God of the spirits of all flesh,' 'for we are His offspring.' This, indeed, will not of itself give us a cause or reason for the undertaking of redemption; that is uniformly ascribed in Scripture to gracious love, the highest expression of the divine energy and nature. But that lost men are still His, in a sense which specially belongs to man in the universe of being, is the Bible ground of the possibility of redemption. Nay more, it is the basis of that large preparatio evangelica (gospel preparation) which Scripture recognizes everywhere. Because men are His, God has never left Himself without witness, nor without avenues of approach to the human spirit under the most unfavorable dispensations of humanity."

In conscience, which is a part of the ruins of the original nature of man, is found the principal place of God's working, and in addition to this, there is a sense of dependence also found in every man, and several other definite characteristics of man's fallen nature which God has left in order that He may work upon him. The lower animals do not have such nidus. Conscience, for instance, is found in them only as they have been trained in association with man. They have no direct capacity for God nor His law. Man is different; even in his fallen condition he has something for God to work upon. Hence we preach salvation to man and not to the lower animals. Man by nature in this life is as truly lost as he will be in the life to come. We do not say that his guilt is as great, nor his punishment and separation from God as truly realized here as there. This natural body with all its handicap keeps him from sensing the full consequences of his sins.

Every sinner that passes into the life to come has some element of conscience left, as well as some of the other important elements of which we are not now speaking. Even remorse is a condition closely connected with an unheeded conscience. Remorse comes as a judgment here, and Christian workers who know the Lord and His Word, have often been used to deliver those who were suffering from remorse. Is God then not able? He is able for every disease of spirit, soul, or body. "Earth has no sorrow that heaven can not heal," and will not heal some day. We have never known of a case of one passing into the next life with a moral nature entirely obliterated. It would be foolish to bestow punishment on any one who had no element of a moral nature. Conscience cries out again and says it is only right to punish one who would know what punishment meant, and any one who knows what punishment means has enough of a place left in his nature for God to work upon. The man capable of punishment, involving moral perception, is salvable.

In the chapter on the Limitations of Human Freedom some of the reasons are given why there is always this nidus or a moral remainder. The chapter on "Final Permanence of Character” should also be consulted.

The Antediluvians sinned away the day of grace while Noah was preaching and the Ark was preparing, and yet their moral nature was not de

stroyed utterly, for Christ preached to them hundreds of years afterward, for their salvation (1 Peter 3:18-20 and 4:6).

After the resurrection in "the dispensation of the fulness of times," there is to be the greatest season of the application of redemption in getting all back into Christ as their Head. "All souls are mine" (Ezek. 18:4), saith the Lord. "For He is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto Him" (Luke 20:38).

Conscience is satisfied with such a God and such a plan; and our Lord also shall "see of the travail of His soul and shall be satisfied."

XXX

THE TEST OF USEFULNESS AS A
DIVINE ACCREDITING

THE question may arise in the heart of a Christian worker, "Is it not all right to sacrifice a little frankness and truth in order to usefulness?"

The Word of God tells us to "Buy the truth, and sell it not." All truth that we really have, has cost its possessor something, and sometimes it is gained only at a great price. God bids us buy it. It is true it is "without money and without price," and yet it costs dearly; but it is always worth more than it costs. Truth to become really ours has to be held more strongly than a mere opinion or belief; beliefs have to be burned into convictions and convictions changed into life.

There is always the temptation to compromise; and when any truth is compromised or denied, it is apt to become weaker and fainter to our consciousness. God's Word says, "sell it not," for all truth is a part of Him who is the Incarnate Truth, and in selling it, to that degree, we are selling Him.

God always desires us to be tactful in the presentation of truth, but He never wants us to sacrifice it, nor to practise diplomatic falsehoods to promote His cause. There are times when one may be called upon to sacrifice greatly for some truth; but if done unto God in the spirit of joy and faith, it always yields its "hundredfold," and that kind of truthfulness is always one of the secrets of power: we might say, a rare secret of power.

It is contrary to heavenly wisdom to prefer a present profit to a future good. In fact, he who is not looking for profit at all, but only at what will please God-that man has already the greatest profit in a more intimate fellowship with God. And he who has the most intimate fellowship with God, will have the life of greatest usefulness, whether he or the world knows it. Any other principle of life and action always sells its birthright for a mess of pottage.

We will give two illustrations from real life. Hannah Whitall Smith is the well-known author of that book that has been helpful to hundreds of thousands, The Christian's Secret of a Happy Life. It is not so generally known, but Mrs. H. W. Smith was a strong believer in the ultimate salvation of all. We quote several extracts from her Spiritual Autobiography:

As was to be expected in those days, my views on restitution, which of course I had speedily announced, met with a great