October 1928
579
T h e
K i n g ’ s
B u s i n e s s
The Preciousness of Christ “ Unto you therefore which believe^-the preciousness." (Lit eral rendering o f 1 Pet. 2:7.)
through the Book. In 1874 this man’s aunt had died and one clause o f her will read: “ To my-beloved nephew I will and bequeath my family Bible and all it contains.” . The nephew cared little for the Bible, and neglected it for many years, not knowing „of the treasures it contained. He had lived in poverty most o f the time. While packing his trunk to move to the home of his son, he discovered the money in the old Bible. He had failed, up to that moment, to possess his possessions. So it was with the former owner o f Signal Hill. He lived in poverty, not knowing that underneath his feet was a lake o f oil worth countless millions of dollars. We say such cases are sad, yet in heaven’s estimate such cases are not comparable with those of Christian men and women who fail to possess their spiritual possessions. The “ unsearchable riches o f Christ” are the heritage of every believer. God’s Word is a treasure chest burst ing with golden promises to sustain, encourage afid ener gize us under all conditions. Alas, how few there are in the church today who have explored their own possessions or even begun to know what their inheritance is. And What shall we say o f the folly of the. Christ-rejecter,: who, for the sake of gaining a few of this world’s fleeting pleasures, turns his back upon “ the riches . o f grace-tin Christ Jesus” ?- )) The Old Bible and the Stone Bible O NE o f our subscribers writes (and others have writ ten in the same v e in ): “ Lam very glad T he K ing ’ s B usiness did not take a liking to the superstition about Cheops (the Great Pyramid) being ‘a stone Bible,’ and by means of.it, trying to fix dates for the Lord’s coming and other prophetic events.” We fear that some of the earnest servants of the Lord have short memories of the results o f date-fixing in times past. Baxter’s book, “ Forty Coming Wonders,” over which so many Bible students became so excited a few years ago, furnishes a good example o f such attempts. A writer in an exchange recently told o f finding one of the older editions o f this book in a second-hand book store. He had an interesting time checking the changes made in Subsequent editions when prophecies and dates failed to materialize. Four times, this writer declares, dates were advanced as new editions came out. Some are still reading this book and recommending it with great enthu siasm. There are those who have similar memories of the dis coveries in “ the stone Bible.” At the beginning of the eighties we read that the length o f the great gallery o f the pyramid was 1,882 inches. In some mysterious way an inch was supposed to stand for a year, and 1882 was to mark a great epoch in the world’s history. 1882 was the year o f the Bombardment o f Alexandria, o f the bat tle o f Tel-el-Kebir and o f the commencement o f the British occupation o f Egypt; but these events did not deliver the goods which were promised. Prophetic stu dents who looked upon the Pyramid measurements as prophetic soon found a way out of the impasse.
>HE above rendering, found in the Re vised Version, gives striking emphasis to the preceding words in which Jesus Christ is presented as the precious Corner Stone of the Christian Faith. By whom is this preciou'sness discerned ? Peter answers: The preciousness is felt
by those who daily behold Him with the eyes of faith. This is a heart-searching word. Is your soul, like a photographer’s plate, sensitized so as to receive a daily renewal o f the sense o f His preciousness? Here is the secret o f all joy and spiritual growth. To experience it we must daily see Him for ourselves as He is mirrored in God’s Word. How many of our readers can honestly say Christ is constantly becoming more and more precious, to their souls? There are many who admire H im ; who like to hear Him preached about; who are ever ready to wrangle over H im ; but have they, for themselves, entered ifito His sweet secrets and discerned the preciousness? Have they found Him just the Lord they needed when sunshine was all about or when the clouds hung low ? Many' a glittering pebble is as precious to a child as would be a beautiful diamond. The diamond is treasured only by those trained to appreciate its value. So it is with the believer and Christ. His transcendent loveliness is not appreciated by any except those who are ready- to give Him the pre-eminence in all things and to make H im the solution of every problem in their lives. Oh, that we might so present Christ in these pages, that many should find a new personal enjoyment o f H im ! He alone can enable one to walk life’s highway with a satisfied Soul and a song of joy upon the lips.'; But you must discern the preciousness for yourself by allowing Him to dwell in your heart by faith. “ What think ye of Christ?” That is indeed a great test of spiritual standing. But “ What IS Christ to your soul ?” is a question that reveals the state of the soul. Those who daily discern the preciousness of Jesus will make it their perpetual prayer— “ Lord, what wilt Thou have me to d of”’tii> Possessions That Slip Through Our Fingers D R. RUSSELL H. CONW ELL ’S- story, “ Acres of Diamonds,” was recently reenacted when the man who once owned “ Signal Hill,” the great oil field of Los Angeles harbor, returned from the East to look over the old pasture where he used to herd his sheep. Three dry years caused him to dispose o f his property and go back to Michigan. He now grins grimly at his folly. That hill could not furnish enough grass to keep sheep alive. Today it is a veritable forest of oil derricks pumping up the golden fluid. : Some time ago an old man living in New Jersey found $5,000 in a family Bible. Bank notes -were scattered
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