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June, 1935
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
The Old Rugged Cross cohfest announced over the N. B. C. Radio Network in which 40,000 responses were received and over 600 hymns were named; “The Old Rugged Cross’’ headed the list by almost 6,000 votei. v There ’ is no technical reason for this hymn’s Universal appeal. “ The popularity of many of my songs has amazed me beyond -words to describe,” Mr. Bennard declares. The only answer—if there be an answer— lies in the„ fact, of GotJ’s delight in that; which makes Calvary rfeal to men’s dulli hearts. . The hymn was written m -1913, silng for the ..first time in a little parsonage kichenj to the accompaniment of the huthor’s] guitar,; before an audience.of two. The; two, and then the thousands, were hushed, moved, convicted, determined,' for Calvary was a personal reality. The author of the hymn, slight of figure,! Strong in face, for nearly a quarter of aj century .has been, engaged in evangelistic work and composition o f gospel hymns.l His work has taken hum to nearly every ,s,}at§,_of the.UnipnJas well as portions of;: Canada. And it is going ontoday. “Purely and thoroughly interdenominational”—this is Mr. Bennard’s d e s c r i p t i o n of his method. “ Perhaps it is not too much to say,” he adds in characteristic modesty, “that God has brought thousands o f souls to Himself through very humble efforts.” As a publisher of gospel music, Mr. Bennard offers all-purpose hymn and song books, books designed for tabernacle, mis sion, and c a m p meeting use, solo and choir books, and sheet music. He may be addressed at 108 West Porter Street, Albion, Mich. “To the old rugged cross I will ever be true, Its shame and reproach gladly bear.” God honors all who make Christ’s cross their central theme. The supreme arbiter of our speech is our Lord who says o f H imself: “ I am . . . the truth.”,. He says: “ Swear not at all.” Why? What is an oath? An oath is a calling upon God to witness, in a special sense, that which we are saying. In other words, he who takes an oath believes that he is solemnly putting himself in the pres ence o f God by his own choice. But is not God everywhere? Are we ever out o f His presence? Our Lord is here calling atten tion te the truth o f the omnipotence and omnipresence o f God. There is no need to call on Him to witness. He is already present, and He sees, hears, and knows all things. His command is : “ Let your com munication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay.” Be so true in yourself and- so true to God that when you say anything, every one will know that the facts are exactly as you have represented them. The psalmist said:, “ Behold, thou de- sirest truth in the inward parts.” If we want to please God, we will be true. It is a high standard, but the source of power is in the Saviour who is “ the truth” (John 14:6). He who is the very incarna tion o f truth offers deliverance from every 3. What do the Old and New • Testaments teach on the sub ject o f truth and falsehood ? Hymn—“I Would Be True.” Benediction^—Jude 24, 25. Meditation on the Lesson
deceitful attitude or habit, for He said : “Ye-shall know the truth, and-the truth shall hiake you f rèe.” Leader’s Helps 1. B ound by T ruth i A true man loves truth for its own sake. To require more than a word from such a man would be an insult to his honor. Oaths have their origin in man’s pro-, pensity to deceive. They are encouraged by vanity. They tend to a contempt for sacred things. A common swearer is an habitual perjurer. He that swears will lie.—J. A. M acdonald . 2 . Could we always remember that we are evermore in solemn c,o}}rt rpo,m,r>the al mighty, all-seeing God our everlasting bench and j ury, we should need no Beer- sheba, or Well of the Oath, because all life would be spent by Beer-lahai-roi, or Well o f the Visipri of God.— S elected . II. L ies C lassified All that a man gains by lying is that he is not trusted when he tells the truth. . —S elected . Govern the lips As they were palace doors, the king within.—A rnold . To tell a falsehood is like the cut of a saber, for though the: wound may heal, the scar o f it will remain.—S elected . A lie should be trampled on and extin guished wherever found. I am for fumi gating the atmosphere when I suspect that falsehood, like pestilence, breathes around me.—C arlyle . JULY 28, 1935 HOW SELFISHNESS REACTS UPON US G enesis 27:1-3, 18-29; 32:9-11 Suggestions for the Meeting Hymn—“Let the Lower Lights Be Burning.” Prayer. - Hymn—“What a Friend.” Scripture—Genesis 27:1-29, 41-45; 32: 9-11. 1. Lies of carelessness. 2. .Dies of cowardice. ,, 3. Lies of politeness. 4. Lies of flattery. 5. Lies of self-glorification. 6. Lies o f malevolent hostility. 7. Lies of self-defense. 8. Lies of benevolence. 9. Lies of ,convention. —J. S. B lackie . . III. T ruth and F alsehood
G eorge W. B ennard C alvary is dear to God^yinfinitely dear. And men are dear to God, men who hohoh Calvary. ‘ Paul Vlas* one of them, lie cried: “God forbid that "I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Chris}:,” , and God glorified in him. Many, another man, like Paul, has ’ b0rrie i hbnof and enjoyed blessing g i v e n of God in rich abundance in direct relation to his' reverence for Christ’s cross. “ So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross, ' 1 Till my trophies at last I lay down.” ; God knew it was a man’s sincere de termination, the man .to whom the words- and music o f this so-called “Mircle Song” were given. And thus it pleased the Father to honor the author o f this simple .gospel hymn by blessing his message of the cross to thousands o f hearts that sing. “ The Old Rugged Cross,” written by Rev. George W. Bennard, has been ac claimed the nation’s favorite hymn, In a JULY 21, 1935 ' KEEPING ONE’S WORD M atth ew 5 :33-37 ; P roverbs 19:5 Suggestions for thé Meeting For variety, it might be well to make this a three-leader meeting, each leader being responsible for a portion of the service. Choose the leaders several weeks in advance of the- meeting, so that they may have time for prayerful preparation. I. Song Service. Hymn—“Day Is Dying in the West.” Hymn—“ Praise Him ! Praise Him !” Duet—“His Love for Me.” Hymn—“ Come, Thou A l m i g h t y King.” /■ ■ ; Prayer. Hymn—“Wonderful Grace o f Jesus.” Hymn—“Have T h i n e Own Way, L ord!” Scripture Meditation—Matthew 5: 33-37; Proverbs 19:5. Brief prayers by members.’ Hymn—“Lord, Speak to Me, That I May Speak.” Personal Testimonies. Discussion o f the following ques tions, giving as many concrete illus trations as possible: 1. Are there white and black lies? .2. Is it possible always to be truthful? II. 'Devotional Period. III. Testimonies.
Duet—“ Others.”- / Leader’s Message. Testimonies.,, Quiet Hour.
Hymn—“Where He Leads Me.” Benediction—Numbers 6:24-26. Meditation on the Lesson
Perhaps no other story in the sacred Scriptures so forcefully illustrates our topic, “How Selfishness Reacts upon Us,” as does this sad story o f Jacob and Esau. To appreciate the full application to this subject, we must go back a little in the narrative and recall these two facts : First, “ Isaac loved Esau, . . . but Rebekah loved Jacob” (Gen. 25:28), and, second, “Esau despised his birthright” (Gen. 25:34). As Rebekah was already partial to Jacob, Esau’s light treatment o f his birth-
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