(333-326) very sure sign of the character which God is seeking, especially in matters pertaining to our great salvation. Yet amongst all those who have been justified by faith—cleansed from their iniquities and covered with the robe of Christ’s righteousness—-how few, comparatively, there are who carry out in full their consecration of themselves to God—their reasonable service. Only the truly thankful are constrained to do so—only the truly appreciative. Let us each and all seek to cultivate more and more the spirit of thankfulness, the “reasonable’ spirit or disposition, Thankfulness will make every trial and sacrifice on our part seem small and proportionately easy to be offered; and it will! make all of God’s mercies and favors toward us proportionately grand, great and inspiring. Today’s study expresses the heart sentiment of every truly consecrated child of God. The more we come into possession of the spiritual blessings which the Lord has promised us, and which we have accepted by faith, the more need shall we have of humility; and our humility will be proportionate to our appreciation of divine goodness and our thankfulness therefor. The grateful, thankful heart may go on from grace to grace, from strength to strength, from knowledge to knowledge, from attainment to attainment; but if gratitude beging to wane and if our advantages are accepted either aa matters of our own attainment or of good luck, in that same proportion we shall find ourselves growing cold spiritually. Moreover, with unthankfulness will come unholiness, spiritual pride and self-conceit; and all of this will lead to spiritual dearth and, if persisted in, to spiritual death. PRICE DEPOSITED WITH DIVINE JUSTICE Ever since Jesus died, the ransom-price has been in the hands of divine Justice—in the Father’s hands, where our Lord placed it at the time of his death. But it is there only as a deposit; for the time has not yet come for it to be paid over officially for Adam and his posterity. If the divine plan had been for Jesus to take possession of the world and to set up his kingdom at Pentecost, then it wouuld have been proper for him to pay over to the Father the ransom-price THE WATCH TOWER Brooxiyy, N. Y. fully and completely—appropriating it as the offset to father Adam’s sin and sentence on behalf of all his raee. If that Price had been formally paid over, the proper and logical thing would have been for the Father to put the whole world immediately into the hands of our Lord Jesus, and for the Millennial age to begin. Ged did not wish, however, to turn the kingdom over to our Lord until the great seventh day, the Millennium; for he had another feature of his plan to be worked out first. He purposed that during the intervening more than eighteen centuries a church class should be called out from amongst mankind, to be the bride and joint-heir of his Son in. the kingdom. Hence the ransom-price for the sing of the whole world waa merely left unappropriated, while he dealt with the church. And since the Father’s plan for the church was that they should sacrifice or surrender their earthly interests and receive instead heavenly interests and the divine nature, therefore it was not necessary to give the church restitution—the thing which the ransom-price will secure for the world of mankind. Hence, instead of giving the church a share in the ransom blessings, which would mean restitution, the divine provision for them is different: namely, an imputation of merit covering their blemishes, so that they might present their bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. All, therefore, that our Lord Jesus has done with the ransom-price is to impute the value arising therefrom to cover the shortcomings of those who desire to become his disciples and joint-heirs. The benefit to them is the same as though they had full restitution, for they are fully justified from all sin, and are thus permitted to be accepted of the Father as members of the house of sons, by the begetting of the holy Spirit. Shortly the church shall be completed, and later presented before the Father blameless and unreprovable, without any of our present mental, moral and physical diseases and weaknesses, and in the full possession of the new life and the new resurrection bodies. BEREAN STUDIES IN VOLUME VII, STUDIES IN THE SCRIPTURES [As these questions are to be had in book form we do not reproduce them here.]} IF THEY ONLY KNEW Jerusalem, Jerusalem, hadst thou but known Thy day of visitation, hadst thou recognized Messiah in thy midst, would not thy Pharisees, With scoffing priests and populace, have vied to do Him homage! Dost thou think the Master e’er had been Footsore and weary! Would there not have stood by day, By night, full threescore chariots ready at his call! An, me! If they had only known, dost think the feast At Simon’s house had been the only one thus spread; Or would He e’er have need to say, “The birds have nests, The foxes of the earth have holes, but I, the Son Of Man, no place to lay my head!” Jerusalem, Would not thy palace gates have opened wide to him, The Alpha and Omega, Prophet, Priest and King! Ah me! Had they but known, in all the centuries since, The chosen few who bravely followed in his steps, Dost think earth’s great ones would have left them lonely, poor, Despised? Would they have driven proudly by in state, The while “his feet” pressed wearily the wayside dust? All ye who often long, like Mary, to have poured The precious ointment on hia head, remember this: His words are true today as then, that, “Inasmuch As ye have done it unto one of these, the least Of mine, it hath been done to me!” Ah, yes! and e’en A cup of water shall not fail of its reward, Because ’twas given in’ the name of Christ, the Lord. Then, let us ever seek to find and humbly serve His “little ones”; for thus we do it unto him.” Vou. XXXVI BROOKLYN, N. Y., NOVEMBER 15,1917 No. 22 = THE PRICE OF EXALTATION ‘*Be clothed with humility; for God resisteth the proud and giveth grace te the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time.’*—1 Peter 5:5, 6, Who would dare, without divine authorization, to entertain a hope of membership in the royal family of heaven! Yet not only is this hope held out to some, but such is the positive promise of Jehovah to those who, having been called to that high position and begotten of the holy Spirit of God, meet the requirements, continuing faithful unto death. The nearer we come to the time of exaltation, the greater is the thrill in contemplating the marvelous change. The Gospel age is closing with the greatest events of all time, The grave import of this hour will never be fully realized and appreciated until it is passed; indeed, it cannot be. For nearly nineteen hundred years the school of Christ has been in operation; and during this time God has been inviting some to enter this school, with the promise of full graduation and exaltation to those who truly learn the lessona,that are therein taught. In times past some faithful ones have made progress in this school, have finished their course, have been approved, graduated, and set aside to await the coming of the great King. Now He has come, and the kingdom is being inaugurated. Many have already been exalted, while others are patiently waiting the day of their glorification. The latter must shortly finish their course. The time of the exaltation of the last members of the body of Christ is drawing nigh; hence the importance of the words of St. Peter in our text. All truly consecrated desire exaltation; therefore the importance of learning well the rules that pertain to the heavenly way. THE MAJESTY OF JEHOVAH GOD True humility is that condition of mind or heart which causes one to have a proper appreciation of his own worth and the worth of others, and to realize the value to himself of the robe of Christ’s righteousness. It is that condition of mind which impels one always to keep the Lord in view and himself out of sight. All who have the robe of Christ’s righteousness received it only after a full consecration to give up self-will and to do the will of God. To continue in such position of 16166}
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