871
THE K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
14:26. There is a strong presumption,- therefore, that God will not entrust a revelation of Himself to human tradi tion and misrepresentation but will pro vide a correct and authoritative record of it. Moreover, the Apostles claimed to speak with Divine authority and put their writings on a level with the Old Testament Scriptures. They also gave abundant attestation by miracle and prophecy that they were inspired of God. MONDAY, Sept. 22. Matt. 21:1-9, 15, 16, Our Saviour and King. The Old Testament prophets in pre dicting the advent of the Messiah de scribe in glowing terms the glories of His reign. The expectation of the dis ciples was not unwarranted. Matt. - 18:1. Luke 22:24. Acts 1:6. John the Baptist proclaimed the kingdom as nigh at hand. Speaking from a human standpoint had the Jews accepted their Messiah, the kingdom might have been established in its fullness and the sub lime predictions of the prophets might have been realized. The rejection of the king made way for the bestowment of grace upon the Gentiles. The king retiirned to heaven and thé kingdom in mystery is the condition of affairs on earth during the absence of the king. Instead of a glorious king on an earthly throne, there is a picture of a ioWiy agricultural worker—“A sower went forth to sow.” Instead of a crown of glory, there was a crown of thorns, Jerusalem instead of becoming the cap ital of the king became His tomb and since has been an age-long desolation. Instead of the obedience of all nations, there is the hatred of all. “Ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.” Instead of monarchs prostrate at His feet, the rulers of earth have sought to extinguish the Gospel by fire and sword. The chosen people instead of being the kings of the earth upon the earth are scattered and oppressed, con tinuing for centuries without an ephod, teraphim or priest. At the second com ing of Christ the kingdom in mystery will give place to the kingdom in mani festation and the predictions of the Old Testament‘concerning an earthly reign will be literally fulfilled. TUESDAY, Sept. 23. Acts 2:37-47. The Brotherhood of Believers. A striking feature of the new society was the community of goods. To give up the individual title to property is an
Testament does not prove that Christ is not there. It only proves the dim ness of our vision or the narrow scope of our search. “In all the Scriptures, the things concerning Himself.” What a fascinating and fruitful quest for the hunter in the holy field! After the reading comes the searching. John 5:39, 7:52; Acts 17:11, R. V. The etymology of the word signifies the patient following up of footprints. When the footprints are those of the Master the end of our tracking is the discovery of Himself. Then we can say as Philip said to Nathaniel, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law and the prophets did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” John 1:45. To us, however, He is not the son of Joseph, but the eternal Son of the living God. It is in Matthew’s Gospel especially that Jesus is set forth as the one fulfilling the ancient Scriptures. Many are the statements that Matthew either introduces or supplements by saying “that it might be fulfilled.” 1:22, 2:15, 17,22. The literal and exact fulfilment of so many of the prophecies concerning Christ in history affords a solid foundation for the expectant faith that those predictions which as yet are unfulfilled, shall be as surely brought to pass in coming time. SUNDAY, Sept. 21. 2 Tim. 8:14— 1:8. The Inspired Word. By the inspiration of the Scriptures we mean that special Divine influence on the minds of the writers that their writings when rightly interpreted and taken together, constitute an infallible and sufficient rule of faith and practice. Without at all understanding the mode of inspiration, we firmly hold that the writers of Scripture were moved and assisted by the Holy Spirit to put on record all which the .Bible, apart from errors in the text, contains. The doctor writes his prescriptions. The secretary of any society records its doings. The government instructs its diplomats by dispatches. There is still greater need that revelation should be recorded, since it is to be transmitted to distant ages and contains many difficult doctrines. Jesus did not write anything Himself because He was the subject of revela tion, not its mere channel. We Can not understand His unconcern about the Apostles committing what they saw and heard to writing, unless He expect that inspiration would assist them. John
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs