NO. 6
JUNE 1912
VOL 111
¡ Ü H
S h e
R i n g ' s
j s i n e s s
w w j r HAT a wonder is the World, which wit- I J k f nesses to its almighty Maker. But no less W Wi wonderful is the Word; its very structure likewise testifies to the Almighty, for the Bible is itself a standing and an astonishing miracle. Written fragment by fragment, through- . out the course of fifteen centuries, under different states of society and in different languages, by per- sons of most opposite tempers, talents, and condi- tions, learned unlearned, prince and peasant, bond and free; cast into every form of instructive com- position and good writing, history, prophecy, poetry, allegory, emblematical representation, judicious in- terpretation, literal statements, precept, example, proverb, disquisition, epistle, sermon, prayer; in short all rational shapes of human discourse, and treating also of subjects not obvious, but most dif- ficult. Its authors are not found, like other writers, contradicting one another upon the most ordinary matters of fact and opinion, but are at harmony upon the whole of their sublime and momentous scheme. —Maclogan.
Published Once a Month by Stye lible institute ofÏÏI00Angeles LOS ANGELES, CAL. Bible Institute Press
FIFTY CENTS A YEAR
MOTTO: i the Lord do keep it. I will water it every moment lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day."—Is. 27: 3 THE KING'S BUSINESS J. H. SAMMIS, Editor Entered as Second-Class matter November 17, 1910, at the postoffice at Los Angeles, California; Undèr the Act of March 3, 1879 Organai THE BIBLE INSTITUTE OF LOS ANGELES,(Inc.) 260-264 South Main St. (Second Floor) Los Angeles, California Table of Contents The Rest Cure - - Editorial Heaven - - - E. P. Marvin Deepest Christian Need R. E. Spear Christ and the Cross H. G. Weston The Double Cure - J. H. Sammis An Engineer's Story - S. S. Times - - . L. W. Munhall - - T.C.Horton Authorship of the Pentateuch A generation of Degeneration Personal Evangelism
DIBECTOBS
Lyman Stewart, President
Rev. A. B. Prichard, Vice-Pres.
T. C. Horton, Superintendent
J. M. Irvine, Secretary-Treas.
1?. A. K. Hackett
W. 1? Blackstone
S. I. Merrill
R. A. Torrey
H. A. Getz
Giles Kellogg
Robert Watchorn Doctrinal Statement We hold to the Historic Faith of the Church as expressed in the Common Creed of Evangelical Christendom and including: The Trinity of the Godhead. The Deity of the Christ.
The Maintenance of Good Works. The Second Coming of Christ. The Immortality of the Soul. The Resurrection of the Body. The Life Everlasting of Believers. The Endless Punishment of the Im- penitent. The Reality and Personality of Satan. WOBK (4) Spanish Mission. Meetings every night. (5) Shop Work. Regular Services in shops and Factories. (6) Jewish Evangelism. Personal work and neighborhood classes. (8) Oil Fields. A mission to men on the oil fields. (9) Books and Tracts. Sale and distri- bution of selected books and tracts. among the Hebrews. (7) Bible Women. House-to-house
The Personality of the Holy Ghost. The Supernatural and Plenary author- ity of the Holy Scriptures. The Unity in Diversity of the Church, which is the Body and Bride of Christ. The Substitutionary Atonement. The Necessity of the New Birth. OUB PurPOSe* The Institute trains, free of " ' cost, accredited men and wo- men, in the knowledge and use of the Bible. Departments: 0 ) Th. e , institute r Classes held daily ex- cept Saturdays and Sundays. (2) Extension work. Classes and con- ferences held in neighboring cities and towns. (3) Evangelistic. Meetings conducted by our evangelists.
R E not afraid to pray, for prayer Is right, • L ' Pray if thou canst with hope; but ever pray, Though hope be faint, or sick with long delay; Pray in the darkness, if there be no light."
The Rest Cure PEAR that with most of us there are times when we are in no mood for praying. When we do not lean toward the mercy .seat, and prayer seems an irksome task. There may be no sense of wilful sin deterring us, and yet a cloud separates us from the Father's Face. It is good then if custom and duty drive us to prayer. We often shrink from other duties, which at other times we discharge with gladness; our affections are often dull toward earthly friends whom we dearly love and trust. We are creatures of moods; and physical and mental conditions rule the feelings. At such chill times we must remember that behind the clouds the love-lit Face still smiles as ever. Go, pray in the shadow. On the other hand, I trust, The cloud will b r e a k , a n d
Come thou a p a rt and rest awhile, I heard my Savior say; So sweet his tones, so fond His smile, I turned aside to pray. He led me to a place apart, F a r f r om the busy way; He gently drew me to His heart And whispered let us pray. He seemed so like a son of man, As on His breast I lay, That I, with burning heart, began, Lord, teach me how to pray; 'Tis thine to intercede for me, For grace f r om day to day; And help, in mine infirmity, Thy sinful child to pray. "My dove," He said, "my undeflled, Thy sins a re put awa y; In me beloved, my F a t h e r 's child, D r aw boldly near and pray; Thy God, thy heavenly F a t h er dear, Doth hear my prayer alway; And loves His children's voice to hear, When one with me they pray." So oft I gladly seek the place, • F a r from t he busy way, And boldly, at the throne of grace, I meet with Him to pray.
that, with all of us there are fre- q u e n t t i m e s when the mood steals upon us, and we seem to hear the voice of our Beloved; and drawn, as by the chords of love, we follow as He says,"Come thou apart and rest awhile." Martha was not in that frame the day she murmured at her sweet sister, but Mary was; and hers was the "better part," for she could say, "Oh how precious are the lessons w h i c h I learn at Jesus' feet."
