believe.Heresy indeed I If this be heresy, then may weall be heretics.""Well, but pa, dear; there cannot be anotherGospel than that Jesus Christ came into theworld to save sinners."

"Certainly not, dear. At the same time, avery different construction may be giveu to theterms even of such an announcement as this.Very different answers may be given to thequestions, What is a sinner? What is salvation?Who is Jesus Christ? &c. Fancy our clergyruanpreaching a Gospel sermon without insisting ona sinner having an immortal and never-dyingsoul that must live for ever either in happinessor misery, and I kuow not what besides, tooterrible to think about. However, you must runthe risk of infection yourself next Sunday, andcome with us. We both mean to go again, andyou must go, too. I am sure you will notregret it.""Yes, you will, won't you, ma? You knowwhen I hear our own minister preach sometimes,he makes me feel so miserable, saying suchdreadful things about God. Very often, afterhearing him, I am afraid to go to bed, and Isometimes cry myself to sleep because I try tolove Him, but I really can't, try how I will.But this evening, when the strange preacherexplained to us what the Gospel truly was, I didthink God was ever so much better than Ithought He was."" There, dear, that's a child's experience; andthe experience of the child is that of grownpeople as well. So you see there is some greatdifference in the Gospels preached. If anythingought to make people happy, it stf,:'ely would bethe good news from heaven. How any news canbe called 'good' that makes pe iple wretched, Ican't understand. The fact is, much that goesby the name of Gospel is simply an insult toone's understanding, and won't bear thinkingabout, and I am tired of listening to it. How-ever, no more at present. Hear and judge foryourself, my good lady, and if you do notcome away as charmed as we have been our-selves, I shall almost think you cannot kno wwhat good preaching is."Poole. BIBLE LETTERS.

By "DEVON."" The morning cometh," Isa. xxi, 12.

D EAR READER,-" The morning comethl"Is not the thought a welcome one? Earth'slong dark night has lasted 6,000 years, and thepoor weary world goes painfully on its way,groping for light. 6,000 years since Eden'shappy, holy scenes were exchanged by thefngitive pair for the turmoil, labour, pain, andultimate death of the land outside the gates I6,000 years of the carnival of sin and folly, andthe remorse of sorrow and suffering I 6,000years of the rule of the "god of this world I"6,000 years of wasting disease, waning hopes,and an ever-opening tomb I Well may we longfor the ?noming-the fair millennial time IFor eighteen centuries of that period earthhas been without a later revelation than thataccorded to the Apostle John in Patmos, Noinspired seer or apostle has added to the volumeof inspiration. No celestial messenger has paida known visit to our lone world. No miracle, orsign, or prodigy has been vouchsafed to kindlehope, or quicken expectation. Silence hasreigned supreme.This does not surprise, however, the carefulBible student. He knows that the volume ofinspiration was closed by John with the invoca-tion to Christ of " Come 1"-"The Spirit and theBride say Come I" Until He comes, therefore,whose right it is to rule and reign in equity andtruth, we do not expect inspired seer, or apostle,or angelic (visible) messenger. Other signs wedo expect and watch for. Signs commercial,social, political, religious. Yea, supernaturaleven, if we read Revs. xi. and xii. as future, andnot as past events.


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128 THE BIBLE STANDARD.But it does at times pain us,-this continuedsilence. It does at times weary us,-when weare pressed down by the cares and sorro",,:sincident to our frail humanity. It makes Itsomewbat difficult to meet the disbelief of a

MOCKINGWORLDand an indifferent or pleasure-loving church.The" Blessed Hope" sustains us, even when wemost sorrow and suffer, but what we thusrealise by faith we cannot express in any concreteform to convince tbe minds of others. Theconfidence of hope strengthens us wben we aremost weary and pressed down, but we cannotimpart that confidence to those who have notfaith in the reality of the hope. The difficultieswhich the unbelieving and mocking raise weknow will be as chaff before the wind to Him towhom all power is given in heaven and on earth,but we cannot enable others to see as we seeuuless they will staud where and as we stand-"Looking for that Blessed Hope and the GloriousAppearing of the Great God and our SaviourJesus Christ." (l'itus ii. 13,)Being as it is to us, however, the most solidreality of our lives, we hail its Dear advent withexceeding joy, and as those hearing and thirsting-we join in the Apocalyptic invocation-" Come."Yes, we rejoice, on Scriptural grounds, that

"THE MORNING COMETS."But the world and the church, notwithstand-ng the robes of each are soiled with sin andfolly and shame, cberishes-and always hascherished-the hope of a "good time coming,"of a" Gospel Millennium." In each case, how-ever, it is a hope wbich does not desire oradmit the presence of a visible, personal Christ.The world expects and wishes a "good timecoming," its" golden age," with man alone asGod and King and Ruler and Priest; and theCburch expects and wishes its "Gospel Mil-lennium," its" Fatherhood of God and Brother-hood of Man," with men alone as earthly kingsand rulers and priests, and Christ the" GloriousGuest" of

A FAR-DISTANTHEAVEN.Alas! for the folly which stumbles at theplainest evidence: and for the pride whichcannot subordinate itself to the will and behests

of the wisest and kingliest of Beings. Still evenfor such, and in their respective ways, there is awelcome for the words" The Morning Cometh,"and WHATAMORNING!We feel we cannot better depict it than it hasbeen sketched by the author of " The TwentiethCentury," a pamphlet we have repeatedly seenadvertised in the pages of tbe Bible Standard.To an abstract therefrom we therefore inviteyonr attention, wishing you all a part and placein such nearing and joyful realities-Yoursfai thfully, " Devon.""Among such, until the close of the MilIen-

nial Age, mortality will prevail, but death willbe but a rare visitor, for Isaiah records (lxv. 20),'The child shall die an hundred years old.'Thus, to die at 100 years will be considered ayouthful age, and so the length of l ife enjoyedbefore the flood will be known again inPARADISERESTORED.

"Amongst such peace and plenty abounds.Labour is abundant, for capital now flows incommercial pursuits, which before was devotedto warlike purposes. There is one form ofworship, one Church, the hierarchy of which arethe Saints of God. The Pulpit and the Pressequally share in the instruction of the people.Music, poetry. painting, oratory, sculpture,science, and philosophy are honoured pursuits.Idleness is practically unknown, it being con-sidered infamous to have no occupation.Locomotion is wonderfully perfected. Electricity

has entirely superseded steam aud gas a' amotive power, but artificial Iight is no longerneeded, tbe nights being- now as bright as tbedays were of old. Besides the rail, river and sea,AERIALTRAVELLTNG

has become a common mode of locomotion."Universal Temperauce now abounds-thegrateful harvest of the Temperance Reformation.The joyous ffuits of the earth vielding their' newwine' all tbe year round, from one part or

annthsr of the swiftlv-girdlsd world. All thehorrors born of drunkenness are known only aswarning memories of the past."Auim~l butchery too has ceased. The

prophecy is fulfilled. 'They shall not hurt ordestroy in all My holy mountain.' The Edenstate returned, and fruits, flowers, seeds, oncemore the universal and grateful food of man andbeast. ThusVEGETARIANREFORMERS

enjoy the paradise they have so long believed inand desired, The carnivorous races. like car-nivorous men, have become extinct; not ineither case by the cessation of tbeir being, buthy the change of nature and habit. Now isIsaiah's prophecy realised, and tbe.lion becomeas the lamb. Happy change! Zoological col-lections are no longer needed, for the once fiercebeasts of the forests are now the pets andplaythings and glad dependents of the house-holds of men. James, Annie, and Ida, no longermake a horse only of the house-dog, Rover. butof the lion and tiger also, =-riders and riddenbeing equally gratified.Doctors of medicine are few and far between,for almost perfect bealth and long life has madesuch calling unremunerative. Lawyers find noplace under a righteous government, and amidsta law-abiding people, who have exchanged !

vox POPULI vox DRIfor the voice of God in and through Christ-the Iunreal having given place to the real."Prisons, lunatic asylums, and poor-houses,have wholly disappeared with tbe boastedcivilization whose fruits and shame they were.The magistracy of each State consists of tbeExecutive of tbe Saints, and the police are itshonest and God-fearing citizens."An hereditary monarchy or aristocracy isunknown, no longer passing from noble sire toworthless son, or worthless sire to noble son-but st rict ly personal. The Saints chosen ofChrist for such honour hold their office in per-petuity, for they never die, and never changesave as the Master lifts them to bigber office.Parliaments and Senates are not, but the Kiugand His Council. Warlike armies and navieshave ceased. The sword is now the ploughshare,the spear tbe pruning hook. 'N ations learnwar no more.' No keel ploughs tbe Atlantic orPacific save in the interests of the goodwill ofmen and the glory of God.

" FLOWERSANnFRUIr ABOUND,more beautifnl. various, fragrant and delicious,tban Adam's Eden knew." Poverty and crime are unknown. Love andgood works abound. Labour is never excessive,eight hours per day being its utmost limit.

"The face of the earth is changed, owing tothe enormous increase of light. With the moonas powerfnl as the sun was of old, the sun seventimes more powerful than before (Isa. xxx. 26.)The wondrous light of the New Jerusalem as agolden lamp in heaven (Rev. xxi. 23,24), andthe glory of the Saviour and His Saints, thewhole earth is flooded with light wbich hasmelted the' eternal snows' and ice of the Poles,and made them habitable; has changed theSahara into fruitful fields and smiling gardens;and immensely increased the comfort, andaided in the higher development of man.

"Here we leave our subject, with the prayer,'Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus.' Fulfil thepetition of eighteen ce'nturies-, THY KINGDOM COME,

Thy will be done on earth as it is done inheaven.' "For this, and not for the paltry baubles ofthe present fleeting state, let us all live, that wemay be counted wortby to sit with Christ on Histhrone, and become tbe kings and priests of tha t

rapidly nearing age. For this let us long. Forthis, look. For this, pray. For this, labour."

SACRED SONG.EDITED BY THE REV. G. P. MACKAY.

MAN LINKED TO GOD. (L.M.)T HE God whose glory fills the heavens,Where bowing Seraphs veil their sight,And every grand intelligence,Aspires to worship Him aright,The God who gath'reth in a glance,The vast expanse of countless years;Who owns no future, knows no past;But one eternal present wears.This glorious God of Power and Love,Has made humanity divine:And crowned His wondrous attributes.By linking to His nature mine.Then up, my souL and to the heavens;Direct Thine eager faith-born sight:See, where tby nature sits entbroned,The brightest rays of heaven unite.No darkening doubt, no cloud of sense,Should this bright heaven-born truth alloy:Truth that has filled heaven's choirs withpraise,And thrilled Divinity with joy.The storms of life blow keen and chill;Yet calm witbin the Holy Place,God waits to perfect His design,And in His Son beholds the race.MARYG. BURNETl'.

THE KING'S COMMAND." GO out quickly

To the streets and city lanes,Where tbe power of evil reigns,And invite the starving to the feast."" Go out quickly,"-This command is unto you,Christian soul, as to the fewWho first heard it in tbe far-off East."Go out quickly,"-For tbe message that you bringIs the message of a King,And king's messages are borne with speed."Go out quickly,"-For the King has said' Make haste;'So no precious moments waste:But to ruu with eagerness give heed." Go out quickly,"-For you bear the best of news,And none surely can refuseTo proclaim good tidings all around." Go out quickly,"-Life in Christ should make you hie;Men are mortal and must die.As you know this, ob, let works abound."Go out quickly,"The death-angel flieth fast,And the daylight soon is pastFor the servants and the strangers too." Go out quickly,"-For He soon shall come again,Whose great love doth so constrain,And reward the faithful and the true.

G.P.M


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THE BIBLE STANDARD. 129

TRUTH.T RUTH is the magnet that will drawAll upright hearts together; .Truth is the house that firmly standsThe test of wintry weather.Truth is a ray that paints arightThe lie that shade would smother;Truth flings aside the mask and cowl,For wherefore should she cover?T. MAYHEW.

" It is written, the first man Adam was madea living soul; the last Adam was made a quicken-ing spirit." 1Cor. xv. 45.W HEN God breathed into man,To give him life and being,He, who all time could scan,In the dim future seeingHow sin would conquer in the strife,Gave not the mau immortal life ;But put within that form of clayA life which He could take away.But when the Spirit breathesNew life from God within us,And round about us wreathesLove's cords, from sin to win us :Immortal life we then possess,And traverse earth 's dark wilderness,Toward, not from, God's Paradise,Where foes, once slain, no more entice.o Christ, of Thee possesst,Thou Fount of Life Eternal!And by Thy Spirit blest-,Vith joy" for ever vernal;Knowing by faith our heavenly birth,Little we care for joys .of earth,And hasten till our race be run,With faces turned toward the Sun.We wait Thy coming, Lord,To close the blotted pagesOf that long, dark record,The story of the ages;And long for that glad time, when weShall stand in immortality,Through Thee, the second Adam, blestWith endless l ife, and joy, and rest.

