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K^sonsider the lilies how they grow: they toilnot,they spin not; a ndyetIsay unto you, th a t Solomon in a ll his glory was not arrayed like one o f these. I f then >' >' > ' >' > > f- >< >' >' >' 11 >' >r >% > f 11 11 I $ >' Courtesy Yosemite National Park THIEVES MONEY SHARKS by DAY~cannotrob you o f t / . L - . 7 ^ L . 'ome Happy days may vanish and unhappy ones take their place, if income is not protected! Protea V YOUR income for yourself and / \ loved ones . . . buy m i annuities! > ^ 5 3 T JL.ni' hrough years o f struggle man saves lest inescapable old age prove inhospitable . . . but thieves and money sharks will rob him of his life accumulations if he is not constantly alert. Guard Your Income! Annuities provide a way to avoid losses of this character. For example . . . a thief steals an annuity agreement. . . but he cannot steal the income . . . IT IS PROTECTED . . . it comes to the annuitant irrespective of what happens to the annuity agreement itself. Or again . . . a money shark peddles his worthless securities . . . but he cannot stop the annuity income . . . IT IS PROTECTED . . . it comes to the annuitant regardless of how plausible the wild cat proposition may have sounded. Stop Worrying! Annuities eliminate financial worry! Thievery . . . business depressions . . . bank collapses . . . suspended interest.. . reduced earnings . . . are hazards unknown to annuitants. Old age. . . no income . . . bitter tragedy that . . don’t let it happen in your case . . . and it need not . . . for you may create a life income k for yourself (and some loved one if you choose) through one or more annuities with Bible Institute of Los Angeles. Merely send your check for $100.00 or more attached to the coupon below showing your name, address, and birth date . . . and remember an an- 1 nuity with Bible Institute of Los Angeles helps train men and women in the knowledge of the Word of God. s ■ Two or three lives may be included in one annuity. Please send without obligation copy of Biola Annuity Booklet -----------------No. 332_____._______ in slit whic htly tes * * N a m e _ A ddress A G E 3 0 3 5 4 0 4 5 5 0 55 6 0 65 7 0 75 8 0 D ate o f B irth BIBLE INSTITUTE of LOS ANGELES A m o u n t E nclosed . e A Training School for Christian Service When 2 or 3 persons are to be included in one annuity, the | name, address and date of birth of each must be indicated. | _______________________________________ i 536-558 South Hope Street Los Angeles, California 1 Accidentally “ Accidentally,” w r i t e s a friend, “ I learned o f your work, and I want you to know what a rich blessing has come into my life ever since.” And we a n s w e r e d him, “ Nothing ever comes by acci dent to the child of God. The Psalmist says, The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. And we consider it a providential accident—an acci dent ordered by the Lord.” And to you who read these lines, we can wish no greater joy than that you should some day meet with the same accident. If you have never exercised prayer and sympathy in thework of carrying the Gospel message to those “ of whom according to the flesh, Christ came,” you have a new joy awaiting you. Our files are replete with testi monies of those who have “ been there” and know. Some day you too will adven ture with God, and then you too will thank God for the great “ accident.” But we can’t force you to it—the urge must come by the Spirit of God. All we can do is to tell you about it; the rest is between you and God. -Our work merits your every confidence. Our field is not only the 2,000,000 Jew s of New York, but the 4,000,000 Jews of America. And through co operating missionaries we are represented, and our Yiddish publications are being distrib uted, in all the important Jew ish centers of the w orld . In America, Branches are being es tablished in the larger cities as the Lord gives us the means and the workers. Y o u r help and prayers are always needed. “ The Chosen People,” loved by many Bible students for its helpful in formation on Prophecy and the Jews, is sent to all contributors. May we hear from you? ïïht S i d l e f a m i l y 3 t t a $ a £ in e Motto: “ Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood." —R ev . 1 :5. Volume XXIII April, 1932 Number 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS Crumbs from the King’s Table—The Editor.'............................... 151 The Cure for Depression—Joseph T. Larsen..................................153 The Inner Life of Jacob—Will H. Houghton.................................154 The Silver on the Christian’s Cloud-—Stewart P. MacLennan..... 156 The Indwelling Christ—Carl G. Westerdahl...... ............................. 159 A Bible Reading Method that Blesses—Chester E. Shuler........... 161 The New League of Evangelical Students—Lewis Sperry Chafer.. 162 Present-Day Fulfillment of Prophecy-—Louis S. Bauman............. 163 In the Beginning—Roy Talmage Brumbaugh..................................165 Heart to Heart with our Young Readers —Florence Nye WhitwelL.:...:.......... ............................................ 166 Homiletical Helps for Preachers and Teachers..............................168 Bible Institute Family Circle—Cutler B. Whitwell..........................170 Our Missionary Page—John A. Hubbard.................. .......................175 In the Jewish World—J. A. Vaus......................................................176 Junior King’s Business—Martha S. Hooker...................................... 177 Notes on Christian Endeavor—Mary G. Goodner..:..... ...179 Our Literature Table......................................... .................................183 International Sunday School Lesson Commentary....................... ..184 Daily Devotional Readings................. ...................... :......................... 189 SUBSCRIBERS’ INFORMAT ION ADVERTISING: For information with reference to ad vertising in THE KING'S BUSINESS address the Re ligious Press Assn., 325 North 13th St., Philadelphia, Pa., or North American Bldg., Chicago, 111. Entered as Second Class Matter November 17, 1910, at the Post Office at Los Angeles, California, under the Act of Mardi 3, 1879. Acceptance for mailing at special rate of postage pro vided for in Section 1103, Act of October 3, 1917, authorized October 1, 1918. 15c Annual Subscription ...................................................$ 1.50 Two-year subscription or two annual subscriptions 2.50 TERMS: Single Copies........................................... Five annual subscriptions ....................................... 5.00 Eleven annual subscriptions ....................................... 10.00 Subscriptions in countries outside of U. S. require 25c extra. REMITTANCE: Should be made by Bank Draft, Ex press or P. O. Money Order, payable to "Bible Institute of Los Angeles." Receipts will not be sent for reg ular subscriptions, but date of expiration will show plainly, each month, on outside wrapper or cover of magazine. MANUSCRIPTS: THE KING'S BUSINESS cannot accept responsibility for loss or damage to manuscripts sent to it for consideration. CHANGE OF ADDRESS: Please send both old and new addresses at least one month previous to date of desired change. POLICT AS DEFINED BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE BIBLE INSTITUTE OF LOS ANGELES (a) To stand for the infallible Word of God and its great fundamental truths, (b) To strengthen the faith of all believers, (c) To stir young men and women to fit themselves for and engage in definite Chritian work, (d) To make the Bible Institute of Los Angeles known, (e) To magnify God our Father and the person, work and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ; and to teach the transforming power of the Holy Spirit in our present practical life, (f) To emphasize in strong, constructive messages the great foundations of Christian faith. American Board of Missions to the Jews, Inc. 31 Throop Ave., Brooklyn, N. Y. 836*558 S. Hope St., BIBLE INSTITUTE OF LOS ANGELES, Los Angeles, Calif. R e v . M e lv in E. T r o t t er TS(eivly elected Vice-'President o fthe 'Bible Institute o f Xos^Angeles 151 T h e K i n g ’ s B u s i n e s s April 1932 (Srumhsfrom THE KING ’S TABLE . . . B y T h e E ditor hile there should be full and bold proclamation of evangelical doctrine in the pulpit, there should also be a system of teaching. We believe thoroughly in sound, critical, extensive instruction. Some men have a peculiar gift in Biblical teaching, and those men should be encour aged to pursue their laborious but most necessary vocation. The preacher and the Bible teacher should be fellow labor ers. The preacher should study to collect men into great companies, arrest their attention by earnest and convincing statements of Christian truth, and then pass them on, so to speak, to the critical and patient teacher. Thus the man of God will become “ thoroughly furnished.” Having re ceived deep instruction, he will be able to give a reason for the faith and the hope that are in him, and he will be strong to resist the importunities of those who are driven about by every wind of doctrine. We have had unjust and unrea sonable expectations respecting the ministry; we have looked for all sorts of work for the Christian leader. Min isters have been expected to be eloquent preachers, popu lar teachers, renowned lecturers, learned writers, accept able visitors, skilled controversialists, untiring evangelists, and many other important and influential characters. Let a man be one thing, and let him excel in it. Here is a brother who has been called to make the Christian pulpit his world. Here is another brother who is a teacher, learned, critical, and patient with slow scholars. Another is blessed with a high pastoral gift, by which he can make himself as an angel of God in the family. An other is a ready writer who can fascinate the eye and convince the stubborn-minded. But let each man be in his place. When Christian truth and Christian feeling revive among us, we shall be as the heart of one man, each mag nifying God in the other. We shall all be wanted. The trumpet, the flute, the organ, the stringed instruments, with the soldier, the physician, the teacher, the orator, the scholar, the poet, the strong man, the gentle woman, the tender child—all will be wanted, and the only strife among us will be who can do most and do it best for the Lamb that was slain. The Test o f Faith hat is your faith doing ? Is it criticizing ? Is it find ing fault ? Is it living upon mischief ? Is it energetic in wrong ways ? Is its purpose to spoil the lives of others ? Then it is not the true faith of the gospel. What is your church doing? Is it enjoying itself? Is it curtaining itself in luxury? Is it making a velvet path for its feet? Is it seeking that the very air which it breathes shall be per fumed ? Is it a church that hates everything that is noisy, sensational, aggressive? Is it a contemplative and slum brous church ? Then the true faith says that it is no church at all. A five dollar note is nothing in itself; it must repre sent something behind it. It must stand in the place of solid bullion. It can only be a convenience, being lighter to carry than the metal, and if there is not an equivalent value in metal behind it, the note, though genuine, is a lie. A Crumb for Preachers and Bible Teachers W ith a distinct idea of what we truly believe, we should have a public ministry which is faithful to the Spirit and demand of Jesus Christ in seeking the salvation of men. In the pulpit these days there is too much attention paid to controversial subjects. We have a great positive work to do. We have affirmative truths to teach. We have to cast out demons, not by controversy, but by divinely revealed and authoritative truth. If we wish to take our part in the controversies of the world, the press is at our service. In the pulpit, let us preach the gospel of our Lord and Sav iour Jesus Christ and mightily plead with men to believe the old story. There is scope enough for all our powers. e shall have to acquaint ourselves deeply with hu man nature. We shall have to read the heart until we know its devices, imaginations, and cunning deceits. We shall have to study the power of sin in the soul. We shall have to suffer with Jesus Christ. We shall have to inquire diligently into God’s righteousness, mercy, and love. Night and day, we shall have to study the mystery o f redemption, and in doing all these things, our every power will be absorbed and exhausted. If now and again we may have occasion to refer to controversies, let the reference be made with the lofty earnestness of men who are intent upon the salvation of those who hear us. We must not throw off the old words, “ repentance,” “ faith,” “ salvation,” “ the cross,” “ the blood,” “ regeneration” ; and the things they signify must be the very life blood o f our ministry. In any genuine revival of interest in Christianity, there must be a revived interest in a proclaimed gospel of grace. The sanctuary will be thronged, and the thronging listeners will be justly impatient o f everything that does not bear immediately and intensely upon the salvation of men. We sometimes talk of adapting our preaching to the age in which we live, of keeping abreast of contemporary culture, and of addressing ourselves to the habits of men of taste. In all this, there may be truth enough barely to save it from the charge of insanity. However we may mod ify our manner, the doctrine which is adapted to all ages, to all tastes, and to all circumstances, is that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. We must be made to feel that the doctrines o f the gospel are humbling doctrines, that they smite down our natural pride and self-trustful ness, that they kill before they make alive, that out of our utter impoverishment and nothingness they bring all that is distinctive and enduring in Christian manhood. Disas trous is the hour in which the gospel is pared down to meet the notions of any men, in any age. The gospel is less than nothing, if it is not the grandest revelation of the heart of God to the heart of man. And since it is a revelation, it must, of necessity, be clothed with an authority peculiarly emphatic and decisive. We believe the gospel to be God’s answer to human sin and human sorrow, and if any man ask where is its authority, we answer, “ Christian living is the best explanation o f Christian believing; Christianity is the best explanation of Christianity, and more preaching is the best answer to all opposition.” 152 T h e - K i n g ’ s B u s i n e s s April 1932 A man may boast o f his faith, whereupon James will say, “ Can faith save him?” unless it represent something behind it, something of intrinsic and divine value. Much is mistaken for faith that is not faith—much that is mere intellectual assent or intellectual indifference. A man does not believe things which he simply names with his mouth, he believes only those things for which he would be willing to die. What havoc this makes in the professed beliefs of the church! Yet everything must be judged by the degree in which it realizes its own pretention. To pretend to have hands means power of handling or else the pretense is a lie. To profess to have feet and yet be unable to walk is to contradict one’s own statement. To have ears, though carved by an Angelo, which cannot hear a thunder burst, is to display visible falsehood. Where we find hands, we have a right to expect handling. Where we find faith, we have a right to expect morality or service or action. And if, with all our Christian profession of an. intellectual kind, we are not balancing that profession by actual living and useful service, then let all the mockers of the universe mock us, saying, “ They have hands, but they handle not.” “ For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” hat is the secret of the strange power that makes Mel Trotter able to reach men at the two extremes of the social scale and all the way between? He has for thirty-eight years been the nation’s leading rescue mission specialist, continuously a superintendent of one mission at Grand Rapids, Mich., and in close, touch with sixty-eight others; and for seventeen years in suc cession he has been invited to address college students at the Moody Northfield conferences. Yet he has never had a formal college or theological training, often to his own regret. A short and true accounting is that God’s creative power thirty-eight years ago touched the life of a man in the depths of despair; and ever since, God has been re newing that power. Contributory sources may be observed as you see him in action on the platform. He wastes no time in getting started on his sermon, beginning to speak as he approaches the pulpit, Bible in hand. His voice is mellow, yet pene trating to distant corners, and his gestures are in keeping with the man and the message. His teaching is positive and constructive, rarely negative or controversial. You sense the fact that he has a firm grip on the essentials of the Bible and that he loves it. His theology is the experimental kind. He tried it out on himself, and then for long years tried it on thousands of desperate cases, high and low. Why should he care to try any other remedy for human sin ? The gospel of the grace of God works! As he speaks, you realize that he has not only looked into the Book, but into human hearts, hungry or self-satis fied, proud or stricken, broken, despairing. Every week he comes into close grips with human need. Out of all this experience comes illumination for his Bible texts— life stories that are thrilling, pathetic, humorous, and told, in perfect taste. He has learned that laughter lies very close to tears, that wholesome humor will relieve the strain of that pathos and tragedy that must be portrayed in any true presentation of human life. The sermons are interesting because God’s truth is illuminated by significant details Rev. Melvin E . Trotter The New Vice-President o f B .I.O .L .A . of his own life or of thousands of other lives which have been laid bare to his keen but sympathetic observational powers. At the close, there comes the appeal to let Christ in —an appeal that is tender, natural, unforced, considerate. Mel trotter succeeds because he is himself, God’s man, ah imitator of none, a winner of souls in his own way. Mr. Trotter’s appeal is not alone to the underprivileged. His interest in young people is keen, and they respond in large numbers to his frankness and winsomeness. Mr. Trotter, after great success, was ordained a Pres byterian minister and is now a member of Grand Rapids Presbytery. I welcome him as my comrade and brother. I love him. We have both dedicated our all to be used o f God to carry on the work of the Bible Institute. Mr. Trot ter will direct great Bible conferences and evangelistic campaigns under the auspices of the Institute. He has just finished a three-weeks’ meeting in the Church o f the Open Door, March 20. Many were brought to Christ, and God’s people were greatly revived. Thomas Corwin Horton is many friends scattered over the world will mourn when they hear o f the death of Dr. T. C. Horton, the Superintendent of the Institute for so many years when Dr. Reuben A. Torrey was the Dean, and when Mr. Lyman Stewart was the President. Dr. Horton died Feb ruary 27, at the age o f eighty-four, and the funeral was held in the auditorium of the Bible Institute, attended by a large audience of loyal friends, with Rev. J. A. Vaus, Dr. Frederic W . Farr, and Rev. W . R. Hale as the speak ers. We cannot do better than to reprint an editorial from the Los Angeles Times of a recent date: “ After a life spent wholly and successfully in the ser vice of the Master, Dr. Thomas Corwin Horton has been called home from the scenes o f his earthly activities. The value of his work to this community will become ever [Continued on page 158] 8 April 1932 T h e K i n g ’ s B u s i n e s s 153 A Statistician Speaks Business depressions are caused by dissipation, dishonesty, and disobed ience to God’s will, resulting in a collapse, of moral character. They are cured by a moral awakening, a spiritual revival, and the rehabilita tion o f righteousness. — R oger B abson . DEPRESSION By JOSEPH T. LARSEN Minneapolis, Minn. T he prophets of old had a remedy for times of oppres sion, depression, and desolation. There are several kinds o f depression: physical, Rental, political, economic, finan cial, and spiritual. ll these traits seem to be combined in the present depression. People are worn out physically, depressed mentally, oppressed politically, discouraged economically, and lacking in financial aid; and worse than all else, the souls of men have been spiritually depressed until, in 1930, 20,000 people in this country committed suicide, and 80,000 more attempted suicide but did not succeed. T he C ause of D epression When Israel forsook the Lord and His ways, depres sion, war, famine, and pestilence- became their curse. It was their own idolatry and wickedness that brought the chastening hand of God upon them. Likewise, God has permitted many factors to lead up to the present depres sion. The nation has “ gone on a spree,” and many have spent everything, saved nothing, and borrowed ail they were able, not realizing that days of prosperity might not last forever. Salesmen used high pressure methods in mil lions of homes, causing people to buy beyond their incomes. Credit was extended too freely. Then values decreased in land, real estate, and products. Tariffs were set up in other nations, making it difficult to ship to foreign nations the amount o f produce formerly shipped. Factories were overstocked with manufactured goods, and raw materials wasted on every hand. The result was that factories closed, the buying power became limited because many people were out of work—until now it is reported that there are over 5,000,000 people out o f work in the United States. In the last three years, $50,000,000,000 has been lost on the stock markets, according to a New York report show ing the difference on balances since 1929. The war cost the nation more than $25,000,000,000 in money, not to men tion the fifty thousands killed and the many thousands in jured. This has been a heavy drain on state, federal, and property taxes. There have been crop failures in Arkansas, Missouri, Kentucky, Montana, and other states. The drought is re ported to have affected twenty states during 1930. Then came the grasshopper plague in South Dakota, Nebraska, and other states, during 1931, when entire counties were stripped of their crops. In some sections, there were hail, cut worms, and killing frosts. And all these are the same curses that God promised Israel if they departed from Him. e boast of being a Christian nation, when 70,000,000 of our people are still outside the churches, millions of them living in luxury, vice, and sin of all kinds. Amer ica is leading the world in divorce, drugs, crime, and mur der ! There are fifty times as many murders in the United States as there are in England. Laws are being flaunted, prohibition is despised, and God and the Bible have small place among any of the people outside the churches, while higher criticism and worldliness have gained a large place within the churches themselves. Commercialized vices and pleasures are taking people’s money, time, virtue; they are lowering moral standards generally ; and as a result, the people are becoming de pleted physically, socially, morally, financially, and spirit ually. Insanity has increased threefold in the last twenty years, and prisons are crowded. One cannot blame this upon prohibition, or upon sound laws. It is caused by the violation of laws established by God and man. This may be a dark picture, but the half may not yet have been told. T he C urse of D epression Economic depression is bad, mental depression is worse, but the spiritual lack, which is the cause of much depression, is a far greater problem than either of the former. People are blaming this depression upon Presi dent Hoover, but that cannot be where the blame lies. The President is not responsible for every foolish move in mis management that individual citizens have made. The curse lies in the lack of work, lack of food, lack of homes, and lack of clothing in millions of cases. The curse lies in the fact that multimillionaires are hoarding their “ frozen assets” and have not the charitable attitude that a time like this demands. merica holds $5,000,000,000 of the world’s gold. She has more of it than any other nation. The wealth of the country is reported to be about $361,000,000,000 in spite of losses on the stock markets for the past three years. President Hoover’s report of banking in 1930 showed a five per cent increase over banking conditions of 1928, proving that there is plenty of money. But the common people who are in need of the bare necessities of life do not possess it.. * The curse, then, lies in the fact that men with millions know that poverty, suffering, sickness, and death lie on every hand, yet they seem to be without the sympathetic concern that would move them to alleviate the condition. [Continued on page 160] April 1932 154 B u s i n e s s T h e K i n g ’ s < £ f(ie$ rnner OF JACOB By WILL H. HOUGHTON* New Yorîf, N. Y. from seizing his brother’s place at the beginning to clinging to God at the end, but God brought him all the way. The first part o f Jacob’s story can be found in fiction and history. It is in today’s newspaper. It is the story of the supplanter, the man who is trying to get ahead of others at any cost. The climax of Jacob’s story is not found in the newspaper, nor in fiction. In fiction, the villain can be kill ed but he cannot be made into a saint. The grace of God does what neither fiction nor the newspapers nor the sci ence of psychology can do. G o d ’ s grace regenerates, makes a new man. The schemer becomes a prince. The drunkard becomes a so ber man. The thief becomes honest. J acob ’ s H ome C onditions T he record of the journey from the depths o f con niving to the heights of sub mission is worth reading again and again. We are able, in the very vivid picture which Moses sets before us, to see the mental and emo tional background out of which Jacob came. There in the home were twin brothers: Esau, the elder by a few mo ments of time, who, accord ing to custom and tradition, had the privileges of prece dence; Jacob, the younger, appreciated the significance of Esau’s birthright priv ilege in a way that Esau, O ne of the newest fads in literature is what is called psychography. We have had in biography a mere record of the deeds of a man and the things which happened to him or because of him. P sychography I n the recent emphasis on phychology, it is quite nat ural that men should live over again these biographies o f the past, and should now try to set down more than a plain record of deeds—that they should try to make a record of the mind and motives behind the deeds. Auto biography is a man’s record of his own life. Biography is the record as seen and written by others. Psychography is the record of his mental life, the moods and desires which motivated him. The biographical sketches given in the Bible are almost entirely psychographical. Once again the thing which is considered new is as old as the Bible itself. The present- day understanding of psychology should lead us back to the New Testament emphasis on the inner life. Christ con stantly reminded His hearers that the test of life was not what they did but why they did it. The Pharisee was not condemned for praying on the street corner, but because of his wrong motive— to be seen of men. Jesus described the condition thus: “ This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.” Bradford says that “ psychography is the attempt to portray character.” At first thought, some of us will say that biography does that. Further thought, however, will lead us to realize that, while one is led through biography to an opinion, and sometimes the writer expresses opinions o f the character about whom he writes, yet the proper province of biography is to give the plain record o f the life and the events surrounding it. But, psychography turns from the thing done to the inner process which brought the event to pass. If you were to write the biography of one of the dis ciples, you would set down the scene described in John 20:19 to 29. Biography would say that Peter was in the room behind closed doors. Psychography would say he was there for fear of the Jews. It is evident from a host of Bible illustrations that the Bible very keenly sets forth the deed and the motive, the man and his inner life. To write a mere biographical, sketch of Jacob would be to tell an interesting story of the man who began as a sup- planter and ended as a Prince of God. It is a long way *Pastor, Calvary Baptist Church. In this great New York building, the Calvary Baptist Church of which Mr. Hough ton is the pastor, the New York Summer School of Theology will open its first session on June 27. On the faculty will be such stalwarts as Dr. A. T. Robertson, Canon Dyson Hague, and Dr. J. Oliver Buswell. The school presents a unique opportun ity, especially to ministers. Write Mr. Houghton, 123 W. 57 St., Manhattan, New York, fo r full information. 155 T h e K i n g ’ s B u s i n e s s April 1932 J acob ’ s N ew N ature T he climax ^ of the life of Jacob was at the time when the “ supplanter” became the “ prince of God.” It was the proper zenith o f the scheming life. He was in the worst kind of difficulty because of his planning, yet he had other plans. How like Jacob most of us are! One plan falls, and we hasten to make another. One scheme;:Jails, and we hur riedly work out the next one. The time had come when God was going to bring Jacob to the end of himself. It was another night. Before him was a stream of water. Before him was also the neces sity of meeting his wronged brother, Esau. There was no way out of it. When Jacob was left alone, there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. The story of this trans formation of character is told in very few verses. The struggle that night continued until a weak voice pleadingly said, “ I will not let thee go except thou bless me.” It was not now the cry of persistence. It was not the determina tion of a strong man. It was the clinging of a ’weak man. It was not the shout of conquest; it was the wail o f sub mission. It was victory through surrender. Jacob’s own interpretation of the event was given in the closing days of his life, when he /Spoke of “ the angel which redeemed me from all evil.” The messenger which brought to him deliverance from himself and from his old nature, the thing which had meant constant defeat, also brought him a new nature. The impartation of the new nature was symbolized by a change of name; and the man who was Jacob, the supplanter, became Israel, a prince with God. We learn from Jacob that God takes very ordinary clay to make His heroes of faith. It is not a matter of what Jacob can do for God or what Jacob can do for Jacob, but of what God can do for Jacob. Grasping, bargaining, scheming, gaining, but never finding what he really want ed, until, at the end of his rope, he was willing to cast him self upon God, Jacob becomes the reflection of our own image in the mirror of God’s Word. the man of immediacy, the man who saw only the value of the present moment, could not. The father and mother, of course, were fond of their children, but as is so often the case, both seemed to have a special fondness for the one unlike themselves. It is easy to see that Esau had much of his mother’s nature. Re- bekah was of the dashing, open-air family of her brother, Laban, and Esau was very much like her. Jacob, no doubt, was like Isaac, gentle and quiet, and a home body. Perhaps, the very dash which Isaac had admired in Rebekah carried his admiration to Esau. Rebekah, on the other hand, saw in Jacob some of the gentle, quiet qualities that she had admired in Isaac. Then, too, she had the mother love for the weaker o f the children. The partiality of the home may have helped to separate the brothers and to settle each in his own way of living. In our recognition of the weaknesses in character of Jacob, there must be an understanding of this home background and the realization that the parents made their contribution to Jacob’s moral defeat. It was Jacob’s mother who originated the idea of dis guising him as Esau, that he might steal the first blessing. She made the savory meat, she took the raiment of Esau and put it on Jacob, and she put the skins of the kids upon his hands and upon the smooth of his neck. Later, it was Jacob’s mother who sent him away to escape Esau. She was neither the first nor the last to have the idea that everything will be all right if only the sinner changes his location. What Jacob needed was not to es cape Esau, but to escape himself. Esau was not his worst enemy. Jacob was his worst enemy. Many think that a change of environment can change their characters. They have been defeated in this city; but, if they can get to another city, things will be all right. The trouble is that, when they reach the other city, their main source of defeat is still with them. J acob at B ethel In imagination, one may follow Jacob to Bethel. Here was the young man who was perhaps spending his first night away from home. Esau was a roamer, a man of ex perience. But Jacob was a home body, tied to his m o ther's apron strings. It was the first night there was not a mother to shake up his pillow; instead, there was a pil low of stone. One is not surprised that he dreamed, but one is sur prised at the character of his dream. In his dream, there was set beside him, not a pit into which he .might fall, but a ladder up which he might climb. Alone under the stars, a man has a chance to see things as they are. Civilization always carries its delusions. Buildings and other material things around him suggest values which are not real. Out under the stars, with face turned toward the sky, there is an opportunity to think of permanent things; and a man then whispers to himself, “ Consider Him which made the Pleiades and Orion.” This was an experience which never lost its effect upon Jacob. It is true that there was failure in his life after that. He still schemed and undertook to do for him self the thing which God wanted to do for him, but we read that, at the close of Jacob’s life, “Jacob said unto Jo seph, God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me, And said unto me, Behold, I will make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and I will make o f thee a multitude of people; and will give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession.” The Passing o f the O ld Guard "For he was a good man, and full o f the Holy Ghost, and o f faith . .. A fter he had served his own gen eration by the will of God, he fell on sleep.” H. G. D ean O n e w e e k after the death of Dr. T. C. Horton, Mr. Harry G. Dean, who for twenty years was the manager of the Biola Book Room, went to be with his Lord. Mr. Dean was sixty-five years o f age. He was an elder in the session o f the First United Presbyterian Church o f Los Angeles and a teacher o f a large Sunday-school class. He leaves a daughter, Mrs. Dorothy Beau mont, o f this city. The funeral services were held in the auditorium o f the Bible Institute. Mr. Dean’s pastor, Dr. W . E. McCulloch, was assisted in the services by Dr. George Davidson and by the President o f the Institute. The Old Guard is passing on—Lyman Stewart, Milton Stewart, Reuben A. Torrey, Thomas C. Horton, Harry G. Dean. Yet the One in whom we and they have trusted is “ the same yes terday, today and for ever.” 156 T h e K i n g ’ s B u s i n e s s April 1932 T I SILVER on tin ■ msiian s CLOUD By STEW AR T P. M ac LENNAN* Hollywood,” Calif. R omans ft -28-lips been deep with meaning for Christians in all ages, and it is fraught with yea greater significance o f truth for these present days. I f n his Corinthian letter, we find Paul making use of one -®~of the most effective and valuable instruments in na ture’s workshop—the law of contrast. It is a trait o f human nature that appreciation of men or material is complete only when confronted with contrast. Away yonder on the Atlantic seaboard, the tender greens of spring are doubly welcome because of black, cold, and barren winter mem ories. Likewise, blessings acquire greater value in their loss than in their possession, and all possession is more clearly and distinctly appreciated in the light of loss. This law of contrast is one of the great secrets, not only of nature, but of human art, one of the fundamental laws of beauty. The blue sky is doubly enhanced by the white clouds that float across its face. Stars sparkle and burn with new luster when set in the black dome of night. Green fields take on an added beauty through the white daisies and clover blossoms upon their bosoms. The art galleries of Amsterdam yield their proof of the power and value of this law. When the great Rembrandt painted a face, he illumined the features with glowing light and set it against the depths of a shadowy background. In his letter to the Corinthian church, Paul emphasizes this law of contrast, in order to set forth the Christian’s blessings against the black clouds of adversity; and in his letter to the Romans, he takes those same clouds and reveals the silver which is their lining. There is the silver on every Christian cloud! The are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” Looking up, the apostle beholds a black and ominous cloud completely covering the sky above the canyon. He begins to climb the hillside and to wind his way out. Finally he reaches the summit and finds that, after all, the cloud is comparatively small, and the sky is not en tirely covered. Then it is that his rapturous spirit cries, “ We know that all things work together for good to them that love God.” How does he know ? Because he knows that God trans forms and transmutes every experience of our lives to the end that we may be conformed to the image of His Son. William Cowper caught the unbroken thread of Paul’s meaning and wove it into the impressive lines: Judge not the world by feeble sense, In the heart of Paul, there was