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THE KING’S BUSINESS
God what belongs to you, your own poor, broken, sinful heart, and he’ll make it clean —see if he doesn’t.” Professor Adolf Harnack, of Berlin Uni versity, one of the most distinguished of German critics maintains the ground “that the early date of the Acts may be taken as proved alike by positive and neg ative arguments.” Professor Harnack is of the opinion that the three Gospels which the critics call Synoptics were all composed before the fall of Jerusalem, i. e., by the Sixth decade of the first Christian century. Evidently where savants disagree in the manner that Professor Gilbert and Profes sor Harnack do, Biblical criticism of a de structive character is not a sufficiently ex act science for the average mind to place much reliance upon it. Professor Foerster, eminent European scholar, states the two ground principles which must inform an educator: “He must know the highest end of all education and he must be both idealist and realist. These conditions are only realized in Christ, the Christ Who is Son of God, the Christ of thé Passion, fùll of blood and tears. The end of the Christian peda gogic knows no solid truth, no light tower. It has the oil-lamp of subjectivity alone, and this quickly goes out in a stormy jour ney. The end in view which Christian edu cation cherishes is sharp and clear-cut; but the modern ‘personality’ education never gets beyond half things. Education parted from Christianity is illusionist. Mayor Gaynor seems to have forgot that besides its being appointed to men once to die “there is after that the judgment.” The dead mayor’s friend recalled after his death a paragraph he wrote in a letter to his sis ter soon after the attempt on his life three years ago. It was this : “I was not a bit afraid to die if that was God’s will for me. I said to myself ‘just as well now as a few years from now.’ N° one who contemplates the immensity ot Almighty God, His universe and His works
There is a story of a man who had wasted his life, and who at last, near the end, found peace in believing. A friend said to him, “Are you afraid to die?” He answered, “No, I am not afraid to die, but I am ashamed to die.” A well-known minister wished to ascend a tower that commanded a fine view of the surrounding country. “Come this way, sir,” said the guide, leading him to some steps which looked as if they led into a vault. “But I want to ascend, not descend!” “This is the way up, sir.” A few steps down led to many steps up. The story is told of a gentleman who gave a. little boy a dollar, saying, “Now you must keep that.” “Oh, no,” said the boy, “I shall halve it first. Maybe I’ll keep my half.” “Your half?” said the gentleman. “Why, it’s all yours.” “No,” answered the child; “I always go halves with God.” If such tithing were practiced, even among our church members, whose imagination could picture the result? I have not lighted upon the right way 'of putting Christ to the bank, and making myself rich with Him. My misguided and childish trafficking with that matchless Pearl, that heaven’s Jewel, the Jewel of the Father’s delights, hath put me to a great loss. O that He would take a loan of me, and my stock, and put His name in all my bonds, and serve Himself heir to the poor, mean portion which I have, and be accountable for the talent Himself. —Samuel Rutherford. One may give only that which is his own. A story in The Christian Advocate makes one of its characters say: “Nancy, I would give all the world if I could feel a Chris tian’s comfort.” And Nancy replies: “And that’s a brave speech, sir, to give what isn’t your own—a pretty gift, I’m thinking, the Lord would think it. Would I thank you if you said, ‘Nancy, I’ll give you the house over yonder,’ when I know well enough it belongs to Captain Nash? No, no; give
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