TO THE READER—Stick a one-cent • stamp^ere, hand the/ magazine to a postman, and it will \be. sent to- the / Am r \ ' . VOL. IX JANUARY, 1918 No. 1 The King's Business Published once a month by the BIBLE INSTITUTE OF LOS ANGELES LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, U. S. A. ONE DO L L A R A YEAR BIBLE INSTITUTE OF LOS ANGELES (INCORPORATED) LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, U. S. A. DIRECTORS R. A. Torrey, vice-president, Leon V. Shaw, treasurer. William Evans. J. O. Smith Lyman Stewart, president. J. M. Irvine, secretary. T. C. Horton, superintendent. H. A. Gçti Nathan Newby DOCTRINAL STATEMENT the Church as expressed in the Common including: The Maintenance of Good Works. The Second Coming of Christ. The Immortality of the Spirit. The Resurrection of the Body. The Life Everlasting of Believers. The Endless Punishment: of the Im penitent. The Reality and Personality of Satan. (7) Bible Women. House-to-house visitation and neighborhood classes. (8) Oil Fields. A mission to men on the oil fields. (9) Books and Tracts. Sale and dis tribution of selected books and tracts. (10) JHarbor Work. For seamen at Los Angeles harbor. (11) The Biola Club. Daily noon meetings for men in the down-town district, with free reading-room privi leges. (12) Print Shop. For printing Testa ments, books, tracts, etc. A complete establishment, profits going to frpe dis tribution of religious literature. We hold to the.Historic Faith of Creed of Evangelical Christendom and The Trinity of the Godh&^i. The Deity of the Christ. ■ The Personality of the Holy. Ghost. The Supernatural and -Plenary au thority of the Holy Scriptures. The Unity in Diversity of the Church, the Body and Bride of Christ. The Substitutionary Atonement. The Necessity of the New Birth. Thimnci?* P i l Institute trains, free MrUJJJUoV* cost, accredited men and women, in the knowledge and use of the Bible. • . , (1) The Institute Departments: classes held daily „except on Saturdays and Sundays. (2 ) Extension work. Classes and "conferences held in neighboring cities and towns. # ( } ) Evangelistic. Meetings, conducted by our evangelists. (4) Spanish Mission. Meetings every night. (5) Shop Work. Regular services m shops and factories. (6) Jewish Evangelism. Personal work among the Hebrews. SCOPE OF THE WORK Dead Opportunities are not Usually Resurrected This is Certainly YOUR Opportunity WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH IT? Bible Study by Correspondence UNDER THE MOST COMPETENT INSTRUCTORS Here Is Your Case in a Nutshell. You dread to tackle a Sunday School Class. You fear to lead a prayer meeting or a young people’s meeting. You are scared stiff when an opportunity is at hand to lead a soul to Christ. ALL BECAUSE you feel a powerlessness in your scanty knowledge of the Word of God. What Is Your Responsibility? You cannot attend a Bible Institute (perhaps). But does that excuse you from the responsibility of getting at least a working knowledge of the Bible? NO. Instruction by the Correspondence School of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles is no experiment. Many have been made efficient workers and YOU may be made efficient. GET IN TOUCHwithI Cor respondence School at once and learn more about the Courses. The cost of a course is not worth mentioning. No Christian should be without these helps. Write right now to— Secretary of the Correspondence School BIBLE INSTITUTE OF LOS ANGELES, CAL. COURSES 1. Bible Doctrine ByR. A. Torrey 2. Life of Christ By R. A. Torrey 3. Through the Bible By John H. Hunter 4. Personal Work By T. C. Horton T B n® 1 1 will water U every moment will keep it night and day. Isa. 27.3 MOTTO: " I the Lord do keep ‘lest any hurt it, / n _ T C HORTON, J. H . HUNTER? W IL L IA M . E V A N S D . D „ A ssociate Ed.tors 1, c . n u i u u n , A . M . ROW , M anaging Editor PubiisKed by the BIBLE INSTITUTE OF LOS ANGELES, Inc. 4 ~ i -.A-«». »t Los Angeles,- Cal., c - n w 1 *■ | ■* “ VOL. IX JANUARY, 1918 No. 1 CONTENTS Editorial: Nineteen-Eighteen—Will the Allies Win?—The Allies Fatal Mistake— Will There be Universal and Lasting Peace?— Dr. Shailer Mathews and the Premil- I M M Pope and the Kaiser-Driven Out of the Show Business— Words of Approbation. Destiny of Man. (Poem) By Dr. J. H. Alexander....-............ J. Salvation Talks. By Keith L. Brooks............. Some Tests of Old Testament Criticism. By Dr. Griffith ^. Thomas ..................................... ^g Bolivia Missionaries ............ a '" - t ................................................. j ........... i ft How to Grow in Grace. By Dr. R^A^ Torrey...,..................... Watch-Night Innovation By A. P. ......................................... 26 Puzzling Passages and Problems.................................. _g Through the Bible with Dr. Evans...-......E.......|nH| ” o -2 Evangelistic Department. By BibleJnstitute Workers.......... 33 Dr. Zwemer in China. By Reuben Torrey, Jr................... - ~ || The Far Horizon............- -- ---...... - ................. ■....................... 47 Homiletical Helps. By William Evans...................................... ^ International Sunday School Lessons. By Institute Specialists 50 Daily Devotional Studies in the Old and New Testaments for Individual Meditation and Family Worship. By K. A . j g Torrey ................................................................................... a T O R R E Y . D. D ., E ditor . SU B SCR IPTIO N PR IC E— In the points .in f n t r l A ^ e A c a n P o s t a U n xon , c ^ t per g g K t g j r e q u e s t . J \H “ SeSpt. 18’? means Expires Sept. 1918, etc. BIBLE INSTITUTE OF LOS ANGELES 536-558 SOUTH HOPE STREET LO S A N G E LE S, C A L. i : r r tee o f a 2^ e s s M cTbf King's liusiiu'ss m -------------------- Il Voi. 9 ITTI JANUARY, 1918 0 No. 1 ------------------- r; i n --------------------------- E D I T O R I A L ------------------- Ü INETEEN-EIGHTEEN. ■O' Though this number of T he K ing ' s B usiness will reach most of our subscribers early in December, it is the January number, the number that ushers in a new year. All thoughtful men enter upon any new year with very serious and solemn thought, but there has never been a year within the memory of any who are now living, presenting such solemn questions and fraught with such tremendous responsibilities as the year 1918. After long years of peace, in which we have dreamed that we would never be in a gréât war again, we are suddenly plunged into the most awful conflict known in human history. The flower of our young manhotìd have been gathered together to be trained for savage and relentless warfare. Some have already fallen. It is almost certain that hundreds of thousands more will die before the year 1918 has passed. Even people who up to the present time have lived in utter carelessness and folly are beginning to think. Into the majority of our homes before this year ends, death, sorrow, and sore bereavement will havé entered. There is scarcely a reader of this magazine who will not have to face severe trial, and probably heavy bereavement before the year is over. But if we really are Christians and our affections are set upon the things upon which they ought to be set, none of these things need move us. God’s Word as found in Col. 3:1-4, “ If then ye were raised together with Christ, seek the things that are abdve, where Christ is, seated on the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things that are above, not upon the things that are Upon the earth. For ye died and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall be-manifested, then shall ye also with Him be manifested in glory,” ought to come to our hearts with special power in these days. Why need we fear ? Why need we even shqd many tears if our minds are really set upon things that are above even if our property is heavily taxed, yeâ, even if it is all swept away, yea, even if our beloved sons and other loved ones are slain in battle, if we believe in the life that is endless, and that “ to depart and be with Christ is very far better” (Phil. 1 :23) ? What difference does it make, provided we really are in Christ, if we are called from this world in 191&;or twenty, thirty^forty, or fifty years later? What difference does it make tyhether we take oüKdèpàJture from this world by a quiet death at home, or are blown to pieces in battle? While 1918 begins as a dark year, it is a year df most glorious opportunity. Never were there such opportunities o f showing one’s self loyal to God and devoted to his fellow men. Never were there such opportunities of presenting the gospel to perishing men in the power of thè Holy Ghost as are before us today. Shall we let these opportunities pass unimproved, or shall we make the most for time and for eternity of these opportunities which God now presents to us? Year 1918, we dp not fear thee; we hail thee, without a fear, with determination, with glad ness and with hope. 2 THE KING’S BUSINESS ■fJITILL THE ALLIES WIN? A few months ago most of us were confident that with the entrance of America into the war, and with the advances that the Allies were making, that the end of the war was in sight, and that victory was assured to the. Entente Allies. Most thoughtful people are not quite so sure of it today as they were a few months ago. Personally, we still think that the Allies will win, though we doubt whether they shall have such a sweeping victory that they will be able to realize the aims that they have had in view. But they may be dèfeated. Suppose they are. Then there will be dark days, very dark days. But even so, the intelligent Christian, the Christian who understands his Bible, need not be in the least down-hearted. Dark days, the darkest this world has ever seen, are sure to come sooner or later, even if we do win in the present war. But these dark days are but the precursors o f the brightest days this world has ever seen. Before the full dawn of that glorious day that is coming, as our Lord Jesus tells us, “ There shall be signs in the sun and moon and stars ; and upon the earth distress of nations, in perplexity of the roaring of the sea and the billows; men fainting for fear, and for expectation of the things which are coming on the world: for the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. And THEN shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.” When these darkest of all dark days come, and there are many indica tions that they are fast drawing on, we do not need to tremble nor fear, nor be down hearted ; on the other hand, in such days as these, as our Lord tells us in the next verse, “When these things begin to come to pass, look up and lift up your heads'; because your redemption draweth nigh” (Luke 21:25-28). When the hearts of men and women in this world, men and women who only look at the things which are before their eyes, and know not God’s, glorious promises about thé future, are fainting, then is just the time when the heart of the Christian should be more expectant and jubilant than ever. 'Lloyd George has recently set a good many people to thinking by charg ing the Allies with having made a fatal mistake up to the present date bv a lack of unity and co-ordifiation among their forces. Certainly this has been a griev - ' ous mistake from the standpoint of military strategy, and it has produced very serious results, but this is not the most fatal mistake of the Allies. Their most fatal mistake is that they have left God out of account in their calculations. It is true that there have been calls to prayer, but largely worded in such a way ks to make merely a convenience of God. There have been no ringing calls to repentance and confession of sin, and humiliation. There has been nothing like national repentance in any one of the Allies. America as well as England and France and the other nations have gone right on in their disregard of God. It is true, as stated above, that they have tried to make a convenience and ally of God by a certain formal praying to Him, but there has been no absolute sur render to God in the conduct of national life, or even of individual life, along the lines of obedience to His will revealed in His word. The war would be brought to a very sudden and a very satisfactory close if the different allied nations would humble themselves before God, confess their sins, acknowledge God’s rights in national, commercial, political, and individual life, and then cr,y to God for His help. HDHE ALLIES’ FATAL MISTAKE. 