VOL. VII
APRIL, 1916 No. 4 The King’s Business
Published once a month by the BIBLE INSTITUTE OF LOS ANGELES LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, U. S. A.
O N E D O L L A R A Y E A R
K in g s lU tm nm i MOTTO : '7 the L*rd do keep it, / «;/// water it every moment lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day/*—Isa. 27:3.
1 R. A. TORREY, D. D., Editor T. C. HORTON, J .H . HUNTER, W ILLIAM EVANS, D .D ., Associate Editors A . M. ROW, Managing Editor Published by the BIBLE INSTITUTE OF LOS ANGELES, Inc. Los Angeles, California, U. S. A. Entered as Second-Class Hatter November 17, 1910, at the postoffice at Los Angeles, under the Act of March 3, 1879. Copyright by R. A. Torrey, D. D., and Bible Institute of Los Angeles, for the year 1916. Cal.,
DIRECTORS
R. A. Torrey, vice-president Leon V. Shaw, treasurer. William Evans* Giles Kellogg.
Lyman Stewart, president. William Tho rn, secretary. T. C. Horton, superintendent. E. A. K. Hackett. H. A. Getz.
J. M. Irvine.
Nathan Newby
DOCTRINAL STATEMENT We hold to the Historic Faith of the Church as expressed in the Common Creed of Evangelical Christendom and The Trinity of the Godhead. The Deity of thè Christ. including: , ’ The Maintenance of Good Works.
The Second Coming of Christ. The Immortality of the Spirit. The Resurrection of the Body. The Life Everlasting of Believers. The Endless Punishment of the Im penitent. The Reality and Personality of Satan. THE WORK (7 ) Bible Women. House-to-house visitation and neighborhood classes. (8 ) Oil Fields. A missioh to men cn the oil fields. (9 ) Books and Tracts. Sale and dis tribution of selected books and tracts. (10) Harbor Work. For seamen at Los Angeles harbor. (11) Yokefellows* Hall. Thoroughly manned. Our Mission for men with Street Meetings, and Bootblacks and Newsboys Sunday School. (12) Print Shop. For printing Testa ments, books, tracts, etc. A complete establishment, profits going to free dis-
The Personality of the Holy Ghost. The Supernatural and Plenary au thority of the Holy Scriptures. The Unity in Diversity of the Church, the Body and Bride of Christ.' The Substitutionary Atonement. The" Necessity of the New Birth. SCOPE OF Pi/mncz? • The Institute trains, free * of cost, accredited men and women, in the knowledge and use of the Bible. n , , ( 1) The Institut s UOpOXtrYlOTlt^ . Classes held daily except on Saturdays and Sundays. (2 ) Extension work. Classes and conferences held in neighboring cities and towns. (3 ) Evangelistic. Meetings conducted by our evangelists. (4 ) Spanish Mission. Meetings every night. (5 ) Shop Work. Regular services in shops and factories. (6 ) Jewish Evangelism. Personal work among the Hebrews.
æ THE KING’S BUSINESS Voi. VII. APRIL, 1916 No. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS Editorial: Help for Pulpit Work— God Living and Work ing— The Education of Women— Why We Believe What W e Believe.................................................................. 291 The Bible as a Power. By Rev. W. H. Griffith Thomas, D. D. 295 War and Foreign Missions................... 1........................................ 302 Light on Puzzling Passages and Problems............................... - 303 Bible Institute Activities. By the Superintendents.................. 305 Searching of Hearts.......£..............................-................................. 3 10 Christ Our Passover. By Rev. John McNeill......................... 312 At Home and Abroad...............................................-................. 319 Through the Bible With Dr. Evans............................................. ^ 323 Effects' of the War......................................................................... 328 Homiletical Helps. By William Evans, D. D.......................... 331 International Sunday School Lessons. By R. A. Torrey and T. C. Horton................................ -................................ 336 Daily Devotional Studies in the New Testament for Indi vidual Meditation and Family Worship. By R. A. Torrey ................................................I .........|....................... 359 SUBSCRIPTION PRICE In the United States and its Possessions, Mexico, Canada and points in the Central American Postal Union, $1 per year. In all other foreign, countries, $1.24 (5s. 2d.). Single copies, 10 cents. Receipts sent on request. See date on address tag.
PUBLISHED BY THE BIBLE INSTITUTE OF LOS ANGELES 536-558 SOUTH HOPE STREET LOS ANGELES, CAL.
