T h e K i n g ’ s B u s i n e s s
231
April 1928
* ---------------------------------------------------- * POINTERS FOR PREACHERS i-——— ;— ——— -— :— 4 ' Every sermon ought to have the doc trine of Christ in it in form or in solution. ■An exchange says that some rise from a sermon greatly strengthened. Others wake from it greatly refreshed. —o— ■ Said Catherine Booth-Clibborn recent ly: “ The vocation of a preacher is so desperately serious, the subj ects he treats are so vitally important, the issues so •overwhelming, that no one truly called of God dare spend his time and talents on anything short o f the supreme objective. One day he must render an account of his stewardship.” As Seneca has well observed, there is in too many divisions as great a fault as in no division. It is useful to distribute a subject matter, into parts; it is frivolous to mince it : for to take in the minutest points, with the, same care as one would the greatest, is mere toil. —o— Someone has wisely said: “ A sermon devoted to ethics is a basket of chips to help on the eternal conflagration. A ser mon on philosophy is husks with no corn. A disquisition on literature or art is throwing nosegays to drowning sailors.” — o — Little three-year old Bobby was at tending a Sunday-school entertainment, and when others applauded, thoroughly enjoyed clapping his little hands. At the close o f the program, the minister o f fered a prayer. At the conclusion, Bobby, noticing there was.no applause, piped out shrilly, “He didn’t do very well, did he mamma ?” —o— A man called to the ministry without a feeling that he is under the compulsion to pit himself against the spirit o f his age will never make a great preacher. —-o— D. L. Moody had a quick temper. One day a disturber insulted him before one of his great meetings in the lobby o f a church and Moody’s fist shot out. instantly and rolled the man downstairs. Half an hour later he was on the platform, asking God’s forgiveness for the act in front of the entire audience. How many ministers have had the wisdom to acknowledge their mistakes in this way ?: : —o— The man behind the message should be physically fit, says Dr. Vance. It is a great help to inherit a good physique, to have a sound digestion, to possess nerves and muscles and blood cells that function per fectly. The preacher is wise who cares for his body. Physical vigor is magnetic. O f course the man o f God is not to be estimated by avoirdupois and gastronomic feats, but the old idea that a saint is sallow-visaged and dyspeptic, has passed out, not to re turn. It is a red-blooded saint whom the world of today admires.
B IB LE BR IE F S «f*------------ î—— ----------------— ---------4 1 Cor. 13:12 : “Now we see through a glass darkly.’’ The mirrors o f those days were o f polished metal, and presented a less perfect imagé than our modern mir rors. It became a proverbial phrase for man’s imperfect knowledge o f divine things.. —o— The Bible has little to say about “ reli gion.” Only three times is it mentioned—1 Acts 26:5 ; Gal. 1 :13 ; and Jas. 1 :26, 27. The word “restore" in Gal. 6 :1—“ ReS store such an one”—means in some cases, the setting of a bone. Deal with one who has' fallen, as a surgeon does with a broken arm or a leg out o f joint. Handle the case gently, considerately, so as to cause no unnecessary pain. Christian conflict: internal, with the flesh (Gal. 5:17) ; external, with the world (Jn. 16:33); infërnal, with the devil (Eph. 6 : 12 ). —o— The Chinese version of the New Testa ment, when rendered into English, yields an interesting ' light upon Jas. 5 :16. It would read something like this : “ The en ergy put forth by, the prayer o f a right eous man issues in mighty results.” In Col. .1:10 we are exhorted to “ walk worthy o f the Lord unto all pleasing.” In classical Greek the word for “pleasing” denotes a cringing, subservient habit—a readiness to do anything to please, to an ticipate the most trivial wish. Is this not God’s most sacred and eternal due? O1 Col. 1 :13 proves that Christ’s kingdom exists here 1 and now, for all believers are “ translated into it." The kingdom o f the heavens, it is. true, is yet to be mani fested in completion (Rom. 8:19; Matt. 8:11) ; yet the true kingdom of Christ is within the visible church, a wheel within a wheel. It comprises those truly deliv ered out of the power of darkness (cf. Rom. 14:17):. —o— “Love thinketh no evil” (1 Cor. 13 :S). Weymouth says: “ Love does not brood over wrongs.” Moffatt’s translation is, “‘It is never resentful.” O f all the various renderings, perhaps that o f the Revised Version is the best ' translation : “ Love taketh not account o f evil.” That is, it stores up no resentment—never bears any malice—takes no account of any ill turn— never makes even a mental note o f an evil done to it : but forgets it, and continues to lové the doer of it. Spurgeon says : “ Love stands in the presence o f a fault with a finger on her lips.” Saved by grace (Eph. 2 :8 ). Standing in grace (Rom. 5:2). Speaking in grace (Col. 4 :6 ). Sustained by grace (2 Cor. 9:8). — o —
“ The Lord Hath Need”
Peter lent a boat, To save Him from the press; Martha lent her home With genuine kindliness.. One man lent a colt, Another lent a room, Some threw down their clothes, And Joseph lent a tomb. Simon lent his strength The cruel cross to bear; Mary spices brought His body to prepare. What have I to lend? No boat! No house! No lands! Yet, Lord, I gladly send ■ The labor o f heart and hands.
The Hebrew word translated “rib” in Genesis 2:21, is used 42 times in the Old Testament and rendered “rib” in only this place. It is usually given as “ sides” or “chambers.” The word for “ rib” is en tirely different (see Dan. 7:5 ). Harper renders Gen. 2:21 as follows: “H e took one from his sides and closed the flesh in stead o f it.” Another scholar says the word means “ flank”—woman was taken from the flank o f man. In any case it should be noted that she was declared to be “flesh o f his flesh” as well as “bone of his. bones.” x ------- -— —^ i ---------——
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