3 THE KING’S BUSINESS w rILL THERE BE UNIVERSAL AND LASTING PEACE? Three days ago we heard a brilliant minister of the gospel from Boston in a “ rousing address” try to inspire hope in the hearts of people and inspire them to effort by telling them, as so many are telling us, in these days, that the outcome of the present war and the sure victory that is coming to the Allies, will be a universal and lasting peace, that there will be a league of righteous nations that will forever make war impossible among men. No wonder people like to think so. but is it so ? That there may be a temporary peace, and a wide spread peace, we think to be very likely, but no one who knows and believes his Bible can believe that it will be a permanent peace. God has told us distinctly in Dan. 9:26 (R. V .), that until the end of the present dispensation there “ shall be war.” O f course, there may be temporary and wide-spread peace, but this : dispensation ends in War, the most awful war the world has ever seen. The present century was ushered in with a great blare of trumpets and proclama tion that it was to be the most glorious century in the world’s history. We were told that wars should soon come to an end, and that the millennial predictions of the Word of God should be realized in the opening years of this century. Eighteen years of this century have already passed. The predictions of these superficial optimists have not been realized. On the contrary, we have been plunged into, such a war and into such a social, financial, political, and moral 'abyss as'the world has not known,* for centuries at least. There will be no uni versal and lasting peace until the Prince of Peace, Ow,- x.ord Jesus, comes and takes the reins of government. If the present Kaiser is not the antichrist, and we do not think he is, there will be another Kaiser, far more terrific and power ful than he, and there will be a reign of “ frightfulncss'’ such as the present Kaiser never dreamed of. But all this will simply be the precursor and prep aration for the glorious day that is surely coming, when “ the kingdom of the world is become the kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ: and He shall reign for ever and ever,” and in that day “ the earth shall be full of the knowl edge of the LORD, as the waters cover tire sea” (Isa. 11:9). Though we suf fer, and suffer greatly for a while, we need have no fear and no regrets, but always hear the Lord say in the midst pf the most severe testings, “ Fear not, little flock, for it is the Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” ( Luke 12:32). ' - V ' ' . j Dr. Shailer Mathews of the Chicago University Divinity School, issued some time ago a pamphlet against premilienarianism, which ’ was sent very widely to ministers in this country. It was written in Dr. Mathews’ character istic, unfair and abusive style, a good deal after the manner of the article he published some years ago in The Constructive Review, denouncing the con servative theological seminaries of this country, and the Bible Institutes, and giving it to be understood that there were no scholars among the teachers in these institutions, and that all the scholarship in the country was monopolized by the type of theological opinion that he tries to represent. We exposed the childish folly of that attack at the time. Rev. Dr. Maclnnis, of the South Pres byterian Church, Syracuse, N. Y., wrote Dr. Shailer Mathews, September 27th, 1917, a letter that deserves a wide circulation, so we are presenting it here: D R. SHAILER MATHEWS AND THE PREMILLENARIANS. 4 THE KING’S B JSINESS M y D ear ,M r . M athews : , I have been interested in you and your writings for nearly twenty years and while I have not been able to agree with, all your positions I have received considerable help from them. Last evening I read your little leaflet “Will Christ Come Again” with keen disap pointment. I cannot, easily conceive how a mart could more effectively misrepresent the position o f the Godly thoughtful scholarly brethren, who because o f their serious and earnest study o f the New Testament are forced to accept the premillenarian view. O f course, I am fully aware, indeed painfully aware, that a great many who are known as premillenarians are extreme, fanatical and ridiculous in some o f the things that they say. But, for a man in your position to take up a discussion o f the subject o f the coming o f Christ and take these fanatical expressions as representative of that school, is a positive outrage. I have no. disposition, at the present, to enter into a discussion o f the “ facts” in question. I have been a student o f eschatology for years and know personally a great number o f men who accept the premillenarian view and some o f them are among the finest Christian scholars that it is my privilege to know. When I remember men like Prof. Macintosh o f New College, Edinburgh and Prof. Griffith Thomas of Wycliffe College it is hard for me ,to understand how a man in. your own position can write “ No man can hold the premillenarian view whose mind haS been really affected by the modern scientific methods and discoveries, one or the other has to be abandoned.” If by the “modern scientific methods” you mean the study o f ancient facts in the light of a modern theory and torturing them to fit them into the theory then I grant that it would be hard for such a mind to accept the premillenarian point o f view. It. is the scientific study* o f the New Testament from-the historical point of view that has driven me to accept the premillenarian position, and the thing about your pamphlet that hurts me is not any fact that you present but the unchristian and intolerant spirit o f it. Indeed I regard it as the rankest kind o f propagandist literature. There is no reason why you should be sensitive regarding any “heavily financed” propaganda because I know of no propaganda that has been so insistent as that which has been carried on by your own Institution the last twenty-five years., I am also amazed to find a man in your position using the term “best modern .scholarship” in the way that you do. I thought that use of the term and kindred terms had been relegated to cheap, superficial saplings who are getting their first glimpse o f the world of- scholarship. It Seems to me that modesty would lead you to grant that it is possible for a man to be scholarly and cultured and quite alive to all that modern scholarship has to say and yet be led to a different conclusion from that which you have reached. Your attitude reminds me o f what Prof. Stengel said not long ago about the Germans, “The whole world, and especially the neutral nations, have only one means o f profitable existenqe and that is to submit themselves to our direction which is superior to all others from every point o f view. No nation surpasses, us in the widest and highest ideals and sentiments, and under our dominion none need concern himself as to the defence o f his rights.” I suppose h^ is welcome to this exalted opinion, but o f course, he will find it hard to get the outside world to believe. You are quite entitled to your idea o f the coming o f Christ but you need not be surprised if the great bulk o f the' rank and file o f the good sane Christian people will find it a little bit hard to accept your estimate o f yourself and your particular school. This is especially true when your ideas conflict with the conclusions o f men like John who saw the Lord and Paul who was one of the first great interpreters of Christianity. I do not see what you mean when you say that the premillenarian interpretation o f the gospel denies that God is capable o f bringing about His