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“ This is my Father's world, l rest me in the thought Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas; His hand has wonders wrought ”
Jitkle , 3 )institute nf ^ÜnsAngeles 554-55S ffiape Street
Dear Friend:
Please try to visualize this scene It is Sunday evening - the last session of an annual Mis sionary Conference in Los Angeles in which the Bible Institute and the Church of the Open Door cooperate. For a whole week recently returned missionaries and others representing almost every section of the globe, have unburdened their hearts in the presentation of facts and in appeals for the spiritually perishing. In quick strong strokes they have drawn a picture of a world without God and without hope - a world of unrest and un certainty, a world in darkness and under the shadow of death. It was a world like this that the Saviour looked upon when He was moved with compassion because the people were in distress and despair. This is the picture on which an earnest appeal was based. Will the response be adequate to the need? Is the com passion of Christ permeating and dominating this great congre gation? And will they respond, will they go, will they give, will they pray? A call sounds forth - a call for volunteers - a call for those who will go to the uttermost parts and the darkest places to make Christ known. The response is wonderful, a real inspi ration, - ten, twenty, fifty, one hundred, two hundred, three hundred, and still they come - three hundred and fifty young men and young women standing around the platform saying, as did the young prophet in response to a similar call long ago, "Here am I, send me." Then follows the appeal to parents to give their sons and daughters, and then an appeal to the congregation of three thousand people to cooperate in the work of training an army of young people for the work of world evangelization. And now the appeal comes to you, dear reader. What will you do? Will you dedicate yourself to this same service of world evangelization and be obedient to the heavenly vision? World evangelization is the noblest and grandest purpose that can animate the human soul. Will you align yourself with it in purpose and prayer and purse-? We await your answer. We want to continue the work of training an army of young people who can go forth into the field, which is the world, properly equipped with the armor of God. This task requires your full est cooperation. May we hear from you at once? We want your prayerful interest and generous aid in this great task. Yours in His Service, Bible Institute of Los Angeles,
They That Did The K ing ’s Business Helped The Jews “And all the princes of the provinces, and the satraps, and the gover nors, and they that did the king’s bu sin ess, helped the jews!"' E sther 9:3 (R.V.). I f e v e r in their history the Jews needed your help, they need it now. A Hitler in Germany, a Stalin in Russia, persecution in Poland, bloodshed in Rou- mania-—the age-old cry. of the Jew pierces the heart of every true child o f God— W ah in s o l I c h g z h e n f Where shall I go? Can you afford, as a born- again follower o f the Lord Jesus Christ, to shut up your bowels of mercy to that haunting wail ? The old time heathen o f Haman’s day, in the hour o f Israel’s distress, helped the Jews! Can you do less than those Godless heathen did? And do you know a truly better way to help the Jews now than to point them to the only cure for their troubles, the Lord Jesus Christ? Think it over; then write us. Some day you’ll be glad you did. Our world-wide testimony to Israel is worthy o f your faithful prayers and sympa thy. Your help is always needed and a p p re c ia ted . “ The Chosen People,” loved by Bible students for its h e l p f u l information on prophecy and the Jews, is sent to all contributors. May we hear from you? • AMERICAN BOARD OF MISIONS TOTHE JEWS, INC. 31 Throop Ave., Brooklyn, N. Y.
©fieSihle Tamil# 3 la#^ ln e M otto: “ Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood ."— R ev . 1:5.
Volume XXIV
June, 1933
Number 5
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Around the King’s Table— The Editor................................................170 God’s Challenge to Youth—Albert Hughes.——................................173 Daniel and the Doom of World Governments-—W . B. Riley..........176 The Gospel for Superstitious Belgium— Edith F. Norton.. .E-..--179 Present-Day Fulfillment of Prophecy— Louis S. Bauman..............180 Girls’ Query Corner-M yrtle E. Scptt................... .......—............... .182 Jinsaburo’s Journal^rOpal Leonore Gibbs............................................ 183 Bible Institute Family Circle................................. .....................- .......... 186 Junior King’s Business-^Martha S. Hooker................... ............. ....191 Notes on Christian Endeavor-HMary G. Goodner.................. .......... 193 International Lesson Commentary.......................... 196 Homiletical Helps ................ ............ —.:............................ .....................204 Daily Devotional Readings.......—................ 205
SUBSCRIBERS’ INFORMATION
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POLICY AS DEFINED BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE BIBLE INSTITUTE OF LOS ANGELES (a) To stand for the infallible Word of God and its great fundamental truths, (b) To strengthen the faith of all believers, (c) To stir young men and women to fit themselves for and engage in definite Christian work, (d) To make the Bible Institute of Los Angeles known, (e) To magnify God our Father and the person, work and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ; and to teach the transforming power of the Holy Spirit in our present practical life, (f) To emphasize in strong, constructive messages the great foundations of Christian faith. 554-558 So. Hope St., BIBLE INSTITUTE OF LOS ANGELES, Los Angeles, Calif.
Ask for our free booklet “ Jewish Mission Bonds’*
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{A r o u n d THE K ING ’S TABLE _____________ . . . B y the E ditor
The Way he sim plic ity o f the Christian life was borne in upon us recently while reading o f the experience of a missionary who engaged a guide to take him across a desert country. When the two men arrived at the edge o f the desert, the missionary, looking ahead, saw before him the trackless sands without a single footprint or road o f any kind. Turn ing to his guide, he asked in a tone o f surprise, “ Where is the road?” With a reproving glance, the guide replied, “ I am the road.” To those who can receive it, this is the sum and sub-, stance o f the Christian life. It immediately suggests the words of John 14:6: “ I am the way, the truth, and the life : no man cometh to the Father, but by me.” Christ is a path, If any be misled; 1 He is a robe, If any needy be; If any chance to hunger, He is bread; If any be a bondsman, He sets free; If any be but weak, How strong is He I To dead men, life He is. To sick men health; To blind men sight, And to the needy wealth— A pleasure without loss, A treasure without stealth. ple will be asking the question, “ What next?” From our high schools, academies, and colleges, there will come an army o f young men and young women, with all the eager ness and enthusiasm o f youth. Some of them are possessed o f high ideals and strong purpose; others will be caught in the current of things and will d rift; the future of the more fortunate may be mapped out by mature minds, while that o f others will be shaped by the compelling circumstances of life. It is a time o f crisis, a time when wise counsel is of inestimable value. Parents and friends, pastors and teach ers have their opportunity at this point. In raising this question, we have in mind particularly our Christian young people, those who know the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour, and who have committed themselves to Him, desiring that His purpose should be wrought out in their lives. T o all such, this question, “ What next?” is of vital importance. They must face world conditions, things as they really are from the spir itual point o f view. Two-thirds of all the people in the world have not yet heard of our Lord. The name o f Jesus, although exalted above all other names, has not once been spoken in the presence o f this vast multitude. They are in darkness and the shadow of death, knowing nought of Him who has “ brought life and incorruptibility to light through the gospel.” This o f itself constitutes á tremen dous challenge. Because of this existing condition, the voice o f God is still saying, “ Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” From those who seek for name or fame, for place or position, for gain or gratification, no answer can be expected. But from those whose hearts God has touched with His saving grace, the response must com e: What Next? t th is season o f the year, thousands o f young peo
“ Here am I ; send me.” Either in person, or prayer, or purse— “ all should go and go to all.” In other words, the Christian’s purpose o f life must be squared with the pur pose o f God expressed in the commission to evangelize the world. The best reply to the Appraisal Report of the self-ap pointed Foreign Missions Inquiry Commission will be .found not in verbal protests by individuals or organizations, but in raising up an army of young people from our evan gelical churches and sending them out properly equipped for the great warfare against the powers of darkness. This will necessitate adequate preparation, for it is quality— spiritual quality— that counts. Preparation o f heart and mind through the knowledge of God’s Word and the anointing o f His Spirit is the outstanding requirement. The knowledge o f history, languages, and literature has its proper place in the Christian worker’s equipment, but this without the evangelistic purpose and passion has no spiritual value. The Bible Institutes of America, raised up o f God dur ing the past forty years, afford splendid opportunity for a Bible education and training in Christian service. They are scattered all across the continent, from the Pacific to the Atlantic, in Los Angeles, M in n eap o lis , Chicago, Toronto, Cleveland, Philadelphia, New York, Providence, and other cities. A course in any one o f these Bible schools does not necessarily imply Christian work as a vocation. Many o f the students in these Institutes enter some field o f Christian activity at home or abroad, while others return to their churches and communities equipped for greater usefulness as Sunday-school superintendents or teachers, and as leaders in community and parish activities, thereby strengthening the hands of their pastors. In view o f these things, the question is pertinent: “ What next?” The Missionary Conference uring the week o f April 16 to 23, the Church o f the Open Door, Los Angeles, held its annual missionary con ference under the direction o f Pastor Louis T. Talbot. This annual gathering is recognized as one o f the out standing features o f the Church and Institute life. Representatives o f faith missions were present from all parts o f the world who, through the presentation o f mis sionary facts, kindled anew the missionary fires. During the morning hours, two series o f addresses were given by Rev. J. E. Mallis, o f the Ceylon and India General Mission, and Rev. Albert Hughes, of the Sudan Interior Mission. Other messages were brought by Rev. and Mrs. C. H. Judd and Rev. and Mrs. T. D. Payne, representing the China Inland Mission, Rev. W . C. Townsend, o f the Central American Mission, Rev. H. P. Ogilvie, o f the Sudan In terior Mission, Mrs. Harvey King, o f the Africa Inland Mission, and Mrs. Van V . Eddings, of the Orinoco River Mission. On the last day o f the feast, an appeal was made for an amount sufficient to meet the needs for support of twenty- seven missionary workers for whom the Church of the Open Door assumes responsibility. The closing service, attended by approximately three thousand people, will not soon be forgotten. In response to the presentation o f missionary need and opportunity, more than three hundred young people went forward as
