King's Business - 1948-06

JUNE, 1948

"The voice that breathed o'er Eden That earliest wedding day The primal marriage blessing, It hath not passed away."

— John Keble

Be a CharterSubscriber to the PropheticDigest A Herald of the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Undenominational • Premillennial International Enjoy reading the PROPHETIC DI GEST every month. It is dedicated to the stirring up of the Lord’s people to the blessed hope and the second com ing of the Lord Jesus Christ, and to deepening knowledge of the prophetic Word. We are living in critical and per ilous times. THE PROPHETIC DIGEST aims to strengthen Christian fellowship; to pro mote Christian progress; to enlarge Christian service. ILLUMINATING! INTERESTING! INSTRUCTIVE! INSPIRING! Factual; nothing fanciful, fanatical nor farcical. Edited by prophetic teach ers known and loved by premillennial Christians over the world. Editors: James F. Spink, Russell Taylor Smith Associate Editors: F. A. Tatford, Tom Westwood Contributing Editors: Tom Olson and others These features will appeal to preach ers, teachers and others: PROPHETIC FLASHES; WHAT’S THE NEWS; GOSPEL PERISCOPE; THE SHEP HERD’S BAG; THINGS TO COME; PROPHETIC TRUTH FOR CHRIS TIAN YOUTH, etc. Prophetic and de votional articles by well-known teachers of the past and present. BECOME A CHARTER SUBSCRIBER AND HELP SPREAD THE TRUTH THAT “JESUS IS COMING AGAIN.” FORTY PAGES PACKED WITH FOOD FOR THE SOUL. FIRST ISS UE: JULY-1948. Published monthly— subscription rates U.S.A. 1 year $1.50; 2 years $2.50; 5 years $5.00. Ten copies per year to one address $13.00. Twenty copies per year to one address $25.00. Canada $1.60 per year. Foreign $1.75.. Prophetic Digest Publishing Co. 17 CHERRY STREET COLLINGDALE, PA. Gentlemen: Enclosed please find t ..............fo r .. . . subscriptions to the PROPHETIC DIGEST to be sent to the following:: 1 year subscription $1.50; 2 years subscription $2.50; 5 years subscription $5.00. N AM E ....................................................... . ADDRESS ...................................................................... (State) If you require a sample copy, send 10c. NOTE FIRST ISSUE: JULY, 1948 (City) (Zone)

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T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S

Official Publication of The Bible Institute of Los Angeles, Incorporated

Louis T. Talbot, D.D. Editor in Chief

Betty Bruechert Managing Editor

William W. Orr, D.D. Associate Editor

CONTENTS Editorially Speaking .................................................................................. 4 The Bible in the News, William W : O rr .............................................. 5 Successful and Happy Marriage, John R. R ic e . .............................. 6 Wedding Guest, Martha Snell Nicholson ............................................ 7 The Terms of the Contract, Thomas DeW itt Talmadge ................. 8 The Voice That Breathed O’er Eden, John K e b le . .................: . . . . 8 Evangelizing the Towns and Villages o f China, Charles A. Roberts 9 Palestine, Russia and Ezekiel 39, Louis T. Talbot ......................... 10 We L ift Up Our Eyes Unto the Fields, Betty Bruechert ............... 11 The Children’s Seaside Mission ............................................................. 12 Junior King’s Business, Martha S. Hooker ........................................ 13 “ A Little Child Shall Lead Them,” Emily J. Alexander ................... 13 Biola Family C ir c le .................................................................................... 14 Dr. Talbot’s Question B o x ........................................................................ 15 My Conversion from Mormonism, Einar Anderson ........................... 16 Young People’s Topics, Walter L. W ilson .... ...................................... 18 It’s An Idea, Carlton C. Buck ................................................................. 18 Sunday School Lessons, Homer A. Kent, Allison Arrowood ........... 22 That New Look, Bess McClennan Antisdale ........................................ 27 Object Lessons, Elmer L. W ild er.. . ...................................................... 28 Picture Credits : Cover : “ The Symbols o f Marriage,” Hering o f Monk- meyer Press Photo Service, New York; Page 6, Harold M. Lambert, Philadelphia. SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION—“ The King’s Business” is published monthly; $2.00, one year; $1.00, six months; 20 cents, single copy. Clubs of three or more at special rates. Write for details. Canadian and foreign subscriptions 25 cents extra. It requires otie month for a change of address to become effective. Please send both old and new addresses. REMITTANCES—Payable in advance, should be made by bank draft, express, or post office money order payable to “ The King’s Business.” Date of expiration will show plainly on outside wrapper or cover of magazine. ADVERTISING—For information, address the Advertising Manager, 558 South Hope Street, Los Angeles 13, California. MANUSCRIPTS—“ The King’s Business” cannot accept responsibility for loss or damage to manuscripts mailed to us for consideration. Entered as second-class matter November 7, 1938, at the Post Office at Los Angeles, California, under the Act of March 3, 1879. Acceptance for mailing at special rate of postage provided for in the Act of February 28, 1925, embodied in paragraph 4, section 538, P. L. and R., authorized October 1, 1918, and November 13, 1938. ADDRESS: The King’s Business, 558 So. Hope St., Los Angeles 13, California. Page Three

