Earlier text: Satan's Devices.By many it is supposed that all the promises of the possession of the land were fulfilled to the natural descendants of Abraham who dwelt in the land of Canaan. We have given to us in the Scriptures several lines of proof showing that the possession of the land of Canaan did not fulfill the promise; that that land, in the condition in which they received it, was not the true inheritance of Abraham's seed, but only typical of it. 1. The dwelling of the children of Israel in the land of Canaan was not a fulfillment of the promise that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob should possess it. It was not said merely that their children should inherit it, but that they and their seed should receive it for an everlasting possession. Stephen said that Abraham had no inheritance in it, no not so much as to set his foot on. This is proved to be literally true, in that he had to buy of the inhabitants of the land a place to bury Sarah, his wife, in Hebron. And Paul said that Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise, died without receiving it, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. This alone would be sufficient to prove that the promise remains to be fulfilled. 2. According to Paul's testimony in Gal. 3: 16, Christ was the seed to whom the promise was made; and he, as Abraham, was a sojourner in the same land. He had "not where to lay his head." He was the world's Maker, destined to be the world's Redeemer, and yet spent a life of toil and suffering in the world without a resting-place or home upon the earth. He purchased the redemption of the earth by bearing in his person the curse of the earth, even as he will redeem man because he bore the curse of man. When the ground was cursed the Lord said it should bring forth thorns because of man's transgression; these he would never have produced if sin had not entered. And Jesus, when he was made an offering for sin; when he was placed in the hands of the powers of earth, was crowned with thorns. The old purple robe and the crown of thorns were a mockery of his right as king, but they became a part of the means of his final triumph—a means of vindicating the justice of God before men and angels in the Judgment. He was "the heir" whom the men of the vineyard cast out and slew. But he will come again to claim his own, and they will be destroyed. Matt. 21: 33-42. 3. There is an argument from analogy on this subject which is very conclusive, besides the direct declarations of the Scriptures, showing that the whole earth was contemplated in the original promise. This argument must be admitted by all who claim to be the seed of Abraham, and recognize as valid the covenant made with him. In this covenant we find three prominent points, namely, 1. The land of promise. 2. The seed to whom the promise was made. 3. The token of the covenant, which is circumcision. All that will be here claimed on points 2 and 3 will be readily accepted by all New Testament believers. The seed. The reader of the Old Testament might easily conclude that "the seed" to whom the promises were made included only the literal descendants of Abraham. But the term was soon restricted, and was shown to refer, not to all who descended from Abraham, but to those descending from him through one of his sons, Isaac. And in the New Testament it is shown that the term refers primarily to Christ, the real child of promise; and secondarily to all who are Christ's by faith. Thus it is said:— "He is not a Jew which is one outwardly; . . . But he is a Jew which is one inwardly." Rom. 2: 28, 29. And again: "For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel; neither because they are the seed of Abraham are they all children; but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God; but the children of the promise are counted for the seed." Rom. 9: 6-8. Therefore the true heirs of the promise are not counted by natural descent, but are of all nationalities, as the apostle says:— "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female; for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." Gal. 3: 28, 29. "Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called uncircumcision by that which is called the circumcision in the flesh made by hands; that at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world; but now, in Christ Jesus, ye who sometime were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ." Eph. 2: 11-13. The Gentiles were "aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise;" but the gospel of Christ is the means of their naturalization, so that now they belong to the true Israel of God if they are of faith, and are "fellow-heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel." Eph. 3: 6. The token. When the covenant was made with Abraham a sign, or token, was given to him. The Lord said to him: "Every man-child among you shall be circumcised. And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you." Gen. 17: 10, 11. This more than any other one thing was a mark of separation between the Jews and the Gentiles. And this, from its terms, was confined to the male portion of the children of Abraham, "Every man-child among you." But in the New Testament everything on this subject is different, both in substance and manner. As we have seen that he is not a Jew, or child of Abraham, who is one outwardly, so "neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh. . . . Circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God." Rom. 2: 28, 29. "In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ." Col. 2: 11. Circumcision was called "a token of the covenant;" in the New Testament it is called a sign and a seal; Rom. 4: 11. And the seal, or circumcision, of the New Testament is further explained as