through the rift light stream up- on us; or, as we climb the ascent of praise and con- ffession we shall rise above the cloud and stand forth in the brightness of His presence. Murray McCheyne s a i d "A great portion of my time is spent in getting my heart ready for prayer." And Bradford tells us that he "would never cease pray- ing, or praising, till he found his heart wholly en- gaged in it." It is at such times that we
learn how "A little talk with Jesus, seems to smooth the rugged road: How it seems to help us onward, when we struggle with our load." They are not the happy and helpful brethren, who do not know this. Of such as these a devout and bed-ridden negro woman said, to my friend T. C. Horton and myself, as we sat at her bedside, "'Pears lak dey neber saw de Lawd Jesus Face t' face." "God gives," says one, "the sweet flowers of Paradise to His People when they are upon their knees." In these times when we are so busy about the King's Business, tye lose many of the lessons, much of the sweetness, and most of tha rest that Mary found at His feet, and John on His bosom. How much we all need The Rest Cure!
JJeaven
\Py E. P. Marvin
P ERHAPS more poetical fan- cies and visionary vagaries have been indulged concern- ing Heaven, than about any other matter of divine Reve- lation. It is a mistake to think that heaven is so different in its dwelling place and experiences that we can now know but little about it. The text quoted "Eye hath not seen," &c. 1 .Cor. 2:9, should be explained by the next verse; "But God hath revealed them to us by his Spirit." The heaven-born soul has knowl- edge and experiences here much like those hereafter, only less perfect and comprehensive. Heaven in a sense en- ters us here. Heaven is a place and not merely a dreamy state of ecstacy. This place is not some distant star, like Alcyone, as certain philosophers have dreamed, but this material earth, redeemed like the soul and body, and regenerated. David in the 37th Psalm tells us this seven times. Ps. 37:9\ Christ declares it in a Beatitude, Matt. 5:6. Paul, Peter and John teach the same Earth and man are joined in both ruin and redemption. Earth was the old Homestead, lost by the first Adam, and redeemed by the last Adam. This is a monumental and an immor- tal earth, not to be burnt over and left a sightless cinder, not to be annihilated but glorified, the fairest, brightest world in all the universe. It will be trans- formed into Redemption's Star, having no need of the sun and no night, but mantled with the perpetual glory of God. The diamond that blazes Í from the brow of the queen, is only "glorified charcoal," and with similar divine power will this old earth become the masterpiece of that great being who in the beginning laid deep the foundations of the universe, reared its high pillars and poised its - resplendent dome. No existing world is good enough for these redeemed children of his eternal love. It is called "A better Country," freed from the ills of this, and abounding in beauty, fertility and healthfulness. All that is comprehended in "the Curse," is removed.
It will be the eternal Kingdom of God, a perfect paternal government, in contrast with the misrule, oppression and anarchy of these "times of the Gen- tiles." It will be the first kindom that cannot be moved. Heb. 12:28. God will build and send down its wonderful Capital City, constructed of all manner of precious stones, gold and pearls. Rev. 21:1-2. Paul beautifully says that the old Patriarchs looked for this city, and that God was not ashamed of them or he would not have prepared such a city for them. Heb. 11:16. Cicero, exiled, could not look toward the imperial City of Rome, except through tear-lensed eyes. So we, in anticipation of our bridal city, sing, Here the soldier enjoys victory, the pilgrim rests. The wicked cease from troubling and the weary are at rest. Here we receive our glorified bodies, of refined material, instinct with the spirit, and clothed with the bloom and beauty of immortal youth. Here we fade as a leaf; there we blos- som like the rose, and as the spirit de- velops and shines through its wonderful transparency, the oldest saint is the youngest. The Holy Ghost watches over His dis- mantled temple in the marble planted yard, and on "that fair morn of morns," when the Lord comes He will rebuild and glorify it. Rom. 8:11. Thus God gives us back our youth, by no elixir of life invented by man, but by his own divine goodness and power. We have some analogies or symbols of this in nature. "Shall life revisit dying worms, And spread the joyful insect's wing; And man, O God, no more return, To see thy face, thy name to sing?" Our clothing will be effulgent light, proceeding from the body like the plu- mage of a bird. Rev. 7:13, 14. Toil, tears, sickness, death and all ills are no more. We have seen features of this heavenly glory in Rev. 22:3-5. Heaven will be the home of God's wonderful and eternal family. Every Christian home here should be a minia- ture of that, a heaven for beginners. Hearts should be pure in love and sure of each other. "For very love beholding Thy happy name we weep."
Heavenly recognition is assured, and the sweet and pure affections formed here will be restored, perfected and ex- alted, and constitute a great deal of heaven's happiness. We shall not join a r n undistinguishable throng, but find that these sanctified affections that con- stitute the great values and verities of this life, are immortal.
''They here are tried and purified, Then find in heaven their perfect rest." Friends dear as life to each other, but long parted, broken and scattered fam- ilies, will there meet for an everlasting reunion in mutual bliss and glory. May we all be there, "Boast not thyself of tomorrow, for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth." —Prov. 27:1.
The Deepest Christian Need By Robert E. Speer
I S NOT the judgment of the world one of indifferent con- tempt for the man who is try- ing to save his own soul—his miserable soul—as I have sometimes read? And yet, what is a man's soul? It is the one thing inex- pressibly dear to God, for which, if there had been but one, He was content to give His Son, and this He has intrusted to the man as his own particular charge; I do not say his only charge, but the one clearly and solely committed to him to make t he most of. It is the talent which he is to multiply by diligent care; not t h at he may delight in it himself, but that he may present it to God through Jesus Christ. Because care of one's own soul by internal effort and discipline seemed selfish, men have rushed to the extreme of finding in ex- ternal action, in organized benevolence, in philanthropic effort, in love of the neighbor—and particularly of the neigh- bor's soul was naturally of not more ac- count than one's own—not merely the fruit of the Christian life itself. That the kingdom of God within one is an individual matter, primarily and in es- sence, and only in consequnce, and inci- dentally external, as all activity' is but a manifestation of life, and not life it- self—all this was forgotten. This I conceive to be the state of the Church now; I mean as an organization. This is what I note to be the great peril of the Church; and of our student Christian life, especially here in New England and in the Middle States. We are in danger of forgetting the Divine order and of going out with empty hands to feed the world. We must come back to Him by Whom alone the bread is given. Only in proportion as our own lives are rooted in the Divine reali- ties will there be any power In the min-
istry we try to perform in the world. Of all the men who have ever lived/St Paul was the richest in the great social output of his life. The whole world is only feeling now after those great ideals of his which are to constitute the prin- ciples of reorganization of all human life. Paul went to and fro through the world like a flaming firebrand, and a moral and social renewer, and yet this was the man who, when he came to deal with what was most central and funda- mental in his life, was not talking about the Roman Empire or the uttermost parts of the earth, but about his long- ing "that I may gain Christ, and be found in Him; * * * that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings." It was because the man was all shut up in the isolation and seclusion of a unique and separate life with Christ that he went out from that life to pour his up- heaving and regenerating influence over a whole, great world. If this seems to you nebulous and in- determinate, let us go on for a moment, for Saint Paul presses his thought for- ward into clearer outlines than these. "That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection." It is not a sec- ond thing that he is to know. The power of Christ's resurrection is not something detachable from Christ, so that he now has two objects of knowl- edge. He is simply analyzing what he means when he says, "The passion of my life is to know Christ,"' and. "I mean I want to know the power of His resurrection." This is the central thing in the Christian religion. It is a simple fact of comparative religion, and a sig- - nificant one, that Christianity is the only religion that makes anything of a Resurrection. No one of the other re- ligions reports a Man to have died and
been raised again from the dead, or a God to have died and passed through Resurrection. Only Christianity con- ceives and offers to the world the idea of the Resurrection. Paul realized that this was the central thing in Christian- ity. It was by the Resurrection, he tells us, that Jesus Christ was authenticated. The character of Jesus does fqrbid His possible classification with men. Some would have Him authenticated by His miracles, while others have held that He evidenced His divinity by the Divine beauty, purity and holiness of His doc- trine. But I remind you that it was in R EDEMPTION is to be by the death of the Redeemer; the cross is the way to the throne. "Not only must I die," says Christ, "but you must die also. Life can be saved only by losing it. If you are to be Christed, Christianed. you must share with me this dreaded experience. You must know what it is to die yourself and to take up the cross." Observe, here comes an abso- lutely new idea. Christ does not speak of self-denial, but of denial of self. Self-denial is known to every form of human exertion. It is indispensable to all human .attainment, whether of good or evil. All religions know it and prac- tice it. In all paganism asceticism is an indispensable element. Denial of self and not the denial of one part of self, to gratify a no t h e r' part, but an utter denial, the death of self for others, is peculiar to Christianity, for the place of self can be occupied only by Christ. It is so completely the death of self that self cannot determine either the act or time of any offering. We have no right to make any sacrifice except as God determines. The death of Christ was voluntary on his part; yet he could do this only at a time and in the way appointed by the Father. "Then charged he his' disciples that they should tell no man that he was "Thy faith hath saved," I read, and turned Full on my soul an anxious eye, "Hast thou this faith?"I asked, and burned
none of these regards that Saint Paul found his evidence of Christ's divinity. How, then? "Declared to be the Son of God with power * * * by thè resur- rection from the dead." The power of the Resurrection is made the central, indispensable, fundamental thing in Christianity and distinguishes it from every other, religion. It is the great chasm between Christianity and all other religions, that ca,nnot be bridged. You may find resemblance after resem- blance between our faith and the faith of non-Christian people, but, at last, you come to a gulf over which you can not descend to find a bottom. Jesus the Christ." They were not pre- pared to make known the wondrous rev- elations to which they--had listened and the world was not prepared to receive them. There could be fitness neither for the speaking nor the hearing until the Spirit is poured out from on high, anointing the herald as the master was anointed, and convincing the world of sin because they had not believed on Christ. When the time comes for the promulgation of the truth, the cross will be the factor in all successful work for the Master. Christ's death, now so appalling in the shadow it casts, will be the theme of the Christian preacher in all ages, the only power to break the heart and subdue the will. In these days, when we are so contin- ually exhorted to "go back to the gos- pel" and to rediscover the human side of Christ, it is well to remember that the disciples were forbidden to preach the Christ of the gospels, that it was not the conception of Christ's human nature that saved men, but his divine; that if he had been content with the acknowledgment of perfect human virtue and perfect teaching, he would not have been crucified; and that now, as of old, we should know no Christ after the flesh, but ever preach a crucified and risen Lord, not a memory, but a living Christ.
Christ and the Cross By H. C. Weston
For years, until she made reply—
"Through all my depths profound Have I explored; Not faith, but God I found, God, and his word/"
f H f i KING'S BUSINESS
131
Authorship of the Pentateuch By L. W. Munhall
T HE higher critics are pretty well agreed that Moses wrote but little or none of the Pen- tateuch. This opinion is one of their so-called "assured results."^ But they furnish no proof that they are right in the matter,—ab- solutely none. Their conclusions are born of presuppositions and conjectures, that would command no respect in any court of the land. There are abundant reasons for be- lieving, • as the historic church has al- ways believed, in the Mosaic authorship. Here are a few, briefly stated: First—The Pentateuch claims to have be«n written by Moses. Second-—The books bear incontestable evidence that they were composed in a wilderness state, yet with an express view to a speedy settlement in a fruitful land. Third—Moses humanly speaking was in every way fitted for the work, and the critics can name no one else who was. Fourth—Many of the Old Testament books enforce the claims of the Penta- teuch to Mosaic authorship, especially the Psalms. F i f th —- The Samaritan Pentateuch supports these claims. Sixth-—The ten tribes, who revolted after the death of Solomon, held fast to the Pentateuch, which is indisputable proof that it was then in existence.-—- B. C. 975. Seventh—Jesus believed Moses wrote the Pentateuch. He quoted many times from all five of the books, as divine and authoritative. Among other things He said," "Did not Moses give you the law?" Jno. 7:19 (Gen. 12:3). "He (Moses) wrote this commandment." Mark 10:5. The commandment that Jesus here def- initely says Moses wrote, is In Deuter- onomy 24:1. The critics say it was not written until post-exilic times, more than nine hundred years after Moses' death. " F or he (Moses) wrote of me." Jno. 5:46. Read also the following pas- sages carefully: Matt. 19:4-8; Mark 10:4-9; Luke 16:29-31; 20:37; 24: 25-27; John 5:45-47; 7:19-23. Eighth—Almost all the New Testa- ment writers believed in the Mosaic au- thorship of these books. Moses is men-
tioned 37 times in the Gospels; 19 times in Acts; 21 times in Paul's epistles; once by Jude and once by John; and most of these passages are confusing and meaningless if Moses did not write the Pentateuch. Ninth—Philo, Josephus and the en- tire Jewish nation believed Moses wrote the Pentateuch. Tenth—The impossibility of deceiving the Jews in this mater. The "Torah," or "Five Books of Moses," were the one book and most precious treasure of ancient Israel, guarded under the very wings and light of the Shekinah. Moses sang it and completed it before he sang his dying song. It was "the Book" in which Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy were writ- ten as "the Lord commanded." Moses, in Midian, wrote the Genesis there. Af- ter leading out the children of Israel from Egypt, he wrote the Exodus in the same book. The Lord, for a special rea- son, commanded him to write up the battle with Amalek, not "in a book," but "in the Book." The language is specific. Yet more. "Moses wrote all the words the Lord commanded, His law and His judgments," even in a par- ticular book specified by Moses. It is called " t he Book of the Covenant" of God with Israel. "Moses took the Book of the Covenant, and read in the audi- ence of the people." It was the "blood- sprinkled" book. It contained the Priest Code, which the critics say had no exis- tence till after Ezekiel. The "blood of the covenant" that sprinkles the people, sprinkled " t he Book." In the same book, "Moses wrote the goings out ac- cording to their journeys, v i. e., the itinerary, or Book of Numbers. In it he "wrote the l aw ;" the Deuteronomy, the critics say, was forged in the reign of Josiah—not only "the law which is before the priests and the levites," but "the law Moses declared in the fortieth year, eleventh month, first day of the month," in the plain of Moab, before Deuteronomic law. The perpetual obli- gation of this "Five-fold Book" (Pen- tateuch) was laid upon the people. "Thou shall observe to do all the words that are written in this book." "Take this book and put it in the side of the Ark of the Covenant of Jehovah your God, that it may be there for a witness against you."
tt
"Let the water and the blood Prom thy riven side which flowed Be of sin the double cure Save me from its guilt and power,"
2ncl. A symbol of the WORD which; a. "quickens" (Psa. 119:25) and: b. washes (Eph. 5:26), or cleanses (Psa. 119:9). We are "born" (I Pet. 1:23) of the WORD, and "sanctified»' (Jno. 17:17) by the WORD. The Spirit and the Word have a common symbol be- cause they perform the same functions; and because they always work together as one, not apart from each other, (c) BLOOD, 1st., demands judgment: the murder of , CHRIST is the most damna- ble crime of history; His BLOOD like that of Abel, "Crieth unto Me from the ground" (Gen. 4 : 1 0 ): 2nd. demands justification: it "speaketh better things than t h at of Abel" (Heb. 12:24), be- cause "being justified by HIS BLOOD, we shall be saved from wrath through H i m" (Rom. 5 : 9 ). As the state of sin demands condemnation as the due, or wages of the sinner, so the state of faith demands justification as the due, or re- ward of CHRIST from the FATHER dis- tributed on CHRIST'S account to the be- liever. In either case it is a righteous transaction administered by the JUST GOD whose justice requires equally the conviction of t he sinner and the ac- quital of the saint. Let every humble and contrite heart find comforting as- surance in this "He is faithful and just (not generous here) to forgive us our sins (on the ground of the BLOOD), and to cleanse us from all unrighteous- ness (by means of the WATER )" (I Jno. 1:9). In lowliest humility be it said, GOD OWES THE BELIEVER JUS- TIFICATION! CHRIST PAID FOR THE GOODS TO BE DELIVERED TO FAITH. Receive the gift and receipt for it with a double Amen! (d) Nothing is more important than to apprehend this twin remedy for the twin ruin, and to discriminate the two. As we stand at the cross the order is "BLOOD AND WATER" (Jno. 19 : 34 ); beyond The Cross it is "water and blood" (I Jno. 5:6), justified to be sanc- tified; then sanctified because justified.