victory by spiritual means. I do not know of any other means by which He can secure His purpose. But, if you mean by that that He does not use material agencies your statement is perfectly absurd. I f you had lived before the incarnation and had heard the prophets speaking o f God manifesting Himself in the flesh you.no doubt would have said/ttiat that was contrary to your ideas o f the spiritual and denied that God is capable o i “bringing about His victory by spiritual means.” Nevertheless in the “ fulness o f time” Christ came and it is not a question o f what God can do but o f what He actually did do. I suppose it would be possible for Him to have brought about His victory by spiritual means but He chose to secure it through the incarnation. The question o f the consummation is not a question o f what God can do but a question o f what He chooses to do, and all we know about that comes to us through the revelation that Jesus has given to us and it t h e KING’S BUSINESS 3 seems to me that you might have saving Jiumor enough to see that the question is not as to what you think God ought to do but as to what Jesus said He was going to do. The v i c t o r y H i s coming as I understand it will be the consummation o f His purpose ^ " “ f o u iliX p a m p V e t c X v m c e s X m o r e than ever, before that Dr. Orchard is alto gether right when he says, “W e have arrayed against us not so much the philosophers and the Scientists but the second hand opinion of .the very popular and imperfectly understock?1science of a generation ago. I f I understand anything at all about the temner o f the great mass o f Christian people in this country, as well as in Canada and the lands across the sea, tfiere is a very decided revolt against this thing that had its origin in Germany and has gone to seed in the collapse o f Europe. I f you men in th if countrS who stand for that rank German rationalistic interpretation o f the Bible are disposed to invite a controversy by such pamphlets as your little leaflet I am afraid that you are going to see a result that you have not counted on. I want to protest M t M M i l l l christ | the m u u R H MjgBBm with all my heart and the great question is not how He is going to come but that He is coming and that He is to reign in thd lives of men m all their social relations and through His reign going to realize the highest and best life for them. Let us give our selves to the presentation o f Jesus Christ in His immediate challenge to •men to obey Him and let us show that we have at least enough of the Spirit of Christ to enable us to allow that men may differ from us in our conclusions and yet be sane and scholarly. Really Dr Mathews, I feel that you owe an apology to your brethren in the min istrv who Accept the premillenarian view, who are among some o f the finest and most Godlv men that I know of in this country and across the Atlantic, for the grotesque mis- representation o f the°r position given in your leaflet, and let me say in all Rankness and kindness that it is my conviction that the great danger that threatens the church m this country today is not so much, even the extremes o f premillenarianism, as the blatant rationalism o f Germany which is being retailed by a coterie o f men who m an aTfogant spirit1are™constantly3 arrogating to themselves the exclusive right to be re,cognized as modern scholars. . . . . Dr. Shailer Mathews would be annoying if he were not so amusing. We suppose that there are people who will accept things simply because be says so but he wm have no weight with really thoughtful and fair-minded men. When, a man" writes: “ No man can hold the. premillenarian view' whose mind has been really affected bv the modern scientific methods and discoveries, one or the other has to be abandoned.” he simply makes a fool of himself. The truth is that the destructive criticism is thoroughly unscientific in its methods, and among the premillenarians are many men who are thoroughly conversant with the best modern scientific methods, and apply them to biblical interpretation as well as to other things. A very large proportion of the brightest scholars today are premillenarians. T h e po pe a n d t h e k a is e r . We have had occasion before to call attention to the seeming under standing between the Pope and the Kaiser. A very interesting article along this line was written in October, 1914, at the outset of the war by one who knows the papal court as very few know it, Alexander Robertson, D. D „ Venice, Italy. He writes as follows: > I HM , . . . ‘‘Soon after' the fall of the Temporal Power, in 1870, a league was founded o f all Catholics throughout Christendom for the restoration o f that Power. And the fact was fullv and ciearfy announced by the Church four years later. Cardinal Manning then saidY- ‘There is only one solution of the difficulty, a solution, I fear, impending, and that is the terrible scourge o f Continental war, a war which will exceed the horrors o that is, Empire. And it is my firm conviction that, in spite of all obstacles, the Vicar of Jesus Christ will be put again in his own rightful place. But that 6 THE KING’ S BUSINESS day will not be until his adversaries will have crushed each other with mutual destruc tion.’ In the last sentence o f this quotation, the Cardinal clearly refers to Protestant England being at war with some other Protestant nation, as he hopes, to their ‘Mutual destruction.’ GERMANY AND THE VATICAN Well the world knows—it has again and again been declared—that the Pope and the Churph have found such a power in Germany, and that in the person of the Kaiser they have found the very man to inspire and lead the nation in the enterprise. Amongst his great and varied talents, his boundless ambition and iself-confidenee which would lead him to undertake almost anything, he possesses, in quite a phenomenal degree, these two qualifications for the task—hatred o f England and love o f the Pope. I believe he stands unique amongst the rulers of the world in this respect; and it is the more strange it should be so, seeing he professes to be a Christian and a Protestant. Yet that h'e possesses, or father, is possessed by, these two passions,' therè can, I think, be no doubt. THE KAISER AND THE POPE The late Pope felt very much at home in the company o f Venetians, and talked freely to them on most subjects. In this way the Kaiser and his strange doings formed not infrequently a topic o f conversation, or at least a subject of passing remark. Indeed, this could hardly be avoided, for his portrait was a prominent object in the Pope’s rooms. Here it stood on table, there it hung on a wall, yonder it was in an album; whilst on the late Pope’s breast,' suspended on a massive gold chain, sparkled a mag nificent cross,. composed entirely o f emeralds, a gift o f the Kaiser. When any one noticed these things and called the Pope’s attention to them, a smile o f amusement, lighted up his face as he came out with his fayorite joke about the Kaiser, ‘Why he is my best European friend!’ The statement was a joke, and yet it was a literal truth. No Catholic fanatic in the world was more punctilious than he is in sending his homage and congratulations, and flattering speeches and presents to the Pope on his ever- recurring personal festivities, such as the anniversaries, the semi-jubilees and jubilees, actual or prospective, o f the day on which he was born, or was christened, or became a priest, or began to climb the ecclesiastical ladder, or reached its summit and vaulted into the chair o f St. Peter. No greater proof o f the Kaiser’s sympathy with the wearer o f the triple crown cad be given than the speech he made at aix-la-Chapelle. Part o f that speech was the following : ‘It was with pride and joy that he was able to tell them that fhe Pope had said to his special Ambassador, who went to Rome on the occasion of the Holy Father’s jubilee, that he (the Pope) had always kept a high opinion o f the piety o f the Germans, and especially o f the German army; and the Ambassador was to tell his Sovereign that the country in Europe where control, order, and discipline still prevailed, with respect for authority, and regard for the Church, and where the latter could live, was the German Empire, and for that the Papal See was indebted to the German Emperor.’ EMPEROR’ S V IS IT TO ROME When the Kaiser was in Rome in May, 1903, and paid a visit to the Pope, his conduct excited the indignation o f the whole Roman population, and was severely commented on by the Italian press. Instead o f going unostentatiously, as a private individual, as King 'Edward did (although, I think, it had been better if neither had gone), thus showing a regard for the feelings o f the King o f Italy and his Government and people, he went in the most ostentatious way possible. The visit was made on the afternoon o f Sunday, May 3rd. Starting from the Palazzo Odessalchi, the seat of the Prussian legation. ' the state carriages, drawn by four and- six horses, all o f which he had brought from Berlin, formed a cavalcade a quarter o f a mile, in length. For the occasion the main streets of Rome, through which he passed, were lined by soldiers o f all kinds, grenadiers, lancers, caribiniers. cuirassiers, bersaglieri, and alpinisti. The route was lined with Roman citizens; but«little cheering was heard until the Emperor reached the Piazza S. Pietro and the Piazza Santa Màrja. when he W 3 s greeted by the plaudits o f crow;ds o f priests and monks and German pilgrims, who were assembled in those places; In the Vatican, members o f the leading families of the ‘Black party’ were there to welcome him and to escort him to their chief. The Kaiser entered the Vatican at 3:15 and ieft it at 4:20; and, as the result o f the visit, instantly all the clerical papers announced with a flourish o f trumpets, that the, Kaiser had assured the Pope that he would take fresh: steps in favor o f Roman Catholic interests through out the Empire, and Monsignors went about Rome saying that ' the Church would not 7 THE KING’S BUSINESS have long to wait for tangible proofs o f the fulfillment o f this promise. No Sovereign, since theS creation o f the Kingdom of Italy, ever before so honored the Pope, and as a consequence showed such disregard for the feelings and interests o f the Government and people. Nor has any Protestant monarch been honored (or, I should rather say, dishonored) by the Pope as the Kaiser has been; for, to the amusement and disgust of all Italy, the Pope never fails to have a Te Deum sung in St. Peter’s in. honor o f his birthday‘ KA ISER SELLS HIS COUNTRY - . V C Then the Kaiser has done what his father’ and grandfather refused to do, although Dressed to do it : he has bestowed the decoration o f the Black Eagle upon an ecclesiastic. That decoration, the highest a German Emperor has to give, has hitherto only been bestowed upon distinguished civil servants of the Crown. William III. bestowed it on Cardinal Cope, thus honoring the Vatican and the Pope. Lastly, by secret negotiations with the Pope, and as a proof that their interests and policy in certain matters are identical, he secured the election o f one of his own subjects, Francis Xavier Warnz, to the position o f General o f the Jesuits, or to be, what one holding that position is called in Italy, the ‘Black Pope.’ PROPOSED HUM ILIATION OF ENGLAND The result of this unholy alliance, of this union in mutual love o f each other and detestation o f England, is that the Kaiser has become the willing instrument o f the Pope and the Vatican for the humiliation o f England, in order to the ultimate restoration o f the Temporal Power. What Richard Bagot the Roman Catholic novelist wrote during the Boer War, in the number of the National Review for May, 1900, holds equally true today, that ‘The whole campaign against England was due to the intrigues o f the Vatican, .which is working, as it has ever worked and ever will work, to promote and encompass the humiliation o f England.’ ~ HHH p| Italy has long known that the Vatican has been egging on the German Emperor to invade England, and has for years warned us o f our peril. She has done this with all the greater earnestness and persistency that she knows that her turn will come next She has told us that just as the naval and military preparations o f Germany, carried on with such mad haste and to such an abnormal extent, are, in her opinion, directed against England: so the similar preparations carried on in the same spirit by Austria, are directed against herself; and that, in the event o f England s humiliation, Austria will at once, backed by Germany, attempt to recover Venetia and Lombardy; and then as Dr. White’s ‘Eminent Roman Catholic diplomat at the Hague said, Italy will be deluged in blood, in the attempt to restore the Temporal Power.. A good manypeople are wondering what would be the result of the cap ture of Venice by the German forces. Would Venetia be turned over to Austria, or would it be added to the papal state? Doubtless the Pope has great hopes along this line, and that may have had a great deal to do with producing the astonishingly favorable attitude toward the Central Powers that he has shown since the beginning of the war. D DRIVEN OUT OF THE SHOW BUSINESS. One of the most interesting letters that we have received came to Dr. Torrey recently. It reads: _ > “ Some seven months ago I received a copy of T he K ing s B usiness . 1 thought it very good at the time, but put it aside. It would not keep quiet but has been continually crying out not tp be hid away, and here I am tonight writ ing to you to send me T he K ing ’ s B usiness for a. year. “ It seems very strange to be writing to you tonight, for you were partly the cause of driving me out of business, unknown to you. I was in the 10-cent show business when you were in Huntington, W. Va„ and the nights you preached my house was practically empty. Finally I went out of business, and here I am now a ‘Homesteader’ in Western Canada, sixty miles from the nearest railroad. 8 THE KING’S BUSINESS “ Thank God for the change, for in this work I feel God’s helping hand. Still, I find it very hard. Sometimes I feel like I was losing my grip, and I have longed for something to help me, and I believe I have found it in T he K ing ’ s B usiness .” T 4 7 ORDS OF APPRECIATION. ■ We receive many letters from all parts of the earth, from ministers, missionaries, and others, telling us of how they have been helped by T he K ing ’ s B usiness . Jt would, of course, be impossible to publish many .of them, but we have just received a word that we especially appreciate, from a Presbyterian minister: “ I am an old (82) retired Presbyterian minister, and have taken many church magazines during my ministerial life, and in each and all respects I have never had any that ‘filled the bill’ equal to T he K ing ’ s B usiness . May God richly bless it and its authors. Of course, I am not a pastor but I read and study as though I were, and it seems to me that I could not get along in my studies without it with God’s precious Word. My benediction of love for you and all the dear brethren of your Institute and Book Room is found in Rom. 15:13.” 9 THE KING’ S BUSINESS I T h e D e s t i n y ® f M a m j By Dr. J. H. ALEXANDER HER R is a time we know not when, Jrvtu A point we know not where, sgkfcvThat marks the destiny o f man To glory or despair. There is, a line by us unseen That crosses' every path, The hidden boundary between God’s patience and his wrath. To pass that limit is to die, To die as if by stealth; It does not quench the beaming eye Or pale the glow o f health. The conscience may be still at ease,; The spirits light and gay; That which is pleasing still may please And care be thrust away. But on that forehead God has set Indelibly a mark, Unseen by man, for man as yet Is blind and in the dark. Oh, where is this mysterious bourn By which pur path is crossed, Beyond which God himself hath sworn That he who goes is lost? How far may we go on in sin? How long will God forbear? Where does hope end, and where begin The confines of despair? And answer from the skies is sent: “Ye that from God depart, 4f r- While it is called today, repent And harden not your heart.” 0 * * . . =|||||||,||||||i||!|||||||||||i|||||||:|K|||!||||||in!lilllllllll!l!llllllllllllll!!llllllffllll!llllllllll!l!lllll!lll!llilllllll!llllll!llll!IIINIIIimilllllllll!llllll!llllllll!IIIIIIIIIIIIIIINIIIIIIIllii!lllllllllllllllllllllll!lillll[IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIll|-S \ FEIT. “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the ends thereof are the ways o f death.” “ God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself.” On account o f His suffer ing, we may escape what we deserve. On account o f His obedience, we may have what He earned. Are you finding your pleasure and life merely in the world that CRUCIFIED CHRIST? “Make room, O soul, today for Jesus, You need Him as the Truth and Way, You need Him at the time of Judgment, You need Him every passing day.” ----------0— ------- Thanks from Presbytery CP HE Presbytery of San Joaquin, whose ministers attended the recent session of the Presbyterian Synod o f California, in this city, upon their return home adopted the following resolution, which was trans mitted to the Institute by Rev. Geo. B. Greig, stated clerk: “ Whereas, The Bible Institute o f Los Angeles has extended to us the use of rooms in the Men’s Hotel at a much reduced rate; and in that, on October 18th it extended to us the courtesy o f a bounti ful dinner and gave us the privilege of looking over its splendid plant; therefore, be it resolved, that heartfelt thanks be extended to the Bible Institute with our full appreciation o f its work, and that our Staffed Clerk be instructed to do this in the name o f the body.” A LL have sinned and come short o f the glory o f God.” Every man’s life is MINUS- There is only one PLUS SIGN in all the world. The Cross o f Jesus Christ is the plus sign of a minus life. The heart o f the Gospel is “ He bore our sins in His body on th'e tree.” The old doctrine o f the atonement is still the newest and most powerful thing in the world. It outlives all the criticism o f the Word of God, and always will—for the simple reason that IT WORKS. Philip said to Nathaniel, “ Come and see.” He trusted Jesus Christ to produce His own impression. W e may still trust Him to do it, for He says, “ If any man will do my will, HE SHALL KNOMU’ The cross, once seen is death to every vice. The thing that connects one to God, is the thing that disconnects one from the things of the world, the flesh and the devil. . This is God’s one plan o f dealing with sin. Because it is GOD’ S the devil hates it and his followers oppose it. Some who laud Jesus as a MAN are the “ enemies of. the cross; o f Christ,” ' Some who praise the Lord who TAUGHT men, emphatically deny “the Lqrd who BOUGHT them.” Some who preach of ATTA INMENT, are in arms at the thought of ATONEMENT. Some who urge men to “turn over a new leaf”—know nothing of “ receiving a new life!” . Beware o f the devil’s clever COUNTER Some Tests of Old Testament Criticism - B y R e v . W . H . G r i f f i t h Y'hmm.