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Vol. XXXIX BROOKLYN, N. Y., JUNE 15, 1918 No. 12 THE CHASTENING OF THE LORD lt My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; neither be weary of his correction; for whom, the Lord loveth he correcteth, even as a father the son ih whom he delighteth." — Proverbs 3:11, 12. Many excellent people have the thought that special sorrows , trials, difficulties, are marks of divine disfavor and that And a man's foes shall be they of his own household."- Matthew 10:34-36. the best way to avoid trouble is to become a Christian. But the Scriptures show that if one is not already in trouble and wishes to get into it and to stay in it for the rest of his natural life, his best course is to become a true follower of Christ. One of the first characters who received a special invitation to walk with the Lord was Father Abraham. We are told that, "By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went." (Hebrews 11:8) At the time this call was extended to Abraham he was seventy-five years of age, rich according to all the standards of earthly riches of his time, and no doubt comfortable and happy among his friends and relatives in the pleasant and productive region of Mesopotamia where he had been born and iu which he grew to manhood. We can imagine that his relatives were very much displeased with the choice he made. They no doubt considered it a species of insanity that this man, happy, prosperous and well established in life should at his age leave the environment with which he was familiar, and travel hundreds of miles through the sands of the Arabian desert to a land which neither he nor his fathers had known. One of the first crosses that must be taken up and borne by one who would walk in fellowship with the I/>rd is the certainty that he will displease his earthly friends by so doing. Nevertheless, the Psalmist urges, "Hearken, daughter, and consider, and incline thine ear; forget thine own people and thy father's house; so shall the king greatly desire thy beauty." (Psalm 45:10, 11). Eight well did the Lord know that our act of becoming his foot-step followers would bring us into difficulty with our earthly loved ones, our relatives according to our "father's house, else would he never have «aid: "Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: T came not to send pence, but a sword. For I am come toset a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. [6273] "WATEBS OF A TOLL CUP" The experience of the Psalmist was that his efforts to live a godly life brought upon him the reproaches of those who could not understand his motives. David was a type of the Christ and said' of his opposers and of ours: "They set their mouth against the heavens, and their tongue* walketh through the earth. Therefore his people return hither: and waters of a full cup are wrung out to them." {Psalm 73:9, 10). David was in the wilderness and because he was in the wilderness was a target for slander and ridicule until his cup of sorrow was filled. If we would see how God has been pleased to deal with those who give themselves unreservedly to him during the time in which sacrifices are acceptable, we have only to consider the fact that after the Beautiful One had laid his perfect sacrifice at the Father's feet, he was immediately "led up of the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil." (Matthew 4:1) And he has not held out to his followers any expectation that the result of their consecration to do the Father's will would differ from his own; rather, he has assured us: "The disciple is not above his Master, nor the servant above his Lord. It is enough for the disciple that he be as his Master, and the servant as his Lord. If they have called the Master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household ?"—- Matthew 10:24, 25. Lest, in the midst of our trials, we should be inclined to fear that these are evidences of divine disfavor, we are especially invited to "consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds." (Hebrews 12:3) And as we consider him we recall especially the last events which crowned his three and a half years of faithful doing of the heavenly Father's will. We remember that he allowed himself to be smitten, crowned with thorns, mocked as a royal impostor, spit upon, and his beard to be torn out. He allowed himself to be sentenced to a (180 181) THE WATCH TOWER Brooklyn, N. Y, felon's death. Under a cross which he had not the strength to bear he passed through the streets of the same Jerusalem over which he had wept — but five days previously lined with the crowds that then were shouting, "Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord" (Luke 19:38), but that now were eager for his death. In the midst of this throng for whom he was about to die, the just for the unjust, he permitted himself to be stripped of his clothing, nailed to the cross, and hanged between two thieves until the sacrifice was completely finished in death. WEARIED AND FAINT IN MIND The Apostle says we should consider this, 'lest we be wearied and faint in our minds.' The word 'wearied' here (Greek kamon) is the same word that is translated sick in the passage of James 5:15. Thus the Lord would tell us that the surest protection against soul-Biekness is to keep our sacrifice on the altar as Jesus did and to comfort ourselves with the assurance that in some degree the experiences which were permitted to come to him are permitted also to come to us. When that sincere and zealous man, Saul of Tarsus, had met the Lord on the way to Damascus, and in prompt obedience to the heavenly vision had said, "What shall I do, Lord?" (Acts 22:10) and had remained without sight and without food or drink for three days (Acts 9:9), the lord sent him a message of comfort by the hand of Ananias, one of his faithful servants. The message was: "He is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: for I will show him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake." (Acts 9:15, 16) The Apostle Paul never forgot this lesson. On his first missionary tour, after he had preached the gospel at Iconium, Lystra and Derbe, and after the Jews from Antioch and Iconium had persuaded the people of the latter city to stone him into insensibility so that they supposed he was dead, then it was that "as the disciples stood around about him, he rose up, and came into the city: and the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe. And when they had preached the gospel to that city, and had made many disciples, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch, confirming the souls^ of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and [telling them how] that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God."— Acts 14:20-22. The Revelator shows that the experiences of the Lord Jesus and the Apostle Paul constitute a picture of the experiences of those members of the Lord's body who come in contact with the earth — "his feet were like unto fine brass as if they burned in a furnace." (Revelation 1:35) No doubt in a very special sense too, this picture is true of the last members, the feet members, of that glorious body. NONE WITHOUT CHASTBNINGS We have the Father's Word for it that "if we be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are we spurious, and not sons." (Hebrews 12:8) It does not follow that all will be partakers in the same degree, nor in the same manner. For some a look is sufficient, for others a word, still others require scourgings, and some repeatedly, but the chastisements, whatever they may be, serve the* grand purpose of giving us opportunities for overcoming, for proving our fidelity, for developing self-control, sympathy, forgiveness, gentleness and patience. The children of Israel were to eat their passover lamb "with bitter herbs'* (Exodus 12:8), so that they might be able to partake of it more freely. Christ is our passover; and the effect of every bitter experience, on one who belongs to the Lord, is to drive him closer to the Lamb of God that he may feed more and more upon that Lamb. In the typical ceremonies of Israel one of 'the duties of the lngh priest was to dress the laimps which burned in the Holy, (Exodus 30:7^ Those who live in country districts understand very well what this moans. If one would have good light,, not only must a lamp be kept filled with oil and the burner and globe be kept clean, but the burned portion of the wick must he cut off from time to time. This represents the trimming off of the dross of the old nature — the wick through which the holy Spirit operates. If the wick could speak it would protest that it was being injured or wronged by the sharp shears which cut it in two. but the one who trims the wick is thinking not of the wick but of the beautiful light which later shall give .joy to all who are in the house. "Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven."- — Matthew 5:16. The heavenly Father is developing and training the royal priesthood so that they may be merciful and faithful priests of the poor world when it shall be given its opportunity of reconciliation. They Romans 5:3-5) Those who are inspired by the hopes which animate God's sons experience no sense of shame under the discipline and trials they must endure, but glory in tribulations and rejoice to be counted worthy even to suffer shame for his name's sake. The apostle tells us: "Ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise." (Hebrews 10:36) The tribulation which brings that patience is seen in its true light as a friend, and not as an enemy. How could we ever expect to be made strong enough, as new creatures, for the great future work to which we are called, unless, while still in this tabernacle and by the means which God provides, we are "strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness?" — Col. 1:11. We are hoping to be earth's future kings and priests (Revelation 5:10; 20:6) ; but we shall not be fitted for that relationship unless, as a result of the Lord's disciplines, we have first learned to rule our own Bpirits, for "he that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city." (Proverbs 16:32) To take a city one must have the skill and equipment necessary for so great an undertaking. Small wonder then that the Lord is giving us experiences of a kind that the world cannot at all understand. Now that we are seeing the good results which are already coming to us and which will forever continue to come as a result of the trials which the Lord permits, let us reflect on what our attitude should be toward these trials. The Apostle tells us: "My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations." (James 1:2) It may take* us a little time before we arc able always to "count" it just this way; but after a time we shall reach the point where, like the Apostle, we can "reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which Bhall be revealed in us. 5 ' — Romans 8:18. EVEN GOLD IS TEIED Most men and women at the present time think that gold is a very precious thing, but we who know of the new order of things know that its value will diminish when it will be easy to have all that we require. We know something which the world does not know; find we are able to rejoice in the conviction "that the trial of our faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ." ( 1 Peter 1:7) Here and now, "many shall be purified, and made white, and tried" (Daniel 12:10); and here and now our Lord urges us: "1 counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou may est be rich."— Revelation 3:18. It seems a very strange thing to the world that any who profess to be true Christians should have special trials above those which come to other men, but we are, specially forewarned to 'think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try us, as though some strange thing happened unto us: hut rejoice, inasmuch as we are partakers of Christ's sufferings.' (1 Peter 4:12, 13) Some time Aye shall he glad when we see how these experiences have proven to the Lord cur love and loyalty, how they have strengthened our characters and caused* the principles of truth and righteousness to take deep root in our hearts. God does not purpose that our sufferings shall continue beyond this life; and even here it is not his design that they should be incessant They are to be only for "a while." Most of us had many years of childhood in which our sufferings were very slight. And if we have some during the time that yet remains to us here, it is all intended to fit us for the eternal glory to which we are invited: "The God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Chridt Jesus, after that ye have suffered awhile, make you perfect, establish, strengthen, settle you." — 1 Peter 5:10. How else would the Lord know to a certainty who are his truly loyal people except by the trials of faith and love which he permits to come upon them? By these, "the Lord your God proveth you. to know whether ye love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul." — Deuteronomy 13:3, [6274] Junk 15, 1918 THE WATCH TOWER (isi-is:?) God's people are different from other people in that they alone find real comfort in the heavenly Father's rod of discipline. — Psnlm 23:4. "By this we may our calling prove. When Father 'plies the rod; We kis3 the chastening hand of love, Beloved sons of God." HEAVEN-SENT MESSENGERS When we get to the end of the way we shall find that the sorrows, "o'er which we grieved with lashes wet," were heavensent messengers to preserve for our everlasting enjoyment the exceeding great and precious inheritance for which we are in training. "Before I was afflicted, I went astray: but now have I kept thy Word," said the chastened singer of Israel. ( Psalm 119:67) How can we look with disfavor upon anything which prevents us from going, astray and keeps us safe in harmony with the Father's Word in the evil day? Observing now, aa we have studied the matter, that trials, yes, even fiery trials, are the inevitable accompaniments of a close walk with God, what should be our attitude when we enter some one of those many new and strange miscarriages of justice with which the history of God's sons abounds? The Psalmist has laid before us the method which he pursued under similar circumstances: "I will take heed to my ways that I sin not with my tongue : I will keep my mouth with a bridle while the wicked [who tempts and tries the righteous] is before me. I was dumb with silence, I held my peace, even from good [from doing or saying what seemed good in my own sight] and my sorrow was stirred. My heart was hot within me; while I was musing the fire burned [the fiery trial continued ] : then spake I with my tongue, Lord, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I might know how frail I am," Thus realizing that present vexations and sorrow will soon be over I shall be better able to control my tongue. David was the one who also said: "Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance." (Psalm 32:7) David could figuratively hear the heavenly messengers singing songs over his deliverance, even while he was in the midst of his chastisements. What should be our attitude toward the instruments the Lord may allow to be used in bringing sorrows upon us? A great principle is set forth by the Apostle when, in writing to the Corinthian brethren concerning a brother who had brought suit against another in a worldly court for rectification of an injustice, he said that, rather than permit hard feelings in the church with the possible defilement of some, he would better have meekly accepted the injustice. His word-; are: "Why do ye not rather take wrong? Why do ye not rather sutfor yourselves to he defrauded?" — 1 Corinthians 6:7. NEITHER MTOMUBINa NOB REPINING The attitude of the true ^Christian toward his sufferings is not to repine because of them but rather to rejoice been use of them, as did the noble Apostle Paul, who could say of himself : "I rejoice in my sufferings for you. and fill up that which ia behind of the afflictions "of Christ in my flesh for hibody 's sake, which is the church." — Colossians 1:24. His spirit beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God and .shall be his heirs. Hut there is a condition attached to that inheritance and the condition is that we joyfully suffer with Christ as did the Apostle Paul. "And if [we be] children, then heirs; heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him." (Romans 8:17) ''if we suffer, we shall also reign with him," but not otherwise. — 2 Timothy 2:12. There will be no crowns for those unwilling to endure with patience whatever the Father may have seen t>est to pour into their cup. But, on the other hand, "Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him."— James 1:12, We have it in our power even after starting upon the heavenward way to draw back by endeavoring to avoid the sacrifice which we have covenanted to make, or through fear that the Lord has forgotten us in our trials or through unwillingness to submit longer to the polishing. At first this drawing back may consist in only looking back with a sigh, then in a little disposition to compromise truth in favor of the cravings of the fallen nature, and finally in complete surrender . "But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition , but of them that believe to the saving of the soul." — Hebrews 10:39. We are not therefore to consider the trials and difficulties of our Christian pathway as marks of divine disfavor, and we are to be sorry for those who have not made a careful study of this question and have not seen the precious comfort contained in the words of our text: "My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord, neither be weary of his correction: for whom the Lord loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he deHghteth." — Proverbs 3:11, 12. SUNSHINE OR SHADOW? "Be anxious for nothing" — Philippians 4:G. Our lives may be bathed in sunshine or steeped in somber est gloom, according as we are close by or far removed from the fountainhead of light. The patches of light and shadow which alternate upon the landscape do not determine the seasons and temperature of that locality; nor do petty anxieties or passing pleasures make us altogether warm or gloomy Christians. It is the long night of the Arctic region or the long day of the tropic clime which makes the one a barren waste and the other a fruitful land. Life and light go hand in hand; the "Father of Lights" is also the Father of Life: whereas death is the region of gloom, night. The King James version renders our text: "Be careful for nothing." The thought is the same as, "Be anxious for nothing," if we remember that careful is not here used with its present signification. A few definitions of words which naturally arise in a consideration of this subject may not be out of place. Anxiety is uneasiness or distress of mind respecting some uncertain event which may involve danger or misfortune. Anxiety produces a morbid condition of restlessness and mental agitation with a distressful feeling of tightness and oppression in the region of the heart. Anxiety is, according to its derivation, a choking disquiet, akin to anguish. Anguish is in respect to the known: anxiety in respect to the unknown. Anguish is because of w r hat has happened; anxiety because of what may happen. Anxiety refers to some future event, but is a little milder yet than apprehension, fear, dread, foreboding, terror, all of which suggest despair. In matters within our reach anxiety always stirs up the question as to whether something can be done. But with the Christian it is often difficult to ascertain just what is within our reach. When joined w r ith such perplexity, anxiety produces foreboding, dread, and dread commonly incapacitates one for helpful thought or endeavor. Worry is a more petty restlessness and manifest anxiety. Anxiety may be quiet and silent; worry is communicated to all around. Solicitude is a milder anxiety. Fretting, or fretfulness , is a weak complaining without thought of accomplishing or changing anything, but merely as a relief to one's own disquiet. Care concerns what we possess; anxiety often what we do not. Caution has a sense of possible harm and risk only to be escaped, if at all, by careful deliberation and observation. Care inclines to the positive; caution to the negative. Anxieties, like barnacles on a ship's hull, hinder progress and, if they be not removed, will surely keep the Christian from reaching his haven of peace. They will weigh him down until, out of sheer inability to resist, he will seek relief by letting himself sink into the elements of the world. Entrance into the body of Christ does not change our outward environs. The world is still worldly; it is still filled with imperfection and unbalance. The same impressions seek to gain our attention through the avenues of sense. There are just as many occasions for anxiety as before, or rather as many occasions out of which anxieties naturally arise. But not only is a state of over ^solicitude opposed to the divine will for us, but it is also directly injurious to mind and body. It contracts and stiffens the walls of the blood-vessels and thus cuts off the refreshing supply to the brain ; we cannot think as well as we should. The muscles, too, become inert; for their waste products are not well carried away. A slow poison ensues. The cares, the anxious feelings, will come again and again: what then is to be done? Ah! The beloved Peter says the w T ord: "Casting all your care upon him; for he oareth for you." It is not, then, that we are miraculously made immune to care, but that we are furnished with a recipe for ridding ourselves of it. We are not immune to" dirt; it will collect of its own accord. But we can bathe, if we have the needed equipment. [6275] (I8J-I84) THE WATCH TOWER TChookt.vn, N. Y. ANXIETIES CONOERNINa PEE SENT AND FUTtT*E The anxieties which naturally rise in our lives pertain either to the immediate future or to the future life in another state. We may feel anxious about the body, in respect to food, raiment, shelter. But does not the Apostle tell us a few verses further on in this same chapter: *'M£r God shall supply all your need, according to his riches in glory" ? And does not our Master, knowing how these- things would tend to worry us, tell us gently but plainly: "Do not accumulate for yourselves treasures upon the earth, where moth and rust consume, and where thieves break through and steal; but deposit for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust can consume, and where thieves break not through nor steal. For where thy treasure is, there thy heart will also be. The lamp of the body is thine eye ; if, therefore, thine eye be clear, thy whole body will be enlightened ; but if thine eye be dim, thy whole body will be darkened . If, then, that light which i% in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate one. and love the other; or, at least, he will attend to one, and neglect the other. Ye cannot serve God and Mammon [Syriae for riches]. Therefore I charge you, be not anxious about your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drijik; nor about your body, what ye shall wear. Is not the life of more value than food, and the body than raiment? Observe the birds of heaven; they sow not, nor reap, nor gather into storehouses; but your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not ye of greater value than they? Besides, which of you, by being anxious, can prolong his life one momenta And why are ye anxious about raiment? Mark the lilies of the field. How they grow! They neither labor nor spin; yet I tell you, that not even Solomon, in all his splendor, was arrayed like one of these. If, then, God so decorate the herb of the field (which flourishes today, and tomorrow is used for fuel) how muoh more you, O ye distrustful ones!" But some good brother may say: "Yes, but you've got to get out and hustle for it." But if by "hustling for it" we mean to wrest the responsibility from God's own hand and to choke our spiritual enjoyment by fear of loss or failure, it is wrong, very wrong, and an insult to the Almighty by implying that he is not able to fulfil his promises, or is too fickle to be relied upon. But if we are diligent in duty, leaving the results with the Lord, we have already a blessing, because we are "workers together with God." But read on: "Therefore be not anxious, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, With what shall we be clothed? for all the nations seek after these things; and your heavenly Father knows that ye have need of them. But seek ye first his righteousness and kingdom; and all these things shall be added to you. Be not anxious, then, about the morrow; for the morrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for each day is its own trouble." Hard though each day's trouble be, it is only intolerable when we imagine an endless vista of just such days. But we do not know that all the days will be just like this one; or, if they be like it, who knows but what other outward or inward experiences may be ours, which will completely alter the aspect of things whieh now seem so heavy? Unquestionably our weightiest burdens are the ones we make for ourselves . The Apostle Paul says concerning our sometimes frantic efforts to gain more than our daily bread : "Piety with a sufficiency is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is evident that we are not able to carry anything out; and having supplies of food and clothing, with those let us be content. But those wishing to be rich fall into a temptation , and a snare, and into many foolish and injurious desires, which sink men into destruction and utter ruin; for a root of all kinds of evil is the love of money; which some, longing after, wandered from the faith, and pierced themselves around with divers sorrows. But thou, man of God, flee from these things, and pursue righteousness, faith, patience, love, meekness /'— 1 Timothy 6:6-11. And again : "Charge those rich in the things of the present age not to be high-minded, nor to confide in wealth so uncertain , but in that God who imparts to us all things richly for enjoyment — to do good, to be rich in good works, to be liberal, willing to bestow; treasuring up for themselves a good foundation for the future, that they may lay hold of that which is really life."— 1 Timothy G: 17-1 a. We might toil early and late, work ourselves gaunt and gray-headed, and still not have more than those who trust in the Lord and who enjoy "his fellowship all the while. Remember the story the Master gave us about the man who toiled after riches and who put off the higher life until he should have enough. When he had what he thought was enough he purposed to enjoy it but, to his surprise and chagrin, was met with the rebuff: 'Why, man, you have worked yourself to death; your bank account is fat enough, but your heart is lean and scrawny.' The worldly at our very elbow, father, brother, sister, friend, may prosper greatly; but if we walk close to God it is likely he will keep us poor, for few have ballast enough of character or experience to "know how to abound." — Philip - pians 4:12. THE HXnrOER OF THE BOND But all our anxieties do not arise from wondering what we shall eat or with what we ehall be clothed. The mind ha^ needs, both real and fancied. Eve's oversolicitude about supplies for the mind was a powerful influence contributing to her downfall. We may be anxious about the Lord's providence for us and think: 'Yes, it looks as though the Lord were leading me into this place, but shall I have the proper stimulus to my mind?' How absurd! Why talk of our minds as though they were a museum of geology, some precious, fossil fragment of which might be lost! Are our minds nothing more than rows of shelves and cases into which are stored items of information chanced upon? No position is too humble to be entirely without opportunity of ministering to others in a mental way. The precious knowledge we have of God and his beneficent designs makes us able to give a word in season; and how good it is! We need not worry about our precious minds, as long as we use them; for "he that watereth, shall himself also be watered." Are we feeling the need of wisdom? No need to be distracted on that score; for the discretion whieh comes dowm from above is at our disposal. We have the Apostle James' word for it that the call of faith is all that is needed to open the boundless storehouse of Jehovah's wisdom. If we have not sufficient wisdom to decide the questions which confront us, and that with conscientiousness, let us ask for more wisdom. Sometimes the wisest way is simply to wait on the Lord for further indication of his will. Our greatest and worst mistakes have been made by taking some trying situation rashly into our own hands and deciding it at once. The Devil delights to get us into a dilemma and, mocking, to tease ua into choosing one of the two ways he points out, when the Lord's way is possibly still a third and far better one. No mind culture which the world has to offer can give us an appreciation of the deep things of God. As Paul, the truly wise one, said: "And when I came to you, brethren, I came not with excellency of speech, or of wisdom, declaring to you the testimony of God ; for I determined to make known nothing among you, except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I, in weakness and in fear, and in much trembling was with you. And my discourse and my proclamation were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of spirit and of power; so that your faith might not be by the wisdom of men, but by the power of God. Wisdom, however, we speak among the developed; but wisdom, not of this age, nor of those rulers of this age who are coming to an end;* but we speak the wisdom of God which was hidden in a mystery, and which God previously designed, before the ages, for our glory: which no one of the rulers of this age knew; for if they had known they would not have crucified the Lord of glory ; but it has been written: Things which eye hath not seen, and ear .never heard, and to which the heart of man has not aspired — things which God hath prepared for those who love him' — God has revealed even to us through the spirit." We need not worry even if we do not have alt the opportunities for "mind-culture" which some of the world possess. It is even more likely to hinder than, of itself, to help us in the discerning of spiritual truths. When the confident Peter boldly declared our Lord to be "the Christ, the son of the living God" he was answered with half commendation, half rebuke (or shall we rather say, warning?) : ''Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood hath not revealed this unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven" — i. e. t *Thou art blest with a clear recognition of this great fact, which most people are so slow to perceive; but do not think that it is due to extraordinary brilliance on thy part, but rather is it because my Father has been pleased to honor the spirit of devotion and love for truth which thou hast displayed.' THE HUNGER OF THE HEABT The hunger of the heart will be laughed at and tabooed only by the novice in life. Loneliness, the heart's hunger, is but a covert acknowledgment of the fact that no one is selfsufficient , that "no man liveth to himself or dieth to himself." Our most complicated anxieties and distractions arise from [6276] Jitns 15, 1918 THE WATCH TOWER (184-185> this field and, like an evening damp, tend to choke our newbom hopes of a better life and to estrange us from the source of light and joy. But has Jehovah erred? Are there no compensating magnets to keep the compass of our hearts true to the pole? Has he invited us upon this perilous voyage and abandoned us without chart or rudder? Why, even man is wiser than that, and more provident. The great ships which plow the sea have their great master compass. In theory the needle of that compass points true to the magnetic pole. But that pole is leagues removed ; and