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The Holy Door ith much ecclesiastical pomp and pride, the Pope, together with prelates and priests, gathered to remove a few loose bricks in the wall o f St. Peter’s Cathedral in the city o f Rome, and thereby provide another entrance into that great building. This event was broadcast over the world as a matter o f extraordinary importance, and the ad ditional entrance is now known as the Holy Door. Through this so-called Holy Door, pilgrims to Rome this year will enter the cathedral. There is a certain amount of sentiment surrounding religious ceremonies o f any kind. The glitter and glare of religious processions appeal to human curiosity, and the apparent display o f devotion makes an appeal to spiritual instincts. Multitudes are thus brought into bondage to the spectacular and superstitious. The only antidote for this seductive process is a knowledge of the Word o f God. Did not our Lord teach us this in the words: “ Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” ? If you want to know the truth about a “ holy door,’’ you will find it in Acts 14 :28. It is called “ the door o f faith ” — a door opened by God Himself and not by any man. Satan has tried for nineteen centuries to shut this door. In this attempt, he has used ritualists, Romanists, modernists, and any other religionists upon whom he could lay hold. Dur ing the history of the Christian centuries, this door o f faith has been almost shut on several occasions—but not quite. The nearest approach to its total closing occurred in the Sixteenth Century at a time when millions o f souls were in bondage to the pretentions o f Rome, but God mercifully kept the door o f faith open. As an Augustinian monk was climbing the so-called sacred stairs in the city of Rome, the words o f Scripture reverberated through his
evidence o f their purpose to serve the Lord in places where Christ is not known. Some o f these are under appointment for various fields o f service, others are in training for ser vice, while some others who had caught the missionary vision and formed the missionary purpose during the days o f the conference went forward to register their decision. The sight was most impressive and gladdened the hearts o f missionary workers and all interested in the work of world evangelization. The sermon preached at the closing service by Rev. Albert Hughes, o f Toronto, will be found on another page o f this issue. All who read this sermon will find it spir itually enlightening and quickening. Bible Institute Monthly under the above caption. In that editorial, the request is made “ that Christian people suspend their judgment about Germany’s present dealings with the Jews until both sides have an opportunity to be heard.” Surely this request is fair and right. Persistent and per nicious propaganda from communistic sources has created much ill-will and led to wrong conclusions in the minds o f many. All true Christians deplore and decry injustice to ward any people, especially so when directed against the descendants o f Abraham, who, as Paul so plainly declared, are beloved o f God for the Father’s sake. It is suicidal for any nation to persecute Israel. At the same time, all true Christians should refuse to be unjust toward Germany in feeling or in utterance or by forming conclusions based on false or exaggerated reports. The Jews in Germany e heartily endorse the brief editorial in the Moody
c Announcing The New Music Course of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles T he B ible I nstitute of Los A ngeles takes pleasure in announcing the complete reorganiza tion o f its Music Course to meet the needs o f the church in its regular work, young people’s work, the mission field, and evangelistic effort. In connection with the selected Bible subjects, the music subjects to be offered a re: CLASS WORK Notation and Sight Singing Harmony
Choral Directing History of Church Music Teacher Training (Music) Composition A*Capella Choir Orchestra Quartet Organization
Ear Training Counterpoint Orchestration Church Choir General Ensemble
Adhering to the ideals for which the Institute stands, namely, a thorough Christian experience, dedication of life to God, and seriousness o f purpose, the new music teaching staff will offer a thorough training to those who feel the call to prepare them selves for the ministry of music. The Board o f Directors o f the Bible Institute called Professor Herbert G. Tovey, Mus. B., to or ganize and direct this course, which is to be a prepar ation for Christian service through music, rather than simply a musical education. The plan has now been completely outlined, and will be divided into five major courses, each covering a period of three years.
PRIVATE WORK
Voice
Piano Violin Guitar Mandolin .
Cornet or Trumpet
Trombone Saxaphone Pipe Organ
Other instruments, if desired. BIBLE SUBJECTS
Doctrine Synthesis
Biblical Introduction Bible Geography
Personal Evangelism Church History
Analysis
A staff of well-equipped music teachers has been secured. Biola looks forward to a place o f real ser vice in the Master’s vineyard as she beckons to those who have heard that clarion call to His service through music.
Majoring in Voice. Majoring in Pipe Organ or Piano. Majoring in Violin or Cello. Majoring in Cornet or Trombone. Majoring in Theory (Directing).
Course One Course Two Course Three Course Four Course Five
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department stores, restaurants, etc., simply do not exist today. In hotel and apartment.houses, it has become the practice to offer room and board in lieu of the usual wage payment. Hence, the Institute, much as it prefers to have all o f its students in its dormitories, was reluctantly obliged either to send many students home or to consent to their living outside the dormitories. Even in the prosperous period from 1921 to 1925, only a little over one-half o f the Institute rooms were used by students ; and in later years, this has been reduced to about twenty-five per cent. The; empty rooms became unprofit able. It was clear that the buildings had fallen short of the point of economical operation. A fter consideration, it was decided that the best solu tion would be to lease one building to experienced hotel operators and combine the Institute dormitories in a single building. A t this juncture, in March, 1933, a lease was con summated with the Willard Hotel Company, the manage ment of which is endeavoring in every way to cater to the many friends o f Bible Institute who have long made the Institute buildings their local headquarters. The remaining portion of the Institute buildings re tained for Institute work affords ample space for its ac tivities. Three floors are used for administrative purposes. Our student body is well provided for on the other floors and a new and welcome revenue is assured for the Institute. Commencement 1933 X—Il graduating class of 122 members is looking for ward to the twenty-third annual commencement exercises o f May 28 to June 1. Dr. Arthur I. Brown, o f Vancouver, B.C., will preach the Baccalaureate Sermon on Sunday morning, May 28, in the; Institute Auditorium, and Dr. W . W . Catherwood, of Riverside, Calif., will deliver the Commencement Address, Thursday evening, June 1. The graduating class consists o f sixty-nine women and fifty- three men. Eighty-one members o f the class have taken the General Bihle Course; twelve members have finished the Medical Missions Course; others have completed the Christian Education, or the Jewish Missions Courses. More than fifty per cent of the members are looking forward to foreign service. Some will work in the home field, and others are planning for further preparation in educational institutions. The Power of the Gospel letter from Miss Maud Howe, General Secretary o f the Canadian Christian Crusade, brings the welcome news o f two remarkable conversions. W e quote: Thanksgiving goes up for the conversion of Dr. Charles, Editor o f the Godless World, and also Dr. Under wood, President o f the A.A.À.A. in Oakland, Calif. Both these men are now witnessing for Christ. Dr. Charles’ article, The Impossibility of the Existence o f God, has been printed in Russian and German and sold in mil lions of copies, there and in other countries, so this is a great victory for our Lord. T Cover Picture he picture of Sidon, on the cover o f this month’s K ing ’ s B usiness is another o f Adelbert Bartlett’s choice collection. It shows the ancient hill of the citadel, where once stood the proud acropolis of the ancient Phoenicians. The lush branches of an old fig tree are throwing a tracery o f shadows over the remains o f foundation stones of the ruined Crusaders’ landcastle. A fezzed Christian young man o f the town looks down over the housetops to an alabaster minaret which rises against the deep blue o f the Mediterranean Sea. T J m
soul: “ The just shall live by faith.” And Martin Luther, made free by the truth o f those words, went forth to nail his theses on the church door and to become the leader of the Protestant Reformantion. The door o f faith is the only door through which any one may enter into the salvation of God. It is not faith plus baptism, or faith plus sacraments, or faith plus works, or faith plus anything. It is the door o f faith without any plus. Baptism, sacraments, and works all have their proper place after one has entered through the door o f faith into the salvation o f God. The man who adds an iota to faith as the only condition for salvation makes void the grace of God, preaches another gospel than that o f Paul the apostle, and brings upon himself the anathema o f which we read in Galatians 1 :7 to 9. God has opened to the nations the door of faith. To keep this door open is worth living for and worth dying for. Chicago World’s Fair j L* or the sake o f those who may visit Chicago this World’s Fair year, we are calling attention elsewhere in this issue to the attractive program o f Bible conferences arranged by the Moody Memorial Church, o f which Dr. Harry A . Ironside is pastor. These gatherings begin June 6 and continue until October 29. Publicity is also gladly given to the annual convention of the Independent Fundamental Churches o f America, an organization which provides a center for, and gives stability and strength to, the large and increasing number o f funda mental churches that have refused the ecclesiastical con trol o f modernism. In addition to these special gatherings, Christian people who will attend the W orld’s Fair should certainly visit the Moody Bible Institute o f Chicago and get a close-up view o f that splendid institution, probably the greatest spiritual force in America. Among the staff o f workers in the In stitute is one who bears the title of “ Host,” and whose duty it is -to care for those who visit the buildings and desire to see the Institute activities. A spacious room is provided for these guests, a motion picture showing the various depart ments o f the work is displayed, and visitors are taken over the buildings and given an adequate idea of the nature and scope o f the work. One-fifty-three Institute Place is the inspiration point o f Chicago. Thirty miles west o f Chicago is Wheaton College. High school and college students who plan to spend the summer in or near Chicago and at the same time desire to continue their studies or make up some back work will be glad to learn that the college is offering two four-week terms be ginning June 17 and July 15. The tuition rates are low, the teaching staff is strong, and all work is fully accredited. Students could take one or both of these courses and yet have ample time to visit and study the World’s Fair. I New Housing Arrangement n 1914, when the present Bible Institute buildings were erected, a shortage o f moderate-priced hotel accom modations existed in Los Angeles. As a consequence, space was provided for Christian people in our two large dormitories with over 600 rooms, in addition to that re quired to meet the usual needs o f the students, and the surplus rooms were quickly filled by the traveling public. Incidentally, the Institute derived a splendid revenue from this source. Since the business depression of 1929, all this has changed. Hotel space in Los Angeles today is plentiful and cheap. Conditions o f student employment have also changed. Many o f the part-time jobs formerly given to students in I p
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wmQui enge By ALBERT HUGHES* Toronto, Ontario, Canada
y . o c S T T *
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I . am not a missionary ; that is the one regret o f my life. I tried before graduating from the university to become a missionary, but God closed the door in my face, and I set tled down at home to be a missionary minister. In 1924, God gave me the dream o f my life. There came to me the invitation from the Home Council o f the Sudan- Interior Mission to accompany the director, R. V . Bingham, on a tour o f inspection o f the stations o f the Sudan missions. W e were to hold field conferences, to push the line o f advance a little farther into the interior where Christ had never been preached, and to bring back a report of what God was doing through the gospel, changing sav ages into saints. T ak ing the W ord L iterally I went out to help the missionaries, but God brought into my life in those wonderful days the greatest spiritual experience that has ever been mine. I landed in the heart o f that great country to discover that I was ignorant o f the glory, o f the literalness of the Word o f God— the literal glory o f the Word o f God. _I found out in Africa for the first time in my life that God had written His Word to be accepted at its face value, that He meant every word He had written, that I could depend upon it and stand upon it, and that at every turn o f the road, God would be just as good as His word. For instance, take that ninety-first psalm. How many o f you know that psalm ? I do not mean with your head, or with your tongue, but how many o f you really know that psalm in your heart?
Word, certain portions have been written for certain ex periences and conditions through which you pass; the ninety-first psalm is a missionary’s psalm. I preached from it many and many a time; I have sought to interpret the symbols and the illustrations— to tell my people what they meant and stood for. I got out to Africa to discover that it stood for exactly what it says. “ Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night.” What do you know about the terror by night in Los An geles ? I have walked your streets at midnight; I found no terror. But before you are in Africa five minutes, you are brought face to face with it. “ Nor for the arrow that flieth by day”-Hyou never saw an arrow fly either by day or by night; you preachers have always taught what that stood for. It stands for nothing but an arrow that flieth by day, with poison on the tip. “ Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness, nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. A thou sand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. Be cause thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.” I landed on the West Coast o f Africa the first day after Christmas, 1924, to discover the city quarantined with bubonic plague. The people were dying by the hundred. They were dying so rapidly they could not be buried, but
A thousand shall fall at thy side, And ten thousand at thy right hand: But it shall not come nigh thee. . . . There shall no evil befall thee, Neither shall any plague come nigh thy tent. For he will give his angels charge over thee, To keep thee in all thy ways. . . . Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: The young lion and the serpent shalt thou trample under foot. Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name. —P salm 91.
The Missionary’s Psalm le that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow o f the Almighty. I will say o f Jehovah, He is my refuge and my fortress; , My God, in whom I trust. For he will deliver thee from the snare o f the fowler, And from the deadly pestilence . . . Thou shalt not be afraid for the ter ror by night, Nor for the arrow that flieth by day; For the pestilence that walketh in darkness, N or for the destruction that wasteth at. noonday.
I want to say that only missionaries know that psalm. There is not another soul that knows anything about it. In God’s *Home Director, Sudan Interior Mission. Mr. Hughes’ address, as given on these pages, is a summary of one given in the Church of the Open Door, Los Angeles, April 23, 1933. It was stenographic- ally reported, not corrected by the speaker.
were picked up in dump carts and put on a great dump pile. I have visited the bedside o f the dying often in my own city, but I have never felt death so real and so awful as in those days in the Sudan, but thank God for His goodness in making real to the missionaries in experiences like that the glory o f the literalness o f His W o rd ! I went from the
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city o f Lagos to another city, and found them all down with malaria; I went down to another place, and they were all down with smallpox; I went where they had yellow fever, and spinal meningitis, and from one district to an other, but thank Gqd, He was as good as His Word. There would not be a missionary spared in any heathen land, with all the filthiness, all the stench, all the hell, all the horrors, if it were not for the fact that our loving Father who called them into service knew the situation ahead o f time and wrote concerning it and promised to deliver. They are alive and carrying on their task because God has promised that He would protect them.
an emaciated colored man that is; I have not seen such a bloodless individual for a long time,” and into the long grass he went—and I let him go! ’ Oh- that we might realize the reality of the Book and go out into the full sweep o f its glory, its literalness, and depend absolutely upon it in the difficult days through which we. are passing! “ Thou shalt tread upon the adder.” I have heard a cry ring out from one of the huts,
“ Mamma, mamma, the adder!” and the thing would wig gle across the mud floor. These are the constant perils of God’s own who have gone to preach the gospel o f the cross to the Christless millions. Bless God, He knows all about it. The everlasting arms are not only underneath, but around about and over them, and they are shut in by the care o f God. T he G od of the W ord In those days in the Sudan, I gained not only an under standing o f the Word o f God, but a new conception of the God o f the Word. May God bring us to the place where He will be a living, throbbing reality to us. Nothing else will do in the days that lie ahead. Oh, thank God, I can not only say it, but I believe it : He walks with me, and He talks with me, And He tells me I am His ow n ; And the joys we share as we tarry there, None other has ever known. Yes, it will be a sweet, blessed experience like that for you, too, if you will walk with Him. Shall I tell you how it’came into my life? I was again journeying for sixty miles. I arrived at our headquarters at three o ’clock in the morning. They gave me three o f those five-grain quinine capsules before I retired. I swallowed them and went to sleep. The next morning, Mrs. Playfair was missing from the breakfast table; a little later we saw she was fearfully ill. Our Dr. Stirrett had been called hurriedly to visit an other white woman, but we heard that the government doc tor was near, so we called him. He examined her and pro nounced it malignant malaria and left some medicine. But he had not been gone very long before-we knew that was not what was the matter. Her body began to be covered with blue spots, for another name for African meningitis is “ spotted fever.” W e called the doctor again, and he withdrew the fluid from her spine, and tested it, and shook his head. “ There is nothing that can be done,” he said. Less than twenty hours later, dear Mrs. Playfair had passed on to her reward, a victim o f spinal meningitis. We put her body in a rough box and buried her in a lonely grave where she waits the call o f the resurrected Christ. As she was dying, she was thinking o f her three little white babies that she was leaving behind. She kept saying, “ Oh, my little lambs; my little lambs.” We brought those little lambs home to Canada with us, and we have them in a home for missionaries’ children where we have twenty-two o f them. When the children are o f school age, they dare not risk the health o f the little ones over there, so they leave them when they go back for five, six, seven years. Oh, beloved, when you pray for the missionaries, do not forget to pray for their babies. As soon as Mrs. Playfair was dead, I went over the hills to tell the government doctor she was gone. He said, “ I expected it.” I said, “ Doctor, what shall I d o?” “ Why, what do you mean?” “ I have been sleeping in the room out o f which she came.” When I saw how sick she was, I had moved out o f the
“ Thou shalt tread upon the lion.” I thought it would be a wonderful thing to be able to come back and report that I had seen lions, but when I heard them roar, I was quite satisfied not to see them. But in my case, it was not a lion, but a leopard. I was making a sixty-mile trip by bicycle. I had gone quite a little distance when I came to a deep ravine where the river had cut a great gash in the road. I jumped off my bicycle to think how I could maneuver across the depths, and looked up right into the face o f a leopard! Now I had never seen a leopard except at a zoo,
and they are very comfortable w h e n s e e n through iron bars. I did not have a g u n ; a missionary seldom if ever carries a gun. The only thing I had was a w a t e r bottle filled with a quart o f fil tered water, and you cannot drown a leop ard in a quart o f water. I stood, hang ing on to the handle bars o f my bicycle; he looked at me, and I looked back at him ; he looked at me, and I kept looking at him — and I am sure we will know each other the next time. I was admiring his spots, and he was admiring
W ater C arriers in th e S udan .
my red hair, and I was wondering as well. You can wonder a lot when you are in a fix like that. You can think a lot. I was thinking o f some people who had said nasty things about me, and wishing they had a chance to apologize; and I was thinking of folk about whom I had said things, and wishing I had the chance to apologize. A lot o f questions were running through my mind, and I was wondering most o f all just when that leopard had had his dinner; and when he wanted another dinner; and how many dinners he liked to have every day; and which dinner it was that he wanted now ; and just which part o f his dinner he started on and which part o f the dinner he left over, and a lot o f things like that. Then suddenly there flashed through my mind the ninety-first psalm : “ Thou shalt tread upon the lion.” I said, “ O Lord, make it good for a leopard.” I hung on to my bicycle and waited for the Lord to answer the prayer. In a minute, a disgusted expression came over the leopard’s face. It Was as if he said; “ What
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guest chamber into the small room, and I had been breath ing in that atmosphere, my head ached, I had a pain down my spine, my eyes were bloodshot, my tongue was swollen to the roof o f my mouth. I was afraid. “ Doctor, what shall I do?” He said, “ There is nothing to do.” “ But, Doctor, don’t tell me that. You must do some thing.” He said, “ I do not know what to do for you. We do not know what it is, and we do not know how to combat it. I f you were in Britain, they would have a serum to admin ister.” “ But, Doctor, it is time for me to go home, and I am waiting at the rail shed for the train. You must do some thing.” “ Well,” he said, “ you can gargle with salt and water, and sniff iodine.” I stood in front o f the doctor like a madman. The hor ror o f it—-thousands o f miles from loved ones, and the day arrived to come home to them! Suddenly, beloved, there came over my mind and heart the thought that the God I had been preaching about had promised to be my
white officer in that place. They are cannibals; they will eat you ; you cannot go.” When they received that letter, they applied again, and the government said, “ No.” They applied again, and the government said, “ No.” They applied again— the government got sick of their applications and said at last, “ All right, you seem determined, but you go into that place on your own responsibility, and if anything happens, do not cry out to us.” That young couple were married, and for their honey moon, they walked out five hundred miles into the bush. A fter several weeks, they arrived one morning at the brow o f a hill looking over the valley that held thousands o f villages which made up the Tangali tribe. As they stood looking over that magnificent scene, they bowed their heads and thanked God for bringing them safely so far, to a place where a white man had never been known. When they opened their eyes, they saw coming up the hill a big, filthy, brutal, burly savage, a man whose father had been eaten by cannibals, and who himself had eaten human flesh. As he stood in front o f them, he jabbered away, and they did not understand him ; they answered, and he did not under stand a word o f their tongue. But as they looked into his face, they remembered that the British Government had said, “ The Tangalis are cannibals, and they will eat you.” In a little while, he turned on his heel. They thought he had gone for help, but in a short time he brought them something to eat. There are certain things that are uni versal, and the gnawing at the stomach is one of them. He brought them mangoes, bananas, and other things so they would not suffer for a few hours. He brought them something to eat every day. Every day he came, they used him as a pump to pump the language from his lips, until they were able to make phrases, sentences, paragraphs. Using the Roman characters, they reduced it into writing and began to give him back a little portion o f the Scriptures, the first literature that they ever had; they gave the Tan galis Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, some of the epistles, and now the entire New Testament is completed in Tangali. I went out on that journey o f five hundred miles after I got into the heart o f Africa. I stood on the brow of the hill where they had stood, and looking over the valley, I saw a horde o f savages coming up the hillside, but I was not afraid. As they came up the hillside they were singing, They were not singing it in English; they knew no English; but the tune is the same; they sang it in Tangali while I sang in English, and it was a great anthem. When we had finished singing it together, they bundled me into a hammock, swinging me down the hillside at a dogtrot, singing again. Leaning out o f the hammock I noted a large thatched building, and asked what it was. They said, “ White man, that is the church o f Jesus.” They took me into the church ; I sat down on the mud floor; and the first service we had was a Communion ser vice where the Lord’s Table was set and the Lord’s Supper was celebrated, and who do you think officiated at the Lord’s Table ? That black savage who had met John and Edith Hall a little while before, naked and filthy ! Those who served walked down the aisles o f the church and put into my hand a little bit o f bread symbolizing the Lord’s body broken for sinners; and they put into my hand a china cup without a handle, that contained a concoction that was supposed to be wine. As I took that bread from their black fingers and sipped from the side o f that cup, the tears ran down my [Continued on page 195] Oh, happy day, that fixed my choice On Thee, My Saviour and my God. Well may this glowing heart rejoice And tell its rapture all abroad.
C h ristian B aptism at J os , N igeria .
