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Lord. In a warning to God’s people in Revelation 18:13, frankincense is listed as one of the goodly things to be withdrawn from apostate Christen dom. By frankincense is definitely indi cated the requisite of pure worship of God. We know that the only pure worship of God is through the pre cious blood of Jesus Christ, for no man cometh unto the Father except by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. It was He who gave us that great model prayer: “Our Father, which art in heaven, Hallowed by thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” Could there be greater balm for the heart of a Christian than to know that God is his Father and that God’s kingdom will some day come on earth? “ Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we for give our debtors.” Here is nourishment, strengthening, intensifying of virtues, as indicated by the onycha. “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” Stimulation and serpent (Satan) killing properties typified by the galbanum of the tab ernacle incense are in evidence. “For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.” Pure w o r s h i p consecrated to God should constitute one fourth part of all our prayer just as pure frankincense was to be one fourth part of the pre scription as commanded by God for a “ savor of satisfaction” to Him. All four ingredients were required to be in equal proportions, indicating their equal importance. Also this holy incense was only to be used with holy fire from the altar of sacrifice. Our prayers must be heated only by the fire of the Holy Spirit, in the spirit of sacrifice and worship to God through Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour, the Lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the world. Christ admonished, “When ye pray, use not vain repetitions as the heathen do: for they think they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father khoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him” (Matt. 6:7,8). “Ye have wearied the Lord with your words. Yet ye say, wherein have we wearied him?” (Mai. 2:17). We are told in the Scriptures to “ pray without ceasing” and we are told also how our prayers should be constituted and offered to God. God has given us a prescription for prayer in the Old Testament and a model for prayer in the New. If we follow these f a i t h f u l l y , we shall realize a power and blessing in our prayer life.
THE M I X T U R E Rev. Robert P. Shuler , D. D,
mission of sins, proclaiming the virgin-born, crucified, risen Redeemer and Lord as the Son of the living God and the Saviour of mankind, we, by that very decision and proclamation, will have gone far. Suppose in this great evangelistic campaign, our Protestant churches shall determine “to know nothing” in a world shot through with hate and strife and im morality and apostasy and hopeless ness “save Jesus Christ, and him cru cified,” I tell you there will be a re vival! Nothing less than a revival of the grace of God in the hearts of men will do. The “ daubing” must be vital with experimental unction and flame. Men must actually be born again. Prophets filled with -the Holy- Ghost must stand before the people with the fires of Pentecost in their hearts. The church must be ablaze! Otherwise “the prophets of Israel” will see and proclaim “visions of peace for her, and there is no peace.” Man’s soul and the soul of the church will be storm tossed upon a sea of death until the Master views the tem pest, and from His lips there will come the words, “Peace, be still.” Is this evangelistic effort to be an organized campaign only, or a spir itual movement? Is it to be a visitation of organized campaign only, or a visitation of the Spirit of God? Is it to secure names for the church roll, or to enroll the names pf sinners saved by grace in the Lamb’s Book of Life? Is it to stir up interest concerning the church in the community, or is it to set the stubble on fire with a mighty conflagration? Is this evangelistic effort to be our undertaking, or God’s manifestation? THE REAL CHRISTIAN IS FOOLISH enough to depend on God for wisdom: WEAK enough to be empowered with His strength: BASE enough to have no honor, but God's honor: DESPISED enough to be kept in the dust at His feet: NOTHING enough for God to be every thing. —Charles Fox.
A FEW years ago, school buildings in Long Beach, California, lay mangled and torn on the earth, the result of a great earthquake. My wife and I drove down to see the wreckage. Two little news vendors were walk ing about through the heaped-up bricks and splintered timbers. One of them crushed a piece of mortar be tween his thumb and fingers and, throwing the dust into the air, re marked: “Something’s lackin’ in the mixture!” Those buildings had gone down be cause the mixture was wrong. Ezekiel was the prophet with whom the Lord talked; chapter after chap ter of his book records God’s conver sation with him. God was ever warn ing Israel through this prophet. We read: “Because, even because they have seduced my people, saying, Peace; and there was no peace; and one built up a wall, and, lo, others daubed it with untempered morter: Say unto them which daub it with untempered mor ter that it shall fall” (Ezek. 13:10, 11). God is speaking to Israel concern ing her leaders, her builders: “To wit, the prophets of Israel which prophesy concerning Jerusalem, and which see visions of peace for her, and there is no peace” (Ezek. 13:16). God is saying to Israel that the mix ture must be right or the whole wall will be wrong. “Lo, when the wall is fallen, shall It not be said unto you, Where is the daubing wherewith ye have daubed it?” (Ezek. 13:12). Protestant Christianity is now en gaged in a nation-wide evangelistic crusade. Some of us have prayed for years for such a movement, actively backed up by the leadership of the church. And now that a great spir itual enterprise is to be undertaken, watch the mixture! Everything will depend upon the “ daubing.” If we mix in pacifism, so cial action, economic nostrums, racial prejudice agitation, doubtful recrea tional and entertainment features, and some kind of educational regen eration and cultural process by which depraved human nature is to be made angelic, the wall will come tumbling down. If we make up our “ daubing” from a Holy Ghost tempered Gospel of the shed 1/lqod of Jesus Christ for the re
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