J Wow a Sinner's Needs Ml Are Met. I. THE CURSE OF SIN IS TWO- FOLD: 1. Condemnation to Death; 2. Corruption in Death. II. THE CURE FOR SIN IS TWO- FOLD: 1. Blood, for the condemnation. 2. Water, for the corruption. III. THIS TWOFOLD CURE IS A DOUBLE DOUBLE: 1. Thè blood demands: (1) Judg- ment; (2) Justification. 2. The Water Symbols: (X) The Spirit; (2) The Word. Notes.-jfr(a) John testifies (19:34) that "One of the soldiers with a spear pierced His side, and forthwith came there out blood and water." We have here a fact (1) historical; (2) physio- logical; (3) Symbolical. (1) The strange thing actually occurred. (2) It was a phenomenon indicating a rup- tured heart; the blood separating into serum and coagulum ; a watery fluid and bloody clot filling the pericardium or containing membrane of the heart. (3) It was symbolical of the instru- ment of redemptive deliverance: blood, and the Spirit and Word. The apostle's strong emphasis on the event demon- strates its deep import: "And he that saw it bore record, and his record is true; and he knoweth that he saith true." (19:35). Its symbolic intent is intimated in: "This is He that c ame b y water and blood, even Jesus Christ, not by water only but by water and blood." (I Jno. 5:6). (6) Water is 1st, a symbol of the HOLY SPIRIT (Jno. 7:39) who: a. quickens the dead, thus checking mortification and restoring the harmony of the spiritual and moral elements of the soul (Jno. 6 : 63 ); and: b. cleanses us from our moral pollution by the "Washing" of the Spirit. We are "born" of (Jno. 3:8) and "sanctified" by the Spirit (I Pet. 1 : 2 ).
Hold the eye of the inquirer to the blood, till he owns his justification once for all, and once forever; until 1 then he has nought to do with the water. Direct the feet of the believer to the water for his sanctification till like Naaman (II Kgs. 5:14) he washes "seven times," and that "seven" means ALL the time, ALL the way through. Know: that jus- tification is a fiat, a word of the ALL JUST; that sanctification is a process, a work of t he ALL HOLY. Let the peni- tent take God at His word about the blood and be at peace; and wait on His work by t he water (the Spirit and the Word) and be patient.
ILLUSTRATION: A convict in his dungeon waiting execution, was dying of pneumonia. The doctor gave no hope of recovery in the dank and noxious at- mosphere of the cell; the law gave no hope of release. The condemned man must die either by the disease, or the gallows. His case demanded a double cure:—pardon to release him, freedom and hygiene to heal him. He needed the Governor and the doctor; the former to free by a pardon, the doctor to heal by the process. The peni- tent has the former, pardon, through the blood, the latter, healing, by the water.
An Engineer's
Story
From The S. S. Times
By occupation I am a locomotive en- gineer. I was wonderfully converted about thirteen years' ago, and for the first four or five months I was so blessed and joyful that everything seemed to be new to me. I ~was so full of joy it seemed to me I could do anything for Jesus Christ. But one morning I awoke from my sleep and found that my joy was all gone. My besetting sin was to get out of patience, and get angry, and I would almost go crazy and do things that I would be sorry for after I had done them. Well, this morning I was late getting up, and the enemy told me I could keep my religion and tell my wife that it was her fault we were late get- ting up; but I bit my lip and said noth- ing. I hurried to my work, only to find that some one had stolen part of my tools, and. again the devil told me I could have religion and tell the dis- patcher some things; but I held my peace. When we got the engine ready, the conductor, having had some words with the yardmaster, began to take his spite out on me by abusing me. Again the devil wanted me to tell him a few things, but I held back until, in going about my work, it seemed that e v e ry signal that conductor gave me was a curse, and I could stand it no longer. The devil kept saying to me, "Go and give him a piece of your mind," and finally I called the fireman to come and take the en- gine; and I got down with the intention of having a regular fight with the con-
ductor. But the Spirit of the. Lord got hold of me, and I ran to the river bank, which was about two rods away; and there, under the trunk of a tree that was lying under the bank, I hid myself and cried my heart out to the Lord. He heard my cry and began to talk to me, and I began to consecrate my life to him: my wife, my children, my position, my talents, my money, my time, myself, all to the glory of God; and when the consecration was complete there came into my soul a peace and a joy which was "unspeakable and full of glory," and ever since that time, in every test, and in every trial, amid persecution and tribulation, this joy has remained. Sometimes it manifests itself in praises to God until I feel this old world cannot hold me long; and again, when the devil is raging, it comes in a calm rest that makes me feel that my Christ is able to make a way for me where there is no way; and all the time I have this joy which is my strength welling up in my soul. The Word says, "The kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but right- eousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." Praise the Lord forever. Yes, and the Lord took care of my job while I was settling it. It took me about two hours to .settle, it and make a complete consecration, but God took care of my interests while I was doing it. While I write, the thought of God's love andi mercy to me makes me to re- joice and feel safe in his hand.—Sunday School Times.'
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A Generation of Degeneration By "A Mere Soldier*'
Shortly after taking up residence in Eng- land I myself saw in a respectable pub- lic lending-library a book which had been thrown out of a military mess. "5. The Divorce Act, which, as an Oxford clergyman among your corre- spondents says, 'strikes at t h i very root of family life itself (family life—the best asset of a nation!). Yet, even now, an extension of that Act is contemplated in order, as one of our papers said, 'to give the poor man the same "privileges" as the rich!' "6. The want of religious teaching in our schools, and possibly in the homes of many of. our upper and middle classes also. Head masters discuss the plan of a 'Bowdlerized' Bible. Let them read in a recent book, 'Dulce Domum,' how Bishop' Moberly, during all his thirty years as head of Winchester, taught his boys the Church catechism." THE SOLDIER'S "REMEDIES" "1. The bringing back of Christ's re- ligion into the schools and homes of a nation which still calls itself a Christian one. How amazed Mohammedans would be to know that we were actually keep- ing Christianity from our children, and that, for instance, on Good Friday last, it was thought wonderful for 3,000 men to walk through London to St. Paul's to worship God. "2. If the Church catechism were taught in all our schools, boys and girls would be taught to love God and their neighbor, to keep their hands from pick- ing and stealing, and their tongues from evil-speaking (atheism, blasphemy, and impurity), lying, and slandering, to be true and just, and not to covet other men's goods. "3. A real increase in almsgiving and self-denial on behalf of churches, missions, hospitals, and the teaching of religion. "4. Why should not people of all classes (Church of England and Non- conformist) help to form 'study circles' for reading, learning, and discussing the truths of the Bible? (Green, in his 'History of the English People,' speaks of a time when every one in Englahd studied the Bible!) In this way the growth of atheism may be stopped and class drawn to class again. Only re- ligion can do i t !"
"A MERE SOLDIER" returns to have a startling vision of the contrasts be- tween the life of his country of thirty or forty years ago and that of today. We read: "One came home expecting to find the England of thirty or forty years ago— a land if by no means perfect yet still one full of rest, peace, and quietness, In •which class had not been s et against class and people trusted in their rulers. The Church of England was more united than now, and we had some few great writers and poets left—the land de- scribed by Tennyson as: A land of settled government, A land of just and old renown, Where freedom broadens slowly down From precedent to precedent. "What does one find in England to- day? Most noticeable is a sort of al- most universal 'greed' for money ex- isting among all classes—an eagerness to become rich or 'well-to-do' quickly i—not a pleasant quality or one likely to do good to discipline or character. Also a prevailing anxiety about health, amounting almost to a mania in many people—a restless discontent, supersti- tion, belief in palmistry, fortune-telling -—mascots, as they are called (imagine Henry Havelock, Colin Campbell, Nel- son, John Nicholson, or Florence Night- ingale believing in or trusting to a 'mas- cot'!), indifference to> religion, class h'a- tred, selfishness, and pursuit of pleasure. All these tend to destroy what were known as the hereditary virtues of an Englishman^—namely, to be God-fearing, truthful, honest, and upright. These are some of the causes of Socialism. "I would attribute all this to the fol- lowing causes: "1. Neglect of the Bible, family prayers, grace before meals (connecting the daily blessings of men's lives with God in any way, or giving thanks for them), though most men call on God when in peril. 2. The desecration of Sunday. "3. Failure to carry out the com- mands—namely (a) to deny ourselves; (b) to give alms in secret; (c) to love one's neighbor as oneself. "4. The influence of bad books.
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Personal
Evangelism
By T. C. Hortori
B ^ H
' Lesson 5.
tient with some of these people, for they have lived all of their'lives, with- out consciousness of the fact that they are the chief of sinners. You will be inclined to be harsh and severe with them, but you must seek to be gentle as Christ was with the rich young man. 1. The demand of God from every living soul. Matt. 22:35-40. To love God with all the heart and to love your neighbor as yourself. Let the inquirer carefully read these verses and then ask if this command has ever been kept any one day. 2. Show why it is impossible for any one to keep this command, be- cause of the weakness of the flesh. Rom. 8:3. No matter how anxious one is to keep the law, the flesh is too weak. If oijly one commandment is broken in God's sight all are broken. Jas. 2:10. 3. Then prove from Rom. 8:7-8 what the carnal mind of man is and how im- possible it would be for any unregen- erate one to please God. 4. Read Gal. 3:10, and show that those who are trusting to their own works are under the curse of God, and can never be justified in the sight of God, for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. Gal. 3:10. 5. You will be able now to probe a little deeper and let the light of God's Word into the heart of the inquirer, so that the sinfulness of the heart may be revealed. Show Christ's interpreta- tion of the heart of man, Jer. 17:9; Matt. 15:19. 6. You can now show that because man was born with a sinful nature and without power to keep the law, that the Son of God came into the world and kept the whole law in order that He might be a perfect sacrifice for us. Rom. 10, Gal. 4:4-5, and redeemed us from the curse of the law. 7. Now show the necessity of a new nature, inasmuch as our nature is at enmity with God, Rom. 8:7. If we are to please Him and live with Him we must have a nature like His. We must he born again. Jno. 3:8-7. For your illustrations t a ke Nicode- mus the moral Pharisee in John 3, and the insistence of Christ "You must be born again," the publican and Pharisee in Luke 18:9-14. The Pharisee was a good man outwardly, but he failed to
, Before we study the lesson for this month, let us stop and ask ourselves some pertinent questions, for we will learn that the attitude of heart, when studying, will have much to do with our learning the lesson. 1. Am I conscious of the fact that souls out of Christ are tost? 2. Do I have any real apprehension what that word lost means? 3. Have I any real love for those who are lost or am I doing personal work from other motives? 4. Is my own relationship to God what it ought to be, so that He can im- part the truth to my own soul, in prep- oration for the work of saving others? 5. Am I consistently and faithfully doing all I can now to save those who are upon my prayer list? Follow this heart interrogation with a season of prayer, seek to get your heart in real fellowship with the Son of God, who loved you, died for you, who loves all men and will have all to be saved. We have looked at three classes of inquirers, the indifferent, the anxious and those who claim to be too great sinners, and in this lesson we want to consider a very large and growing class. The Self-righteous. You will be able to detect this class very quickly. They will say, "I am not a great sinner," "I am doing my best," -') "I pay my debts," "I think if I do the best I can, God will not be hard upon [A me," "I am better than your church members." You will find many of them belonging to clubs, societies and lodges, and engaged in philanthropic work; many of them will be persons who are living outwardly clean moral lives. They differ from the indifferent in that they pride themselves upon their own good- ness and are seeking to work out their own salvation. These people know but little, if anything, about the Word of God. They have no conception of the Holiness of God or the subtility of Satan. They do not know the sinfulness of Sin and the exceeding righteousness of God. God demands absolute perfection. You must compel them to measure them- selves with God. They must understand that God has only one standard, and that Himself. You must be very pa- * k *.>- »
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the rich young man who thought that he had kept the whole law and went away sorrowful. Matt. 19:16-22.
recognize his sins; he was self-satisfied and boastful, and went away without being justified. Last, use the case of
Notes By The Way
"The Wise Man's Eyes Are in His Head."
Ecc. 2:14
justified in His sight." "I am the way, t h e t r u t h, and the life." "Then shall He say unto them depart f r om me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and His angels." In fact, to quote all examples would be to quote the whole. Believers must be dogmatic, for uncertainty is unbelief. If the Bible is dogmatic we must and will assert it as positively. CARDINAL A letter of Cardinal OBSERVATIONS...Gibbons is quoted in the press as follows: "I fear t h at we are all forced to ad- mit that, in a certain sense, there is a decline of religious faith in this country, for we see evidences of it on all sides. There is nothing so sacred as not to be denied by some one. In regard to mat- ters of religion, we see in an ever-in- creasing degree a great deal of indiffer- entism. Wh at are the causes of this? I feel t h at it is largely due to the want of respect for the Sacred Scriptures, to worldliness, to rationalism, or the re- jection of the principle of authority, to the inordinate love of wealth, pleasure, and honors, and lastly to our system of education, according to which the edu- cation of the school must be independ- ent of religion. These, and others too numerous to mention, are, to my mind, the causes of such religious indifferen- tism in this country." We wish the Cardinal were in as close agreement with us in all points as in these. But he and his fellow prelates are largely responsible for the condi- tions. Were it not for the opposition of the Roman hierarchy the public schools would not be the godless schools that they are. The moral principles of the Bible, and the sanctions of t h at holy book should have been faithfully in- culcated, and the fear, if not the love of God, have stayed the course of evil. Besides, to the influx of European Cath- olics we owe the worst elements of our restless and lawless populations. Let these cardinals restore the apostolic gos- pel and practice, and give the Word of God into the ears, hands, and minds of their people, and they will be as pow- e r f ul to correct • as they have been to corrupt.
WI SE Lord Bacon, than whom no WORDS, greater intellect has arisen said "A little philosophy in- clineth a man's mind to atheism, but depth in philosophy bringeth a man's mind about to (the Christian) religion." IMPER IAL On the apostasy of certain TESTIMONY. German clergymen Em- peror William recently said, "Sad as it is that a minister should be deposed because of a lapse -into here- sy, there is nothing tragic in it as con- cerns the Church. Such cases have been in the past and will be again. The best antidote is to dig deeper into the Scrip- tures, and to cleave to the Person of Jesus Christ, the Saviour, in t r u s t f ul love." Those who t a ke this pleasant medicine will not faint by the way. TO THE MOLES At the C h i c a g o AND BATS W o r 1 d's Exposition figures representing the horrible tortures of the Chinese hell were on exhibition. Anything mlorta horrible the most cruel imagination could not devise. At Canton is The Tem- ple of Horrors in which these scene» were depicted to strike terror into the pagan conscience. A company of revo- lutionists fell suddenly on the four hun- dred gods of this joss house, and in thirty minutes beheaded them all, as Jehu slaughtered the four hundred of Baal. No citizen or worshipper inter- fered. We are reminded of the de- struction of the Serapeon at Alexandria, t he idols fell, and still the world stands; and the Word is fulfilled which said "They shall cast the idols to the moles, amd to the bats." Whatever the New China may do it will not serve its old gods. A BOOK The New Testament is DOGMATIC, dogmatic. For this rea- son the world hates it. Nothing could be more dogmatic than such statements as "Neither is there salvation in any other for there is none other name given under heaven among men whereby we must be saved." "Veri- ly, verily, I say unto you except a man he born again he cannot see the King- dom of God."- "If ye believe not that I am He ye shall die in your sins:" "By the doeds of the law shall no man be
m
Bible Briefs
"Preach the Word."
II Tim. 4:2
PRAY A Bible Reading by Rev. W. C. Sherman. Matt. 6:6. This is the great need today. We would accentuate that one word in the acrostic of this lesson, consider well t h e :— P R E R EQU I S I T E S: Prevailing Prayer demands: — J. FAI TH: Heb. 11:6; 10:22. J ames 1:6. 1st Tim. 2:8. And this as respects His— (a) Ability: Matt. 9:28, 29. Eph. 3:20. Mark 9:23, 24. Isa. 59:12. (b) Willingness: Mark 1:40, 41. 2. OBEDIENCE: 1st John 3:22. John 8:29 and 11:42. 3. PURITY: Psa. 65:18; 24:3, 4; 51:10; 26:6; Heb. 1:9. 4. UNSELFISHNESS: Jas. 4:3; 1st Cor. 10:31; Phil. 1:20; cf. 2:21. 6. SUBMISSIVE NESS: '1st J o hn 5:14; Matt. 26: 30, 42; 2nd Cor. 12:7-10; Psa. 106:15; Isa. 55:2. 7. SINCERITY: Psa. 17:1; 1st Sam. 16:7. ID EASONS: Why P r a y? J ob 21:15. ^ We should be impelled b y :— 1. OUR OWN NEED: Jas. 4:2, and 1:17; Psa. 40:17; John 3:27. 2. OTHERS' NEED: Matt. 9:37, 38 1st John 5:16; 1st Thes. 5:25 1st Sam. 12:23; Job 42:10 Prov. 24:11, 12. 3. DIVINE COMMAND: Matt. 6:6 and 7:7; Jer. 33:3; Psa. 50:15; Luke 18:1; Matt. 9:38; Psa. 2 : 8; Ezek. 36:37. translated "helpeth" is graphic and sug- gestive. It means "to take hold with another. 1st John 5:14; J u de 20.; Eph. 6:18, and 5:18. •y - EARNING: Psa. 109:4; Rom. 10:1; * Mark 11:24. Desire begets prayer. John 4:35; Lam. 3: 51 i Ezek. 9:4, 6. Lam. 1:12, first clause;. Lu. 10:30-37; 2nd Sam. 23:15-17. Will we heroi- cally attempt to satisfy the cravings of our Captain's heart? 2nd Sam. 15:15, 21. A S S I S T AN T: Rom... 8:26,.. 27. The Greek verb here
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GOD'S GIFTS
His Son. Jno. 3:16. His Spirit. Luke 11:13; Ac. 2:38. His Word. Jno. 17:14. Eternal life. Rom. -6:23. Wisdom. Jas. 1:5. Grace. Rom. 5:20; Jas. 4:8. A crown. 2 Tim. 4:8; Rev. 2:10. All things. Rom. 8:32. TAKE The cup of salvation. Ps. 116:13. The water of life. Rev. 22:17. The whole armor. Eph. 6:13. Take away the stone. Jno. 11:39. Take the cross. Matt. 16:24. Take the yoke. Matt. 11:29. Take heed. 1 Tim. 4:16. GIVE The heart. Prov. 23:26. To the needy. Eph. 4:28. No offense. 2 Co. 6:3. Diligence. 2 Pet. 1:5; Heb. 2:1. W. G. C. WHY AM I NOT A CHRISTIAN? Is it 'because I am afraid of ridicule and of what others may say of me? "Whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of Man be ashamed."—Luke 9. Is it because of the inconsistencies of professing. Christians? "Every one of us shall give an account of himself to God."—Rom. 14:12. Is it because I am not willing to give all to Christ? "What shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?"—Mark 8:36. Is it because I am afraid that I will not be accepted? "Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cqst out." —John 6:37. Is it because I am too great a sinner? "The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin."— 1 John 1:7. Is it because I am afraid that I will not "hold out"? "He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ."—Phil. 1:6. Is it because I am thinking that I will do as well as I can, and that God ought to be satisfied with that? "Whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.—James 2:10.
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p R A Y !
International Sunday School Lessons Brief Thoughts for Busy Teachers By J. H. S.
not as having the word of Authority; (3) he ignores the light, day and night are one to him; the speculations of men are better to him than the oracles of God. "Lord, that I may receive my sight!" (Lk. 18 : 41 ); that I may "walk in the light" (1 Jno. 1:7), lest I "stum- ble on the dark mountains" (Jer. 13:16) II. DISCIPLE AND MASTER. 1. True teachers a re humble. Jesus who knew all things (Jno. 21:7) was "meek and lowly in h e a r t" (Matt. 11: 2 9.) It is sweet and easy to learn of Him. The most learned have been the most humble minded. The more the wise knows the more he knows he knows not. (2) Ignorance is conceited. The boy tliat "knows a thing or two," has a good deal to learn. Such "knowl- edge is a dangerous thing," and in spir- itual things leads to insanity. It is that knowle4ge that "puffeth up" (2 Cor. 8:1.) Most men know more about the- ology than the Master Himself. 2. Above the Master. Many pro- fessed disciples set themselves above their Master. They extol Him with a pretense of reverence, while they boast a scholarship which He missed by twenty centuries. They (a) question His authority; (b) criticise His"doc- trines; (c) contradict His assertions. 3. We will sit at His feet. (1) What He says goes with us. To name His humble disciples would be to name the noblest men and minds of all time. (2) We glory in our Master. " For He was (and is) wiser than all men" (1 Kgs. 4:31-33), and made all things) and therefore understood all science. His "testimony is the spirit of pro- phecy," so that He knew all Scripture. Learn of Him; reject all others; and you shall be like Him, for "Every one that is perfect shail be as his Master," and every one who is as Jesus shall be perfect (1 Jno. 3:2.) II. BEAMS AND MOTES. 1. For "beam" read joist, for "mote," sliver, or fiber. 2. How grotesque! With a beam protruding from his eye we see one of- fering to get a sliver out of his broth-
"THESE SAYINGS OP MINE" Lesson X. J uné 9. Luke 6:39-49.
We are still studying the Sermon on the Mount. Let us never cease practic- ing it. It will be mountain climbing. Its thoughts are high thoughts. We shall have many a fall, get many a bruise, in the trail the Lord blazed out for us; but at the summit we shall see the Kingdom of God. I. GUIDES AND DUPES. 1. Two questions. (1) "Can the blind lead the blind?" No. (.2) "Shall they not both fail into the ditch?" Sure. 2. Three kinds of blindness. ( 1 ) Physical, (2') Mental, (3) Spiritual. We would not trust one physically blind to lead on a country road to say nothing of a city thoroughfare, or an alpine pass. Nor would we employ an ignoramus to teach us knowledge. But in affairs of thè soul any fool, fraud, or fanatic finds followers. "Men like to be humbugged" especially in religion. They will run briskly after every fad and folly that pretends to smooth a sinner's way through this life, and to secure to him the next without 1 the unpleasantness of repentance, or the abandonment of sin. Both leader and led shall come to grief. 3. A bad fall. A fall into a way- side ditch would mean soiled clothes, a few bruises, a sprain, or at the worst the death of the body. But a fall into a moral pit means a crippled will, a de- filed conscience, a damaged character, in this world, and an endless falling iá the world to come, for it's pit is with- out bottom (Rev. 20:1.) 4. Are you blind? Mpn are blind (1) desperately (Jno. 9 : 3 2 ); (2) nat- urally (Jno. 3 : 3 ); (3) judicially (Rom. 11:10); (4) satanically (1 Cor. 4:4);. (4) and blind to their blindness (Jno. 9:41). (5)' Buy the "eye salve" (Rev. 3:18.) 5. Beware of blind guides. A seeing eye detects a fraud. We know a blind man by (1) his path, it is crooked, mor- ally and logically; (2) by his gait, it is uncertain, he speaks as the Scribes,
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