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such times, one needs to keep oneself well in hand lest overmuch feeling should lead to overmuch devotion. There is such a thing as the restraint as well as the con straint of the Spirit, and saints should seek for the one as well as for the other. For the purpose o f the Spirit is always to keep us well within the will of God, and this means spiritual sanity and balance of the highest order. Besides this, Jephthah made a second fatal mistake in keeping his rash vow. The ideal thing is not to vow rashly. But if one has made such a mistake, it is clear that it only adds wrong to wrong to keep the vow thus made. The course to take, in such a case, is to confess the sin of the vow, and then to break the promise as speedily as possible. Herod made the terrible mistake of promising to his dancing girl to grant any request which she might make (Matt. 14:6-10),. and he only added sin to sin when he committed murder to fulfill his vow. To keep one’s word in such a case is simply the expression of a godless man’s sense of honor. The man of God, however, is to be governed by other and higher principles.” times_ and places. Many who would show great courage in danger and risk much in fire, flood, or battle will prove great cow ards under test of doing right, telling the truth, owning the Saviour and fighting the devil. In John 19.TO, we see how brave Peter was to fight with a sword against a great crowd with swords and clubs; but what a coward he was, ashamed of Jesus and afraid of. a maid (Matt. 26:69, 70) when it came to truth telling and owning himself a follower o f the persecuted Jesus. But Peter became a changed and brave man. Brave boys and girls will sing from the heart, “ Stand up! stand up! for Jesus,” and then go forth and do it; and, like the boy David, face the giants in the name of the L ord (1 Sam. 17:45).
unto Abel-cheramim, with a very great slaughter. So the children of Amnion were subdued before the children of Israel. 34. And his daughter came out to meet him with timbrels and with dances: and she was. his only child; hesides her he had neither son nor daughter. 35. And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he rent his clothes, and said, Alas, my daughter! thou hast brought me very low, and thou art one of them that trouble me; for I have opened my mouth unto Jehovah, and I cannot go back.” Jephthah was a great man in Israel. But, as often happens in the case of great men, he made a fatal mistake. It is an open question whether he put his daughter to death. Indeed, there is good reason to be lieve that he did not, but rather that he dedicated her to a life of perpetual vir ginity. Nevertheless, he made a vow, in a time of prayer, in a rash spirit, without due consideration of what it might involve. There is terrible danger of going beyond the leading of the Spirit in times of fer vency, especially with intense souls. At the Galileans also attended the feast in Jerusalem. It is one of the many indica tions in the Gospel of the fact that this Gospel was written largely to people not understanding Jewish customs and is also one of the indications that the author was himself a contemporary, a Jew, and that he was posted in Jewish usages. martyrs in the Boxer troubles lately in China, when those rebels tried to kill all Christian Chinese and missionaries, was a small boy who would not deny that he was a Christian though they cruelly tortured and at last killed him. It takes a brave boy or girl to stand up for Jesus in all Studies in the Gospel According to John Concluded from Page 607 Junior Endeavor Topics Concluded from Page 623
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