THE
K I N G ' S
IS
B U S I N E S S
January, 1936
ber o f the Torrey household, and every day o f that time my respect for Dr. Torrey as a man, a father, a husband, and a minister o f the gospel grew. ' Because Reuben was leaving directly after the noonday meal, we had family prayers before he went. Dr. Torrey was praying in the measured and dignified voice all o f us knew, when there was a stop. Not a sound was audible, but the very floor vibrated under his deep emotion. No one but Mrs. Torrey knew how much it cost him to give Reuben to China. It had been his cherished longing to have his son with him in work in this country. A little later, I saw another side o f this great man. Reuben and his wife were finding it hard to live within the bounds o f their assigned salary that first year in China, and Mrs. Torrey asked Dr. Torrey whether he could not send them something extra. To this question, Dr. Torrey replied, ^Clara, you know how deeply I love Reuben; but whatever extra I can give must be sent to the men and women who are working on so much less than he is.” Dr. Torrey was a most tender and devoted father, en tering into all the family fun, and tiptoeing up and down stairs on Christmas Eve like a little boy, in order to hide some treasured object in the toe o f a stocking. Having seen him in his home, one does not wonder that he should have had such splendid children as were his LT was marvelous. His expositions o f the Scripture could be relied on. He had no “ fads.” His intellectual acumen, enlightened as it was by the Holy Spirit, gave him such cor rect views o f Biblical truth that he was known everywhere as “ a safe and sane teacher o f the Word o f God.” His vo luminous writings are striking illustrations o f his depend able Christian scholarship. He knew much about the Bible; but, preeminently, he knew the Bible. Thirdly, Dr. Torrey was a man o f commanding and dominant personality. Who that knew him can forget that magnificently shaped head; that refined, noble, and per fectly formed face; those keen piercing eyes that seemed to look right through y ou ; and that magnificent physique ? Had he not been devoted to Christ and His service, Dr. Torrey could easily have been the dominant executive head of some large corporation. He often reminded me o f Saul o f Tarsus— cultured in the classics of the Greeks, domi nated by the Hebrew passion for religion, and comman deered by the Roman dream of world domination, who laid all these at the feet o f his divine Master and humbly became Paul, the bondslave of Jesus Christ. As Paul was, so was Torrey; as did Paul, so did Torrey. Fourthly, Dr. Torrey was a most true and loyal friend — not loudly, sensationally, emotionally; but actually, and ■in the truest sense o f the word “ friend.” He was not slow to tell you your faults face to face, but he would defend- you and speak of your virtues behind your back. I have had good reason to know that underneath that seemingly austere demeanor there was a heart, a spirit, a sentiment as tender as that o f a loving mother. *AVhat a friend he was to the students under his care! I recall vividly that when I was a student under him, there came a great sorrow into my life. Dr. Torrey came to my room, counseled and comforted m e; and there we stood with head on each other’s shoulders— the great teacher weeping with his poor student; then we knelt and prayed. The memory o f R. A. Torrey is enough to move the heart to tears and the lifg. to devotion. DR. TORREY AS I KNEW HIM [Continued from page 7]
these arguments originally for your own sake or for the sake o f others.” Looking up with a smile, he just tapped his breast, as much as to say, “ For my own sake primarily” -—-and others were entering into his labors. Dr. Torrey was the most positive o f teachers. If the Bible said one thing and all the world said something else, Dr. Torrey would believe the Bible. He really believed the Bible and “ staked his all upon it,” and, as he used to say with delight, “ I won.” C onsistent v Dr. Torrey was a holy man o f God. He lived what he taught. His walk was one o f stainless uprightness. He was “ truthful to an hair’s breadth,” to quote one who knew him better than did any other living soul. He was merciless in dealing with sin, but loving and tender with the sinner. He never toned down God’s holy law, never mixed law and grace. He preached grace with a fullness and sweetness and winsomeness that, to my mind, has never been sur passed. Dr. Torrey believed that sin separated man from God, but he also believed that grace brought men “ nigh to God.” Dr. Torrey’s prayer life was the most unusual of any of which I have had personal knowledge. As. A . T. Pierson said o f George Muller, he “ laid hold o f the horns of the altar and would not let go until his prayer was heard.” Dr. Torrey knew the “ power of prayer,” and he knew how to pray the “ prayer o f power.” Dr. Torrey was very happily married. He loved his family and his homeland he was ungrudging in his tribute to Mrs. Torrey and did not hesitate to say to the writer he never could have accomplished the work he did without her help. I mparting C ourage The last time I saw Dr. Torrey and spoke to him was at the First Baptist Church at Pasadena on Sunday, Janu ary 18, 1925. A fter he had finished his sermon and while the congregation was singing, he left the platform, walked up the aisle and stopped at the pew where I sat with a friend. Extending his hand, he gently led me out o f the seat and down to the front, where he turned me around to face the audience. As he did so, he said, so all could hear, “ You are sorry you are a Christian, aren’t y ou !” There I was; I had to say something or beat a retreat. I can still see his smile and feel his warm handclasp. Dr. Torrey knew that I lacked courage, and he wanted to help me. He •was always trying to help some one. When I heard over the radio one Sunday night that Dr. Torrey had been called into the presence of God, the sense o f personal loss that came to me was almost overwhelming. It has taken a long time to get adjusted to the change, and it is only the fact that I shall yet see him face to face in the presence of the King that in any way compensates for the loss. Dr. Torrey’s SENSE of FAIRNESS B y MRS. W . E. WRIQHT Having had occasion to know Dr. Torrey in his home, Mrs. Wright, o f Rochester, N. Y ., calls attention to that foundation o f utter fairness upon which all the relationships in Torrey’s house hold were built. O n the day that Reuben Torrey, Jr., was leaving for China for the first time, I arrived in Los Angeles to begin my work with the Los Angeles Bible Institute. For almost the entire two years o f my stay there, I was d mem
“There is no mere speculation about the religion of Jesus Christ.”— Torrey.
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