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MARcH 1, 1906 generous. How can we cultivate this necessary quality, especially if our natural dispositions are mean and selfish, very much fallen from the divine likeness in this respect? We reply that the entire course of instruction in the school of Christ is in this direction. To make us compassionate and sympathetic with others, we are shown our own littleness and weakness in the Lord’s sight; to teach us how to be generous and forgiving to others, we have the illustration of God’s mercy and grace and forgiveness toward us; to impress the matter upon us we are assured that our forgiveness and standing with the Lord can only be maintained by our cultivating this spirit and manifesting it toward our debtors and enemies. We are to be generous with those who transgress against our rights and interests, our enemies. This does not mean that the Lord recognizes or treats his enemies with the same degree of blessing that he grants to his friends and his children, nor does it mean that we are to love our enemies in exactly the same sense that we love our bosom friends and companions. The Lord gives special blessing to those who are especially his, and we also may properly give more of our love and favor to those who are in accord with us. The lesson here again is large heartedness and generosity. ‘LOVE THEM THAT LOVE YOU’’ Our Lord points out that in merely reciprocating the love of others we would come far short of the standard he sets us, and of the Jesson we must learn if we would be his joint-heirs and companions in the glory, honor and immortality of the kingdom. Publicans and sinners even love those who love them—he must be a very mean man who will return evil for good and hate those who love him. Even though such a standard were recognized in the world, of loving those who love us, it would not be appropriate to the Lord’s followers; they must rise to a higher plane if they would be his disciples. Similarly our greeting, our salutations, the civilities of life are to be extended not merely to our brethren either after the flesh or after the Spirit. We are to have kind intentions toward all, and to enjoy the privilege of extending these, expressing them, and thus comforting and refreshing all with whom we come in contact. Generosity again is the thought— breadth of character and nobility of conduct. PERFECT AS FATHER IN HEAVEN The last verse of our lesson caps the climax of all instruction, telling us that the copy which we are to consider and follow is that of our heavenly Father—we are to be perfect as he is perfect. Ah, yes! It would have been impossible for the great Teacher to have set us any other pattern or example or standard than the perfect one. And yet he knew that none of his disciples would ever be able in the present life and under present conditions of sin and death working in our mortal bodies to come up to this standard—to follow this copy. What then did he mean? We answer that he there set before us the perfect copy, with instruction that, in proportion as we love him and desire to have his approval, we should endeavor to pattern after the heavenly Father’s character. The fact that this endeavor would not bring perfect results could only redound in blessings upon us, by bringing us to a realization of our own imperfections and of our need of the covering of our dear Redeemer’s robe of righteousness, until the time shall come when in the first resurrection change we shall be made like him, see him as he is, share his glory, and be able to perfectly reflect, as he does, the heavenly Father’s perfection. Meantime all of our shortcomings that are unintentional are graciously covered from the Father’s sight with the merit of our Redeemer, who stands as our pledge or guar Vou. XXVII ALLEGHENY, PA., MARCH 15, 1906 ZION’S WATCH TOWER (79-83) anty that our endeavors to follow the copy are sincere, of the heart. The Lord will judge us worthy or unworthy of the resurrection—not according to the flesh, but—according to the endeavors of our hearts as New Creatures. THE OLD COPY-BOOK Years ago it was the custom in the public schools to furnish the children with ruled copy-books, with copper-plate engraved lessons at the top of each page. The lesson to the pupil was the copying of those perfect characters. Every modest child must certainly have felt abashed, timid, when receiving one of those lessons, from the realization that it could not produce characters that could at all compare with the copy. It was, however, explained that it was not expected that the child could duplicate the perfect copy, but that following the lines of the copy it would become more and more expert. How well this illustrates the Master’s words, ‘‘Be ye perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect,’’ and the way in which he intends that we should profit by the instruction. Another lesson: It was the duty of the teacher to examine the work of the pupil, and surely in a majority of cases it was found that the best copy of the original was found on the first line, and that the work became poorer and poorer toward the end of the page. So it is with many in the school of Christ —the great Teacher perceives that their first endeavors to copy God-likeness at the beginning of their Christian experience was more successful than their subsequent attempts. Why? The answer is the same in both cases. The child neglected to look at the copy and merely looked at its own imperfect efforts, and hence the poor results. So with the pupils in the school of Christ—their poor results come from comparing themselves with themselves, and neglecting to keep constantly before their minds the perfect copy—‘‘Be ye perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.’’ As the earthly teacher reproved and corrected the pupil, so with much long-suffering and patience the Lord reproves and corrects the pupils in the school of Christ. Will not this explain many chastisements which are necessary for every son whom the Father would ultimately receive to home and glory, every one of whom must be conformed to the image of his Son, who is the express image of the Father’s person? Let us, then, begin afresh, on a new page as it were, to copy the characterlikeness of our perfect Father in heaven. Let us no longer look at ourselves and our past attainments, but, as the Apostle says, ‘‘Forgetting the things that are behind and pressing on toward the things that are before,’’ let us labor with patience to learn the all-important lessons connected with our discipleship and the gracious hopes set before us in the promises of our Father’s Word. “KEEP THE DOOR OF MY LIPS’’ Our Golden text presents an important thought. The Lord’s people find the tongue the most difficult member to bring into subjection, and therefore may well pray, ‘‘ Keep thou the door of my lips.’’ And if the prayer be sincere, from the heart, it will imply that the petitioner is doing all in his power in this direction himself while seeking the divine aid. And the divine aid comes in line with this lesson, and assures us that the lips are not at fault, that it is the heart that needs a completion of the regenerative work of the holy Spirit, for ‘‘Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.’’ The lesson here is that whatever difficulty we have through our lips needs correction at the heart. We need to get our hearts more in accord with the heart of the Almighty—more in tune with the gracious elements of the divine character, represented not only in justice toward others, but additionally in mercy, love, kindness and benevolence towards all, No. 6 VIEWS FROM THE WATCH TOWER IS THE MORAL SUPREMACY OF CHRISTENDOM IN DANGER? FROM THE ‘‘ HIBBERT JOURNAL’? It has become the plain duty of Christendom to realize that her hold on the moral supremacy of the world is not so secure as many of us imagine. There is room, nay, opportunity, for a rival candidate. That the Christian ideal of moral excellence is splendid, even unsurpassed, no one doubts. But no less certain, no less striking, is the failure of the West to justify that ideal, both in national and private life. The sense of dissatisfaction which this failure has produced has entered deep into the moral consciousness of Christians all the world over; and if the impression has been deep in the ease of those who profess and call them selves Christians, it has been yet deeper with the multitudes who have turned their backs on the Church. I rate this feeling among the greatest of the forces now moving the minds of men. Other things may create a louder noise, but this works revolutions. The question of theological standards is being merged into that of the moral, and we are being summoned, as never before, to find the correspondence between our professions and our lives. Such a state of things exposes Christendom to a rival challenge, and marks the fitting moment for another claimant to appear on the scene. If outside the pale of Christendom there should arise the example of a saner, nobler, more rational, more joyous, more humane, more self-controlled way of life than the West has so far achieved, the minds of men [8739]