follows: "In whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance." Eph. 1: 13, 14. The earnest is the same as the seal or token. Again it is written:— "Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption." Eph. 4: 30. "Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts." 2 Cor. 1: 22. This is the circumcision of the heart, in the spirit; the true token or sign of our heirship. And as it was said to Abraham that the uncircumcised man-child should be cut off—he had no part in the covenant; so it is now said, "If any man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of his." Rom. 8: 9. He has not the seal or token of the covenant, and has no part in the covenant. Now mark the analogy. All Christians believe that the seed or children of Abraham, and circumcision, have a place in the gospel; that they are brought over into this dispensation; only they are enlarged in their terms, and made to apply to those and that to which they did not seem to apply when first the covenant was made. Now an enlargement of them is the very opposite of nullifying them, or having them expire by limitation. But if they to whom a certain promise is made, and the token or assurance of that promise, are brought into the New Testament, why not also the promise itself? And if the terms of the other are enlarged, it is only reasonable to expect that of this they would be also. And thus we find it written: "For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith." Rom. 4: 13. "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." Matt. 5: 5. We fully believe, as before remarked, that God's original purpose in the creation of the earth will be fulfilled, that the restoration of the earth from the curse, from thorns and thistles, and from everything that could annoy its inhabitants, was included in the promise that the seed of the woman should bruise the head of the serpent; or, in the words of the New Testament, that Christ should destroy the works of the devil. The "first dominion" given to man shall be returned to him, but the promise of restoration was made to and through Abraham and his seed, and we receive it as his heirs. The meek shall inherit the earth. To inherit is to possess by heirship; but our heirship is solely of Abraham our father. Two objections raised against this view we will notice. 1. That the righteous, the meek, do now possess the earth; that all the blessings and enjoyments of this world really belong to the people of God. 2. That the Israelites are said to have had all the promises made to their fathers fulfilled to them in their possessing the land of Canaan. The first objection is readily disposed of; indeed it seems strange that any one with the New Testament in his hands should urge that the meek now inherit the earth; that the promises are now being fulfilled to them. But some eminent theological scholars have urged this view. It is disproved by most explicit declarations of the Scriptures. (1) The poor of this world, the rich in faith, are only "heirs of the kingdom which God hath promised to them that love him;" the kingdom prepared "from the foundation of the world." (2) When the meek inherit the earth "they shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace." Ps. 37: 11. This is not the case at present, as we all know by observation and experience; the following words of our Saviour settle it:— (3) "In the world ye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." John 16: 33. The enjoyment or blessing of the Christian is not from or of the world, but from what Jesus has done for us to overcome the world. So far from the meek having "abundance of peace" in this world, they have persecutions and afflictions; their life is only a warfare, in which they are speedily overcome if they lay aside their armor. (4) The wicked inherit more of this present world than the righteous do, the latter being "the poor of this world," while a woe is pronounced upon the rich. But the scripture says: "Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman." Gen. 21: 10; Gal. 4: 30. If the inheritance is of this present world, the son of the bondwoman has the largest share. (5) Abraham dwelt in the land, but he did not inherit it. He with others, heirs with him of the same promise, dwelt in the land of promise as in a strange country. And so the apostle said his brethren were "strangers and pilgrims." 2 Peter 2: 11. Abraham had to277 buy a place to bury his dead in the land which was promised to him for an everlasting possession; even so now, the children of Abraham have an abiding-place in the earth only by paying tribute to earthly powers. But of this we do not complain. The time for us to inherit the earth has not yet come. (6) That the Spirit is an "earnest of our inheritance" is proof on this point. The earnest looks to the fulfillment of a promise in the future. When God promised the land to Abraham he gave him circumcision as a token, an assurance of his promise. So now we have the circumcision of the Spirit, "which is the earnest of our inheritance." How long do we need the earnest or token? Until we take possession of the inheritance. And how long is that in the future? "Until the redemption of the purchased possession." The meek will not inherit the earth before it is redeemed, for in its present state they can only possess it in common with the children of the bondwoman, and they cannot "delight themselves in the abundance of peace." Jesus purchased the earth with the right to redeem it from the curse. And he will surely claim his right, and his people shall receive their reward. The expectation of the poor shall not perish. "The kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heavens, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High." Dan. 7: 27. Modern Terrorism.