æ
a
Published by the Bible Institute of Los Angeles For Help in All Religious Work and Experience
DR. R. A. TORREY, Editor DR. WILLIAM EVANS, J. H. HUNTER, T. C. HORTON, Associate Editors A. M. ROW, Managing Editor $1.00 a year Three Months, 25 cents ...A New . . . Correspondence Course B y the Faculty o f the BIBLE INSTITUTE OF LOS ANGELES j| Fundamental Doctrines DR. R. A. TORREY 2. The Life and Teachings of Our Lord DR. R. A. TORREY 3. Through the Bible by Books and Chapters JOHN H. HUNTER 4. Personal and Practical Evangelism T. C. HORTON
TERMS: For Numbers 1, 2 and 3—$5.00 each For Number 4—$3.00 SEND FOR PROSPECTUS
THE KING'S BUSINESS — —^ I Voi 7 APRIL, 1916. n ■ - - = No. 4 , = 0 E D I T O R I A L We are in receipt of the following letter from the Help for Rector of a church in England. We were greatly Pulpit Work. encouraged by it. “ I have at last found time at late •hours at night to read (with the deepest interest) the only copy I possess of T he K ing ’ s B usiness . And though in these unparal leled times T am denied almost all golden mines, I can’t help enclosing my sub scription, that you may forward it to me for this year. I am going to use (unless you object) your very valuable devotional studies in the New Testa ment (St. Mark) in my pulpit. I am an old Rector 70 years of age, who has for the, past fifty years been preaching His truth as enabled by the Divine blessing. God bless you and grant you a continuous inpouring of peace and happiness.” We are glad to know that the Devotional Studies, or any other part of the magazine, is of help to men who are actually in the ministry. Indeed, one of the main purposes of this periodical is to help ministers and others in their „work for Christ. 1 it, and go on living their lives as though they would say, “ There may be such a person as God, but I have no particular need of Him. I can attend to my own affairs.” Not the immoral or vicious only of the community are those who act thus. If they were, the effect were perhaps less to be dreaded. They are often law-abiding, respectable citizens, and good neighbors, but just “ with out God.” How poor they are! How rich the man who knows God— the living God, and who sees Him working. Within the past few days, and in the ordinary routine of work, three men have told us of their experiences of God’s dealings with them. And as we sat and listened our hearts were filled with adoration to God for His mighty power, and with love for His mercy and grace. There was the story of the prosperous business man who, though unsaved, was Coaxed against his will to become the superintendent of a city Sunday- school. On his first Sunday in office, as he arose to announce the first hymn at the opening of the school, he was convicted, of his hypocrisy and converted — soundly converted—in a few days, and is now an active soul-winner. There was the’ story of the man who until twelve years ago was the most prominent hotel keeper in the large city where he lived. Rapidly going to the devil through drink and drugs, he visited three different churches hoping to To many people God seems to be a theological coneep- tion, or at best an absentee. Some who think them- selves Christians are more nearly deists. Many who would not deny the existence of God, would not affirm God Living and Working.
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THÉ K INGS BUSINESS find deliverance. Jn the third he heard from the godly, preacher, and this was all he heard that made any impression on his befuddled brain, “When you are in trouble go to God and He will help you.” Not that night however, nor for many nights, did he put God to the p roo f; but after many months of misery and failure, he cried, and was heard, and was delivered. Now he is bringing others to the same Saviour. There was the story of his friend, to whom he told what God had done for him, who would not talk of it, nor let him talk further. For seven years prayer was made every day, no word being said to the friend himself. Then one evening the door bell rang and the friend and his wife returned the seven-year-before call, the friend desiring to know the secret of deliverance, peace, and power. Within a few week he, too, was rejoicing, and now husbands and wives are joyfully serving Him. And last, there was the story of the minister of the newly organized and rapidly growing city church. He was educated through the generosity of his wealthy aunt, and entered the ministry solely because there must be a preacher in the family and his brothers had chosen other professions. Standing in the* pulpit of his church he looked down into the expectant faces of two old saints —husband and wife— iooking up to him for spiritual food. Overcome by a sense of the mockery of his occupying such a position for which he was con scious he had no qualification, because he knew nothing of Jesus Christ as his own Saviour, he quitted the pulpit that day resolved never to preach again until he had something with which to feed hungry souls. For twenty years he kept to his resolution, and then God showed him the Saviour, whom he accepted, whom he has served ever since, and to whom he has brought scores of sin- burdened ones who have found rest. Verily God is living and working, as every man may prove for himself. that they are ignorant as to whereabouts in the Bible they would find the proof of many doctrines they profess to believe? Theoretically, as Protestants, they accept certain truths because they are taught in the Bible ; actually they'accept them on the authority of the church which says they are taught in the Bible. Protestantism is only a modern name for what we hold to be that system of truth revealed in the Bible, and held originally by all Christian believers. To these believers was written the exhortation of the Apostle Peter, guided by the Holy Spirit, that they should J‘be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15). j The exhortation has never been recalled. It is still in force. It is still the bounden duty of every Christian not only to believe the great fundamental truths of the faith, but to know why he believes them. And it is also the bounden duty of the church’s minister to instruct the church’s members in these truths. Teaching is as truly a part of the Lord’s last commission as preaching (Matthew 28:19, 20; Mark 16:15). It is not true to say that men do not want to listen to that sort o f thing. On the contrary, they are'glad to hear it. They want to know why they believe what they believe. We will guarantee that_any pastor who will take up such The authority of the church is the bulwark of Roman- ism, and boasted of as such. Protestantism appeals to the Bible as the authority in all matters of faith and practice. But how. many Protestants have to confess Why We Believe What We Believe.
