hold of faith, through reserves and unfaithfulness, may be incapable of walking in fellowship with the more single-eyed followers of the Lord Jesus.

Elijah, doubtless, felt, when he met Obadiah, that his position savoured too much of the world, to enable him to reckon upon much fellowship with him. The honoured prophet had for years been trusting in the living God for daily bread, and had found that neither the cruse of oil had failed, nor the barrel of meal wasted. Obadiah, however, was running over the land, at Ahab's command, to find grass to save the cattle alive; and Elijah recognizes him as the king's servant, and says, "Go, tell thy lord, Behold Elijah is here." This was, indeed, a most extraordinary request, for which Obadiah was not at all prepared. Though a man of God, he had not been, practically, a man of faith; and, therefore, instead of considering the matter in the light of God's countenance, he receives the summons with an uncircumcised ear, judges after a carnal manner, and reckons from what he knows of the character and ways of the king, on nothing less than the loss of his life. "What have I sinned," said he, "that thou wouldest deliver thy servant into the hand of Ahab to slay me? As the Lord thy God liveth, there is no nation or kingdom, whither my lord hath not sent to seek thee: and when they said, He is not there; he took an oath of the kingdom and nation, that they found thee not. And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here. And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from thee, that the Spirit of the Lord shall carry thee whither I know not; and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot find thee, he shall

slay me but I thy servant fear the Lord from my youth. Was it not told my lord what I did when Jezebel slew the prophets of the Lord, how I hid an hundred men of the Lord's prophets by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water? And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here: and he shall slay me" (v. 9—14).

How unlike the language of faith is this verbose reply to the prophet's request! Fear of man, distrust of God, and self-complacency, are its principal elements; and I would ask, what other character of things emanate from souls that are not walking in the light, as He is in the light? Hath not the Scripture concluded that "whatsoever is not of faith is sin"? Doth not this little narrative forcibly remind us of that proverb, "Better is a little with the fear of the Lord, than great treasure and trouble therewith?" The atmosphere of Ahab's palace, untestified against, was too defiling for such fine fruit of the Spirit to luxuriate in, as was found so seasonable and matured in the retired cottage at Zarephath. We do well to remember that our calling is into the fellowship of Christ, who hath delivered us from the present evil world, and who said, "They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world." But this lesson is only to be learned effectually by the heart and conscience becoming acquainted with the mind of God in Christ crucified. The cross of our Lord Jesus indelibly records the alienated and corrupt condition of the world. Its wisdom, religion, and power, all combined to crucify "the Lord of glory." "He came into the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not." But while the cross

of Christ thus so legibly depicts the whole world as lying in the Wicked-one, it also proclaims the full forgiveness of our sins, our deliverance from guilt and death, and our complete and everlasting salvation. The instruction we unquestionably gather from thus meditating on Christ crucified, is not only that we should "come out from among the ungodly, and be separate, and touch not the unclean thing," but also, that we should "have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them." The word of "testimony" is associated in the sacred Scriptures with overcoming by the blood of the Lamb (Rev. xii. 11). May we have no reserves, beloved, but increasingly desire to "stand perfect and complete in ALL the will of God!"

The Spirit of God reads to us deeply solemn and searching lessons in this short but comprehensive narrative. It will be profitable, and redound to the glory of God, if it serve to warn any of us against the pernicious error of fearing men, instead of serving our "masters according to the flesh, in singleness of heart, fearing God." Had a plain faithful testimony been given to the wicked king, by his believing servant, he would not have given such an unspiritual reply to the Lord's prophet: but, "the fear of man bringeth a snare." Elijah, however, patiently hears the loquacious answer of Obadiah; but his eye, at this moment, was too single to notice it; and, therefore, as one who consciously abides in the presence of God, and is firmly set upon doing His will, Elijah says, "As the Lord of Hosts liveth before whom I stand, I will surely shew myself unto him to day" (v. 15).

This was a solemn era in Obadiah's life, for he felt at this moment, I believe, in common with many others under soul-convictions, that his career had arrived at such a crisis as compelled him to take a step, either forward in the fear of the Lord, with the prospect of suffering, or backward, through the fear of man, into the snare of the enemy, with the human prospect of ease and quietness. The wise and unyielding decision of the man of faith was so forcible, exemplary, and unanswerable, that Obadiah, without another word, "went to meet Ahab: and told him." Thus, the snare was broken, the trembling, halting, God-fearing man delivered, the service of the Lord performed; and the imaginary evil, which the adversary had made so formidable to his fleshly fears, now vanished before the step of faith-" Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him, and Ahab went to meet Elijah."

Those who choose disobedience and embrace sin, will be overpowered by sin and embraced with wrath. Happy only those who have confessed sin, and, selfcondemned, go through Christ to God's embrace.

"I go to prepare a place for you." We too often lose sight of the way: we speak of Him as our Advocate now with the Father, but do not bear in mind His sufferings-how He came at the right hand of God.

Man regards you according to the power of your hand; God and the godly regard the heart.

"THE ROCK, HIS WORK IS PERFECT."

DEUT. xxxii. 4.

THERE is a remarkable passage in Hooker's "Discourse of Justification," written upwards of two hundred and forty years since. It is this, "It may seem somewhat extreme which I will speak; therefore, let every one judge of it even as his own heart shall tell him, and no otherwise; I will but only make a demand. If God should yield unto us, not as unto Abraham; if fifty, forty, thirty, twenty, yea, or if ten good persons should be found in a city, for their sakes that city should not be destroyed; but, and if he should make us an offer thus large; search all the generations of men since the fall of our father Adam, find one man that hath done one action which has past from him pure, without any stain or blemish at all, and for that one man's only action, neither man nor angel shall feel the torments which are prepared for both. Do you think that this ransom to deliver men and angels, could be found to be among the sons of men ?"

Whilst the Christian, who is most deeply occupied in self-judgment, a most important part of his priestly function, before "the throne of grace," will acknowledge, most heartily, the truth of so broad and searching a statement; instead of being discouraged at such a discovery, it will lead him to "encourage himself in the Lord," and to value that present priestly ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ, which ever goes on for him in heaven.

The Apostle Paul, in writing to the Philippians, says, "And this I pray, that your love may abound

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