&s ©f T o ron to , ©amaifla the orgin and structure o f Scripture. It is concerned with the historical setting o f the Bible, and with the study o f the various -books in the light o f the customs and con ditions o f the times when they were written. Higher Criticism endeavors to explain statements and passages in the light of their historical circumstances, and it need hardly be sard that when thus understood there is a wide and perfectly legitimate scope for its efforts. One thing is essential in , Biblical criti cism: we must have all the available facts before we can hope to judge rightly,^'1'here is great danger in a One-sided decision, and this emphasizes the necessity o f all study and criticism o f the Bible being at once perfectly candid, thoroughly scientific, and deeply reverent. When these condi tions are fulfilled, Higher Criticism will deepen the value o f the Bible to the reader, throw light on obscurities, and illuminate familiar passages with new aspects of truth. It is sometimes said that Higher Criti cism is so technical as to be possible only for scholars, and not for ordinary Chris- HE term “ Biblical Criticism” - is often heard today; and it is at once important and inevitable, for no one can use the Bible without being, a “critic,” that is, one who exercises his judgment. There is nothing unlawful in criticism; indeed, it is absolutely essential. The Bible challenges inquiry, for truth has nothing to conceal. There is perhaps no book in the. world so full of the most perfect can dour and frankness, inviting attention, and fearlessly, relying upon its own, substantial truthfulness to commend itself to the minds, hearts, and consciences o f its readers. There is also another term frequently used at the present time, “ Higher Criti cism,” and this, too, calls for special atten tion. What are we to understand by “Higher,” ,for it seems to imply a criticism that is “ Lower” ? Lower criticism is con cerned with the text o f the Bible, and involves the study and comparison o f manu scripts, versions and quotations in order to arrive at the correct text. This work is essential and invaluable in all translation and revision. Higher Criticism investigates THE KING’S BUSINESS 12 tians. This, however, is not the view of some of'th e leading critical scholars them selves. Thus the great Dutch critic, Kue- nen, has said-: “ No one will deny that our conception o f Israel’s religious history entirely depends upon our verdict on the Old Testament. . . The Old Testament is out'’.sole authority for by far the greater portion o f the time o f which we treat.” So the late Professor W . Robertson Smith, in his preface to a work by Wellhausen, says: “ The present volume gives the Eng lish reader an opportunity to form his own judgment . on questions which are within the scope o f anyone who reads the English Bible carefully, and is able to think clearly and without prejudice about its contents." From this it will be seen that criticism, even Higher Criticism, cannot be limited to those who possess technical scholarship. Ordinary Christians are dependent on scholars for two things: a true text, and a true translation; but when once these are obtained, .every Christian, according to his own equipment in knowledge and mental power, has a responsibility which he cannot escape. ' It is with the object o f enabling him to arrive at assurance for himself that these methods are indicated, and certain funda mental principles are enunciated. I. The Historical Fact of the Jewish Nation. The Old Testament records the national life of the Jews. This life can be proved to be in substantial harmony with the story in the Old Testament throughout the cen turies. There is no other account in detail extant, and what we find in the Old Testa ment agrees with all that is known from other ^sources. Yet modern criticism would compel us to accept a complete reconstruc tion o f Jewish history on several points: It gives a very different account o f (1) the early Jewish religion; (2) the time o f the patriarchs; (3) the character and work of Moses; (4) the origin o f the Jewish ritual; (5) the personality and religion o f David; (6) the character and purpose o f prophecy; (7) the structure and composition o f the books, especially those o f the Pentateuch. In the history o f the Jewish nation we have one of the best opportunities o f test ing the fundamental critical positions in regard to Old Testament criticism. . As we give attention tb the obvious and outstanding facts connected with the Jew ish nation and religion, we' can readily see the force o f some weighty words uttered not long ago by the Dean o f Canterbury (Dr. Wace) : “ It is surprising that modern critics should not realise that the theory they are asserting is absolutely destructive ' o f the whole Jewish religion. . . . The critical hypothesis, as it at present stands . . . assumes that the Jewish national conscious ness was deliberately and successfully falsi fied, and that what the Jews have always believed to be the beginning o f their relig ious life was really the end of it. I believe that this is both incredible and impossible.” II. The Evidence of Archaeology. During the last sixty years a vast num ber o f discoveries have been made in Egypt, Palestine, Assyria and Babylonia, many of which have been valuable for their illustra tions o f the Bible. The special advantage o f these archaeological results is that they are, as it were, tangible and intelligible by ordinary men and do not require expert scholarship to appreciate their meaning. And what is most striking is that not a single discovery has been made which goes to support the fundamental principles and positions o f the Higher Criticism, while discovery after discovery has been made to prove the truth o f the traditional view of the Bible. For those who wish to study the subject in greater detail reference may.be made to an invaluable book, The Deciding Voice o f the Monuments in Biblical Criticism, by Dr. G. M. Kyle. III. The Necessity of Spiritual Work. The use o f the Bible in connection with Christian service is universally recognized, and that part o f it which is called the Old Testament cannot be overlooked in work for God. Now no one doubts that the 13 THE KING’S BUSINESS' important to have a clear understandings of what it means to call attention to the evi dence o f the New Testament embodying the attitude o f our Lord and His followers. W e do not invoke the authority o f Christ to close questions summarily, but we adduce the witness o f the New Testament in sup port o f the contentions o f conservative his torical scholarship. I f we see that the wit ness o f Christ „and His Apostles corre sponds with the Church’s view o f the Bible, the testimony is assuredly weighty, and this is all that is desired. But it is also impossible to ignore the testimony o f Christ, because He is actually claimed by the critical side. It is said that our Lord was “the First Critic.” Whaf does this mean? There was no difference, between our Lord and His opponents as to the authority o f the Bible o f that day; no difference as to the Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch; no difference as to the posi tion and work o f David and other Old Testament personages. The only differ ence, and this was fundamental, was as to the interpretation o f that Scripture, the authority o f which both our Lord and His enemies accepted. It is therefore unfair to beg the question and call Christ “the First Critic,” especially as He described His relation to the law as that o f fulfilment, not o f destruction. What, then, was our Lord’s general view o f the Old Testament? That