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I CHOOSE as the basis of some remarks, dear friends, the words of the Lord, "My grace is sufficient for you; my strength is made perfect in weakness." You remember the occasion on which these words were used. Saul of Tarsus had been a persecutor of the church, and yet he tells us that in doing this persecuting work he was very conscientious, verily thinking that he did God service. Because he was a good man, misled by various errors, superstitions and wrong conceptions God favored him, and while on the way to Damascus to persecute the church there, he was smitten to the ground by a light which he tells us shone about him above the brightness of the sun at noon-day. He tells us afterward that this bright light was but a glimpse of the living Lord. It was necessary, according to the Lord's arrangement, that every one of the apostles should be a witness to testify that Jesus not only died for the sins of the world, but that He was risen from the dead. The eleven apostles were all made aware of the fact that He was risen, during the forty days after His resurrection. It was proven to them positively, not only that He was alive from the dead, but that He was no longer human. This He did by manifesting Himself in different forms on different occasions. We read that He APPEARED to them. He did not APPEAR before that, any more than you "appear" to me or I "appear" to you. You cannot disappear, and I cannot disappear. We have no such power. But Jesus in His resurrected condition as a spirit being could appear in one form or another, or in various forms, as we read He did. These different appearances or manifestations were purposely made to prove conclusively that He was no longer dead. You remember on at least one occasion He appeared in the midst of His disciples when the doors were shut. He must have created the body and the clothing. After speaking a few words to them, perhaps not more than five minutes of time, He vanished from their sight, thus proving that He was alive as a spirit being, and able to go and come like the wind, as angels have done in the past. During the thirty-three and one-half years from His birth at Bethlehem to His death on Calvary He did not APPEAR as a man; He was the MAN, Christ Jesus. During the last three and one-half years of His life He was, indeed, a spirit being in embryo, as you and I are. According to the Bible an embryo spirit being is one in whom the spirit life has begun. This life begins in us at the time we make our consecration to the Lord. So Jesus was a new creature from the time of His baptism, and that new creature was developing during the three and one-half years of His ministry. That new creature was perfected, and raised from the dead as will be the case with the church, as the apostle explains, "Sown in weakness; raised in power: Sown in dishonor; raised in glory: Sown an animal body; raised a spiritual body." So Jesus was a spirit being, and the apostles must be witnesses to that fact. Why? Because a dead Saviour could be no Saviour at all. If Jesus had simply died He would not have accomplished anything for us at all. It was necessary not only that He die for man's sins, but that He should rise again for our justification, as the apostle explains. The word justify means to make right. So Jesus died and rose again that He might make satisfaction to divine justice. God does not propose to accept imperfect beings into His kingdom; He does not propose to have a world filled with people who are blemished mentally, morally or physically. He proposes to have a perfect race of men, and He proposes to have the angels and all other creatures perfect. He proposes to make them perfect; there is no reason why they should be imperfect. Man sinned and imperfection came upon the race, but it is God's purpose to justify them, to make them right through our Lord Jesus Christ. This will be accomplished during the Millennial Age by lifting man up from imperfection of mind and body to full perfection of mind and body. Any who will then refuse or neglect to come to that perfection, that righteousness, that justification, will thereby be refusing God's favor. The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. God will give them the opportunity to become perfect, and if they refuse to become perfect they cannot have everlasting life. Only perfect beings can have life everlasting.

It is not God's purpose that we at this time should be made right physically or mentally. He justifies us by faith, not actually. He gives us, so to speak, a credit on the books of Heaven. We have some powers of thinking, and observation and expression, but we are imperfect. It is God's arrangement to impute to us enough of the merit of the Lord Jesus to bring us up to the standard. He credits our account. Suppose you owed the grocer ten dollars, and you only had five. Suppose some one hands you five dollars so you can make full payment. That would be much like the restitution which the world will receive by and by. They will have the full payment to make at the end of the thousand years. But it is not so with the church now. Perhaps you have what might be illustrated by the five dollars to pay on the ten dollar account. Instead of giving you the five dollars it is merely imputed, or credited to you. We are justified, therefore, from the time we give our hearts to the Lord and He imputes to us enough of His merit to make our account good from that time on. You have no outward evidence of this, only God says it is so. So before the church could get any blessing from the Lord faith must be exercised. We must believe that Jesus died and ascended up to Heaven to make satisfaction for us. More than that, before God will receive us into His family and give us His Holy Spirit we must believe that He is no longer dead. Hence the forty days spent in fully convincing His apostles that He was no longer dead, but that He was alive as a spirit being, so they might fully comprehend that He ascended into Heaven as a spirit being to present the price to satisfy justice. Believing this they were in the right attitude to receive God's acceptance of them as consecrated sacrificers. They had already consecrated, and now needed faith to bring them up to the blessing point. You remember Jesus told them to tarry at Jerusalem until they were endued with power from on high. They could not receive the power until they were in the condition of faith, and until then they could not be qualified to speak as God's representatives. As this was important for the other apostles, so also for St. Paul.

God had foreseen that this Jew, Saul of Tarsus, with his wonderful natural talents, his high family standing, his riches, and the title which he possessed as a citizen of the Roman Empire, though misled by error, was a very noble, worthy vessel to be used in his service. So we read that he was a chosen vessel to carry the Lord's name to the Gentiles, as well as to the Jews. So it was necessary for Saul of Tarsus to be able to say that he had seen Jesus. After telling how Jesus died and was raised from the dead, and how he appeared to Peter, and John, and about 500 brethren at one time, St. Paul adds, "Last of all He was seen by me also." You remember this is the apostle who said that he was not one whit behind the chiefest of the twelve, and he needed this evidence of his apostleship. Jesus did not appear to Saul of Tarsus in the same way that he appeared to the other apostles in the upper chamber, with nail prints in His hands and a spear thrust in His side, nor as He appeared to the two on the way to Emmaus. Saul of Tarsus saw the glory of the Lord. I think he just saw a little; simply a glimpse; no more. Just that one glimpse destroyed his sight. Why? Because he got a glimpse of a spirit being, the light of which was above the brightness of the sun. I have never seen one, of course. I am merely speaking of the way the Bible describes it. "Dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; which no man hath seen nor can see." That is a description of the Heavenly Father, and is not the Lord Jesus the same? Yes, we are told He is the express image of the Father's person; He is just like the Father. No wonder Saul of Tarsus lost his sight. That was a great lesson, and a great blessing to the church that God gave this manifestation; that Jesus showed Himself in that particular way. It gives us further insight into the character and condition of our Lord. The same effect would be produced upon mankind if they should ever see Jesus as He is. In olden times God appeared to Moses in the burning bush. He did not see God, but he saw a bush. The burning in the bush was not God, it was merely a manifestation of God's presence. This was a peculiar kind of fire which did not consume the bush. The Lord also appeared on other occasions to men, but all of these appearances were not the Lord but merely a manifestation which man could appreciate. By and by the Lord will appear to the world, and every eye shall see Him. Will they? So it is written: "Every eye shall see Him; they also that pierced Him." Will it destroy their eyesight? No. How will they see Him and not have their eyesight destroyed, when seeing Him did destroy the eyesight of Saul of Tarsus? They will not see Him in the same way, but as you and I see Him now. How do we see Him now? The eyes of our understanding are opening wider and wider so that we can see the lengths and breadths and heights and depths of the Lord's character. We [CR468] are seeing Jesus much better than thousands saw Him who merely saw Him in the flesh. We see Him with the eyes of our understanding as a great spirit being, next to the Father, far above angels, principalities and powers, and every name that is named. We are getting glorious visions of our Saviour, dear friends, and they are improving all of the time.

Still we are going to see Him better. How do I know? So it is written. We, the church, shall see Him as He is – not as He was – as He is. How so? "For we shall be like Him." How like Him? We must all be changed that we may be like Him. What kind of a change will it be? The apostle explains that the change will be from the human to the divine nature. He says flesh and blood cannot enter the kingdom, so we must be changed. Then our eyes will not be injured by seeing Him, for we will be spirit beings also. It does not injure the sight of the angels to see God. Saul of Tarsus saw a spirit being with his natural eyes.

The apostle says, "last of all He was seen of me also – then he adds these words, as of one born before the time." To most people this is a very blind statement, "as one born before time." What would that mean? It is very simple when we have the Bible view on the question. The Bible thought is that Jesus was begotten of the Holy Spirit at the time of His baptism and for three and one-half years He was in an embryo spirit condition. The spirit embryo was developing in a human body, and was not completed until born in the resurrection. He was the firstborn from the dead, the firstborn of every creature. That was His spirit birth to the divine plane. So you and I are begotten of the spirit, we are developing the spiritual life, and in our resurrection we too will be born to the divine nature, as the Scriptures declare, "He was the firstborn among many brethren," and we are these brethren to be born from the dead as He was born from the dead.

Now come back to the apostle's words, "as one before the time." The right time for Paul to be born of the spirit would be in the resurrection. That will be the time for each of us to be born of the spirit. Then we can all see Him as a spirit being. Saul saw Him 1,800 years ago as a spirit being, therefore it was as one born before the time. He saw Jesus as we will see Him when born, but it was before the change, before the resurrection, therefore it injured his sight. God wished us to learn a lesson through Saul, who by consecration to the Lord and the begetting of God's Holy Spirit became the apostle Paul. He tells us that the time came when he thought perhaps God would be willing to restore his eyesight. It was quite difficult for the apostle to be called "bleareyed Jew" because his eyes were running water continually, and this defective condition was quite a disadvantage to him as a speaker. I presume he may have thought many times, in connection with his public appearances, "if I only had good eyesight how I would hold their attention. It may have been more himself, and not so much for the truth, when he prayed the Lord about his eyes. He was only blind for a short time, but he could not see clearly; he could not write plainly. In one of his epistles, probably the only one he ever wrote himself, he mentions this fact. Usually someone wrote for him, not because he was not a scholar, but because of his defective eyesight. St. Mark usually served as his amanuensis. In this one case he wrote one of the shortest of his epistles himself because he had no one with him to write for him, and at the conclusion of it he says, "you see how large an epistle I have written unto you with mine own hand." It was a great task for him to write with his own hand because of his defective sight. The Greek makes it stronger. It says, "you see with what large characters I have written; you notice these large letters I have written." That was the only way he could write because of his dim sight.

St. Paul asked to be healed. Although he repeated his request three times, the Lord declined to heal him. I have a great deal of sympathy with people who tell me they pray to God for various things. I say to myself, "they have the experience that St. Paul had." They do not understand, perhaps, that God does not propose to give us temporal blessings, and He is not suggesting that we pray for such blessings. Does the Lord suggest that we may pray for the food we want, or the kind of clothing we would like to wear, or the kind of house we would like to live in? If there is any such suggestion in the Bible I have never seen it. On the contrary He says when we pray to the Father we may make mention of our temporalities, and acknowledge that we are dependent upon Him, but we are merely to request, "give us this day our daily bread," or food; we are not to stipulate what kind it shall be, whether oatmeal porridge or bread and butter. We may simply acknowledge our dependence and ask for daily food – nothing more. Are we not to pray for health? There is no suggestion from Jesus that we are to pray for health, or wealth, or influence or power. On the contrary, we are to exercise faith in God, and Jesus assures us, "your Father knoweth what things ye have need of. Be not like the Gentiles who think they shall be heard because of their much asking." They ask, and ask, and ask, and they think because they ask a whole lot their God will hear them. Be not like the Gentiles. Your Father knows that you are His children, you have entered His family, and He has agreed to give you what is best. He knows what is best for us. To tell Him what to give us would indicate that we have no confidence in His knowing what is best for us, because if He knows what is best, and agrees to give what is best we have no right to interfere. In harmony with our covenant with Him it is our part to say, "Father, not my will but thy will be done. When we come into God's family we give up our own wills. The Scriptures say, "if any man will be my disciple let him deny himself." What does that mean? It means giving up his own will. If you have a lot of will of your own, and are expressing it to God by telling Him what you want done, you have not given up your will. It is about time that we learn that our covenant means giving up our will, and accepting God's will instead. Then we are making some progress in the school of Christ; in the way God has invited us to follow as His children.

St. Paul was a new beginner in the school of Christ, and he did not have the epistles of other apostles to study. It was a new matter to him. The Lord decided through him to give a lesson to you and me. We are told that he besought the Lord three times that this thorn in the flesh be removed, and the answer which the Lord finally gave was an unfavorable one. He did not answer the first and second time, except by the fact that he permitted the thorn to remain. St. Paul should have said, "I asked the Lord and He did not take away the thorn, therefore the answer is that I should keep this imperfection." But He did not get that far along. He did not understand well enough, and so asked again. Finally the Lord said to him the words of our text. Not that He would take away the difficulty. He must keep the sore eyes, but the Lord did show how He would answer the proper sentiment of the prayer. He said, "my grace is sufficient for you; I will let you keep the trouble you have, but I will give you grace sufficient." Think of the word "sufficient." It means enough of my grace. My grace is sufficient for you; my strength is made perfect in your weakness. How did the apostle take that? He showed that he was not seeking his own will in his prayer. He doubtless was praying more for the Lord's cause than for personal advantage. I presume the apostle was saying, "how much more efficient I could be as a servant of the Lord if I had good sight." The Lord might say "I appreciate the fact that you are anxious to do my work, but let me do it in my way. I will not take away your sore eyes. I will let you keep this imperfection, and it will remind you of the time when you were an injurious person; when you were a persecutor of the church. Perhaps it will make you more sympathetic. It may be that others will persecute you, and you will then be impressed with the fact that you were an injurious person in the past and I had mercy on you. This will help to keep you more humble, because I am going to give you such opportunities to show forth my praises, and will use you so wonderfully, St. Paul, that unless you had something like this to keep you down you might get proud." The Lord's grace was sufficient. St. Paul's answer was beautiful. "Most gladly, therefore, will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me." "If your grace is to be that much greater to me, then Lord give me the experiences that you see are best, that I may have more of your grace, more of your blessing." I think this is the way the Lord would have us all do. His grace is sufficient; we do not need any more.

Part of the lesson to you and me as Christians is to learn our absolute dependence on the Lord. Especially active people are apt to forget that God is more interested in the gospel message than you or I. We are merely little helpers, and doubtless often get in God's way by our efforts to help Him. He wishes us to have earnest zeal to serve His cause, but we are not to rush in where angels would fear to tread. We are to realize that it is God's work, and He is supervising His own work. We should say, "Lord, I would be glad to be a humble servant to do something. Show me what I can do in your service. I want to pattern after your way. Some of the most able people in the world have run away and come to a smashup because they had not given up their wills. We read on the pages of history how great errors came into the church of Christ – not the real church, because God is able to overrule it all, but things crept in that were apparently injurious to the cause, because some would-be saints had not submitted their own wills. The first requirement of God when we come into His family is that we submit our wills. That means something, my dear brother. That is the most wonderful thing in the world to give up the [CR469] human will. There is nothing else that I believe means so much to any person as to give up the will. There are some people who find it easy to simply give up their will and become a servant to another. For instance, a wife may give up her will and be obedient to her husband. This may be very desirable if the husband be a wise one, and one with proper consideration for others. This might make a very beautiful home arrangement. But it is not always safe to give up your will to a husband or wife. We must be very sure. My thought would be that I would never give up my human will to any human being, no matter how great or good, because it is all I am. If I gave up my human will entirely it would be to become a slave. I would not dare to do it. Not to some good person? Not to anyone; not for the whole world.

When it comes to the proposition of giving it to God, that is different. God has a right to me. I belong to Him. I am His creature to begin with. What have I that is my own? I belong to Him, therefore I readily give up my will to God. The first thing in becoming His disciples is that we deny ourselves by giving up our own wills. We should sit down and count the cost. Some people undertake to give up their wills, but they do not know what it really means. Jesus says, "better not attempt to be my disciples if afterward you are going to wish you had not become a servant." Ah, my dear brethren, the Lord is not trying to enslave anybody. If so He would say, "go right in; give me everything and think nothing about it." He says, "if you give me your will I want you to do it with full knowledge and intention. Sit down and count the cost before giving me your will." How much will it cost? I cannot do my own will about anything hereafter. That seems terrible. You have been willing to sacrifice other people's wills for your own; you put your own first always? Yes. Now you cannot have your own will. As soon as you come into the family of God, that is changed. Now it is not to be your will, but the will of the Father. You say, that is a big contract; I cannot afford to do it." Sit down and count the cost intelligently. I believe you will reach the conclusion that your own will, while very precious to you, is a very unsatisfactory thing in many respects. In doing your own will in times past you have found out that you made many blunders, didn't you. You thought you would arrange everything so favorably, but you found that you made many mistakes in following your own will. You are not as well equipped mentally as you would like to be. You would like to use your own will, but you have learned not to trust it very much. Every one has learned this lesson, more or less. Our own wills have led us into difficulty. We hear the Lord saying, "my grace is sufficient for you; my strength is made perfect in weakness," and we decide that we can safely trust Him who gave His life for us. We could not trust the best man or woman under any circumstances, but we will trust the one whom the Father has appointed, and in whom He declares He has full confidence. I will trust Him who has proven His worthiness by sacrificing Himself on my behalf. I dare give Him everything, and I have and you have.

We did this, and what a blessing came to us, in the realization of the assurance of our text, "His grace is sufficient for you." Have you not found it so. Have you not found His blessing, His wisdom, His guidance to be the very best things in the world. What do you imagine you would do if you were living for yourself? I would not know how to run myself. We are just learning the value of having the Lord's guidance. He teaches us in a way very different from other slavery. It is really a slavery when you give up your will fully to the Lord, because you have not a right to your own will in a single matter. Not only in respect to what you do, but also in what you wear, where you shall go, what you shall eat, and what you may think. "Why, Brother Russell!" Yes, that is all included. There never was any slavery as complete as that. There are no slaves anywhere in the world who are compelled to think in a certain way. They may think as they like, but they must do in a certain way or be punished. But with you and me everything we do, say or think must be subject to the will of God. Not my own thoughts, not my own way, not my own desires, not my own words, not my own will, but the will of God. The apostle says, "I am a bond slave of the Lord Jesus Christ." Was he sorry, and trying to get rid of the slavery? No. He said, "I delight to be His servant." It is the best position to be in. To be a slave to any other would be bondage, but to be a slave to the Lord Jesus Christ is so good. The more we come into harmony with Him the more blessing we have.

But the Scriptures intimate that after giving up all, and becoming the slaves of the Lord Jesus Christ, He does not hold us to it. You can get your freedom in a minute. But would you want to get free? You can get free in a minute. So we could do as we please? Certainly, the Lord would not restrain you. But if you do your own will, and your will is sinful, you will get the wages of sin. Christ's will represents the perfection of the divine conception of what is best for you and me. We may not always recognize this at the moment, but God assures us that His grace is sufficient, and all things shall work together for good to all them that love Him more than houses, lands, parents, children, or self-will. Those who thus love God's will are getting the blessing each day, and this is increasing as they learn to give up their own will more implicitly. At first, while the will is given up, there is always a tugging at the rope, so to speak. The old nature tries to pull off in an opposite direction, but we come back and remember that it is God's will we wish to do. We are learning the blessedness of being in this, the happiest condition in the world. The will of Christ becomes our own more and more. Our will is given up to do His will, whether pleasant or unpleasant. As thus we give up and come more and more into harmony with God; His will is the delight of our body and mind. "I delight to do thy will, O my God," was the language of the Master. In proportion as you and I, and others of His followers, come near to Him, and followers of His dear Son, in that proportion will we have delight in doing God's will, even if it is contrary to the flesh. Old things have passed away and all things have become new. We have new aspirations, new motives, new ambitions. These come through His promises set before us, and we are being transformed as we consider the good things God has promised, and which we see to be in harmony with His character. We are being transformed, in mind, and this new mind is the new creature that is being raised out of the dead body.

The body is counted dead from the time we make our consecration. "Ye are dead and your life is hid with Christ in God." It is this new life, this new creature, that is getting better views of God's will, and what is right and wrong. It is getting a higher conception, seeing the glorious things which God has in reservation for those who love Him. Being filled with the Holy Spirit, gradually his spiritual eyes open and enable him to see things on a higher plane, and thus he discerns what God has for such as love Him. As we said yesterday, it is not a holy person that is put into us, but a holy disposition, a holy mind, a holy will, a holy influence of God. In this sense, being filled with the spirit we become more and more spiritual, until, as new creatures, we are thoroughly ripe for the other body. The present body is necessary to us now, but in it we cannot do the things that we would; we cannot do what our hearts desire. We are imperfect in our own estimation. Frequently because we come short we are compelled to make explanations and apologies, sometimes to God and sometimes to fellow men. The will is perfect. Only the body is defective. God has a new body for each one of His children. He is ready to give that new body in the resurrection. When that which is perfect is come, when we are born from the dead, we shall be like our Saviour, see Him as He is, and share His glory. Then we will have a body in harmony with that perfect mind which we are already getting, and which we have to a large degree.

All of that will be reached, as the text says, only by God's grace being sufficient for us in the present time. It is not merely that His grace will enable us to overcome in this or that difficulty, and take things serenely under trying circumstances, but His grace is sufficient all the way along. His grace justifies us, it is by His grace that we will finally have part in the divine nature, and share in the glory, honor and immortality. He will encourage along the way. The only thing you and I have to do with our salvation as new creatures is that we fully accept God's arrangements, and that we become co-workers with God to the extent of our ability. Could you ask for easier terms? No, you could not ask for easier terms. God has fixed it most gloriously for us. How happy we are as we see how the grace of God will finally bring in the fruition of our hopes, and the fulfillment of all His glorious promises. We are not only getting nearer to God, but we are getting nearer to that glorious change that is to make us partakers, as God's sons, of glory, honor and immortality.

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DEAR friends, it is a great pleasure I have in meeting some of the Bible Students here this afternoon, realizing, as I do, that you are free, and desiring more and more to be free with that liberty which the Lord mentions when He declares, "If the Son shall make you free ye shall be free indeed."

How wonderful to be free, and yet it seems to me that people are often bewildered by being set free, because all have been so accustomed to being tied up in some way, shape or form. It seems to me I have seen the matter illustrated by a dog. Most of you have seen a dog who was chained up most of the time. Perhaps during certain hours in the evening the chain is removed and he races about the house in appreciation of his freedom. But after racing for a time he comes back and by his manner says, as it were, "chain me up again; I have had all the liberty I want." So with human beings, in some respects. We fight for liberty, yet somehow after we get liberty we hardly know what to do with it. We feel like saying, "Where am I; what is the matter? Has no one any string on me; has no one a chain on me?" I think we have overcome somewhat along that line, and we realize more and more the liberty wherewith Christ makes free. Having been more or less used to sectarian bondage and restraint in various ways, we hardly know just how to use the liberty which comes through Christ. Some are inclined to go to a kind of anarchy, and live lives that would be too free. They think there should be no restraint whatever for a Christian, whereas the Bible lays down very strict restraints. There is no other book gives such restraints as the Bible, yet with liberty. How could Christians have perfect liberty, and yet be more restrained than any other people? Have you ever wondered about that?

He sets free, primarily, from the condemnation under which we were as members of the fallen race. We were condemned to death, alienated from God, and God's mercy through Christ makes good for our imperfections, and makes it possible for us to return to our Father's house; to His family. We who were, as the Scriptures say, strangers, without God and without hope in the world, were brought nigh by the blood of Christ. Christ paid the price to free us from our sins. Some one asks "Brother Russell, how could He pay that?" I answer, if I were to go into every part of that it would take a long time to tell. I will just state briefly that according to the Bible the whole condemnation upon our race came through Father Adam. He was the one on trial, he was the one offered everlasting life. The test was obedience, or disobedience to God. The reward of obedience was to be everlasting life in the beautiful Eden home with which he was provided at the beginning. Disobedience would mean a cutting off from all of these blessings, including life. The great catastrophe came. He was disobedient and God drove him out of Eden under the condemnation of death. Why should God be so severe with Father Adam? Why should He condemn him to death? I answer, God has only one standard of dealing with the entire universe, and that is this, so to speak: "I am able to make beings that are perfect, and to the perfect I will give the blessings that go with perfection. If they will not have that which is best, that which is perfect, they shall not have anything. I refuse to have imperfect beings in my empire, I refuse to have those who will be unworthy. Only those who will be absolutely perfect and happy may enjoy the blessings which I have to give." When Father Adam was perfect he could have all of that. As soon as he became a sinner he was not worthy of God's favor, therefore God did not temporize the matter and say, "Adam, you are a sinner and I will give you a certain amount of joy and a certain amount of punishment," but God held to His plan and purpose, namely, that no sinner should have life: not life in bliss nor life in partial bliss; nor life in torment; no sinner shall have life at all. "The wages of sin is death – the soul that sinneth, it shall die." God does not change from that. We see that it would be a disadvantage to the world if He did change. God's plan is better than any one could make for us. God condemned the whole world to death, and you and I and the whole race have been born sinners, so the Bible says. Hear the apostle Paul, "By one man's disobedience sin entered the world, and death as a result of sin, and thus death passed upon all men, for all are sinners." That is the secret of it all. Will God never have mercy? Yes, God has mercy. Justice declares that no sinner shall live, yet God has made an arrangement whereby man can be freed from the condition of sinners and brought into harmony with Him; be brought to a condition of perfection where they will be worthy of all the blessings originally provided for men.

During the Gospel Age God has been selecting a church. The church is not brought to perfection in the sense that they are becoming perfect beings. They are merely reckoned perfect in the beginning, they are merely justified by faith and have peace with God, as the apostle says. This is faith justification; it is not the real justification. There is a difference. The word means, to be made righteous. You are not righteous, and I am not righteous, and nobody is righteous. You say, "Brother Russell, we have accepted Christ." I know that, my dear brother. You have come into harmony with Him, and you have what the Bible calls justification by faith. It is not an actual justification. "What do you mean by actual justification?" The word means to be made right. God does not make us over, except in the spirit of our minds, but through the merit of Christ our blemishes and imperfections are covered in His sight and we come into relationship with God; we are justified by faith. This is only a temporary matter. God does not desire you and me to be justified by faith to all eternity. There is a second step of actual justification. When will we be justified actually? When God gives us the new bodies which He has promised. You see we get the new mind now. We have the justified mind through our Lord Jesus Christ, but we still have imperfect bodies. As the apostle says, "We have this treasure (of the new mind, the new character) in earthen vessels," which are imperfect. They are not only earthly, but imperfect. No one knows how imperfect the vessel is as well as ourselves. Each knows the imperfections of his own earthen vessel, and the Lord knows the imperfections of all.

These earthen vessels could never be a part of the Body of Christ. The Lord says, "When I accepted you into my family it was upon certain conditions, to which you agreed. I accepted you, gave you the begetting of the Holy Spirit, and received you as a member in the Body of Christ. Now carry out these conditions. Show me that you meant what you agreed when you entered my family; prove it to me by your faithfulness and I will give you a perfect body." In other words, these imperfect bodies show what the intent of our minds is and if we have been faithful and loyal God is glad to give us the bodies He has promised. So St. Paul, speaking of the resurrection, says, "It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory: It is sown an animal body; it is raised a spiritual body." There is a change, my dear brethren. When you and I get spirit bodies, perfect in the image of Christ and the Father, they will be fine. If now you have the new mind, the heart in full harmony with Him, the new body will be God's final payment to you of what He agreed. The apostle shows that when we came into God's family the begetting of the Holy Spirit was an "earnest of our inheritance." An "earnest" means a hand payment. It is as if you made a certain payment on goods to be paid for in full later. All who come into God's family receive the "earnest," or the hand payment. It is as if God said, "I will give you this now, and I will give you the remainder when you prove that you mean what you say." You see we are on probation from the time we accept the Lord and enter His family. There is a daily opportunity for us to prove our loyalty.

The apostle says, "He is faithful that promised." That being true the responsibility rests with us. The Lord will do His part, and we will be just as sure of getting the glory, honor and immortality as anything you can imagine in the whole world, provided you do your part. Thus the Scriptures tell us to make our calling and election sure by so running as to obtain. You see, God nominates and we elect ourselves. He nominates in giving you and me the invitation. He lays down the conditions, and if we comply with these we will be elected. I am the one to elect. God has laid down the lines, and He has made very fair lines.

That is the way the church is justified. They are not justified to the human nature. O no, they are justified, or made perfect, on a heavenly plane. The only call going out during the Gospel Age is a call to joint-heirship with the Lord Jesus Christ, and a change from the human to the spirit nature, yea, to the highest form of spirit nature, the divine. But after the church has been justified, has been made perfect, has been brought into harmony with God, then comes the time for dealing with the world, and they will be justified. The world will not be justified by faith, but by works. You say "Brother Russell, aren't [CR471] you making a mistake?" No, my brother, that is what the Bible says. The world will be justified by works in this way. During that time of Messiah's Kingdom the church will be associated with the great Mediator between God and men, in accomplishing the mediatorial work. That is a part of our commission. During that time the twenty thousand millions of humanity will have the opportunity of being lifted out of their degradation, and to be delivered from their weaknesses and imperfections. When the kingdom work begins they will still have these weaknesses, and they will all need a great deal of instruction respecting God's will; they will all need to be helped. But if we understand properly the kingdom arrangements they will speedily be brought to know about these things pertaining to the kingdom. You say, "Won't you tell us how that will be?" I can tell you how I think it will be, but I cannot say that it will be so. God may have a better plan than I can see, but I can think of one that seems good. I want you to know when I make a guess, a surmise, and differentiate from a positive statement of the Bible. What the Bible says you and I cannot change one iota, but when there is a point not fixed by the Bible I understand that we may do a little guessing. But we want to keep this distinct from a positive statement of Scripture. Our guess is not to be compared with statements of Jesus, or the apostles or prophets. My guess will not interfere with what Jesus says. We are told that when the kingdom is in power, and the judgments of the Lord are abroad in the earth, the people will learn righteousness. It does not tell us how the judgments will be brought to the world. I am going to imagine something. You can come with me and see.

The church consists of two classes, first a priestly class, and secondly a levitical class. You remember this was typified in the arrangement of the Israelites, by which there was a selection of the tribe of Levi for the Lord's work, and then the priests were chosen from among that tribe. The Levites shared with and co-operated in the general work of instructing, and looking after certain features of the work in connection with the Tabernacle, but it was under the supervision of the priests. So we find these two classes, the priests and the Levites, in the church of Christ. St. Peter says, "Ye are a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people, to show forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light." Who are these priests? Those who joined with Jesus to share in His sacrifice. The apostle says, "If we suffer with Him we shall also reign with Him; if we be dead with Him we shall also live with Him." It is a plain statement, you see. Those of the royal priesthood will be sharers in the sufferings of the present time, and in the glory to follow. They will be the first class represented by the Levites. The Scriptures speak of the church of the first-born. That leads our minds back to the time when God called Israel out of Egypt. You remember the last plague that came upon the Egyptians was the slaying of their first-born, both man and beast, while the first-born of Israel were spared because of the sprinkling of the blood of the lamb upon the door-posts. The apostle shows that the first-born of Israel were typical of the first-born class of this time, who are now being passed over in advance of the world, who will later be delivered out of their bondage. The church is being gathered during the Gospel Age, while the ultimate deliverance of the world was typified by bringing Israel out of bondage. First of all the church is to come out during the night. Just now we are living in a time when the people of God are coming out of the darkness of sin; when Satan and his hosts are to be restrained; when his power is to be broken. Before this is fully accomplished the church is to be delivered. During this time the special class of the first-born have been participating in the eating of the lamb, and waiting for the passing over of the church. The passing over will be the resurrection. Then they will have passed over, and these will be leaders of the others. It was so in the type. The tribe of Levi, with the priests at the head, became the leaders of the tribes with respect to the work of God. The priestly class and the antitypical Levites will share in the work of instructing and blessing the world, and the time for that is the Millennial Age. Then the whole world is to be blessed through the church class which God is now delivering. But they are not to be blessed in the same way. Our blessing is a matter of faith until the moment comes for our change. We will be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. When that moment of change comes we will enter into all of the blessings which God has in reservation for those who love Him.

The world will be justified by works. How so? During the Millennial Age of grace it will become possible to do perfect works. Then they will be justified. Suppose, instead of being Christians we imagine ourselves to be people of the world living in the Millennial Age. Suppose the kingdom set up, and you and I recognize that we are in God's Kingdom. We would know the proper thing would be to come into relationship with the great King. In proportion we would grow stronger day by day in body and mind, mentally, morally and physically, and thus our justification would progress, for the word means "to be made right." The world will be getting nearer and nearer right all through the Millennial Age. All who wish to be right will become more and more perfect, and those who at the end of that time are not perfect (justified) will not be considered worthy of any further favor. The apostle Peter says they will be destroyed. That is the process of restitution, restoration. That is God's arrangement for the world. God wishes all to become perfect. He has made arrangements for the church to receive her perfection in the resurrection, of which Jesus says, "Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection. They shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years. This will be the justification of the church. The justification of the world will be through works of obedience.

"Now," you say, "Brother Russell, has God no provision for any others?" No, my Brother. Nobody but those who will become perfect will have everlasting life. How sad if God would be satisfied with an unsatisfactory standard, and permit some to go to heaven who were half way bad. That would not be like Heaven. God will have none such. He will make it possible for all to get into the right attitude, and reach perfection. We shall be like Him and see Him as He is. There will not be a wicked one, or an imperfect one who will attain to Heavenly glory. So with the world. Imagine what kind of a world it would be if God would permit some to be mentally, morally or physically crippled. Moral cripples would not do; mental cripples would not do; physical cripples would not do. God will not be satisfied with anything less than perfection. I am glad for everything I see about the Heavenly Father's character. I say "It is just like Him." I try to make my mind like His. I do not like to see cripples now. King David never liked to see cripples, and I think it is the intimation that the antitypical David, the Beloved, will not like to see cripples. They will be helped out of their crippled condition. We are glad that perfection is God's ultimate objective. That is better than anything you and I ever thought of. That is to be a grand time. How will it come to pass? I will make a suggestion:

When the kingdom is established, according to the Scriptures the kingly class will be spiritual, and invisible to man. They cannot be seen by man for the same reason that we cannot now see Jesus, who is a spirit being. They will be in the express image of the Father's person. The Bible states that no man has seen God at any time, and God is a spirit, "Whom no man hath seen nor can see, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto." Then if Jesus is the express image of the Father's person it would be quite improper to expect that the world would see Jesus or the church with eyes of flesh. We do not see angels now. You and I do not see God now. Why not? Because God is on one plane, the spiritual, and we are on another plane, the human. So the Bible shows us in the case of St. Paul. His eyes were opened temporarily that he might see a spirit being. He saw the glorified Jesus. He described the experience, stating that the light was above the brightness of the sun at noon-day. His eyes were permanently injured by one glimpse. Thus we see how the world could not see Jesus or His bride, for they will all have glorious bodies like that. We remember that this appearance to Saul was that he might be a witness of Jesus' resurrection. He had appeared to the other disciples, in different forms, and suddenly vanished out of their sight, all of which proved to them that He was no longer dead, and that He was no longer human, but spiritual, possessing powers which no man could exercise. You remember St. Paul says that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of Heaven, therefore we must be changed. Not that He must be changed and become like us, but we must be changed and become like Him, and see Him as He is. Unless you and I are changed from human to spiritual conditions we can never see Him as He is. He will not appear as He was. Jesus said, "A little while and the world seeth me no more," and they will never see Him except in the same sense that we see Him now, with the eyes of our understanding. In this way we can, perhaps, understand His glories better than if we saw Him in the flesh. We think of Him as far above angels, principalities and powers, and every name that is named. The world seeth me no more, but, mark, "YE SHALL SEE ME." How? You shall be changed. Won't the world be changed? No. God did not plan to change all human beings to spiritual. It is only the church that is an exception. They are called to be a new, divine creation.

The Bible shows that God finished His creative work more [CR472] than 6,000 years ago, and the time since then is called His rest. He has committed all things to His Son. The Son has not yet taken up the work of blessing the race, but the selection of the church is now in progress. If He has been working for the world for 1,800 years He has not done much. No, He has not begun to do that work. He is merely finding His saints, and "the Lord knoweth them that are His." He is acting as advocate to these, representing them before the Heavenly Father. They are represented as members of His Body. All this is getting ready for the blessing of the world later. The Father begets us to become a new creation. How? The apostle says, "God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, hath begotten us." He is the Father of Jesus, and our Father. Jesus is our elder brother in one picture, and our bridegroom in another. We are children of the same Father. The Father is not dealing with the world, and Jesus is leaving that work for the present. The world is merely held in restraint more or less, so it may not become too bad, and so that God's great plan may not be interfered with. In due time, as soon as the church, the new creation, has been gathered from the world, Christ and His bride, His associates, will do the work for the world during His thousand year reign. They will bless and uplift, and give each individual an opportunity to regain the perfect human condition that was lost. We remember Jesus' words, "The Son of man came to seek and to save that which was lost." He did not come to save something that was not lost, but something that WAS lost. You never lost the divine nature? You never lost anything spiritual either. So Jesus does not give you the divine nature, nor does He give the world the spirit nature. What does He do for us? He merely justifies; the Father sanctifies. It is the Father that begets. During the next age Jesus will do the work. Not that the Father will have nothing to do, but the work for man will be in Jesus' hands. Nor will the Father beget the world. Will they not need to be regenerated? Yes; Jesus will be the Father; He will regenerate them. The word "regenerate" means to start a new being. The whole world, having died through Adam, will need to be regenerated; to be made alive. You remember the disciples asked Jesus what they should receive, since they had forsaken all to follow Him. He said "In the regeneration ye which have followed me shall sit upon 12 thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." That will be the time of regenerating. Jesus will be the everlasting Father, as the prophet has said. He will be the everlasting Father in that He will give everlasting life, in contrast with Adam who gave life that was a failure, a dying condition. The Lord Jesus is the second Adam; the church is the second Eve. There was a first Adam, and a first Eve, and they gave to the world failure and death. The second Adam is Jesus, the spirit being; not Jesus in the flesh. The apostle says, "The second Adam is the Lord from Heaven." He is the one that will be the regenerator of the race. He will be King of Kings and Lord of Lords. All who will submit to Him will be lifted from degradation and weakness, back to human perfection. Is not that glorious? Yes. Nobody could imagine anything as good as God has made. If you or I could imagine anything as good it would mean that we had heads as good as God's.

When the church has been glorified with Christ on the spirit plane, the great company class will come in. Glorified? Yes, glorified partially. It just depends on what you call glorified. While the great company is represented as being servants, and occupying a very inferior place as compared with the little flock, yet it will be a very desirable condition, something like that of the angels. There will be no disloyalty among them, because God will not give eternal life to any who are disloyal. The Scriptures show that the little flock will be on the throne, while the great company will be before the throne; the former will be in the temple, parts of it, while the latter will be servants in that temple. In Revelation 7, we read that the great company will come up out of great tribulation and wash their robes white in the blood of the Lamb. They will finally come off conquerors and bear palms of victory, whereas the bride of Christ will gain the crown. We want to make sure that we will gain the crown, because it is entirely possible to us, and the Lord will be pleased with us if we shall gain it. There is no worthiness in ourselves that we should have such glory, nevertheless it is fitting that we should seek to copy our dear Saviour.

The next in order would be the ancient worthies, who will be brought back to an earthly condition. Think of these being perfect men, in contrast to the imperfect men about them. What wonderful characters they will be. I cannot say that they will be any taller than other men. I just assume that their stature will be six feet or somewhere about that. I do not know. The apostle speaks of them in the 11th of Hebrews, saying, "They had this testimony that they pleased God." Good for them. If they pleased Him they will have a better resurrection. Will they not come in sooner than the church? O no. You know in the 38th to the 40th verses of the 11th of Hebrews it is shown that "they without us shall not be made perfect." They cannot be made perfect until we have been made perfect. They will be made perfect. That will be the first great work of Christ in bringing mankind to perfection. If they were faithful unto death they will come forth with perfect human bodies; not with spirit bodies, but perfect men. What for? They will be princes in all the earth, as says the prophet. A prince means a chief one, a ruler. They are to be rulers. Will they not beautifully represent the kingdom? Yes, indeed. Men cannot see God, nor Jesus, nor the church, because they will be spirit beings, but here will be the ancient worthies, the best possible representatives of Christ and the church. Why? Because a perfect man is the image of God in the flesh, and they could not see God Himself. No man has seen Him at any time, but the only begotten of the Father hath revealed Him. As Jesus was a representative of the Father, so the ancient worthies when perfected in the flesh will be absolutely perfect representatives of God, Jesus, and the church. They could not see anything nearer God's likeness than they will see in the ancient worthies. It will be grand, will it not? They will rule the world, as representatives of the Christ. We might suggest that Satan is now a spirit being, and he has certain angels associated with him. Together they are called the princes and rulers of this world, but they exercise their power through human agencies. Sometimes it is through bad people, but sometimes it is through pretty good people. So the church will be the real rulers in authority, but their desires will be executed through their earthly representatives.

Then what? Is not that enough? Let me show you another matter. There will be sixteen hundred millions of the world to deal with. Will they need to have armies and police to keep them in order? Not have armies? No, God has a better way. He has a great company of spiritual policemen, if we wish to speak of them in that way. Spiritual inspectors; not men at all. They will have a supervision in the world. God guarantees that in that whole kingdom nothing shall injure, nothing shall stumble, nothing shall destroy. That will be quite a work to keep sixteen hundred millions straight; to keep them from doing any harm. We would think it would take millions. Let us think for a moment of ourselves as being of the world at that time. Suppose I was about to speak unkindly, or untruly, or slanderously of someone, and suppose the spiritual police would see this. It will be their business to execute the judgments and justice in the kingdom, and one of the arrangements is that nothing shall injure at that time, and here I was about to speak something injurious. My tongue becomes paralyzed. The spiritual policemen have me. I cannot talk: what is the matter? I was about to say something wrong. I could not speak, but I would get a lesson. Everybody would know that I was about to use my tongue injuriously, and it would be a great lesson to others. Great fear would fall upon all. They would say "We used to say anything we wanted to: tell lies or the truth, or whatever we felt like. Some people seemed to prefer lies, even if the truth seemed cheaper." It will not be that way in the kingdom. Each wrong will receive a just recompense of reward, and every one who does right will receive blessing. "When the judgments of the Lord are abroad in the earth the inhabitants thereof will learn righteousness." They will say "Take care." Suppose one was just lifting his hand with the purpose of striking another." His hand drops helpless and he must go about in that condition for a week. People would ask him "What were you going to do?" They would know he had been doing wrong. They do not ask in that way now. You might be paralyzed, and not have done wrong, but in the Millennial Age that will be the rule. God's judgments will be in operation everywhere.

The church will not do this work. I think they will have a higher, grander work, and the great company will do such work. The Bible tells us that God now looks after the church in that way. He says, "In Heaven their angels do always behold (have access to) the face of the Father. I understand this to mean that each son of God has a special angel to care for his interests. "The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear Him, and delivereth them." The Lord is using the angels in connection with the church, because there are no other spirits to do this work, but I believe the great company will be used to deal with the world in the way mentioned. They will have had to do with mankind, and will have sympathy for the human race, and they will be under strict regulations of the royal priesthood. All of the kingdom arrangements seem to be in perfect harmony, like a great machine. We sometimes speak of something working like a machine. So all [CR473] of this work will be grandly harmonious and systematic. All of this shows more and more the infinite wisdom of our God.

Let us seek to have more and more of the spirit, the mind, the disposition of our God. We should have the disposition of justice, which is the foundation of God's throne. You remember Jesus said, "Do unto others as ye would that others should do unto you." That is a foundation. Nothing less can be accepted. If we come short because of weakness, what then? If you come short and find it out, go and make it right. "But that will be humiliating, Brother Russell." Good for you; you need to be humiliated. All in the kingdom class will be humble. One of the first qualities is meekness, then gentleness, patience, longsuffering, brotherly kindness, and love. These are the fruits of God's Holy Spirit working in us. These are the manifestations of the Holy Spirit within us. As you and I have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us more and more richly, governing and ruling our words, thoughts and actions, we become more and more like God, children of the Father, exemplifying His Spirit, and thus we show forth the praises of Him who hath called us out of darkness into His marvelous light.

OF THE Master we are assured that at the conclusion of His earthly ministry He still dearly loved His disciples. We read, "Jesus ...having loved His own, He loved them unto the end." We are to draw a strict line of demarcation between the love of God which the Bible points out as applicable to all mankind, and the love of God which is conferred upon the Church. In the large, broad sense of the word, the Bible assures us that "God so loved the world that He gave His Only Begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on Him might not perish, but have everlasting life." However, there was nothing in the fallen man that God could really love, in the sense of fellowshiping him. Really, there was nothing in man to draw out the love of God toward him – everything rather to the contrary. And this was the reason God sentenced man at the first, immediately after his fall, declaring Father Adam not worthy of His continued love and favor, and condemned him to death. – Genesis 3:17-19.

We are not to understand that God changed His mind meantime and concluded that, after all, He did love Adam and wished that He had not condemned him to death. Rather, we are to understand that the love of God which He exercised toward the world is of the sympathetic kind. You and I might have a kind of sympathetic love for a poor dog. If he had injured his paw, we would like to bind up that paw. We would have the sympathetic love. Not that we really loved that dog, but we had sympathy for it. So God's attitude toward the world is an attitude of sympathy. And He would have His people have a kind, generous feeling toward all men, and even toward the brute creation. In harmony with this the Apostle tells us that we are to do good to all men as we have opportunity, but especially unto them who are of the Household of Faith. – Galatians 6:10.

The Lord makes a definite rule. We are not to class the Household of Faith in with the world. We are not to think of giving the world the same affection or love or interest that we give to the Household of Faith. Neither does God.

The love which God has for the world is entirely different from that which the Savior mentions when He says, "The Father Himself loveth you." This seems to me one of the most wonderful texts of the Bible – that our great God could have a love for us – so small, so unworthy of His love or attention! This same sentiment of the Heavenly Father is reflected in the words of our text, "Jesus having loved His own,...He loved them unto the end." No doubt was there. We cannot think that those who were especially His own then, those who had come to Him and become His followers, were the most talented people in Jewry, any more than are His disciples today. Were they especially His own because they were so well educated? Was it because they were so refined? No. Was it because the world appreciated them and would take charge of them, or because they could be raised to responsible positions in the eyes of the world? No.

Why did Jesus have this special love for them? – "having loved His own, He loved them unto the end." There is something important here. You and I wish to know whether the Savior loves us. His is not merely a random love. There is a principle involved. He loved them because they were His own, but not in the selfish sense that a man would love his house and his dog and his cat, because he possessed them, because he owned them. Not in that sense did Jesus call His disciples His own. His was an unselfish love. He purposed to do something for them.

What was the reason that Jesus loved and called His disciples His own. I think you are agreed with me as to the reason. He loved them because they had those qualities of heart that would make them lovable from His standpoint. I think that those qualities are ones that you may have and I may have. You and I in thinking along this line, may see and know. I am glad the Bible says that Jesus loved His own. I am glad I am one of His own and therefore can believe that Jesus loves me, not in the merely sympathetic sense that He loves the unbelieving world, but in the special sense made manifest in our text.

The quality that made Jesus love them was, I believe, first of all, their honesty. It seems to me there is no quality more estimable in the sight of God than honesty. Should not everybody be honest? I answer, Yes. Is everybody honest? Evidently not. The honesty which these disciples manifested was that they were ready to confess that they were nothing of themselves. They could not keep the Law of God. They could not think of themselves as anybody. They knew, as all Jews knew, or ought to have known, that God had given them the Law as the standard. They could not keep that Law. They were honest enough to confess it. Their hearts were therefore in the attitude to look for something that God had to give that would be better than the Law Covenant. – Romans 7; 8:1-4.

Notice the great ones, the holy, the religious ones, of the Jewish nation – the Scribes and Pharisees and Priests. They were claiming that they kept the Law; but they were not keeping the Law, as Jesus pointed out. That meant that they were deceived. They were professing to keep the Law. They made broad their phylacteries. They made long prayers to be seen of men. Jesus was continually reproving them. Doubtless there were many murderers, thieves and vagabonds in Palestine; yet we notice that Jesus passed all their criminality by as insignificant as compared with hypocrisy. The most serious denunciations the Master gave were toward this class. The further you and I can get away from being religious hypocrites the better. If the whole religious community professing Christ could get away from hypocrisy, it would make a great stir in the world. There is a great deal made of certain names, indicating certain religious activities by means of these names, but the names do not match the facts in the case.

The disciples were honest, confessing themselves nobodies and confessing that they were not able to do right, not able to keep God's Law; and because they thus accepted God's Message, speaking peace with God and telling them that they might have forgiveness of sins through Him – because they had this attitude of mind, Jesus received them as His disciples. They were glad to believe the Message He had to give – that He was selecting the Kingdom Class, to be highly exalted to bless mankind. They left all to follow Him. He had taken a similar course. He had forsaken all to do the Father's will. He had given up the glorious condition which [CR474] He had with the Father before the world was. As a human being He had consecrated Himself at the time of His baptism, gladly, willingly, that He might do the will of the Father. Here were some, these dear disciples of His, having noted His purity and having received His Message, who were glad to walk in His steps, that they likewise might do the will of the Father. Jesus declared that each of these was His mother, His sister, His brother. There was the secret of it.

Our Lord had received these disciples as being very closely related to Himself. They were the most precious ones in all the world. They were not His natural brothers and natural sisters; but because they had the Spirit of the Father, because they had His own Spirit, they were greatly beloved. Having loved His own, He continued to love them to the end.

At the conclusion of His earthly career, you remember, at the time He was thinking about them, and thinking about leaving them, He prayed to the Father about them. He said, "I pray not for the world." He was about to die for the world; but He did not pray for the world, because the salvation of the world was not yet due, in God's Plan. He prayed for those that had willingly given themselves to be His disciples and to walk in His steps. He prayed that they all might be one – not that they might all be one person; they would always be different persons, but that they might all have one spirit, one mind, one heart, one disposition, that they might all be true disciples, that they might be one with the Father.

This was His prayer for them. He said that His followers should love one another as He had loved them. This is bringing it down to you and to me. It is one thing to realize the love of the Lord Jesus for us, and it is another to realize that the Father Himself loveth us because we have left the world and turned our backs upon sin. You may never be able to conquer all these weaknesses of yours fully, to your dying day. The Lord judges the heart, the will. He knows whether you have turned your back upon sin. He knows whether you have given up your heart entirely to do His will, to walk humbly in the footsteps of Jesus.

"The Father Himself loveth you!" What would you take, my dear brother, for what that text teaches of the Love of God toward us as His children? He has a love for the world. As a God, a Creator, He has the supervision of all His creatures. God has made provision for every creature, even the sparrow. But for all who have come into this loyal attitude of mind, He has love – sympathy, and more, esteem!

If we know that we came into the love of God, then let us remember, as the Apostle John says, that we are to keep ourselves in the love of God. You say, "Are we able to keep ourselves? Did not St. John make a mistake?" No, my dear brother, he made no mistake. We must keep ourselves in the love of God. "We are not able to keep ourselves, are we?" Yes, the keeping is with you. God will never force your will. God is not now seeking those who need to be compelled. By and by, in the next Age, in the Millennium, He will deal with those who need to be forced and compelled. He will deal with these that they may compare the good and its results with the evil and its results. Now the Father seeks such as worship Him in spirit, drawing near to Him, loving Him.

It is not that we first loved Him, but that He first loved us – the love we see reflected in His great Plan for the uplifting of our race. All this tells us of the great God that we have. When we came into His family by surrendering our wills to Him, and He begat us of His Holy Spirit, we came into a precious relationship. There is nothing like it in the Universe. The holy angels indeed are in God's love and favor; they never were out of it. But we who were once sinners, and who are now received back into His family, are begotten of His Spirit to the highest of all natures. How wonderful, my dear brother! I think, and so do you, that God loves us very, very much, or He would never have made such wonderful provision in the riches of His grace and in His loving kindness toward us who are in Christ Jesus. The provisions of God's grace are not only those of the future, and it is not that He will ultimately change and transform us who are now willing to will and to do His good pleasure, but we are actually being transformed today, by this love of the Father.

I believe that daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, as we think upon these things, as we consider, study out and understand the great love of God as expressed in His marvelous Plan, we are getting a wonderful realization of how much "the Father Himself loveth" us. But we cannot understand it fully. But the very fact that any father would do such wonderful things for any child would imply a great deal of love.

God had love for the angels when He made them. He had love for the cherubim and the seraphim when He made them. They always will be grand characters and therefore worthy of God's love. But here is the most wonderful expression of God's love that we by faith can believe in – that God should have such love toward us who are in every way disorganized as a race. The Father looked down and beheld in this race some jewels; and He lifted these jewels up and washed them free from sin through the merit of the Savior; and then, through their consecration, began the work of polishing these jewels and getting them ready for the mounting in effulgent glory in the Resurrection Morning, when He shall set these jewels in the gold of the Divine nature. Surely the Father Himself loveth us!

As the Father loves us, and as we have also the word of assurance that the Savior loves us, what now shall we do in return? What shall I render unto the Lord my God for all His benefits toward me? This is as little as we can say. If you were taken in hand by some very rich and influential person, when you were a mere waif upon the world, and if he took you into his home and adopted you into his own family, you would say, "What a benefactor this is!" If you had a grateful heart, you would say, "All my time and influence shall go to this benefactor, to show him how much I appreciate his kindness toward me." As surely as you had a proper heart you would feel that way.

Now, then, what shall we render unto the Lord for all His benefits – His love, His kindness, for the great redemption in which we share with the world, and further for the High Calling which we have received to come out of the world and become joint-heirs with Jesus Christ. Ours is a Heavenly inheritance, incorruptible and undefiled and that fadeth not away – an inheritance reserved for us who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed at the last time. All this is ours. God has fixed it so. There is no mistaking the matter. This is a New Creation. Until this Gospel Age there has been no sharing of His level, so to speak; but we cannot lose our way while we follow our Guide. And in proportion as you and I appreciate what God has done for us, we surely wish to do something for Him.

What can we do? You look at yourself, and I look at myself; and we say truly and honestly, "We are mere bundles of imperfection. We have nothing worthy to offer to the Lord our God." But you did offer and it was accepted. You have given all you had and the Lord has received you; otherwise you would not belong to this class at all. The Father thus loves only those who have made this consecration. They are the only ones that are in the Church whose names are written in Heaven. You had your will to give. You gave your little all. The Father accepted you and begat you of His Spirit; and that is the reason why you are of God's Elect, and that is the reason why you can realize more fully, "The Father Himself loveth you."

What shall we render? The things that you are to render and I am to render are the things we consecrated to God – the very same. That was your little all and my little all. But how shall we render our all? In everything, especially in our wills, we should seek to know the Father's will. Whether we eat or drink, or whatsoever we do, we should do all to the glory of God. In other words, my dear brethren, in coming into God's family and making this Covenant with the Lord, we have bound ourselves down. He did not bind us. We bound ourselves down, that we would have no will of our own in any matter, that we would do only His will.

We cannot have what we please to wear. We are not even to eat what we please. We are not even to go where we please. We are not even permitted to think what we please. "Well," says one, "I never heard the like of such a bondage!" That is true, my dear brother. We are bond slaves of the Lord Jesus Christ. "And shall we never get [CR475] rid of this slavery?" You can stop it any minute. All who are slaves of the Lord Jesus are voluntary slaves. You came in voluntarily; and you can just as quickly renounce it all if you please. Do you wish to do so? Oh, no! It is the most blessed bondage you were ever in! Every time you have found you had to give up your own will you found you had a greater blessing in return, more than compensating. You found all things working together for good, because you were renouncing your own will and walking in the footsteps of Jesus. Precious bondage! You found how many mistakes you made when you tried to do your own will – about your clothing, your food, and everything else. You are glad to have some general direction from One who is so wise. Because of this direction, the Apostle says of this class that they have "the spirit of a sound mind." – 2 Timothy 1:7.

Our minds are all imperfect and unsound. When we are guided not by our own wills but by the Lord's will, as expressed to us in His Word, then we come to have the spirit of a sound mind. And much, much blessing has it brought us! I am sure I speak the sentiments of every one here present who is a consecrated child of God.

Gradually we come to love the Lord's way. We grow in grace and in knowledge and in the love of God, so that eventually we come to hate the things we once loved and to love the things we once despised. Thus as the Apostle describes it, We are transformed by the renewing of our minds. – Romans 12:2.

This bondage is freedom in a very important respect (1 Cor. 7:22). We are getting a victory over the bondage of sin; we are more victorious daily over the bondage, of the weaknesses of our flesh. But this bondage to the will of the Lord is bringing us daily blessings; and ultimately it will bring us the First, the Chief Resurrection, of which Jesus says, "Blessed and holy is he who hath part in the First Resurrection;...they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years" (Rev. 20:6). All this will come to you and me, if we are faithful in doing the Lord's will to the extent of our ability. We are to have the glorious standard of the Lord before us, and to live as fully up to that standard as we are able. The Lord Jesus could not do more than all He was able. Being perfect He was able to do perfectly. Being imperfect we cannot do perfectly; and therefore the blood of Jesus cleanseth us, makes us clean, while we seek to walk, not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Here we come to another point. The Lord knew that you and I could not do anything for Him. He gave us a suggestion how we might indirectly do for Him. You know to what I refer. He says that we should love one another, and that in loving one another we would be expressing the love which we have for Him. So the Apostle John in speaking of this same matter, from this same standpoint, says that as Christ laid down His life for us, so we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. He does not say that we should lay down our lives for everybody – for the heathen or for the world in general. No, no. We ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. That is the way it reads. The Lord knew how to have it written. We are to lay down our lives for the ones whom Jesus loved.

I have found some very dear children of God who seemingly found it much easier to do something for the world than for the Church. That is not the proper sentiment. It is God First, the Lord Jesus next, the brethren next; and after that, all men as we have opportunity; and after that, the brute creation as we have opportunity. Brutes are to be neglected in favor of men, and the world are to be neglected in favor of the Church. If we have His Spirit we will love His own.

When I speak in this way, do not understand me as meaning to countenance a partiality amongst Christians. There is something very broadening in the Bible, and I believe the members of the International Bible Students Association are more and more attaining this love which the Lord Jesus wished us to attain. It is not whether, if they are Presbyterians, we should love them as Presbyterians, or if Methodists, we should love them as Methodists, or if Lutherans, we should love them as Lutherans. The Presbyterians love the Presbyterians; the Methodists love the Methodists; the Lutherans love the Lutherans; the Mormons love the Mormons; the Spiritualists love the Spiritualists; the Masons love the Masons; and the Odd Fellows love the Odd Fellows. But in the Church of Christ there are no such lines of distinction. It is not whether a man is a Mason or not a Mason, a Methodist or not a Methodist; it is whether he is the Lord's child. We are to love those who belong to God. If the Father loves him and the Savior loves him, then we too should love him. If I do not love him there is something wrong in my attitude. I am to love what the Father loves, to love what the Savior loves.

"Brother Russell, if you love all the brethren, you are going to love some pretty rude characters, you are going to love some very ignorant ones, you are going to love some that are not well esteemed amongst men." I cannot help it. I am going to love all who love God. You remember that the Twelve Apostles, except St. Paul, were all very ordinary men. You remember that when St. Peter and St. John, two of the very brightest of the Twelve, were preaching in the Temple the people perceived they were unlearned and ignorant men. Think of that! The "common people" could see it. Are these the ones Jesus loved? Yes. I suppose they cracked and broke the classic Hebrew at times. This does not mean that we should love more than others those who break the English language into pieces, but we should not allow ignorance to stand between any brother or sister and our love. We should see to it that we love all who are in fellowship with our Lord.

This is the reason they are commended to our love – because they have His spirit, regardless of whether they are from the highest or the lowest ranks of society. If the Father Himself has accepted them into His family, and the Father loves them, that is reason enough for you and me that we should love them. We ought to love the brethren. How much? It is a very long step the Apostle sets before us – we ought to be willing to lay down our lives for the brethren. Our commission is not to preach to the world, but merely to such as have "an ear to hear" and a desire to find God. In addressing the public we shall be sure in nearly every case to find some who are the Lord's children, and who need assistance in the good way, or some who are feeling after God and desire to become His children. Merely to have a harangue to interest the world is no part of our mission whatever. Our commission is the gathering out of the Church, the Bride of Christ.

Suppose some of those who profess to be consecrated to God are very, very weak indeed every way? Very well, my dear brother, perhaps the Lord sees you are weak and that you get into trouble too. Do you not know that He has many things to overlook in you? We are to be of as little trouble to others as possible, but we are to bear with the infirmities of the weak brethren and not merely to please ourselves. Let me repeat. We are to bear with their weaknesses and infirmities, and not to please ourselves. How much that means! I trust we are learning this. I am merely pointing out what you all know, that the love of God is the fulfilling of the Divine requirement, and that this love is to manifest itself toward those whom He acknowledges as His children and receives into His family. If I see that any man has God's fellowship, I dare not deny my fellowship.

I think of a story told about a New York banker, that might illustrate the point. He was an upright man. This banker had a friend living at a distance, who, wishing to give his son a start in life, gave him a letter of introduction to the banker. He wrote, "If you can introduce my son into the business world, it will be quite a favor to me." This wealthy man of Wall Street had very great confidence in his friend; and he perceived, when he looked at the young man, that he was a noble character. Then he thought about what he could do to get him established in business. Without comment, he said, "Come, let us take a little walk"; and they walked arm in arm down Wall street and Bond street and New street and back again to the office. The young man waited a while in nervous expectancy. Then, noticing that the banker was apparently not expecting to do anything more, he said, "Is there anything you can do to introduce me?" And the banker replied, "It is not necessary. The fact that I had you on my arm and led you down these streets will be a sufficient introduction to the business men of this vicinity." And the young man found it so.

So when God takes hold of a man, and we see him in God's company, we know God is willing to introduce him, and it gives him a standing with you and me. He is one [CR476] of the brethren, because "the Father Himself loveth" him; the Father Himself recognizes him as one of His family. Then you and I should be willing to do anything for him that we are able. It is the Father's will that we should co-operate with Him in assisting the brethren in every way possible. There are various trials and difficulties for these brethren that you and I know about. All the soldiers of the cross have a narrow way, a battle with the world and with the flesh and with the adversary. You and I have battles due to the fallen condition of our own flesh. What sympathy it should give us with all other soldiers in the battle! There are the two Captains. All who are on the Lord's side or who are seeking to walk in the footsteps of Jesus belong to our army. Whether learned or ignorant, black or white, rich or poor, it is our privilege to love our brethren.

I believe this is as good a thought as we can have as we close this convention. The Master said, "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the Age" (Mat. 28:20). We are now down at the end of the Age, "Only waiting till the dawning is a little brighter grown," only waiting till we pass beyond the veil, till we are joined to the Savior on the other side the veil. "Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the Kingdom of their Father." No opportunity after that of helping the brethren! All the brethren will have been helped. They will all have passed then where they will need no help. The time when we can encourage one another, and give a helpful look, or a warm clasp of the hand, and can show our fellowship in the sufferings of the present time, is now.

I hope we are all learning more and more this lesson of love; and I hope our hearts are opening more and more widely, as we come to see the glorious character of our Father and of our Savior, and come to receive of the Master's image, reflected in us more and more. The Apostle says that by looking on Jesus we are changed, we are transformed from glory to glory, in the present life. As we thus go on from one stage of heart development to another, from one step of glory to another, on this side of the veil, we are making the necessary progress, and we will be ready for the great final step, the final stage, when we shall see Him as He is and share His glory.

My dear brethren, do we not believe that all these things are nigh, even at the door? The Master said, "When ye see these things begin to come to pass, then look up and lift up your heads and rejoice; for your deliverance draweth nigh." Are we rejoicing properly? Are we lifting up our heads and rejoicing to tell the world the sweet old story of the Savior's love and of God's love? Do not tell them too much of the coming trouble. Tell them about the silver lining of the cloud. "Ye, brethren, are not in darkness that that Day should overtake you as a thief."

The most wonderful inquiries are coming in that we have ever known. People everywhere are saying, "What do these things mean? These are the things you Bible Students have been talking about for years." They begin to "take knowledge." They may not all give their hearts to the Lord now. The right thought to leave with the inquirer is that he should enter into a covenant with the Lord, before he can have any favors present or future. The point of every discussion and every argument, to one who is not already consecrated, is that the time is limited, and that the only proper course for anybody to take is, as the apostle suggests, to present his body a living sacrifice, his reasonable service.

I feel that we do well to keep this always in mind. You can never get people to understand all about the doctrines. The Lord never meant anybody to understand all these things except the brethren. "To you it is given to know the mysteries of the Kingdom." They were meant for such – for you, who have come into the family of God. These things are for you to understand. When you find that people are interested, press the point about their getting into the Ark of Safety, getting into the family of God, getting to be members of the Body of Christ, heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Jesus.

As we leave here today, we do so with the thought that we may meet again as a convention, or perhaps we may not meet again. It is not for you or for me to be dictatorial. The Bible indicates that the Gentile Times have ended. Their kings have had their day. They have made a good showing, in many respects. Many of these governments have done wonderfully. Take the government of Germany. It seems to me that the present Emperor of Germany has done wonderful things for his nation, which forty years ago was a very stupid people. Today they have become very bright, very intelligent, very well educated people, amongst the brightest in the whole world. This came partly in connection with their militarism. They were getting lessons in reading and writing and arithmetic while learning military discipline. Much might be said in favor of all these Gentile governments, as well as against them all. Yet when they have done their best, they have done little. Have the nations been able to lift up mankind to full perfection? No. Have the doctors been able to lift up mankind? No. Would the United States ever be able to do so? No. On the contrary, with all the increasing intelligence, we see the cataclysm of dissolution and anarchy coming. But all the trouble will be as nothing in comparison with the blessings that shall come when the Sun of Righteousness is revealed. But the portal of trouble must first be passed. And it will be a very helpful experience to all the world, as they shall be brought down to the place where they will look to the Lord as their Helper. Man's extremity will become God's opportunity.

Then, my brethren, let us be faithful to the light God has given us. Let us live the Truth every day, "showing forth the praises of Him who hath called us out of darkness into His marvelous light." I hear of many who have received a blessing from the daily reading of the Vow; others through reading the Morning Resolve. I believe we cannot too fully surround ourselves with helpful influences. We need to fortify. We need to get ourselves strengthened by the Divine might in the inner man, that we may be able to resist those things that are contrary to us as New Creatures. Let us then suggest the keeping of these resolves, and thus living near to God.

A good many also have written in about the article that appeared in The Watch Tower lately on Love. A brother wrote, "Since reading that article I have been trying to be more gentle, more kind, more considerate of others, and to practice these things; and I am finding a great blessing as I endeavor to put these principles into practice. I find it easier to be meek and kind and gentle in word and action." I believe the Lord today would have His people do as much polishing up of their characters as possible, so that it may not be necessary for Him to give us, through disciplinary providences in our lives, the polishing we need. If we would polish ourselves, we would not need to be polished by the Lord.

Those who are putting on the graces of the Spirit, are all receiving God's special assistance, and are working together with God (2 Cor. 6:1); for this is God's work. As the Bible says, "Ye are God's workmanship." If He works in us to will and to do, it is to do what He has given us in His Word as His will. His present purpose is the taking out from amongst mankind of a saintly class that are to share the nature of Christ, and share with Him the Kingdom of the future, through which the world will be blessed.

We have in our office stock some Vow cards – bookmarks. Many of you have them, no doubt. The Vow is on one side and a beautiful little poem on the other. Those who have taken this Vow form the most wonderful prayer circle the Church has ever known. Think of it, that approximately 15,000 have sent in their names to that effect. And we have reasons for believing that the number of those who have taken it is double this. However, at least 15,000 are praying daily for one another. You will find them in whatever part of the world you go – whether in China, or Japan, or Korea, or Colombia, or the Isthmus of Panama, or Scandinavia, or Finland, or Russia. Everywhere you will find those who have taken this Vow, and who read it daily, and who remember one another in their prayers. I think that is one of the most wonderful things in the world in all the Church's history. Never before were so many of God's children praying for each other.

I have something to read to you. It is a translation of a letter. It was written in Hungarian, to a Slav brother in the United States, and was forwarded to us. A portion of the letter follows:

"A Hungarian soldier, injured on the battlefield, was [CR477] returned home wounded. He was there met by some of our brethren, and later was led to diligent and earnest study of the Scriptures, and finally made his consecration to the Lord. This he symbolized last January, at the hands of our dear Brother Szabo. A few days later he was obliged to return to the front and to the trench, in Galicia. A cannon shot burned the cap from his head; earth caved in upon him. He was dug out by his comrades, and again sent to the hospital. This brought the dear brother into our midst again, but for a short time only. Presently he had to return to the firing line again.

"This time they came within 800 feet of the Russian line, and they received the command, 'A bayonet charge!' The Hungarian brother was at the end of the left wing. He sought only to protect himself from the enemy, hence endeavored merely to knock the bayonet from the hand of the Russian with whom he was confronted. Just then he observed that the Russian was endeavoring to do likewise; and instead of using his opportunity to pierce his opponent, the Russian let his bayonet fall to the ground; he was weeping. Our brother then looked at his 'enemy' closer – and he recognized a 'Cross and Crown' pin on his coat! The Russian, too, was a brother in the Lord! The Hungarian brother also wore a 'Cross and Crown' emblem – on his cap.

"The two brethren quickly clasped hands and stepped aside. Their joy was overflowing, that our Heavenly Father had permitted them to meet even on the field of the enemy! They could not understand one another's speech, but by signs they conversed, taking out their Bibles – and the Russian had the Scripture Studies in his pocket with a song book, all bound in one volume, and a photo of Brother Russell. The brother then took the bayonet of the Russian brother, and gave him over as a prisoner of war; and he still remains as such in Hungary, while the Hungarian brother has now been sent to the hospital for the third time."

While there are not many rich or noble amongst the Lord's brethren, yet when it comes to telling the Truth, they manage it very well!

In Germany, Great Britain, and all over Europe, our people have been conscious for years that this war was coming on. They have been writing to me and continually inquiring how they should proceed if they were drafted or went into the army. In Volume Six of Scripture Studies, the friends are instructed to avoid taking life. If they were ever drafted into the army they should go. If they could be sent to the Quartermaster's Department to take care of the food, that would be desirable, or into the hospital work. They should endeavor to get such positions. They could not be expected to do service in the way of killing. If they were obliged to go on the firing line, they could shoot over the enemy's head, if they wished.

And that is the way these brethren did; each had this same thought in mind. This letter shows the love of the brethren even on the field of battle, and in the enemy's land, with carnal weapons. It made no difference that one was a Hungarian and the other a Russian!

How different in the nominal churches! In this war Presbyterians and Methodists, Anglicans, Romanists and others, all fight. In Great Britain they have placed a kind of premium upon marriage, saying that those who marry and bring up children, ready for future wars, will be helping along their country – "God's Kingdom." They have a different brand of Christianity from the Bible brand. The Archbishop of Canterbury, the one who is giving this advice, may think he is doing his duty, but there is something confusing his mind.

We do not know whether we who are here today shall meet again in the flesh or not. What matters it? We are fully content, either to live or to die – whatever His providence may direct in respect to us. "My times are in Thy hands; my God, I wish them there" – that expresses it beautifully, does it not? We wish to have the Lord's will done in respect to the time of our change, and in respect to all we enjoy together daily – it is all committed to Him. Our wills are entirely dead. His will is to rule in your body and in mine, and in all of us. I hope, dear brethren, that a great blessing has come to the Classes of Oakland, San Francisco, Alameda and surrounding Classes, from this convention. I hope that as they go to their homes with their hearts overflowing with the comfort of the Truth, they will carry blessings on to others; and that, like the widow's cruse of oil, the more they give away, the more they will have left for themselves.

Let us all here who have been enjoying the favors of the Lord go forth filled with the Spirit, filled with love and loyalty and fidelity to the Lord, that we may carry blessings to others. I shall be going on my way shortly, up along the coast, as far as British Columbia, then eastward, and finally back to Brooklyn, and July 4th shall be at the New York City Temple. Let our great Prayer circle draw us each nearer to the other, that thus we may be sanctified with the Truth and "made meet for the inheritance of the saints in light."

"TIME OF THE END" NOW HERE – A DAY OF WRATH PRECEDES THE REIGN OF BLESSING – MAN'S SELFISHNESS THE CAUSE – HUMAN PLANS AND THEORIES TO PROVE ABORTIVE – TIME OF TROUBLE NOW BEGUN – NEW ORDER TO BE SET UP ON RUINS OF OLD – CHRIST AND HIS CHURCH GLORIFIED TO BRING IN "DESIRE OF ALL NATIONS."

WE are living today in a wonderful period of the world's history. As I looked around throughout this great Exposition and beheld the astonishing exhibitions of skill on every side, as manifested in the exquisite architecture of these beautiful structures, in the beautiful courts, and in all the marvelous productions here assembled from all parts of the world, I said to myself, "How wonderful is the mind of man!" As I viewed the powerful machinery, intricate and complicated in design, and with such vast capabilities, I was forcefully reminded that only a little while ago we had none of these things. Our implements of agriculture were of the plainest and simplest kind, even within our own recollection. We had practically no farm machinery. In every sense of the word we had simplicity itself in all the ways of the home and the family.

Today we have palatial hotels and magnificent residences fitted up with every convenience and luxury, with devices for comfort of which our forefathers never dreamed. Our means of transportation are marvelous. Wondrous skill is manifested in the numberless contrivances which we see on every hand for the blessing and benefit of man. Evidently the time is near when all the world may enjoy such assuagement of hardship, such release from excess of toil, and such blessings and comforts as mankind has never before conceived.

I said to a gentleman, as I passed through some of these beautiful avenues, and reflected concerning King Solomon and his riches and his wonderful accomplishments, "I imagine that if Solomon, with all his wealth, his glory and honor could step into these grounds and into these great buildings, he would be astounded at what we see here – he would be amazed." Yet these things have come upon us so gradually, so stealthily, as it were, that we scarcely realize what progress has been made.

As the Bible foretold twenty-five hundred years ago, so it is true, that all these things have come in "The Time of the End." (Daniel 12:4) As Bible Students we find that this term, "The Time of the End," applies to a period that began with the year 1799; and so for more than a century we have been living in "The Time of the End." Within this time all these wonders have come to mankind. Marvelous, is it not?

But what about this "Time of the End?" What does it mean? The end of what? Is it the end of the world? We once thought so, and all of the creeds so declare. But that is not the [CR478] thought of the Bible when rightly understood. The Time of the End is the end of this present Age. It is the end of the long reign of Sin and Death. What a glorious prospect! We are now coming into a New Era in which all these evil conditions which have oppressed man for six thousand years are to terminate. Soon the great Sabbath of rest, the Golden Age of blessing long sung by prophet and bard, will be ushered in. Indeed, it has already been ushered in, in some respects.

These blessings, while they are designed to be for all mankind, have in a natural way, because of man's ingrained selfishness, gravitated into the hands of a certain few. This has caused more or less of pride on the one hand, and of jealousy on the other. This is now about to precipitate a fearful conflict. We see already a great conflict of nations along commercial lines, each endeavoring to get the lion's share of the blessings which the Lord has provided in these latter days. They have become jealous and envious of one another as they see the opportunities of wealth and power opening up before them. This awful war now raging across the sea has resulted, costing millions of money and of lives. How shortsighted!

How broad and noble in contrast is the view which the Bible holds out to us; namely, that God has made loving and bountiful provision for His blessings to reach all the families of the earth – yea, every individual! And the time is now about ripe. How glad this makes our hearts! We whose eyes have been anointed to see are greatly blessed in that we are privileged to be ministers of God, to tell of all His mercies and favors planned for mankind. God has permitted us, as members of the Body of Christ, to be co-workers with Him in the proclamation of His Truth; and when glorified with our Redeemer to share with Him in the great work of bringing blessing to the whole world. It is a blessed thought, an inspiring thought, a comforting thought, one that lifts us far above the present strife and ambitions of the world.

While considering all these blessings which surround us in this, our day, and noting what imperfect man has been able to attain even under present conditions, by the blessing of God, let us not lose sight of the fact that these things did not come by man's ingenuity. Let us take note that men just as brainy, and just as brilliant, have lived in the past. Where is there a man today who can pen such words of wisdom as the proverbs of Solomon? What poet of today can produce the equal of the Psalms of David, the sweet singer of Israel? Let us remember, too, that though Shakespeare lived centuries ago, he remains unsurpassed in his line by any in our times.

Let us assure ourselves that we are not the brainiest people who have ever lived, that it is not because we are of superior brain capacity to those of the past that these things have come. It is because this is God's "due time." He is now letting in the light of the dawning New Dispensation. That God has done all this is the firm belief of careful Bible students. And I believe that you all agree with this sentiment.

Behind this thought is another. As I stood here and looked upon what mankind have done in their imperfect condition, I thought, "What will man do when he is made perfect, in the image of God, under Messiah's Kingdom?" My mind then turned to God Himself, and I said, "If feeble creatures which God has made can accomplish so much, can produce such wonderful things, and even in their fallen estate, who can measure the power of the Almighty God – of Him who is perfect in Wisdom, perfect in Power, perfect in Justice, and perfect in Love? How thankful we are to get this broad, comprehensive view of our God, and to see that He is not only great and powerful, but wise and infinitely loving as well!

So as I pondered over what man has done, and what God has done and planned to do, the words of the Prophet David came to mind: "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth His handiwork." Then I thought, "All that mankind have done or ever will do will be merely copying the infinitely greater skill manifested by our great Creator in His works." As we note the planets revolving in their orbits, we are amazed, not only at the mighty power that can swing these wonderful systems of worlds, but at the wisdom and ability displayed in preserving their perfect order.

But when we consider what God has wrought in connection with humanity we are still more astonished. There will be no piece of machinery in this Exposition, or in any Exposition that will be held throughout eternity, that will be so great a piece of machinery as is the human body. You have one of these machines at your command. I have one. This machine has power to oil itself, to feed itself, to manipulate itself, to will for itself, to think for itself, to direct its own course. If mankind could make such a machine it would be something to be proud of. The best we can do is to feebly copy the works of our Creator and to work in harmony with His laws. When we realize that all of the machinery and inventions of our day are but imperfect copies of what God has done, that man is only using principles which God has employed in the past, to the extent that he is able to understand them, we see the more clearly that man was made an earthly image of the Heavenly Creator.