always the quiet assur ance that, behind a frowning Providence, the Lord God omnipotent reigned, and the knowledge of this truth car ried him triumphantly through sufferings and sorrows, afflictions and disappointments, yea, even through the jaws o f death itself. TT n our days o f clouds, darkness, and depression, how glorious it is to hear the grand strains reverberating through the halls of memory— “ The Lord God omnipo tent reigneth.” Because He reigned, Paul But trust Him for His grace, Behind a frowning Providence, He hides a smiling face. “ T he L ord G od O mnipotent R eigneth ” apostle has been dealing with some o f the great p r o b l e m s of human life. He has stated that we are the children of God, “ and if children then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ.” Then a cloud comes across the sky, and the problem of suffering, pain, disappoint ment, and all strange providences of life comes into view. The shadows lengthen, and the sky is overcast. S ' tanding there in the depths o f the valley of experience, Paul says, “ I reckon that the sufferings of this present time could say, “ For whom he did foreknow, he also did predesti nate to be conformed to the image of his Son.” All things are according to His p u r p o s e . Throughout the universe, in heaven above and earth beneath, one great, eternal purpose runs. Paul saw God at work every where, in everything: In every blade of growing grass, in every cloud that passed across the sum mer sky, in the opening bud and falling flower, the lightning flash and thunder’s peal—God was in them all. And if God’s eternal purpose can be traced in the sp rin g in g g rass and "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more ex ceeding and eternal weight o f glory; while we look not at the things ivhich are seen, but at the things zohich are mot seen: for the things zvhich are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (2 Cor. 4:17, 18). “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did pre destinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also justified; and . whom he justified, them he also glorified.” (Rom. 8:28-30). *Pastor, First Presbyterian Church. April 1932 T h e K i n g ’ s 157 B u s i n e s s blossoming bud, surely He has a plan for the soul created in His image, and a purpose that will carry it to its destiny! The creation o f the material universe was only the foundation upon which God would rear His eternal, moral purpose o f lifting men and women, who believed in God through Jesus Christ, into the image of His Son, the moral likeness of the Lord Jesus Christ. And because Paul believed that the “ Lord God omni potent reigneth” and was working all things according to an eternal purpose, therefore he could say that “ all things work together for good to them that love God.” “ A ll T hings W ork T ogether for G ood ” Here we must its silver lining, and in quiet assurance, the Christian can wait for the day which is steadily and surely coming, the day of interpretation when all will be made plain. The experience o f Jacob and Joseph illustrates this truth. Recall the inimitable story as it is recorded in Gen esis 39 and 42, especially in 4 2 :36: “ And Jacob their father said unto them, Me have ye bereaved of my children: Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away: all these things are against me.” Jacob’s sons had just returned to Canaan from Egypt, whence t h e y h a d gone to buy corn. They had come home depressed in spirit, filled with fear, to tell their old father Jacob what strange ‘experience had be fallen them while in Egypt. They seemed' to infect their father with their own fear, and caught in its contagion, the old patriarch to whom God had always been so real and wonder ful, and in whose life God’s hand w&s pe culiarly manifest, re fused to see anything but the dark side, and cried out, “ All these t h i n g s are against me.” mention of God. Yet, how human it was! Poor Jacob! In after years, he would smile at his unwarranted anxiety, but at the moment, how real it all was! Listening to his sons’ story, he had forebodings of mischief. Gray hairs, sorrow, and Sheol loomed large before his mind’s eye. He e are surprised that he made no take the apostle’s statement in its most inclusive sense, which takes into considera tion all that is men tioned in verses 35 to 39. There' in the grasp of that all-em bracing purpose we find: Tribulation Distress Death Life Angels Nakedness Peril Sword Height Depth Any other Spring B y R obert C rumly created thing Persecution Famine Principalities Powers Things present Things to come Out of the south steals a redolent breeze, (Full-mellow, and wondrously mild!) Spreading fair blossoms on hill side and plain, On meadow, and woodland wild. And as the delicate breath o f the spring Awakens the newly-turned sod, So may my soul, by Thy life-giv ing breath, Be quickened, 0 Spirit o f God! The text says “all things,” and if we are to have all things we most surely must have those things which are conflicting and confusing, dis turbing and disap pointing. The Chris tians of the first cen tury were familiar with them, yea, they are known to God’s children in all time. And if we are to see the silver on the Christian’s cloud, we must know with Paul that those who trust God, who are in His great purpose and process of being prepared for the power and glory of an endless life must have the all things in their lives. It is the only explanation of life as it concerns the children of God. Many times bodily pain, mental dis quietude, secret grief, burdens, and bitterness lie heavily upon the heart, often confusing and befuddling the mind. But behind it all is the omnipotent God. Even though a frowning Providence may hide the smile of His face for a time, it is always there. The Christian’s cloud has always was nursing a deep sorrow. He saturated his mind with self-pity and seemed to find a dreary pleasure in enumer ating his troubles and sorrows. His faith was not yet perfected, and he inferred that “ all these things” were against him. But we who live at this distance from the great drama know that the unfolding o f events revealed that “ all these things,” rather than working against Jacob, were “ work ing together for good,” and that Jacob saw the day when he confessed that God had redeemed him out of all evil. Jacob spoke in ignorance o f the facts ; Joseph was not dead, Simeon was not dead, and Benjamin was safe. All April 1932 T h e K i n g ’ s B u s i n e s s 158 cine, the visitor was horrified, until the chemist enlightened him to the fact that, “when they are all mixed together, they do not kill, but cure.” Such is Paul’s meaning in the phrase, “ all things work together for good.” Again, this good is God’s good. Let us not lose sight of the fact that God’s first and great purpose in human lives is not the bringing of happiness. This world is a preparatory school, God’s great, moral classroom for the training of character for future ministry. Happiness is the by-product o f a life that is lived in fellowship and harmony with God, and the life in which God is working out good will have happiness for a by-product. But if we misinterpret this passage to mean that all things are working together to give man all that he desires, to keep him smiling and prosperous, then we certainly misunderstand Paul. This world is a training school for the building of char acter, for the testing and refining of manhood, and for the building into our lives of spiritual strength and power. God’s great purpose is to overrule by His omnipotent power all the events of our lives, be they good or bad, and to transform and use all things as instruments in lifting and fashioning us into the image o f His own Son. “To T hem T hat L ove G od ” This is the restriction placed upon this working of God. It is not all things working together for good to everybody, but to them that love God. Well do we know that sorrow and trouble, affliction and disappointment, often turn men to darkness, doubt, and distress. Many are made bitter, sour, and disagreeable by these dark things. “ We know that godlessness and sin worketh wrath.” Therefore, it is only to those whose faces are turned toward God, and who love and trust Him in the dark that things work together for good. “ A devoted evangelist, already recognized for his power to move the multitude, Dr. Horton came to Los An geles twenty-six years ago from Dallas, Tex. He came here filled with that religious enthusiasm that has found a field for development especially among the preachers and mis sionaries of the Old South. He came here hoping to arouse in the people of the Pacific Coast the same zeal for the sim ple gospel of the Redeemer which had crowned his efforts in the Texas mission field. Nor was he disappointed in the reception he met from the citizens of Los Angeles. “ From a small poolroom on Main Street, where he held his first revival, to the spacious Bible Institute at Sixth and Hope, where his work found its final expression, Dr. Hor ton’s quarter-century of endeavor marks a progress in re ligious teaching which tells its own story. Nor was this all. His Fishermen’s Club, which he started as a Bible class for the young members of the Immanuel Presbyterian Church at Los Angeles, has expanded to an international organiza tion for the spread of gospel teaching. “ Not only his spoken, but also his written words, have left-an indelible mark on the religious life of the age. A higher court than any earthly tribunal will probate the estate he has bequeathed to his heirs and successors in fig ures that cannot be summed up in dollars and cents.” TH OM A S CORW IN HORTON [Continued from page 152] more apparent with the passing of the years. these things were not against him. In fact, they were work ing in his very best interest, as onward steps in the divine process by which he was to recover his long-lost son. So it is with us. When clouds of sorrow and trial pass across the blue of our skies, let us remember that the thing which disturbs our faith is but the beginning of a series of events which will lead at last to rejoicing in His great love. Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take. The clouds ye so much dread Are big with mercy, and will break In blessings on your head. When Jacob came to the place where he could not con fide in his God and, distrusting His love, cried, “ All these things are against me,” he dishonored the God who had so richly blessed him. How frequently we, too, are like Jacob, distrusting the love of God ! Dr. W . H. Griffith Thomas once said, “ We hear a good deal nowadays about the Fatherhood of God. What does it mean ? Is it that God as a Father is different from or worse than an earthly father ? The very suggestion of this idea condemns it. Would an earthly father delight in giving trouble and hardship to his children? If trials were allowed to come, would it not be solely from a sense of duty, springing out of love? No one dares say that God is different from this.” I f we blow away the mists of the centuries, and see old Jacob, and hear the great Paul speaking, we find some clear and valuable lessons. First, we see that God is in all our experiences. It is easy to believe that He is in the prosperous things, those that are pleasant and delightful. But when trouble comes and purple clouds gather upon the horizon, casting a shadow across our path, just at that moment when God’s grace is about to be experienced, we turn our faces away and lose the blessing and comfort which otherwise might have been ours. In the second place, we learn that we must wait until God’s work is complete. How prone we are to pass sentence of condemnation upon God’s providence or work before it is complete! “ Judge nothing before the time.” Let us not argue that, because pain is part of the process, evil is to mark our course to the end. nd the third great truth is expressed by Paul, “ All things work together for good.” The apostle does not imply that there are not many evil things in one’s life, things disappointing and distasteful, that wound deeply and cause pain and suffering. He would not have us to believe that all things are good—but that all things work together for ulti mate good. There is a difference! Grief is but a tattered tent, Through which His love doth shine, A gentleman visiting a chemist’s shop watched the owner behind the counter, sorting colored powders onto three pieces of white paper. Upon asking what the powders were, he received the reply that they were various poisons, enough contained in all to kill three men. “ What are you doing with them?” he questioned the apothecary. As the reply came that they were being made into medi And he who glances up, Doth catch a ray divine.
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