By John Orr Corliss
THIS is what English papers call the late demonstrations of the dynamite fiends in that country. The explosion at Victoria Station, and the discovery of plots to blow up other public buildings in London, has caused no little anxiety in English circles. Many comments have been offered by the press. While some suggest that the arrest and summary execution of a few leaders in these villainies would restore former peace and quietness, others are inclined to look at the matter in a more serious light. They regard the late developments as nothing less than the outgrowth of irreligion and atheism, and that they forebode only evil to the country. In a review of the matter, the Rock (English) makes the following comments: “Modern terrorism, which has made its formidable attacks to be felt in so many parts of Europe, has come unpleasantly close to ourselves. Unfortunately England does not stand alone in these murderous exploits. Russia has long endured the horrible fatalism embodied in Nihilism. France has repeatedly suffered from the intermittent outbreaks of Communism. Germany has commendably invoked stern legislation against Socialism, as the English Parliament did against the ripened Fenianism of Ireland. Austria has recently placed in a state of siege certain districts, one of which includes Vienna. Even Norway is in the throes of a society warfare, in which the main question is whether there shall be an utter abolition of religion, education, and proprietary rights. “What is the fundamental cause of all these outbursts of social iniquity? We believe the originating principle to be a compound one, and in complete correspondence with the ‘perilous times’ in which we live, and of which the most potent element is, beyond all question, the general depravity and prevalent irreligion. Look where we will there is an upheaval of social forces intimately connected with the skeptical, the immoral, and the ignorant classes. The dangers are not confined to one order of society. The same causes which are manifestly ripening for catastrophe in the proletariat (the socialist class), are also conspicuous enough in some of the upper strata of society. Reflex action has been already, and will be even more swiftly, retributive. The new race of politicians and progressionists sneer at piety as effeminacy, and what shall we say of the rampant Sabbath-breaking, of the scornful treatment of the Bible, of holy things and persons caricatured? Of one nation of old we have sundry lurid pictures of their extensive but hollow religious professions, of their fashionable excesses, and of their gross immorality. These were the pregnant causes of the ultimate destruction of the Jewish polity. The eloquence of Isaiah’s delineations are as lamentably accurate of modern English society as ever they were of Jewish life. Atheism, like a subtle refuge, is entwining its deadly folds around its victims; and Universalism, Positivism, and other members of the poisonous family group are seducing unwary minds into a whirlpool of misery, ignorance, and crime. ‘No God’ is the social watchword across the channel; ‘No God’ is becoming popularized at home by men who stick at nothing, neither the claims of religion, social law, nor proprietary right. When these existing elements of terrorism have burst into vigor, history will repeat itself even to the dregs of retributive punishment.” It is not necessary for Americans to journey across the Atlantic to appreciate the above statements. And while the picture thus drawn of English society is not a flattering one, yet if applied to the social condition of this country, it would not be overdrawn. The prevalence of irreligion in all grades of society is almost appalling, and yet there were never more church members than at the present time. Each succeeding year seems to outdo its predecessor in producing startling crimes. If things go on at the present rate, it cannot be long before retributive justice must overtake the world. A glance about us, and a moment’s thought, can but convince us that we have met the “perilous times” of the last days. J. O. CORLISS. Returning to God.
