513
T h e
K i n g ’ s
B u s i n e s s
November 1930
Psalm Forty-Six _P a B y E rnest G ordon
written a paraphrase of the psalm itself which is one of the finest things in modern religious verse. God is, our stronghold and our stay, Our hope in tribulation; What though the mountains rock and sway To earth’s long-hid foundation ? What though the ocean roar, Fast gaining on the shore, The hurtling storm rage loud Beneath the thunder-cloud? Our hearts are all untroubled. The might of water sinks to rest: How calm yon river glideth, God’s city mirrored on its breast, The house where He abidethl Hushed be all strife and din! His presence dwells within, She standeth unremoved, By God Himself beloved, Who helpeth her right early. In vain the heathen shout for war, In vain our foes assemble; The voice of God is heard from far, And earth itself shall tremble. He breaks the spear and bow, He lays the warrior low, The chariot burns with flame; Our trust is in His Name, And Jacob’s God our refuge. Be still, the Lord is God alone, Let all the world adore Him, And bending low before His throne, For pitying grace implore Him. His kingdom is within, O’er hearts made pure from sin, Where love that casts out fear, Exults to feel Him near, The Lord of hosts our refuge. est in the salvation of the lost at home and on foreign fields—all of which have characterized the Moody Church through the years—will continue during the ministry of. the present pastor, Dr. Harry A. Ironside, who entered upon the duties of the pastorate this fall. Both Dr. Iron side and his predecessor, Dr. Philpott, are known to read ers of T he K ing ’ s B usiness and are appreciated for their loyalty to the truth and for their clarity of expression. Rec ognized as a strong preacher of the Gospel, an excellent Bible teacher, and an author, of a number of valuable volumes of Bible study, the new pastor has the necessary qualifications, it would seem, for the great responsibilities that are upon him. It is certain that under his leadership the old-time evangelistic passion, which has never been lost, will be kept and stirred into flame. The Moody Memorial Church will continue to have a large and important place in the Christian life of the city of Chicago, and will no doubt more than ever extend its influence to earth’s remotest bounds. A Church True to its Original Vision ( Continued from page 509)
HE 46th Psalm, “ God is our refuge and strength,” is identified by Jewish tradition with the great peril which came to Jerusalem from the inva sion of Senacherib. It recalled to the fright ened Jewish people, in this- time of the Assyrian siege, the earlier deliverance of Israel from the Egyptian hosts and their Pharaoh at the Red Sea. “ A very present help in trouble,” is an echo of Moses’-words, “ For what nation is there so great who hath God so nigh unto them as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon him for . . . . Hath God assayed to go and take him a nation from the midst of another nation by a stretched out arm and by great terrors, according to all that the Lord your God did for you in Egypt ?” This memory of the past is a bulwark against fear. “ We will not fear though the mountains [an Old Testament symbol for kingdoms] be carried into the midst of the sea”—another Jewish symbol for the Gentile nations. We will stand unterrified at all this crash of nations, this surge and ebb of Gentile invasions. God is in the midst of the Holy City. “ He shall help her, and that right early.” Here the margin reads, “ God shall help her when the morning appeareth.” The allusion is obviously to Ex. 14 : 24, “ And it came to pass, that in the morning watch the Lord looked unto thè host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians . . . and overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea.” “ Be still and know that I am God” also recalls the great deliverance in Egypt. “ And Moses said, Fear yè not, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord which he will shew to you today: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them again no more forever.” (Ex. 14:13). “ He uttered his voice; the earth melted.” That is, melted with fear, as in the panic of the Canaanites which Rahab described to the spies. “All the inhabitants of the land did melt because of you. And as soon as we had heard these things [i.e., the Lord’s doings through the Israelites] our hearts did melt. Neither did there remain any more courage in any man because of you. For the Lord your God is God in heaven above and in earth beneath.” But the Psalmist did not only look back on the past deliverances of the nation. He encouraged the stricken Israelites with the great hopes of the future. Looking out on a land riven and torn by the most savage of armies, he had the courage to say, “ Behold what desolations the Lord hath made in the earth. He maketh wars to cease .unto the end of the earth ; he breaketh the bow and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire.” And this outlawry of war he puts in the past tense, so sure is he of its ultimate realization ! Blessed desolations, those of the Prince of Peace ! The 46th Psalm is the Luther psalm and Luther’s hymn was the Marseillaise of the Reformation, as Heine called it. For this music Elizabeth Wordsworth has
Stir me, oh! stir me, Lord, I care not how, But stir my heart in passion for the world; Stir me to give, to go—but most to pray, Stir, till the blood-red banner be unfurled O’er lands that still in heathen darkness lie, O’er deserts where no cross is lifted high. —Bessie Porter Head.
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs