Note the Corrected Form of Bequest, Inside Back Cover.
VOL. IV
APRIL, 1913
NO
m ,w
THE BIBLE INSTITUTE BUILDING Now in Process of Construction on H ope St., betw een Fifth arid Sixth
Published Once a Month byjthe iBiblp'3natttuip o f ¿Coa Attgplpa LOS ANGELES, CAL.
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THE KING’S BUSINESS R. A. TORREY, Editor
J. H. SAMMIS, T. C. HORTON, J. H. HUNTER, Associate Editors Entered as Second-Class matter November 17, 1910, at the postofflce at Los Angeles, California, under the Act of March 3,. 1879. Organ of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles [Inc.] Auditorium Building, Cor. Fifth and Olive, L qs Angeles, California.
DIRECTORS.
Lyman Stewart, President. T. C. Horton, Superintendent.
Rèv. A. B. Prichard, Vice:President.
J. M. Irvine, Secretary-Treasurer.
R. A. Torrey, Dean Giles Kellogg. Robert Watchorn. William Thorn.
H. A. Getz. E. A. K. Hackett. S. I. Merrill. >
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DOCTRINAL STATEMENT. We hold to the Historic Faith of the Church as expressed in the Common Creed of Evangelical Christendom an The Trinity of the Godhead. ■ The Deity of the Christ. including: The Maintenance of Good Works. The Second Coming of Christ. •
The Immortality of the Soul. The Résurrection of the Body. The Life Everlasting of Believers. The Endless Punishment of the Im penitent. The Reality and Personality of Satan.
The Personality of the Holy Ghost. The Supernatural and Plenary au thority of the Holy Scriptures. The Unity in Diversity oh the Church, which is the Body and Bride of Christ. The Substitutionary Atonement. The Necessity of the New Birth.
OUR WORK.
(4) Spanish Mission. Meetings every night. (5) Shop Work. Regular services in shops and factories, (6) ' Jewish Evangelism. Personal work among the Hebrews. (7) Bible Women. House-to-house and neighborhood classes. (8) Oil Fields. A mission to men on the oil fields. (9) Books and Tracts': Sale and dis: tribution of selected books and tracts.
Pnrnnup The Institute trains, free of r u r p u s c CQS^ accredited men and women, in the knowledge and use of the Bible. D ep a rtm en ts ^ The i n s t i t u t e ueparcm em tj Classe8 held daily ex cept Saturdays and Sundays. (2) Extension work. Classes and con ferences held in neighboring pities and towns. (3) Evangelistic. Meetings conducted by our evangelists.
The King’s Business
Table of Contents. Editorials: The Resurrection of Christ—Our New President —Witnessing for C h rist....................................................... 159 The Christian Life—Overcoming. By William P. Nicholson.. 161 Great Revivals and Great Evangelists—Harry Moorhouse (concluded) By J. H. Hunter..................................... ..-168 A Word for Missionary Volunteers. By Chas E. Hu rlbu rt.. 172 Studies in the Gospel According to John (continued). By R. A. Torrey.............................. 173 The Better Part. (Poem) By J. H. Sammis.................... 181 The International Sunday School Lessons. By J. H. S........ 182 The Heart of the Lesson. By T. C. Horton........................... 189 “ Lord, Teach Us to Pray.” (Poem) By Joseph A. Richards 192 Questions and Answers. By R. A. Torrey............................. 193 For the Worker’s Library. “ Hudson Taylor’s Early Life” .. 194 The Grace Wherein We Stand. (Poem) By C. H. M........... 196 At Home and A b ro ad .................................................................. 197 Hints and Helps.................................... 201 Immanuel. (Hymn) ByL. F. Peckham............................... 206 Bible Institu te............................................................................... 207 SUBSCRIPTION RATES . . . FIFTY CENTS A YEAR Published by the Bible In s t itu te of Los A ng e le s Auditorium Building, Cor. Fifth & Olive Sts.
D O C T O R T ORR E Y SAYS Every Christian Should Own These B E S T BOOKS Known as the Montrose Library No. 1— HOW TO BRING MEN TO CHR IST (121 pages), iby Dr. R. A. Torrey. A book regarded for years as a standard work on dealing with individuals of all classes No. 2—TH E D IV IN E U N IT Y OF TH E SCRIPTURES (304 pages), by Dr. Adolph Saphir. It is a great religious classic. No 3—CHR IST AND TH E SCRIPTURES (142 pages), by Dr. Adolph Saphir. A companion work to Dr. Saphir’s “The Divine Unity of the Scriptures.” No. 4—T H E H IDDEN L IFE (291 pages), by Dr. Adolph Saphir. One of the most helpful books in English l i t p r i t t i i T P No. 5—T H E WONDERS OF PROPHECY (231 pages), by John Urquhart. A val uable introduction to the study of pro phecy. No. 6—T H E LORD FROM HEAVEN (134 pages), by Sir Robert Anderson, K. C. B., LL. D. A great contribution to current discussions on the Diety of Jesus Christ.
