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The Sensation of the\fear IÇ3 I Christian Herald says:"lt is great! M r. Bo tk ins loyalty may ge t a jo lt by finding the sale o f his book w ill surpass even tha t o f T h e Education o f a Princess’ by the Grand Duchess Marie.
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Old Things New
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Volume XXII
December, 1931
Number 12
EVERY CHURCH ORGANIZATION
TABLE OF CONTENTS
N E E D S MONEY .T hrough o u r liber al co-operative plan
Crumbs from the King’s Table — Present-Day Fulfillment of Prophecy —
The Editor......
.....5 3 1
Louis S. Bauman
. . . . . 5 3 3
GOTTSCHALK’S METAL SPONGE ’. 7 . DUU1C1 raise Funds to success fu lly p ro m o te th e ir w ork. It is a m eritori ous household neces sity th a t sells a n d re peats easily. It cleans an d scours every- th in g — y et keeps ® th e h ands dainty mm a n d w hite. W rite today fo r infor- ® m a tio n re g a rd
The Heart of Christmas — God on a Cradle of Hay —
Sara C. Palmer. . R. E .‘Neighbour
........5 3 6
Putting Christ into Christmas—John Bunyan Smith...
5 3 8
Let th e
\ Ü I ■
Jottings on the Gospel of John — Science Foresees a “Smash”............. In the Beginning — Studies in the Epistle to the Hebrews —
H. A. Ironside.......
L I T T L E F E L L O W lllsÉa «SBsìa show your organization n th e w ay to
....... 5 4 0
Roy Talmage Brumbaugh.........
5 4 2
■greater useful ness an d serv ice.
John C. Page
.. . . 5 4 4
The Return of the Tide —
Zenobia Bird
.. . . 5 4 7
ing o u r liberal m oney-m aking
Heart to Heart with Our Young Readers Florence Nye Whitwell ......... Bible Institute Family Circle—Cutler B. Whitwell
| | | | plan.
M E TA L SPO N G E S A L E S C O R P ’N Jo h n W . Gottschalk President Lehigh A ve. an d M ascher St., Phila.
.. . . 5 5 3
Homiletical Helps ............. Junior King’s Business —
Helen Howarth Lemmel
....5 5 5
Our Literature Table... International Lesson Commentary Notes on Christian Endeavor—Milo F. Jamison
566
Daily Devotional Readings.........
HOME BIBLE STUDY SYSTEMATIC, COMPREHENSIVE INSTRUCTIVE Courses in Loose Leaf Form, Size 71/2 x 91 / 2 . Especially adapted for class use. Certificate upon satisfactory comple tion of each course. TWO ENROLLMENTS FOR PRICE OF ONE Offer good until Dec. 31, 1931, in U.S. Other countries Jan. 30, 1932. Write for folder describing the sev enteen courses available. CO RRESPO N D EN CE SCHOOL Bible Institute of Los Angeles, 538-558 S. Hope St., Los Angeles, Calif. Please send me full details of half-price, time limit offer of Bible Correspondence Courses. Name....................................................... Address......................................
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Are You Looking for a Missionary Challenge?
W e s t w a r d ,toward the sunset, in the fa r away Philippines, a t Tetuan, on the shores o f the Sulu’ Sea, one o f our graduates is serv ing as a member o f the faculty o f a Bible Institute, while an other graduate is on Christen dom's rugged fron tier in mys tic India! Surrounded by the tower- ( ing peaks o f the Andes in the little tow n .o f Acacio, in Bo livia, a graduate is proclaim ing the message o f the gos pel, and down in tha t inhos pitable region, the Belgian Congo, are several graduates, all zealously laboring fo r their Master! Up in Alaska, close to the
full and somewhat difficult, ye t they have proved in a marvelous way the sufficiency o f His grace as I had not known it before." A young lady graduate o f the Institute has been among th e . Pigmies o f the Belgian Congo. She says, "I consider the training I had a t the Bible Institute o f Los Angeles to be o f paramount importance in my life and work as a mis sionary." In South America, a mis sionary paid this sterling trib ute to the Biola missionaries on his field, "A lmost without exception, they are all splen did personal workers." L ittle wonder, then, is it
Let me introduce to you, Mr. Paul. Roper, Presi dent of the Student Mis sionary Union, an organ ization of missionary vol unteers in the Bible Insti tute. Mr. Roper says, “The Student Missionary Union endeavors to pre sent the need of every land and strives that its members may be fully yielded to serve in the field o f His choice.”
tha t so many Christians find unmeasured satisfaction and lasting joy in directing at least a portion o f their missionary g ifts to the Institute. It's important to provide the means o f supporting missionaries— it's equally im portant to provide the means of educating men and women to become missionaries. Said the Christ, "G o ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." Perhaps you cannot go, but your g ift to the Institute will help to prepare some one else to go. Isn't the challenge o f tjie Institute the very kind o f a missionary challenge tha t you have been looking for?
59th parallel o f north latitude, where win ter's breath is cold and piercing, a grad uate has under her watchful Care, as a Christian charge, twenty-three native Alaskan girls from five to fourteen years o f age, the majority o f whom have no par ents interested in their welfare, here or hereafter! No t so long ago, the mail brought this word from a- graduate in Addis Ababa, the very heart o f Ethiopia: "How I do praise the Lord fo r the wonderful health and strength He has given! I can stand so much more than many o f my fellow-work ers, and I often stop and say to myself, 'This is indeed the g ift o f God and meant to be used only in His service.' And though these months have been busy and
President.
December 1931
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(Srumbs from THE KING’S TABLE .. By THE EDITOR
hearts as He was to be born as a Babe in Bethlehem of old. He stands waiting even now to become to all an indwelling Lord and Saviour; and as songs of glory attended His advent in the one case, shouts of joy shall not be wanting in the heavenly places over His advent in the heart of a sinner. Then let us; on this Christmas Day, take a long look through faith’s telescope. This may be. our last Christmas on earth. We may not be here another year. Do not think for a moment that we are expecting
■ m for all time, ever true and ever new. The angelic procla mation is sounding still for all people and for all ages. The outshining of the glory of God into earth’s darkness shines on continually, and the praise of the heavenly host has not Ceased to ring. It comes to us this very hour as really and truly as ever it came, telling of the blessed things which a
gracious God. has brought about for us, assuring us that a Saviour has been born, and that He even now lies in hum ble and lowly waiting to re ceive our homage, and to make us partakers of His eternal kingdom of peace. Let us, with the Shep
to die. We have made no ar rangements for such an event.
God never told His people to look for death ; it may over take some of us. But if it does, we ,know, the sting is _____ removed. •We can look out into the future from this . -•JiB llIH Christmas Day with a glo-
herds, pay our early visits to Bethlehem’s manger today to establish ourselves in the blessed story of salvation, and to refresh our souls with new visions of God manifest in the flesh—H i s wonderful person, and His unspeakable grace. There is no limit to the riches that lie
' W m m
” ous Pjospect. There is a . possibility, if not a great probability, that we shall spend next Christmas with our Lord Jesus Christ in the glory- Oh* what a prospect ! To be like Him whom we have long
f i é W
V loved, when dimly seen from afar! W To he with Him and to be like Him ! What an inspiration this is' to a better ser vice while we wait! What an inspiration for a happier life, and for a more Christlike walk! Oh, Saviour mine, by birth divine! Upon this natal day of Thine
hidden under those swaddling bands, nor to the blessedness of them that kneel at the feet of the Son of God with hearty adoration. As the years come and go, it is well for us, in imagina tion and in ardor of spirit, to go to Bethlehem to gaze anew on the thing that has come to pass, to refill our minds with the vision of wonder, and to drink ever deeper and deeper of the heavenly consolation, loVe, “on earth peace, good will toward men.” Let us go on our way with joyous song and radiant ar ray and highest thanksgiving to God that He has thus vis ited and redeemed His people. Let us believe and feel that we have in Christ the fullest outpouring of the infinite goodness of the Infinite God. Let us seek to embody in ourselves the cheerful condescension and good will and interest in the outgoing of God’s gracious plans of good to earth’s sinning, suffering humanity. And let it be our constant delight to ascribe to the almighty source of grace and mercy and power all the praise and honor and glory of that climax of love which took first form in the infant Jesus, and which reached its highest height in His substitu tionary sacrifice. Let not the world forget today, as it thinks of Bethle hem, that another birth of Jesus is required of men, the pangs of which we must bear, and without which His first birth cannot avail. It is the birth of that selfsame Saviour in a still darker and impurer grotto—the grotto of our dark and wicked hearts. We need Him there to reign in Sacred empire, to give light and peace to the disordered world of our erring vision, unruly affections, and perishing souls. He is as ready to make His advent into men’s unworthy
Dwell with our stress of happiness. Count not our reverence the less; Because with glee and jubilee Our hearts go singing up to Thee.
Love and Humility ~ JT ET TH IS MIND be in you, which was also in Christ JM Jesus,” says Paul to the church at Philippi, and if you would read the context, you would find that what he has in mind concerning the mind of Christ is love and humility. Never in the history of the church have there been greater opportunities for the Christian to get results in humble, loving service; but it seems to us that never has there been more variance, strife, evil speaking, and lapk of love linked with egotism among the professed' children of God, than at the present hour. At a time when God’s redeemed people should be serving as living exam ples of what Jesus Christ can do in and through a yielded life, the great starving multitudes are failing to see Jesus, and instead, they see the very opposite of Christianity among His professed followers, and even among those who would be leaders in the church. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and malice . . . and evil speaking, be put away from you,” and “grieve not the
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Glorious Anticipation
holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption” are not written to the world, but to the re deemed people of God. How ashamed God must be of some who profess to love H im! Here is a once successful servant of God, who has lost out, and the congregation that he once faithfully served wants him no longer. Instead of seeking another field and a new commission for service, he has allowed Satan to put into his heart to stay around and to block the work of his successor. How our Lord must weep over him! Here is a once successful Bible teacher. He has in the past wielded great power over audiences, but he has drifted and become a money-grabber. He has become a slanderer of other Christians, and the church wants him no more; so his heart is full of hatred and bitterness, and his mouth is full of venom. Oh, what a pity, when men and women are so needy and hungry, when there are so many openings for Bible teachers, all over this country and Canada, that this man has become a castaway! Here is another servant of God. He has a great mes sage ; he is greatly blessed in its delivery. Men and women flock to hear him, but he is so filled with egotism that he is losing his power, and his temper is so wild and so ungov erned that his own children are outside the faith. He can not get a right look at himself or at the rights of others. He will not march in line unless he is the drum major. How sorry we are for him, and how grieved must be the heart of our loving Lord over His erring servant! Here is a woman, a leader in the church. She was once president of the ladies’,missionary society, and God used her. But she began to criticize and to find fault, and she lost her humility. Love went out of her service, and now instead of being a help in the church, she is a hindrance. The world scoffs, and even her own children hate the things of God because their mother has failed to live before them a life of victory. Here is a fundamentalist—God bless him! I know him well, and I love him. He holds to the faith; he marches with my crowd. His head is all right, but his heart is filled with bitterness toward those who fail to hold to the truth of the Bible as we see it. I admire his steadfastness in the faith once for all delivered to the saints, but is not love a fundamental of the Christian life? Is not tenderhearted ness a fundamental? Are not gentleness and sweetness fundamentals ? But this man has none of these things. I think modernism is of the devil, but by the grace of God, I refuse to hate the modernists. I cannot hate a man if I desire to win him back to God and to the old faith. If my belief in the authority of the Word of God and all the doctrines of the old-time faith of the church does not make me more loving, more tenderhearted, more compassionate, more humble than the modernist who denies the faith, then I dare not hold up my head in the presence of the,modernist. If ever the Bible Institute and T he K ing ’ s B usiness have had a program of criticism and hatred, as the Presi dent of the Institute and the Editor of T h e K ing ’ s B u si ness , I hereby apologize to my brethren and to the world. My brethren, let us love one another. Let us, in the love and humility of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, allow Him to make Himself attractive to the lost about us, and if any one of us be overtaken in a fault, let those who are spiritual restore such an one in the spirit of meekness, considering themselves lest they also be tempted. .
ou cannot read the Bible with any care, and not be struck with the wonderful variety that marks the imaginery made use of by the secred writers in the references they make to the heavenly state. At one time, it is spoken of as a city that has foundations; at another, it is the marriage supper of the Lamb; at another, it is being present with Christ, and beholding His glory. Again, it is being made like Him. It is seeing His face, and serving Him. It is lying down in green pastures, and beside the still waters. It is going in and out of the heavenly fold. It is seeing the King in His glory, and beholding the land that is afar off. It is sharing in the fullness of joy found in His presence, and the pleasures forever more that are at His right hand. It is walking with Jesus in white and drinking the fruit of the vine anew with Him in His king dom. It is entering into the joy of the Lord, and being made ruler over many things, it is receiving a crown of life, a recompense of reward. It is a sitting down with Jesus on His throne, as He, having overcome, is seated now with the Father on His throne. It is to be made kings and priests unto God and the Lamb, and to reign with Christ. It is to be equal to the angels as the children of the resur rection. Or, to sum up and blend together all these won drous forms and figures of speech, it is to wake up in the divine likeness, and to be satisfied with Him. These varied expressions lead us to think of our future home as a condition of being in which the mind, with its large desires, its deathless cravings, and the soul, with all the warmth of its affections and sympathies, will find the fullest scope for their development. As the vine puts forth its tendrils in the place where God has caused it to grow, and as it finds something to cling to for its support and growth, so doubtless will all the innocent longings of our renewed nature, which are like the tendrils of the soul, find in the heavenly state that which answers to their wants. Blessed, blessed state! Happy those who have entered it, and thrice happy shall we be when permitted to take our place with them in the faultless company to which they have been introduced! Through the love of God our Saviour, All will be well. Free and changeless is His favor— All, all is well.
Precious is the blood that healed us, Perfect is the grace that sealed us, Strong the hands stretched out to shield us, All must be well. Though we pass through tribulation, All will be well. Ours is such a full salvation, All, all is well. Happy still in God confiding, Fruitful, if in Christ abiding, Holy, through the Spirit’s guiding, All must be well. We expect a bright tomorrow; All will be well. Faith can sing through days of sorrow, “All, all is well.”
On our Father’s love relying, Jesus every need supplying, Or in living or in dying, All must be well.
#
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C^Jresenl-CDay l/l llmeni o/PROPHECY ... By LOUIS S. BAUMAN
A Tremendous, Crazy Edifice D an iel 2 :34, 35, 44, 45
All of this means that the world’s most famous Jew is ready to hail as his Messiah any man who can bring “sal vation” to the world—and his idea of “salvation” is human happiness in the here-and-now. How significant it all is ! Jesús solemnly warned His own people, the Jews: .“I am.come in my Father’s name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive ” (John 5 :43). Christ here re ferred to the coming of the Antichrist, who shall deceive even .the Jews into believing him to be the world’s saviour—- their Messiah. The Gentile world will fall with the Jew into “the strong delusion” (2 Thess. 2:11), for “all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him” (Rev. 13:8), ex cept a.small remnant of Jews who, perceiving his true char acter, understanding his false pretensions, and resisting his mandates, shall become the objects of his wrath (cf. Rev. 12:17; 13:12-15)., Be sure of this, that “all that dwell upon the earth” will not worship one whose creed does not promise to a sorely troubled world the peace and happiness it vainly seeks. And just this the Antichrist will promise, and for a brief period he will seemingly accomplish it. Antiochus Epi- phanes, set forth by Daniel as an outstanding type of the Antichrist, did this very thing. He came peaceably and ob tained the kingdom by flatteries. He scattered among his followers “the prey, and spoil, and riches” (Dan. 11: 21,24). What a time for the coming of this arch deceiver the present hour presents! On all sides, an unregenerate world is even now calling for “some mountainous figure of a man” who can solve its problems, distribute its riches, heal its woes, and promise enduring peace, no matter what his creed may be! He may exalt himself as God and call for the worship of his own image, but that is no matter as long as he brings the world what it calls happiness. Let such a man come, for even now a world stands ready to worship; and Einstein, the Jew, is ready to lead the pro cession to his shrine. Alas, too late will Israel discover that she has opened her arms and taken to her bosom for a saviour, a fiend more bloody than even Antiochus Epiphanes proved to be! Too late will the whole,world discover the awful folly of bartering the truth for a creed that merely gives promise of happiness in this quickly passing here-and-now. But nei ther Jew nor Gentile can accuse the living God of not hav ing shouted His solemn warnings from the housetops. The Show-Down with Russia is Coining E zek iel 38 and 39 u th en t ic news .comes to us through the Australian branch of the Russian Missionary Society : Conditions in Soviet Russia are very terrible, and the details of the sufferings endured by Christians are heart rending. Atheism has been declared to be the national re ligion, and the children are being instructed in its prin ciples. They are being formed into leagues to spy upon their parents and to report if any of their friends show the slightest interest in the gospel.
t o # G. .W ells , possibly the world’s greatest living historian, as the world reckons, greatness, has just arrived in New York. He was asked if he thought there was “any possibility of a collapse of our present civilization.” Quickly came the reply: Not a possibility, but a probability. And it will come much faster than the fall of any other civilization. The Roman and Grecian empires were close to the ground. The collapse of this tremendous, crazy edifice of ours will be terrible and swift. What a “tremendous, crazy edifice” it was that Nebu chadnezzar saw man’s civilization to be—“brightness ex cellent,” and “form terrible” ! Then suddenly, “terrible and swift” came a stone that “was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the silver, the brass, and the gold broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was, found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth” (Dan. 2: 34, 35). We can understand why unregenerate men, who have no hope except in man’s civilization, should have “hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth” (Lk. 21:26); but why any of God’s children should fear the passing of the beastly governments (Dan. 7 :l-7) which men call “civilization” is beyond our comprehension! Saints of God, “look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.” When man’s civilization totters, then “know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand” (Lk. 21 :25-31). ■ H. G. Wells declared further that “the world depres sion . . . is something entirely new in world history.” Mr. Wells, there are some events just ahead of you that will also be “new. in the world’s history.” You may well fear for them, but God’s children welcome them! ccording to the Allegemeine Zeitung, Professor Al bert Einstein, the great German scientist, cares not what political creed the world adopts, nor what head of a political creed the world receives, if only that creed and that head will restore peace and happiness to a sorely troubled world. Professor Einstein, you will remember, is a Jew and an ardent supporter of the Zionistic program of the Jews. An Associated Press dispatch from Vienna on October 13 quotes him as saying: It’s happiness we’re after; and when the day comes which brings man redemption from his sufferings, I won’t trouble about the name of the political doctrine. If it be Communism which brings man salvation, you’ll find me an enthusiastic Communist. The Strong Delusion 2 T hessalonians 2 :11, 12
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Pastor Yasinitsky, living in Harbin, near the Siberian border, says: The persecutions against Christians in Siberia at pres ent can be compared only with those in the times of Nero and of Diocletian for their cruelty. Dr. Adolph Keller, executive secretary of the Central Bureau for Relief of the Evangelical Churches of Europe, supplies this side-light on conditions in Russia: Several thousand people of various creeds and races have been torn from their homes and sent into exile as the result of the Soviet “Five Year Plan for the Liquidation of Christianity.” The unfortunate victims are herded into rough barracks, unsanitary and overcrowded, compelled to labor in swampy forests or in mines, without sufficient clothing in a climate where there is winter for nearly ten months in the year, and with barely enough food to keep body and soul together. The scanty ration of flour is “stretched” with ground bark. Pitiful letters reflect the unutterable distress in such sentences as this: “They say typhus has broken out in one of the barracks. Thank God! At last the end comes!” The Deutsche Zeitung Telegraph informs us that the Soviet Government commands all,persons possessing Bi bles or prayer books to deliver them over for conversion into pulp for paper, as the paper is needed for other pur poses—much of it for the printing of the blasphemous atheistic propaganda of anti-God societies. Persons dar ing to retain even one Bible will be punished for anti-revo lutionary activity. As Russia lifts up her fists, shoves them into the face of Omnipotence, and cries, “I am against Thee,” the God of heaven and earth responds : “Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, prince of Russia, Moscow, and Tobolsk!” (cf. Ezek. 38:3). The fight is on, and the outcome is not in doubt! Sir Arthur Balfour, of England, speaking recently at Hamilton, Ontario, made the following interesting state ment : I say we must meet this, menace effectively. Condi tions of actual slavery prevail in Russia; and its most ter rible aspect, to my mind, is its ruthless suppression of all religion and desecration of the churches. . . I am satis fied, though, that, whatever may come from that land in the near future, God will step in and adjust things. But there will be much tribulation first, I fear. The show down with Russia is coining! It is exactly that—a “show-down with Russia” is an event that shall take place shortly before David’s great Son shall come to the throne of thrones upon the earth. It is set forth in a clear prophecy, unusually minute in its details, in the thirty-eighth and thirty-ninth chapters of Ezekiel. Marvelously true to the picture is “the prince of Rosh [Russia], Meshech [Moscow], and Tubal [To bolsk]” (Ezek. 39:1, R. V.), together with his last allies, which Scripture does not hesitate to name; setting the stage for those tremendous scenes. Let us once again note the prophecy: “Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal . . . from the uttermost parts of the north.” Scofield.says it is “a clear mark of identification” and “that the primary reference is to the northern [European] powers, headed up by Russia, all agree.” “After many days thou Shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, that is gathered out of many peoples, upon the mountains of Israel . . . against the people that are gathered out of the nations, that have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the middle of the earth” (Ezek. 38:8, 12). With what longing eyes does
this cruel, bloody, atheistic monster of the north even now look upon the riches that are being carried into the land of Israel by the Jews, gathering home from their wander ings among the nation^! This monster, taking advantage of nations having their troubles in. Egypt (Dan. 11:40- 45), will suddenly swoop down upon his prey in Palestine, over a protest from “the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof” (Ezek. 38:13)—a protest from Britain, who even now holds the mandate over the land. “The prince of Rosh” and all his allies will come “with all his hordes,” “horses and horsemen” (Ezek. 38:3). It is sig nificant that no other nation is still depending, as is Rus sia, upon “horses and horsemen” as implements of war. Daily she trains her tens of thousands of Cossacks, getting ready for this event. The Almighty God now steps on the scene. “When God shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord Jehovah . . . my wrath shall come up into my nostrils . . . And I will call for a sword against him . . . and with blood will I enter into judgment with him; and I will rain upon him, and upon his hordes, and upon the many 'peo ples’that are with him, an overflowing shower, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone” (Ezek. 38:18, 21, 22). “And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying them” (Ezek. 39:12). Sir Arthur Balfour is right—a “show-down with'Rus sia is coming.” Just what forces the Mighty Ruler of the universe will use for the destruction of these anti-God hosts from the north is another story. Sufficient it is to know that the “show-down” is coming, with the nations sadly learning at last that there is a living God in the heavens, who is jealous of His holy name, for “my holy name will I make known in the midst of my people Israel; neither will I suffer my holy name to be profaned any more” (Ezek. 39:7). “My name profaned” ? The awful, blasphemous profanities whereby even official Russia today takes constant delight in profaning the name of God, Jesus Christ His Son, and even the Holy Ghost are a mat ter of world-wide knowledge. The fact is known, but the profanities themselves are little known, inasmuch as they are too fearfully profane and blasphemous to appear in the print of decent peoples. Perhaps no other nation has ever so blasphemed the living God. How significant, then, are the words here: “Neither will I suffer my holy name to be profaned any more . . . And I will set my glory among the nations; and all the nations shall see my judgments that I have executed” (Ezek. 39:21). Verily, verily, “the show-down with Russia is coming” —and, from every possible indication, it is coming soon!
