BUSINESS 669 that his countrymen, even those who had not accepted Christ, had “a zeal for God,” but this zeal was “not according to knowl edge.” We are constantly saying that it makes no difference what a man believes if he is only sincere,-but the Jews were sin cere and earnest, but they were unsaved, and Paul longed for and cried to God for their salvation. Where the Jews lacked knowledge was that they were “ignorant of God’s righteousness,” i. e. of the righteousness that comes not by our own works, but simply by believing on Him that justifieth the ungodly (ch. 4:5). .Therefore they went to work to, “establish their own righteousness,” and so doing they “did not subj ect themselves . to the righteousness of God.” •----- I---------------------- ; The Jews and Palestine Archibald Murray, commander of the British forces now advancing into Pales tine, favors the establishment-of a Jewish State in the Holy Land. In a serpi-official report issued by him to the army, he says: “The Palestine plateau, once we have occupied it, will be easy to defend. It is flanked on one side by the sea and on the other by the desert, the latter untraversable by troops and th e fo rm e r our natural domain and highway. From coast to desert this long, narrow and secure corridor has an average of only some forty or fifty miles. It could be held with ease by a comparatively small force, which could be reinforced at leisure. “What should we do with Padestine, thus liberated from the centuries-old Turklsn grip? There can be little doubt that we should revive the Jewish Palestine of old and allow the Jews to realize their dreams of Zion in their home land. “All the Jews will not return to Pales tine, but many will do so. The new Jew ish state, under the British 6r French aegis, would become the spiritual and cul tural center of Jewry throughout the world. The Jews would at least have a home land and a nationality - of their own. The national dream that has sustained them for a score of centuries or more will have then been fulfilled.” ,
THE KING’ no righteousness at all. The whole ques tion of whether any given individual shall be “a vessel of wrath fitted unto destruc tion” or “a vessel of mercy which He afore prepared unto glory” is decided by the attitude he takes toward the stone Jehovah has laid in Zion (i. e. Jesus Christ). -If any man disbelieves on that stone, that stone becomes “a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.” If any man believes on that stone,; that stone becomes a foundation stone, (v. 33, cf. Isa. 28:16). Tuesday, July 31 . • Rom. 10 : 1 - 3 . Paul is still occupied with Israel. He is explaining why it is that Israel failed to attain to the righteousness of God, viz. because they sought it not by faith but by works•of the law. It. was all their own fault, but none the less, Paul’s heart is still burdened for foolish Israel. His heart’s desire and supplication was “that they may be saved.” The word translated “desire” is a very strong word, it means good pleasure or will. It expresses not merely a passing whim, but a settled deisire, a real purpose, and it was the purpose of his “heart.” Heart in the New Testa ment stands not merely for affection but for thought, feeling and will. The ruling purpose of Paul’s whole intellect, emo tional and volitional nature, was the salva tion of his people. This ruling purpose expressed itself in “supplication to God.” The word translated “prayer”- in th!e Authorized Version and “supplication” in the Revised'Version is also a very strong word. There are several Greek words that are rendered “prayer” in our English version, some are stronger than others. The word here used is one of the strongest. It stands for an earnest expression to God of a deeply felt, need. One of the great needs of Christian people today is to have for the man with whom we come in contact what Paul had for his own peo ple, a settled purpose of heart, a ruling desire, for the salvation of these men, and this ruling desire should go out constantly in an earnest expression to God of the deep felt need of our hearts. Paul recognized
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