ANON.

LIFE NOTES.FROM a Liverpool correspondent we havereceived a cutting from the Christiom.Herald, of a sermon by the Rev. C. H. Spurgeon.It is a pity the former has not a more ChristianGospel to herald than the lurid scenes of endlessagony it so delights to torture its readers with,and for which it .specially asks their prayers.And it is equal pity that so good and devoted aman as C. H. Spurgeon should take his theologyfrom the" Fathers" rather than from the sacredWord: or, at least, read his Bible with thespectacles of the" Fathers." Under the head-ing of "The Fearful Gall of Eternal Woe" wefind the following-" Oh! what is your happiness at this moment,my friends? Is it a happiness that will lastyou? IB It a joy that will endure? Or are youholding in your hand an apple of Sodom, andsaying, "It is fair, it is passing fair," when youknow that you only look on it now, but will haveto eat it in eteroity? See the man who hasthat apple iu his hand; he puts it to his mouth;he has to masticate it in eternity; and it isashes-c-ashes in his lips-asbes between histeeth-s-ashee in his jaws-ashes for ever-ashesthat shall go iuto his blood, make each vein aroad for the hot feet of pain to travel on, hisheart an abode of misery, his whole frame a denof loathsomeness I Ah! if you have not thisconsolation of Israel, do you know what ye musthave? You must have eternal torment."

We have looked up in Cruden's Concordanceall the Scripture references to "ashes" whichbear upon the nature and destiny of man, withthe following result :-" I have taken upon meto speak unto the Lord, which am but dust andashes" (Gen. xviii. 27). "I will bring thee toashes upon the earth in the sight of all themthat behold thee" (Ezek. xxviii. 18). "And yeshall tread down the wicked; for they shall beashes under the soles 'of your feet" (ilial. iv. 3),"And turning the cities (and, of course, theirinhabitants) into ashes" (2 Pet. ii.6). Now, itwould need more than a microscopic eye to detectin these passages what Mr. Spurgeon has setforth in his rhetoric. Rhetoric, not based onthe logic of the revealed Word, but on the filthyand cruel drearnings of filthy and cruel Rome.How strange that one of the most noted defendersof the Protestant faith should condescend totake his dogmas from Rome.Mr. S. does, however, attempt to fortify him-self from the Bible. But his quotation is a mis-quotation, which destroys its sense. He says->-"Hear this-and let there be no metaphor orfigure; hear it, forI SPEAK GOD'S PLAIN LANGUAGE.

For the body, too, there is a hell. It is notmerely your soul that is to be tortured. Whatcare you for conscience? What care you formemory? What care you for imagination?Hear this, then, drunkard! hear this, mau ofpleasure! That body which thou pamperestshall lie in pain. It was not a figure whichChrist used when He said, ' In hell he lift up hiseyes, being in torments, and seeth Abrahamafar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And hecried, and said, Father Abraham, have mercy onme, and Bend Lazarus, that he may dip the tipof his finger in water, and cool my tongue ; forI am tormented in this flame.' It was a tongue,sinner; it was a flame, sinner. It was not ametaphorical tongue, and it was not a metaphor.ical flame. It was not metaphorical water thathe wanted. Real, positive, actual flame tor.mented the body of that rich Dives in hell."Now here, as, according to Mr. S., this wasnot a figure or parable, (though "without aparable spake He not unto them "-Matt. xiii.34,) but" Real, positive, actual flame tormentedthe body of that rich Dives in hell ," the preacheranticipates the resurrection. On the contrary,the Scriptures affirm that the dead are not bodieduntil the resurrection- which was then and stillis future. We would not minimise the dreadhorrors of Resurrection to Judgment and to the"Second Death," but we marvel exceedingly thatpreachers should be BDf lagrantly inconsistentwith, and, seemingly, ignorant of that Wordthey are called and set apart to preach, Let thetruth, and that alone, be taught, whateverit may be.

