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dom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again” (John 3:5-7). It was to those no less accomplished than the society of the present day the inspired apostle wrote, “You hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of dis ob dience : among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the chil dren of wrath, even as others” (Eph. 2 :l-3). The desires o f:the mind may be as offensive to God as the coarser desires of the flesh, and the most cultivated are by nature the object of His displeasure, even as others. No H um an R emedies What that nature is in His sight may be inferred from the fact that the Lord Jesus, speaking of the unregen erate, says to His disciples, “Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine” (Mt. 7:6). So the Holy Ghost, describing some who had received culture, but not the new nature, tells us, “The dog is turned to his own vomit again ;'and the sow that was washed, to her wallowing in the mire” (2 Pet. 2 :22). The sow may be washed, but unless a lamb nature is imparted to it, that shall gain the ascendancy, it will still be a sow, and at the first convenient opportunity will go back to its old ways. “Though thou wash thee with nitre, and take thee much soap; yet thine iniquity is marked before me, sa.ith the Lord God” (Jer. 2:22). May He deliver His people from the folly of thinking that human culture and external appliances can take the place of His glorious Gospel in the work of redemption! May He lay upon each of them the solemn admonition of His Word, “Keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called; which some professing have erred concerning the faith” (1 Tim. 6:20, 21). ate ate Do What You Can’t Have you noticed how Christ called upon the man with the withered arm to stretch forth his hand for heal ing? (Mk. 3:1-5). It was the one thing he couldn’t do and he was asked to do it. The shriveled thing had mocked him for years. The strange thing is, he imme diately raised it. The very endeavor to obey the word of Christ brought the power to obey. Had he said: “I can’t” he would have gone to his' grave a cripple. Here is a vital truth for us all. Christ seemingly asks us often to do what we can’t do. Yet if we would take the first step to obey, we should find' that strength and means would come. His commands are enablements. There is an epitaph on a woman’s tombstone in England: “She had done what she couldn’t.” That ought to be a Christian distinction. Anyone can do the humanly possible, but a Christian who moves in obedience to his Lord ought to be able to overturn mighty strongholds in the power of the Holy Spirit. The weak can confound the mighty. F. B. Meyer says: “You do not test the resources of God until you attempt the impossible.” Friend, if He has spoken to you—DARE TO ACT—and you will find your self accomplishing great things for God.
The Cultured Pig ( The following incident, related by Henry Moorehouse, illustrates a most important truth.) W HEN he was a boy, on a certain occasion he was walking with his father through the streets of enough was a wonderful pig, performing feats and giving evidence of an intelligence probably never pig exhibited before. At the command of his master he would pick out from the alphabet lying upon the floor, the letters “G-o-o-d P-i-g.” He would also walk about upon his hind legs and shake hands with those who paid him a visit. Moreover he had been washed and scrubbed until he was perfectly clean, and he was dressed in a beautiful garment. Of course he excited the highest admiration, and no one could deny that he was well educated, and well behaved in every respect. But notwithstanding his remarkable cul ture, and his attractive appearance, he was still a pig; better off perhaps than most other pigs, and yet after all, only a pig, and a pig he would remain however advanced his learning. There is no error amid the perils of these last days, more dangerous, as there is none more shallow and silly, than the notion taught and received by many, that culture is the way of salvation. Multitudes, by the perusal of the magazines, or of a few books, acquire a smattering of science and then, like the pig walking on his hind legs, strut around in the conceit of their superior intelligence, that has placed them, they fancy, beyond the need of regeneration by the Holy Ghost, and of the cleansing blood of Christ. Multitudes of others imagine that courtesy, gentility, acquaintance with the fine arts, or regard for the rules of good breeding, will put them on a different foot ing before God from the position of the uneducated and the vulgar. T he C ultivated M ind at E nm ity But a moment’s observation might convince them that the deep-seated enmity against Him of the mind of the flesh, and the desperate wickedness of the heart, are often most fully manifested by those who are most highly cul tivated. The history of the race since the death and resur rection of His Son proves that a far more bitter opposi tion, or a far more contemptuous indifference, to the Gos pel of His grace has generally been shown by the wealthy and educated, than by the poor and ignorant; because the former are more prone to be puffed up with a pride that refuses to humble itself beneath the mighty hand of God. A moment’s observation should also convince them that any degree of culture, mental or moral, must utterly fail to change the nature. An educated pig is still a pig; a conquered tiger is still a tiger. “Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?” (Matt. 7:16). No; the diligent cultivation of thorns and thistles for a life-time, or for a thousand years, or for eternity, could not produce grapes and figs; and whatever may be done with human nature, it will remain human nature, whether in the palace of a king, or in the cell of a convict; whether amid the retreats of philosophy, or the huts of untutored savages. It was to a cultivated, refined, moral, and even a reli gious inquirer, Jesus said, “Except a man be born of water (the Word) and the Spirit, he can not enter into the king
Manchester, England. His attention was suddenly called to a man standing before the door of a building, and cry ing aloud, “Walk in, ladies and gentlemen, and see the great American pig.” Having, his curiosity aroused, he paid his penny, and entered the building. There sure
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