By C. P. Bollman
It is a sad thought that any soul who has once enlisted in the service of God should ever grieve his Spirit, or allow himself to be led into sin; thus yielding to the enemy of all righteousness. But that such is the experience of some is proved by both scripture and observation. David, of whom at one period in his life it was said that he was a man after God's own heart, sinned against the Lord, and brought upon himself that scathing rebuke recorded in 2 Sam. 12: 7-12. God visited the sin of David upon him in the death of the child which was born unto him, and raised up evil against him out of his own house, so that his life was embittered by the rebellion of his son Absalom. But David confessed his sin, and was assured by the prophet that his iniquity was forgiven him. Nevertheless it was for the glory of God that the child should die, because the king's sin had given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme. Thus it is that sin always brings a measure of suffering. But God in mercy is ready to forgive our transgressions when we come to him, and by confession and true repentance put the evil out of our hearts; yet for his glory and our good, he permits us to suffer the minor consequences of our iniquities; thereby enabling us to form some conception of the sinfulness of sin. Though God is holy, and cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance; and while the sin of backsliding must be (if we may so speak) doubly black in his sight, yet the Bible abounds in invitations to those who have wandered away from the Lord to return unto him for "he will abundantly pardon." The language of inspiration is: "Turn, O backsliding children, saith the Lord; for I am married unto you; and I will take you one of a city and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion." Jer. 3: 14. In the parable of the prodigal son we have a most touching illustration of the willingness of our heavenly Father to welcome the humble penitent. Oh, the goodness and mercy of God! His judgments are unsearchable, and "his ways past finding out." But, backslider, how long will you presume upon the mercy of God, and continue to grieve his Spirit? How long will you stay in the enemy's country and feed upon the husks of sin? Throw off the spell which Satan has cast over you, and like the prodigal resolve, "I will arise and go to my father." C. P. BOLLMAN. Baron Palet contributes to the Paris Figaro a strange history, under the title of “An hour among the dead.” The dead in this case are living women who regard themselves as “dead to the world.” They are, in fact, the little known order of the Barefooted Clares. These ladies possess a cloister in Paris, in which there are eighteen nuns and a few lay sisters who act as their servants. Fourteen of the present staff of nuns are under twenty-three years of age. The reason of this, according to Baron Palet, is terrible enough to justify the intervention of the State. The rule of the Clares is so excessively severe that nearly all the professed inmates die young. They wear a rough woolen dress, with a rope as a girdle; they go barefoot on the cold stone flooring; they never warm themselves at a fire,—even the kitchen fire is placed beyond their access; they eat meat only once a year; they sleep on a narrow board; they must spend ten hours every day upon their knees; they live entirely upon alms; they are only allowed to speak to one another upon rare occasions. The Abbess, through a grating, assured him that more than one of her nuns, through cultivation of this grace of silence, had actually lost the power of forming a sentence. We doubt if Mr. Carlyle himself would have approved so prodigious a development of the axiom that “speech is silver, silence is gold.” THERE is a wondrous healing power in "a little while." A little while, and the tears of childhood give place to smiles of joy; a little while, and the weariness of the toiler is exchanged for refreshment and repose; a little while, and the hour of temptation is past, and he who was sore oppressed by the adversary, raises his thanksgiving to God who giveth the victory; a little while, and the oppressor is broken, and deliverance comes to the loyal, trusting soul; a little while, and the bitter days of tribulation are done, and the heart, tossed, troubled and discouraged, finds repose in the providence of the Lord Jesus Christ; a little while, and the anguish of bereavement is assuaged, the broken heart bound up, the sorrowing soul made glad, and the discouraged one goes forward in the strength of God; a little while, and the weary pilgrimage is ended, the fight is won, and the victory is gained. "A little while and he that shall come will come and will not tarry," is the testimony of faith to the struggling, trusting church. Let us rejoice in him who thus gives us everlasting consolation; and, though the time to us seems long, and the years to us seem weary, yet our gracious Lord ever whispers in our ears, "Yet a little while." Blessed are they who can trust his precious word, and can believe that "our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal."—The Christian. The Sabbath-School.