A good deal of attention has been excited bythe emphatic manner in which the Rev. ArcherGnrney, has repndiated, from a High Churchpoint of view, the doctrine of the endlessness ofevil. He maintains that '~The Church Uni-versal" never did decree, or acknowledge either"the endlessness of evil, nor yet the endlessdnration of the pains of hell." But the reverendgentleman advances a step further, and not afew will be startled by the bold..ess of hisdeclaration that "the time has come to saydistinctly that this is none other than the arch-lie, the falsehood of falsehoods, which blasphemesthe True and Living God, nay, which may besaid to deny His very existence." Whatevermay be the impression caused by this announce-ment of Mr. Gurney's views, it would be idle todeny the fact that this doctrine of the non-eternity of punishment for sin, which finds itsstoutest defender in Canon Farrar, and hisnumerous and influential following, is spreadingrapidly on, not only among the clergy, but also

in N onconformist ranks. Indeed it is stated asa fact, that in Brighton alone there are sixclergymen who have openly proclaimed them-selves as "restitutionists."-Christian Globe.-Tbere can be little doubt that "UniversalRestoration" is becoming a very popular dogma,but, like that horror which it seeks to supplant,it s root -idea is false-because unscr iptural. Likethe orthodox error, it is based upon the idea ofthe natural immortality of the soul. We com-mend to such the following letter addressed tothe readers of the Salisbury T'imes-"Sir,-In your last issue a correspondent-who signs himsel f' An Evangel ical Churchman'-speaks of 'Conditional Immortality' as a'heresy.' Of course a parrot could scream out, heresy' if taught to do so. But my object inwriting is simply this. The word 'Soul' and, Spirit' occurs about 2,000 times in the Oldand New Testaments. Will your correspondentfind one place where the word 'immortal' isprefixed or attached to 'Soul' or 'Spirit'? Ifhe cannot, will not the charge of 'hereBY' fallupon himself, for fathering on the Word of Godwhat he cannot find in it ?-YourB obediently,

BURLINGTON B. WALE, May 31st, 1883."The same issue of the above paper containsan able and logical letter on "Religious Lntoler-ance in Salisbury," by" Sigma.' ''le thank tbewriter, who is a young but promising defender ofthat faith" once for all delivered to the saints."It is cheering to find our young men ably comingto the front.

From the Christian World we learn that apleasing measure of success attends the effortsof M. Byse to b iild up his little Church inBrussels. In his exclusion by the BelgianSynod he has the sympathy of the Deans of the /"only two Theological Facult ies which ProtestantFrance possesses. He has been severely lam.pooned by It comic writer in Le Journal deBruxelles, but, on the intervention and explana-tion of Dr. Petavel, of Geneva, the editor ad-mitted a full letter from M. Byse, in explanationand vindication of his action and teaching, andfollowed it with a frank expression of personalregret and sympathy. 1 1 1 . Byse's address is47, Rue du Prince Royale, Brussels.An esteemed correspondent at Weymouth hassent UB newspaper cuttings of letters in theSouthern Times, upon the subject of "Con-ditional Immortality." 'I'he correspondencearose from a paragraph which appeared in thatpaper, quoted from Truth, We have only spacefor the opening letter by our correspondent.The answer thereto by the Vicar of St. John's,Portland, though temperately written, evades thereal point of discussion, since it deals only withthe Duration and not with the Nature of thepunishment; and also ignores the plain factthat aionios does not always mean unending,but is often applied to fleeting and perishingthingB:-" It is with regret I Bee, by your issue of April28th, that so distinguiabed and able a missionarypreacher as the Rev. W. Hay-Aitken should havebeen refused to conduct a mission at Chelten-

ham, in consequence of 'unsound views respect-ing the annihilation of the wicked and condi-tional immortality,' as expounded by Truth. Ithas been no secret to some that Mr. Hay-Aitkenis represented as believing that 'The wages ofsin is death; but the gift of God is eternal lifethrough Jesus Christ our Lord'; and that' Hethat hath the Son hath life, and he that hathnot the Son hath not life.' But whether suchbelief eau be interpreted as unsound by anyonewho has subscribed his name to the Sixth Articleof the Church of England, is another questionaltogether. I have no reason to suppose Truthwould put any other interpretation to his term, annihilation' than what is generally meant bythe words destruction, death, punishment. Andwhat do we learn from the very highest author-


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130 THE BIBLE STANDARD.ity ? 'Broad is the way that leadeth to destruc-tion . . . . narrow is the way that leadeth untolife.

the bible standard july 1883

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