every piece of iron in the ship's hull, in her engines, in passing vessels, in deposits in the bottom of the sea, influences that needle, too. So, very carefully made smaller magnets are so placed as to counteract the influence of things close by, that the subtle influence of the North may still lead the ship true. It is not wrong that the great compass should feel or be moved by the local forces; but if, and to the extent that it is so moved, it ceases to be a reliable compass and will cause confusion, dismay, perhaps even shipwreck . If it could speak it would say: * But I want it; I need it; and see, it wants rae, too." These local magnetic fields do not harm the ship if they but pull in the same direction as the North Pole. And, if the influence we exert on one another is the influence of the spirit of unselfish love, of the image of Christ in us, we shall draw one another toward that image, we shall build one another up in the most holy faith and not tear down. When the heart's yearning seems more than we can bear, when it dumbly grasps for the strong arm of support or the tiny arms of human joy, shall Ave say the thing is wrong? The God of Nature made us so. But we have undertaken a voyage; and we must not blindly answer every call without listing to the compensating maspiets — the example of holy conquerors before us, or the words of the Apostles, such as, "Center your minds on things above .... that when Christ, who is our life, shall appear, ye also might appear with him in glory." Surely we would not wish to sell our glorious birthright for a mess of pottage, be it ever so fine. But this is all passive. We are not merely inert needles waiting to be acted upon by worldly or heavenly power. The hunger of the heart is best satisfied not by receiving but by giving. The chief of givers gave his best, his only son; our Savior gave himself. But we may say: 'The people with whom I meet are so crude and ungenteel, I don't know how to give them anything.' But can they be more crude and coarse than the best of mankind was to our Lord? When he fed the four thousand he had very little to give; yet, under Jehovah's blessing, it accomplished wonders, feeding not only himself and his close associates, but the multitude as well! Is it not more blessed to give than receive? How commonplace it would have been had someone driven up with a cartload of bread that he might merely receive it! He gave what he had ; it was enough. It is seldom that our etorehouse of blessings is so scant that we cannot give even a smile. And who knows how much warmth it starts? Besides all this we have a love, a fellowship, nearer, dearer, truer than all the best there is on earth. "The Father himself loveth you," and "truly, our fellowship is with the Father and with his son Jesus Christ." Can anything surpass that for honor? Can even the dearest human tie come so close or know our needs so well? Adam, with more spleen than spine, when driven to the choice, took the human companionship without God — and lost them both. But better than the touch of the tenderest hand is the consciousness of his nearness and interest who said, "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee." Tf we keep our hearts ever sensitive to the drawing of that far away, yet mighty magnet, though beset with blizzard, cloud and mist we shall pass, safely into port and "meet our pilot, face to face." To be over-anxious about our heart's supplies means to invite self-pity, that insidious poison which, like the vapors of the Flanders field, seeps into the trenches of our nobly gained redoubt and kills the guardians of our better self. We cannot expect to have the world kowtow to us if we are 'following the Lamb whithersoever he goeth'; for the world comes to the stubborn, obstinate, one-idea-at-a-time man who blows lustily his own horn. We need not, then, be distracted about our lack of Wisdom ; for it is ours, as soon as we are sure we need it, and ask for it. We need not be anxious or hopeless over what seems impossible to us; for divine Justice is such that God would not expect anything of us which we could not perform. Divine Love U too great to give us needless occasions for anxiety; and divine Power stands guard to see thnt no temptation shall befall us but such as we are able to bear. OTHER PRESENT OCCASIONS FOB ANXIETY The possibility or the probability or the fear of loss tends to cause many a cautious one much anxious thought. We fear to lose our friends, our money, our health, our influence, our prestige, our mental acumen, our vouth. The effect of losses on others is more or less responsible for this fear which we have. But have we not learned that loss does not always mean loss? We lose one thing only to find that after all it was not so important as we had supposed. We lose one thing and find in its stead a keener appreciation of what we have left. We lose our life-in-self and find a life in more abundant measure. We lose the warm hearth -glow of the valley and gain the clear starlight of the mountain peak. We lose the warm hand-clasp of a friend and gain the unspeakable pleasures of the life of faith. Can we not trust God? Shall we not have the choicest portions, if we leave the choice to him? "Oh, rest in the Lord, wait patiently for him .... and he will give thee thy heart's desires." Shall wo worry over disappointments? Is it not rather finding fault with Omniscience? Delays make us anxious because of the element of uncertainty . But must we know all things before the time? Having used the means at our disposal to avoid delays, shall we not wait in peace? "Blessed are the men who fear him; they ever walk in the ways of peace." Restraints tend to chafe us. We wanted this scheme to work out thus and so, and when we are unable to push it ahead we feel peeved. But if we left it with the Lord at the start and said ( If the Lord will,' where is our ground for worrvt SWvingir, en a bed of sickness, or otherwise thrown into a bayou off the main current of activity, arouse apprehension lest we become wholly useless. But perhaps there are some lessons for us to learn before we can be trusted with further activities. Or maybe we can do something 'on the shelf which we had not known to do before. Our faults would drive us to distraction if we did not remember that the Lord knew all about them before he called us. Nonchalance is not the proper mind toward them, but useless worry is just as bad. Balance is what we need, as well as conscience. Others' faults make us anxious, for fear we may be the victim of their injudition. But shall we not remember that "the battle is not to the strong, nor the race to the swift"? "Our lives are hid with Christ in God" and cannot be injured. Our failures in the past tend to discourage us regarding the future and to make us anxious about the outcome. But "we have not a high priest unable to sympathize with our weaknesses; but one having been tried in all respects like ourselves, apart from sin. We should, therefore, approach with confidence to the throne of favor, that we may receive mercy and favor for seasonable help." It is not so much the breaking of the lines of conventionality, the makeshift for virtue, which constitutes a mistake or failure. The deadly mistake is to give up hope and stop trying. Jt is mora vanity than devotion if we wish to give up just because we are not able to make as prominent a showing as others or as we had koped for ourselves. A mistake is not necessarily a fatal thing. Chastisements, when wrongly viewed, fill us with foreboding . But is it not true that in many ways love and pain go hand in hand? Hardships cause us anxious thought; for we wonder whether we can endure them. But we have the Apostle's cheering words: "I can endure all things through Christ who strengthens." ANXIETT ABOUT THE FUTURE LIFE No undue care need be taken for that which is beyond our realm. We are promised the holy Spirit if we ask it; and the holy Spirit, dwelling richly in our minds, will guarantee the development of the fruits of the spirit; and we are distinctly told that 'if these things be in us richly and abound, so an abundant entrance shall be ministered unto us into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.