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NOVEMBER
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She !8ible Tarn!ly tihayajine
B I B L E I N S T I T U T E
P U B L I S H E D B Y
O F L O S A N G E L E S
THE MOST AMAZINGLY INTERESTING STORY EVER TOLD! The Intimate Life of the Russian Royal Family Revealed by the Murdered Physician and His Son Who Escaped Ruth F. Albert [ , 1 2 “ ] Says: I’ve just finished “The Real Romanovs” and it’s great.
Mr. Botkin’s intense loyalty to the Russian family may get a jolt by finding that the sale will surpass even that of the “Education of a Prin cess ’ by the Grand Duchess Marie. C(. Naturally his close connection with the Emperor and Empress gives the most graphic picture and the most authentic record that we are apt to have. It is a most fascinating book.
WITH MANY UNUSUAL ILLUSTRATIONS. JACKET IN COLORS $3.00
Workers Together BY F. A. AGAR, D.D., AND HARRY S. MYERS
The Soviets’ Challenge To Christianity! R U S S I A In the Grip of Bolshevism BY JOHN JOHNSON Secretary All Russian Evangelical Christian Union ►►A book which presents the truth regarding the present eco nomical, social, and religious situation in Russia. ►► A most informing personal narrative written by a native- born Russian who made a spe cial trip through the land o f the Soviets to secure the facts. ►► It contains information great ly needed today, answering, as it does, such questions as: ►► Is Atheism succeeding in Rus sia? Is Christian work being pre vented? Are Christians being persecuted today? Is family life becoming a thing o f the past? W ha t is the religious outlook fo r the future? $ | .50
Studies in the Prophecy of Jeremiah BY G. CAM PBELL MORGAN D r. M organ a t h is b est. T h is la te s t w o rk w ill la y a ll s tu d e n ts of th e W ord u n d e r tr ib u te to th is able com m en tato r. $2.50 Gods of Wealth and War BY JAM ES L . ST EW A RT A ta le of m odern C hina, by th e a u th o r of “T he L a u g h in g B ud dha.” A g rim , g rip p in g sto ry of g r e a t h isto ric a l v alue. $2.00 M inisters, B ib le-class tea ch e rs, an d le a d e rs of C h ristia n E n d eav o r a n d o th e r g ro u p s, m ay discover in D r. Sell’s volum e of p ra c tic a l comm onsense a d d resses, a m o st p ro fitab le aid a n d h e lp fu l guide. $1.25 The Defeat of Fear, and Other Studies BY HENRY HOWARD , D.D., L itt.D . T he elo q u en t p a s to r of th e F ifth A v e n u e P re sb y te ria n C hurch, New Y ork, w hose p u l p it m in istry a ttr a c ts l a r g e w e e k l y c o n g re g a tio n s, h a s b ro u g h t to g e th e r a rem a rk a b le se ries of stu d ies. $2.00 The Ten Commandments BY JOH N ALEXANDER HAYES, Th.M . “A m o st h e lp fu l p re se n ta tio n of th e claim s of th e g r e a t Com m an dm e n ts th a t w ill pierce th e sh ell of p re se n t-d a y indiffer- ence an d a w a k e n th e con- • science.” *—M ethodist H erald. $1.75 Prayer-Meeting Talks BY HENRY T. SE LL , D .D .
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©fteBible Tamii# 3ta#a^!ne Motto: "Unto him that loved us , and washed us from our sins in his own blood .” —R ev . 1 :5.
Let th e L I T T L E F E L L O W
Volume XXII
November, 1931
Number 11
show your organization th e w ay to greater useful ness a n d serv ice.
TABLE OF CONTENTS Crumbs from the King’s Table—The Editor...................................483 Present-Day Fulfillment of Prophecy—Louis S. Bauman...............485 Giving Thanks Always—Howard A. Banks.................................... 487 Thanksgiving in Song—Robert Harkness.......................................489 False Teaching—A Sign of the End—W. H. Rogers................ 490 China Calls for Praise—Ford L.'Canfield..... ................................. 492 Palestine is for the Jew—Agnes Scott Kent...................................494 Youth and Evangelism—Roy E. Creighton...................................... 496 Biola in China............................... ...................... ...... . 496 Structure in Scripture—Norman B. Harrison.................................497 The Return of the Tide—Zenobia Bird............................................ 500 Heart to Heart with our Young Readers —Florence Nye Whitwell.......... .................................... 503 Homiletical Helps ............ ............. ....................... ........... ___ 505 Bible Institute Family Circle—Cutler B. Whitwell........................ 506 Junior King’s Business—Helen Howarth Lemmel...,.... ................ 507 Our Literature Table............................................................... 509 International Lesson Commentary............................. 510 Notes on Christian Endeavor—Milo F. Jamison.............................517 Daily Devotional Readings...... ............................ 522
M E TA L SPON G E S A L E S C O R P 'N Jo h n W . Gottschalk President Lehigh A ve. and M ascher St., Phila.
