September 1927
549
T h e
K i n g ’ s
B u s i n e s s
A Breeze From Snow-Capped Mountains A Vacation-Time Meditation B y t h e R ev . J o h n W ood
t T this season of the year the thoughts of the city dweller turn to babbling brooks and shady nooks, or the sound of the restless sea. So, too, the thoughts of men turn to mountain heights, and long for the refreshing breezes that blow across their snow-capped heights. The hills have a cbarm all their own. The dazzling whiteness of their heights, snow-capped, the purple of the evening hour, the mighty timbers reaching upward to the sky, the feathered songsters making music as they fly, the cool of the evening hours, make a mighty appeal. Vacation time is here, and mountain and stream and rolling sea lure men from the city streets. The sweet singer of Israel was reared among the hills. He sang of their beauty and their message to mankind. “The mountains shall bring forth peace to the people, and The mountains of the Bible, of which David sang, wing their refreshing breezes across our souls. We need their mes sage and are lured by their charm. In this vacation season we need to catch the refreshing breezes that blow across their sun-kissed, s n o w - c a p p e d heights, that in spiritual things the mountains may speak to God’s people. B ible M oun ta in P eaks There are six mountain peaks in the Bible that lift their heads about their fellows and send refreshing breezes to the souls of men. The first is that of Sinai, the Mount of the True Law. Here God made known His law unto Moses, and through him unto the children of men. The Decalog has never been abrogated, and the “Ten Words from Sinai”, are still the law of God for the government of His people. All life is governed by law. The very electrons at our feet crystalize by process of law. The stars above us making beautiful the sky, hang in space by operative law.1 All moral and spiritual life is under the dominion of law. “Thou shalt not.” “This do, and thou shalt live.” This is neither the day nor the time to forget God’s law. The Decalog is not a back number in matters, of government, for the “Law of Moses” is found incorporated in the statutes of every na tion of the world. If men would let the breezes o'! Sinai blow across their souls, they would be cleaner, and life would be sweeter, and beaven would be nearer for us all. The second mountain peak that rears its head above the many foothills of Scripture is Carmel, the Mount of the True Religion. Sinai is not sufficient without Carmel. Morality must be wedded to religion, for religion is the basic life of all true morality. A man may be moral without being relig the hills, righteousness.” “As the mountains are around about Jerusalem, so is God about His people.” “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills from whence cometh my salvation.”
ious, but he can not be religious without being moral. Morality deals with our human relationships, religion deals with our relationships with God arid man. There are many forms of religion, but orily one true religious life, that is where God is put first. Carmel is a symbol of true religion. Ño more thrilling scene than the contest of the gods of Carmel has ever been given. “The Lord, He is God.” “Thou shalt love the Lord with all thy heart, and Him only shalt thou serve.” Thus Carmel and Sinai combine together the true spiritual needs of man. We need this emphasis today. Men live as though God were dead, and men need the refreshing breezes of true religion that blow from Carmel’s height. The third mountain name that comes to us is that of Pisgah, the Mount o f the True Vision. Around this mountain height there clusters the story of an aged saint
who led a mighty people from bondage to freedom, f r o m Egypt to the Promised Land, but whose foot was not des tined to tread its hallowed soil. From Pisgah’s lofty height he viewed the landscape o’er, and to Moses the man of God there came a vision of things that were yet to be. We need men and moun tains of vision today. “The Czar of all the Russians” dreamed of disarmament of nations, and the World Court
This article came into our hands a few hours after we had selected for our Sep tember cover the beautiful mountain view taken in the Alps. Again we give thanks for the Lord’s leading-, and we trust that gs you read o f these Bible Mountain Peaks, you will gaze upon the cover scene and lift your heart to Him “who made heaven and earth.”
and the Hague Conference and the Federation of Nations are the result. Cromwell climbed his Pisgah of political freedom and became the Uncrowned King of England. Washington dreamed his dream and became Father of His country. Lincoln stood on mighty Pisgah, and emancipa tion of slavery resulted. Jesus dreamed his dream of spiritual emancipation, and salvation came to mankind. The need of today is for men who will dream dreams and see visions, men who will climb Pisgah and see the things of God. N ew T estam en t M oun ta in s Three mountain peaks lift their heads from the pages of the New Testament Scriptures. 1First, Hermon, the Mount o f True Fellowship. Here Christ oommuned with God until the spiritual contacts resulted in Transfigura tion. All spiritual power transfigures. We are spiritual beings. We need fellowship with God. Every believing soul needs its Hermon for fellowship with the Divine. The second New Testament mountain to send its re freshing breezes to our souls is that of Calvary, the Mount of True Sacrifice. Here, about this mountain, all lessons and all history find their consummation. Here life unfolds its perfect meaning. Calvary is the expression of God’s great love for mankind. It is the place of the Cross. Calvary tells the story of the Supreme Sacrifice. The cross of Calvary is God’s sign for the forgiveness of sin. The third mountain peak from the New Testament is that of Olivet, the Mount of True Ministry. Here Christ
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