Come, Lord Jesus! s. Sitting alone in the gloaming,
Holding sweet converse with Him, How clear grows the heavenly vision, The trials of earth, how dim! ijs sjc ^ As the shadows of earth grow deeper, The star of our faith gleams bright, Remembering His precious promise, “At eventide there shall be light.” And we list’ for the sounding trumpet That shall say to the dead, “Arise!” And summon His waiting children To meet their Lord in the skies.
' j^-NELLIE J. W h APLES.
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L i te Ç ffea r i o/cHRISTMAS . . . By SARA C. PALMER,* Tunkhannock, Pa.
“Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done \t unto me.”
tiously refuse to keep the modern Christmas. But they try, just as conscientiously, to keep the spirit of giving burning upon the altars of sacrifice three hundred and sixty-five days in the year. So, interested in a custom which he did not know existed, the stranger leaves the city and the beaten path of the tourist, to explore the country for himself. He visits
h e sons of Scotia, with Cov enanter blood flowing through their veins, refuse to keep December 25 either as a holiday or an holy day! The traveler visiting Scotland for the first time at the Christmas season is astonished '
an estate, to which he has a letter of introduction, and is impressed with the beauty of the place as he reaches the imposing entrance and trav e ls along the winding avenue with its beautiful trees and well-kept lawns to the mag nificent mansion which is his destin- nation. He is wel comed g rac iously by the lady of the manor, who enter tains him royally. He tells her of his disappointment at the Christmas sea son. She has tra veled a great deal and knows the cus toms of other lands and f u l l y under stands his v i e w point, but Scotland with its history and its traditions is dear to her. So she takes him into a large w o r k r o o m and shows him piles of material which she has purchased for
beyond, words. Ac customed as he is to themodern and pop ular Christmas, the day to him, in the land of the heather, is one of the lone liest he has ever spent in all his life. Strolling along the streets; he finds the usual work-a-day crowd h u s t l i n g , bustling, ru sh ing along. The stores are open, the manu facturing plants are going f u l l blast, miners, with their little lamps on their caps, are hurrying to and from work as usual. There is no holiday spirit, no Christmas tree, no Christmas dinner, and few , if any, Christmas presents a r e b e i n g ex changed. .Poverty is not the reason, for Scotland is a land of wealth, and its people spend money lav ish ly on com- f o r t , on luxuries,
0 N [H arth [ p ] eace [H ood M il l [H oward [ m ] en
nto you is born this day a Saviour” Which is Jesus Christ the wondrous Lord; Not a “teacher,” not a “good example,” But the Son of God, the Living Word. No “philosopher,” his fancies weaving, Warp of dreams and woof of visions Vast, Not a “prophet,” peering down the future, Not a “scholar,” delving in the past. “Unto you is born this day a Saviour”; Shine, O star! and shout, 0 angel voice! Unto you this precious gift is given; Sing, 0 earth! and all ye heavens, rejoice! Long the world has waited such a Saviour, Sunk in sin and torn by fear and doubt; Long in darkness groped for truth and wisdom; Glory, glory, now the light shines out! “Unto you is born this day a Saviour ,” ' Earth’s one hope, the Life, the Truth, the Way; Mighty God and glorious Redeemer, Jesus Christ the Lord is born today: —A n n ie J ohnson F l in t .
and on holidays. The proverbial stinginess of the Scotch man is not the reason, for when New Year’s Day, which is a legal holiday, comes, around, everything is closed, big dinners are served, and many gifts are exchanged. The traveler asks for the reason and is reminded that Scotland is the land of martyrs, that in days gone by, men and women were cruelly martyred for their faith and their Bibles. And he is told that these descendants of a martyr race refuse to accept the date fixed as the birthday of their Lord by an enemy of their religion; and, with the same loyalty which took their ancestors to the stake—loyalty to the Christ whose birthday is unknown—they conscien- * Author of "The Winning Game,” “Studies in John,” etc.
the leper colonies of the world. She waxes eloquent as she tells of the women of her town, women who cannot afford to buy materials, but who donate thèir time week by week, year by year, to the making of garments for thé poor lepers who are banished from home and friends and loved ones. She tells of the missionary books they read and study in their sewing circles, of the day set apart in the early fall, when the work is finished and the women, proud of the task they have completed, decorate the walls with hundreds of 'garments—warm wool scarfs, sweaters, and other gar ments, besides quantities of wool socks with moleskin soles, worn by the lepers instead of shoes which would hurt their poor leprous feet. She tells of the missionaries who come [Continued on page 546]
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GOD ON A CRADLE OF HAY I ... By R. E. NEIGHBOUR,* Los Angeles, Calif.
He who was Lord of all became servant of all. The dis ciples worshiped Him, yet He girded Himself and washed their feet. He it was before whom the seraphims continually cried, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts” ; and yet, it was He who, “being found in fashion as a man, . . . . humbled himself, and became obedient unto deatli, even the death of the cross.” As a babe, as a youth, and as a man fulfilling His min istry, He was always God, yet He was always straitened. He said with His own lips, “I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be ac complished.” Christ was life arid the giver of life, and yet He tasted the cup of death for every man. , ", J , Christ was the author of peace. He sa.id, “My peace I give unto you,” arid yet, three times we read that He was troubled. He who was the “good shepherd” and the “great shep herd” and the “chief shepherd” became, for opr sakes, the “lamb,” voluntarily led to the slaughter, Man the “sheep,” who before His shearers stood dumb. He was the Glory of the Father, and yet Jlis face was covered with shame and spitting. , -, h : ; - He was the destined King of kings and Lòrd óf lords, and yet He .was crowned with thorns, and He dipd with transgressors, His kingship defamed. - Surely the “swaddling clothes” tha£:wrapped the .Babe bore a prophecy of deepest meaning. u- ....... , HI. With cattle He slept, while vigil was kept ' By angels who hovered about: He was God, yet was God from whom men turned away. He was God, but was God on a cradle of hay, Men gave Him no welcome, no shout. The story of Christ’s birth is a prophecy òf His life. At His birth, there was “no room for him in the inn.” We pass down through thirty years. Was there room for Him in Nazareth? room in His Father’s house?'room upon the earth? Although the Nazarites at first marveled at the gracious wopds that proceeded out of His mouth, they soon led Him to the brow of the hill on which the city was built, intending to cast Him down. There was no room for Him in' Nazareth. He entered the temple to drive out the money changers and the sellers of doves. He said, “My house shall be called the house of prayer ; but ye have made it a den of thieves.” There was nó room for Him in His Father’s house. Among men, He soon became the “despised and re jected.” He moved among the populace, doing good. He fed the hungry, healed the sick, cast out demons, raised the dead. It was not long, however, until the surging crowds learned to cry out against Him, saying, “Let him be cruci fied.” There was no room for Him on the earth.
1 From God up above, 'from heaven in love, The Lord of all glory came down; He.was God, yét an Infant ,iti weakness He lay, He was God, but was God on a cradle of hay; He wore neither signet riot crown. ow strik ing are the words, “And she brought forth her firstborn son .; . and laid.him in a manger” ! . Tie was son of ' a virgin, and yet, withal, He was trie Son of God. This is the message of the whole Bible : “Great is the mystery . . . God was manifest in the flesh.” The prophet of old had written, “Behold a vir gin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” Christ wás indeed Son of God, and God the Son. He was “God with us.” Jesus Christ was, according to the flesh, of the seed of David, a son of Abraham, made of a woman, made under the law. Jesus Christ was, according to the Spirit, “the true God, and eternal life.” Jesus Christ was begotten of the Holy Ghost. Mary knew that, according to nature, she could not bring forth a son; therefore, she said to the angel, Gabriel, “How can this be, seeing I know riot a man ?” The angel quickly replied, “The Holy Ghost shall come Upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also thát holy thing that shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” No other child in the history of the world was ever con ceived as this Child was conceived. He received His body, made of a woman; yet He was born, Son of God. It is no marvel, then, that His name was called “Wonderful, Coun sellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” j ; Christ truly, could say, “Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am-not of this world.” Christ w;as God in the ages past; therefore, in the flesh, He was God made manifest, God incarnate. He knew from whence He came, for He said, “I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world.” He came to show us the Father, to declare Him, to interpret H im; therefore, He could say, “He that.hath seen me hath seen trie Father.” II. They wrapped Him around, with swaddling clothes bound— A ship that was tied to its pier; He was God, but was straitened, dfCurhscribed, yea, He was God, but was God on a cradle of hay, While sorrows were hovering near. . It is difficult for us to fathom the mystery of God made flesh; but it is more difficult for us to think of God as swaddled, bound, and hemmed in. He who created man, became man; that is, the Creator hecame the creature. He who gave to man “richly all things to enjoy” be-, came man, with nowhere to lay His head; that is. He, by whom and for whom are all tilings, became poor, that we “through his poverty might be rich,” *Pastor, Gospel Tabernacle, Los Angeles, Calif.
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In His birth, Herod had sought to slay Him. Then were fulfilled the words of the prophet, “In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they were not.” The massacre of the innocents proved to be a prophecy of the close of His days, for as He neared the end of His ministry, once more “they went about to slay him.” The crucifixion was the climax of the same spirit which marked Christ’s reception at His birth. Only, with the years, the people’s hatred intensified. They compassed the cross as dogs ; they gaped upon Him as ravening and roaring lions ; they wagged the head ; they laughed Him to scorn ; they shot out the lip against Him. Amid the gaiety of modern Christmas festivities, the world has no room for the Lord Jesus “in the inn.” IV. The wise men drew near, with gifts and with cheer, They worshiped Him—King of the Jews : He was God, who is destined to reign one glad day, He was God, though He lay on a cradle of hay, Let Christians receive the good news. Could anything be more striking than the story of the wise men journeying from afar, with gifts of frankincense and myrrh, to worship the holy Babe as King of the Jews ? In His birth, He was worshiped as “King of the Jews.” In His death, He was crucified as “King of the Jews.” In His second advent, He will be heralded as “King of kings.” All of this is in line with the words of the angel, Gab riel, who said unto the virgin Mary, “Thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son . . . and the Lord God will give unto him the throne of his father David ; and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever ; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.” Let Christians who rejoice on this Yuletide rejoice in the destined kingship of Christ. The prophet said, “The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.” The children of Israel are still wandering over the face of the earth without a King. Lei them, nevertheless, re joice on this Christmas Day. Let this day bring back to their memory the sure sign which God gave to Ahaz, that Rezin and Pekah could not make a breach against Judah, and set a king in the midst of Jerusalem. God said of their attempt: “It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass.” For this cause, God gave to Ahaz the sign of Judah’s secur ity and of the security of Judah’s throne. That “sign” was God’s promise and pledge to Judah : “Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” When Christ was born in Bethlehem of Judaea, God’s promise to Ahaz was established. During the twenty cen turies which have followed, Israel has remained forsaken of both of her kings. She has, however, been kept by God’s election, awaiting the day when God’s Son shall return as Israel’s Messiah, to sit upon David’s throne. The Babe of Bethlehem still lives, and the “sign” of God still stands. God has given to all mankind His unchangeable oath that He will judge the inhabited earth in righteousness by that Man whom He hath ordained, even by our Lord Jesus Christ. This oath, which was set forth by the “sign” of the conception of the virgin and the birth of ImmanueL was afterward certified and made sure by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. What hallowed and what happy anticipations, therefore^, should be ours on this particular Christmas Day ! We are living in the midst of a world rent and torn; we are dwell-
*
i j u j l g l a b ? . E. N eighbour
In a manger, on the hay, There, incarnate God, once lay: From the Father’s throne He came To a world all sunk in shame; Came a babe, of virgin born, Came from heaven, of glory shorn, Came with swaddling clothes wrapped round, Came with limitations bound. In a manger, on the hay, There, Immanuel once lay; “God with us,” on earth He trod,
*
* •v>
Fashioned man, yet very God; “God with us,” a babe, He came, To declare the Father’s name; “God with us,” from realms above Came to show the Father’s love.' In a manger, on the hay, With the cattle, Jesus lay; Not as monarch, with a crown, Not as wizard, with rehoun; Nay, He came the Holy One, Came the meek and lowly One, Came that shepherds might abide Unembarrassed at His side. In a manger, on the hay, Christ, the Saviour, sweetly lay; He took flesh and blood to die That the sinner might draw nigh; Came to open wide the door, Came the wanderer to restore; Came, that all might enter in, Blood-washed, saved from ev’ry sin. In a manger, on the hay, Christ, the “Jewish Sign” once lay; To a nation all forlorn, Trodden down, all rent and torn, Came, a babe, to certify, Virgin born, to verify, That God’s nation was secure, Israel shall e’er endure. In a manger, on the hay, Babe, yet “destined King,” He lay; Wise men, guided by a star, Came from other lands afar, Worshiped Him, “King of the Jews,” While His own refused the news; Yet, He’ll surely come again, Come as King of kings, to reign.
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