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They Bear A Real Testimony
UR INS undergraduate days our students bear a real testimony to the power o f the gospel as they go here and there to meet assignments o f practical work! Listen to these expressions o f appreciation from various sources attesting to the worth o f Bible Institute trained men and women!
"Splendid character o f Christian ideals. W e have been delighted with his contribution to the cause o f Christ." "I cannot say enough in praising Miss B's consecrated work. She has suc ceeded in deepening the Christian ex periences o f her pupils. They all love her." Undergraduates this year, as in pre vious years, will bear tha t ringing tes ti mony fo r the Lord Jesus Christ tha t fo r more than two decades has character ized and. d is tin g u is h e d our student body. This undergraduate testimony is one o f the reasons why many o f the Lord's stewards are making substantial g ifts to the Bible Institute o f Los Angeles.
"The cooperation o f the students in jail work has been excellent. Their spir itual leadership has made wonderful im pressions on the men in the prisons." "In my years o f Sunday-school work, I have never seen, a young man with zeal fo r souls as Mr. S. He started a class with eight boys and now has twen ty-eight. He led a large number o f them to Christ." "This group o f college-age has en joyed Mr. N. His preparation fo r the lesson is excellent, his punctuality A - l. His sincere Christian character and earnest efforts have changed a class o f boys from a carefree class to a sincere group o f workers." "W e are very sorry to lose such a splendid teacher as Mr. A ."
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rumL front THE KING’S TABLE ...B y THE EDITOR
Hallelujah!
never had a stronger teaching body. Professor J. B. Nield, now at the head of our Music Department, stands so high in his profession that the Institute never could have hoped to be able to pay what he is worth, but he felt the call was from the Lord and is throwing his fine abilities into the gap. Miss Ida Woods, a teacher of large experience, is giv ing the students a much needed course in English. Mrs. A. L. Dennis, who was on the faculty during the palmy days • of Dr. Torrey, gives her valuable services to our Christian
K R h a t a mean thing it is for a child of God to be unthankful! I wonder sometimes if it does not grieve our heavenly Father more than any other sin. Nothing that our children can do so hurts us as to have them complain after we have exhausted our energies for their welfare. Israel’s great sin was the lack of thank
fulness, that showed itself in complaining against the provi dence of God. Our wicked hearts can always find some thing to growl about, but when we begin to count some of our blessings, how glad we are to find that there is nothing but blessing in the providences of God! “All things work to gether for good to them that love God.” What a heartening statement that is ! If it is true, and we know that it is true, there is nothing that comes to us in our daily lives that He cannot turn into a blessing. Here at the Bible Institute, we have so much for which to thank God that, in the provi dences of God that daily sur round us, we cannot see any thing to make us faint or dis couraged. The wrath of men He makes to praise Him, and even the foolishness, the self ishness, and the backbiting of professed friends He uses to drive us into closer fellowship with Himself. What a good God we have! Last semester the Institute was sorely pressed for money; we had a large student body; we had a good faculty, but, for the lack of funds, we were compelled to dismiss some of our teachers. The students
Education Course. Dr. Ross A. Harris, Dr. Lucy R. Kil gore, and Dr. Harry E. Straub are carrying on a very satisfac tory course in Medical Mis sions. Dr. E. R. Black, a teacher of long experience, is teaching Christian Psychology and Apologetics. Dr. E. L. McCreery, Dr. John C. Page, Dr. John A. Hubbard, and Pro fessor J. A. Vaus are retained on the faculty, teaching such subjects as Bible Synthesis, Doctrine, Analysis, Exegesis, Personal Evangelism, Homi letics, and Jewish Missions. The faculty all agree on one program of Bible interpreta tion. We have a very large regis tration of students, w h i c h makes us thank God and take courage. Do we have burdens ? Yes, some very heavy ones;but God is supplying all our needs, and we will not worry until His riches of grace in glory run out. “Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory.” T Be Filled with the Spirit [HE Holy Spirit is in every Christian; and Christ is in every Christian, for He dwells in us by the Spirit,
“He Crowneth the Year with His Goodness” Fountain of mercy, God of love, How rich Thy bounties are! The rolling seasons, as they move, Proclaim Thy constant care. The spring’s sweet influence, Lord, was Thine; The plants in beauty grew; Thou gav’st refulgent suns to shine, And the refreshing dew. These various mercies from above Matured the swelling grain; A kindly harvest crowns Thy love, And plenty fills the plain. We own and bless Thy gracious sway; Thy hand all nature hails; Seed-time nor harvest, night nor day, Summer nor winter fails. — S e l e c t e d .
