tion with reading the Word, the people said, “Amen, Amen.” They also wor shiped before God. There is clear indica tion that the people wanted to live in harmony with the Word. They desired to be “ doers of the word, and not hear ers only” (Jas. 1:22). Verse 9 shows the result in the lives of the people of the reading of the Word. “ The people wept” likely because of their past fail ures. A Pledge-Making People (Neh. 10:28-32) These people made a vow to be true to God and one another. It is a solemn thing to promise God to do certain things. When God leads us to definite service through the study of His Word, we ought to be sure we do not fail in our commitment. I Send $1.00 with the names and addresses j of 10 of your friends to whom sample j copies of the King's Business will be | promptly mailed. j 558 So. Hope Street Los Angeles 13, Calif.
May 9, 1948 WHAT IS A REAL RELIGIOUS REVIVAL? Neh. 8:1-3, 5, 6, 8; 10:28-32
book of the law” (v. 3). The word atten tive is in italics which means it is not in the original but inserted for smoother reading. Thus the literal reading is “ The ears of all the people were unto the book.” This is just as forceful. It pic tures a people bending every effort to catch every word of the reading. A Reverent People (Neh. 8:5) When the Bible was read, the people stood to their feet as a mark of rev erence. This was not Bibliolatry. It was respect for God’s Word. There is too little of this manifested among Protes tants today. When God’s Word is read, there ought to be silence and undivided attention, and the reader ought to read with preparation and understanding. A Submissive People (Neh. 8:6-8) ’ As Ezra blessed the Lord in connec iExaltmg tljr S u i t i n g I H o r i i . . F aith S eminary exalts the Lord Jesus Christ as fully divine and as the world’s only Saviour. Here there is, in our judgment, no room for middle ground, for the one not with Christ is against Him. The teaching o f the Seminary is therefore premillennial, centered around the work of Christ as Saviour, Lord, and coming King o f nations. In class- rooms and private conversation, Christ is continually set forth as the object of our worship, love and devotion. His finished work on Calvary is presented as the final word to a lost and helpless world. His virgin birth, true miracles, substitutionary atonement and bodily resurrection are here given their rightful place as the sinner’s only hope and consolation, and as the preacher’s basic message. W e are “ determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.”
Pointers on the Lesson The question used as the title for this week’s lesson may be answered in a gen eral way by saying that a real revival is a time of increased desire for and in terest in the Word of God. It is a time when the Word, for all practical pur poses having been lost, is recovered, and an earnest desire is witnessed to obey it. Revival is always closely associated with God’s Word. There has never been a real revival apart from the Scriptures. Remember the vital part the Word had in the revivals of Josiah’s and Luther’s times. If there is to be a real awaken ing in our day it must be based upon that same Word. It is plain to see that the revival of the days of Ezra and Nehemiah was centered in the Word. There was a love for it in those days. The passages set before us this week show us the children of Israel in rela tion to the holy Scriptures. A United People (Neh. 8:1a) These people all realized that they had spiritual need. God can do something when people are united like this in a desire for a spiritual blessing. Differ ences were forgotten. Dr. Ironside sug gests that the place of the people’s gath ering “before the water gate,” indicates something of the cleansing, refreshing, reviving power of the Word of God. Be that as it may, we do know that when a people are of one mind in their earnest ness to hear what the Lord has to say, blessing and cleansing are sure to follow. Such was the case in the early church. See Acts 2:46; 4:32. A Bible-Centered People (Neh. 8:1b) For this people, it was “ Bring the book” ! Only one book would suffice; there could be no substitute. The trouble with multitudes today is that they are satisfied with substitutes for the real Word of God. Many are content to listen to preaching that denies the fundamen tals of the Book of books. But let us be impressed anew with the fact that it is only God’s Word that can meet man’s need because it presents the Saviour man must have. We have so much more of the Word than they of Ezra’s day that we ought to be all the more insistent that only the Book of God be taught and preached to us. We have not only the law of Moses but the message of grace through His later servants. An Attentive People (Neh. 8:2, 3) We cannot expect to know what God has to say unless we give attention to what He has to say. In the verses before us we have the example of a people so tremendously interested in the Word of God that they had listened to the read ing of it for hours. Indeed, the Word was precious in those days! “ The ears of all the people were attentive unto the A P R I L , 1 9 4 8
FAITHTHEOLOGICALSEMINARY WILMINGTON
DELAWARE
For the word of God, .and for the testimony of Jesus Christ
For further details of the work of the Seminary, please write direct to The- Registrar, 1303-FC Delaware Avenue, Wilmington 19, Delaware.
The Independent Presbyterian Church of Wilmington, and Par ish House. Here Faith began its classwork in the fall of 1937. Inset shows two young minis ters, members of an early class.
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