* Again : "He that hath begun the good work in you shall complete it unto the day of the Lord Jesus." Again, the consoling yet stirring word: "Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life" — not I may, if I feel so inclined at the time, but "I will give thee a crown of life." Fear of the great change affects some. But why should it? we have nothing to lose and all to gain. Moreover our Master desires to have us there; for he prayed the Father, "I will that they be with me where I am." DROP OTTO BURDENS AT THE THRONE OF GRACE. To dispel anxiety, reverence is necessary. But much more than reverence is necessary. We might have reverence and [6277] (185-188) THE WATCH TOWER Brooklyn, N. Y. think of God as a mighty being, too great and too far removed to care for our welfare. We must fellowship with him, aa he invites us. Undoubtedly the relationship of children to a father is the one which Jehovah seeks to encourage in us. He says, "in everything." Not merely may we take the great trials of life to the Burden-Bearer, but also the little things that nag and annoy us not less. "Oh, what peace we often forfeit! Oh, what needless pain we bear! All because we do not carry Everything to God in prayer/' not complaining, but thankful for God's part in them. We have seen how many natural occasions for care may arise in our daily lives. And the Apostle knew all this; so he, as the mouthpiece of the Lord, gives us the recipe for losing them. He says, "Be anxious for nothing; hut [instead of thatl in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving , let your requests be made known to God." Constant touch with Jehovah, then, is the potion which drives from our spiritual systems the germ of care, and makes us sing, though in prison. As we come to realize him as our Father we shall wish to make our requests known to him. As the wisest of fathers he deals with us individually according to our several needs. He seeks to encourage us to decide for his way, but he never coerces us. Sometimes we are rebellious and foolishly insist on having our own way; and he lets us have it, only to find with godly sorrow that his way had been untellably better. In a large family or school many children suffer great nervous irritation from the habit of being considered collectively instead of individually. Demanding instant and unquestioning obedience is also harmful, as coercive restraint weakens character. But how long-suffering is the Lord! He knows we must eventually do his way if we love the right. A child shows the desire to exercise its own reasoning faculties by constantly asking, "Why ?" in its attempt to find the balance 'between the true and the false. The answer, "Because I told you so," may silence, but never satisfies. But how kindly are the words of our Father: "Come now, let us reason together" — 'Come and tell me what worries you; perhaps I can make some suggestions that will help you to see.' He gives us real aid ; for he helps us to harmonize submission and liberty, to substitute co-operation for obstinacy, and noble independence for slavish subserviency. TRUE SOURCE OF OUB PEACE If something worries us, let us take it to the Master-lVftnd. If we are in need, let us make it known to the Giver of every good and perfect gift. If then hi3 providence or reason suggest that we might properly expect a supplying of our need through some other channel than ourselves, it would not be amiss to let our request be made known there also — but to him first. Turmoil and strife of heart and mind are not conducive to the development of the richest character. But great care must be exercised in discerning between outward turmoil and that of the heart. Only wHen we are habitually losing our anxieties in the bosom of him before whose face every perplexity is plain as noonday can we have that truest Christian experience of the following verse: "And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." Only in that peace which comes from a consciousness of our vital union with God Almighty can we use our powers, great or small, to the best advantage. Our confidence in him is not merely the blind and heathen confidence of the poet who, observing the passage of the waterbird across the heavens, said: "He who from zone to zone Guides through the boundless .sky thy certain flight, In the long way that I must tread alone Will guide my steps aright." That is good; but ours is better. Ours is a warm, sweet and personal faith in God, based on his word and on our own experience, "so that we can boldly say: The Lord is my helper, I shall not fear what man may do unto me" — be it Gethsemane, Hall of Judgment, the Way of Tears, or even Calvary. "Under his wings I am safely abiding, Though the night deepens and tempests are wild; Still I can trust him. I know he will keep me; He hath redeemed me, and I am his child." •IF" If I can warm with Love some lonely heart, Hope's lustre to some listless eye impart; If I can make a straight path for the lame, Or fan some smoldering Faith to fervent flame; If I may help some faltering foot to keep The painful, narrow way, though rough and steep; If thou, dear Lord, wilt use me, even me, To draw some trembling soul more close to thee ; If, when the end of all things is at hand, My feeble efforts may help one to stand ; If I may live to make truth's message plain — Ah! then, 'twill ne'er be said, my life was vain. GROWING STRONGER Luke 2:42-52; 2 Peter 1:5-8. [The first 12 paragraphs of this article were reprinted from an article entitled, "Holy, Harmless, Perfect," published issue of January 15, 1906, which please see.] he might bring everlasting life OUR LORD'S CONSECRATION AND BAPTISM Being free from sin, our Lord required no justification by another; and when he had reached manhood's estate, at the age of thirty years, he presented himself wholly, unreservedly, to do the Father's will. At the moment of consecration his earthly life was yielded up as a sacrifice for the sin of the whole world; and this consecration was symbolized by his immersion into water at Jordan. The remaining three and onehalf years of his life were already on the altar; and he merely waited for his sacrifice to be consumed, crying with his last breath, "It is finished!" Quickly following our Lord's consecration and its symbolization came the evidence that his sacrifice was accepted of God. We read that the heavens were opened unto him. This probably signifies that he was granted a vision of heavenly things, an insight into the deeper things of the Scriptures, an understanding of the higher things of God's Word. Hitherto he had in a measure understood about the lamb that was to be led to the slaughter, but saw nothing to identify the one who was to be the great deliverer or to explain the wonderful pictures in the Scriptures. But just as soon as he was begotten of the holy Spirit, he began to see that if he would accomplish the great work of blessing all the families of the earth it would be by a manifestation of loyalty and of righteousness. As soon as' his mind was illuminated he saw the things pertaining to the sufferings of the Christ. At his consecration at Jordan our Lord agreed to give up the human life, all rights and privileges as a human being. The ultimate purpose of this full surrender of his life was that to mankind*. The Father's arrangement with him, however, was such that our Lord might retain his personality, his identity. But after he was begotten of the holy Spirit, he was a new creature; and as a new creature he had his human body in which to develop character suitable for the high condition to which his successful accomplishment of his mission would lead. The latter part of our lesson for today calls to our attention the elements which enter into that character and which must be developed by all who would attain to membership in the body of Christ. GROWTH IN THE FRUITS OP THE SPIRIT The matter of cultivating Christian character is not one to be accomplished in a few hours or days. It is the work of a lifetime, a process of addition, virtue added to virtue, grace to grace, and assimilated by the spiritual germ of the new nature, until the embryo new creature is formed; and then it must continue to develop to completion. St. Peter indeed describes a most amiable character. But who can meditate upon hi a description without feeling that to attain this high eminence will be the work of a lifetime? Day by day, if we are faithful, we should realize a measure of growth in grace and of development of Christian character. We must see to it that we have the truth of God's Word, and that it is having its legitimate and designed effect upon out lives. And if the truth is thus received into good and honest hearts, we have the assurance of the Apostle that we shall never fall, but that in due time we shall be received into the kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, [6278] HELPING OTHERS [This article was a reprint of that entitled, "Who 13 My Neighbor," published in issue of July 1, 1000, whieh please see,] QUESTIONS CONCERNING EZEKIEL'S TEMPLE Question. — Dues Ezekiel \s Temple represent God's finished work only? Answer. — It represents both the finished work and the work in process. But when we apply the picture to the Gospel age the same gate, including the porch, symbolizes the tentative and the vitalized justification of the little flock and the great company, and the gate up to the porch the tentative justification of others of the household of faith. In the Gospel age picture the Holy represents the tentative condition of those begotten to the divine nature. After each age is over, the part of the Temple which had represented a wonc in process during that age represents the memory of that same work in the mind of God, of Christ and of the beings concerned in the work. Question. — Does the east gate of the inner court symbolize the fact that the members of the great company are developed after having been "raised to the spirit condition"? Answer. — It depends on the meaning attached to the expression "raised to the spirit condition." "Raised" means resurrected , and is properly figured by the porch of the gate. A porch represents vitalization, resurrection, raising to the condition of the plane indicated by .the court to which the gate belongs. The outer-court north-gate-porch shows the final resurrection, or full life, through the process of resurrection, which will be gained by the hosts of mankind. Such a resurrection requires that all the conditions of obedience be met, and they will be met by all the loyal portion of mankind by the end of the thousand years, and by many individuals much sooner. The porch of the outer gate (east) represents the vitalization of tentative justification. For the little flock and the great company this takes place, after having met the conditions for justification, at the instant of begetting to the divine nature in the Holy. The ancient worthies will receive the vitalizing, or making alive of their tentative justification, at the beginning of the earthly phase of the kingdom of heaven, we believe in 1925, having met all the conditions during their first earthly lives. — Hebrews 11. On the divine plane (the building) and on the spirit plane (inner court) the vitalizing, raising, takes place first, in the begettal to the divine nature, as showoa in the porch of the Temple building. Those begotten to divinity find themselves in the Holy, having by the act of consecration unto death passed over the threshold — assuming that the consecration was accepted. The faithful 144,000 remain in the Holy till death; many of them passed into the Most Holy in 1878, following the Head, who went in A. D. 33. Those proving more or less unfaithful have been put out of the Holy by the million*, into the inner court east gate, there to meet all the conditions necessary for the birth to the spirit plane, represented by passing out of this gate into the inner court. While originally begotten to the divine nature, in the porch of the Temple, the great company nourish themselves poorly or poorly assimilate their spiritual food, the Word of God. This begettal therefore not resulting in divinity, they must count themselves as having been in the porch of this east gate; for it results in birth to the spirit plane, but not to the divine stage of that plane. It is after the begettal, the quickening, the raising to sit in the heavenlies { Ephesians 2:6) in this life, that those begotten to the spirit plane or to the divine plane become overcomers (Revelation 7:9), or more than overeomers (Revelation 3:21), as the case may be. In other words they meet all the conditions of the Word of God as represented in the chambers of the gate or in the picture-lessons on the walls of the Holy. After having been born to the proper plane of being, they will grow greatly in knowledge and will forever practice the graces of the spirit; but they can never have any further change in plane of being, as far as we have any knowledge. — Ezekiel 48:12, 14. Question. — What is signified by Ezekiel 46:24, "The ministers of the house shall boil the sacrifice of the people"? Answer. — These passages from Ezekiel read as follows: "After he brought me through the [priests'] entry [S], which was at the side of the finner north] gate, into the holy chambers [I, I, I, I] of the priests, which looked toward the north; and behold there was a place [J, J] on the two sides westward [west of the priests* chambers]. Then said he unto me. This is the place where the priests shall boil the trespass offering and the sin offering, where they shall bake the meat offering."— Ezekiel 40:19, 20. "Then he brought me forth into the utter [outer] court, and caused me to paas by the four corners of the court; and behold in every corner of the court there was a court [W, W, W, W], in the four corners of the [outer] court there were courts joined [made with chimneys] of forty cubits long and thirty broad : these four corners were of one measure. And there was a row of building round about in them, round about them four, and it was made with boiling places under the rows round about. Then said he unto me, TTiese are the places of them that boil, where the ministers [servants. Lovites , the great company] of the house [the little flock] shall boil the sacrifice of the people." — Ezekiel 40:21-24. The foregoing refers to an important part of the treatment of the private sacrifices made by individuals among the people during the year after the day of atonement. The sacrifices of the day of atonement typified the "better sacrifices" of Christ (Hebrews 9:23), Head and body, during the Gospel age. In a general way any sacrifice pictures the consecration, the setting apart to divine service of the offerer (Romans 12:1), the specific purpose or object being indicated by the peculiar ritual of each sacrifice. In certain of the private sacrifices of the people the flesh of the animal offered was eaten by the priest or by the offerer. (Leviticus 7:7, 15) The eating signifies the appropriation of the offering by the person or being to whom it was divinely ordained that the part eaten should pertain. In a peace offering the breast and the shoulder (the best parts) were for the priest to eat, the rest of the animal being for the offerer, except the part burned. (Leviticus 7:11-18) In a trespass offering the part of the animal not burned was for the priests to eat. — Leviticus 7:1-6. This signifies that in the coming age when an individual consecrates or reconsecrates himself his consecration will be accepted as made to and belonging to the royal priesthood, Christ the great High Priest and the church the under priests. This will be proper because Christ bought the world with his blood; and for a thousand years everyone will belong to our Lord by right of purchase. — Ephesians 1 : 14. The flesh of the animal was not fit for eating immediately the animal was slain; nor will the consecration by a human being of himself be Teady for assimilation by the priesthood until something more is done, As before being eaten the flesh was washed with water ; so, too, ittfie person consecrating will be washed by the water of the Word. His being must be cleansed and made to approach closer to the divine standards. His new human mind aad will must continually be transformed by the renewing of that mind, through the Word of God relating to human perfection. — Romans 12:2. Even the washing did not finish the preparation of the flesh. It was still raw, tough, not tender enough to be eaten or assimilated; for the application of cold water did not make the flesh tender. The mere learning of the truth, will not transform character. Theory alone does not make a good workman; practice under difficulty causes the theory to become part of the character, the being, and makes the learner a good workman. The cold water of the truth touches the outside; only when heated to boiling does water penetrate throughout the entire substance. The Word of God, the truths destined to become a part of the very being, penetrates throughout, and thoroughly softens the whole being of the individual, when the lessons of the truth are learned and practiced amid fiery trials — when symbolical heat (trials) is applied with and through the water. — Hebrews 5:8. In the Hebrew Tabernacle the flesh was boiled or seethed before the door of the Holy. As in the consecration of the priesthood, "Moses said unto Aaron and to his sons, Boil the flesh at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation ; and there eat it with the bread that is in the basket of consecrations ." (Leviticus 8:31) "And thou shalt take the ram of consecration, and seethe his flesh in the holy place [court]. And Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram, and the bread that is in the basket, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation." — Exodus 29:31, 32, The significance is much the same here as in the subsequent private sacrifices of the people. In the private sacrifices the boiled flesh was *aten by the priest alone, or by priest and offerer, typifying the assimilation of that degree of human perfection which was signified by the flesh of the particular creature sacrificed. In the antitype the degree of perfection attained or desired by the offerer will be taught him by the royal priesthood — will originate with them, as will the character development accompanying the merit of Christ applied to and assimilated by the consecrator. The receiving of the flesh by the priesthood is from our viewpoint the receiving back by the Christ of the mental and [6279] (189-190) (190- 191) THE WATCH TOWER Brooklyn, N. Y. moral development of the consecrator, which is but their own; for the consecrator will have received it from them. (1 Corinthians 4:7) Thus will the people acknowledge their dependency on the priesthood as the source of all the attainments and of the ideals connected with the gaining and the enjoyment of human perfection through restitution. They will separate themselves to the ownership and control of the royal priesthood ; they will give themselves to the Christ as Lord (owner) and Master. (Isaiah 2:3) They will acknowledge their new selves, their beings to be transformed by the renewing influences of the divine instruction and guidance of the coming age, as of the Christ and to and for the Christ, by whose merit and through whose ministry they may be made ready to be "delivered up to God, even the Father," at the end of the thousand years of probation, after which, "when all things shall be subdued unto him fthe Son], then shall the Son also* himself be subject to him [God] that put all things under him [the Son], that God may be all in all." Only through sacrifice, trial and suffering can the imperfect approach unto God. (Psalm 51:17-19) The imperfections DIVINE SANCTUARY THE TEMPLE OF EZEKIEL'S VISION A — Brazen Altar B — Temple Porch and Entrance C— The Holy D — Entrance Into Most Holy E — The Most Holy H — Separate Places in Inner Court I — Priests' Chambers J — Priests' Boiling Places K^Weatern Building L — Levites' Chambers for Washing Burnt Offerings M — Singers' Chambers N — Porch or Lobby Hebrews 12:9-11) The chastisements and the sufferings will be the "boiling" of the flesh — the outcome of which will be a character of tenderness, like to the mind and character of the divine Christ, and fit to be acknowledged by and assimilated as their own by the Christ, Head and body. In that way it will be true that "that servant which knew his Lord's will and prepared not, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he tHat knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes." (Luke 12:47, 48) Those whose natural characters, whose fleshly minds, are tough and unassimilable for the priesthood, shall be "boiled" thoroughly until they are tender-hearted; but those who are readily responsive to the "ministry of reconciliation" will need but littln of the trials administered by and through the water of the Word of God. The eating of the ilesh by the offerer is the thorough assimilation , by the consecrator, of the new human character ideals presented in the restitution teachings. There, too, 'tribulation worketh patience; and patience experience; and experience, hope; and hope maketh not ashamed, because the love of God [on the natural plane] is shed abroad in [their] hearts by the holy Spirit which is given' (TComans 5:4, 5) ; for all the willing and obedient, at least, shall receive of the holy Spirit, as says Jehovah, "I will pour my spirit upon all flesh" (Joel 2:28) in the world-wide blessing, soon to come. In the Ezekiel Temple the boiling of that part of the sacrifice to be eaten by the offerer was done in one of the boiling places in the outer court (W, W, W, W), symbolizing the infliction of chastisements on the natural restitution plane. It was done by the Levites, symbolizing the fact that of all who are on the spirit plane the great company will be the moat directly identified with earthly matters. This flesh when "boiled" was eaten by the offerer, representing his moral assimilation of the ideals presented by the Word of God, touching upon human perfection. The flesh belonging to the priesthood is boiled in the boiling places (J, J) in the rear of the inner court, symbolizing the consecration of the offerer's new natural mind/ as sharing in the holy Spirit poured out upon all f osh, and symbolizing also the trials which he must endure mentally in connection with his chastisements. This boiling was done by the priesthood, suggesting that they will exercise supervision and direction over the acts of the great company. They collectively constitute a 'merciful and faithful priesthood in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. For in that they themselves have suffered [in this life], being tempted [tried to the "uttermost, "boiled"], thov are able to succor them that are tempted/ — Hebrews 2:17, 18. THE TRIAL IN BROOKLYN The trial of the eight brethren from these headquarters was set for the criminal term beginning Monday, June 3, ir> the Federal Court of the Eastern District of New York. Affidavits had been filed by the eight defendants stating their reasons for believing ^that Mr. Justice Garvin was biased against us and our work. This action automatically removed him from the trial and adverted the case to Mr. Justice Chatfield. He, however , referred it to a judge specially brought here from Vermont — Mr. Justice Howe. At this writing, one week of the trial has elapsed, with perhaps a little more than half of the testimony presented by the prosecution. Our legal counsel, Messrs. Sparks and Fuller, are loyally looking out for our interests, and under great handicaps, for the government has had three months for preparation and our counsel is obliged to prepare as we go along, because no disclosures were made in the indictment as to what. portions of our literature were objected to. It se