October, 1933
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
355
This is God’s program for peace. No other program is worth planning for or trying. Man-made programs and attempts to establish peace, while well meant, have heretofore, and will hereafter end in failure. There can be no lasting, permanent peace on this earth till Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, comes, whose right it is to reign. Each Endeavorer should pray earn estly and sincerely, “Thy kingdom come,” for only then will come the fulfillment of these words : “ For thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory o f the Gentiles like a flowing stream" (Isa. 66:12). This heart-cry o f Israel originally ap peared in the Herald-Tribune, New York. It is a pathetic picture o f the returning Jew, with Christ in his mind, but without Christ in his heart. There is no peace in Palestine, Dominion o f the Prince o f Peace; The land o f honey and of wine,' O f olives, and the silver fleece. “Jerusalem, the Golden blest”— Ah, so we sang the lovely psalm! Where for the weary is no rest, And for the crucified no Calm. Where shall the exile lay his head? Even the fo x has found a place. Must we still bleed? Have we not bled? Need we new thorns to crown His face? Must the old bitter feuds offend His ears? How long shall Israel call? When shall the heartbreak know an end— Our heartbreak at the Wailing Wall? B E - A uslander . II. A N ew M essiah The following is taken from a report on Palestine given to the United Press of America by Mr. S. J. Williams, o f Ohio State University, and reproduced by the Jewish Chronicle (November 4, 1927) of Chicago. “A new Messiah who will become King of the Jewish nation, and whose appear ance will put an end to the next world war, is predicted by the orthodox Jews of Pal estine. They declare that He will be a superman, and that His kingdom will be a great center from which will radiate peace and brotherhood, extending throughout the entire world. The revelation o f the Mes siah will be preceded by the rebuilding of the temple, they say, adding that this will cause the enmity of many nations, especial ly those of the Moslem world. The last world war will focus itself in Palestine, and at the critical moment, when all appears lost, the Messiah, coming from heaven, will gain a decisive victory according to predic tion. It is said He will immediately be pro claimed King, the first King of the Jewish nation for twenty centuries. “The Jews are praying every day for the coming of the Messiah, declared the President of the Town Council of Peta Tikva, the largest Jewish agricultural colony in Palestine.” III. S ome D ay Some day will be the last For the church’s long affliction, Striving for earth’s benediction, Mourning for her Lord’s rejection— In a moment all is past! Leader’s Helps I. H eartbreak L and
Some day, such a day as this, Suddenly, the Lord descending, Victory His steps attending, Suddenly the conflict ending— Share we His triumphant bliss!
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—E lizabeth P adfield .
NOVEMBER 19, 1933 AVOIDING SHAMS AND PRETENSES M atthew 23 :l-39 Suggestions for the Meeting
2222 E ls in o r e Street Los Angeles, California
Hymn—“A Call for Loyal Soldiers.” A r Hymn—“Give of Your Best to the Mas ter.” Prayer. Hymn—“Help Somebody Today.” Scripture—Matthew 23:1-12, Duet—“The Service of Jesus.” • Testimonies. Hymn—“Nothing Between my Soul and the Saviour.” Leader’s Message. Quiet Hour. Hymn—“More Holiness Give Me.” Benediction—Psalm 19:14. Meditation on the Lesson The whole chapter is a ringing denun ciation of hypocrisy and pretense and should be read prayerfully and carefully. The language is strohg, but Jesus knew that nothing except strong, searching lan guage could pierce the mask of pretense with which they covered up their sinful hearts. Jesus was meek and lowly, the tender- est, gentlest Being who ever trod upon this earth, and He had the most profound sympathy for the penitent sinner, yet He was stern and uncompromising in His censure and rebuke o f the hypocrite. This denunciation is long and terrible, unspar ing in its harsh uncovering o f corrupt hearts, and revealing the pretense and sham. Eight woes are uttered for as many pre tenses. The first woe was1pronounced against those who were guilty of taking away God’s word by substituting their traditions. The second woe affected those who took advantage of helpless widows, while by their long prayers, they made others believe they were above “filthy lucre.” The third woe was for proselyting, the fourth one for erroneous teaching, the fifth one for magnifying lesser duties over greater, a characteristic o f hypocrites. The sixth woe was for insincerity of heart—outward appearance only. The first four of the woes were directed to the teachings o f the Pharisees; the last four to their characters. The seventh and eighth woes were for the whited sepul chers, and the sepulcher builders. “ Even so ye also outwardly appear right eous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity,” our Lord says. In this way He shows us His estimate of the gravity and frequency of the sin of hypocrisy and sham. His heart runs over in a passion o f tears at the close of the chapter, as He weeps over Jerusalem: “How often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings.” “Was ever imagery so homely invested with such grace and such sublimity as this, at our Lord’s touch?” Truly this chapter sets before us in exquisite detail both the justice and the mercy o f our adorable Lord.
Leader’s Helps I. F ined for P retense
Judge Rooney, of Chicago, fined a man $100 and costs and sentenced him to jail for ninety days for impersonating a doc tor and practicing medicine without a li cense. I wonder how many professing Christians, ministers, and laymen would be “hit” by a law fining those who pre tended to be Christians and were not. Are we leading or misleading people by our pretensions?—T he E xpositor . II. A L ittle of E verything I can stand anything better than I can a hypocrite. The students at Princeton play ed a joke on one of the professors. He was one of those old “bugologists,” and I rec kon he had specimens of all the bugs in the world in his frames and boxes. Thé mischievous boys got the legs of one bug and the body o f another and the head and wings of others, put them together as if nature had so formed them, and then they laid it on the old professor’s table and walked in and asked him What kind of a bug that was ; and he said, “Gentlemen, that is a humbug.” When a fellow gets a little o f every thing in him and is made up of a hundred different sorts of things, then he is a first- class humbug in every sense of the word. —S am J ones . III. A F ake D eity The traveler to Pompeii is shown, in the temple o f Isis, the statue o f the divinity through whose open lips the credulous worshipers o f long ago fancied they ob tained trustworthy answers to their peti tions. But alongside the ruined shrine, he also sees the secret staircase by which the fraudulent priest reached the back of the statue and the concealed pipe through which he murmured the responses o f the oracle. Time will uncover every attempt to deceive the world with counterfeit rev elations o f the divine Person. A day of reckoning will inevitably confront the false prophet.—G. P. E ckman . NOVEMBER 26, 1933 WHAT HAVE WE TO THANK GOD FOR? (T hanksgiving ) P salm 103 :l-5 Suggestions for the Meeting Leader—r“0 praise the Lord, all ye na tions: praise him, all ye people.” Response—“For his merciful kindness is great toward u s: and the truth of the Lord endureth for ever.” All—“ Praise ye the Lord.” •. Hymn—“ Praise Him, Praise Him.” Hymn—“We praise Thee, O God.” Prayer.
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