No. 7—T H E GOSPEL AND ITS M IN ISTRY
(183 pages), by Sir Robert Anderson, K. C. B., LL. D. This is a standard work on the fundamental truths of Christ ianity. No. 8—A DOUBTER’S DOUBTS ABOUT SCIENCE AND RELIG ION (144 pages), by Sir Robert Anderson, K. C. B., LL. D. This book discusses the divine origin of the Bible, evolution, and kindred themes. No. 9— TH E GROWING CHURCH (130 pages), by Rev. Cleland B. Mc Afee, D.D. A study of the Epistle to the Ephesians by a most gifted minister in the Presbyterian Church. No. 10—TH E H IGHER CR ITICISM AND TH E NEW THEOLOGY (250 pages), Edited by Dr. R. A. Tor rey. A book containing contributions from most gifted, scholarly, and evan gelical men in England and America. No. 11— "SATAN"
(163 pages), by Lewis S. Chafer. This is the most thorough biblical study on Satan with which we are acquainted. T H E Y ARE T H E VERY CHO ICEST O F ALL CHR ISTIAN L ITERA TURE This Set of 11 Books paper bound now only costs you : If ordered by mail include 32c extra for postage Address all orders to B IB L E I N S T I T U T E B O O K R O O M $1.25 AUD ITOR IUM BU ILD ING Cor. 5th and Olive Sts., LOS ANGELES, CALIF. Send and get a set of these BEST BOOKS and when you know how good they are if you think you can sell them to others, write us for Agents’ Terms. Agents Wanted
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Voi. 4
APRIL* 1913
No. 4
The Resurrection of Christ A LL over the world the Church has been commemorating the Resur rection of Jesus Christ from the dead. The Church does well to commemorate His Resurrection. The Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is in many respects the most important fact of Christian history. It is the Gibraltar of Christian evidences, the Waterloo of infi delity and rationalism. If the assertions made in the Bible concerning the Resurrection of Jesus Christ can be established as historic certainties, then beyond a question the claims and doctrines of Christianity rest upon an impregnable foundation. The Resurrection of Christ from the dead carries everything that is essential in Christianity with it. But if Christ did not rise from the dead, then Christianity.is a mere dream and its doctrines without solid foundation. Intelligent infidels and agnostics recognize this fact. One of the most brilliant of modern agnostics has said, “There is no use discussing the other miracles; the whole question is, ‘Did Jesus Christ rise from the dead?’ If He did, then it is easy enough to believe the other miracles. If He did not, miracles must go.” This is well said. It is indisputable. Fortunately, the proof of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is overwhelming. No candid seeker after truth can thoroughly sift and study the evidences of the Resurrection of Christ and come to any other conclusion than that Jesus Christ did rise from the dead. Any one who does not believe in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead either has never given a thorough considera- tion to the evidence of His Resurrection or else he has not considered the evidence candidly, with a sincere desire to know and obey the truth. Of course, with a great majority of those who doubt the Resurrection, the trouble is that they-have never gone thoroughly into a study of the sub ject. It is a remarkable fact that some of our theological seminaries are turning out men who do not believe in the Bodily Resurrection of Jesus Christ as a historical fact. It speaks badly either for the training in those seminaries or else for the character of those who are trained. Any one who doubts the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead discredits either the thoroughness of his study or his candor. Our New President T HIS country has had a month under a new President. I t has been a month full of promise and achievement. Many who did not vote for President Wilson are rejoicing at the way in which he has undertaken his work. There has been a noticeable absence of claptrap and compromise. The President has had convictions and has stood for them firmly but without ostentation. The support that he has had from many quarters, sometimes most unexpected quarters, has been^ most cheer- ing Many are rejoicing in the fact that the President, Vice-President and Secretary of State are all elders in the Presbyterian Church, and in
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THE KING’S BUSINESS the further fact that they do not seem to think that because they have been elevated to very exalted positions they are now excused from alle- glance to their churches and co-operation in their work. These men and all m authority should have the very earnest support of all Christians by t/?eiI,.Prayers- We are commanded to pray for all who are in authority (1 Timothy 2:1, 2), and our leading quiet and peaceable lives depends largely upon our obeying this commandment of God. It is to be feared that many present-day Christians consider it their duty rather to criticize those that are in authority than to pray for them. There is an especial obligation resting upon Christians to pray for their President and his counsellors when those officials have occupied such prominent positions in the Church of Christ as these men have. Witnessing for Christ A S CHRISTIANS', what is our chief business in the world? It is to bear witness. The whole Scripture goes to show from the beginning that God’s call is a call to testimony. From Enoch on to David, from Isaiah to Saul of Tarsus, all were witnesses. The reason for the very being of Israel was this: “Ye are My witnesses.” The reason for their national rejection was that they failed to fulfill their calling. Even worse, they bore false witness; and the name of God was blasphemed among the Gentiles through them (Rom. 2:24). • , The fitness of witnesses is their personal experience of the facts to which they bear testimony. They must be able, like Him, whose name is “the Faith ful and true Witness,” to say, “We speak that we do know; and testify that we have seen.” Every real Christian has experience of the power of the Word of God; convictions wrought in his own soul that it is true; convictions borne out in his appropriation of it to his conscious need; and the application of it in his daily life. There are varieties of experience peculiar to individuals, there are degrees of apprehension of the Divine revelations. But the professing Chris tian who cannot say, “Whereas I was blind, now I see,” has need to examine himself “whether he be in the faith.” It was personal testimony to personal experience, a testimony of the mouth, certified by the works of faith, that spread the Gospel, built the Church and sowed the fertile blood of martyrdom; and it is by the same means that the work must be carried on to the end, for “Ye shall be witnesses unto Me! If you see, say so ; Christ’s critics could not contradict the healed man:
“They were all doctors of great renown, The great men of that famous town— The man they jeered and laughed to scorn Was unlearned, poor and humbly born; But he knew better far than they What came to him that Sabbath day, And what the Christ had done for him He knew, and not the Sanhedrim. ‘I know not what this man may be, Sinner or saint, but as for me, One thing I know, that I am he Who once was blind, and now I see.’ ”
THE KING’S BUSINESS 161 The Christian Life—Overcoming By WILLIAM P. NICHOLSON [Mr. Nicholson is a young Irishman whom God has greatly used in evangelistic work in Great Britain, in Australia, and in this land. He was associated with Dr. J. Wilbur Chapman in his great simultaneous cam paigns in several of our large cities.—:E bitors .] I HAVE been speaking to you these afternoons on how sinful it is for a Christian to live an empty
power is their estimation of the pow er of God manifested in your life and mine. As they see the overcoming power of God in the lives of profess ing Christians, so they are led to be lieve in it. It therefore makes a great difference to God as to whether you overcome or not. Jesus, before He left this world, said, “Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” How can people know the world was overcome, if you and I are be ing overcome day by day by it ? It is as you and I are living overcoming lives by the power of the Overcomer that they see that God is greater than sin and greater than our weakness. And then, dear friends, it makes a great difference to others whether we are being overcome or not, because if we are overcoming, it inspires oth ers. You know the effect that a strong, robust, sanctified Christian life has upon you. My, how it spurs you on and how it inspires you on to greater things. I have been greatly impressed with the fact that the per son who is weakest in himself and has the most to fight against and contend with, is the person who knows the most about overcoming. The man of strong will and determined char acter is often the weakest man. The man that knows little or nothing about moral strength and puts all his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ leads a life of continual victory. If it is a matter of trust, then there is no need that we should be over come. If we are going to bring into, tins fight our environment, our natural
life; how in the eyes of the world a life may be filled to overflowing and yet in the eyes of God it is an empty life. And then we saw that the Lord intended our lives to be emptied, and from Philippians 2 we learned that Christ emptied Himself of all the things that the world loves. We also learned that our lives were not to re main empty, but were to be filled with all the blessed fulness of God, and we saw from God’s Word the con tents of that fulness. Now, today I want to speak of the Christian life—overcoming. In Ro mans, chapter 12 and verse 21, we are instructed to be not overcome, but overcome. The words are: “Be not overcome, but overcome.” We must either overcome or be overcome. We cannot take any neutral ground in this matter. If I am not living an over coming life, then I am being over come day by day in my Christian life. If I am not an overcomer, then I am being overcome by the enemies that assail every human soul. There are those who imagine that it does not make much difference whether they overcome or whether they do not. My friends, it makes all the difference in the world whether you are an over comer or whether you are being over come. First of all, it makes all the difference to God. The honor of God is at stake. The world only knows God as they know God in your life and mine. Their estimation of God’s
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disposition and weaknesses, my friends, then I must allow for being overcome. It is not a matter of Tem perament but Trust. The Lord says He is greater than all these, and it is all determined by simple and con stant faith in God. What an inspira tion it is to every man that is de feated to see another man that is living, by the power of faith in Christ, a life of continual victory and over coming. And then not only does it inspire others, but what a wonderful thing it is to the person who is over coming. Have you ever tried to live with a woman who is overcome with jealousy; have you ever tried to live with a man who is overcome with meanness, or who is of a vile and pas sionate nature and disposition and temper ? If you have, you know what that kind of a life means. I know of some homes which are a regular hell on earth. Sometimes it is the woman and sometimes it is the man. What a fine thing it is to work along side of a man who has learned the secret of overcoming. It makes a great deal of difference to others whether or not we overcome or are being overcome. MAKES A DIFFERENCE TO OURSELVES. Then, too, it makes a great differ ence to ourselves. Show me a man that is always being overcome by the enemies that assail him and I will show you a man that has lost heart. Why did the Turks get such a ham mering? It was simply because the very heart had been pounded out of them and they did not have the stamina to stand up. Why was it the Japanese defeated the Russians so badly? It was not that they were better than the Russians, but they de feated them so often that they lost heart. And it makes a wonderful difference whether a man is victorious
or not. You can tell it by the sparkle in his eyes and the manner of his bearing. Take a man that has been defeated. He has his head down and he slouches along. Show me a man or a woman who has learned this secret of overcoming, and I will show you a person who has all the sweet ness there is in life. There is not that mean, selfish feeling which comes to those who are constantly overcome, but we stand erect with our shoulders squared and we are able to look every foe in the face because of our simple trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. And so, friends, to be continually overcome and to be continually crushed by defeat means that your life is spoiled, and it destroys all the joy and all the gladness, and your life is filled with gloom and misery and hopelessness. MAKES A DIFFERENCE TO THE DEVIL. Then, too, it makes all the differ ence to the devil whether you and I are overcome or not. If I am al ways being overcome then in my life, the devil has a place, and the Bible distinctly says “we are not to give place to the devil,” and yet how many of us have given the devil a large territory in our Christian lives? It may be along the line of passion; it may be along the line of lust; it may be along the line of one thing or an other in which we have given place to the devil, and it makes a great difference to the devil whether you and I are being overcome. In this respect the devil can do more harm through the professing Christian than he can do through all the skeptics and infidels that ever lived. A man who does not make any profession may get drunk seven days in the week, but that does not hurt the Church. But you show me a man or woman who is always giving vent to his or her pas-
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Jacob.” But you never read of God saying, “I am the God of Esau,” and you never read of God saying, “I am the God of Lot.” Poor old self-in dulgent, sensual Esau. God was ashamed of him. Poor old worldly, compromising Lot, who with his com promising sent his family to hell and turned his daughters into harlots. Do you mean to say God is proud of a man like that? No, indeed. God sees if you and I are overcomers. What is the result? “I will confess your name.” Just imagine, God—up there —to confess your name and mine be fore the angels and before the ran somed in glory! And then in chapter 3 and verse 21: “To him that over cometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.” We shall be set in heav enly places with Jesus Christ; we will be set where we will be able to say, “I am m onarch of all I survey, My right there Is none to dispute.” t h r e e c l a s se s o e p e o p l e . There are three classes of people in the world. There are those who ex ist, there are those who live, and there are those who reign; but the vast bulk of people are people who merely exist. You will find their names in the birth-book and you will find them when they come to die, but God alone knows what happens be tween their birth and death. They have never done much harm or much good. They have merely existed. They are born, they have eaten and slept and worked and died, and that is all you know about them. Then again, there are those who live, but the smallest crowd in the world are those who reign, like your president, like our king, and like the other rulers of the nations of the earth. They are among the few, but it is God’s will that every child of His should be a
sions, pr show me a professing Chris tian who gets drunk, and I will show you one that is hurting the Church of Jesus Christ more than ten thou sand skeptics, however bad and out rageous they may be. If everyone of us would learn the secret of this life of overcoming, all the powers of hell could not prevail against us, and we would honor God more and attract dejected souls to the Saviour. Have you noticed how many promises are made in the Bible to those who live the overcoming life ? The first book of the Bible speaks to us about a man being overcome and the last book tells us about a man being able t.o over come if he will only trust the Lord. Will you turn to Revelation, chapter 2, verse 7? “He .that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches: To him that over cometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.” Then in the sev enth verse we read: “He that over- cometh shall not be hurt of the sec ond death.” The twenty-sixth verse says: “And he that overcometh, and keepeth my. works unto the end, to him will I give power over the na tions.” Chapter 3, verse 5: “He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.” ABRAHAM AN OVERCOMER. Abraham was an overcomer, and you read of God saying, “I am the God of Abraham.” Isaac was an overconler, and you read often of God saying, “I am the God of Isaac.” Jacob was an overcomer, and how often you read of God saying, “I am the God of Jacob.” God was proud to say, “I am the God of
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king; that we should reign in life in Christ Jesus; that we should sit as kings on the throne with the King of kings and Lord of lords. And yet so many of us are just merely existing Christians. Our names are in the church book, but we count for nothing else in all the church activity. We go to Sunday morning service and think that will serve for all week. Per haps you give a few dollars a year to help keep things going, but that is the end of it. If fifty of you died out of the church you would not be missed. The church would go on just the same and there would not be any disorganizing of a single organ ization. You are just like a jelly fish. You can shape them whatever way you like. You can put them in a religious mold or you can put them in a worldly mold. WE SHOULD ALL BE OVERCOMERS. And there are others who are tak ing a part in the work of the church, and if they died, they would be missed. They are the men and wom en that count, and yet you can almost count them on your fingers. It is the Lord’s will that we should all be over comers, and He gives us these prom ises to encourage us. Will you look at chapter 21, verse 7: “He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.” Shall inherit all things. God says if you will only be an overcomer, He will give you what you need. The Lord says, that if you are an over- comer you will inherit all things, and not only this, but the very things the worldly Christian is going after. We have them in the truest and best sense, in all their purity and blessedness, filling our hearts. Now, who are bur foes? There is always one thing about the Bible and that is, it never under-estimates or
over-estimates the power and strength of our enemies. The Bible always shows them in their true light. How many there are! How strong they are! What their size is and what their weapons are! The Bible tells us everything about them. Why, if you go to our British government and say to the War Minister, “I can give you every detail of the German army,” that War Minister would make it worth your while. We have spies by the hundred, and they are trying to find out everything in con nection with the armies of France and Germany, so that if war comes they are ready to start right in. Well, in this old Book here, we have full information about our enemies—their size, their power and everything that we need to know about them. OUR FIRST ENEMY. Our first enemy is the world. The world is not so much a sphere as an atmosphere. Some people say, “Well, I never lie, I never, chew or smoke tobacco. I don’t go to the dances or play cards or go .to the theatre, etc,” but the atmosphere of their lives may be worldly. The Pharisees could boast about what they didn’t do, but they were true worldlings. It is the kind of atmosphere in which we live and move and have our being which counts. The world is always the most malicious and malignant enemy that opposes the progress of God’s, work in our lives. The world may be in your home; the world may be in your business; the world may be in your social engagements, and you will find it is a million times harder to meet the enemy there than it is to meet him outside. It is generally in the camp where the danger is. The danger is always in the pastry of life, not in the porridge. The danger of life is not in the battle field, but in
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a wonderful description of him. We read of him as a roaring lion. We have ministers today who preach heresy and damning delusive doc trines. They deny the fact of a devil. “They m ay say the devil h as never lived, They m ay say the devil has gone, B ut simple folks would like to know Who carries th e business on.” I would rather have the devil bark ing at my heels than to have him play ing ’possum. And it is only when we keep on our knees and commune with God that we are able to overcome him. I was never more grieved than last summer, when I had an opportunity of going to a number of churches and listening to men preach. There were times when it took all the grace of God to keep me from getting up and telling the preacher that he was a liar. I never heard the death of Jesus Christ put in such a subtle, unscrip- tural way as I heard these men put it. They said that Christ’s death was only the highest devotion and loyalty to tru th ; that it was the greatest manifestation of His love to God, but there was no vicarious suffering. They did not put it plainly like that, but in their cultured and refined way they would say: “We must imitate Christ and His works; we must be as loyal to God and good even to death, as He w a s a n d much in a like strain, and as a result we are raising up a set of men and women that are in the church and as truly going to hell as the devil himself. And then we read that the devil is a sifter, just as you sift your ashes. Well, thank God, the only things he can rid us of are the things that are unnecessary. Then he is a tormentor and torments all he can. He torments us by discouragement. He gets our eyes off God and on to second causes. We only see the enemies and mis takes instead of seeing God working all things together for our good and as a consequence we become discour-
the camp. When you are out against the foe you are in for victory, but whenever you have the Saturday aft ernoon off; when you have your even ings free and the Sunday free, and when there is nobody watching you, and you are away from the public gaze, and you are alone, there is where the danger lies, and that is where the world generally overcomes so many Christians. It is in the so cial relations of their lives, in the luxuries, not in the necessities of life that the danger lies. Our second enemy is the flesh. It is the body that you and I live in, and until the day we die we will always be living in this body, and the body has been so wrecked by sin, that desires have been perverted. The ordinary appetites and passions have been altogether abused by sin. We were born alto gether wrong and as a result you and I are always sitting right on top of a safety valve. We are always living on the mouth of a volcano, and if it were not for the grace of God we would go up any moment. The body is a grand servant, but it is a most tyrannical master when it gets the upper hand, and yet, my friends, in our Christian lives isn’t it the flesh that is overcoming so many? Many a man today would be a fine Christian if you could only put him in a new body. A man’s lust for money, lust for worldly pleasure; lust for power, are always clamoring, and we must always be on our guard. They tell us today to cultivate our bodies, and cultivate our aesthetic senses, but the Bible says to crucify and mortify them. t h e d e v il is o u r OTHER EOE, And then again, the other foe we have is the devil himself. These are days when people do not believe so much in the devil, but the Bible gives
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aged. He is also a liar and the father of lies. He is a murderer. He would murder our peace, joy, love and faith. HOW TO OVERCOME THE WORLD. Now, very briefly how are we to overcome? I want you to take your Bibles and see. The Bible tells us, first of all, how to Overcome the world. We turn to First John, chap ter 5 and verse 4, and read: “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the 'world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith?’ It is so simple, and yet how many there are who do not know it. They are living by struggle and reso lution instead of faith. They are try ing to do their best, but you general ly find that while they have motion, they make little progress. It is like sitting in a rocking chair or a door swinging on its hinges ; all motion, but no progress. If only we would be less independent and more depend ent, we would know victory over the world. If our victory was deter mined by the strength of our wills, or the earnestness of our resolutions, or the nature of our surroundings, then there would be those who would never be overcomers; but when it de pends on faith, then the very weakest may be an overcomer. We all have faith. God has given us plenty of that. That’s why the world is not a hell. It does not matter about the quantity, Jesus said, though it be as a grain of mustard seed. That is small enough. It is the object of the faith that determines its nature and result. The pole of the trolley car isn’t much, but it communicates the power to the car, and so our faith. Faith is the channel between the soul and God. We are as strong as the one we trust. “All things are possi ble to him that believeth.” Bet us not try but trust.
HOW TO OVERCOME THE ELESH. Then how are we to overcome the flesh? Gal. 5:16. “Walk in the Spirit and ye shall not fulfil the lusts of the flesh.” There are many of whom it can be said that the world and worldliness trouble them very little, but they are the victims of the flesh. Their de sires, ' passions and appetites are strong and they are continually be ing overcome. The Lord here shows us that if we walk in the Spirit— the atmosphere of our lives—we shall not be overcome. We are only able to crucify the flesh by the Spirit. So as we walk in and with Him we do not fulfill the fleshly lusts. As we yield our bodies up to His rule and sway, He cools, cleanses and controls. If we of ourselves try to do it we will only fail. Our efforts only ag gravate the evil, but if we commit all to Him, He will guide our walk, and govern our bodies, and lead us in continual triumph. Let us yield every part of our being to His indwelling, give up trying, but never ceasing to trust. HOW TO OVERCOME t h e DEVIL. Then again, how are we to over come the devil? In James, chapter 4, verse 7, we read: “Submit your selves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” A friend came to me and said: “The Bible says, ‘Resist the devil and he will flee from you.’ Well, I tried that, and instead of fleeing from me he flew at me.” “But,” I said, “the trouble with you is that you have only taken half of the verse.” “Submit yourself unto God.” “Resist.” That makes the difference. I tell you, friends, if you meet the devil in your own strength you will find you are no match for him. Submit to God and in the power of that submission,
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resist, and you will find that the gates of hell shall not prevail against you. If only we confess our weakness and inability, and submit ourselves and our foe to God, He will give us such power to resist that the devil will flee from us. ' Our little boy was ill and was lying in his bed very-weak. I had been away over the week-end and when I came back and leaned over his wee cot, he couldn’t say much, but he put his wee arms around my neck, as much as to say, “Could you not help me, father?” I felt as if I could give every ounce of my strength and every drop of my blood to help him. I t was his helpless weakness that touched me. It is the same with God our Saviour. He is touched with the feeling of our infirmity. When we helplessly turn to Him, all His power is exerted in our behalf. Satan is too much even for the best and strongest of us. We are no match for him. How hard it is to get us to believe tha t! The only man that ever met and mastered him was the God-man. Let us live this life of submission to God and we will not be overcome, but be overcomers. “They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.” How is this life of overcoming to be maintained? This is a difficulty that meets us all the time. Some may have hope that they may over
come for a time or under certain cir cumstances, but to overcome every foe always, under any circumstances, is what perplexes them. The only way such a life can be maintained is by faith and prayer. Believe that it is possible for you all the time and believe God is able, then pray con tinually, and God will keep you over coming. In Isaiah 40:29-31 we read: “He giveth power to the faint and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary and the young men shall utterly. fall.” That is, man at his best will fail and fall. “ B ut they that wait upon the Lord shall change their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” God has given us two wings, faith and prayer, but the sad thing is so many have allowed Satan to clip them. Instead of soar ing above their foes and failures, they are not able to rise above them and are constantly overcome by them. “Surely in vain the net is spread in the eyes of anything that hath a wing” (Prov. 1.17, marg.). Let us take God’s way and have done with our own. “So long thy power hath led me, sure it still will lead me on, O’er moor and fen, o’er crag and torrent till the night is gone. And with the morn, those angel faces smile Which I have loved long since and lost awhile.’’
“ ’Tis I ” "I will be with him in trouble" (Ps. 91:15).
When waves of trouble ’round me swell, My soul, be not dismayed; But hear a voice thou know’st full well— “ ’Tis I, be not afraid."” When black the threatening clouds appear And storms my path invade, That voice shall tranquilize each fear— “ ’Tis I, be not afraid.”
There is a gulf that must be crossed, Saviour! be near to aid! Whisper, when my frail bark is tossed— “ ’Tis I, be not afraid.” There is a dark and fearful vale, Death hides within its shade; Oh! say, when heart and flesh shall fail— “ ’Tis I, be not afraid,”
168 THE KING’S BUSINESS Great Revivals and Great Evangelists Harry Moorhouse—Concluded By J. H. HUNTER
ing, as I saw and felt that be did, in the name of his Lord and Master, and mine, I dared not claim the as surance of my acceptance, or even the honor of my Saviour’s name. ‘No,’ I replied at last, ‘if I must answer your question now and here, I cannot say that I am what, you call a Chris tian, but by God’s grace, I will never say that again.’ “The victory was won for him and for me, or rather for our gracious Lord, who knew just my condition and just the shock that I needed to shake me out of my constitutional reserve, and so sent this ignorant, yet faithful messenger of His to my house to break the fetter's that had held for years my tongue from a public con fession of His name...........You may remember how I spent many hours with him over Murray’s grammar, etai, that he might correct (which he did to a large extent) the gram matical and other errors which, for lack of education, at first marred somewhat the public delivery of. his wonderful Gospel messages.” VISITS PRINCETON UNIVERSITY During his visit to this country in 1874, Mr. Moorhouse was invited by Mr. Frost of Princeton to be his guest. The Second Presbyterian church (Dr. M’Corkle’s) was opened to him and here he preached in the evenings to an audience that crowded the building, many professors and students from both college and semi nary. were present. After his open ing sermon on “The Blood,” Drs. McCosh, Hodge, and others entered heartily into the movement by their
“T SAW his sincerity, and could X not rebuke him, keenly as I felt my position, though there was no other man living that had ever spoken to me in that way, ‘as one having authority.’ So I tried expos tulation. I told him that if after sup per, he wanted to talk to me on these sacred matters, I would go up with him to a private room and he might ask me any question he' wanted to. ‘See,’ I said, as a servant entered the adjoining room with a tray, ‘the meal is all prepared, let us sit down to gether and enjoy it, and there will be plenty of time afterward for our con versation before meeting.’ ‘No, Mr. Kimber,’ came the equally firm but tender response, ‘I don’t want any supper till you answer my question; the Lord told me on entering this house to ask if the master of it was a Christian, and I cannot come in tin you answer me.’ I was fairly cor nered at my own threshold. I had for several years sought earnestly to serve the Lord, and had given, thou sands of dollars to His cause; had mainly built that church on my own ground and, with William Hillis, had, at a large pecuniary cost, imported the Dublin and other tracts by the box, and sent them out over the land; had devoted large sums and much time to the society for the education of the colored people of our state, of which organization I was the presi dent; had gathered my family daily and read the Holy Scriptures with them, and waited silently on .the Lord for a blessing, as I had been brought up to do: and yet, face to face with this awkward young stranger, com
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bore on the subject of “Justification by Faith.” Assured that here was the answer to his prayer he detached the leaf, took it with him to the meet ing, read each passage and made a simple, -.but illuminating, comment upon it, and was rejoiced when, at the close of the meeting, the people broke out in delight at this soul-satis fying way of studying the Word of God. He realized that when the Word of God is presented in faith, the Spirit of God will always be present to il lumine the truth and to bless the hearer. No wonder that after his own experience he gave this bit of advice to Mr. Moody and to the Princeton students: “If you will stop preaching your own words and preach •God’s Word, He will make you a power for good.” ... Some of his addresses have been published in two books, one entitled “Ruth, the Moabitess” (Studies in the book of Ruth), and the other, “Bible Readings by Henry Moorhouse.” AN APT ILLUSTRATION Illustrations that were really “win dows to admit the light,” played an important part in our evangelist’s work. He had a faculty for seizing on something just said or done and turning it to immediate use,: as the following incident shows: ' |§§ ‘I don’t have assurance,’ frankly Said a Christian young man at a Bible reading in Dundee, when that somewhat vexed subject happened to come up. “ ‘What is your name, sir,’ inquired Mr. Moorhouse. “ ‘J----- C----- ,’ was the reply. “ ‘How do you know,’ demanded Harry; “ ‘I have always borne that name,’ said the other. . , “ ‘But are you quite sure that is your name? May there not be a mis take about it?’
presence and commendation. His .morning lectures on,the Bible were attended by about 150 students; in the afternoon about 50 of the theological students listened eagerly to his ex positions of portions of the Old and ■New Testaments, or to his sugges tions on Bible study and pulpit prepa ration, and many of them sought pri vate interviews on personal matters. On the evening of his second Sun day he preached on “Grace” in the First Presbyterian church, to a crowded house, the galleries being filled with students. “The Lancashire lad at the high seat of learning, standing up, Bible in hand, to instruct the future teachers of the Church, was a curious enough spectacle. Christ still comes in the carpenter^ jack e t; happy is the man, happy the church, and happy the col lege, that is not offended. All honor to the learned men of Princeton, and to the manly young scholars who could bid welcome to a simple lay- preacher, whose only letter of com mendation was the Holy Spirit’s seal bn his labors.” HOW HE DISCOVERED “ BIBLE READINGS” It .Was not until after hg had been preaching for some time that Mr. Moorhouse, adopted the method of presenting the truth which made him, in a right sense, famous, and which we now call “Bible Readings.” He discovered the power of this in a very simple way. Having to address a gathering of believers one day he felt himself in need of a new subject and new illustrations and anecdotes. He knelt down and quietly laid the situation before God and asked, His guidance. As he arose his eye fell on a calendar hanging on the wall, on which there was a verse of Scrip ture opposite the date of each, day of that month, and these verses all
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ing our little home so nice. I find no place like it anywhere, and I get home-sick when I am away about a week.” How many of us have ever paused to value at its true worth the devotion to Christ that kept such a lover of home away from it for months'at a time? The value of the home discipline comes out in a remark Mr. Moor- house made to a friend with whom he was discussing parental responsi bility, when he said: “My Heavenly Father knew what was best for me. He has given me one little paralyzed girl; and she has done more to soften my heart for other poor children and their sorrows than a crowd of healthy ones could ever have done.” “Little Minnie” supplied him with some of his most telling illustrations. Speaking of the promise: “I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of My righteousness,” he said; “I have a little child at home, seven years old, paralyzed from baby hood, who, seeing me with a parcel I wanted to take upstairs, said, ‘I will carry the parcel for you, father.’ ‘How can you carry the parcel, Minnie?’ I asked. ‘Ah,’ replied the child, ‘I will carry the parcel and you will carry me.’ ” H IS PERSONAL LIRE ‘A holy minister is an awful weapon in the hand of God,” wrote Robert Murray McCheyne to his friend Dan. Edwards. Those who knew Henry Moorhouse most intimately b o r e unanimous testimony that he was a holy man. Time and again when many another good man would have been, put out by the way he was treated, he never showed that he no ticed it. When others used his ad dresses—outlines, illustrations and all, he simply smiled and prayed the hard er for God’s blessing upon them. No
‘“ I am perfectly sure. My father gave me that name, and as he hap pened to be Session Clerk (Parish Registrar), I have his own handwrit ing for it, and there can be no mis take.’ “ ‘The quick-witted evangelist, seiz ing the last answer, immediately drew the attention of the young man to the Word, in which the Father has with His own hand engrossed a certi fication of name and sonship, such as may well satisfy every rightly-in structed, veritable child of God. This important point he was able to set in a clear light without confounding, as too many lay-evangelists do, assur ance of personal salvation with faith. Wisely and tenderly did he deal with the timid or dejected believer, who doubts not his Lord but himself. To believe in Christ is one thing; to know that I believe is another and a differ ent thing.” H IS HOME LIFE The dearest place to Henry Moor- house, this side of Heaven, was the home which sheltered the little wo man who had loved him and prayed for him in his wild, unregenerate days, and his only child—his little crippled daughter Mary. No matter who among earth’s great ones were gladly entertaining him as a beloved guest (and there were many who did so), his heart turned longingly toward the modest little house in that suburb of Manchester. In one of his letters to his wife he wrote; “I do not for get the days, long since past and gone, when you, and you almost alone, tried to win me from a life of sin to Christ. And if the Lord has put honor upon me in making me a servant of His, I feel glad, darling, because I have you to share it with me. I am just longing to be back with you, love; you spoiled me for long trips by mak
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petty jealousies or ambitions showed themselves. That Henry Moorhouse knew the latent possibilities of his own heart is seen in a dream which which he told to one of his most in timate friends, in which he saw a number of prominent evangelists passing in review before a mirror which revealed their secret sins. When his own turn came, he confessed that his was love of the praise of men. But for this ingenuous confession no one would have dreamed it from ob serving him. Often on his way to a meeting he would repeat to himself, “My soul, be on thy guard.” One who often shared the same room with him says that sometimes he talked with the Lord Jesus in his sleep, and would murmur such expressions as these: “Precious, precious Jesus.” “I praise Thee, O Lord. “I believe in the faith that works for the Lord.” “We want more love to Thee, Lord, and to one another.” “Lord help us to walk humbly before Thee; to walk truth fully before Thee; redeeming the time because the days are evil.” “Thank the Lord.” Once he remarked, “I wish I could die for Jesus.” CLOSING DAYS The last three years of Henry’s stay on earth were marked by pain and suffering. A hacking cough threatened at times to master the lit tle spark of life. Urged to get a doc tor’s opinion, he was told that if he would stop preaching he might live for eighteen months. “How long can I live and preach,” he asked. “Possi bly nine months.” “Then,” said he,
“I shall preach Jesus for nine months.” He had to be about the Master’s business in some form, and so he raised money for a Bible Carriage, in which, with helpers, he went from town to town selling Bibles at cost price, for he *positively refused to make money off the Word of God. His one carriage was so greatly blessed that friends subscribed funds for two more. Only God knows how far-reaching and effective was this ministry. From them were sold 120,- 000 Bibles and Testaments in two years (1879 and 1880), and over 2,- 000,000 Gospel papers, tracts and books were given away. The last letter he wrote was a brief one to his dear friend Major D. W. Whittle who had written him that he expected to call on him. This is the, reply: “Dear Loved Brother: Just out of bed; first time for many a day. If I am not with the Lord, shall be real glad to see you next Tuesday; but I am very ill. Ask prayer for me to suffer for Christ better than ever I preached for Him. I only want to glorify Him. . . . 1 am glad to hear of all the blessing. Praise be to the Lord. H. M oorhouse ." But the Master called for him the night before the appointment with his friend, and on December 27th, 1880, he slipped away to be forever with Him whom not having seen he loved and served to the very end. May he, though dead, speak to the writer and the reader! May the Spirit who possessed him so fully, as fully possess us!
f 72 THE KING’S BUSINESS A Word for Missionary Volunteers By CHAS. E. HURLBURT [The following weighty words are extracts from a letter received recently by Hugh H. Wallace, Executive Secretary of the Africa Inland Mission Volunteer Band, from the General Director of the Mission.—Editors.] I EXPECT to start March 1st, (for Africa) to hold some meetings, by request, with the Egypt Gen ing—but 1 am warning. God wants and Africa needs men and women who not only volunteer but go.”
“Every called man and woman who really ‘sets his (or her) face like a flint’ to obey God will get there.” “He who waits for all difficulties to be removed—will not. At least I hope not—for it will prove that Satan who is very wise does not care about hindering him.” “The last days are on us—Satan is defeating most of the Saints, but will never overcome one who ‘sets his face’ to do God’s will trusting in God.” “It is true in ordinary life—23 out . of every 24 fail. The 24th succeeds and conquers the difficulties that con quered the other 23. It is not that he had less difficulties—but that he would not be conquered.” “So in the spiritual realm—the man who will not be defeated is the only one who wins, and the only one worth having out there where the battle is hottest.” “Do stir the candidates to see this. Nine out of ten of those who stay after an apparent call, do so—not because God does not want them, but because they have not enough backbone to go ahead and do the revealed will of God. God does not want men at the front who have to be forced to go, or who can be forced to stay, by friends or difficulties. They would retreat in the first battle, or surrender to the foe.” “Of all preparation this is the most important—that men learn not to re- (Concluded on page 209)
eral Missionaries in the Nile Delta, and reach the field about April 1st.” “I am exceedingly sorry I cannot get to California before I go—but this is one of the trials involved in the work.” “About the candidates—no one will get to the field now in God’s will with out setting his face like a flint and •riding over all sorts of difficulties, home, friends, money matters—every thing Satan can put in the way and chiefly the present worldly chufch.” “I t is hard to keep sweet when men of God are called-—hear—answer ‘send me’—and then stand back for all sorts of petty things. It is like a man who enlists for war and stops for his moth er’s tears, or to gather a crop, or to wait for some government officer to force him under heavy penalties to go on,—or who waits till the enemy has no ammunition left.” “If a man is worth sending out Sa tan will pile difficulties as high as mountains before him. If he has not force enough to go over or through them perhaps the field should be thankful, for there are at least as many and as great ones and he had better fail here than there, but I am sorry for the man who ‘looks back.’ He makes a very inferior kind of salt and the monotony of being a ‘pillar of salt’ on the desert plains must be and is a great sorrow.” “No!—(Wallace)—I am not scold
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