By Editor
LESSON FOR THE PACIFIC COAST.—MAY 17. ACTS, CHAPTERS 22: 17—23: 24. THE latter part of the previous lesson presents the apostle as a prisoner in charge of the Roman soldiers at Jerusalem, who had rescued him from a violent assault of the Jews, a few days after his arrival from Macedonia. Just after his rescue he had asked permission to address the excited mob, and proceeded to do so in the Hebrew language. The multitude listened to him until he came to the point of relating how the Lord had sent him to preach the gospel to the Gentiles, when they burst forth in renewed clamor against him. Beginning here, we quote from "Sketches from the Life of Paul," by Mrs. E. G. White, as follows: He endeavored to show that his work among the Gentiles had not been from choice. He had desired to labor for his own nation; but in that very temple the voice of God had spoken to him in holy vision, directing his course "far hence, unto the Gentiles." Hitherto the people had given close attention, but when he reached the point in his history where he was appointed Christ's ambassador to the Gentiles, their fury broke forth anew. Accustomed to look upon themselves as the only people favored of God, they could not endure the thought that the despised Gentiles should share the privilege which had hitherto belonged exclusively to themselves. National pride bore down every argument which could influence their reason or command their reverence. An outburst of rage interrupted his speech, as all with one voice cried out, "Away with such a fellow from the earth; for it is not fit that he should live!" In their excitement they flung off their garments, as they had done years before at the martyrdom of Stephen, and threw dust into the air with frantic violence. This fresh outbreak threw the Roman captain into great perplexity. He had not understood Paul's Hebrew address, and concluded from the general excitement that his prisoner must be guilty of some great crime. The loud demands of the people that Paul be delivered into their hands made the commander tremble. He ordered him to be immediately taken unto the barracks and examined by scourging, that he might be forced to confess his guilt. The body of the apostle was stretched out, like that of a common malefactor, to receive the lashes. There was no friend to stand by him. He was in a Roman barrack, surrounded only by brutal soldiers. But, as on a former occasion at Philippi, he now rescued himself from this degradation, and gained advantage for the gospel, by appealing to his rights as a Roman citizen. He quietly said to the centurion who had been appointed to superintend this examination, "Is it lawful for you to scourge a man that is a Roman, and uncondemned?" The centurion immediately went and told the chief captain, saying, "take heed what thou doest; for this man is a Roman." On hearing this, Lysias was alarmed for himself. A Roman might not be punished before he had been legally condemned, nor punished in this manner at all. The chief captain well knew how stringent were the laws protecting the rights of citizenship, and that if the statement were true he had, in his proceedings against Paul, violated these laws. He immediately went in person to the prisoner, and questioned him concerning the truth of the centurion's report. Paul assured him that he was indeed a Roman citizen; and when the officer exclaimed, "With a great sum obtained I this freedom," Paul declared, "But I was free born." The preparation for torture went no further, and those commissioned to conduct his examination left him. Paul was, however, still held in custody, as the nature of his offense had not yet been inquired into. On the next day the chief captain summoned a meeting of the Jewish Sanhedrim, with the high priest, and brought Paul down from the castle, under the protection of a sufficient force to guard against any attempt upon his life. The apostle now stood in the presence of that council of which he himself had been a member,—that council by which Stephen had been condemned. The memory of that scene, and of his own efforts to secure the condemnation of the servant of Christ, came vividly before his mind. As he looked upon those who were to be his judges, he recognized many who had been his associates in the school of Gamaliel, and who had also united with him in persecuting the disciples of Jesus. They were now as eager to put Paul to death as they had been to destroy Stephen. The apostle's bearing was calm and firm. The peace of Christ, ruling in his heart, was expressed upon his countenance. But his look of conscious innocence offended his accusers, and when he fearlessly addressed them, "Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day," their hatred was kindled afresh, and the high priest ordered him to be smitten upon the mouth. At this inhuman command, Paul exclaimed, "God