controverted, "The wicked had no right to demand their existence, and so no right to demand its continuance." The Tyrians were wicked men, though not so wicked as the men of Chorazin. They come under the proposition which Locke maintains. Who is prepared to confute

it ?

We have, we think, shown from considerations open to our reason and our knowledge that it would not be an unjust thing to inflict "eternal death" upon such sinners as the men of Tyre. But in truth, this whole question of human sin and punishment, of redemption put within man's power and by him accepted or rejected, is only a part of a wider and an infinite jurisprudence. We may not suppose, though we see not the connection now, and are only given hints of it in Scripture, that earth's history, the dealings of God with man whether in mercy or in severity, that all these end with man and are unconnected save with our race. Most certainly they are not. As in physical science there is not a sun of the innumerable suns, a planet of, in all likelihood, planets beyond numbering, we may say not even an atom of countless atoms, which does not influence in its proper measure and degree the physical universe, so it is in the moral government of God. Man, his sin, his redemption, his punishment, affect, we need not hesitate to say, all worlds.

Man is not alone. He is not unseen, unfelt for, unsympathised with by beings higher than he, though with his dim mortal sight he cannot see them. Around us and about us, watching us, caring for us, guarding us, looking on earnestly into our future, are numberless beings invisible to us.

"Millions of spiritual creatures walk the earth

Unseen, both when we walk and when we sleep." * This idea is not the creation of Milton's brain, but is in agreement with the oft-repeated teaching of Scripture. These angels of whom he speaks are all of them messengers of God. Between the heaven of God's throne and this earth where we dwell is a wondrous distance. It is but the highway, easily travelled, for those angels who watch over the Father's "little ones upon earth, and in heaven "see his face." Through all space these angels wing their way, universal messengers, bringing into one communion the scattered worlds of God. Milton describes Raphael as describing to Adam the history of the fall of a race of angels. There are ten thousand times ten thousand Raphaels to communicate throughout the universe the story of man and of his fall, if it were unknown by any other way.

The Apostle Peter has an expression which evinces the deep interest felt by the angelic world in the whole story of redemption, and at the same time seems to tell us that even they do not yet understand it in its infinite relations. Speaking of the things reported to the Church of Christ in the Gospel, he says that "the angels desire to look into " these things The Greek word translated "look into" is a remarkable expression. It properly signifies to stoop down or forward in order to look at a thing. Bishop Sanderson in his sermon Ad Aul, 14, speaks

*Milton. Paradise Lost. Book iv., L. 677.
† 1 Peter i., 12.

thus of the angels :-"They peep a little into those incomprehensible mysteries, and then cover their wings and peep again; as not being able to endure the fulness of that glorious lustre that shineth therein." Such is the aspect of the angels towards the place of redemption. There is the intense desire to comprehend it: there is at the same time the confession that its bearings upon the future are but partially within their grasp. The Apostle Paul in his Epistle to the Ephesians speaks of human redemption as in its present operation and ultimate results making known the manifold wisdom of God to the principalities and powers in heavenly places.* There are in these words of St. Paul a wonderful amount of meaning, but a little part of which we are able to comprehend. God's "manifold wisdom" is a phrase which seems to take in all His dealings with all His creation. The redemption of His Church, or elect people, comprehended, as in part it is, by the heavenly intelligences, and as it shall be more and more fully by them as the progress of the ages reveals more and more of the Divine wisdom has its effects upon all with which the manifold wisdom of God is concerned. We think that there can be no doubt from these words but that human redemption will tell upon more than man. The principalities and the powers of heavenly places are learning, and will learn, that it has a mighty bearing upon interests and upon beings which have not yet come into existence. For the sake of these God has dealt with man, whether in goodness or in severity. The future will show to the angels how wise God has been in the past.

Reflections such as these may surely show us that there may be reasons, wise and merciful in their ultimate issue, for a severity, in some respects, which is not injustice. Connected as human redemption is with the interests of infinite space and time, there may surely be reasons, though we are not, perhaps, able to point them out with much more force than that of conjecture for that particular judgment of the withdrawal of life from some at which offence is often taken. In his severity to individuals there may be a regard for a far wider community. If this be, as may very reasonably be conjectured, God's way to permit freedom of will to His higher creation while He rids it of its terrible danger, should we not think even this severity to be but the expression of love? The experience of angels, and of men, has shown beyond any question the fearful risk that arises from the possession of free-will. If the dealings of God with angels and with men, whether those dealings take the aspect of judgment or of mercy, bring about a state of things in which evil shall be unknown for ever, most assuredly there would by those dealings be made known to the heavenly principalities the manifold wisdom of God. At all events, we consider that our reflections have brought us to this point. If no one is unable to maintain either that God is obliged to give equal advantages to every man, or that it would be unjust in Him for human sin of a lesser or a more aggravated kind to withdraw life from some, we approach the Bible with no prejudice on our minds forcing us to put an unnatural sense upon its words, and ask, what has God there taught us upon this most solemn and important subject? HENRY CONSTable.

Ephesians iii. 10.

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SYRIAC VERSION.

WORK which was brought out by that excellent Grecian, J. F. B. Tinling, M.A., shortly before he left Reading, bore the following title: "Hidden Lessons, from the Verbal Repetitions and Varieties of the New Testament." It must be gratifying to Mr. Tinling to know that the great majority of his suggestions have been adopted by the recent Revisers. The following is one among many, just by way of illustration:-" Matt. xxiii. verse 8, One is your Teacher Verse 10,

One is your Master."

"Although in the Received Text (and that we are generally following) the same words occur twice, it appears more probable that the Lord used different words, the first being literally Teacher, and so corresponding more exactly than Master with the Hebrew Rabbi. In the former clause the words even Christ have been introduced without reason from the tenth verse. On this, Dean Alford suggests that the teacher meant was the Holy Ghost. So that the passage presents to the believers the one Father, God; the one Master, Christ; and the one Teacher, the Holy Ghost" (Hidden Lessons, p. 19).

In accordance with which, our late Revisers have ventured on substituting Teacher for Master in the first of the three clauses, and they have also rejected the words even Christ.

But the Syriac suggests that the repetition of the word Master may possibly be the error of the third clause and not of the first; for, according to Trostius's old Latin translation of the Syriac of 1621, while Master is retained in the first clause, Leader (dux) is the term adopted in the third clause,—so far, at least, confirmatory of Mr. Tinling's opinion that the two words originally used must have been different.

The question arises,-How came the words even Christ to occur in both clauses? Is it uncharitable to suppose that it may have been the handiwork of some medieval copyist, who thought that by thus preoccupying the ground with a wrong name, he should anticipate the possible insertion of even the Spirit, by any venturesome hand in the future; and thus the notion that the Spirit's teaching superseded and negatived that of the priest's would be arrested?

But, indeed, the absence of the Great Teacher's name, whichever of the Divine Persons was intended, is sufficiently supplied by the succeeding words, For all ye are brethren, indicating the absolutely dead level which all true disciples occupy in His presence. This is the dominant idea of the entire passage.

And lastly, the idea of Christ being our Leader, or Dux, seems to forbid our slavish adherence to any other man's tactics or methods of ecclesiastical warfare, acknowledging allegiance neither to Ignatius Loyola nor to John Wesley, neither to any modern church nor to the orders of the Salvation Army. Though, for my part, I have no quarrel with the Salvation Army. Let them go on their own way triumphantly. Rotherham, as usual, powerfully claims our assent; and with his version of the passage we may suitably conclude :- Ye, however, may

,,.

not be called Rabbi; for one is your teacher, and all ye are brethren. And ye may not call [any] of you father, upon the earth; for one is vour Father, the Heavenly. Neither may ye be called leaders; because r leader is one, the Christ." J. WAYLEN.

ave already expressed all this to Mr. Tinling.-J. W.]

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FOR EVER.

HO can condemn the justified,

Or what from Christ His members sever?

Though faith in Him be sorely tried,

He loves, and loves for ever.

Hath He call'd thee, weary one,

Never!

And will He leave thee?
The triumphs that His grace hath won
Are thine, and thine for ever.

Dost thou know that none can gain
Life, by self-endeavour?

Christ died for thee, and not in vain ;

He lives, and lives for ever.

Hath He bid thee look to Him?

None can hence thy faith dissever;

When heart shall fail, and sight grow dim,
Christ will be thy strength for ever.

C. F.

COMPLETENESS IN HIM.

"In Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily, and in Him ye are made full" (Col. ii. 9, 10, Revised Version).

MAN

ANY opinions are now expressed and much loose talk has been of late indulged upon the subject of Christian Perfection. Without adding thereto, let us endeavour to obtain the scriptural view of our completeness in Christ, and so learn wherein consists our true perfection; especially now that the Revised Version has come to our aid by showing us that our completeness in Him consists in our being full of Him or filled in Ilim. "The fulness of the Godhead bodily." These are great words, and greatly expressive of a great subject. We speak of the ocean and the universe, and the terms are soon expressed, but to one of the keenest intellect and most comprehensive mind, how small a portion can be known of either! Still less can the ocean fulness of the Godhead bodily become measured by finite thought, or described in words of finite expression. And only as that fulness has become revealed and expressed in Him, can we now attempt to speak of a subject that altogether passeth knowledge. But in Him dwelleth all that fulness of God. Now a fulness that is perfect hath fulness sevenfold; so then let us consider it,

1st. In its perfection of Love. The perfection of Divine love is surely the love of God to man, for, indeed, we know of no other love of God, unless it be the love of God to the God-Man. He may love angels, for His very nature is Love. But the perfection of Divine love as revealed in the Scriptures, is the love of God to man in the Man Christ Jesus. In the gift of the God-Man-the Son of His love, out of His bosom, to redeem a lost world of sinners-we have all other gifts outdone. We have love expressed perfectly in a gift so perfect. And if God so loved the world, Christ so loved the Church. Let such as will, take these expressions to mean one and the same thing; to us they express two

G

concentric circles, the one enclosing the other, the one "manifested in His own season" (or its own season) (see Titus i. 3); the other "the testimony to be borne in its own time" (see 1 Tim. ii. 6, Rev. Ver.).

2nd. In its perfection of Grace. It may be difficult, but not impossible, to think of love apart from grace. Love might appreciate objects lovely, but grace is required to love the unlovely and unlikeable. God loved the world of sinners, lost and ruined by the Fall. But why? Because they were His creatures, and He wanted them for children, He would have those sinners for sons; and hence in the Son of His love He expressed Himself in redeeming grace and dying love; and thus "God. commendeth His love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us," for, "Christ died for the ungodly." It is love expressed in grace that commendeth God's love to us. God hath made everything lovely and beautiful in its time, and then was the time. to manifest forth the loveliness and beauty of His grace when

"He saw the nations dead in sin,

And felt His pity move.

How sad the state the world was in,
How boundless was His love."

3rd. In its perfection of Wisdom. God's attribute of Omniscience ought to be the believer's firmest ground of consolation. That He knows all our failures and shortcomings, may cause sadness sometimes. But that He knows, too, our great need of His help, and our desire for it, should be a never-failing source of consolation, healing, and help. For not only does He know our need, but He knows, too, how to meet it, and how to supply it. He knows, too, the best time as well as the best way; all, all is known to Him; and, therefore, in Him, as a brother born for adversity," this fulness of knowledge is treasured, that He may be our Friend in need, and so our Friend in deed.

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But this treasury of wisdom is in Him as our Head, and hence for us as His members; as we read, "He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together;" for "He is the Head of the body the Church. For it was the good pleasure of the Father that in Him should all the fulness dwell" (Col. i. 17-19, Rev. Ver.). Here we have the Head and its fulness as the property of the body the Church. Is He the perfection of wisdom for us? Then shall He be wisdom in us. His Spirit indwelling us and filling us shall control our ways, our words, our works, and thus the ways and words and works shall become rather His than ours. We cease to live that life which is properly our own, sinful, wilful, wayward, that He may live in us His own pure, perfect, and obedient life. And thus He becomes to us, and within us, wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption; and so it comes to pass that he that glorieth glories alone in the Lord.

4th. In its perfection of Power. And what a consolation is the knowledge of the Omnipotence of the God in whom we trust! Ours is a God" able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we can ask or think." What more could words express! What more could faith expect! Power to save, power to sanctify, nor less power to glorify spirit, soul, and body in all the completeness of glorified humanity. For, we trust in God which raiseth the dead, who delivered us from so eat a death, and doth deliver; in whom we trust that He will yet iver, when this corruptible shall put on incorruption, and this mortal