expressive of his own sense of the littleness of man; thoughts well calculated to make us see our own littleness. What searching questions these: "For who hath known the mind of the Lord?

"Or who hath been His counsellor?

"Or who hath first given to Him, and it shall be recompensed to him again?" Not I, surely each one must say,

"For Or Him, and THROUGH Him, and To Him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen" (ver. 33-36).

Into the fourth division of the Epistle to the Romans, it is not my intention at present to enter: I merely give the opening of it as confirming what I have said about the place that mercy holds in God's dealings, as set forth now, and as presented in this epistle.

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service" (chap. xii. 1). But the whole of this portion (from chap. xii. ver. 1, to the end of the epistle) is but the deduction of the fruits natural to the reception of the mercy and mercies referred to in the preceding parts of the epistle. And, surely, the close of this part ought ever to be remembered by us:

"Now to him that is of power to stablish you," let us mark it well, “Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, but is manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets [or by prophetic scripture], according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations FOR THE OBEDIENCE of faith: to God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for ever. Amen" (xvi. 25-27).

And can any man who has rejoiced in mercy himself and known its suitability to man's ruined and lost condition, for a moment think that the practical life of persons professing Christianity now-a-days, is the fruit of their having tasted mercy? Can he whose heart has had to challenge itself in the fear of the Lord, not know what

the result of all the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life which now characterise Christianity (so called) must be? Or could any one that counts mercy to be a priceless treasure wish the present state of things to continue, or merey to be limited to its present bounds and not to be, even through judgment, presented in a more boundlessly extensive way, and that too in man's day?

To return now to my thesis, "But God who is rich in mercy," I would call attention to the contrasts in the context which led to the introduction of the little word, "But."

In the middle of the first chapter of the epistle to the Ephesians (ver. 15), Paul turns to the blessings which grace had provided for the saints in Christ Jesus, and, as it were, draws aside the curtain and shows us the Son of man, the faithful servant of God, seated in heaven in all His present glory. Raised from the dead and set at God's right hand in heavenly places,--exalted above every power and name named in this age or that which is to come,-every thing put under His feet and Himself made head of a body, for which He not only uses His power over all things, but which He himself fills in every part! What glory like that, all the excellency of God's ways set forth by Him. All the beauty of God seen in Him. In contrast to this come the place and the state in which those, now the members of His all glorious body, were found, dead in trespasses and sins; their movement then, according to the routine of a place, set up for sinners to be happy in without God, out of His presence, the energy then working in them, that of the prince of the power of the air, spirit that energises in the children of disobedience. Such had been these Ephesians to whom he wrote. Had he been better? no: lusts of the flesh, lusts of the flesh and of the mind, had characterised the Jews-children of wrath even as others (chap. ii. 1--3); what a contrast! Well might he introduce here the word "But." "But God who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins." And The world see its origin in Cain and his family. Genesis, chap. iv.

mark well here, the height of blessedness and glory to which we were raised and in which set, — "hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved), and hath raised up together, and made sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus." If any thing could add to this blessing so freely given, bestowed in so divine a way, in Christ Jesus, -it would be the explanation which follows of an object which was accomplished, to say the least, by God in so doing. For I like not to speak of it as His motive; that I suppose was higher still. But one object which was given was, "That in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness towards us through Christ Jesus" (ver. 7).

"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained (or prepared,-works worthy of our being, each one, members of that body, of which Christ is the glorified head) that we should walk in them" (ver. 10).

Thus our creature-working, to get into the place of acceptance and blessing, is excluded:-"We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus," that on the one hand; and on the other, the abuse of mercy and grace is guarded against, for our creation in Christ Jesus, is "unto good works," of a kind prepared by God that we should walk in them.

G. V. W.

No. III.

"MY GOSPEL."

In order to be able clearly to apprehend what the Apostle Paul calls "My Gospel," it is necessary for us to understand what preceded it. Judgment, which is so great a quality of the spiritual mind, is the power of nicely distinguishing between two points in which there is the least difference; and where there is a spiritual mind, its aim is ever to distinguish things that differ;

and whenever this distinction is not made, and in proportion as this is lost sight of, there is not only ignorance, but defect in the exercise of the spiritual mind, which would have grappled with it, and through grace have counteracted it. The Word is given us to guide and instruct the spiritual mind, and to lead it to that judgment which would set the truth in its due place and order. I propose, therefore, to examine the Gospel which was proclaimed and taught before there was any revelation unto Paul; and having done so, to present as clearly and fully as I can, the Gospel entrusted to Paul as to its nature, characteristics, etc. I know and feel that I undertake a task which, though so interesting, is so little known, that if I had not the assurance of the Lord's mercy in helping and encouraging every little effort of His people, to clear His truth of any mixture which leavens it, I could not attempt it. But with this conviction, I assure myself that any, however feeble, tracing out and presentation of the truth as it has been revealed, will be helpful and useful.

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First, then, I would examine the nature and scope of the Gospel preached during our Lord's walk on the earth; and then, the Gospel preached after His resurrection, until the revelation given to the Apostle Paul. I trust that every student of Scripture will admit that there is some difference, at least, in the Gospel preached in each of these three periods. It must surely need but few words to convince a Christian that the Gospel which was preached before the death of Christ, could not be the same, as to fulness, as that preached after His resurrection. It is true that when Mark commences the narrative of our blessed Lord's ministry (chap. i. 1) he calls it "the beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God;" but this passage indicates the nature of the narrative which he was about to give; that is, good tidings relating to Him as the Son of God, rather than the nature or subject-matter of the Gospel preached. This last (the Gospel preached) is definitely stated in verse 14 of the same chapter, where it is said, "Jesus came into Galilee preaching the Gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom

of God is at hand; repent and believe the Gospel." Now, what was that Gospel? Surely not the same as that preached by the Apostles after the resurrection, or as that revealed to Paul. It was the Gospel of the kingdom of God, as Mark plainly tells us; and that was, that God's kingdom was now offered to the Jew in the person of the Heir. Now the effect of repenting and believing this Gospel is set forth in the prayer which our Lord taught His disciples, who, as the faithful of that day, had accepted this Gospel. It was good tidings that God was offering to man His kingdom in His Son, the Heir of all. The disciples believed this; and hence our Lord teaches them a prayer expressive of the state of soul which they, as believing in this Gospel, should have; that is to say, they, through grace, were bound to have the sentiments which that prayer comprised. Prayer when true properly expresses the relation in which the soul stands with God. You cannot, if you pray truly, take higher relation than that in which

you are set. When you pray to God you present your

If

self in that relation which you feel is alone justifiable before Him; and that which you can truly assume. I pray to God assuming a false relation, I must, on the face of it, feel in my conscience that I disown the nature of God; that I lose the sense of His being God. Even ordinarily, if I make a petition to one who knows my condition, I am careful not to represent it in a false light, not to presume on my claim and relation beyond what I think will be acceptable. We find in Luke viii. 1 that the Lord "went throughout every city and village preaching and showing the glad tidings (or Gospel) of the kingdom of God, and the twelve were with Him." And then in chap. xi. when "He had ceased praying, one of His disciples said unto him, Lord teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples. And he said unto them, When ye pray say, Our Father which art in heaven. Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from