shall smite thee, thou whited wall, for sittest thou to judge me after the law, and commandest me to be smitten contrary to the law?" These words were not an outburst of passion. Under the influence of the Holy Spirit, Paul uttered a prophetic denunciation similar to that which Christ had uttered in rebuking the hypocrisy of the Jews. The judgment pronounced by the apostle was terribly fulfilled when the iniquitous and hypocritical high priest was murdered by assassins in the Jewish war. But the bystanders regarded the words of Paul as profane, and exclaimed with horror, "Revilest thou God's high priest?" Paul answered with his usual courtesy, "I wist not, brethren, that he was the high priest; for it is written, Thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people." Paul was convinced that he could not hope for a fair trial and just decision at this tribunal. And his natural penetration and shrewdness enabled him to take advantage of the circumstances. The Sanhedrim council was made up of Pharisees and Sadducees, who had long been at variance upon the doctrine of the resurrection. Knowing this, the apostle cried out, in clear, decided tones, "Brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee; of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question." These words, appealing to the sympathies of those who agreed with him in regard to the resurrection, brought a change in the council. The two parties began to dispute among themselves, and thus the strength of their opposition against Paul was broken; for however well united they were in warring against the gospel, they were divided by an insurmountable barrier in other matters of religious faith. The Pharisees flattered themselves that they had found in Paul a champion against their powerful rivals; and their hatred against the Sadducees was even greater than their hatred against Christ and his apostles. With great vehemence they now began to vindicate Paul, using nearly the same language that Gamaliel had used many years before: "We find no evil in this man; but if a spirit or an angel hath spoken to him, let us not fight against God." The sentence was hardly completed before the judgment-hall became a scene of the wildest confusion. The Sadducees were eagerly trying to get possession of the apostle, that they might put him to death, and the Pharisees were as eagerly trying to protect him. Again it seemed that he would be torn in pieces by the angry combatants. Lysias, being informed of what was taking place, immediately gave orders to his soldiers to bring the prisoner without delay back to the fortress. Thus closed the scenes of this eventful day. Evening found Paul still in the Roman barrack, the rude soldiery his sole companions, their brutal jests and revolting blasphemy the only sounds that fell upon his ear. He was not now nerved up by the presence of his enemies, nor was he supported by the presence of his friends. The future seemed enveloped in darkness. He feared that his course might not have been pleasing to God. Could it be that he had made a mistake after all in his visit to Jerusalem? Had his great desire to be in union with his brethren led to this disastrous result? And now he was in prison, and his enemies, in their desperate malice, would resort to any means to put him to death. Could it be that his work for the churches was closed, and that ravening wolves were to enter in, not sparing the flock? The cause of Christ was near his heart, and with deep anxiety he contemplated the perils of the scattered churches, exposed to the persecutions of just such men as he had encountered in the Sanhedrim council. In distress and discouragement he wept and prayed. The Lord was not unmindful of his servant. He had guarded him from the murderous throng in the temple courts, he had been with him before the Sanhedrim council, he was with him in the fortress, and was pleased to reveal himself to his faithful witness. As on trying occasions several times before, Paul was now comforted and encouraged by a vision in the night season. Such a visitation had been granted him in the house of Aquila and Priscilla at Corinth, when he was contemplating leaving the city for a more safe and prosperous field. And now the Lord stood by him and said, "Be of good cheer, Paul; for as thou has testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome." Paul had long looked forward to a visit to Rome; he greatly desired to witness for Christ there, but had felt that his purposes were frustrated by the enmity of the Jews. He little thought, even now, that it would be as a prisoner of the Lord that he would go to Rome. In the peaceful hours of the night, while the Lord was visiting his discouraged servant, the enemies of Paul were eagerly plotting his destruction. "And when it was day, certain of the Jews banded