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were very considerate, and, all working together, we made the most of our circumstances and graduated eighty-three from the regular course, fifty- five of them volunteering for service in other lands. Then came a crisis; God’s money seemed to be all tied up, but God is never late; He came on time to supply our needs. Some of the best Bible teachers in the world are liv ing in Los Angeles. They came to our rescue. We now have seventeen on our faculty and at a smaller cost than any faculty in the history of the Institute. We believe we
as the sun dwells in the world by means of the atmosphere vibrating with waves of light. But we must perpetually yield to Him as water to the containing vessel. This is not always easy. Indeed, it can be accomplished only by an in cessant self-judgment and a perpetual mortification of our self-life. What is our position before God in this respect? We have chosen Jesus as our substitute, but have we also chosen Him by the Holy Spirit as our life ? Caii we say with the apostle, “Not I, but Christ liveth in me” ? If so,
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thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.” In order to accomplish His great purpose, He put aside “the form of God” and was found “and fashioned as a man” ; and in return, “God also hath highly exalted him, and given him the name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow.” This is the glory which John saw in the Patmos vision—the Son of man walking in the midst of the golden candlesticks as the head of His church, His face as the sun shining in its might, His voice as the sound of many waters. And we shall be partakers of this glory with H im! The mother of the “sons of thunder” asked for them that one might sit on the right hand of Jesus and the other on His left when He should come into His kingdom. That was refused as an impossibility during the earthly life, but a great distinction awaits us, for it is written: “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne.” This is a great mystery and we may not solve it, but this we know, that “if we suffer, we shall also reign with him.” If we suffer with Him, we shall also be glorified together. If we partake of His sufferings, we shall also be glad with exceeding joy. Soon, soon, in matchless vision, I shall be with Him and shall behold His glory! It’s a Spiritual Challenge! ot so long ago , a friend of ours gave to a friend of hers a copy of T h e K ing ’ s B u siness . Thereby we gained a new friend, who subse quently became so interested in our Institute that she en trusted to our care many thousands of dollars to be employed by us for the glory of Christ! The truth is that many Christians are waiting, forsooth even looking, for just the kind of an opportunity that this Christian was waiting and looking for when she received from the hands of a kind friend the copy of T h e K ing ’ s B usiness with its opportunity-presenting and vision-cre ating messages! Perhaps a number of you good folk who are partaking of this particular “Crumb” are thinking already of some Christian friends of yours, who, like the new friend we have mentioned, are longing for an opportunity to actually help in the Lord’s work, as the Lord has prospered them. T h e K ing ’ s B usiness in their homes would tell them of the opportunity that stewardship has in the manifold educational, evangelistic, and missionary activities of our Institute! The half price offer-||four K ing ’ s B usiness subscrip tions for three dollars, good until November 30, 1931— makes it exceedingly easy and convenient for you to direct the attention of your friends to the timely opportunity of the spiritual challenge that charges the very atmosphere of classrooms, dorrqitories, auditoriums, and offices here in the heart of a vast metropolitan center. Elsewhere in this issue will be found complete details relative to the generous half price offer. Read these de tails. Write your names and addresses. Enclose with remittance. Mail today. Use this offer to spread genuine Christmas cheer! By sending T h e K ing ’ s B usiness to a friend as a Christmas gift, you help your friend, you strengthen the position of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles in all its various minis tries, and you make Christmas count for Christ!
we must be prepared for all that it involves. We must be willing for the principle of the new life to grow at the ex pense of the self-life. We must consent for the one to increase while the other decreases through processes that are painful to the flesh. More than that, we must be ever on the alert, hastening the processes of judgment, condem nation, and crucifixion. We must keep true in our alle giance to the least behest of the Holy Spirit, though it cost us tears. Partnership with Jesus Christ h e word for “fellowship,” in 1 Corinthians 1 :9, “called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord,” is the same word that is employed, in Luke 5 :10, of James and John being partners with Simon. ]We have been called into partnership with God’s Son, Christ our Lord. In redemption, in His life and tears for men, and ultimately in His triumph and glory, we are linked with Him. We belong to the biggest business firm on this earth. The moment we were saved, we were summoned into part nership with Christ by the communion of the Holy Spirit. How comforting is the thought that Christ’s interests are ours and that we are at liberty to draw upon His re sources to the uttermost! Suppose a poor clerk were to be summoned from his desk into the countinghouse of a mul timillionaire and informed that, from that moment, he was taken into partnership with the firm, would it not be less of an honor than that which has come to us? Association with millionaires in money making is infinitely less desir able than association with the Son of God in world evan gelizing. And would that poor clerk feel any anxiety as to his share in meeting the immense liabilities of the con cern? However great they might be, he would know that the resources of the firm were adequate, and he would be able to sleep easily at night, though millions were due on the morrow. Child of God, do you not think your Father can meet all His Son’s engagements ? The call to this partnership is from the Father. It is He who has chosen us for the honor of cooperating with His Son. Will He invite us into such an association and then leave us to be overwhelmed by the difficulties of the situation He has created ? It cannot be. He will supply all our need, according to His riches of grace in glory. Beholding His Glory hat they may behold my glory.” The disciples had seen Christ during the years of His humiliation. They who had seen Him in the carpenter shop, and who had known Him as the homeless wayfarer, were now accompanying Him to Gethsemane, to the judgment hall, and to the cross. How natural it was that He should wish them to behold Him presently in the light and glory unap proachable, with adoring multitudes bowing their heads before Him! The reference is not to any such adventurous glory as earth’s conquerors boast, for all earthly greatness is a trivial thing, its ultimate purpose but a shroud, and its last domain a narrow grave. Nor does Christ refer to His essential glory, the glory which He had with the Father before the world was. He refers to His mediatorial glory— “my glory; which thou hast given me.” This was the re ward of His great sacrifice for the deliverance of the world. It was promised in the covenant of redemption: “When
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... By LOUIS S. BAUMAN
The Haughtiness of Men Bowed Down I saiah 2:10-22 o N ahead , through the mists of twenty-seven centuries, went the glance of the eagle-eyed prophet, Isaiah, to behold the day when the nations shall “beat their swords into plowshares” and learn war no more (cf. Isa. 2:4). However, he solemnly informs us that, just before that day, “the lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. For the day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up ; and he shall be brought low” (Isa. 2:11, 12). Already, heads that have been holding themselves “proud and lofty,” boasting their fullness of practical, sci entific gray matter, are beginning to realize that they are succeeding only in making a spectacle of themselves in a great world crisis. They failed to ward off a World War that has beggared almost every nation on earth. Now, in a world of plenty, millions starve; and in a world where there is so much to be done, millions have nothing to do ! What a commentary on this proud and lofty age! Little wonder is it that one of the greatest living news paper writers, writing recently in The Los Angeles Times, sneers at the pretended “bigness” of men who have so miserably failed us, saying: “Big business” has made a sad spectacle of itself. When a difficult time came, all that emerged from its brain cavity was a squawk. Our finance kings showed that, in the last analysis, they don’t know any more what it is about than a Hopi squaw. Again, he says: M oney F lies . This financial depression will bring about a great change in the thought processes of America. The batting average of the millionaire is due for 'a con siderable revision downward . . . F allen H eroes . The greatest reason for the collapse of the millionaire as a person of distinction, however, is that we have seen his insides. Before this panic, the money kings, whom Upton Sin clair calls, with great emotion, “our capitalistic masters,” were thought to be seers of such financial profundity and erudition and imperial power that they touched buttons and caused international panics, pulled strings and caused world wars. When it came to a show-down, we discovered to our pain that the Morgans and the Schwabs and the other money kings really know as much about economics as Bull Montana knows about playing a zither. Then he pays tribute to the power of the old Book: Sane and practical is the recommendation of the British radio interests for a return to prosperity. Every radio owner, as well as every one else, is asked to repeat the twenty-third psalm every day—“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” If this is done faithfully, it will do more than all the phoney advice given by “big business.” And I mean this literally and reverently. And then he adds: Since the World War we have entered into a mon
strous and disgusting debauch of materialism. We have worshiped the golden calf, and it has answered our -frightened prayers only with bleats. Yes, it is about time for “the lofty looks of man” to humbly bow before One long despised, but who is the only One who can answer with something besides “bleats” when the heart of the world is wrung with anguish and despair. The Sad Failure of “Men of Renown” G enesis 6:4-13; M atthew 24:37 T he writer and his wife have just completed a 7,000- mile jaunt which took us across or within a full one- half the States of the Union—from Long Beach on the Pacific, on through the heart of the nation to Atlantic City on the Atlantic, and back again along the shores of the Gulf of Mexico and the Rio Grande. The thing which made the strongest impression upon us was the goodness of God in causing the earth to pour out its riches so bounteously upon an undeserving world of men. Superabundantly the earth has thrust forth its wealth for the supply of every need and luxury that the millions of American people can know. Our journey began among great citrus groves laden with golden fruit, untold miles of vines hanging heavy with sweetness, and countless fields overburdened with vege table wealth. Even the desert beyond the San Bernardino Mountains was “blossoming as a rose,” the date-palms bowing heavily with their luscious burdens. The prairies of western and central Kansas were being piled high with vast stores of wheat, begging for a market. From eastern Kansas to Ohio, we were hemmed in along the way by walls of corn, never surpassed for size and weight of grain. Apples, peaches, plums, pears, berries—in fact there were fruit and vegetables in such abundance that tons and tons were rotting ocrthe ground because no one seemed to desire them sufficiently to pick them up. Through the Southland, hundreds of thousands of bushels of sweet potatoes, such as only the Southland can grow, literally begged for some one to purchase them “with a song.” There were vast cotton fields, but the same old story—a story significantly told by one great bale on the corner of a busy street in Houston, Texas, bearing A big sign, “Please put me on the bare back of some poor boy;!” From ocean to ocean and back again, the chief employment of hundreds of men in the oil fields seemed to be to fight against the earth’s desire to over whelm the nation with an unprecedented supply of oil and gas. Great coal mines everywhere were being held back be cause of an oversupply of the precious “black diamonds.” Tremendous herds of cattle and sheep were waiting over time for man to call for their vast supplies of meat, hides, wool, butter fats, and milk. Not only this, but the long track was lined with banks, stored with rusting silver and gold, wondering why it had lost the power to circulate. One-half the gold of the earth lies corrupting for want of use, along that pathway. All along the trail were mighty mills, running part time, or sometimes standing idle, wondering why they were not being used to help put those bales of cotton and fleeces of
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them with prehistoric man, and tell us that he walked the earth just 500,000 years ago! . But—we now stagger; we are perplexed beyond mea sure—how is it that these modern “men of renown” seem to be able to successfully contradict Almighty God Himself in their knowledge of the genesis of things; how is it that these intellectual giants can'walk out into the cold depths of interstellar spaces so assuredly, that these mighty ones of earth can count the electrons within an atom so minutely; how is it that they can stand in the midst of all the super abundance of the fruits of the earth today, with all the present-day means of transportation at their command, with millions of unemployed hands begging for the priv ilege of doing something—how is it that these “men of renown” stand perplexed at the problems of employment and distribution? They literally stand aghast before the problem of putting cotton on bare backs, coal into cold furnaces, wheat into empty stomachs, action into stilled wheels, and work into idle hands. We cannot help but have a haunting fear that these modern intellectual gods of the world of science and commerce have been taking ad vantage of us and have been slipping something over on us, when it comes to their brain capacity. We fear we must revise our estimate. But why have we spoken of all this ? It is only for the purpose of emphasizing one great prophetic truth: that every dispensation of time has been brought to a close by a sad and confessed failure of its “men of renown.” “As in the days of Noah,” there were “mighty men which were of old, men of renown” (Gen. 6:4), who proved to be utter failures in keeping the earth from destroying itself in violence and burying its remains in stagnant pools of filthy corruption, so it shall be again, was the affirmation of Christ Himself. We leave it to the reader to judge whether or not history is about to repeat itself. What Does it all Portend? h e n men fail, a man will rule. When “men of re nown” bow down, a man of renown arises. Dic tatorship is the only solution, and the failure of the many brings the rule of the one. The sad part of the Biblical picture is that the age that ends in human failure ends also in judgment. The pro phetic Word informs us that the judgments that shall bring the present dispensation to its terrible close will be under and because of the rule of one who will be a “man of sin.” But thank God, the prophetic picture also dis closes the fact that his cruel rule will be cut short for “the elect’s sake,” and the Man of Righteousness, “whose right it is,” will ascend His throne, and “the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day.” “In that day,” “with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth” (Isa. 11:4). Yea, “in that day,” “the mountains shall bring peace to the people, and . . . he shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor. . . . There shall be an handful of corn in the earth upon the top of the mountains; the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon: and they of the city shall flourish like the grass of the earth” (Psa. 72:3, 4, 16). “In that day,” there shall be One, a Man of Renown, who shall be able to con nect the fruits of the earth with the needs of the city. And “all nations shall call him blessed.” Yes, “even so, come, Lord Jesus” !
wool upon the backs that are bare. Oil pumps were silent, and picks were idle, wondering why they were not being asked to prepare to keep warm the bodies of millions who stand even now in fear of the chilling blasts of winter. Miles upon miles of freight cars stood on rusty tracks, and idle locomotives overflowed their giant stables, all wonder ing why they were not being used to carry the unprece dented supplies of the fields to great cities that are fighting against want or to nations where millions are starving. And more pitiful still, the long trail was lined with millions of hands, wondering why they were left unemployed, when the natural supplies of the earth were so great, and the bread lines were so long, when the vast throngs of men, women, and children were talking gloomily and being haunted with the fear of empty stomachs, naked backs, and cold and desolate houses. Now, consider this : All along the trail, we passed by great institutions of learning and richly endowed labora tories of science, wherein sat the world’s “men of renown.” These men have for many years been amazing the world with their intellectual genius and profundity. Mankind stands in awe before them, almost bows in worship and ad oration, as they unfold the mysteries of past, present, and future. These gods of the hour inform us that a bird-shot mag nified ten billion times would be as large as the earth, but that an atom equally magnified would be less than three feet through. Then, with great equanimity, they continue to inform us that the nucleus of an atom magnified ten billion times would be only the size of a pin point, and that, within this nucleus, 384 electrons freely operate. Why not 385 ? They count electrons with greater accuracy than a farmer counts the chickens on his hen roost ! These “men of renown” calmly tell us that “in one gram atomic weight of any element, there are six hundred and six and two-tenths sextillions of atoms”—and forth with we believe and adore! If one of these modern gods were to pass my home and inform me that 9,726,483,260,- 001 blades of grass were growing in my lawn, who am I that I should differ with him? How could I, since I haven’t counted them myself? These modern “men of renôwn” do not hesitate to climb to such lofty heights that the whole universe is naked and bare beneath their eagle eyes. They look, and behold the universe is 194 quadrillion miles in diameter, and beyond this 194,000,000,000,000,000 miles there is —nothing! They watch the nebulae in distant space running away from each other, and then they gloomily inform us that the days of the universe are numbered—only “a matter of hundreds or thousands of millions of years at most” ! They know that, through radiation, our sun is losing its electrons so rap idly that it is losing weight at the rate of 250 million tons a minute, and that in fifteen million million more of years, we shall have no sun. And we stand before these ponder ous minds dumb and awe-stricken ! Of coursé, men whose minds can comprehend and search out and weigh such things must be believed when they tell us how life originated upon the earth, and how many millions of years since. They dig up a piece of brain pan, two molar teeth, and a piece of bone from some leg, and (wonder of wonders!) they give us a perfect flesh and blood photograph of the possessor of these bones, and even tell us his name—Mr. Pithecanthropus Erectus, if you please ! Then they find some elephants’ teeth, connect
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GIVING THANKS ALWAYS . . . By HOWARD A. BANKS, *Pittsburgh, Pa.
“Giving thanks always for all things” (Eph. 5 :20). ( > [ harles H. S purgeon and Theodore Cuyler were walking in the meadows near Lon don one day, where Cuyler related a witty anecdote, and they broke out into a hearty laugh. “Theodore,” said Spurgeon suddenly, “let us thank God for laughter.” So they got down on their knees and gave thanks for humor,
afterward gone with his host to dinner. While they sat waiting on the front porch, the baby of the household fell off the upstairs porch. An addition was being built to the house. Only the girders on which the flooring was later to be nailed had been put in. If the baby had fallen on one of these, it would have been killed. But a wide plank ran across the girders for workmen to walk on, and the infant straddled it unhurt. “There ,”
that s a f e t y valve in t h e human engine. Thanksgiv ing is a double first cousin, or maybe even a twin sister to praise. One of t h e p l a c e s w h e r e God lives is praise. “Jehovah in- habiteth eter- n i t y,” t h e W o r d says, a n d in t h e Person of the risen Christ, He ma k e s His dwelling in the temple of our bodies. He d w e l l s within the in visible church, the temple of s p i r i t u a l stones. B u t Jehovah also “inhabitestthe praise of Is
said Mr. Mil ler, “is an il lustration to go along with my morning sermon.” That nar row escape you h a d—it w a s y o u r guardian an gel that pro tected y o u ; a n d y o u should thank God that He so ordered it, because He h a s further work for you to do f o r Him. G iving T hank s for G ardens Those of us who were raised in the country w i l l
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rael” (Psa. 22 :3). Jehovah loves to be sung about, and all Bible-mentioned singing, by the way, is about redemption. Heathenism has no hymns. Modernism is beginning to give us expurgated hymn books with the precious blood eliminated. To give thanks always at all times means of course to live as a Christian in an attitude of gratitude for all divine blessings. Similarly, we are enjoined to “pray without ceasing.” G iving T hank s for A ngels We do not thank God enough for angels. They are in visible ministerng spirits always working in the behalf of “the heirs of salvation.” Unseen themselves, they minister to us in physical matters. My beloved schoolmate and life long friend, Evangelist Robert V. Miller, of Henderson ville, N. C., had preached one morning on angels, and had
thank God for gardens. While the curse of the thistle and the weed was put in the soil because of our first parents’ sin, there was left in the heart of man something of that element in Adam which made him love his own growing things in his garden of Eden, for “the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.” Have you ever noticed in your own garden that the grapevine is especially adapted to illustrate what Jesus taught when He became incarnate—that the vine is doubly joined with every branch. You can snap off a branch from a peach, an apple, or a plumb tree with a clean cleavage, but you cannot break off a grapevine branch that way. Fibers from the vine run into the branch, and fibers from the branch run back into the vine. So the Lord could teach the wonder of the abiding life with this illustration, as He and His disciples walked through Judaea’s vineyards.
♦Editor of Christ Life.
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that, while we would never be condemned for sins com mitted after our salvation, we should nevertheless have to see them put up on the blackboard for the assembled saints to see at the judgment seat of Christ; and he answered in < this wise: “No, s ir! Every night before I go to bed, I j think of my day’s walk. When the Spirit shows me any ' sins and failures, I promptly confess them, and claim for- i giveness and cleansing, from Him who is just, to live up ^ to the contract of the cross. I put them under the blood, M and I do not believe they will be got out from under it to be ™ exhibited at the judgment seat of Christ.” T h e L ord O ur E xemplar Our Lord is our great Exemplar. We may be sure He was giving thanks always for all things, but it is interesting * to note the times the Spirit has recorded His thanksgiving. ■ He gave thanks at the feeding of the five thousand and of 1 the four thousand. Here He proved Himself the great Pro- I vider for His creatures. He could provide when there was d no food. Nearly all of us are suffering from the depression, l President Hoover is concerned about it. He had it before a I Cabinet meeting for its full time of meeting. He consulted with experts. He called in the head of the Red Cross, who had been saying that his organization could not deal with unemployment this coming winter because it can deal only when a crisis comes from “an act of God.” Who says the hard times are not an act of God—that they have not come because our country has forgotten God? Unthankfulness to God led to men’s original apostasy from the first revealed truth which God gave to Adam and the patriarchs (Rom. 1 :21* and context). We have become too prosperous in America, and by His permissive will, God has allowed this national crisis to come upon us. This coming Thanksgiv ing Day—a grand and God-pleasing national holiday- ought to see the nation in sackcloth. Men ought every where to be confessing to God that they were mistaken in boasting that they were making a living, when they were only breathing His air and taking His stored-away ore and* coal and oil, using His waterpower in the rivers, reaping harvests from His rain and sunshine. Our country needs an Elijah, with voice and courage enough to tell us that we need to turn to God from worshiping intellect and from worshiping gold. Covetousness is idolatry, and Elijah told Israel that drought was the divinely appointed corrective of idolatry. The depression ought to be understood as a call | of God to repentance. Our Lord gave thanks at the Last Supper and at the end of the journey to Emmaus. It has been taught that His recognition on the latter occasion came from His two companions as they saw the nail-prints in His lifted hands. It may be so. But may it not have been a recognition of Him as the always thankful One? They had often seen Him aglow with gratitude to the Father. They could best penetrate His resurrection incognito, when they saw Him giving thanks. The inspiring Holy Spirit has further specifically re corded in the Gospels that Christ gave thanks that His Father had not revealed the meaning of His truth to the ^ wise and to the prudent, but that He had revealed it unto * babes (Matt. 11:25; Lk. 10:21) ; and that God had heard Him when He prayed at the tomb of Lazarus (John 11: 41). In the “all things” for which we give thanks, we may well include our own privilege of inclusion among those childlike, simple ones who believe the old-fashioned gospel story of salvation by the blood of Christ, and for our won drous resurrection hope in Him—“Christ in you, the hope of glory.”
