^ r n i f g O T f t f l p j t u e
August •1927
JT
Volume 18-—Number 8 20 cents a copy
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The Bible, says President Cal vi n Coolidge, “is the | support of the strong; the conso' lationof the weak; | ’the dependence of organized govern'!! ment; the founda* I tion o f religion.'jj In the President’s arms is little Elizabeth Anne Stitt, daughter of the I Commanding Chief of j the Veterans of For eign Wars. —•HerbertPhotos,Inc.,N.Y.
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denominations represented in the student body. International, thirty countries have sent young men and women to us. Trains for lead ership in all departments of the Church’swork. Mis sions Department offers one year Christian Service Medical Course. Three year course in Christian Education offers special diploma and trains for lead ership in thi s impor tant field. Conservatory o f Gospel Music. The Faculty: Holding strictly to the essentials ------------------- of the Christian faith;all members of Evangelical churches; of long experience; thor oughly trained in the requirements and methods of effective Christian service; loyally co-operating with local churches; aided by the world’s greatest Bible teachers . . greatly strengthened by recent addi tions: Dr. G. Campbell Morgan, Dr. John M cN eil, Rev. Alva J . McClain and others. The Equipment: Fire-proof buildings, adjoining ------------------------ new city library. Over 600 private rooms with steam heat, hot and cold run ning water, lecture halls, class rooms, book store, dining room, library, printing department, audito rium seating four thousand. The Cost: Tuition free. Board and room $8.50 --------------- per week.
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Correspondence Solicited : : : Catalogue on Application : : : Address The Extension Department of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles 536-558 South Hope Street, Los Angeles, California 1 1 1 §m m wmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmimmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmimmmimsmmmmmmmmmmmma
T h e K i n g ’s B u s i n e s s Motto:V“I, the Lord, do keep it; l will water it every moment: lest any hurt it, l will keep it night and day." Isaiah 27:3
PU B L ISH ED MONTHLY B Y AND R E P R E S E N T IN G TH E B IB L E IN S T IT U T E OF LOS AN G ELES
J ohn M urdoch M ac I n n is , Editor-in-Chief
C harles E. H urlburt , Associate Editor
K eith L. B rooks , Managing Editor
Volume XVIII
August, 1927
Number 8
Table of Contents
BOARD OF D IRECTORS B IBLE IN ST ITU TE OF LOS ANGELES
FACULTY
D r . J ohn M. M ac I n n is , Dean D r . R alph A tkin son , Associate Dean R ev . J ohn H . H unter , Secretary of Faculty ■ R ev . W illiam H . P ik e , Secretary Evening School R ev . A lan S. P earce , Secretary Cor. School R ev . A lbert E. K elly , Student Secretary D r . G. C ampbell M organ D r . J ohn M c N eill D r . C harles E. H urlburt C hristian M. B ooks P rof . A lfred A . B utler M is s M arie C arter M is s F lorence C haffee R ev . J ohn A- H ubbard P rof . H . W . K ellogg M is s R uth W alter P rof . H. G. T ovey P rof . J . B . T rowbridge M is s C harlotte L . W oodbridge H . W . B oyd , M . D.
ED ITO R IA L S The Inevitable Christ—............................................... 475 “Who Did SinP’W ......................................1............475 A Meditation on Meditation................ 476 Christian Individualism .............................................. 476 Creed and Deed ......— .............................................477 Vapid Conversation .....................................................478 Fraudulent Trustees .:............................................... 478 When a Financial Committee Bucks..................... 479 The Sympathetic Christ..............................................479 Editorial Flashlights .............................................—..480 ART IC LES Summary of the Denominational Conferences....482 Baccalaureate Sermon—“Our Appointed Course” Ijjafs-Dr. John M. MacInnis............................’...........485 Stretch Forth Thy Hand-SDr. John McNeill—.486 The Garden of the S ou I-B k . L. B ...........................488 Do We Know Anything About the Time? —Dr. J. J. Sims.......................................................489 Self-Authenticating Proofs of Inspiration —R. B. Wallace....................... Where Are the Patient Christians ? —Fred M. Waehlte......................................... The Greatest Battle Ever Fought , —G. B. M. Clouser:................. — ..................... The Samaritan Passover—Rev. Herbert Tay. God’s Word to the Weary ■fl'J— Rev. Albert Simpson Reitz........................ Thoughts On the Higher Life —Dr. J . Stuart Holden.................................... * * * DEPARTM ENTS Defenders’ Column ....................................:......... Passages That Perplex ........—........................... Finest of the Wheat............ .................................. Biederwolf’s Illustrated Texts,........................ : Striking Stories of God’s Workings............... The Greatest Week in the History of Biola... Children’s Garden ...— ....................................... International Lesson Commentary .................... Biola Table Chat ............ ...................................... Book Table .................... .......................................... Daily Meditations................................................... .490 .491 .492 .494 .496 ..497 .498 .500 .501 .504 .505 .508 .509 .511 .521 .523 .526
J . M. I rvine , President H oward F rost , Vice-President J. M. R ust A. A ddison M axw ell , C. E . F uller , Secretary C. A. Lux, Asst. Secretary H. B. E vans N athan N ewby W illiam H azlett M r s . L yman S tewart D r . J ohn M. M ac I nn is , Dean C harles E . H urlburt , Superintendent J . P . W elles , W m . A. F ish er , Assts. to Supt. T erm s: $1.25 per year. Single copies 20 cents. Foreign Coun tries (including Canada) $1.50 per year. Clubs of 5 or more 25 cents reduction on each sub scription sent to one or to sep arate addresses as preferred. R em ittance : Should be made by Bank Draft, Express or P. O. Money Order, payable to the “B i b 1e Institute of Los Angeles.” Receipts will not be sent for regular subscriptions, but date of expiration will show plainly, each month, on outside wrapper or cover of magazine. Manuscripts: T h e K i n g ’ s Business cannot accept respon sibility for loss or damage to manuscripts sent to it for con sideration. Change o f A ddresses: Please send both old and new ad dresses at least one month pre vious to date of desired change.
R ev . G eorge E . R aitt M rs . A lma K. Moss P rof . R aymond C onner D. W. M ac M illan , M.D. B. G. P inkerton , M.D. F. J ean H olt , M.D. Ross A. H arris , M.D. J oseph J acobs , M.D. H. W. F rahm , D.D.S.
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POLICY AS D IRECTORS OF TH E B IB L E IN ST ITU TE OF LOS ANGELES (a) To stand for the in fallib le Word of God and its g reat fundam ental truth s. > (b) To stren g th en the fa ith of all believers, (c) To stir young men and women to fit'them selves for and engage in definite Christian work, (d) To m ake the B ib le in stitu te of Los Angeles known, (e) To m agnify God our F a th e r and the person, work and com ing of our Lord Je su s C h rist; and to teach the transform in g power of the Holy Sp irit in our present p ractical life, (f) To emphasize in strong, constru ctive m essages the g re a t D E F IN ED B Y TH E BOARD OF
foundations of C hristian faith . 536-558 S. Hope Street
BIBLE INSTITUTE OF LOS ANGELES
Los Angeles, California
“ O Love That Wilt i Not Let Me Go” § «(By DR. GEORGE MATHESON)*■
Is one of the greatest and most beautiful hymns of modern days. There has sprung up a story in connection with the composition of that hymn which unfortunately slipped into our June magazine, to the effect that the hymn was written as a result of the young woman to whom he was engaged, breaking her engage ment when she found out that he was about to lose his sight. We do not know where the story originated, but we have reason to believe that there is not a word of truth in it, and in all fairness to the Scotch girls and to the facts in the case, we are sorry that we have helped to give wider currency to the story. The fact of the matter is, the hymn was written by Dr. Matheson in 1882, when he' was forty years of age and after he had been in the ministry nearly twenty years. It was written on the day of his sister’s marriage. His family had all departed for Glasgow. While he was alone in the manse at Innellan this hymn came to him, and he says that it was one of the quickest bits of' work that he ever did. He had ■ the impression of having received it rather than of having worked it out himself. The hymn is a, hymn that has back of it a large and a mature experience and could only be the expression of a great and a rich life. It is commonly known that the sister who was married, had been eyes to the blind poet for many'years and was a companion as well as a sister. This fact, which increased his deep sense of loneliness, will give to the hymn all that is good in the old story and is very much more in line with what we know of Scotch women and life.
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The Inevitable Christ "That at the name o f Jesu s every knee should bow, o f ¡things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesu s Christ is Lord, to the glory o f God the Father." Phil. 2:10-11.
Since all history points out to us the truth of these statements, what utter folly that any thinking man should fail to take Christ first before he thinks of: doing any thing else! ' Christ is Alpha. It is useless: to 1 try to put any other letter before A. Will He not also be Omega? It is Christ for the world inevitably ! Where shall you be if you go into eternity having deliberately chosen to reject Him? ; ■ Says an.old writer: “When we see the predicted mis-j-! sion of the Messiah so faithfully fulfilled, the world’s history bending itself to thé birth of. Jésus i% ^ e “Anno Domini’ of its dates and superscriptions—when We behold all events, marching onward through the centuries to the beat of time preserving a celestial order to accomplish one given result, the. universal and final ascendency of Jesus Christ: - when we see that all opposing .systems can no longer hold comparison with the religion given ¡to the world by Him—must'we not'acknowledge that Hé is the Being whom the prophets declared to be one with the Father Almighty ?” 8&ÿ g4S “Who Did Sin?” (Jn . 9 :3 ). O UR Lord, one day, saw a nian who had been born blind. With Him, to see misery was to be imme diately moved to relieve it. The difference between divine and human pity, however, was illustrated in the manner in which His disciples looked upon this pitiful case, “Mas ter,” théy asked , who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born Mind?” (Jn . 9 :2, 3 ). Jesus at once showed them that this man’s affliction was not due to any special sin of his own or of his parents. Behind it was the purpose of God to be mani fested in his life. This man’s trial proved to many that Jesus was “the light o f the world.” Thus many may for years bear the most tedipus afflictions for His glory. Could we not believe that, we might well despair. Our Lord was not denying that this man was a part of the sinful whole (Rom. 3 :2 3 ). He Himself taught that suffering is often directly and immediately connected with particular sins. As we look about us in society, we can not escape this awful conclusion. We know, too, that a vast amount of- suffering is brought upon innocent people through the sins or follies of others. Such is the price of being part of a fallen race. Affliction ever remains an admonition to beware of sin, and to what lengths might not evil go if suffering were not a red light signal to check its progress? But while we know the direct connection between special sin and judgment, is it ours to try to establish these connections and to announce the verdict? It is very easy to be mistaken, as were the disciples. We have no infal lible means of judging, and God gives us no right to judge what He alone can perfectly know. We have our hands full if we discern the connection between our own sins and trials. Even this we often cannot do perfectly. How utterly incompetent are we to rush forward and say that the calamity that has overtaken our neighbors in the
O ST men who think will concede that by Jesus Christ, God has torn up the foundations of the devil’s empire, overthrown the false con ceits of the world, knocked the fetters of cap tivity off of millions Of : hopeless souls, snatched untold multitudes from the flames of hell, and unbarred the gates of heaven for all.
Millions testify that Jesus opened heaven by a cross, cemented an everlasting habitation by His blood and con demned sin by His atoning sacrifice. Who can deny: that it is the power-of-His name-that breaks the thraldom of the devil over men, destroys the empire of proud spirits and conquers principalities and powers? Whence this mighty host, the Church, raised up from the seed of His sacrifice and preserved age after age in spite of the most subtle and devilish spiritual and secular enemies? It was the Christ who said, “The gates o f hell shall not prevail against my church,’’ and certainly He has supported it under the most terrible waves of the world’s persecution. We are ever reading of the rise and fall of kingdoms and empires, yet how insipid is all such history compared with the story of the grand achievements of Jesus Christ, the King Immortal. “It was but three broken years,” says Dr. Farrar, “that He preached the Gospel of the King dom, but forever, even until dispensations have closed, and earth itself, with the things that now are, has passed away, shall everyone of His true children find peace and hope and forgiveness in His name, and that name shall be Immanuel, God with us.” Who can read history at all and miss the magnitude of this supernatural victory? Who can doubt but that He will yet be Head over all things, having the power not only of presenting His Church without spot or wrinkle before the Father’s presence, but of collecting the angels of heaven under His headship and extending His grace through all the realms of intelligent beings? He alone is entitled to it. His glory is bound to be completed and the supremacy of His name admitted by all, even the lost in hell. “I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear. Surely shall one say, In the Lord have I righteousness and strength: even to him shall men come; and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed.” Isaiah 45 :23-24. One of Wesley’s hymns runs: “Jesus, the name high over all, In earth or hell or sky; Angels and men before it fall, And demons fear and fly.” What an empire is th is! Heaven and earth—the Church Militant—the Church Triumphant—langels and archangels—saints and seraphs!
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12,000 PEOPLE HELPED WRITE THIS FIVE-FOOT BIB LE A handw ritten Bible, five feet, two inches in height and three feet, six inches in breadth, to which 12,000 people have contributed, is being pre pared by the Bible Crusade Society of London. Twelve goat skins have been used to make the covers of the book. These covers are now on ex hibition while w orkers are getting into shape the many sections w ritten by clergy of various denominations, engineers and business men. The sheets of stout paper are being a t tached by means of linen hinges to strips of sim ilar m aterial which form the back of the book. It is sown with twine in the old fashioned way. It is hoped th a t the Bible when completed will be mounted on a m otor ca r and sent around the country.
thoughts feed upon God’s-truth. They are not like the man the Psalmist describes, who is ’^¡like a tree planted by rivers o f water.” • I f we are to be like trees, we must grow at both ends. The.tree sends up its strong trunk. Its wide branches furnish shade. Its flowers are for beauty: Its fruit is for the Satisfaction of man. But there will be no such devel opment in mid-air unless the tree has grown just as deeply on the other end. There must be that unseen, secret life K th e roots of the soul. There must? be meditation to reach down into the soil of God’s truth and draw up the living waters. All the sap the tree has must come up from the roots, and all the spiritual power and fruitage of the Christian depends upon his power to absorb the elements of the new life through communion with his Lord and meditation in His life-giving Word. . “Happy the heart that keeps its twilight hour, And in the depths of heavenly peace reclined, Loves to commune with thoughts of tender power— Thoughts that ascend, like angels beautiful, A shining Jacob’s ladder of the mind.” V-L-, - Christian Individualism “L et every man be fully persuaded in his own mind ’ ’ (Rom. 14:5). H E R E is a principle of Bible knowledge applied by the Apostle Paul to the deciding.of the Sabbath issue, which perplexed many Jewish converts of the early church. It is one which certainly should be applied to every other controversy concerning matters which can be decided only by ascertaining what the Word of God teaches. The words are especially striking as applied to the Sabbath question. Some Jewish converts still clung to the Saturday Sabbath as a permanent obligation to be kept in addition to the resurrection day, or Lord’s Day: “One man esteemeth one day above another,” says the Apostle, “another esteemeth every day alike. L e t every man be fully persuaded in his own m in d ” Surely Paul could not
Mississippi Valley is a divine judgment upon them! Yet how many are quick to do this sort of thing! How great would be our own danger should God always cause us immediately to pay the penalty of our secret sins! Was it not this very spirit that Jesus rebuked when some came to tell Him of the eighteen on whom the tower of Siloam fell? (Lk. 13:1-5.) Does not that put in the same condemnation those who publicly charge that wars, pestilences, fires, storms, earthquakes, or other calamities which have befallen a people, are a divine stroke ? Chris tian editors have frequently made such pronouncements. We doubt their wisdom, even though it is undoubtedly true that much of the suffering of society is a direct con sequence of the toleration of open vice. Let us leave the judging to Him, and concern ourselves, as did our Sav iour, in doing what we can to relieve suffering, as we should desire others-, to do were we the victims. A Meditation on Meditation I T is said of the “blessed” man in Psalm 1, that he is a man who “meditates day and night” in God’s Word. We are wondering how many Christians there are in these days who know what it is to “meditate” even in the day time, to say nothing of in their wakeful hours. Meditation is a man’s spiritual index.' An index is placed in front of a book to indicate the contents. What do you meditate upon? That will tell you the kind of a man you are. And what is meditation ? It is to discourse with your self. It is the digestive system of the mind. By it truth is turned into spiritual nourishment. It assists memory to lock up the jewels of divine truth in the treasury'of the heart. If you are not growing, it is only for lack of nourishment, and how can one get nourishment without a digestive system? It is.only those whose thoughts are fixed on spiritual things who can experience the power of them in their lives. Much of the preaching and teaching today is like pouring water on a duck’s back. People do not let their
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Creed and Deed T HE. editor of “The Presbyterian,” a short time ago, brought forth an editorial in answer to the statement so commonly heard today in liberalistic circles, that it is what a man is, and not what he believes, that really matters. “Christianity as a life,” declared the editor, “is the fruit of Christianity as a system of doctrines dealing with historical and eternal realities.” The Editor of “The Pres byterian Advance” promptly took exception to this state ment. He argued that were this true, there would be as many different kinds of Christian life as there are systems of doctrine. He drew the conclusion that the Christian life is simply the result of the indwelling Christ and one’s system of doctrine has little, if anything, to do with it. We shall do well to devote somé serious reflection to this issuéy for it is squarely before us in these days when some preachers are trying to get free of Christian doc trine and at the samé time cling to Christ. Can the two be separated? Can one accept the Person of Christ and experience the indwelling Christ without having any par ticular beliefs about Him? Can one acknowledge Him as
write this way if the Old Testament Sabbath law remained in full force under the Gospel. I f they wished to keep both days or if they kept every day in the week a holy day in order to be on the safe side, he saw no harm, but he was especially anxious that every man should be FU L L Y persuaded, and persuaded in H IS OWN mind. There is great need today of remembering the value of Christian individualism. The Church is composed of individuals with individual minds and consciences capable of getting different angles of the truth. There is safety only in recognizing the right of every Christian to make his own- study of the Word of God, without the helping hand of any other person, and to draw his own conclu sions. No sincere believer can go far wrong by this method, and furthermore the church will be kept from getting lopsided views. “T he anointing which ye have received o f H im abid- eth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you” (1 Jn. 2 :2 7 ). This certainly means that a Spirit-filled believer is not dependent upon any human teacher who claims personal authority. There are men greatly used of God to expound the Word, but “the same anointing teach- eth you.” The Spirit can open God’s Word to any honest seeker, and He can certainly make one sensitive to the recognition of the Spirit in another who is teaching. If these words are true, then we should beware of any man who claims that his views or his writings are essential to the correct understanding of the Bible. We have today powerful leaders of cults, as well as theological leaders claiming to be orthodox, who are deter mined to ram their particular systems of interpretation down the throats of all. They practically deny one the right of private investigation. One who begs to differ with them is pointed out, either as an ignoramus, or tend ing toward liberalism, post-millennialism or some other terrible extreme. Since when has God required one to accept all the interpretations in any one of the various annotated Bibles, in order to be entitled to Christian fel lowship ? We derive help from many godly teachers, but we are safe only when we put their teachings to a thorough, per sonal test of the Scriptures. No man is infallible. No cult, church or expositor, or even Fundamentalist or Pre- millennialist, can take the place of the individual in the knowledge of the truth of God. There are certain great truths, vital to Christianity, upon which the Spirit has always kept believers together, but no man has a right to condemn another because he may not see eye to eye with him in every detail of interpretation. “L et every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.” More and more we believe there was sound wisdom in the saying of John Newton: “Now I am grown old I am cautious of recommending books. I advise everybody to study the Scriptures with prayer, to draw from the fountain head, to examine and try the writings o f men by the infallible standard, and not to pay too implicit a regard to the sentiments o f great authors or preachers. The best are defective, and the wisest may be mistaken.” There would be fewer drawn into religious- cults if they went to the fountainhead for themselves. - There would even be fewer camps among the Fundamentalists if they were more wedded to the divine Word itself, instead of tied to the notations of men who seem to assume that some special insight above that ever given to saintly men in past ages, has been granted to them. It is high time we all got to studying TH E B IB L E . Our Lord’s coming is near. We shall need this lamp in our hands if we are to go in with the Bridegroom.
When you pray at morn or sundown, By yourself, or with your own; When you pray at rush of noon-tide— ■ Just make sure you touch the throne. When you pray in hours of leisure, Praying long and all alone; Pour not out mere words as water, But make sure you touch the throne. When you pray in busy moments, Oft to restless hurry prone, .. Brevity will matter little, I f you really touch the throne. When amid the .congregation Of God’s saints, in prayer you groan, He will hear your voice, and answer, If you truly touch His throne. When you pray as Christ directed, Who, o f old, Christ’s power have known-; As they touched His garment-border, So make sure you touch His throne. When you pray, as Christ directed, 1 In a manner clearly shown, In His name, and by His Spirit, You will always touch His throne.
—W inifred A. Iverson.
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words of Eph. 5 :4, which warn Christians against filthi ness, fo o lish talking and jesting. This empty kind of talk is not infrequently heard among the young people in our churches, and we believe they should be taught that the use of the world’s shady talk is ruinous to spiritual life. Some have taken the words of the text as prohibiting all joking and merrymaking. This certainly does not appear in the original Greek words. There is a wit and humor that is wholesome, that does not break down moral and spiritual life. Pleasantry itself is no sin, although it may run into sin if carried to extremes. Some people employ it so much that they lose the power to consider anything seriously, and their acquaintances learn to expect nothing from them but nonsense. The word “filthiness” means “gross sensuality.” It cannot be denied that this very thing underlies much talk of today, especially jokes. We have heard even ministers make remarks or tell stories that were disgusting to those who have no relish for filthiness. “Foolish talking” has reference to “talking as a fool,” especially about sin, treating sin as a joke. “F ools make a mock at sin” (Prov. 14 :9 ). We hear much of this today. When wit begins to make light of evil, when there must be allusions to the impure in one’s pleasantry, it is time to call a halt. The word for “jesting” means immoral pleasantry, covering all trifling talk. The term would certainly gather up many of the nonsensical expressions of modern “jazz hounds.” Let us have a reasonable amount of pleasantry, the fruit of a buoyant heart. It is not at all necessary that it should be the vehicle of impurity in order to furnish cheer. Certainly any talk that would tend to bring sacred things into ridicule should have no sanction from one who pretends to follow the Lord Jesus Christ. One version renders the above te x t: "L et there be no coarseness nor vapid and gossiping conversation.” JSE? Fraudulent Trustees “O Timothy, guard the truths entrusted to you:” (1 Tim. 6 :20. Weymouth trans.) W HAT an appeal is this to you, O Preacher, in these days of thirst after shallow speculation and mere
Lord and Master without involving the acceptance of everything He taught, including His unqualified endorse ment of the Old Testament Scriptures and His predic tion that others after Him would complete the record of His Gospel? One would scarcely need to be a logician to settle these questions. Christ and His teachings can certainly not be divorced. And what of the contention that if a system of beliefs were necessary, there would be as many different varieties of Christian life? We have the various sects parading under the banner of Christianity: we have our different evangelical denominations. Does one’s doctrine have any bearing upon his deeds? It certainly must be admitted that we have many varieties of Christian life. The easier one’s belief, the less spiritual is his life. Dr. Talmage years ago observed that “higher criticism makes for lower religion.” There are few who would challenge the statement of “The Pres byterian” that “the best Christians are those whose beliefs are most in harmony with Christ and His apostles.” The purest type of Christianity produces the purest type of Christian life. It is true that we are sometimes faced with the enig mas of men of high profession who bear little resemblance to Christ, and men of rationalistic persuasion who seem far more Christian in their dealings with men. The one, in spite of his profession, has little belief below the collar; the other has probably been favored by an inherited sweet disposition or an excellent environment. Nevertheless, it is not a sign of mature thinking to pit deed , and creed against each other. “Creed is the dynamic of deed.” What one believes is certain to work itself out in what he does. One who believes nothing does nothing worth while. Lofty creed-—and there is nothing more noble and pure in substance than New Tes tament doctrine—will issue in Christlike living, if “with the H EA R T man believeth unto righteousness." 1 BfWI sfe a» Vapid Conversation A S one is forced to listen in these days to the vulgar jazz terms that punctuate the conversation of young people, he cannot but feel that it is a time to emphasize the
W h a t ’s a H e a d G o o d F o r A n yw ay ?
I n S o m e L a n d s T h e y M a k e U se o f T h e m
Gilliam's Service HERE IS A FREIGHT TRAIN IN THE SUDAN. HEAVY BOXES ARE BALANCED ON THE HEADS.
IN PALESTINE FRUIT AND VEGETABLES ARE BORNE TO MARKET ON THE HEADS OF WOMEN
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God* s L o v e R e v e a l e d
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¡ f
By Mrs. A. N. Christenson
f
C ow iche, W ash.
All of the butterflies, all of the bees, All of the birds building homes in trees, And the moon reflected in calmest of seas, Can never reveal God’s love.
Not even the song of a bird on the breeze, Not even the music of rain on the leaves, No’t even the reapers binding the sheaves
Can ever reveal God’s love.
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Snow on a mountain rugged and steep; No, not the hue of a rainbow bright, Sun through a fleecy cloud, starting to peep, ÌMI q I No, not the stars watching o’er us by night, And a mother lulling her child to sleep No, not the sun sinking deep from sight Can never reveal God’s love. Can ever reveal God’s love. Even at dawn when all is at rest, Only the drops on Calvary shed, Even deep love in a mother’s breast, When to the altar His dear Son was led; Even the home with the ones you love best Only the fact that He died in my stead Can never reveal God’s love. — Can reveal God’s wondrous love.
highbrowism, to guard the Word of Truth against spirit ual thieves! It is the figure of a banker watching over securities— the wealth of others, that has been committed to his care. As the custodian of others he must be severely strict, prepared to defend their property at all costs to himself. The securities of our Faith are infinitely more precious than the title deeds to the greatest estates. They are not to be lightly loaned out to any newcomer. The Gospel minister takes his solemn oath in the sight of heaven and earth to defend the Faith once for all delivered. If, while still in clerical position, he betrays the trust, what can it be called except plain fraud? It is amazing in these days with what ease some will part with the grandest securities of the Faith on the merest hearsay evidence and the pure guesswork of self- styled “thinkers.” I f it involved no others than.them selves, the matter would not be so, serious, but in the case of one set apart to the Gospel ministry, hundreds of others are involved. They are open to the charge of being fraudulent trustees. Vicentius wrote: “A deposit is that which is entrusted to thee, not discovered by thee; what thou hast received, not what thou has conceived; a matter not of disposition but of doctrine; a thing brought to thee, not brought forth by thee—in relation to which' thou oughtest to be not author but guardian, not originator but follower.” When a Financial Committee Bucks J E SU S proposed to His disciples the feeding of a hun gry multitude. They, on the other hand, suggested that He send them away instead, that they might get food for themselves (Mk. 6 :3 6 ). Our first thought when Jesus sets a task before us is often to get rid of the responsibil ity—in slang phraseology, “to pass the buck.” But these disciples had something to .learn. Jesus directs, “Give ye them to eat.” The financial committee then reported that it was absolutely out of the question for two hundred pennies was all there was in the treasury. That sounds quite modern. Thus we often pin Him down to our little estimates. A great spiritual work is ruined because officials get to thinking only in terms of dollars and cents. Many things look impossible when we foil to figure Him in.