His Old Testament was practically, if not literally, the same as ours, and that He had a thor ough knowledge o f its contents, are admit ted by all.' Nor does anyone seriously deny that Jesus Christ accepted the Old Testa ment as authoritative, inspired, and the final court o f appeal for all questions con nected with it. No one can go through the Gospels without being impressed with the profound reverence o f our Lord for the Old Testament and with His constant use o f it in all religious matters. Whether He referred to Bible names, or incidents, or to its deep teaching about God, it was always with the utmost reverence and with the evident conviction that it embodied a divine blessing o f the Spirit o f Truth rests upon those who are serving God while holding and teaching the conservative view. There are men today o f outstanding influence doing evangelistic and pastoral work who cling tenaciously to the “old paths.” Their belief has been no bar to the grace of God. Blessing has manifestly come through use o f the books o f the Old Testament as they now exist; Divine lessons have been brought home to us by means o f the pres ent form o f the older part o f Scripture. Biblical criticism deals with literature, but it should never be forgotten that the Bible represents the literature of Divine revela tion. While we welcome all that criticism can do in making the past clearer, and in enabling us to enter more fully into the Divine methods of work, yet the Bible is the revelation o f God for spiritual life, and not merely for historical literature, however valuable. Whenever criticism tends to for get this and to emphasize what are called scientific methods and theories, the question o f the spiritual value o f the Bible becomes imperative. What is even worse is the spiritual loss manifestly seen in those preachers who hold but do not preach the critical view, for it cannot but be detrimental to the ethical life o f a man to hold one thing and to preach another. Until a spiritual note is struck Christian workers will be unable to accept the modern critical position. “The musical know what is music, and the spiritual what is o f the Spirit.” For this reason we hold that any doctrine o f the Bible for spiritual men must bear the seal o f the Holy Spirit. The conserva tive view has the mark o f this seal, and has been, and is being, abundantly "blessed. Can this be said of the advanced critical position ? IV. The Witness of Our Lord and His Apostles. For many reasons it would be preferable to leave our Lord Jesus out o f this sub ject, because we are convinced that scholar ship is amply sufficient to settle the ques tion. But while this is impossible, it is 14 'THE KING’S ’BUSINESS revelation. This general view is confirmed by His detailed references. There is scarcely an historical book from Genesis to 2 Chronicles to which our Lord does not ■refer, and it is hardly without significance that His testimony includes ref erences to the very parts-of the Old Testa ment which are most called in question to-day. But it is said that our Lord only took the ordinary views o f His time and that He was limited in knowledge as well as in other respects by reason o f His incarnation. It is, o f course, perfectly true that our Lord’s earthly life was limited, and if this is to be described as jHis Kenosis, br Self-empty ing, there can be no doubt o f the essential truth o f limitation. But if His silences were part o f His limitation, so were His utterances also. On more than one occa sion He claimed that everything He Said had the Divine warrant, and we must notice carefully what this involves. Suppose we grant that our Lord’s knowledge was lim ited because He, lived here as Man, not a,s God. Very well; as Man He claimed that everything He said and did was from God, and through God, and if therefore the limi tations were from God, so also were the utterances, and as - God’s warrant was claimed for every one o f these, they are therefore Divine and infallible. We are justified in urging that the utterances as well as the silences must be faced, because God was behind both. The fact is that it is impossible to speak o f our Lord’s Keno- sis, or Self-emptying, without at the same time remembering His Plerosis, or Divine Fulness o f Word and Work. So that even though we may grant to the full a theory that will compel us to accept a temporary disuse, or non-use, o f the functions o f the Deity, yet the words actually uttered as Man are claimed to be from God, and on this account we hold them to be infallible. Besides, want o f knowledge is, not error. Our Lord may have been limited without being, in error in regard to what He actu ally said. He may not have known every thing, but what He knew He knew. Some years ago Professor Kehnett, o f Cam bridge, wrote on “ Christ the Interpreter of Prophecy,” apd the comments o f the Editor o f the Expository Times are worth notic ing. “ Have the men who make so much of the ‘ignorance’ o f our Lord considered this matter fully? They say that His knowl edge o f the Old Testament was the knowl edge o f contemporary Judaism; they say that when He spoke o f the 110th Psalm as David’s He knew no better. Have they considered how often He separated Himself from contemporary Judaism when He had occasion to refer to. the Old Testament? In this very conversation on the 110th Psalm He asked a simple question. He referred to an obvious difficulty; ‘If David calls the Messiah his Lord, how is He then his Son?' But, obvious as it was, the Pharisees ,had not thought o f it and could not answer Him.” It should bd carefully noted that after the Resurrection there could be no ques tion o f any partial knowledge," since our Lord was manifestly free from all earthly limitations. Yet it was a'fter His Resur rection also that He set His seal to the Old Testament (Luke xXiv. 44). W e con clude, therefore, that our Lord’s positive statements with regard to the Old Testa ment are not to be rejected without charg ing Him with error. Have'those who ac cept such a possibility faced the conse quences o f it? V. The Testimony of Spiritual Experience. For most 'Christian people the simplest and most conclusive proof o f the Bible will be that which is derived from their own use ‘o f Holy Scripture in daily life and work. First-and foremost, Scripture is a spiritual book brought home to the heart o f the Holy Spirit, and it is just here that criticism fails us. A learned writer justly says : “ I am struck with the absence o f any sign o f an experience distinctively Chris tian in many o f those who discuss the sanctuaries o f the Christian faith. Some o f these scholars, to judge from their
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs