April, 1934
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
135
But this, the Bible’s self-styled description, is its self- consciousness, that which it knows itself to be. If, then, the Bible is an honest Book (and who but a fool would charge it with being otherwise?) ; if it be a knowing Book —and confessedly it voices the highest knowledge in the ken o f man, what it knows itself to be—what it persistently calls itself— is the very strongest evidence o f what it really is. Moreover, the Bible cannot be explained on any other supposition (aside from the deception and duplicity with which such supposition must charge it). For example, its conception o f God cannot be accounted for on any other basis. Nowhere apart from the Bible have we a concep tion o f God as a personal, spiritual Being, infinite, eternal, ' unchangeable, all-wise, all-powerful, all-present. The most cultured people, the Greeks, pictured Him as merely a
ample, the walls o f the city o f Pithom, built in the days o f Israel’s oppression, tell the same story o f bricks without straw as is found in Exodus. O f the thousands o f histori cal allusions, not one inaccuracy has been proved. Still again, its symmetry is an outstanding quality. Legislation, lived out in history, poetry, prophecy, grouped in a past, present, and future, constitutes the Old Testa ment. The Gospels, with the Great Law-Giver o f whom Moses was a type, lived out in history (the A cts), Epistles o f present-day application, the Revelation— these, too, grouped in a past, present, and future— constitute the New Testament. Structurally, the two are exactly correspon dent. Again, comparing the opening and closing scenes, we find the problem— sin’s marring o f the first heaven and earth— answered by the glories, the beauties, o f the new
deified Man. Where did the Bible get its conception o f God, and that from the earliest times? Grant that the Bible is God’s self-rev elation, and we have the explanation. Again, its estimate of man is unique. Its startling insight into human nature, its courageous condemna tion o f it— these have no parallel in literature. The Bible’s uniform omission o f fulsome, praise, and its persistent faithfulness in depicting flaws and fail ures, constitute such a treatment o f its finest he roes as can nowhere be duplicated. Such recogni tion o f weakness is not man’s way o f doing. Some One higher than man has spoken— and has declared the truth. Still again, its lofty . ideals o f life prove its divine source. These ideals, the highest known to man even today, the Bible does not grope after, but holds from the beginning. Its laws are the basis o f the
heaven and the new earth. The latter picture is the -goa l toward which the whole story, from its in ception, moves. The Word o f God is powerful. What power is inherent in and exerted by the S c r ip tu r e s , saving, guiding, upholding, trans forming, . ennobling, en- heartening! Only the spir itual biographies o f all the centuries could tell this story. It is in this attitude that we reach the transition from what the Bible is to what the Bible does. Before we pass to this theme, however, let us meditate upon the great ness and grandeur o f the Bible in the praiseworthy ascription o f an unknown pen: This B o o k con f the way of salvation, the doom o f sinners,- and the happiness o f ‘ tains the mind of God, the state o f man,
T he C overdale B ible Persecution, even martyrdom, was the price which some o f the early English translators paid to give the Word o f God to the peo ple in their own tongue. In A.D. 1535, the very year o f the impris onment of' William Tyndale—translator o f the first complete English edition o f the New Testament—Miles Coverdale brought forth his translation of. the whole Bible— the first printed English Bible. A translation from the German and Latin, Coverdale’s work was so forceful in its use o f English idiom that though not a trans lation from the original languages, it has influenced subsequent versions. In the pages shown here, the woodcut■ of the plan o f the tabernacle is an additional example o f Coverdale’s effort to bring the Bible within the understanding o f the common people.
believers. Its d o c trines are holy, its precepts aré binding, its histories are true,
world’s best jurisprudence. That man, in his truest think ing and noblest living, cannot surpass or outgrow these ideals o f life, cannot be explained upon a naturalistic basis. In these respects, not to mention its predictive features and many others, “ the Bible is such a Book as man could not have written if he would, and would not have written if he could.” The Word o f God is living. It not only possesses and imparts life, but it is itself an organism, with qualities in keeping. Consider, for example, its unity. The unity o f thought, expressed by some forty writers, covering a period o f nearly 1,600 years, with no opportunity for consultation, collaboration, or collusion, is wholly inexplicable upon human grounds. The unity o f purp'ose, increasingly defi nite as God’s plan unfolds, is equally amazing. Again, its integrity is a living reality. Its teachings are not abstractions, but are framed in and interwoyen with his tory. They are given the background o f human life, action, and enterprise. Not only are the teachings true, but the history' is équally true. Bible lands, explored with the spade, have yielded up surprising evidence. For ex
and its decisions are immutable. Read it to be wise, believe it to be safe, and practice it to be holy. It contains light to direct you, food to support you, and comfort to cheer you. It is the traveler’s map, the pilgrim’s staff, the sol dier’s sword, and the Christian’s charter. Here paradise is restored, heaven opened, and the gates o f hell dis closed. Christ is its grand object, our good its design, and the glory of God its end. It should fill the memory, rule the heart, and guide the feet. Read it slowly, frequently, and prayerfully. It is a mine o f wealth, a paradise of • glory, and a river o f pleasure. It is given you in life, will be opened in judgment, and be remembered forever. It involves the highest responsibility, will reward the great est labor, and will condemn all who trifle with its sacred contents. W hat the B ible D oes In the realm o f nature, the evidence o f design is one o f the strongest proofs o f the mind and hand o f God. This element o f design is equally present in Scripture and argues unmistakably for its inspiration. Just as man de signs a plow to meet his needs in tilling the soil, or a tele phone for the communication o f speech, so God has de signed His Word for the doing o f His work, to the accom-
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker