August 1928
T h e
K i n g ’ s
B u s i n e s s
462
15he ci{gse Still Grows Near a shady wall a rose once grew, Budded and blossomed in God's ; free light; Watered and fed by morning dew, Shedding its sweetness day and night. As it grezv and blossomed fair and tall, Slowly rising to loftier heights, It came to a crevice in the wall, Through which there shone a beam of light. Onward it crept with added strength. With never a thought of fear or pride, It followed the light through the crevice's length, And unfolded itself on the other side.
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The light, the dew, the broadening view, Were found the same as they were before, And it lost itself in beauties new, Breathing the fragrance more and more. Shall claim o f death cause us to grieve, And make our courage faint or fall? Nay; let us faith'and hope receive; The rose Still grows beyond the wall.
Scattering fragrance far and wide, Just as it did in days of yore. Just as it did on the other side, J.ust as it. zoili forevermore.
:—A. L. F rinke .
B i i M It is to be hoped that the American paper which orig inally broadcasted these damaging reports will even yet make some effort to cover the territory with a clear-cut retraction. T WO great events happened during the year 1628, the one leaving its permanent mark upon political insti tutions of England, by which Charles I reluctantly put his royal hand to the Petition of Right; and the other, being the birth of John Bunyan, gave us those books which have exercised an effect upon the Christian thought o f the Eng lish-speaking peoples, second only to the Word of God. Men o f all shades of opinion have united to do honor to his memory. Bunyan was possessed, in an amazing degree, of physi cal and moral courage, and also endowed with a super sensitive conscience which shrank from the very appear ance o f anything approaching duplicity, diplomacy, sub terfuge, or evasion. Doubtless he-could have escaped much of his suffering had he been disposed to any dealings other than the most rigid, scrupulous, and transparent honesty. He might have walked abroad and not languished in prison, by giving a tacit promise not to call together his congregation for worship, for the authorities would have closed their eyes to his private or incidental ministry. Bunyan, however, had absolutely nothing in his makeup that would have produced an artful dodger, a trimmer, a Jesuit, or a casuist. When kindly disposed men in authority, like the town-clerk o f Bedford, urged him to save himself the evils of prison life, advancing the argument that a nominal and formal promise of obedience to the requirements of the Conventicle Act, would not deprive him of a quiet ministry of unobtrusive labor, he steadfastly declined to burden his conscience by giving an understanding which was capable of bearing any Jesuitical purport. Although all churches now honor Bunyan, what in common is there between the valiant, dauntless, grim and resolute Puritan, and the insipid, weak, watery, jellyfish temporizers of today? To Modernists he was a fanatic and obscurantist, who made trouble about trifles. He would today be denounced, like those who follow him, as a bigot. It is certain were Bunyan living today that he would find more than one Mr. Facing-both-ways.
S h a ll C h ris tia n s V o te ? T HE annual tax imposed by the Romans upon the Jews of our Lord’s time was very distasteful. Several times Jewish leaders had arisen to oppose the idea of the Jews having any obligations toward the Roman govern ment. Such advocates were promptly imprisoned and we read in Acts 5 :37 of one Judas of Galilee who perished in consequence of his efforts to instruct the Jews against par ticipation in the Roman government. Perhaps the Scribes and Pharisees, in putting the delicate matter up to Jesus, hoped that the same fate would befall Him. We read in Mt. 2 2 :15-22 how the question had been formed by the supreme intellects for the purpose o f trapping Jesus. But He answered like lightning and His answer*cannot be improved upon:— “ Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and unto God the things that are God’s.” The state has its sphere. W e have our duties toward it. God has His throne. W e are to be loyal to Him, and no unholy allegiance to an earth kingdom should make us traitors to God. Surely the sense of accountability to God will lay upon us some civic duties; Our form of govern ment certainly places its citizens in such a position, that certain responsibilities in the support and direction of it devolve upon them. W e have met some who frequently quote Col. 1 :20 as a reason why they should not cast their vote in elections. Mr. Moody once asked an evangelist his .opinion concern ing a very grave political situation and the reply was—■ “ My citizenship is in heaven.” Said Mr. Moody— “ Bro ther, you’d better get it down here for the next sixty days.” He did not believe in shirking responsibility down here because he was going up there. W e are not advising Christians to jump into politics, but we do feel that we are called upon by the New Testa ment to do our duty toward the government whose protec tion we enjoy, and which we can in a measure protect from designing office-seekers. W h a t I f H o u d in i H ad T o l d ? T HE American Magazine in its, March number carried a remarkable article concerning Houdini, the famous magician. This man amazed great audiences everywhere with his dare-devil feats and unsurpassed dexterity. So mystifying were his escapes from manacles, strait-jackets, prison cells, sealed chambers, chests and casks of every
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