WHAT MAKES A GREAT LIFE? D O not try to do a great thing; you may waste all your life waiting for the opportunity which may never come. But since little things are always claim ing your attention, do them as they come, from a great motive, for the glory of God, to win His smile of approval, and do good to men. It is harder to plod on in obscurity, acting thus, than to V A C A T I O N N E W S ! A NOTHER recreational and spiritually profitable Confer ence, sponsored by the Bible In stitute of Los Angeles at beauti ful Mount Hermon Conference Grounds in the Santa Cruz Moun tains, is to be held August 15-22, 1948. The speakers this year will include Dr. Louis T. Talbot, Dr. J. Renwick McCullough, Dr. J. Vernon McGee, with Dr. William W. Orr as director. Inquiries concerning accommo dations should be sent to Rev. Cyrus Nelson, Mount Hermon, California. All other inquiries should be addressed to the Exten sion Department, Bible institute of Los Angeles, 5.58 South Hope St., Los Angeles 13, Calif. stand on the high places of the field, within the view of all, and do deeds of valor. But no such act goes without the swift recognition and ultimate recom pense of Christ. To fulfill faithfully the duties of your station; to use to the uttermost the gifts of your ministry; to bear chafing, trivial irritations, as martyrs bore the pillory and stake; to find the one noble trait in people who try to molest you; to put the kindest construction on unkind acts and words; to love with the love of God even the unthankful and evil; to be content to be a fountain in the midst of a wild valley of stones, nourishing a few lichens and wild flowers, or now and again a thirsty sheep; and to do this always, and not for praise of man, but for the sake of God—this makes a great life. — F. B. Meyer J U N E , 1 94 8

always been that His truth should have the central place. Consequently, when homes are founded without God, when His truth is ignored, there is no ele ment to hold them together. How shall one have a happy home? Well, here is the result of centuries of experience. First of all, let one acknowl edge God’s place.' Let it be clearly un derstood that the home is an institution of God’s founding, and that both par ents and children owe an obligation to Him as well as to one another. Then let there be daily prayer and fellow ship. Let prayer be vocal, specific and participated in by all members of the family. Finally, let there be a satura tion with the rich truths of the Word of God. Study the precepts which teach the principles of happiness. Let the Bible be audibly read. Memorize precious portions together. Meditate upon tender truths. To such a home there will be added the rich blessing of an Almighty God. These spiritual exercises will bring about an unbreakable cohesion, and from such a home will emerge strong, well- principled, noble children, who will look back upon their youth with thanksgiv ing to God for the Christian home train ing that was theirs. Blood and Thunder H ERE are some typical quotations from the so-called comic books which are printed in the United States at the alarming rate of 500,000,000 each year. “ The villain threatens to flog the half- naked heroine . . . The beautiful girl is beaten to death on a sacrificial altar . . . The men are stabbed and have their arms, legs and heads cut off . . . The bride is kidnapped . . . Fists that smash against faces settle all problems.” The average American city child reads ten to a dozen comic books a month. If there is only one scene of violence to a page, this still gives him a diet of 300 scenes of beating, shooting, strangling, torture and blood per month. The child who was six years old in 1938 has ob served by now from comic books alone a minimum of 18,000 pictorial beatings, shootings, stranglings, blood-lettings and torturings. It is high time that the educators of our land became alarmed about this ava lanche of blood and thunder stories and pictures. A recent survey definitely blamed the increase of violence in juve nile delinquency upon the comparative increase in comic books and magazines. One psychiatrist says that comic books not only inspire evil but suggest a form for the evil to take. There is no doubt, on the other hand, that the Bible is the greatest children’s story book in the world. Centuries of telling it has not detracted from its in terest one bit. Today children are just as entranced with stories of David, Dan iel and Samuel, as children have been all through all the ages. Were the youth of our United States given the Bible in stead of this blood and thunder litera ture, an entirely different result could be recorded. T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S

calls for a large number of new state- operated universities. Missionary boards throughout the world are suggesting that their candidates come to them with a completed higher education. What is to be the place of the Bible Institute in the years which lie ahead? One thing is certain: its training is unique. In Christian colleges, emphasis is being placed on Christian ethics and a fairly general knowledge of the Scrip tures. But nowhere in the educational world of today can one find a curricu lum which is preponderantly Biblical except in the Bible Institute. Rarely is there an institution of learning where one of the major emphases is world-wide missions. Nor do we find duplicated in any other field the happy combination of instruction in personal evangelism and the opportunities for firsthand experi ence in putting this training into prac tice. The place of the Bible Institute is greater today than ever before, for the world’s need is greater. Christian young people will find it much to their advan tage to spend a year or two in intensive study of the imperishable Word of God before going on to other schools. Marriage Insurance L ATEST statistics reveal a slight in crease in the number of marriages which are holding together. This, no doubt, is due to the fact that the war hysteria, with its train of whirlwind courtships a n d h a s t y marriages, is gradually subsiding. However, the number of marriages which fail today stands at a terrifying high percentage. Statisticians point out that more than one out of three marriages go on the rocks, and in some sections of our coun try the proportion is one out of two. Beneath these cold figures lies a world of misery, heartache, broken homes and bewildered children. Yet there is insurance for a success ful marriage and a happy home. It was God who in the beginning instituted the home. From His lips came the com mand that a man should leave his father and mother and cleave unto his wife. Upon this established unit of society God added His blessing. Therefore is it not true that the reason for broken homes today is the utter disregard of God’s place in the home? God’s plan has