Studies in Hebrews From month to month, Dr. John C. Page, of the Bible Institute faculty, has been giving in T h e K ing ' s B usiness a most valuable series of articles on the Epistle to the Hebrews. It has been neces sary to omit the installment this month, but the series will be resumed in December. Back num bers of the magazine are available to any one who wishes to preserve all of Dr. Page’s articles. I always get a resurrection lesson from the beans, when they come up from their graves in the soil, with their coffins on their heads. Other men may have their golf; but give me my garden for my summer’s exercise. We might thank God that the flower seed blew past the flaming sword at the gate of Eden, out into the freshly turned sod from Adam’s spade, so that Eve and all her daughters could weave their garlands and fill their vases. The flowers, with their multitudes of colors and fragrances, help us to realize the marvelous imagination of God. Our Lord listened to the language of the lilies, and we may thank God for the ministry of flowers. A man sick un to death on Easter day was sent an Easter lily with three blossoms on it. As he lay helpless in his weakness, one of those inaudible voices which we call impressions spoke in his ear, “Consider the lilies.” It was like an echo through nineteen centuries from the slopes of the Horns of Hattin. The peroration of that lily’s Easter sermon was this: “This is Easter day, when we celebrate the resurrection. This triple cluster represents your wife and two children. You will have a new lease of life—you will live yet for your three dear ones.” Ten days after his operation had been performed, the surgeon said: “We gave you up to die, but you fooled us. You will live.” But it was not news to him. The “considered” lilies had already told him. G iving T ha n k s for S uffering Gratitude to God “always for all things”--4that is a wide range. “All things” include sickness and sufferings. Can we give thanks for these ? God has a good purpose in them for us. “He scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.” When we thank God for discipline, we are ready to receive the lesson God wants us to get. And God fills the disci pline full of spiritual gain for us. “No child-training for the present seemeth joyous, but rather grievous; neverthe less it worketh the peaceable fruit of righteousness to them that are exercised thereby.” It is a tragedy to lose the blessing that comes from be ing “exercised thereby.” Mr. McConkey has said: “I once heard a man speak of a lost sorrow. A lost sorrow was a sorrow out of which a man failed to get the blessing which God meant to come out of it for him . . . In very truth, a lost sorrow is a most solemn testimony against you. It is a silent witness that God’s most heart-searching means of drawing you close to Himself has failed because you grow bitter.” In this same connection, we may thank God for self- judgment. Paul wrote to the Corinth church: “If we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.” “Self-judgment avoids chastisement.” I asked a fine Christian man if he thought
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THANKSGIVING IN SONG . . . By ROBERT HARKNESS
praise. From the mighty doxology—“Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow’jfe-to the humblest suggestion of praise, our Christian hymnology is literally saturated with praise. But while the place of song in true thanksgiving is of tremendous importance, its real spiritual value can be conserved only when the channel of expression is clean and wholesome. The purpose of praise in song is often frustrated by the lives
__ h e p s a l m is t gives much at tention, and rightly so, to thanksgiving. The statement of praise and its frequent repetition sets an example which all true believers may well emulate. True thanksgiving is echoed in every heart which has tasted of the good things of God. The expression of true thanksgiving in song is a natural exercise which should find its place at all times in all seasons of thanksgiving.
