January 1929
10
T h e
K i n g ' s
B u s i n e s s
“A Fa ith fu l and W ise Servant” (A it. 24 : 46 )
(D r . R euben A. T orrey ) B y R ev . J ohn H . H unter
^ISCOURAGED nothing. I am resting in Philip- pians 4:6, 7. Whatever is God’s will for me is ibest. Romans 8 ;28 is more precious to me than ever before.” In this thoroughly characteristic way did Dr. Torrey answer a question asked him a few days before he passed on to his great and glad reward. He was absolutely confident then, as always, in God’s good ness and faithfulness. These he had tested and proved through such a long and busy life as is granted to but few
After prayers he had his supper and was made as comfortable as possible for the night. As he was having some difficulty breathing, Mrs. Torrey placed some extra pillows under his head, and bade him good night. Through the night she looked over at him several times and he appeared to be sleeping peacefully. In the morning she dressed quietly so as not to disturb him. The extra pillows he had taken out and laid on the chair beside him. On going over to him she found that the Master had already called him, and he had slipped away quietly and apparently without pain. For, ah ! the Master is so fair, His smile so sweet to banished men,
men in the ministry. He was nearly seventy-three years old, ten years older than Mr. Moody, the man he so loved and to whom he owed so much, who was only sixty-two when his “coronation day” came. Unable to engage in active pub lic ministry since almost the first of the year, Dr. Torrey was still able to prepare the copy for “The Gist of the Lesson” for 1929, to attend the Bible Conferences at Montrose, Penn., and to preside at the Annual Meeting of the Council of the A f rica Inland Mission, of which for many years he was the president. After the close of the Confer ences at Montrose he spent a happy month with Mrs. Torrey in their old home (Torrey Lodge). During the summer all his children and s o m e of his grandchildren were with him for at least part of the time. On the last Sunday afternoon there he suggested that they all drive up to Conference Hill, from
That they who meet it unaware Can never rest on earth again. And they who see Him risen afar At God’s right hand to welcome them, Forgetful stand of home and land, Desiring fair Jerusalem. To thousands of his former stu dents and tens of thousands of his converts, and to Christian workers in all parts of the world, his passing was a complete surprise, and will leave a feeling of very real per sonal loss. What land has not been touched by him directly or indi rectly? Who can measure the in fluence of his evangelistic work, or of his writings? A great man and a mighty warrior for the truth has indeed fallen. The “old guard” is nearly mustered out—out of earth __ and into the Master’s “prepared place.” H is E arlier Y ears
which there is one of the most beautiful views to be seen anywhere. After enjoying it for a little while he asked that they might have a service of prayer, which they did, everyone taking part. Had he any premonition that it was his last visit, to beautiful Montrose, which had been his home for several years after returning from his around- the-world evangelistic tours and before moving to Los Angeles ? H is P eaceful H ome -G oing Since leaving Los Angeles three years ago, his home has been in Ashville, N. C. A letter received on Friday, October 24th, contained encouraging news. It seemed as though recovery was coming, though slowly. He was able to go down town and attend to some business alone on Tuesday. On Wed nesday he developed a high temperature and the doctor was called in. By Thursday morning the fever had abated, In the afternoon he asked Mrs. Torrey for his Greek New Testament, his German Bible and his American Standard Version. He was propped up with pillows in a comfort able position, and enjoyed a real good time with his Father’s message. Wearied a bit, he enquired the hour, and asked if they could not have evening prayers now.
Reuben Archer Torrey was born in Hoboken, N. J., January. 28, 1856. His father, a New York banker, was ruined in the financial crash of 1857. Undiscouraged, he immediately entered business as a manufacturer in Brook lyn and New York City. He was at one time Collector of Internal Revenue in Brooklyn, and was offered the nomination for mayor of the city but declined it. His mother was a deeply religious woman, and trained him carefully, while still a little child, to read his Bible and to pray every day, a habit he never neglected nor r e l i n q u i s h e d . Almost the last thing he did was to ask for his Bibles and to have a season of prayer. While only a boy, he was reading a book found in the lumber room of his home, and the question faced him as he read: “Will you be a Christian now?” He wanted to say “Yes” ; but he felt that if he did so, he would have to become a preacher, and as he was determined to be a lawyer he said “No.” He entered Yale Univérsity at the age of fifteen and graduated with honors four years later. Having no real spiritual life, he fell in with a rather fast set and easily
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