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293 THE KING’S BUSINESS themes as: “ The Virgin Birth of Our Lord,” “ The Deity of Christ,” “ The Resurrection of Christ,” “ The Bible—the Word of God,” “Our English Bible and Its Story,” “ Bible Narratives in the Light of Modern Discoveries,” and others like them will find that his people will enjoy them and be edified by them. Of course they must be prepared for an audience of every-day men and women, and presented without too much of the savor of the seminary class room. One of our most noted theologians delivered in a busy manufacturing city a few, years ago a series of lectures on what was anything but a “ popular” theme, though it was a vital one. In the class room, while his scholarship and genius were recognized and valued, the lecturer was .not especially “ popu lar.” The lectures were given at an unusual and somewhat inconvenient hour. Yet hundreds of business men left their offices and'sat for an hour each day pay ing strict attention to those closely, reasoned arguments, each audience being larger than the one preceding it. The lecturer presented the same great truths and arguments to the business men as to his students and the business men had to put themselves to more trouble to hear them than did the students, but they did so because they wanted to know the truth on those seldom dis cussed and weighty matters. More definite teaching from the pulpit would result in reducing the need for sq much general exhortation. It is wasting energy to keep telling men to believe, without setting before them clearly what they should believe and why they should believe it. Give men an oppor tunity to show their interest in vital things. The Protestant pulpit possesses no such inherent authority as is claimed for the .papal chair. Whatever the priest may claim, the preacher can only be recognized as deriving his authority from the Word of God. What God says is what the man in the. pew wants to know. “ To, the law and to the testimony” for there, and there alone, is the seat of authority. fewer college women graduates, marry as compared ' with other women, and why their married life, when they do marry, is not more of a success. It is claimed that, according to statistics compiled by the American Statistical Asso ciation, the proportion of women graduates who marry is fifty percent. Which, of course, is far below the proportion of other women of similar age. And it is also shown that while, among the population of women in généralewhen married over ten years there is a rate of 2.7 children, there is less than one, (or, more exactly, .73) child per college graduate. That is to say, they give birth to about one-fourth as many children, as a rule, as other married women. Miss Grunsky’s explanation of this state of affairs is, to use her own words: “While a college education will benefit a woman physically, culturally, socially, and help her in mental training, the great lack, as expressed by seventy percent Of the women who have become mothers, wives and housekeepers, was that they felt, since assuming their mature obligations, the college had in no practical sense fitted them for their work as wife, mother, or homemaker.” She goes on to say: “ The profession of mother is entered upon today with Those persons who are interested in the education of women have been greatly stirred by afi article by Miss Clotilde Grunsky, in the California Alumni Fort nightly, In this article she attempts to explain why The Education of Women.
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THE KING’S BUSINESS the poorest training of any of the professions. In the present state of popular prejudice, it can never be a chosen profession, and blind custom forbids the girl preparing directly for her duties, within college and out.” She says still further : “ The day undoubtedly should come when the college will make g compulsory some course in parenthood and household management.” These words of Miss Grunsky are worthy of the most serious thought. There has been a growing feeling among some of our most serious-minded men and women that there was some radical defect in the education of women as now carried on, that the average college education given to women alienated them from, rather than prepared them for, the work that God has set before most women. While great things hâve been accomplished by women in public life, the women who have accomplished the most for the betterment of the human race are the mothers, and women as a rule should be trained for motherhood, motherhood in its highest and best sense, rather than for the various forms of public life. Sad to say, it has not infrequently-occurred in colleges Vhere women are educated, that the. office of motherhood has been spoken of very lightly and contemptuously in comparison with what is called “ the higher calling of women,” or “ a career.”
as a Power
By Rev. W. H. Griffith Thomas, D. D. Another able address, delivered at Montrose Bible Conference, August 6, 1915
GOD has spoken to us in ysi the Bible, and this -Divine revelation is our supreme and final authority; and if
whatever to the human writer o f the Scrip ture, but only to the Divine Author. In Heb. 3 : “The Holy Ghost saith.” What are we to make o f that? It refers to Psa. 95. It 'was written .by a man,' David or some one else, yet here there is no refer ence to a human author at all. “The Holy Ghost saith.” So that the use made shows that the writer is concerned not with what the Psalmist said, but what the Holy Ghost said. And this means that the Holy Spirit is the Author o f Scripture. II. The Instruments of the Bible. The Holy Spirit used men as the instru ments o f Divine revelation. At this point We meet a number of passages where the Divine and the human are -mentioned ; where the distinction is drawn ve'ry clearly between thé Divine Author and the human instrument. Matt. 1 :22, “Spoken o f the Lord by the prophet.”" Acts 1:16, “ The Holy Ghost spake by. the mouth o f David.” And 2 Peter 1:21, “ Holy men o f old spake as they were moved (carried along) by the Holy Ghost.” So that We have as the instruments o f the. Spirit’s work,-the men who were first the speakers, and then the I do not know any other term that will better express my idea. I mean, first the men, and then their words. The men are not alive now, and if we are to be in touch with their revelation, it must be through their words ; and if we are to be sure o f the human revelation. from God, then for us writers o f Divine revelation. III. 1The Media of the Bihle.