The vehicle of music, r i g h t l y used and backed by the spirit ual motive, is a pow erful factor in the service of praise. To sing praise unto God is always acceptable to H im if it is prompted by the right objective. Acceptable praise can find and enjoy its r i g h t f u l place only when it ex alts our Lord and aims at giving glory to God. Hymnology abounds in utterances of praise and thanks-, giving, because t h e sincere soul, in the en joyment of forgiven sin, overflows w i t h such gratitude to God that it spontaneously expresses its joyous thanksgiving. Song has always h a d an important place and been a pow erful factor in t h e service of thanksgiv ing. The first cry of the newborn soul is one of thanksgiving. Gratitude to God for temporal blessings has its important place in Christian experience, b u t the inestimable gift of God’s love in Christ has a l w a y s been responsible for the noblest songs of praise. Even a c a s u a l g l a n c e through the hymnals of the church will reveal the large number of hymns of
of those engaged in rendering praise. God looks at the motive be hind the song. Self is the greatest hindrance to the effectiveness of the song of t r u e thanksgiving. As Thanksgiving Day is again celebrat ed, a special call is made for the expres sion of gratitude to ■God for the blessings of t h e y e a r. We should sing our praise and thanksgiving with overflowing h e a r t s. With many people, disappointments m ay suggest a lack of thanksgiving, but it is well to remember that God’s richest bless ings are sometimes found in the disap pointments of l i f e . Our disappointment is His appointment and therefore is an en couragement to real th ank sg iv ing . We might well take the words and the sugges tion of Romans 8 :28: “And we know that all things work. to gether for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” T h e development of Christian character is usually indicated in the element of praise given forth verbally and in song. The words of an old hymn,
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R obert H arkness.
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true thanksgiving for all the blessings of life, but espe cially for the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ. A sailor on one of the battleships lost a leg in the bat tle of Jutland. As the visitors streamed through the hos pital wards, speaking with the patients, he noticed that ninety-eight per cent of them commiserated with him on the loss of his leg, and that about two per cent expressed gratitude for the fact that he had not lost both legs. Real thanksgiving includes an appreciation of all the blessings of life, plus the recognition of the will of God concerning each one of His children. Sing thanksgiving to Him, and His blessings will enrich your life in great measure.
expressive of real gratitude to God, come to mind. As boys, we sang this hymn over and over until it found its permanent place in mind and heart:
I’ll praise my Maker while I’ve breath; And when my voice is: lost in death, Praise shall employ my nobler powers. My days of praise shall ne’er be past While life and thought and being last, Or immortality endures.
The best cure for depression is praise. The greatest aid to optimism is praise; the real enemy of pessimism is praise; therefore, let us give to God heartfelt praise and
FALSE TEACHING, A SIGN OF THE END . . . B y W . H . ROGERS, Portland, Ore.
! "For there shall arise f a l s e prophets, and shall shew great signs and1¡wonders, insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very, elect. Behold I have told you before’’ (Matt. 24:24, 25). HËSE PERTINENT w o r d s form a part of our Sav iour’s answer to’ the three
the Lord Jesus Christ in power. T h e S ign of C hr ist ’ s C oming The second question was: “What shall be the sign of thy coming?” In answer to this, Christ clearly set forth the char acteristics of the age of grace and named them as the signs of the nearness of His return— wa r s , international conflicts, pestilences, famines, persecu tions, tribulations, false teach ers, counterfeit Christs, and un faithful prophets, all coming to an awful intensity at the end. This dark picture is as far from that of a converted world as m i d n i g h t , with its intense
questions propounded by His disciples when they' stood with Him oil the top of Mount Olivet. The three questions were: “Tell us, when shall these things be ?” “What shall be thé sign of thy coming?” “Wha:t shall be the sign . . . of the end of the age?” Let us look at these signifi cant questions and the impor tant answers the Saviour gave to them.
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HINSON MEMORIAL BAPTIST CHURCH (PORTLAND, ORE.), OF WHICH DR. ROGERS IS PASTOR.
blackness, is from the mid-day with its clear sky.
T he D estruction of J erusalem First, “Tell us, when shall these things be?”—that is, the things about which He had been talking, the over throw of Jerusalem and the destruction of the temple within it. The answer to this question is given in Luke 21 :20 to 24. It is clear from the two accounts of the Olivet dis course, in Matthew and in Luke, that-Christ was thinking of two sieges of Jerusalem—the one which took place at the beginning of the dispensation of grace, and the other which will take place at the end of that period. Luke em phasizes the first; namely, the siege by Titus in A.D. 70. Verse twenty-four was literally fulfilled when the city was taken by the Roman armies. The Jews fell “by the edge of the sword” ; they were “led away captive into all na tions” ; and Jerusalem was “trodden down” under the foot of the Gentiles. Matthew emphasizes the final siege at the end of the age. Then, according to prophecy, the city will again be taken, in the bloody battle of Armageddon, but God’s own people will be delivered ,by the glorious coming of
F alse T eachers Today we see many of these signs which clearly mark the nearness of the end of the age. I want to call your attention chiefly to one of them; namely, false teaching. In answer to the questions of His disciples, the very first utterance of the Lord recorded in the twenty-fourth chap ter of Matthew is this: “Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.” In the eleventh verse of the same chapter, He says: “And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.” And again, in the twenty-fourth verse: “For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and won ders ; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.” The same thing is reiterated by every New Testament writer. The church is warned by an overwhelming body of truth against the false teaching which is to char-
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