Some who are inventors, and others who have talents of one class or another, may be very deficient is such grand characteristics as justice. Some are very deficient in love. We are coming to look upon these qualities as the ones most desirable to cultivate, and we are seeking by God's grace to develop these qualities more and more. As the work of transformation progresses in our hearts and lives, we see more clearly what a great blessing will come to the world when these principles of Divine justice and love will operate everywhere. We look across the water to our neighbors in Europe, and we say to ourselves, "Alas, that they do not have sufficient appreciation of justice to be willing to observe the Golden Rule – to do unto others as they would have others do to them!" Selfishness is behind such a spirit. One declares, "We will have our share of trade!" Another replies, "You shall never get it if we can keep you from it, if we have enough battleships to take the trade from you!"

And so the cruel war goes on, to show which can the more successfully exercise their selfishness to the disadvantage of the other. Let us ask, "Is this copying God's ways?" Let us take the nobler, higher standard of Divine justice, and do to our neighbors as we would wish them to do to us. Let us promote this principle wherever we go. Let us make known the character of God wherever we have an opportunity, by showing forth His justice, His sympathy and His kindness. Let this character be manifested in our own lives. As children of God let us be burning and shining lights, to the glory of our Father in Heaven.

While realizing God's great Wisdom and Power as manifested in nature, we have been seriously handicapped by false doctrines which grossly misrepresented our Creator and showed Him as a God devoid of justice and of Love. It seems a wonder that we were not all turned aside from Him. None of the human family are totally depraved, yet we have had pictured to us a totally depraved God. We got this misconception of the Heavenly Father from the Dark Ages. Thank God! the New Age now at the threshold is bringing blessings not merely of a temporal kind. It is scattering the ignorance and superstitions of the past, and is bringing in the light of the knowledge of the glory of God, which is ultimately to fill the whole earth. We are beginning to see the light. Why? Because we are getting awake.

But to see clearly we must look in the right direction. There are people today who are quite awake, but they are looking toward the West for the sunrise. How long do you suppose it would take to see the sun rise in the West? I mean that we see great college professors, learned men who have given their lives to study, and have knowledge on many subjects, making the mistake of thinking that Evolution is our God; that a microbe started to squirm and has been evoluting up gradually, until the race has reached the station which it occupies today. They do not see an intelligent God in this matter. Their misconception is that Evolution is man's only hope. They say that ultimately there will be "the survival of the fittest."

Think of the present conditions in Europe! The fittest are the ones who are falling in the trenches and on the fields of battle. The unfit – the old, the weak, the crippled and incompetent – are left at home to propagate and rear the families of the future! That is the science of Evolution! That is the beautiful (?) philosophy which hopes that in millions of years from now mankind may have learned how to cook and eat so that they need not die, and that thus they may have everlasting life! Evolutionists believe that this may be true of their posterity somewhere in the dim, distant future. They do not stop to think that at the present rate of increase in population the world would be vastly overcrowded before that time; that the coal and oil fields would be exhausted, and that a limit would be reached in other directions; that things cannot continue as at present for any great length of time.

But the Bible points out that man's extremity will be God's opportunity. After permitting man to have all these blessings of our day, He will allow them to dash themselves to pieces in a great cataclysm of trouble, and make shipwreck of all this boasted twentieth century civilization. But before the complete destruction of mankind, the Kingdom of Messiah, God's dear [CR479] Son, will intervene, and will speak peace to the nations, and there will be a great calm after the terrible storm. Christ will take to Himself His great power and establish His glorious Reign.

As I beheld the wonderful Tower of Jewels on these grounds, I remember that, according to Bible testimony, God has for nineteen hundred years been selecting from every nation, people, kindred and tongue the Church of Christ, a class of jewels that God is about to exalt in the eyes of the whole people. He will use these for the blessing of the world, for the enlightening and teaching of the world, and for their uplifting. Thank God for this truth! I trust that by the grace of God many to whom this discourse shall reach may be of these jewels, may be of those who will fully submit themselves to the hand of the great Creator. May He work in us and upon us and through us, to the great blessing of ourselves, as well as a little later to the blessing of all the families of the earth!

What is the work that God is accomplishing in these jewels? He is shaping them, polishing them, preparing them for their future great work. You ask, "How?" The Bible answers "Through testings, through trials, through the opposition of the world, the flesh and the Devil." All these things of the present time, that would naturally work to our disadvantage in many ways, the Lord will overrule to our spiritual development. He has promised that all things shall work together for good to these, the called ones according to His purpose, who are making their calling and election sure. How we rejoice in the precious promise that all of life's experiences permitted by our Father will be caused to thus work to our blessings!

I remind you of the creation of God thus far. First was the Logos, our Lord Jesus in His prehuman condition. He, as the great Agent of Jehovah, created all things. As we read, "All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made." It was the Power of God, exercised through the glorious Word, the Logos. God's final creation was man. Then sin blighted this fair creation. God for a time allowed it to remain as sin had marred it. But in due time, according to God's prearranged plan, Jesus came into the world to be the Savior of men. He took upon Himself human nature. As a man He gave Himself a Ransom for Adam, and thus for the race who fell in his loins. The price was laid down, even the precious blood of the Son of God.

But before the time for the blessing of the world the Father had a further feature of His great plan – the gathering out of these jewels, the making of a New Creation, different from angels, cherubim or seraphim, or any other creatures God had made. He invited these from the fallen, sinner race, redeemed them by the precious blood of Christ, to become members of this New Creation, and thus to be joint-heirs with Jesus their Lord. God is working in these. Who are they? You are one, if you are a member of the Body of Christ. If you have given yourself wholly to the Lord, under His terms, you are one of the jewels which God is preparing, developing, polishing, and perfecting for future glory.

Then what? When this New Creation is completed, they will be the Channel which God will use for the restoration of all mankind. Because of their own experiences with evil, and because they have learned how to overcome weaknesses and imperfections in themselves, they will be well fitted for encouraging, instructing and uplifting the human family to the perfection which God designs for them, and which Adam originally enjoyed. They will be able to deal sympathetically with the poor world. This blessing will go not only to the living, but to those also who have gone down into the tomb. All these will be awakened. God will not awaken them now, because it would be to their disadvantage. He will keep them in the sleep of death until the Kingdom of Righteousness is thoroughly established. Then they will come forth to learn of God's infinite goodness, and to receive His salvation, whosoever will, at the hands of the New Creation. (Hosea 13:14; Isaiah 25:6-9; 26:19; Rev. 21:1-5.)

Will God's Plan end there? No, dear friends. But God gives us no revelation further. We are merely informed that at the conclusion of Christ's Millennial Kingdom, when all the willing shall have been made perfect, and all the wilfully wicked shall have been destroyed, Christ will turn over the Kingdom to the Father, "that God may be all in all." (1 Cor. 15:28.) But God has given us through the Apostle Paul a glimpse of that infinite future, in the 2nd Chapter of Ephesians. He says, "In the ages to come (through all eternity, we understand) God will show (to angels, to men and to every creature) the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us, through Christ Jesus." That is the jewel class, dear friends. How we will rejoice then! And there are eternal riches of grace for all mankind who will accept them "in the Day of their visitation," now near at hand.

Seeing then, as Bible students, all these manifestations of human power and wisdom and skill about us today, and recognizing our great Creator as the Source of all wisdom and power, these present blessings may become to us finger-posts, directing us to the great work of Jehovah God, to His wondrous grace, and to the glorious outcome just before us of His marvelous Plan of the Ages, as declared in His Holy Word.

"Because thy loving kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise Thee" - Psalm 63:3.

WE are all coming to see, more and more, that the Bible presents to us a God of loving-kindness, and from that viewpoint we are called upon to render some return to Him. More and more I am impressed with the erroneousness of the creeds. How grossly we have been misled by them into thinking of our Heavenly Father as anything and everything but the kind, loving Father expressed by our text! The Apostle, in harmony with this text says, "The love of Christ constraineth us." God constrains us; draws us to Himself by His love.

It is very probable that the reason so many have been kept away from God is that He has been so seriously misrepresented to us all, and by us all. As I read the words of the Apostle to the effect that the heathen are feeling after God, if haply they might find Him, I say to myself, "Why is it that the heathen have not found the Lord?" Evidently the Apostle expresses the right sentiment here. You and I realize that we are so constituted that the higher organs of our heads call for reverence for Almighty God. It would be the natural thing for all men to feel after God, to desire to have a God, to have a fellowship with Him, to have His favor and blessing, and to have the everlasting life which He has promised. It would be the natural, reasonable thing to expect. But we find the very reverse of all this, not only in so-called Christian lands, but in lands where the Gospel has been more or less neglected. Not only do we find many that are neglecting the Lord and caring little for Him, really disbelieving Him, but we find many who have turned away from Him entirely and are antagonistic. They call themselves agnostics, which signifies "persons who want to know; persons who want proof." There is a difference, you see, between an infidel, which signifies an unbeliever, and an agnostic, which signifies one who desires to know. Some of the leading people today will tell you, if they speak candidly, that they are agnostics. They are feeling after God and trying to find Him. We find some drifting from one denomination to another, and others outside of all so-called orthodox denominations, such as Christian Science, all feeling after, but not having a knowledge of, the Truth.

It is difficult to imagine how much harm has been done by the doctrines which misrepresent God's character. There need not have been the many denominations, all calling themselves Christians, though knowing little about God and little of Christ; merely formal professors for the most part, with only a few making a profession of being fully consecrated to the Lord. We would naturally have expected better [CR480] results, after having the Gospel preached so many years. I believe there would have been better results had we not been misled by the teaching of the doctrine of demons. If we had the simple Truth during the Gospel Age I believe the results would have been more like those obtained in the early Church, when thousands of Jews turned to the Lord, and then thousands of Gentiles. And noble Christians they were, not merely formal professors. The Apostle tells us of some who endured a great fight of afflictions; of some who suffered great loss, and of others who became the companions of such as were thus treated. Under Nero, the Roman emperor, and later under Diocletian, many suffered for loyalty to principle. It required a great deal of character to stand up and be willing to suffer for righteousness' sake.

As a further illustration along this line, I have in mind that when I was in heathen lands a few years ago, some of these heathen people, when I was in India, came to me one morning and said, "Pastor Russell, we are sorry to see that you are leaving us again. We wish you could stay longer. We did not get out last night to hear you, supposing your teaching was something like that of the missionaries who are here. But we hear now that it is very different from what the missionaries have been telling us, and we wish you could stay so we could hear you. We know there is something in Christianity, but we cannot understand how it could be true, as the missionaries have told us, that thousands upon thousands are suffering in eternal torment because they did not know about your God."

Some said, "Our God is better than that; the gods of the heathen are better than your God. They tell us not to take the life of a worm; to be careful where we tread lest we take the life of some little creature. How different from what the missionaries tell us about your God. Can you wonder that we are not Christians?" You see, dear friends, they were feeling after God and wishing to find Him. Of course they could only speak to me through an interpreter, and I in the same way to them. My schedule placed a limit upon me, so that I could not stay with them to tell them about our God, as I would have liked to do.

I think of the Apostle Paul, as he preached to the Athenians on Mars Hill. He recognized that the heathen were feeling after God and trying to find Him. They had many gods on the street corners, vain images erected to many gods, and lest they had overlooked one, they put up an image "to the unknown god." You remember how St. Paul turned the matter and preached to them the true God. He said, "You have one altar erected to 'the unknown god,' and that is the God I wish to tell you about." They were so steeped in deception and error that when they heard of the true God and His Plan, His Truth, they were not ready to receive it. It might have been so if the Truth had been proclaimed during the Gospel Age by the best of teachers; perhaps it would have been rejected; perhaps few would have been willing to receive the Message. However, I would have liked to see it tried out. My experience teaches me that many people would like to know the truth about God. Even children at ten years of age and younger are interested to know about God, and many at the age of twelve or fourteen years have a clear understanding of God's Plan.

How different it might have been if all had known of God's love for the 1900 years since Jesus came into the world! But false doctrines have driven people away from the Lord, and Christian people, under the delusion of these false doctrines, have acted anything but properly; they have shown anything but a proper Christian spirit. They have not known what spirit they were of, as was the case with St. Peter and St. John. You remember the people of one city had refused to sell bread for the Master's use. These disciples said, "Wilt Thou that we call down fire from God out of heaven to destroy these men and their city?" Jesus said, "Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. The Son of Man came not to destroy men's lives, but to save them." They had a wrong focus on this matter. We also had a wrong focus; we did not understand our Father in Heaven, nor did we understand His Plan. We had a devilish idea, the doctrine of demons. During the Dark Ages, men were burned at the stake, and put through various forms of torture, all in the name of Jesus, in the name of religion. What a serious mistake! Did not this drive the people away from the Lord and the Truth? Did it not do great injury to those who thus taught, as well as to the world? Yes everything was injured by the lack of a knowledge of God.

