King's Business - 1921-01

THE K I N G ’S BUS I NES S

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the most winsome men we have ever known. Everybody loved him. But he constantly and persistently used his per­ sonal charm for one purpose— to win the men, women and children with whom he came in contact to a personal accept­ ance of and devotion to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. He was perhaps somewhat severe in his judgment of those who did not do personal work. He had little us$ for a minister of the Gos­ pel; no matter hotv brilliant a pulpiteer he might be, who did not engage in per­ sonal hand-to-hand work. He whis­ pered to me one night in a great crowd of 15,000 people in an English city, “Do you see So and So?” naming a min­ ister who was very active in public work and whom he had thought of inviting to this country. “Yes, what about him?” “Have you ever noticed th a t he never deals with an individual?” “No,” I re­ plied, “I had not noticed it." “Well,” he said, “you watch him.” The man was not invited to this country. In the after meetings Mr. Alexander would constantly, if not invariably* turn to the ministers, elders and other church dig­ nitaries who were op. the platform, watching what was going on, and fairly driving them off the platform down into the audience to do personal work. Oftentimes he would seek out the poor, sick and unfortunate in one way or another and go to their wretched homes in order to tell them personally about the Saviour whom he had found and who had done so much for him. The doing of personal work was a per­ fect passion with him. It was not necessary for him to make a studied ef­ fort to do it: he did it spontaneously and automatically. It was as natural for him, after the Lord Jesus Christ had carried his heart captive, to do personal work as it was to eat or drink or sleep. He has gone from us. It hardly seems possible. But the fragrance of his mem­ ory will long remain with us and in the churches of Australia, New Zealand,

Tasmania, England, Scotland, Ireland, Canada and many states of the Union. Those were wonderful nights in Mel­ bourne, London, Liverpool, Bolton, Phil­ adelphia when he stood before his choirs (sometimes 3000 voices) and raised his hand and led them in such a burst of melody and praise as perhaps the world has never heard elsewhere. Oh, but that was nothing to tbe music of th a t world to which he has gone and to which all of us, who believe in the Christ in whom he believed, are soon going! “SPEAK FOB YOURSELF, JOHN" Prof. Eugene C. Caldwell, professor of New Testament Interpretation of Union Theological Seminary, has solved the whole “Pre and Post” question. In a pamphlet, “The Millennium,” pub­ lished by the Presbyterian Committee of Publication, he tries to show th a t the thousand years of Rev. 20 indicates the period between 100 A. D. to the second coming of Christ, or end of the world. He says th a t the words “one thousand years” are not to be taken seriously, anyway. So we are to understand that ■ Satan was bound long ago, Christ and the saints enthroned and there is no millennium ahead of us. Well, well, after all this time we find th a t’ every­ body is wrong. v Dr. Caldwell concludes, “I have ap­ proached Rev. 20 with no preconcep­ tions or theories of my own. I have endeavored to let John say what I think he means to say.” Now, if,th e dear professor would ju st let John say all that he does say, instead of what “I think he means to say,” possibly the conclusion would be different. Poor John—he is having a hard time with these modern professors who won't let him say anything except what they want to believe. m The darkest shadows of life are those which a man makes for himself when he stands in his own light.

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