Two-Score Years I T WAS back in the year 1908 that two believers were led of God to lay the 'foundations of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles. These men were Lyman Stewart and T. C. Horton. This Bible Institute and others came into being largely as a protest against the barren ness of liberalism in seminaries, and the paucity of actual Bible study in the curricula of the theological schools of the day. The program of the Bible Institute has always called for major emphasis along three lines. First, the outline of study includes Bible subjects primarily. In some courses, as much as 90 per cent of the student’s time is spent in direct contact with the Scriptures. The sec ond major emphasis is upon the spirit ual welfare of the student. Far from having a monastic approach to life, the Bible student associates daily with people, either in secular employment or in practical Christian work assign ments, seeing their need and getting his. experience in personal work firsthand. Because of this, he is driven to his knees time and time again for God’s wisdom to meet the problems and per plexities of his life and others. A third emphasis in the Bible Institute program is upon world-wide missions. Time is reserved for returning missionary speakers, and the student through their eyes almost sees firsthand the stark need of the heathen world. Looking back over two-score years of Bible Institute history, there is much cause for us to praise God and take courage. The Bible Institute trained worker has stood the test of time. He has found that because of such train ing, his life has been under-girded with a foundation of Bible truths and per sonal spiritual experience which could not be shaken. Many graduates who have gone on into higher institutions of learning are unanimous in thanking God for the years spent in Institute class rooms in direct and detailed study of the living Word of God. Today’s world places an increasing emphasis on education. A recent recom mendation by a national fact-finding commission suggests that the college facilities of the United States be in creased 50 per cent. The program for education in the State of California Page Four

Terrific Cost vit The Assistant Chief of Police on the Los Angeles force is responsible for the statement that three-quarters of the ac tivity of the Police Department in this great metropolitan city is necessary be cause of drunkennes. Between three and four hundred people go through jail every day because of intoxication. Some of these have been arrested 400 times. Many of them, both men and women, have been arrested at least 100 times. The cost of an average arrest is $20.00. The writer of the Book of Proverbs truly observed, “Wine is a mocker.” But not only does it mock its victims; it also sneers at the rank and file of taxpayers who have to dig down in their pockets to pay its exorbitant cost. Recently, Rev. Herbert M. Griffin, Home Director of the China Inland Mis sion, concluded a six months’ survey of China. While not visiting every station included in the C. I. M.’s vast network, he did carefully observe many represent ative centers in all the provinces. The observation of such a visitor is worthy of careful study. He reports, “ I was deeply impressed with the open heart of China and believe that the evident re sponse to the preaching of the Word is the greatest challenge China has ever offered the church of Jesus Christ. The internal strife in China bears down upon us the conviction that if China is to be thoroughly evangelized, it must be done now.” Baptist Gains The past year has been a banner one for the Southern Baptist Convention, with an increase of 285,152 new mem bers, bringing the total membership to a skyhigh of 6.3 millions. In conjunction with this, the Southern Baptist church goers contributed nearly 3 per cent of “their incomes to denominational coffers, a total of 132 million dollars in gifts. It should be remembered that this par ticular group has always laid heavy em phasis upon trained teachers and young people’s work. Stony Heart Recently in Columbus, Ohio, surgeons removed a stony sheath surrounding the bullet-scarred heart of Harry Beshara, convict. When he was 14, Beshara was accidentally shot by a playmate. The bul let lodged in his heart, but he recovered. A number of years ago, lime deposits be gan to form in the pericardium which were gradually strangling the heart. However, once the stony sheath was lifted, the pressure on the heart was re duced, and the patient declared himself remarkably improved. Not so newsworthy perhaps, but far more common, is the exchange of a hard ened stony heart in the sinner’s breast for the miracle of a truly spiritual heart resulting from the personal acceptance of the Son of God as Saviour and Lord. JUNE. 1948 China's Heart

resulting from sinful acts could be cured. While not actually stated, the impression was made that “ the wages of sin” could be by-passed. Now social leaders are re versing their position and advocating prevention instead of cure. Thus the truths of the Bible score again! Catholic Cities Bishop John F. Noll of Fort Wayne, Indiana, is responsible for the following rather startling discourse made at the meeting of the National Catholic Con ference in Chicago: “ There are only 7,000,000 members of Protestant churches in the fifty largest cities of the country, but 20,000,000 Catholics. Eighty per cent of Protestant ism is rural. And it is in rural America where family life is most wholesome and where the divorce rate is still low. “ On the other hand, where the bulk of Catholics live, one-half of the mar riages end in divorce. It is where they live that the big.motion-picture houses are located, the filthy magazine racks, the taverns and the gambling halls.” Now a new campaign is being mapped out by Catholic leaders to invade the rural corfununities. There are 1,000 out of 3,000 counties in the United States where not one Roman Catholic priest is to be found. Advertising Pays? The crash of an air liner is still news today; 1947 was a bad year for air line accidents. It will be remembered that many of the newspaper headlines of that twelve months were devoted to recount ing the air tragedies as they occurred. However, a recent insurance report re veals that more people were killed as a result of being kicked by donkeys in 1947 then were killed in aeroplane accidents. Yet very rarely does such an accident make the headlines. All of this proves that advertising may be productive of a true or distorted perspective of fact. It is good policy to weigh thoughtfully the headlines of the day. Better still it is to evaluate all news from the stand point of a thorough knowledge of the truth of the Word of God. Page Five

Protestant Radio According to President Charles P. Taft of the Federal Counoil of Churches of Christ in America, a Protestant Ra dio Commission, intended to develop a unified religious radio ministry, has just been formed. This new organization will provide technical advice on broadcasting and support national religious radio pro grams. “ For the first time in history,” declared the Commission, “ the church has in radio a God-given principle whereby the gospel of Christ may be *£ The National Association of Radio Broadcasters in their 1948 Opinion Poll found that the public was still greatly interested in radio but not as much as the year before. There was a correspond ing drop in listener approval on many parts of broadcasting. Perhaps related to this is the trend of radio in the last several years to" cut down on religious broadcasting. This is in spite of figures which set forth a large and constant approval of such programs. In the re ligious field were a number of outstand ing examples. For instance, ABC’s “ The Greatest Story Ever Told” on Sunday evening held its own against all kinds of competition. In other fields of religious broadcasting, though not so pretentious or widely-heard, the audiences are faith ful and appreciative. Marry Young Harvard University’s Dr. Walter Clarke, speaking in behalf of the leading U.S. health hygienists, believes one of the best ways of preventing social disease is early marriage. Ironically enough, the so-called easy cures of social diseases have led to a startling increase in them. Dr. Clarke goes on to say, “ We now realize the necessity of doing all possible to change the patterns o f conduct which lead to infection.” Among other things, he advised youthful marriage. Certainly this is a change in outlook for the better. For too long a time, the emphasis has been placed on the ease by which disease brought to all men.” Religious Listeners

A prominent evangelist gives the rules for

c t m c i c j , e

By John R. Rice, D.D., Litt.D.

M ARRIAGE is intended to be happy. By reading the account of God’s dealing with Adam in creating a wife for him, this is obvious. The Scripture says: “ Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and 'obtaineth favour of the Lord,” and “ . . .a prudent wife is from the Lord” (Prov. 18:22; 19:14). Proverbs 31:10-12 has some earnest words from God about the prize a man has in a good wife. “ Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.” The plain im plication of this Scripture is that marriage tends to happi ness, when a good man marries a good woman. Now since marriage, ordained of God, is a divine institution and the oldest in the world, there ought to be principles laid down in the Bible for a happy, prosperous marriage, and there are. Those who heed the clear teachings of the Word of God may marry and live happily, though they may have troubles and temptations incident to any life on this earth. There are certain added responsibilities and cares that are brought on by marriage and family. Nevertheless, God’s Word tells us how to have happy marriages, successful marriages,

when love stays sweet and clean, when “hope springs eternal in the human breast,” when there are days of comfort in the midst of the cares and the burdens of life. Marriage, if according to the Word of God, can be a happy and beautiful venture, a bon voyage throughout this life. Christians To Marry Only Christians Nothing more important can be said on the question of mar riage than that Christian people should marry only Christians. Marriage is a divine institution, a holy trust from God. The duties of a marriage necessarily involve Christian character. No one can really be the best husband or the best wife who is not willing to follow God’s plan for a home. How could any one be a good father or mother who does not know and love God? How could anyone keep his vows of marriage adequately, spiritually, who does not love God and does not plan to please God? The relationship of husband and wife is so intimate, as well as so permanent, that there is certain to be a continual heartache and clash of will and purpose between the husband and the wife if one is not a Christian. At first, the attraction of love is so great that each dreams the other is his perfect ideal. Shakespeare said: “ Love is blind.” Many a Christian girl has married, an unsaved man thinking in her foolish heart, “ After we are married, he will never drink again. He says he loves me so much he will go to church with me. He is so dear and good and lovable, surely all he needs is to join the church.” Such girls have found later to their deep distress that they married ungodly men. The devotion of a wife is not strong enough to make a good man out of one who does not love God. No Christian girl is ever safe to marry an unsaved man or a Christian man an unsaved girl. Such marriages never turn out happily except when God in His great mercy helps one mate to win the other. How often that never comes to pass! And how often, if it does, it comes only after years of heartache and trouble and sin! “ Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people,” (2 Cor. 6:14-16). So Christians should never marry those who are unsaved, and preachers should not take part in such marriage cere monies. Direct Leading of God A Christian can have the leading of the Holy Spirit in the matter of marriage plans. Many a Christian young man has prayed for God to give him a wife. Many a Christian young woman has prayed for God to select her husband. How often it has turned out happily! If a Christian should pray about anything, he ought to pray for wisdom from God on this matter. Young people should not go ahead -without the clear leading of God. In John 16:13 Jesus said: “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth.” Surely the T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S

The ancient custom of the husband’s carrying his bride across the threshold prevails to this day.

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Holy Spirit can enlighten the heart and mind of a Christian and show him the will of God about marriage plans. It is important that a young man or woman should not cling to his own will. One should be willing to say, “ Lord, I give up my sweetheart if she is not the woman You have for me.” Every girl ought to be able to say, “ Lord, I do not want any man who is not the husband You have selected for me. If I feel the pull of love toward him, then, Lord, You overcome it and help me to learn to love the man that I ought to marry.” I feel that God answered and led me in my decision as I walked up and down a country road one night, asking Him if the girl I loved was the right one for me. I believe that God is glad to give guidance to all of those who wait upon Him and are willing for His will. If there is an unrest, a sense of unease and fearfulness, then wait on God until that is settled before you say, “ Yes,” to the plans made for marriage. Genuine Heart Agreement The Bible standard for marriage is that “ they twain shall be one flesh” (Matt. 19:5). How often marriage goes on the rocks and lives are blighted because people married only for love! Love alone is a very poor basis for a happy and suc cessful marriage! That may sound strange to Americans who get all their conception of love and marriage from the moving picture screens and from current novels. Nevertheless, the wisdom of the ages proves that what I say is true. I mean that the attraction that one person may have for another naturally is not enough for marriage. If love is to include agreement about all great essential matters of life, a oneness of mind and heart, then, of course, love would be in itself the one all-covering requirement for marriage. But usually what people call love is not that at all. Those who marry principally on the plane of physical attraction often find that they have joined themselves in wedlock to a person who is wholly different from them, or with whom attraction is' a fleeting thing, and at best by itself unsatisfactory, so that the woman who was once very attractive may later be hateful or the man who once so thrilled may become ab horrent. If one mate is a worldly Christian who sees no vharm in picture shows, dances, cocktails, and gambling, and the other is a fervent Bible believer, a separated Christian who believes that he ought to keep himself apart from worldliness and sin, how can such a couple be happy? Suppose the husband wants children, and his wife feels that the bearing of children in volves too much responsibility. They are not of one mind. If a couple really expects to be happy and prosperous in their marriage, they should make sure that they are in agreement on matters of conscience, where happiness necessarily is en tailed. That truth is involved in the nature of marriage itself and in the Bible requirement that the husband and wife be come one. Bible Standard for the Home The Bible tells how to make a happy home; then those who want a happy home should set out to follow the Bible. The home where the Bible is read daily, where there is family worship, and where God’s Word is taught to the children, where thanks are given at meals and little children are taught to pray, kneeling at mother’s knee or by their beds, is likely to be a nappy home. A Bible standard for the home means that a husband should set out to be the head of the home and take the responsibility which is given him by God. He should remember that his wife is the weaker vessel, and give honor to her, for they are “heirs together of the grace of life” (1 Pet.. 3 :7). He should feel he is God’s deputy. He should be the leader in matters of morals, in religion, in the example of the Christian life be fore the children, and in exercise of authority and discipline. A wife who accepts the Bible standard for a Christian home would necessarily set out to be subject to her husband and to obey him, as is so many times commanded in the Bible. Happy is the young couple who finds ahead of time God’s plan for the home and sets out to follow it.

A guest at a wedding! It touches my heart To read of the wedding in which Christ took part.” Simple and human the need that He met. Down through the ages the story lives yet. Often I think of those two that were wed, Telling their children, as fleeting years sped, "You know at our wedding the Lord was a guest, And the wine that He made was the sweetest and best."

Lasting the marriage and blessed the way If Christ were invited to weddings todayl

—Martha Snell Nicholson.

"Until Death Do Us Part" Marriage is not intended as a brief experiment. One should never enter marriage except with the wholehearted vow that it is for a lifetime and that the marriage is to be broken only by death. Those who feel that they can be married and if they do not get adjusted, if they are not compatible, if they do not “make a go of it,” they can then get a divorce and try someone else, are headed for heartbreak and ruin. That is no attitude of mind that God can bless. That is no adequate arming to meet the problems of marriage. No, those who marry are dishonest and cannot mean their marriage vows if they do not set out to make marriage a permanent matter. Every girl should say to herself: “ If my husband turns out to be a drunkard, I must live with him until one of us dies. If he beats me, I must love him still and obey him and be his wife and bear his children and wait on him when he is sick and keep my vows until death parts us.” Every man ought to say in his heart: “ This is my wife, and I must love her, whether she deserves it or not. I must love and keep her as my wife whether the beds are made, whether the meals are attractive, whether her tongue is sharp or not. This marriage is for better or for worse and to last until death shall part us.” Nobody has a right to marry on any other basis; to do so is to invite disaster. When poverty comes, when sickness comes, when youth flees, when the personal attraction of husband and wife are gone, then it will often take more than a high-hearted ex perimental attitude to guarantee the happiness of the home; a holy resolution to be all that the marriage vows involve is absolutely essential. When marriage is not considered per manent, the hearts of those who enter it are adulterous and dishonest, and the vows are unholy and insincere in the sight of God. No doubt many hasty marriages would be prevented if it were clearly understood that this is the one chance for hap piness in marriage and we must make good or live in misery. The foolish propaganda to make divorce easy and to withdraw the odium that has attached to it encourages many people to marry who are not fit to marry, who are not committed to the principles involved in the marriage vows. A marriage cannot be broken decently by anything but death; that attitude in itself will go far toward insuring a happy marriage. The Blessing of Children In Psalm 127:3-5 we read: “ Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As ar rows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them; they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the ene mies in the gate.” Statistics in every divorce court in the country show that couples who are not willing to have children are more likely to find their marriage going on the rocks than those who follow the plan of God and have children. Children give the Page Seven

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husband and wife something in common. They make something worth living for, worth maintaining marriage and home for. What man is there who wants to give up his children? No man of high ideals and noble instincts. What woman is there who would be willing to bring her little children up without a father and without the protection and provision that fathers ordinarily give? No normal woman. Many times a home has been saved by one child. Hcrw much more then, when there are several children in the home is there a tendency to main tain the home, to overlook differences, to talk them out and pray about them until peace is restored in the home. Tiny baby fingers hold fathers and mothers together. It is not so important to a wife that her husband scolded her or was heartless in some matter if her mind is set on the little one and its future; her own feelings do not matter. What man is there who thinks much of his own pleasure if he really loves his children and thinks of their welfare? Let every home plan for children. Let every engaged couple talk it over ahead of time and agree that theirs will be a marriage in truth with its normal fruit in little children sent from God to bless the home and bind the hearts of father and mother together forever. Love Is Essential Ephesians 5:25 states: “ Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church . . . ” In Titus 2:4 we read that older women are to teach younger women “to love their husbands.” Happy, successful marriage must have mutual love. I should like to make a distinction between sex attraction and true love. Sex attraction may be a part of love, but it. certainly is net all of any true love that fits one for marriage. One of the dangers of the modern way of petting is that young people may become attracted to one another physically and rushed off their feet into an engagement without any real love one for the other. The attraction of the body alone is not a guarantee of a happy home. There must be a genuine respect, and admiration of husband for wife and wife for husband. When a girl has a beautiful character, when she comes from a good home, when she has been properly reared and disci plined and educated, and when she has a normal and Christian attitude toward marriage and its responsibilities, she will make a good wife. In fact, it is not hard for a normal and honorable man to love such a woman. Love usually follows when such marriages are made with Christian people and on high standards of honor and character. We ought to make sure that love is based on character, a genuine admiration and understanding of one mate for the other. Young man, do you love a young woman because she is good and kind? Do you love her because she has such a sweet voice, because she is musical? Do you love her because she is such a devoted Christian, or eager to serve God? Do you love her because she has pity for those in trouble, because she has laughter and a light in her eyes, and a quick mind? Do you love her because she has real Christian qualities? If so, then that is the kind of love which ought to be in every true marriage. Young woman, do you love your husband-to-be because he is strong, because he is brave, because he is sensible? Does he have the kind of character that you would admire in your own brother or father? Does he seem to you the wisest young fellow you ever saw? Do you like the way he stands up straight? Do you like his kindness to his mother and his gentleness to old people? Are you proud of his Christian character, his faithful, clean life, his ambition for the future? That is the kind of love upon which happiest marriages are built. To be sure, the one you love should be personally at tractive to you, but make sure that it is not mere natural attraction. Be certain that your love is really a love of char acter and personality. Then if God gives the personal attrac tion, too, you may feel assured that your love is on a safe and honorable basis which will help to guarantee a happy and successful marriage. (A condensed chapter from, the book, “ The Home: Court ship, Marriage, and Children,” by Dr. Rice, Sword of the Lord Publishing Co., Wheaton, III. Price $2.50). Page Eight

The Voice That Breathed O’er Eden (W edding H ym n)

John Keblo

Herbert G. Tovey

Solo or Quartet ,

iE r i I

1. Tbe voice that breath’d o’er E • 2. Be pres - ent, era - cious Fa - 3. Be pres - ent, Ho • ly Sprr r S -^ -

den That ear - liest wed < ther. To give a - way ■ it, To bless them as . ¡ 1

ding day this bride, . they kneel,.. f- tj- jhJ- M

IP It hath not passed a •way. (a - way.) Out of his own pierced side.(hisside.) The heav'n-ly Bride doth seaU(dothseal!)

I The pri - mal mar-riage bless - ing, As Eve Thou gav’st to Ad « am, As Thou, for Christ, the Bridegroom,

& -

=!&

T T T Of Chris •tian man and maid,(and maid,) To join their lov - ing hands, (theirhands,} Let e - vil find no place (no place) 3= m

Still in tbe pure es - pous • al Be pres-ent, ten - der Sav - ior, 0 spread Thy pure wing o’er them,

1— i— r T - r

f f P

The Ho - ly Three As Then did’st bind With-in their hearts, are with us, The three - fold grace is said.. two nat - ures In Thine e - ter - nal bands, as on - ward Their hal - lowed path they trace, jg-— ■T Used by permission of the Standard Publishing Company, Chicago, Illinois.

1 "J lie 'Z Jerm .S

th e (C o n tr a c t

TJUSINESS men have in their fire-proof safes a file of -U papers containing their contracts, and sometimes they take them out and read them ever to see what the party of the first part and the party of the second part really bound themselves to do. Different ministers of religion have their own peculiar forms of marriage ceremony; but if you have forgotten what you premised at the altar of wedlock, you had better buy or borrow an Episcopal Church service, which con tains the substance of all intelligent marriage ceremonies, when it says: “ I take thee to be my wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish till death us do part, according to God’s holy ordi nance, and thereto L pledge thee my troth.” Would it not be a good idea to have that printed in tract form and widely dis tributed? The most worthy thing for the thousands of married men to do is to go home and apologize for past neglects, and brighten up their old love. Take up the family Bible and read the record of the marriage day. Open the drawer of relics in the box inside the drawer containing the trinkets of your dead child. Take up the pack of yellowed letters that were writ ten before you became one. Rehearse the scenes of joy and sorrow in which you have mingled. Put all these things as fuel on the altar, and by a coal of sacred fire rekindle the extinguished light. It was a blast from hell that blew it out, and a gale from heaven will fan it into a blaze. Thomas De Witt Talmadge in “ The Wedding Ring.” T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S

EVANGELIZING THE TOWNS AND VILLAGES OF CHINA

By Charles A. Roberts, D.D. Superintendent of the Hunan Bible Institute, Changsha, China

He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem. And some one said to him, Lord will those who are saved be few? (Luke 13:22, 23 R.S.V.). S UPU in Western Hunan is an Oriental town, typical of the many market towns in this province. Prettily situated, it is not a large place; there are only two main streets a half mile long and so narrow that a small motor car would have difficulty in passing through without women and chil dren crowding tightly against the walls of a house or step ping into the open doorway of a small shop. Outside the town are rolling hills with terraced rice paddies, and alongside is a small river. However, so well located is Supu that the Gov ernment National Railways has in its scheme for Western China this town as a rail junction. The inhabitants are said to be the most superstitious of all the thirty-eight millions of people in Hunan. And certainly, as one observes the many temples and small shrines devoted to the variety of gods, .the reputation is well deserved. The principal industries are spin ning, cloth-weaving and the production of brown sugar, for along the river banks you may see a luxuriant growth of the sugar cane. Pushing out into the countryside, a clump of mud walls with thatched roofs are noticeable, little villages sur rounded by lovely green patches of rice paddies, and the ever- intriguing bamboo and flower-vegetable gardens. But in spite of all this pleasant prospect, poverty and illiteracy abound. Biola Evangelistic Band No. I from the Hunan Bible Insti tute arrived at Supu in October. The Evangelical Brethren Mission had sent an invitation for an evangelistic band to work in what they considered One of its most difficult fields. It was a challenge. Full of enthusiasm, Band Leader Liu Pin K’uei and his colleagues in business-like manner alighted from the public bus that had carried them from Changsha to this western town. Picking up their baggage, they smartly pro ceeded to the small gospel chapel in the center of the town and announced to the lone lady missionary living there that they had arrived. Delighted and overwhelmed at seeing seven evangelists standing at her door, she heartily welcomed them. There had been many hard years of toil and prayer in Supu and still no church of any strength. “ Great is Diana of the Ephesians,” seemed to be the proud attitude of this small citadel of superstition. Next morning, two by two, with satchel full of tracts slung over the shoulder, and gospel posters in hand to paste up on any available wall space on the main streets, Biola evangelists were canvassing the town door by door. The curious came out to see and to listen; the superstitious were filled with fear and uttered warnings to the people not to have anything to do with the “foreign” doctrine. But Supu, like all the cities and towns and villages in China, is no longer content to continue its sleep of the centuries. There is an awakening. People are restless. The giant Napoleon spoke of has shaken himself. In a few days, men and women and especially youth, were meet ing at the gospel chapel. Interviews were carried on late into the evening. Some of the discussions wandered to what will happen in the next war. Yes, they had heard of an atomic bomb. Truly things are not what they used to be. What was the answer to all this disturbance that had come to the world? The Gospel of Jesus Christ! Not for a moment did the evan gelists lose an Opportunity to press home the message: “ Be lieve on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.” It is now many weeks since Biola evangelists arrived at Supu. And here is a letter from the Missionary who waited so long for help: JUÑE, 1948

Group of Chinese Christians■at Supu. Miss Rose Fecker, missionary, is at extreme' right. Evangelist Liu is 4th from right in second row. Dear Friend: A few weeks ago I sent you one picture of the first group to be baptized. That group was a picked group; they were dealt with privately, and no announcement was made of the coming baptismal service. At the close of the service some asked why they could not be included, and after explanation, they were told there would be another opportunity when our Superin tendent came. This makes a total of twenty-five now baptized. Here is another picture. To me this picture speaks louder than anything I might write, of God’s blessing on the work of the Band in Supu. I f the one man who holds his Bible and hymn book were the only one won, the whole effort would have been worth-while. To me he is the pick of the group. A merchant on the street, and a Bao Chang (head of ten families and responsible to the local government), he is well grounded in the Word and very, very happy. The group is quite repre sentative: 16 men, one each: an assistant post-master, teach er, student, carpenter, and an apprentice; three office men, four merchants and four shoemakers; 9 women: one teacher and the others home-makers. One very interesting thing is that the husbands were in the first group, and they wanted their wives to be baptized. There are four couples. As 1 sit in my little room looking over the picture, I praise God, for there is only one that I wonder a bit about, and he may surprise met Now the future responsibility rests with the pastor and my blundering self. And also we have quite a long list of others to work on. I want to say thank you to you and to the Hunan Bible Institute for sending to us such a fine team of evangelists. We really had nothing when they came, and now we have a splendid new group of Christians with the promise of more. Praise be to the Father above for “ What He hath wrought.” Yours in much appreciation and prayers, R o se L . F e c k e r . Not far from Changsha, Band No. 2 has just started work. It is the ploughing up of the soil and sowing of the seed. We hope that not only will Biola have two Bands working this autumn, but the number will be doubled. Now is the day of response. The night will come and then no man may work. Towns and villages are fully open to the gospel in Hunan where as in many other parts of China the door has closed. Lord, will those who shall be saved in Hunan be few? Page Nine

d éd zeh iel 3 9

j^ a ie ô t in e , /v t uââi a a n

Ninth in a Series of Prophetic Messages

By Louis T. Talbot, D.D.

W E WHO have witnessed the de struction and abandonment of great stockpiles of weapons and munitions following World War II can imagine to some extent the great burning of the weapons from a conflict in which possibly twenty millions of people will be destroyed which will take place when Gog and his armies are de feated. The disposal of the bodies of the slain will also present a serious problem in that day. The Buried of the Dead throughout Seven Months We turn to 39:11-16 for a description of the magnitude of the task of burying the slain from Gog’s army: And it shall came to pass in that day, that I will give unto Gog a place there of graves in Israel, the valley of the passengers on the east of the sea: and it shall stop the noses of the passengers: and there shall they bury Gog. and all his multitude: and they shall call it The valley of Hamon-gog. And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them, that they may cleanse the land. Yea, all the people of the land shall bury them; and it shall be to them a re nown the day that I shall be glorified, saith the Lord God. And they shall sever out men of continual employment, passing through the land to bury with the passengers those that remain upon the face of the earth, to cleanse it: after the end of seven months shall they search. And the passengers that pass through the land, when any seeth a man’s bone, then shall he set up a sign by it, till the burners have buried it in the vhlley of Hamon-gog. And also the name o f' the city shall be Hamonah. Thtis shall they cleanse the land. In the first place, God will give unto Gog a vast cemetery, so that those who pass by may know what happened to the one- whose greed and lust led him to attempt to plunder the land and the people of Jehovah. Its name is to tell the same story, for this cemetery is to be called “the valley, of Hamon-gog,” meaning “ the valley of the multitude of Gog.” It is interesting to note here that, while we have not previously seen just what will happen to Gog, the prince, in verse 11 we are told that Gog, too, will be buried in the land, which he will seek to conquer. Let us stop here a moment to contrast two scenes. Do you remember that in the thirty-seventh chapter of Ezekiel another valley was brought to our at- Page Ten

remember that not only will judgment be sent by God upon the army of Magog, but fire and punishment will also be visited upon the land itself. No doubt the punishment at home will be sc great that all who are able will be busy bury ing the dead there. And, according to verse 13, the defeat and death of the army of Gog will be for an object les son before all men, reminding them that Jehovah of ancient Israel will vindi cate His people. And through all this He will receive honor and glory. Would that the nations of the world would turn from their wicked ways of defiance and insult to God, bow their knees, and ac knowledge His right to rule and reign over the world that He has made! But the heart of the natural man is “ des perately wicked” and opposed to God’s will. The Lord has been speaking in grace and mercy for more than nineteen hundred years and yet the greater per centage of the population of the earth has not turned to God. Nor will unregen erate man acknowledge God’s interest in the earth. Therefore, to this Christ- rejecting world God must one day speak in terrible judgment.' And this punish ment upon Gog and his army is but one of the judgments that will be meted out upon the earth as God thunders His wrath. The last book in the Bible is filled with a description of the judg ments of God. My dear friend, if you are reading these pages and have not yet come in to the family of God, let me solemnly warn you that those who will not have the love of God as manifested in His Son, must some day be the objects of His fierce wrath. Today the way is open. Yea, the door into the new life that is to be found in Christ Jesus is open wide. “ Whosoever will” may en ter in, and have everlasting life. I pray that you may come; and coming, find life and peace and endless joy in Him, whom to kiiow is life eternal. The Feeding of the Beasts and the Fowls upon the Flesh of the Mighty Let us turn now from the scene of the great burial to that pictured in 39:17-20: And, thou son of man, thus saith the Lord God; Speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field, Assemble ySurselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, even a great (Continued on Page 27) T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S

tention? That one was filled with dry bones which represent the nation of Israel. The valley graveyard, in this case, represents the Gentile nations, among which Israel has long been scattered. In this scene of bleak deso lation Ezekiel was told to prophesy; and as he obeyed, the bones strangely moved, came together, and were cov ered with sinews, flesh, and skin. They were n6w a valley filled with corpses, yet without life. To Ezekiel again came the word of God, and he was told to prophesy to the four winds, that breath and life might enter into this multitude of corpses. And even 'as he obeyed, breath entered into them, and the mul titude stood upon its feet, an exceed ingly great army. All this, God told Ezekiel, was but a picture of national Israel at the time of the end, when God would take them from the cemeteries of the nations of the world, breathe new life into them, and return them again to their own land. Then they shall live again as a nation before Him. My friends, it is thrilling to be living in a day when this prophecy of the restora tion of Israel is taking place as God has spoken it! And just as surely as it has begun, so surely will it be consum mated, exactly as foretold in God’s Word! Now, in contrast, see Gog’s army, an other exceedingly great host of mil lions, lying dead upon the mountains of Israel. For this army, dead because they will have opposed the living God, burial, not resurrection, will be ordered. They are to be buried together in a vast cemetery, as a reminder to all people of what happens to the nations who defy God. This scene will make World War II look like a mere skirmish. Verse 12 goes on to state that a full seven months will be required to inter the dead. Evidently they will not be buried in huge trenches, as some have been buried after great disasters, be cause the Jews will not want to defile the land. There are certain strict rules and regulations among the orthodox Jews which require them, to bury the dead in a certain way, in order that the land may be ceremonially clean. Ac cordingly, throughout seven ghastly months, the people of Israel will move up and down the lands, placing under the sod the remains of the once proud soldiers of the northern confederacy. Some have wondered, in this connec tion, why the government of Russia will not bury her ovm dead. But we must

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