Now, by the grace of God, the light is shining in more clearly. You and I can appreciate this text, perhaps, in a way not appreciated even by those of the early Church. God's loving kindness. Think of this! God's loving kindness. It is not as some of us were taught in childhood, that God was vengeful, and ready to throw us to the Devil, and that Jesus stepped in and said, "Please do not; I died for these; allow Me to show them mercy!" and that the Father said, "Just for your sake, I will; otherwise I would throw them to eternal torment." How wretched a picture! Where would be the loving-kindness? But when we see that the salvation of mankind was planned by God from before the foundation of the world; that God has a great plan to gather out of the world; a Church, a Bride for His Son, to become Heavenly beings of a high order, of the Divine nature, for the purpose of blessing all of mankind later, then we see His loving-kindness, His tender mercy.

Do not forget, it is not only loving, but also kind; not only kind, but also loving. Now we have come to a time when our conceptions of God are becoming clearer. We are wakening from the sleep of the past; we are getting the eyes of our understanding open a little. We are looking and thinking, and in the right direction. Many are looking, but not in the right direction. All of the great professors in the colleges are looking, and seeing things too, but they are looking in the wrong direction. A gentleman who was a professor in one of the large colleges came into the knowledge of Present Truth recently. He remarked to one of the brethren, "It is not necessary to teach evolution to the young men and women who come to the college. They come with their minds already prepared on that subject, having gained ideas along this line from their school books and elsewhere; they have already been taught that evolution is the way by which man came into the world." He said further, "Nearly all of the professors of the faculty of our college, and all others, are evolutionists; all but two in our college." I think that is a fair average. I am inclined to think that if you could find one professor in a large college who is not an evolutionist, you have done something wonderful. I know of a university in New England, one of the largest in the world, where two of the professors claim not to be evolutionists. These two keep very quiet respecting what they think about the Bible. We are glad they accept the Bible view, but deplore their lack of moral stamina.

One of these professors had written a book which dealt with some Bible teachings from somewhat the same standpoint of view that we take as Bible Students. It was a book on immortality (I have forgotten the title), and in it the professor taught that immortality is not a possession of men, but something to be attained. The pupils were surprised. There it was, and the professor was in that college, teaching. Someone who had seen it in the library called the attention of the others to it. One went to see it, but found it had been taken from the library. He got it by asking for it, but it had to be hunted up. It was soon taken away.

We see that a great many of the thinking people of the world are looking about in the direction of Theosophy, and New Thought (so-called); also Christian Science. But in vain do they seek light there. The degree of light which we enjoy, who keep close to God's Word, is to be highly appreciated. I say to you, "Blessed are your eyes, for they see." Blessed are you, for you are looking in the right direction, in the direction that God has pointed out in His Word. Higher Critics, Evolutionists, and others who lean to their own understandings, are in darkness. Those who are looking carefully to the teaching of the Bible are being drawn closer to God, and these are getting a greater appreciation of God as a personal God. You will notice that all who accept these other theories regard God as a principle without personality. They say that a principle operates everywhere, hence God is everywhere, the same as any principle; for instance, the law of gravitation is a principle. You know what will happen if I let go of this piece of paper; it will drop to the floor. Why? Because there is a law of gravitation by which everything tends to fall to the earth. There is an attraction which the earth has for it. It is a principle, a law of nature. So they say, God is a principle, a great law of nature. Is there any intelligence in this law which allows the paper to fall; is there any sympathy or love in it? Not a bit. Neither is there any hatred. I am glad of that. These people who regard God as a principle have this much of advantage; a principle is not wicked, it is not vindictive; it would not send one to eternal torment. [CR481]

"But," you say, "the most intelligent people in the world are going in this direction? Who are we? Are not we who know God the most intelligent?" Yes, and no! Not many great, not many wise, not many rich, not many learned, are called. But we know what God says, and that is what many do not know. We know something of our Heavenly Father, and that is what many know little of. We have a personal God, and that is what many do not have. We have a GOOD personal God, and very few have that. A great number have gone after an impersonal God, a principle, a nothing – an absolute nothing. No personality about it. Then a large number are asleep, not seeing either east or west. By God's grace we, whether ignorant or learned, according to worldly standards, are looking in the right direction – to the east – for the sunrise of God's great Plan, when Messiah shall take His Kingdom to bless all the families of the earth.

Our text is speaking of us, because not many since the days of the early Church have known of God's loving-kindness. It has been lost sight of as the Bible has been lost sight of. Only through the Bible can people know of God's loving-kindness. Our text refers to the early Church, and those in close relationship to God all of the way down, and I believe it refers to the true Church of today. "Because Thy loving-kindness is better than life! Ah, yes, we have learned something of it. Does this have any effect upon us? Yes, it does. This love that has come into our hearts is having a transforming effect upon your heart and mine. Is God's loving-kindness better than life? Should we think more of God's loving-kindness than of eternal life?" No, God's loving-kindness is better than the present life. His loving-kindness has provided for a future life. In view of His loving-kindness which has provided for the future life, we count what remains of the present life as a little, trifling thing, not worthy to be compared with what God has in reservation for us. And so we are very willing and glad to use these lives, to lay them down in God's service, we are pleased to do so.

Are we not compelled to do so? Never! God is not compelling any sacrifice. If anyone makes a sacrifice that God accepts it is because that individual has given it freely. Who do you think would give his life away? Do you think you would be inclined to give your life to a wicked God? You might do this or that to avoid getting into eternal torment, because you were forced, but the thought of our text is, "God's loving-kindness is better than life." We would be willing to lay down our lives to be in harmony with that God, and to enjoy the great provision which His loving-kindness has arranged. Our hope is built upon that loving-kindness. As soon as we saw God's loving character, we gladly surrendered our little all.

How was it with our Lord, Jesus? Did He not, in appreciation of God's loving-kindness, lay down His life? Is it not so with all who walk in His footsteps? Yes, truly, we appreciate God's provision for the future as infinitely better than the present life; and so we are willing to surrender all earthly prospects, counting all things as loss and dross, as St. Paul says, that we may secure the glorious things which God has promised to give to them that love Him.

The text goes on to say, "Because Thy loving kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee." We praise Him with joy in our hearts. It is not a crushing matter to meet God's terms. God does not demand of us that we MUST do this or that. We need not ask, "Must I do this?" or, "Will God require that?" That is not the spirit. It is just the reverse. We will to serve the Lord and to do His will, as Jesus said, "I delight to do Thy will, O My God; Thy Law is written in My heart." We will do His Will with joyful lips; while serving Him we will be praising Him for the opportunity. This was exemplified in Paul and Silas, you remember, when on account of their loyalty to the Truth, they were confined in the jail at Philippi. There in the prison with their backs smarting from the whipping received, and in an uncomfortable position with their hands and feet in the stocks, and with salt water placed upon their wounds to make them smart and sting still worse – in that condition they had such appreciation of God's loving-kindness that their lips burst forth in praise. "Praise God from whom all blessings flow!" was their sentiment. This would surprise other people – to praise God for blessings when our backs are smarting with their wounds! God's loving-kindness makes even stripes borne for Him a blessing. These servants of God were glad to have anything with His favor. Their lips spoke forth joyfully His praise, telling the good tidings to others.

So it is with us, dear brethren. We cannot keep this Message to ourselves. As one of the Prophets says, it is like a fire in the bones; you can't stifle it. Here you have the Message of God, and you are using such wisdom as you have in giving it out; but you must praise God. You must show your appreciation of the glorious things which He has in reservation for the Church, and which He has in reservation for the world of mankind. Because His loving-kindness is better than life, we will praise Him with joyful lips! You remember that Jesus said, "This is life eternal, that they might know Thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent." If that is eternal life – to know God – then apparently not many have eternal life yet, because not very many know God.

It is not sufficient to know that there is a God, and that He is a personal God and not a principle. As the Scriptures say, "He that cometh to God must believe that He is (a personal God); that is a start. Secondly, we must believe that, "He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him." You believed and then you sought to know what His will would be concerning you. You found He had made a provision in His love whereby you might come from under the condemnation of sin and death and be admitted to His family. He gave you the begetting of His Spirit, and by and by, if faithful, you will be born on the spirit plane, and have joint heirship with Jesus Christ. Do you believe that? Yes. You are beginning to understand something of the love of God? Yes. You could not have gotten so far along unless you understood the love of God. God accepted us, He put the robe of Christ's righteousness upon us, and He is preparing us for the Heavenly Kingdom. His loving-kindness, O how great! There must have been a saintly class all through the Gospel Age, and they have been telling this Wonderful Story. "I love to tell the Story, it did so much for me." Who wrote this beautiful song? How did he know about the story? I do not know. He was at least looking in the right direction, and had some appreciation of the Wonderful Story of God's love in Christ. Then we have the song, "Wonderful Words of Life," and "His Loving-kindness, O how Great; O how Free!"

We did not have all of the knowledge at first, but we have been gradually growing in knowledge, and as surely as you and I grow in knowledge of the Bible, of God's great Plan, so surely do we grow in knowledge of God, because all of the work of God reflects His character. It is as if I went into your home and watched you about your work; watched to see how you did this, whether you were careless about this, that or the other; watched your words and actions, that I might form some conclusion as to what you are. God wishes us to become acquainted with Him by His Words and His conduct. To understand God, we must understand His purposes. God's purpose is to bless all of the families of the earth. As we get to know Him, we learn to love Him. No one can know a really grand character without loving that person. As we come to know God, we love Him more and more. Jesus said, "This is life eternal, that we might know Thee." We must come to know God. You cannot know God if you stay on the plane of merely trying not to kill anybody, and not to steal. If you stay down there, you cannot know God. As you give your heart to God, and study His Word and Plan, you come to know God, and that is evidence that you are getting in touch with Him. Whoever knows another thoroughly must have been with him; he must have become acquainted with him. God reveals Himself to us by letting us understand the meaning of His Word. Now we are coming to understand His Word, and it is making our lives different; it is transforming them. To know God is life everlasting. No one can know God without getting everlasting life. People who do not know God now do not have everlasting life now.

We see in God's glorious Plan for the future that He will ultimately reveal Himself to the whole world. When? The Bible says, when Messiah's Kingdom shall prevail, and cause the knowledge of the glory of the Lord to fill the whole earth. Then all may come to know Him, and receive everlasting life. Those who refuse, will die the Second Death. You and I, dear friends, have this privilege now of gaining everlasting life. We may come to a knowledge of God and enter into fellowship with Him. As we associate with one another we come to know one another's hearts better; and [CR482] so we come to know God better by communion with Him. As we tell Him daily of our dependence, and especially as we seek to understand His Word, and accept the terms of His salvation in Christ, this gives us a knowledge of God. Thus we are being developed as New Creatures into His glorious character-likeness; we are being made meet for the inheritance of the saints of light. Let us seek to study and to know God. Let us have the spirit of our text, the spirit of sacrifice, and the spirit of realization that God's loving-kindness is better than all the pleasing vanities and privileges of the natural life. To have His favor is better than any earthly things that could possibly be ours.

HE was better to me than all my hopes,
He was better than all my fears;
He made a bridge of my broken works
And a rainbow of my tears.
The billows that guarded my sea-girt path
Carried my Lord on their crest;
When I dwell on the days of my wilderness march
I can lean on His love for the rest.

He emptied my hands of my treasured store,
And His covenant love revealed;
There was not a wound in mine aching heart,
But the balm of His breath hath healed,
Oh, tender and true was the chastening sore,
In wisdom that taught and tried,
Till the soul He sought was trusting in Him
And nothing on earth beside.

He guided my steps where I could not see,
By ways that I had not known,
The crooked was straight and the rough made plain
As I followed the Lord alone.
I praise Him still for the pleasant palms
And the water-springs by the way;
For the glowing pillars of flame by night
And the sheltering cloud by day.

And if to warfare He calls me forth,
He buckles my armor on,
He greets me with smiles and a word of cheer
For battles His Sword hath won;
He wipes my brow, as I droop and faint,
He blesses my hand to toil;
Faithful is He as He washes my feet
From the trace of each earthly soil.

There is light for me on the trackless wild
As the wonders of old I trace,
When the God of the whole earth went before
To search me a resting place.
Hath He changed for me? Nay, He changeth not;
He will bring me by some new way,
Through fire and flood and each crafty foe
As safely as yesterday.

Never a watch in the dreariest halt
But some promise of love endears;
I read from the past that the future shall be
Far better than all my fears, –
Like the golden pot of the wilderness bread,
Laid up with the blossoming rod,
All safe in the ark with the Law of the Lord
In the covenant care of my God.

[CR483]

A LITTLE talk with Jesus, –
How it smooths the rugged road!
How it seems to help me onward,
When I faint beneath my load!
When my heart is crushed with sorrow,
And mine eyes with tears are dim,
There is naught can yield me comfort
Like a little talk with Him.

I tell Him I am weary,
And I fain would be at rest;
But I still will wait His bidding,
For His way is always best.
Then His promise ever cheers me
'Mid all the cares of life: –
"I am come, and soon in glory
Will end thy toil and strife."

Ah, that is what I'm wanting,
His lovely face to see –
And I'm not afraid to say it,
I know He's wanting me.
He gave His life a ransom
To make me all His own,
And He'll ne'er forget His promise
To me, His purchased one.

The way is sometimes weary
To yonder nearing clime,
But a little talk with Jesus
Hath helped me many a time.
The more I come to know Him,
And all His grace explore,
It sets me ever longing
To know Him more and more.