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T H È K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
October, 1942
and lofty One that inhabiteth eter nity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the hum ble, and to revive the heart of thè contrite ones!.’ (Isa. 57:15). • ; ^ “ I dw e ll. m to revive . . . to revive.” But “ I dwell” with whom? “ To re vive” whom? The answer is: with the contrite, with the humble. May God awaken us anew to the awful reality of sin and the necessity of turning constantly from it. Only thus can we experience the gracious ness of revival in our own spirits as believers, in our churches, in our na- tion. , • . SIGN IFICANCE OF THE NEW S [Continued from Page 363] greater knowledge of spiritual things than has the most erudite university professor who ever scoffed at the miracles recorded in the Bible. THE STRENGTH OF A PEOPLE'S j g j GOVERNMENT: • If the masses of the people are to be made «a fe for democracy; if they are to be made secure in their devo tion to democracy; if they are to be made proof against the inducements and incitements to revolution; if they are to be safeguarded against the counsel and conspiracy of demagogues —then they must be given back the Word of God. The boys and girls of today, the citizens of tomorrow, must be given back their rightful heritage of a simple trust in the faith of the fathers. Democracy cannot endure on any foundation except a Biblical basis. Horace Greeley said, “It is impossible to enslave a Bible-reading and a Bible- believing people.” The Bible is the common people’s guarantee of freedom. The defense of American liberty requires that we shall again become a Bible-reading and a Bible-believing people.
of Repentance
“ To ca ll. . . »inner» to repentance.n
That is plain enough: and it covers all heart-sins, including ill-feeling as well as inconsistency of the life and lack of real devotion. Again, in the first chapter of Isaiah, Where the Word of God so terribly exposes the hollowness o f a religious service which is contradicted by the life, there is t h e s a m e warning: “When ye spread forth your hands, I w ill hide mine eyes from you; yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear" (Isa. 1:15). 1 How urgently follows the call to repentance: “W a s h ye, make you clean; put away the evil of your do ings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; learn to do well” (Isa. 1:16, 37 ). What is it that the church needs to repent of, in order that blessing may come? How much there is! But let us not blame “the church.” We are all members of it. What is the call to us, to each one personally, individually, for repentance? The same prophet, Isaiah, in the later part of his book, has two won derful passages which w ill add point, in conclusion, to our twofold view of the call to repentance—the call to the world, and the call to the church. One is in the great “Evangelical Chapter” (55). “S e e k ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: iet the wicked forsake,his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he w ill abundantly pardon” (vs. 6, 7). The other is found only two chap ters later. “ For thus saith the high
forcibly in one of his Expositions (Isa. 1-48; p. 41): ' “ A trust ih Jesus Christ,” he said, ‘‘which is unaccompanied by a profound penitent consciousness and abhorrence of one’s own sins, and a resplve to turn away ftom them for all time to come, is not '■a faith which will bring either pardon or cleansing. We do not need to have l e s s s a i d about trust; we need to have a great deal more said about repentance.” But repentance, like salvation, is itself a gift. That is made clear by two remarkable passages in the Acts, referring respectively to Jew and to Gentile (Acts 5:31 and 11:18). Relation of Repentance to Revival It is not only the unconverted who need the call to repentance. It is also a call which frequently had to be sounded, in the early church, to mem bers of that church. It is needed now. Many Wonder why revival tarries. Is it because the people of God them selves need to repent? Many are the calls tq more prater for revival, and more believing and fervent prayer. Have we forgotten t h a t sometimes prayers cannot be answered because of the sins of those who offer them? Two searching reminders of t h i s fact are to be found, one as it applies to individuals, and the other as a warning with reference to u n i t e d prayer—or which is at least capable of application thus, no less than in dividually. “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord w ill not hear” (Psa. 66:18).
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