360
June 1928
T h e
K i n g ’ s
B u s i n e s s
An Ounce o f ridicule will' lose you a ton of power.—Evan Roberts.
B I BLE BR I E F S ------------- --------------------------- 4 2 Cor. 12:10 says :. "When I am weak, then am I strong.” Hudson Taylor prayed that God would send a man to China "weak enough for Him to use.” Dr. Gregory Mantle says that Heb, 4:16, “ Let us come boldly unto the throne of Grace,” may be rendered, “Let us draw near with glad confidence." Jamieson gives it, “with freedom o f speech.” Be cause one appears for us at the Throne who is human in His sympathies, we may rush into His presence at any moment with perfect confidence and speak out all that is in our hearts. —o— “ In the beginning God.” Begin with* God. The extent of the Atheists’ Bible is “In the beginning.” -“~0 '---■ “ God commendeth llis love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners Christ died for us” (Rom. 5 :8 ).' One has said o f the word “commendeth,” it means “to place together ; o f persons, to introduce to one’s . acquaintance and favorable notice, hence, to commend, to represent as worthy.” ;; “ Thus the heavens and the earth were finished.” Thus the Lord speaks at the close of the creation' work recorded in Genesis. It was no half-finished 'plan. , God never leaves His work incomplete. Is this not a prophecy o f His work in the “ new creation” ? The very words tell from the lips of Jesus at the redemption of the new creation,; “It is finished.” Therefore, we are “ confident of this very thing”— what He has begun, He will com plete (Phil. 1:6). -'L' “Lest any man should beguile you with enticing words” (Col. 2:4). The, word’ rendered “ beguile” means “reason you aside.” “Enticing words” have reference especially to “a persuasive style,” as dis tinguished from .solid facts honestly;.and fully presented. Isn’t that exactly the thing that leads people away from the true Faith? O—: The devil appears as the adversary o f ‘ saints, sometimes as “a roaring lion” (1 Pet. 5:8), persecuting. As “a subtle serpent” (2 Cor. 11:3), beguiling. As “an angel of light” (2 Cor. 11:14), alluring. Saints have most cause to fear the devil in his seductions and allurements. Happy are they who can say “We are NOT IGNORANT of His devices” (2 Cor. 2 : 11 ). — o — ■ "My God, my God, why hast Thou for'tfif, saken me?” The word “forsaken” is ren dered “ left destitute" in Gen. 24:27, ana “faileth" in Psa. 38:10. These words might be read into the text, and as they are, they give added emphasis to thè fact that Christ was left alone. He was destitute of help, Heaven failed Him, and God forsook Him. When Martin Luther was con fronted with this fact, he sat benumbed for a time, and' exclaimed at last, “ God forsaken by God !” He was forsaken that the blood-bought promise might be ours— “ I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.”
Think About This Onel Charles Lamb once,¡Said play fully, “ I am determined that my children shall be brought up in their father’s religion, if they can find out what it is." Wouldn’t it be well for some of our modern fathers who are connected with the Church to ask themselves if their children stand any chance of discover ing what their religion is ?
A certain Sermon was described under three heads. In the first place, it was said to be very moving. In the second place, it was very Soothing. And in the third place, it was very satisfying. It was moving, inasmuch as one-half the con gregation left the church during its deliv ery. It was soothing, because the remain ing half fell .asleep. And it was satisfy ing, since they declared without a dis sentient voice that they never wantëd to hear that preacher again. :— o — ■ “Yesterday il heard a sermon by a min ister who supported his view by quoting G. K. Chesterton, Dr. Frank Crane, and ‘Cap’ Stubbs, the càtrtoon boy. But I did not hear, or notice, a quotation from the Bible in the whole course of his sermon.” This is the first sentence with which an article in a recent issue of The United Presbyterian begins. Mr. Preacher, think it over 1 The more a minister learns to know the individual members o f his congregation, the more compassion will He manifest in preaching faith, repentance, love and con stancy. The Shviour and His. disciples stressed the benefits derived from pastoral mission work, and it affected what they said and wrote. —o— Arthur L. Vess, in The Wesleyan Meth odist, says : “Take care o f your pastor’s influence.' Without it he and the church will. fail. Do not advertise his faults, but his virtues—Golden Rule, please. If your family and friends are still unsaved and enemies of Christianity, you are reaping what you sowed by talking about your pastor and churches. W h e n you are knocking the pastor you are ruining the church. If you have a great or good preacher, do not wait till he is gone to let people: know. it. Advertise him.” Quote that in your church bulletin ! The following is good advice for preachers : “It is easy, indeed, to clutter the announcements with not only foreign matter but with a multitude o f words. Clean-cut statements about essential ser vices or events, statements reduced to the minimum of expression are in order. Repetition and constant exhortation are 'out of order.” — o— ' The Christian World, of London, an nounces that a prize check' was recently awarded by that publication fop-the best list o f outworn pulpit phrases, and this is the prize-winning list : “spiritual dynamic,” “ expulsive power o f a new affection,” “ If I may be pardoned for a personal allu sion,” “ Previous speakers have left me little to say,” “As I came along I won dered what I should speak about,” “ Some have greatness thrust upon them,” “ This is a critical time for the Churches,” “What the world needs is Christ,” “ God’s in HJs heaven, all’s right with the world',” “ Thé great Head of the Church.” : — o —
The ten genealogies (generations) in Genesis: 1. 2 :4 o f Heavens and EarthSMaterial universe. 2 . 5:1 bf Adam—Unity of Humanity. 3. 6:9 o f Noah—The New Beginning after Deluge.. 4. 10:1 o f Sons of Noah—Dispersion of Mankind. 5. 11:10 of Shem—Spiritual Blessings. 6 . 11:27 o f Jerah—Call to Separation. 7. 25:12 of Ishmael—The Man after the Flesh. 8 . 25 :19 of Isaac—The Man after the Spirit. 9. 36:1 o f Esau (Edom )—The Man o f this: World. 10.. 37:2 of Jacob—'The Pilgrim Seek ing Rest. — o — A rough translation o f Gen. 1 :2 ( “The earth was waste and void” ) might be: “ The earth was anyhow and nohow.” The chaos was hideous and repulsive, a mix ture o f discordant materials. ' - o — The name Matthew meáfís “given.” He was a true Theodore { gift of God). ■—o—- “No man putteth a piece o f new cloth on an old garment” (Matt. 9 :16), The word “new” m e a n s “undressed”—a. piece not passed through the process of fulling, or not shrunk. ..If put on an old piece, it would later shrink and pull off the margin o f the old. Jesus was not patching up Judaism with Christianity but providing a whole new garment. —o— “ God be merciful to me a sinner” (Luke 18 :13). The margin of the Revised Version rightly renders—“Be propitiated.” Roth erham gives it, “ O God!. Be propitiated unto me, the sinner.” . He seems to say, “ See the blood on the Propitiatory and be propiated towards me, because of Him who has made propitiation for me!” * ------- ------------------------- ;-------------------
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