Note Jesus’ reply: “How many loaves have ye? Go and-see.”'), That’s where the rub comes. What have W E that isn’t working for God? He has His eye on what we have left, not simply what we’ve given. Are we ready to risk what we have in His hands? That’s the great ques tion. Until we are, it’s folly to talk of the impossibility of doing what He is asking us to do. Have YOU learned that you can’t lose anything by putting even your scant stores at His disposal ? Do you really believe that your own abundance depends largely on your own beneficence? (Prov. 11:24-25.) So it turned out with the disciples. Because they passed what they had through Christ’s hands, they not only accomplished a great work but had more left for themselves than they had in the beginning. Grain brings increase, not by lying in a heap, but by being wisely scat tered. Spiritual and temporal blessings also multiply in their distribution and not by being kept. as ^ ate The Sympathetic Christ W E have a Saviour who became man that He might be “touched with the feeling of our infirmities” (Heb. 4 :1 5 ). As glorified man, He appears now as High Priest for all true believers. What a comfort it should be to remember that He not only was but is man. Some imagine that Jesus, for a limited period, took part in frail humanity, but that when His purposes were accomplished the man forever perished and the spirit forever reascended to unite with pure Deity. But our Lord’s resurrection life should correct this notion. As Son of man He ascended. There is now “one Mediator—the MAN Christ Jesus.” As Son of man He is coming again in the clouds with great glory. This means that God now has a human heart. The present man hood of Christ conveys the deeply important truth that the divine heart is human in its sympathies. He can be touched now with the feeling of our infirmities because He was Himself tested as man here upon earth. His past experience has left certain effects durable in His nature. It has endued Him with certain qualifications and susceptibilities a’s our High Priest, which He would not have except for His earthly experience. Therefore we have the more boldness to come to the throne of grace, knowing that our Intercessor can feel for us.
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“It’s easy enough to nail a lie, but it is quite another matter to keep it down.” * * * Of 1,900 prisoners at Leavenworth, only 120 have' ever been inside ofa Sunday school. * * * One paper declares that there are two sides to every dis pute, but to the one in China there are at least a hundred. * * * A news editor remarks : “It is noticeable that of all the humorists who. are getting off wise cracks at the expense of MussoliniggnOt one lives in Italy.” * * * Says The Methodist Protestant: “It, is base ingratitude for some men to deny the reality of the devil. Their every deed and word declare that they are intimate with him.” * * * Some folks are bound to have it that modern youth is on the right track and should be let alone. All we have to say is—“Let youth flame and you will see it cook its own goose.” * * * It is said that if all the Bibles that have ever been printed could be passed out to the human race today, there would not be half enough to go around, giving^one to each person. * * * Seattle, Washington, claims to have the largest Presbyterian Church in the world. It is the First Church, of which Rev. Dr. Mark A. Matthews is pastor, and it has just celebrated the com pletion of twenty years of his pastorate. * * * We may rightly have scientific theories as well as earthly kingdoms in mind when we sing: “Oh, where are kings and empires now, Of old, that went and came? But, Lord, Thy church is praying yet, A thousand years the same.” ♦ * * Says a K. B. subscriber: “I want to voice my appreciation of The King’s Business. It has been a power in our home in the few months we have had it. We were in a way a Christian family but only lukewarm till Dr. Morgan was in Riverside. He awoke my husband and I to a new vision of our Christ.” * * * Dr. I. M. Haldeman, pastor of the First Baptist Church, Borough of Manhattan, New York, declares that a thing to be feared even more than the teachings of infidelity is “the invasion of the pulpit by feminism that is now taking place.” ♦ * * Robert Scott Inglis says: “If modernists shake our belief in the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, perhaps we will want to go back to the Egyptian way of mummifying bodies of the deceased. But so long as our faith lasts, -we shall not consider any departure from present methods,” * * * Dr. Cadman answers questions in the columns of the “Chris tian Herald.” In reply to one concerning the purpose of Christ’s death upon the cross, he says: “It is possible that He may, have been mistaken. His ignominious death may not have been abso lutely what His Father willed.” That is modernism “O and O”,
The combined religious membership of the nation now totals over 47,550,000 according to the annual survey conducted by the “Christian Herald.” This means that about 40 per cent of the nation’s population are church members. Note the word “religious,” a word that covers a multitude of damning errors. ♦ * * Half of the American boys who will go to college next fall would be, better off if they went into business, says President Faunce of Brown University. He figures that 50 per cent of the boys who go to College fail to graduate, “not counting the thou sands who, though they do graduate, waste four precious years and receive no benefit commensurate with the time and money spent;” * * * The Utah Gospel Mission is authority for the statement that Mormonism “of both kinds” is making about 10,000 converts a year, and that “nearly every one was once a nominal member of some Christian church.” Mormonism is doubling every twenty- five years, -instead of being about “dead,” as,people often think. s|e He A remarkable demonstration of the love and esteem in which Dr. F. B. Meyer is regarded, was manifestèd at a special service held at Christ Church, London, recently, in recognition of the veteran minister’s eightieth birthday. A birthday cake weighing eighty pounds was cut. * * * For two centuries the Menhonites have passed from one Christian country to another Seeking a resting place, and have not found it. They have now Secured large concessions of land in Paraguay, 2,000 miles up the river Uruguay, The Government has given them 3,000 acres of rich land and a charter promising them freedom ,from military work or service for all time. * * * A minister, in addressing his flock, began, “As I gaze about I see before me a great many bright and shining faces.” Just then 87 powder puffs were brought into action. * * * The latest complete Bible published by the British and For eign Bible Society, is the Dobu Bible. This has been translated into the language of the Dobu people (Papua). An interesting story is told of the landing of Dr. Bro.milow, its translator, and his bride, on the shores of the eastern portion of Papua thirty- six years ago. The first sight which met their eyes was a band of savages bringing along the body of a dead mother and her living baby, which they intended to bury together. Mrs. Bromi- low rushed forward and snatched the baby from the grave and brought him up with her own family. Later on he was one of those who took part in the translation of the New Testament into his own language. * * * Dean Inge is supposed to be an evolutionist but he does not seem to have a high opinion of what it is doing for the world. He recently made the statement that “our unlimited competition exhausts men’s vitality, physical and mental,” and that “there has been a gradual lowering of the perfection of our sense organs. Our teeth have decreased in size and strength. Our jaws are becoming too small for our teeth. Our eyesight has degenerated.
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The day may come when we shall be able neither to walk nor to write.” Mr. Mauro puts the question : “What is to be the outcome of this evolution of man, which makes him more and more a helpless dependent upon the machinery he creates and whereof he boasts ?” * * * One outstanding event in Bible history during the past year was the sale of a copy of the Bible at the astonishing price of $120,000, the highest price ever paid for a book. It was a copy of the Gutenberg Bible-—the world’s first printed book—-of which there are less than fifty in existence. It has large jnitial letters, beautifully illuminated by hand, and was issued from the press of John Gutenberg, of Mainz, about the year 1455. * * * The passing of Dr. Francis E. Clark, founder and president of the World’s Christian Endeavor Union, is a tremendous loss to the world and especially young people everywhere. He was 75 years of age and died after an'illness 'of three weeks, at his home in Newton; Massachusetts. When Dr. Clark was a young minister in charge of the Williston Congregational Church at Portland, Me., he called a meeting of the young people of his congregation to organize them into a society which would pro vide “the opportunity for self-expression by means of words and service for Christ and church.” The meeting, held February 2, 1881, was attended by forty young men and women. After they had signed the pledge pre sented to them, Dr. Clark called the new organization the Chris tian Endeavor Society, thereby inaugurating what has proved one of the most successful religious movements among young people in church history. Dr. Clark always maintained a clear testimony for the Faith of our fathèrs. * * * Prof. Franklin Johnson, of Chicago, goes to the core of things when he.says: “Wére there no hypothesis, of evolution, there would be no higher criticism. The ‘assured results’ of the higher criticism have been gained, after all,^not by an inductive study of the Biblical books to ascertain if they present a great variety of styles ,and vocabularies, and religious points of view. They have. been, attained by assuming that the hypothesis of evolution is true, and that the religion, of Israel must have un folded itself by a process of natural evolution. Imagination, has play'éd a large part in the process, and the so-called evidences upon which the ‘‘assured results’ rest are largely imaginary. It is a fallacy when applied to the history of religion, leaving us utterly unable to account for Abraham and Moses and Christ, and requiring* us to deny that they could have been Such men as the Bible declares them to have beefL” J '.r-* IHPI H IM as as - The Slaughter of Peace M R. PH IL IP MAURO in his paper, “T h e Last Hour,” quotes-the “Scientific American,” which carried an article pn “Thé Slaughter, o f P eace.” -/‘Speaking of deaths caused by the automobile alone, it. declared that ‘the\slaughter o f peace through misuse of the, aytompbile is comparable in magnitude to the slaughter of war.’ “Man is still seeding out many inventions,.” declares Mr. Mafirb, “and he'prides himself greatly upon his mar velous industrial progress. Little note, however, is taken 6f the: very rignificanf'^ facts, first, that the greatest pro gress of this ‘progressive age’ is in the perfecting of appli ances f and ¡.method’s;' fo in tb ë ï scientific and wholesale dest'rtfction 1oh hurhan life and property; and second, that even the developments of the-arts of ‘peace’ are paid
One Was Taken •L. M, H ollingsworth , 1 McConnelsville , Ohio . You-knew John?. 'Yes, he that was., talking, talking, Ever talking of his hope of Christ’s return. Men grow, tired of cant. Some frowned, others mock- ing, Laughed arid went their way, content no more to learn. But John was quite sincere in all his harping, Harping,“harping, “Friend,-the Lord may come today.” Men might frown or laugh;; or at his faith, carping Critic sneer, John still would .smile;; and have his say. We" were working in the field that day, plowing, johfijand I. “JusUsuch a day as this,” he said, “The- Lord will come, and call, While men are going To their tasks. His own, the living and the dead”® “John,” said I, “enough of that,;:; In all ages • ; Men have dreamed the Christ would come. It is .'- absurd—*:;;1'* Fairy tale, childish, fit for children’s pages.” Leaning on his plow, John answered not nor heard. “Hark! His trumpet and His shout!” Still I flouted; For I heard nothing, saw nothing, though John’s' face Grew So glorified, I turned away. Doubted Yet; but when I looked again, there was no trace Of John, save his plow and his old clothes laying On the ground the sky unchanged, the earth not cleft. Two men were working: in the field—one praying-p® John was taken and I—O God!. I was left! 1 for af the price of ‘slaughter.’ Is our boasted progress to continue ? And what will the end be ? “Says a modern writer o f distinction (Mr. Galsworthy, in the “London Times”.) “ ‘Without any doubt whatever the powers of destruc tion are gaining fast on. the powers of creation and con struction . . . We have made by our “s c i e n c e a monster that will devour us yet.’ “Another secular writer thus sets forth, in jocular style, the losses entailed by man’s boasted ‘progress,’ against a single item of gain (the last clause in the fol lowing quotation): ‘The motor-car has increased the ratio of mortality, created appalling traffic problems, contrib uted to juvenile delinquency, showed half of America how to live beyond its income, and relieved its o f the horse fly .’ ” 1 Worth Thinking About We heard recently of a petition which a little lad sent up to the throne after he had'recited his regular prayer at night, “And, O God, make all the bad people good—and make all the good people—-nice.” Now, you Fundamen talists, think about that! , ■
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Summary of the Denominational Conferences 1927 N ot A G ood Y ear for M odernism , D espite N ewspaper R eports to the C ontrary
Presbyterian General Assembly T HE One Hundred and Thirty-ninth Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, North, will go down in history as one of its very greatest assemblies. The whole Christian world will be glad that it rang clear on the historic faith and that the fires of the missionary pas sion are still burning on its altars. There is no doubt but that the heart of this great church is still beating true to Christ and His Evangel. This was manifested in the election of moderator. The honor was given to one of the most marked New Tes tament Christians to be found within the bounds of the church—Dr. Robert E. Speer, Senior Secretary of the Board of Foreign Missions.. It was difficult to persuade him to allow his name to be presented for that high honor but, when he finally consented, no man of any party in the church could be found who would be willing to stand against him. Therefore, he was elected by acclamation and the General Assembly rallied to his support in a very remarkable way. The Assembly also showed its heart and faith in the way in which they dealt with the report of the Committee on Princeton Theological Seminary. This Committee had to deal with a very difficult situation involving many technical questions and most intricate and delicate per sonal feelings. The Assembly listened with very earnest patience to the report as submitted by its chairman, Dr. Thompson, and also to a discussion from both sides, and showed from the very beginning that they were not anxious that any particular party should get a victory, but that things should be settled in such a way as to save the Seminary, conserving its work and testimony in the spirit of Jesus Christ and in absolute loyalty to the Evangelical faith as represented by the historic church. The report and the discussion which followed made it very clear that the trouble at Princeton is not doctrinal but administrative and personal. It seems perfectly absurd to think anyone connected with the Seminary is trying to win it over to Modernism. The case was referred to an enlarged committee which is to make a further study of the conditions at Princeton and report back to the Assem bly at its next meeting. Drs. Machen and Allis were not confirmed, not because there was any question about their doctrinal or scholarship fitness,, but wholly because the Assembly thought it best to hold things in status quo until a plan of reorganization, acceptable to the Seminary and the General Assembly, is agreed upon. This does not in any way interfere with these noted scholars and their teaching for they shall continue their work as they have been doing for years. T he P resbyterian C reed S tands Once again the great heart of the church was mani fested in'the report of the Commission of Fifteen, ap pointed two years ago for the purpose of making a careful
study of the cause of unrest in the church. This report was a clarion call to the church to go forward with a new consecration and a new passion for souls, and the Assem bly responded to its challenge with a heartiness that could not easily be misunderstood. The same thing is true regarding the report of the Judicial Commission. After sailing over many troubled waters, as far as judicial procedure is concerned, the doc trinal question which was involved was put beyond ques tion when one of the Commissioners offered a resolution for the purpose of putting the Assembly on record as still believing in the virgin birth. The Moderator declared that such a resolution was unnecessary for the simple reason that the Presbyterian Church has a creed which declares, “I believe in God, the Father Almighty, and in Jesus Christ His only Son our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the virgin Mary . . . . ” “ jind we believe th a t .” At this emphatic declaration the whole Assembly arose as one man to its feet with earnest applause, showing thereby that this great historic state ment is still the real faith of the Presbyterian Church. Perhaps the real faith and heart of the church was nowhere more truly revealed than in her foreign mission ary report. Here again the vision and dynamic life of Dr. Speer interpreted the deepest thing in her life. He de clared conditions in China can only be interrupted—there can be no turning back. The church must go forward to her task. The missionaries are not expelled by the Chi nese. They left the field for the moment only because the various governments think it is best that they should. They are going back. The Chinese want them back. They must go back. When they do go back it must be to a truer unfolding of the divine message than ever before. This is the spirit of the New Testament and it found a magnifi cent expression when Dr. Speer declared to the Assembly that his children will go forward to a mission field even if it means that Mrs. Speer and himself must live on bread and water the rest of their lives. In closing the Assembly, the Moderator, in response to a request from the Commissioners, indicated the points that should be emphasized in the work at the present time. F ir s t: We must emphasize the superlative importance of personal experience o f Jesu s Christ. Second: The importance of the Christian home and its altar and teach in g s^ the old fashioned Presbyterian home which has meant so much to the life of the nation. Third : The cultivation of true reverence in our chil dren. Fourth: A re-examination of the reasons why we be lieve what we believe. F ifth : A new passion fo r the winning o f men to Christ. A church with this spirit and emphasis can not be very far from the heart of the Gospel. We thank God for it and its great work, and take courage.
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