Father, and He knew and cared. I flung my case at His feet, and more quickly than it takes for me to tell it to you, there came over my whole being a flood o f that peace we talk about, peace that passeth all understanding— all under standing o f men, all understanding o f angels, all under standing of devils. I bid good-by to that doctor and walked back to the mission house. The first thing I did was to take my suit case and pack it with odds and ends. Then I sat down and wrote a letter without a tremor. I said, “ Mrs. Hall is dead; Mrs. Playfair is dead; the natives are dying by thousands; who the next one will be, we do not know. I have packed my suitcase, and if I am taken, it will come home to you. Good-by.” Oh, it is good to know God, it is good to know God like that! T he P ower of the G ospel There also came to me in the Sudan a new faith in the gospel o f Jesus Christ, to believe as I had never believed it, that it is the power o f God unto salvation unto every one that believes. One illustration is enough to prove my case. My college chum, John Hall, was a prize scholar in Greek; he turned his back on very tempting offers, on special priv ileges, on home, to sail to the Sudan for $420 a year. He took the young woman whom he intended to marry after twelve months. They put in the time studying certain things necessary; then they applied to the British govern ment to go out five hundred miles in the bush to the Tangali tribe with the gospel. But the British government said, “ No, it is not safe. W e have never been able to put a
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DANIEL a n a in e c J J o o m o j WORLD GOVERNMENTS n ¿ > c r A t A / &
B y W . B. RILEY* Minneapolis, Minnesota
fifteen centuries with the field glasses of historic inquiry, we discover the whole world divided among a host of gov ernments that were a mixture o f strength and weakness— monarchy and democracy. Beyond all question, the Nineteenth Century has passed from feet to toes, for it is a time when iron, the strongest o f all the minerals, is being mixed with the “ miry clay,” the softest, most slippery, and uncertain o f substances. While the mixture continues, and we still have some sub stantial monarchies and even a few dictators, the “ miry clay” element seems to increase and the iron to decrease. A survey o f the world at present, so far as permanence of government is concerned, produces only despair in the mind o f the capable student. There are kings yet on thrones, and despots still in saddles, and dictators standing sword in hand; but there is not; a stable government on earth. There is not one of them that could assuredly claim the remainder o f this cen tury or boast itself o f even tomorrow. Look at England— one of the oldest and in the past one o f the most stable o f governments— shaking today as she hasi not been shaking in hundreds of years, holding her African possessions only by force o f arms, the greater part o f Ireland gone, India in revolt, internal conditions seeth ing, taxes sky-rocketing, her rulers wondering what to do and asking, “ What next?” Look at Germany— that stolid people, that government that at the beginning o f the century stood for all that was stable— it is a political maelstrom now. Turn your eyes to the Orient and wonder at the Japa- nese-Chinese situation, a situation that embroils both these great nations and renders the future as uncertain for one as for the other. South American republics are in a whirl even exceed ing that which has commonly characterized them. Think o f Russian-long the most imperial o f govern mental forms, now under the dominance o f a success ful m ob ! Turn your eyes to the south of Europe and look upon the black-shirted crowd of Mussolini, but do not imagine for one moment that Mussolini has made a discovery that will prove a valuable asset to governmental stability. He is only walking again in the ways o f the Caesars, but the Caesars of the early centuries are all in their graves, and the governments that they created crumbled before the hands that formed them had perished. Who then will say that we are not now in the toe period, that we do not approach the end of this age ? This leads me to my second suggestion. T he P erils of S cience Strange, is it not, that the one term that we have glori fied, the world around, for the last fifty or hundred years is now looming as the very one that may hold all conceiv able disasters—yea, even the destruction o f society itself! Science has been the word with which men have con jured. In its knowledge, they have boasted themselves;
^ HE DESCRIPTION o f the image in Daniel 2 : 31 to 35 provides at once ju s t ific a t io n of, and gives direction to, what we shall say con-
cerffing “ the doom o f world governments.” The study of the subject, as it is born, out of this text, seems to fall into three divisions— The Prophetic Scriptures, The Perils o f Science, and The Plan o f Salvation. T he P rophetic S criptures Only unbelievers dispute the divine inspiration of Daniel; and if history ever justified and scientifically dem onstrated prophecy, it has done so in the instance o f Daniel. Reviewing the past and giving careful attention to the present, there are certain inevitable conclusions. Among them are these: Daniel was correct on the four world kingdoms; Daniel is being proven a prophet concerning the foot period; and already the toes of this image are in in creasing evidence, Daniel was correct on the four -world kingdoms. "He interpreted Nebuchadnezzar’s dream o f the image as fol lows : The head o f gold symbolized the Babylonish Empire; the shoulders of silver the empire that should succeed Babylon, namely the Medo-Persian; the belly and thighs o f brass the third empire, namely, Greece; the legs o f iron the fourth and last world empire, Rome. It is most amazing how history ran into that prophetic mold! Babylon perished while Daniel was yet alive. Medo- Persia existed for a few hundred years and then went down before the rising power o f Greece. And while Greece was the most brilliant and intellectual, the most advanced o f all ancient kingdoms, 300 years in round numbers sufficed for her supremacy, and the world succumbed to Rome, which, in literal accord with Daniel’s prophecy, divided, as do the legs o f a man, establishing the Constantinople capital in the East and the Roman capital in the West. Almost concurrently with the coming o f Christ, Rome began to crumble, and since its break-up, the world has not seen another world monarchy, nor will it, until the King of Glory shall come, barring that brief reign o f the Antichrist. Daniel is being proved a prophet concerning the foot period. He saw a strange mixture o f government, for the feet were part o f iron and part o f clay. Would it be possible if one sat down to deliberately select symbols of the governments that have characterized the last fif teen centuries to choose more significantly than is recorded in this Scripture ? Gold, silver, brass, iron—-these substan tial minerals were selected to symbolize the monarchical forms o f government, while clay was chosen to suggest those softer methods of administration known as republican and democratic forms. There is even in the clay some strength and a certain consistency, while in gold, silver, brass, and iron you have strength in an ascending scale; and surveying the last *President, Northwestern Bible School, and pastor First Baptist Church.
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The truth is that culture and wealth refuse to bring babies to the birth, and the children o f the future will come from the lowest stratum of society, and be delivered in tax-supported hospitals by state-paid doctors! T he W ide -S pread U nemployment S ituation Here again we deal with a situation that is not local, but world-wide. The only nation that boasts itself with out this problem is Russia, where 150,000,000 people are slaves to Soviet taskmasters, and slaves in all countries at all times are always busy. The problem is not the problem of work. There is plenty o f that to be done. The problem is the problem o f pay, and when none is received, as in Russia, a slave can be driven to any job day after day; but in those more civilized countries and under those more intelligent governments where men are supposed to be somewhat equitably rewarded for their labors, not thou sands, but millions are without employment. The marvel o f all of this is in the circumstance that we
in its name, they have put over many false philosophies; and by its magic, they have promised the world all con ceivable good. But, alas, we look today on a world that is sick unto death, and notwithstanding all the pretentions and boasts o f modern science, the earth grows more sick daily, till it seems to some of us time for men to call a halt and attempt to make a diagnosis. What is wrong with the world, and what is working the wrong? Astounding as it may sound, we answer, “ The world is dying of an overdose o f science.” There are hundreds o f points at which one can prove this contention. T he S cientific A tta inment of B irth C ontrol The time is on when scarcely a single convention, whether it be legal, medical, scientific, or religious, ignores this subject. Resolution has succeeded resolution, some of them applauding the practice, approving the philosophy that lies back o f it, others vigorously condemning both. Thoughtful men, there
are but thirteen years re moved from the close o f the World War which wiped out a generation o f men, and it was the young labor-produc ing crowd that went to its grave. When the war closed, we vainly imagined t h a t this shortage in man power would not be recovered in a hundred years; and now, only four teen years later—millions of men for whom there is not profitable employment! Philosophers and states men are asking, “ W hy?” To us the very question indicates superficial thinking. The an swer is easy and instant. Sci ence, so-called, has so shaken the whole social foundation as to leave labor prostrate.
fore, should consider the sub ject in its relation to race con tinuance. Recently the Literary Di gest called our attention to the fact that, for the first quarter o f the past year in England and W a l e s , the death rate was higher than the birth rate. France has long led in this matter o f birth control and, in the same quarter to which I call attention, the birth rate in Paris was lower than that in London. A Paris correspondent,
♦♦rip HOU , O king, sawest, and behold a great w II image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible. “ This image’s head was o f fine gold, his breast and his arms o f silver, his belly and his thighs o f brass. “His legs o f iron, his feet part o f iron and part o f clay. “ Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out with out hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were o f iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. “ Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and be came like the chaff o f the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found fo r them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth’’ (Dan. 2:31-35).
writing on this subject and expressing grave concern for his country, said: Whereas, in 1930 the num ber of youths called to the colors was 258,000 the contin gent for 1935 will, it is estimated, be only 136,000. He further contends: In 1835, the average French family raised four children. In 1896, they raised only three, and today the average number is only 2.2. If the decrease in the birth rate con tinues at the present rate, it is estimated that in seventy- five years, the population will have decreased by nearly one-half. Germany gives us no better report. In 1931, the birth rate was the lowest on record. The United States can present little better report. Here the rate dropped from 24.3 per 1,000 in 1921 to 19.9 per 1,000 in 1930. The only city in the United States with a birth rate of over 20 per cent per 1,000 was Pittsburgh, and there the decline was more than 6 per cent in the year. Professor Albert E. Wiggam, the noted American biologist, recently said: Morons are multiplying faster than college professors, or business men, or skilled workmen. If you take 1,000 Harvard or Yale graduates, at the present birth rate there will be only fifty descendants of theirs left within six gen erations. But 1,000 unskilled workmen, at the present rate, would have 100,000 descendants within the same period. Civilization is making this world safe for stupidity . . . At the present rate American intelligence declines, moral character sinks with it. Society is dying at the top, and democracy cannot continue, nor can civilization of any kind, unless its leaders actually lead in intelligence and character.
Your old tallow candle has been succeeded by the elec tric light; your stentorian orator by the mechanical loud speaker ; your old-time horse and buggy by the automobile; your old-fashioned horses and plow by the Ford tractor; your old-time wooden bridge by the modern concrete and steel structure; your old-time hack by the modern bus; your old-time well-nigh bottomless mud roads by the cement highways; and your old-time hot air balloon by the flying machine. “ Behold what invention hath wrought!” Yes, but is not unemployment o f men a definite by product of that so-called development, and have we not forced the question, “ Is a machine better than a man ?” When I was a lad, fifty years ago, such a thing as a man without a job was unknown, except in the instance of mental or physical incapacity or downright indolence. The world was smaller than it is now, and its luxury demands almost infinitely less, but those demands always exceeded the possible supply. Today that whole feature o f life is re versed, and machinery accounts for the reversal. The sup ply exceeds the buying ability! ' When I was a lad it took six o f us to gather corn— one driver, two men on either side o f the wagon, and one for the down row. Now this is done by a corn gatherer in the form o f a Ford tractor, one man driving, the machine ac complishing the rest. Some time ago, in northeast Minneapolis, I saw an immense caterpillar engine so slowly pulling its way up a hill that I suspected it would stall. Turning my car into a side road that ran by where this engine was working,
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