together, and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul. And they were more than forty which had made this conspiracy." Here was such a fast as the Lord through Isaiah had condemned many years before,—a fast "for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness." The Jews thus sought to give to their diabolical plan the sanction of religion. Having fortified themselves by their dreadful oath, they came to the chief priests and members of the Sanhedrim, and made known their purpose. It was proposed to request that Paul be again brought before the court, as if for a further investigation of his case, and that the assassins would lie in wait and murder him while on his way from the fortress. Such was the horrible crime masked under a show of religious zeal. Instead of rebuking the Satanic scheme, the priests and rulers eagerly acceded to it. Paul had spoken the truth when he compared Ananias to a whited sepulcher. The next day the plot would have been carried into effect, had not God by his providence interposed to save the life of his servant. When Peter had been made a prisoner and condemned to death, the brethren had offered earnest prayer to God day and night for his de279liverance. But no such interest was manifested in behalf of him who was looked upon as an apostate from Moses, a teacher of dangerous doctrines. It was not to the elders whose counsel had brought him into this dangerous position, but to the watchful sympathy of a relative, that Paul owed his escape from a violent death. A nephew of the apostle, to whom he was strongly attached, heard of the murderous conspiracy, and without delay reported the matter to his uncle. Paul immediately called for one of the centurions, and requested him to take the young man to the commandant, saying that he had important information to give him. The youth was accordingly brought before Claudius Lysias, who received him kindly, and taking him aside, inquired the nature of his message. The young man related the particulars of the conspiracy, and with deep feeling entreated the commandant not to grant the request which would be surely made, that Paul be again brought before the council. Lysias listened with close attention. He saw the difficulties of the situation, and instantly formed his plans. Choosing, however, not to reveal them, he dismissed the youth, with the single admonition: "See thou tell no man that thou hast showed these things to me." When the young man had gone, the commandant "called unto him two centurions, saying, Make ready two hundred soldiers to go to Cæsarea, and horsemen threescore and ten, and spearmen two hundred, at the third hour of the night; and provide them beasts, that they may set Paul on, and bring him safe unto Felix the governor." Lysias gladly improved this opportunity to get Paul off his hands. He was the object of so great animosity, and his presence created so widespread an excitement, that a riot might occur among the people at any time, with consequences dangerous to the commandant himself. The Jews as a people were in a state of excitement and irritation, and tumults were of frequent occurrence. A short time previous, a Roman knight of far higher rank than Lysias himself, had been violently taken and dragged by the maddened Jews around the walls of Jerusalem, and finally beheaded, because he received a bribe from the Samaritans. Upon the suspicion of similar crimes, other high officials had been imprisoned and disgraced. Should Paul be murdered, the chief captain might be charged with having been bribed to connive at his death. There was now sufficient reason to send him away secretly, and thus get rid of an embarrassing responsibility. It was important that no time be lost. At nine in the evening, the body of soldiers, with Paul in the midst, marched out of the fortress, and through the dark and silent streets of the city, and at a rapid pace, pursued their journey toward Cæsarea. At Antipatris, thirty-five miles from Jerusalem, the travelers halted. There was now little danger of attack, and in the morning the four hundred foot-soldiers were sent back to Jerusalem, while the horsemen continued their journey. The distance from Antipatris to Cæsarea was but twenty-five miles, and it was in the broad light of day that Paul, attended by "threescore and ten horsemen," entered the city. How unlike his present escort was the humble Christian company that had attended him on the journey from Cæsarea but a few days before! Notwithstanding his changed surroundings, he was recognized by Philip and others of his Christian associates, whose hearts were shocked and saddened at the swift realization of their forebodings. WHAT is there which makes the heart of a Christian rejoice in sorrow, and gives comfort to the mourner, as he sees his dear ones laid in the grave, but that they shall rise again? It is the Christian's only hope. 1 Thess. 4:13-18.