I its message is- Christ, as the manifestation of God for human life, the next point is, Hew can this message become vital, how can it be made real in our life "and work 2 The answer is, By the Holy Spirit. My subject, The Bible as a Power, is really the Holy Spirit in relation to the Bible. I. The Source of the Bible. W e believe that the Bible comes from God, a Divine Source, through and by means of the Holy Spirit. The .Old Testa ment prophets, for instance, claimed to be the recipients o f Divine revelation. “The word o f the Lord came;” . “the Lord spake;” “ the word o f 'G o d ;” “ God said;” “the Lord commanded.” Phrases like these are found nearly seven hundred times in the Pentateuch alone. Very many times Jeremiah claims to be actuated by God’s commands. These phrases to which I have referred . are found scattered throughout the Scriptures no less than three thousand times altogether, And there is one verse which, whatever else it means, certainly makes this plain: 2 Sam. 23 :2, “The Spirit o f the Lord spake by me, and His word was on my tongue.” Now in harmony with this in the Old Testament, we have in the New Testament the presence and power o f the Holy Spirit claimed. It is sometimes overlooked that in some passages there is no reference.
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today we must be sure o f what they wrote, as they are not here to speak for them selves. Now let us notice 2 Tim. 3:16, “Every writing is God-breathed.” Let me say that for our present purpose we .need not trou ble in the least whether we take the Authorised or the Revised Version, because in both cases the reference is to the Old Testament, which is said to be God- breathed. Personally, I think the Revised Version is incorrect,,and that the Author ized is correct; and if proof o f it is needed, we shall find in tbe Greek that this partic ular form o f construction, two adjectives connected with “and” without a verb, will be found nine times, and the Revised Ver sion has rendered it eight times just as it is in the Authorized Version. Why the translators should render the ninth differ ently is .only known to themselves, but whichever we adopt, the thought is : “ Every writing is God-breathed.” I do not know exactly what that means, but I do know what it says, that God, somehow or other, breathed into these writings, and therefore we are concerned with words. Now, lest I should go one step beyond what seems to be true, let us look at 1 Cor. 11:13. I beg you to notice this, because, as Dr. Forsyth says, the chapter is classic for the apostolic view o f inspiration. Mark this | " Words which the Holy Ghost teach- eth.” , Could anything be more definite and clear than that? Not the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but the words which the Holy Ghost teacheth. And so I suggest that there is an intimate connection, a nec essary connection, between thoughts and words. Whether it be for our own thought, or for intercourse between man and man, thoughts must be expressed in words. And this is what Bishop Westcott says in his fine essay on Inspiration: “ Thoughts are Wedded to words as necessarily as soul it to body.” And thus when we speak of the media o f the Bible, we are concerned' with words. But some one says: Does not that mean “verbal inspiration?” Well, you can cab it verbal inspiration if you like, you can
call it plenary inspiration if you prefer, so long as you do not call it dictation. When I dictate a Tetter to my secretary, I do not inspire her. It is mechanical dicta tion, and I expect her to reproduce exactly what I tell her. But in Scripture it is not mechanical dictation, it is inspiration; and whether we call it verbal or plenary, the phrase is not intended to say how God does it, but how fa t it has gone It means that inspiration extends to the form as well as to the substance, that it reaches to the words as well as to the thoughts, in order that we may be sure o f the thoughts; for how are we to know God’s thoughts if we do not know His words ? But another says:- “ The letter killeth, the spirit giveth life.” It does; but St. Paul in that phrase is not concerned at all with the letter o f inspiration as opposed to the spirit. That is an entirely false idea o f the passage. That is doing what I Jiave already warned you against; it is taking a text without a context and making it a pretext; and we must not do that, whether on one side or the other. But again some one says: “We want the inspiration o f the thoughts, not o f the words.” Well, I would ask; What is your theory o f inspi ration? What do you really mean by the inspiration o f the thoughts? If there is any inspiration or authority in the thoughts, surely it must be expressed in the words, and the objections that are raised to the inspiration o f words are just as valid against the inspiration o f thoughts. To show that I am not going too far in saying this, let us notice 1 Cor. 14:37, “ If any man think himself to be spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things I write are the commandments of the. Lord.” There is the human—“ the things that I write;” words. “ The commandments o f the Lord” —there is the Divine inspiration and author ity behind- Now I venture to say that the use o f the Bible today is a wonderful confirmation of this view. W e use. it as our authoritative court o f appeal, and we rest upon its words as our warrant. If I may be permitted a personal reference^ I would say that the
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The most vital truth about it is covered by the terms inspiration and infallibility, and in virtue o f this truth it is indispen sable and authoritative to the mind o f every age.” There is much more to the same effect in Denney’s article, but that will show you what I mean by truth in its real ity. j Secondly: Truth in-its uniqueness. You can test the work o f the Holy Spirit in regard to the Bible very simply. Take'the writings o f 50 to 100 A. D. Then take the writings from 100 to 150 A. D. Compare them, and, as it has been well said, between the New Testament w ritings'of 50 to 100 A. D., and the post-apostolic writings o f 100 to 150 A. D., .there is a chasnt, “ sheer, deep, and abysmal.” The finest writings o f the-second century cannot compare with the writings o f the first century. When the Christian faith was settling itself in the world, the Holy Ghost was working in a -unique manner. He was at work as the Spirit o f inspiration. But from 100 to 150 A. D. we do not have inspiration; only illumination. From that time forward, and ever since, there has Been constant illumi nation, but no new revelation. John Robin son o f Leyden said: “ The Lord hath’ yet more light and truth to break forth from His Word.” Yes, but it is from His Word. W e have not reached the end o f it yet, but there it is, ready for the Holy Spirit to illuminate its,.pages. Thirdly: Truth in its unity. There is a wonderful unity o f truth in the Bfible, from Genesis to Revelation. Some years ago in the course o f construction o f a tunnel in London, ?five shafts were sunk, an ten sets of men worked in opposite direc tions. Two other sets worked with the ten, and' ultimately the twelve sets met, in one place, at a depth o f one hundred feet. They were working practically in the dark, but they fitted so well together when the tunnel was complete, that every one could see that there was a master mind whp had planned the whole thing. And so the various writers of the Old and New Testa ments were working separately, as it were in a tunnel, in the dark; and St. Peter tells
three men more than any others who con firmed me in this view o f inspiration, were W estcott, Lightfoot, and Vaughan. Their exegesis impressed me with the conviction that there 298 BUSINESS THE KING’ S us they did not know exactly the meaning o f their words. But by and by they met; and now ithey are seen to have worked together and dove-tailed into each other, thus showing the presence an.d power o f a master mind, which is none other than that o f the Holy Spirit o f God. And, then, fourthly: Truth in its pro gressiveness. Now .let us be very clear here. The progress o f truth from Genesis to Revelation is undoubted. Not every part o f Scripture is equally valuable or equally important for us today. If-1 were called upon to spend my' life on a desert island, and I were compelled to select out o f several books, I would much prefer the Epistle to the' Romans to Ecclesiastes. I do not think for a moment that Ecclesias tes- is, so important for us today as Romans;- but I believe every book has its place in the content of Divine revelation, though not There is such a thing as the inspiration all are o f equal value or equal importance, o f direct communication. “ I have received from the Lord.’’ There is such a thing as the inspiration o f selection. The Holy Spirit guided St. John to select- out o f the materials o f our Lord’s life, just that which is given us'in the Fourth Gospel. You have in St. Luke’s preface and St.-John ROiSl this proof o f selection. Then we also find the inspiration o f accurate record. In the Bible we find the words o f the devil. They are not true, -although they are found in the Bible. W e find the words o f Job’s friends. They are'not true, but they are in the Bible. W e find the words o f God’s enemies in the Bible. They are not true. The sentiment is wrong, but the record of them is true. The sentiment is full of imperfection, but the record is full o f per fection. That is the meaning o f the inspi ration o f accurate record. W e have to be very careful, therefore, so that if a man next Sunday preaches from a particular text, he must first inquire who said it. An old Welsh preacher once gave out hi^ text this way: “ Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his l i f e a n d then said, That is a lie! O f course it was. It is the word o f Satan; Although in God’s book, it is not true pf itself, but the record o f it is true. Let me say again, there may be imperfection, in the sentiment, but no imperfection'in the account o f it. And so we have to distinguish very carefully in our use o f Scripture. I know o f a man who thought it appro priate to give a lady a ring on which was- embossed the word Mizpah. She was going a long voyage, and it seemed suitable to say: “ The Lord watch between me and thee when we are absent one from another.” But when' afterwards that man read the story o f the person who said these words, he saw that it meant this: “I cannot trust you out o f my Sight, and so the Lord Him self must watch you.” I f that man were giving another ring today, I feel sure he. would not give one with Mizpah on it. That word and the corresponding words- were given to one another by two sus picious men; and. although the Christian Endeavorers speak -of the Mizpah bene diction, they have to do it without regard ing the context. W e must be very Careful in our use o f Scripture, lest when we quote we misquote. All this shows us the need o f realising the progressiveness of revelation. All things were written for us, but everything was not written to us. “Whatsoever things were written were written for our learn ing.” There is a wide distinction between primary interpretation and spiritual applica tion, and we must first find out to whom the Scripture was^written, before we begin to apply it to ourselves.' Scripture is per fect at every part. I believe God’s revela tion to Abraham was perfect for Abraham, but not necessarily so for Isaiah. I believe God’s revelation to Samuel was perfect for him, but not necessarily so to the prophets afterwards. There was a continual devel opment and growth in revelation, until we get the meridian in Christ, and since that day there has always been a meridian; there has been no sunset. V. Difficulties of the Bible. I can only suggest some general outlines for further consideration. THE KING’S BUSINESS 299 have, said about progressive revelation may be applied at this point. Take the case of Jael who, killed Sisera; that is no reason why we should commit murder. Because the Psalmist said, “ Happy shall he be that taketh thy children and dasheth them against the stones," there is no reason/why we should do likewise. There is such a thing as progress in the ethics o f the Bible, but there is no progress beyond the ethics o f Christ and His Apostles. Not a single new-ethic has been given to the world since Jesus Christ and His Apostles lived on this earth. Then remember that none o f these diffi culties, affect any fundamental Christian doctrine. Dean Farrar, who was,no slave o f conservatism, once said that no demon strable error has ever been discovered in the Bible. W e are not called upon to answer every objection. It is quite sufficient for us to prove the truth o f Christianity. Why should a man take leave o f his common sense when he reads the Bible? There are scores Of things in life- that we cannot understand. A man says, “I will not believe what I do not see.” Then what about his brains?' So in regard to life. No one can tell us what life is. ,We cannot define life, and if we cannot, then let us not be surprised if we find difficulties in the Bible we | cannot solve.' Let us make use-o f the Bible as fully as we can, and see how far that will take us. A man once went to Moody and said: “Mr. Moody, I cannot accept your Bible, because there are so many difficulties in it.” Moody said to him: “ Do you like fish?”. “What has that to do with it ?” “ D o you like fish?” “Yes.” “ Do you find any bon^s in it?” “ Yes.” “ Do you eat them?” “ N o; I put them on the side o f my plate.” “That is what I do with the difficulties o f the Bible, and I find quite enough fish without bones.” That is a good, working, practical rule. It is what is called the verifying fac ulty, and it is worth applying. Vi. The Criticism of the Bible. Whatever we may have to" say about this, What shall we say about this? People often say the Bible is so difficult. O f course it is. But when once we have decided, on the grounds of proper- evidence, that the Bible is the Word o f God, then every diffi culty must be judged in the light o f that antecedent fact. I value the words o f Tre- gelles, the great textual critic: “ No diffi- culty in connection with a proved fact can invalidate the fact itself.” For a very long time astronomers have told us that the planets move on definite orbits, with unchanging speeds and accord ing to' precise mathematical calculation. Now there was one planet, Uranus, whose movements did not seem altogether to come under these laws. Yet astronomers did not give up their theories on that account, and when Adams in Cambridge and - Lever- rier in, France produced the brilliant math ematical Calculations which led to the dis covery o f Neptune, the difficulty was solved, and now there is no question whatever about this great principle of the planetary system. So, when we have come to the conclusion that the Bible>'is God’s Word, we have to judge all difficulties in the light o f that fact: Secondly, some difficulties are inherent in a revelation, otherwise it would not be a revelation. W e cannot expect that which comes from God to finite man to be without difficulty. Revelation means to “ draw back the veil,” and if there whs no veil to draw back, we should not have any revelation. Therefore, we are not surprised if, as But ler taught us nearly two hundred years ago, there are difficulties in revelation, for there are difficulties in nature though nature is from the same God. , f . i V. - r . • Difficulties are either scientific, histor ical, or ethical. Scientific difficulties for the most part turn upon differences o f interpretation between man’s views, o f the Bible and between man’s views o f science. Difficulties o f history have to be tested one by one; and we have yet to find any real statement in the Bible in term's of historji that has been found to be unhistorical. And with regard to ethical difficulties, what I THE KING’ S BUSINESS 300 we know it is frequently discussed today. New let us not be afraid o f that word “ Criticism.” A man was going up a hill in a Scottish mist and saw a great figure in front o f him. He was terribly fright ened; but when he got close to it, it was his brother. There are three kinds o f crit icism, and if these three are carefully kept together we need have no fear. The first is what is called Lower Crit icism. That is the technical word descrip tive o f the criticism which provides a text and a translation. W e depend upon scholar ship for these. W e may not know Greek and Hebrew. W e take our text from schol ars and also their translation. That, is the lower or the lowest criticism, legitimate, important, and o f course absolutely essen tial ; and for all practical purposes either the Authorized or Revised Version does give us a substantial idea o f the original text. Then, secondly, there is what is called the Higher Criticism. This has to do with the authorship, date, and character o f the books; and again it is legitimate, vital, and essential, only it requires to be tested. Let us not call any man master, whether ancient or modern, English or German. Let us simply hold ourselves free to look at these things for ourselves.. A young man in col lege once said to me: “ How is it that so many clever men accept certain views ?” “Why,” I said, “there is a fashion in schol arship as well as in socks, and as a rule no one likes to be out o f fashion in one or the other.” There is a fashion in phil osophical thought, in fiction, and indeed in literature generally. Everybody just now is trying to show an interest in the Waverly Novels, because o f the recent centenary. They must be in the ' fashion. What I mean is, that we must not merely follow a fashion, but test things for ourselves, and get the theory that best fits all the facts. There are four ways in which you can test this Old Testament criticism: First, by the history o f the Jewish nation and the Old Testament account. Second, you can test it by archaeology, and you will find that, during the last sixty years, not a single discovery has done anything except confirm the Old Testament. Third, you can exam ine the books yourself, and you will find thirty times in Leviticus that “the Lord spake unto Moses.” And if you look in Deuteronomy you will find it implies, if not mosaic authorship, at least the period of Moses. Then remember our Lord and His Apostles, and how much they valued the Old Testament, and I think you will find that with these four tests it will not be diffi cult to come to a satisfactory, conclusion about Old Testament criticism. But there is a third aspect, the Highest Criticism. It is sometimes overlooked. Here it is : “To this man will I look, even to the man who is o f a contrite spirit and tremb- leth gt my word.” I now refer to the criticism o f the humble soul. You will find that text in Isa. 64:2. Notice also another text, Heb. 4:12, “ The word of God is a ‘critic’ of the thoughts and intents o f the heart.” I f the soul of”man will allow God’s W ord to criticise it, and if we do a little more trembling at God’s Word, that would be. the highest criticism, and provide a cri terion that would settle almost everything for us. This is the trouble, that people take the lower and the higher criticism, but for get the third, the highest. Yet on the other hand there are numbers of humble souls who know far more o f the truth o f Scrip ture than the greatest scholars. As James Hamilton once said:. “A Christian on his knees sees farther than a philosopher on his tip-toes.” When these three are held together I have no fear about criticism. If you want to appreciate the pictures on stained-glass windows, you must go inside the church; and if you want to know the Bible, you must go inside, and not judge from the outside. Nor with reason only, but with conscience, and heart, and soul, and w ill; * and when the whole nature responds to the highest criticism, rationalis ing critical theories can go on until dooms day without doing any harm. VII. The Work of the Bible. What does the Bible do? We are now coming to more personal matters. I can THE KING’S BUSINESS 301 only barely mention this, though it is a Bible-reading in itself. The Bible is spoken o f as God’s seed. Luke 8:11; Jas. 1:21 “ The seed is the word o f G od;” W e are born o f the word, 1 Pet. 1 :23. W e grow by the word, 1 Pet. 2 :2. W e are cleansed by the word, John 15:3. W e are sanctified by the word, J oh n -17:17.. W e are pro tected by the word, Eph. 6:17, “ The sword o f the Spirit.” W e are edified by the word, Acts 20:32, “Able to build you up.” W e are illuminated by the word, Psa. 119:105^ “ Thy word is a lamp to my feet.” W e are converted by the word, Psa. 19:11, and we are satisfied with the word, Psa. 119:103, “ How sweet are Thy words to my mouth.” Surely a word that can do all this must have power in it. There is a Latin phrase, solvitur ambulando, which word o f God in experience is the greatest proof we can have, and if we allow the things I have mentioned to become part and parcel o f our. life, we shall know what the power o f God means. VIII. The Verification of the Bible. From the work o f the Bible in our own souls will come, this verification o f the Bible in our efforts on behalf o f others. If you want to verify the Bible, go out and win souls for Christ—do personal, work. I believe that a great number o f our problems are theoretical. They come from colleges, from studies and places where people sit in their carpet slippers and spin theories absolutely remote from human life. Go down into the slums and tell a man o f the Lord Jesus Christ, and get that man to ask, What must I do to be saved? and you will very soon get verification o f the Word o f G od ! And when you have that, you will not need any further testimony to its power. You will find that by proving it, and you will soon see what it does. A sailor had just returned from a whal ing voyage, and he was taken by a friend to hear an eloquent preacher. After the sermon, he said, “Jack, wasn’t that a fine sermon?” “Yes, it was shipshape,” said Jack; “the mast just high enough, the sails and the rigging all right, but I did not see any harpoons. When a vessel goes on a whaling voyage, the great thing is to get the whales, but they do not come because you have a fine ship ; you must go after them and harpoon them. The preacher is the whaler, he is sent to catch them. Think how many sermons like that it would take to convert a sinner and make him cry out, W hat must I do to be saved?’ Think o f Peter on the day o f Pentecost; he referred to the prophecies, to the Incarna tion and the Resurrection o f Christ, and the outpouring o f the Spirit, and then when he had gained the attention- o f the crowd he drove the lesson home with: ‘Jesus whom ye crucified.’ That is the harpoon.” The great peril o f today is the separa tion o f the Spirit from the Word. The two are in reality inseparable. The Spirit of truth will guide into all truth. The Holy Spirit is not a frame o f mind, but a divine power, and it is a significant fact today, that so few books in Germany, England, and Scotland deal with the revelation o f the Holy Spirit in relation’to the Bible. It is impossible for a book that comes from the Holy Spirit to be without the power and the illumination o f the Spirit. It is impos sible for us to have-this Book that comes from God, without the assurance that God will guide and bless, every earnest reader. The reason why there is so much darkness and dulness, and the need o f Christian experience and insight, is that we take the Book and we forget the Author o f it, the Spirit o f God Who gave it. But when these two are together, the Spirit illuminat ing the Book, and the Book speaking the mind o f the Spirit, then the result is abso lutely certain for ourselves and for others. Let us, therefore, take heed to ourselves, and pray for spiritual light and guidance whenever we use the W ord .. “With prayer to Thee, Lord, may I read Whate’er shall to my Saviour lead, O let Thy Spirit now impart, A humble mind, a lowly heart; Be Thou my Saviour, Thou my guide, That whfif I read may be applied, My danger and my refuge show, And let me Thy salvation know.” THE KING’S BUSINESS WAR AND FOREIGN MISSIONS 302 Remarkable Increase Shown in Contributions for Foreign Work Despite'the Unsettled Conditions Occasioned by the European Conflict T HE following cheery review o f the for eign missionary work o f the churches of North America during the past year is reprinted from The Spirit of Missions, the monthly missionary magazine o f the Protestant Episcopal Church; which is one o f the brightest and \most interesting monthlies that comes to our desk: “ It is now possible to determine the effect of the war in Europe upon the finan cial side o f our foreign missionary enter prise. The figures are in hand showing the income last year of 192 Foreign Mis sion organizations in the United States and Canada. Instead o f the depressing decrease in contributions which had been prophesied in some quarters, the astonishing fact is made clear that 1915 has seen an increase o f $1,625,379, which is 9.43 per cent over last year, and is larger than any increase during the last three years. “ This fact was announced at the recent meeting o f thp Conference o f Foreign Mis sion Boards in Garden City, Long Island. The statistics for this conference are pre pared annually by a committee of the Con ference, whose: chairman stated that the total offerings for religious, educational and medical missionary work carried on in all regions lying outside o f the United States and. Canada last year, through ,the organizations comprising -this ..Conference, amounted to $18,793,990. In addition, $594,- 260: was expended by certain home mission organizations for work in Mexico, Central America, Philippines, Cuba, Porto Rico, Alaska and Hawaii. Certain enterprises which might in a sense be considered for eign missionary work, such as. the work done among Orientals in the United States, are not included in the figures given. Two o f the leading boards, the. Baptist and our own, have wiped out large accumulated debts, while others were equally success ful with smaller obligations or materially reduced them. Only a few boards increased their debts, and these not seriously. Such as have done so are in the South, where the price o f cotton is held responsible. O f the. 192 boards reporting to the Conference, 83 show an increase in income for the past year. Two boards, the Northern Presby terian and the American Board (Congre gational) acted as agents in forwarding more than $1,000,000 to Syrians, Armenians and other sufferers on account of the livar. Several boards also aided, from their.own treasuries, certain missions, chiefly German, whose work has been seriously disturbed. “ Other items for 1915 beside the totals o f missionary gifts are interesting. The gifts of. native contributors amount , to $4,541,982.26, showing an increase o f more than $300,000 during the year. The Boards reporting have in the foreign mission field slightly over 3,000 ordained men, and 887 unordained men,' together with 396 male and 183 female physicians. The number o f women working in the foreign field who are neither the wives o f missionaries nor physicians is 2,689. - The total American force abroad is 10,497. This is an increase o f more than 500 over the record o f last year. It -is worth noting, however, that there are fewer ordained missionaries by 150 than there'were a year-ago, while the unordained have increased by more than 600. The natiye workers in the for eign field are exactly 50,001, and the total stations maintained 19,516; 120,000 com municants have been added during the year. There are 1,161,000 in the Sunday- schools, while in 14,718 schools of all ranks, 26,000 teachers care for 532,000 scholars. There are 301 hospitals and 447 dispensa ries.” the American Standard edition it is spelled with a capital S, and in this matter a's in many other matters, the American Revised Version is to be preferred to the Author ized Version and the English Revised Ver sion. , “Does Paul in Gal 2 : 20 , viz., -I have been crucified with Christ'; and it is no longer I that live, but Christ liveth in me: and that life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith which is in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself up for me,' speak of an actually realized condition in his life, or'only his ideal?” He speaks o f “ an actually realized condi tion in his life.” He does not say, “ This is what I aim to be and do,” but “what I am and do.” Paul says, “ I have been crucified with Chrjst; and it is no longer Tthatdive, but Christ liveth in me: and that life which I now live in the flesh, I live in faith, the faith which is in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself up for me,” i. e., that Christ really so lived His life in him and it was no longer he that was living,- but Christ living in him. As to the being crucified with Christ, he speaks about that as a thing that had already been accomplished, Where it was accomplished was on the Cross o f Calvary. When Christ was nailed to the cross we were crucified with Him. That is the real standing of every believer. It is not for us to crucify self, as so many put it, but to realize that we hatfe been crucified in the cruci fixion o f Christ, and to live according to that fact, i. e., to regard self as a cursed thing nailed to the cross, and no longer try to live the self-life, but just let Jesus Christ live out His life through uS. “Is it wrong for a Christian ever to tell a funny story; or sing a clean comic song.” Telling funny stories is a perilous prac- “How could the writers of the ^Sunday School lesson in the January issue of The King’s Business in their notes on the les son for January 23 , 1916 , make the mistake they do regarding Romans 8 : 13 ? They say, ‘It is strange that both the Authorized and Revised Version here spell Spirit with a small s ’ This is a mistake, for the word Spirit is spelled with a capital letter instead of a small in both these versions.’’ The, mistake is not with the writers of the lessons, but with the one who asks the question. It is true that vn many editions o f the Authorized Version the word Spirit is printed with a capital letter as our cor respondent says, hut this is simply because these editions are>incorrect. In th e ‘orig inal writing o f Romans 8:13 in , the 1611 version o f the Bible (commonly called the Authorized Version) Spirit was spelled with a small s, and is so spelled in all cor rect reproductions o f that edition. But a great many reproductions are inexact. They have made many changes from that original version. In editions subsequent to -1611 changes were made from time to time, “nobody knows upon- whose authority,” and the average Bible today is not by any means an exact reproduction o f the orig inal so-called Authorized Version. And this is one o f many illustrations o f the inexactness o f most editions o f the Author ized Version. Doubtless our correspondent had one o f these editions and very naturally supposed that the mistake was with our les son writers, but it was not. Most o f these changes that are made in later editions are changes that are warranted by good schol arship, as in the change in this .case, never theless, our writers were exact- in stating that the Authorized Version spelled Spirit with a small s, as does also the English Revised Version in the correct editions. In
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