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T h e K i n g ’ s B u s i n e s s
September 1932
phanages wherein, during the course of his long life, thou sands of orphans were cared for and trained. And the work still goes on. “ His works do follow him.” He gave God a large place in his thought and life. His faith was un mixed with speculation about natural law or circumstances. He had the God of laws and circumstances, and like Jere miah of old, he met with unwavering faith the challenge of that God: “ Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh: is there anything too hard for me? . . . Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not” (Jer. 32 :27 ; 33 :3). I have been impressed with the frequency with which the prophets and apostles make use of the fact of divine Omnipotence in their prayers and exhortations. In the midst of difficulties and discouragements that would appall the stoutest hearts, they calmly plead the infinite power o f their God who “ bows the heavens and comes down,” shaking prison walls, alarming the impenitent, and filling the souls of believers with the power and glory of His presence. Whoever will study reverently such passages as Isaiah 40 ¿1-31, Amos 5 :8,9, Acts 4 :24-31, and Revelation 8:3-5 will get a new conception of the possibilities of prayer. How U nbelief L imits G od There are two respects in which we may limit God by unbelief. We limit Him when we doubt His willingness. This is to dishonor His goodness. He is willing to save all men. Such is the implication of the incarnation and death o f Jesus Christ. His identification with humanity was complete. It was as Son of Man that He declared He was to suffer and die for men. And language could not more explicitly assert a fact than the Scriptures do the uni versality of His gracious provision for their salvation. The boundless love which inspired the provision is con vincing proof of God’s willingness to save every soul of the race, on the sole condition of accepting that provision. Dare we then fix a limit to His grace, when He has not done so? Yet that is what we do, if we doubt the wideness of His mercy and thereby hinder its manifestation among men. Secondly, we limit the Holy One by doubting His power. The above remark on the omnipotence of God as a ground o f assurance in prayer will furnish emphasis for what follows. The faith that sees His wonders never ex cepts the worst sinners on earth. Our conception of the worst is often as faulty as was that of Christ’s contem poraries who never supposed that the respectable Pharisees were the hardest sinners of that time. Yet Jesus declared that the state of publicans and harlots was more hopeful than theirs. The self-righteous man presents no opening for the gospel. That sense of need which gives such point and force to the appeals of the gospel seems utterly want ing in him. We must not, however, despair even of him. For God’s Word is “ like as a fire . . . and like a ham mer that breaketh the rock in pieces,” and faith is the breath that kindles the fire and the hand that wields the hammer. H e W ill C arry Y ou T hrough We limit the Holy One when we doubt His power not only to make us right, but to keep us right. His very title, as standing for His character, suggests His purpose to make us like Himself and emphasizes the obligation and the privilege of a holy life. “ Be ye holy; for I am holy” admits of no evasion or misunderstanding. I once listened with a shuddering sense of disappointment to a preacher’s attempt to show that no man could keep the command ments, and all that was expected of us was to do the best we could do under the circumstances and to keep on re
penting as we kept on sinning. Such a travesty of the gos pel is not only derogatory to the Lord, but is also paralyz ing to the conscience and will o f those to whom it is preached. The preacher cut the ground from under his ex hortation by his perversion of Scripture; for if men cannot keep the commandments, why should they be urged to do so, and if they are not expected to be holy, why are they commanded to be sb? Such preaching ignores the truth that God’s commands are His enablings, that the command carries the promise of power to the end sought—power operative through the faith o f willing souls. It was a just conception of this phase of salvation that led an ancient divine to say, “ Give what Thou commandest, and command what Thou wilt.” To doubt God’s ability to deliver us from sin and to keep us from conscious sinning is to prepare the way for failure. Once more recur to the story of Israel for the illustra tion of this fact. The Lord “ brought them out that he might bring them in, to give them the land which he sware [Continued on page 399] The Missionaries’ Spiritual Needs h y pray for the missionaries ? The missionaries’ re- quests for prayer have often been brought to your attention. Various letters from fields far and near have emphasized this matter. Reports almost invariably end, “ Above all, pray for us.” Are these requests nothing but idle talk? Are they just a nice, convenient way to close a letter, paper, or report? If there is a deeper meaning, what is it? I would like to give you some specific reasons why you should constantly remember those on foreign fields. II Much impression, little expression. I speak in re gard to language study. On coming to the field, one ex periences a lengthy period of impression. This prolonged condition sometimes approaches depression. No little suf fering is occasioned by inability to enjoy freedom in ex pression. 2. Spiritual drought. You may know o f preachers in the homeland who become “ bone dry” spiritually. One on other fields, cut off from former Christian fellowship, finds there is a tendency for this condition to become acute. It is not easy to keep the spiritual fires kindled and burning. A brother in active service once said, “ A mis sionary is like a sponge out under the sun.” One must take in of the things of God in order to give out. 3. . Exposure to temptation. Satan does not regard lightly the bringing of the light and knowledge of God into lands he has kept benighted for so long a time. If he can break the spirit of the ambassador of light, he has won his fight. 4. Spiritual hosts o f demons. Read the last part of Ephesians 6, and remember that the missionary must en counter these hosts of demons in a way you never dreamed of. I am willing to let those on the field testify to this fact. 5. Readjustment. Climatic readjustment is by no means the only one. We, especially those who come to the East, are among a strange people who think and act in a different manner. Furthermore, we may never fathom their minds, but they fathom us. We learn that a com plete readjustment in approach to the mind, in tact, in modes o f thought, and in methods of dealing with the people is necessary. 6. Progress in the work is not swift. Do not forget that the “ enemy of souls” will raise such opposition that only by superhuman power, patience, and love can a work progress.— N. B. W right .
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