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$1.25 a year in U . S< $1.50 foreign
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See Radio Announcement on page 242
AT LAST! The Hymn Book You Have Been Waiting For —►NOW R E A D Y F O R D E L I V E R Y - « —
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2 0 2 SELECT SONGS— All Favorites—That You Have Longed to See Within the Covers of ONE Book
NOTED OLD FAVORITES
TH E OLD RUGGED CROSS SINCE JESUS CAM E INTO MY HEART YESTERD AY, TODAY, FOREVER HIMSELF TE LL ME TH E OLD, OLD STORY TH ER E IS POWER IN TH E BLOOD MY REDEEM ER WHEN TH E ROLL IS CALLED UP YONDER I LOVE TO T E LL TH E STORY TH E SOLID ROCK 0 TH AT W ILL BE GLORY ONWARD, CHRISTIAN SOLDIERS SOME OF OUR HYMN WRITERS A. B. Simpson Charles M. Alexander George Bennard
M ost o f the so n g s contained in th is book have lon g been a sso cia ted w ith all religious m eetings of an ev a n g elistic character. But enough are here published for the first tim e to a ssu re fresh n ess and in terest. The selection h as been m ade in resp on se to a q uestionnaire sub- m itted to over 300 a ctiv e ev a n g elistic m u sic directors, ev a n g elists and p a sto rs from w hose su g g estio n s, togeth er w ith the sustain ed effort of an accom p lished m u sic com m ittee, th is book h as been com piled. It has been our ob ject to m eet the needs of large E v a n g elistic C am p aign s, M issionary C onventions, Y oung P eople’s R allies, R adio S er vices, etc., and to stren gth en m aterially certain n eglected p h a ses of Bible teach ing in song.—-;The P ublishers. “Y our book is a real con tribu tion to hym nology, and there are m any so n g s included in it w hich are prim e favorites w ith th e radio au dien ce.”
Oswald J. Smith George C. Stebbins R. Kelso Carter W. A. Ogden Y. R. Reinhart Wm. J. Kirkpatrick J. H. Burke James McGranahan E. O. Excell D. B. Towner Mrs. C. H. Morris Mrs. W. M. Turnbull A. J. Gordon May Agnew Stephens
Fanny Crosby W. Macomber Robert Lowry Charles H. Gabriel Elton Roth Paul Rader W. H. Doane J. Wilbur Chapman Ira D. Sankey P. P. Bliss Haldor Lillenas
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Music Director, Greater New York Federation of Churches, Broadcasting over Station W.E.A.F.
P R I C E S There are thousands of dollars invested in this book, for copyrights, plates, etc. In addition, an Editorial Committee has devoted over two years of laborious work to make the best possible selection. Neither money nor pains has been spared. But you get the advantage of this investment and labor at the lowest possible prices: RED SILK PATTERN CLOTH, 50c each postpaid; $40. per hundred, carriage extra. DURABLE MANILA, 30c each postpaid, $25. per hun dred, carriage extra. Y our Church C annot A fford to B e W ith ou t T his G reat B ook V a lu e! “ Sing the Gospel into the Heart”
CONTENTS AND COMPILATION 91 E van gelistic Songs and S ongs of W orship, 16 S o n g s on th e D eeper L ife, 8 S on gs on D ivin e H ealing, 23 S ongs on M issions, 20 Songs on th e Second C om ing, 17 Invitation S election s, 10 Songs for Children, 11 C hoir N um bers, 6 C horuses. (A T op ical Index R eadily L ocates the S ong you need.) The E ditorial C om m ittee for ‘‘S on gs of G race” co n sisted o f Dr. and Mrs. W . M. Turnbull, R ev. D avid J. Fant, R ev. O sw ald J. Sm ith, Prof. E lton R oth, Prof. V. R. R einhart, R ev. R. R. Brown, R ev. Frank W yre and R ev. and Mrs. E. R. D unbar. The book includ es a ch oice from the follow ing w ell-know n m u sic h ouses: H ope P ublishing Co., B igelow & Main Co., T abernacle P u b lish in g Co., The R odeheaver Co., The E. O. E xcell Co., Standard P ublishing Co., The John Church Co., the C hristian A lliance P u b lish in g Co., a s w ell a s individual ow ners o f cop yrigh ts.
A returnable cop y w ill be sen t for exam ination on request. ORDER BLANK— For Y our C onvenience
A FEW NEW FAVORITES (There are 34 New Successes in This Book.) A Calvary Heart —(A Chorus used by the Welsh Evan gelists, Clark and Bell.) Christ Is Coming Back Again —(A Two-page Choir Number by O. J. Smith.) Deeper and Deeper — (Oswald J. Smith's great song on the Deeper Life.) Don’t Turn Him Away —(Made Famous by the Alliance . Colored Quintet.) Do You Wonder Why I Love Him? — (One of Mr. Roth's Best.) God Has Blotted Them Out —(A Remarkable Children's Chorus.) I Need Jesus —(A piece that Mr. Rodeheaver is now featuring everywhere.) Just a Little While —(The Bosworth Campaign Special.) Give Me Oil in my Lamp —(A Song that made an Immediate Hit.) Somebody’s Waiting — (Mrs. Lehman's New Missionary Song.) Wonderful Love of Jesus —(Another New Song by Elton Roth.)
C hristian A lliance P ublishing Co., 260 W est 44th S treet, N ew Y ork C ity. G entlem en:— P lease en ter m y order for............................cop ies of Songs of Grace, bound in —............. ....................................binding. Parcel P o st 1 Make im m ediate shipm ent by E xpress )■ I en close herew ith $...................................................... F reight J
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T h e K i n g ’s B u s i n e s s Motto: “I, the Lord, do keep it; I will water it every moment: lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day.” Isaiah 27:3 PUBLISHED MONTHLY BY AND REPRESENTING THE BIBLE INSTITUTE OF LOS ANGELES J ohn M urdoch M ac I nnis , Editor-in-Chief C harles . E. H urlburt , Associate Editor K eith L. B rooks , Managing Editor W m . A. F isher , Circulation Manager Volume XVIII April, 1927 Number 4
FACULTY
BOARD OF DIRECTORS BIBLE INSTITUTE OF LOS ANGELES J. M. I rvine , President H oward F rost , Vice-President A. A ddison M axwell , Treasurer C. E. "F uller , Secretary C. A. L uk , Asst. Secretary H. B. E vans N athan N ewby J. M. R ust M rs . L yman S tewart
Table of Contents
D r . J ohn M. M ac I nnis , Dean D r . R alph A tkinson , Associate Dean R ev . J ohn H . H unter , Secretary of Faculty R ev . W illiam H. P ike ,® Secretary Evening School R ev . K eith L. B rooks , Secretary Cor. School R ev . A lbert E. K elly , . Student Secretary D r . G. C ampbell M organ D r . J ohn M c N eill D r . C harles E. H urlburt - C hristian M. B ooks P rof . A lfred A. B utler M iss M arie C arter M iss F lorence C haffee R ev . J ohn A. H ubbard P rof . H. W. K ellogg M rs . B esse D. M c A nlis P rof . H. G. T ovey P rof . J. B. T rowbridge M iss C harlotte L. W oodbridge H. W. B oyd , M- D. R ev . G eorge E. R aitt M rs .' A. L. D ennis M rs . A lma K. M oss Advertising: For information with reference to advertising in The King’s Business, address the Religious Press Assn., 800- 803 Witherspoon Bldg., Phila delphia, Pa., or North Amer ican Bldg., Chicago, 111. Entered as Second Class Mat ter November 17, 1910, at the Post Office, at Los Angeles, California, under the Act of March 3, 1879, Acceptance for mailing at spe cial rate of postage provided for in Section 1103, Act of October 3, 1917, authorized October 1, 1918. P rof . R aymond C onner D. W. M ac M illan , M.D. B. G. P inkerton , M.D. F. J ean H olt , M.D. Ross A. H arris , M.D. J oseph J acobs , M.D.
EDITORIALS He Ever Liveth ........ :............................................197 The Resurrection Hope............ ,............... ,..........197 The Gqd of All Grace.... ........ ................................198 The Royal Likeness,.............................. ........ -.......198 The High Level Life......... ...... .............................198 The Power of Silence..............................................199 Sublime Service ............ -200 My Servant Is Dead.............. 200 Editorial Flashlights ......— ..................................201 * * * Resurrection and Modern Theories—J. M. M....203 Easter in Jerusalem—Herbert H. Tay.......... ...... 204 Resurrection Victory—Thomas Houghton......... 208 Significance of the Resurrection —Dr. I. M. Haldeman....................................... 208 If No Resurrection—Dr. F. W. Farrar...............210 The Christian Philosopher—-J. M. M.„,.............. 212 Let Go—Let God—H. E. Almquist.......... ...........213 New Testament in China—Geo. T. B. Davis..... 214 Fulness of Times—Thomas Fitzgerald................. 215 The. Sabbath and the Lord’s Day—David Baron..218 Christ of the Indian Road—K. L. B.................... 241 * * * REGULAR DEPARTMENTS Defenders’ Column .....................................-....... .,..219 Finest of the Wheat. . . . .... 220 Striking Stories—B. I. Workers...:...... ................ 223 Biola Evangelistic Band Objectives —Frank A. Keller...................................... ...225 Passages That Perplex—K. L. B..........................226 Children’s Garden—Sophia S. Meader............... 227 International Lesson Commentary..:,!:....,............ 229 Prophetic Study—David L. Cooper................ 240 Studies in First John—T. C. Horton..... ..............241 Biola Table Chat—Albert E. Kelly....................... 243 -Radio K. T. B. I ................................................. „,242 Literature Table .................................... ................247 Daily Meditations—Wilfred M. Hopkins........... 254 ARTICLES
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POLICY AS D E F IN E D O F LOS A N G E LE S (a ) T o s ta n d fo r th e in fa llib le W o rd of God an d its g r e a t fu n d a m e n ta l tr u th s , (b ) T o s tr e n g th e n th e f a ith of a ll b e lie v e rs, (o) T o s tir y o u n g m en an d w om en to fit th e m se lv e s fo r a n d e n g a g e in d efin ite C h ristia n w o rk , (d ) T o m a k e th e B ib le I n s titu te o f L os A n g eles k n o w n , (e) T o m a g n ify God o u r F a th e r a n d th e p erso n , w o rk an d co m in g of o u r L o rd J e s u s C h ris t; a n d to te a c h th e tra n s fo rm in g p o w e r o f th e H o ly S p irit in o u r p re s e n t p ra c tic a l life, (f) T o em p h asize in s tro n g , c o n s tru c tiv e m e s sa g e s th e g r e a t fo u n d a tio n s of C h ristia n fa ith . >•- 536-558 S. Hope Street BIBLE INSTITUTE OF LOS ANGELES Los Angeles, California BY T H E BOARD OF D IR EC TO R S O F T H E B IB L E IN S T IT U T E
The Easter Life
ING aloud the glorious tidings— “Christ is risen today” ! Far and wide the echoes answer, “Death has lost its sway”. Sing till in the breeze the message Sweeps around the e a r th - a | Sing till clouds and hills and forests Ring with holy mirth. Christ is risen, death is conquered— Tell it far and wide; Sing aloud till all creation Knows the Crucified. Sing aloud the Easter message; Live the message, too! By His grace let Easter’s triumph Show itself in you. Let His power and wondrous glory Fill your heart today; Live an Easter life at Easter— Live an Easter life alway. —HOMERA HODGSON.
to finish what He has started because “He ever liveth" —death can never arrest Him. Man’s work can never be guaranteed as complete. His purposes are all broken off. Because Christ ever liveth there can be no question of His power to carry out what He has undertaken. Every Lord’s Day, therefore, should renew our joy in the fact that He is risen. ate ate The Resurrection Hope A PRECIOUS hope for the believer is that set forth in Phil. 3 :20, 21, which assures him that when the Lord jesus returns, the body of our humiliation will be changed and fashioned like unto His glorious body. This earthly body is but a frail tenement in which a spirit sojourns for a little time. It is the soon wearied companion of a spirit that is ever eager, hence the body returns to dust and the spirit to God who gave it (Eccl. 12:7). . , , In this body there are the.seeds of decay, pain, death. Itr is always limiting us in what we desire to do. It becomes so fatigued at times that it impedes spiritual development. The nature within if is prone to rebel against God. Let us not forget, however, that this very body, accord ing to Scripture teaching, is reserved for a higher destiny. Resurrection has to do with the body. The spirit never
“He Ever Liveth” Heb. 7:25 f UPPOSE the silence of the tomb in which the ^ crucified Lord was laid had never to this hour been broken—no angelic message, no meeting m with the glorified Christ, no Pentecost, no evi- W dence that His death was more availing for sin 1 than that of any other man! Suppose that we could make pilgrimages to the sacred tomb and look upon the mummified form in which so great a Spirit had lived! What tears 'of despair we might shed to think that this purest, noblest and mightiest of all souls had come to an end more terrible than any mortal ever experienced! Deeper than the darkness which settled over the crucifixion scene would be our spiritual darkness had the claim of Jesus to be the Lamb of God, the sin bearer, been met with utter silence from heaven. ,We little comprehend the depth of meaning in the words, “He is not here, He is risen Not only is it the Father’s acceptance of His sacrifice, and hence the basis of the believer’s justification—not only does it furnish pos itive assurance of life beyond—but it gives the child of God an Intercessor at the throne of God who guarantees the eternal security of all who have come unto God by Him. Have we rightly estimated the importance of the resurrection life of Christ ?
dies; it is not buried. In this decaying body there is s o m e surviving element, some indissoluble link that binds it to the coming res urrection day, no matter how far away that may be. As the beautiful plant springs from the rotted seed, so a glorious resurrec tion body shall rise out of these elements sown in cor ruption. If man’s art can produce so pure and white a fabric as paper from filthy rags, what can hinder God from giving His child a new body out of an old one? “In a moment ( “atamos” —a point of time so brief it cannot be cut) says Paul in 1 Cor. 15:52, this trans formation shall take place. A geologist of our acquaint ance has in his laboratory scores of human skeletons, yet there is not a bone that is not sealed for Christ at that coming day, provided they were joined to a saved spirit. Their passage from our friend’s laboratory will be as rapid as the twinkling of an eye.
It is possible to become lop-sided in relation to the cross. Saving faith rests not simply on the cross, but on Christ Himself, who ever lives to finish what He has started. The work of the cross, all sufficient and eternal as it was, is not ALL of His work. His presence at the throne, in view of the sacrifice He has made, brings down upon the believer the blessings which flow from that sac rifice. Do we stop to think that our salvation is not so secured by His death as to m a k e unnecessary H i s resurrection l i f e at t h e throne ? He died in our stead; He lives to he our life. Our salvation was not a thing completed at a given time. We are saved (if we have accepted Him) ; we are being saved; and even after His second com ing there must be a contin uous salvation which is His work. The glorious fact for us is that Christ can guarantee
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John Boys, in writing of that reunion of spirit and body, says: “What a sweet greeting that will be between spirit and body, the nearest acquaintances that ever were! ‘Blessed be thou,’ she will say, ‘for thou hast aided me to the glory I have enjoyed since I parted with thee; blessed art thou that sufferedst thyself to be mortified. In times past we walked together as friends in God’s house, for when I prayed inwardly thou didst attend my devotions with bowed knees and lifted up hands outwardly. We two have been fellow-laborers in the works of the Lord; we two have suffered together, and now we two shall reign together; I will enter again into thee, and so both of us
The Royal Likeness / \ S we celebrate again the resurrection of our Lord, ^ many will be thinking of that glad hour to come, when He' shall the second time appear and when all the sons of God shall be given bodies like unto His own, and shall see Him as He is (1 Jno. 3:2). A Danish missionary in India once engaged the help of a native teacher in translating the New Testament. When he came to 1 John 3 :2, the words ;’?W shall he like Him,” the native laid down his pen and said: “No, I cannot write those words. It’s too much, I ’ll put it—‘we shall kiss his feet’.”
together will enter into our Master’s joy where. we shall have pleasures at His right hand forevermore’.” The God of All Grace "The God of all grace . . . shall Himself perfect, establish, strength en you.” (1 Pet. 5:10 R. V ). Here, is a bit of work that God Himself is personally interested in. W HEN the head of a great business house or firm assures you that he is going to give his personal attention to something you want done by that firm, immediately you feel confident that the thing will be done and well done. This kind of interest carries with it the feeling that all of that great firm is back of the promise. Peter tells us that the God of all grace, (or literally, every grace) is giving His personal attention to the perfecting of the humblest saint. That means that He is in full command of infinite resources of grace and that every grace is back of what He undertakes to do. Not only is He giving the matter His per sonal attention, but He is put ting the infinite resources ;of His life back of that interest and purpose. The purpose re ferred to is the perfecting of the life; the bringing of it to a full expression of its nature and essential intent. The w o r d translated “perfect” has the idea of healing, and all healing is to the end that nature may
It is far too wonderful for us that we should even now be called the sons of God, yet we have in the same sentence the promise 'of a future more won derful and glorious than mortal imagination can picture. It is not too much for the love of God. Mr. Spurgeon, when once asked for a likeness of himself, replied: “If you’ll wait but a few years, I can show you a more glorious likeness.” In 2 Cbr. 3 :18 we are told that even now, as we behold in faith our risen Lord, we may be changed in to . the same image from one stage of glory to an other “even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” The royal likeness is sure to be recognizable in .those who live much with. Him now, but when we behold His unveiled glory, there w ill. be transformation complete—body, soul and spirit. No wonder we read in 2 Thess. 1:10 that w h e n He domes to be glorified in His saints, He will be admired in all who have believed. The H igh Level Life “Take heed lest by any means this liberty o f yours become a stumbling- block to them that are weak.” Ijgjr-i Cor. 8:9. T HE New Testament does not say: “Thou shalt not play cards, dance, smoke, chew or attend the movies,” It is
have her perfect way. In order to make this possible the life will have to be established, the restlessness and the fever must be taken out of it and it must be strengthened. The God of every grace is able to take away the fret and care and to supply the necessary strength. He not only has the interest and will, but also the resources by which to make possible the realization of His will. While we are suffering, let us never forget that God is giving His per sonal attention to our case and His ultimate purpose is the perfecting of the life for fuller expression and larger service. Whatever He permits or brings to pass is, in His judgment, necessary to the realization of the ideal.
impossible that we should have explicit guidance of Scrip ture in all the things. Undoubtedly some could honestly say that some of these things were not especially harmful to themselves. As Christians, however, we are face to face with some very plain precepts which are to guide our conduct in all matters. The fact that you are avowedly advanced in Christian knowledge makes your example the more dan gerous because more effective. There are weaker believers who feel that some of those things would be positively detrimental to their spiritual growth. Through your dis regard of influence upon .those not as strong as yourself
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A NOVEL MONUMENT HAS BEEN ERECTED AT BALTIMORE, DEDICATED TO TH E MEMORY “ OF ADAM, TH E FIRS5||M AN . JOH N R. BRADY WHO ERECTED IT, JOURNEYS EACH YEAR TO PLACE A WREATH UPON IT. ABOVE IS A PICTURE OF TH IS CURIOUS TRIBUTE. ON TH E RIGHT IS A CONTRAST— TH E EMPTY SEPULCHRE OF TH E SECOND ADAM. The Power of Silence
the “weak brother may perish, for whom Christ died” (v. 11). A single act of yours which leads such an one to. violate his conscientious scruples, may produce eternal consequences. Since Christ suffered so much that he might be saved, a true Christian ought to be able and glad to give up a few things for His sake. What father would not banish liquor from his table if his boy was in danger? What mother would not give up cards if it might make a gambler of her son ? What Sun day school teacher would not give up tobacco when the boys of his class plead his example as an excuse for smok ing cigarettes? What Christian woman would not dress modestly for the sake of her influence upon young girls? What friend would not forego the dance or theater if he knew it was presenting tefnptation to the mind of -his friend? This is the high-level life the Scripture exhorts Chris tians to live. It may seem to some a hard rule, but its practice will result in great good in the world and large reward for ourselves in the next world. It is more important that we should regard the Christian conscience of another than that we should magnify our own Chris tian liberty. Another’s scruple may seem trivial, but if we lead that one to disregard it, we tear up with it his feeling of the sanctity of conscience and reverence of the laws of God associated with it. Having violated the voice of God within him, the next step away from God is made easy. Shall I be bound down by the scruples and prejudices of weaker people? Paul, the great apostle and scholar, was willing to give up many things for the sake of his influence on weaker ones. He even went so far as to say: “If meat make my brother'to offend, I will eat no meat so long as the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend” (v. 13). : ¡.1
I T is better to shut up and seem dull,” said old Gordon ■Graham, in a letter to, his son, “than to open up and prove yourself a fool.” Some of .the world’s' most powerful men have been noted for silence. Somehow the world looks upon men who are not given to over-much talking as men who think, , who commune with their own souls. There are those who, could be called “men of few words,” but they keep those few in constant use, “Silenjx.Cal Coolidge,” Colonel House, “William the Silent” (great Dutch patriot), General Grant, General Lee, are good illustrations. We have known some preach ers who chatter idly and frivolously, seldom say anything serious, and often make most disgusting “breaks.” They may be enjoyed by some when they are looking for amuse ment, but they are not substantial, and they are not the people -to whom we go for sound advice in our difficulties. Shakespeare ridicules such ramblers in “The Merchant of Venice,” when he says: “Gratiano speaks an infinite deal of nothing, more than any man in all, Venice,” We need Christian workers who think much and talk less— men who speak wisely when they do speak—whose opin ions are worth knowing. Frederick H. Law gives sound advice when he says: “Resolutely practice the art of silence, so that when you speak you may say something.” ate Sub lim e Service "Christ hath abolished death, and hath brought light and immor tality to light through the Gospel: whereunto I am appointed a preacher” (2 Tim. 1:9, 10J. S UPPOSE there should be sent to you from heaven a commission to go from graveyard to graveyard, awak ening the dead. What an inspiring work, how sublime an
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the end of the journey. When such losses come, we are inclined to regard them as irreparable. Dr. McNeill told recently the story of a meeting of ministers in a country, district. A noble preacher of their number had died. One arose and said: “The sun of Methodism has set in these parts.” An old man in the back of the room shouted, “Glory to God, that’s a lie.” According to the funeral orations, how many irreparable losses there are, but let us not forget the words of Wesley: “The Lord takes away His workers, hut carries on their work.” As little as pos sible, let us speak of “irreparable losses.” Moses was a servant who could ill be spared. God took notice of his death, for “precious in His sight is the death of His saints.” But immediately He raised up Joshua to carry forward the work. God changes hands just to show that, whatever instruments He uses, He is not tied to any. We should hot miss his exhortation to Joshua after the departure of Moses. “Now, therefore, arise,” —let not mourning hinder sowing. Let not the withdrawing of use ful hands be the weakening of ours. The departure of men of God should make us feel that a greater degree of responsibility devolves upon us—to be up and doing. The tasks before us demand our full energy and activity. When God has work to be done, He will either find or make instruments fit to carry it on. Moses, his ser vant, may be dead, but Christ, the Lord, is alive. The per ishing of the perishable ought to teach us the abiding of that which is eternal. Dying men reveal a living God, whose purposes will be carried on to their consummation.
office—to stand by the graves and bid the dead come forth even as Jesus called for Lazarus! Has not God actually given to all Christian witnesses an even greater work? We can be instruments of carry ing divine life to those who are “dead in trespasses and sins.” We may challenge men with the words: “Awake, thou that sleepest, and Christ shall give thee light,” and as faith brings them into vital union with Him who brought life and immortality to light, they become the immediate possessors of eternal life, which carries with it the promise of immortality at Christ’s coming (1 Cor. 15:52, 53). Have you realized what a commission is yours ? How can any one keep in his possession such orders from Christ and remain silent to the unsaved ? F IVE valuable servants of God within a few months have gone to be with the Lord. These are Dr. David James Burrell, minister of the Marble Collegiate Church of New York; Chas. C. Cook, whose Bible writings are known throughout the world; George L. Alrich, whose helpful spiritual messages have been enjoyed in Bible Con ferences for many years; David Baron, the great Christian Hebrew scholar of England; Charles Spurgeon, son of the famous Spurgeon, and, like his father, a great Bible man. There are several others of the great champions of the faith, who, before many months or years must reach My Servant Is Dead Josh. 1 :2
D a i ly V a c a t io n B ib l e S c h o o l s Special Training Offered for Church Workers K ---H
This comprehensive course will begin;Monday even ing May 9th, and continue through the 26th. This course of three weeks will be taught two evenings a week and two sessions each evening by experienced teachers. Each •teacher, a' specialist in his or her line. Stress will be laid upon departmental work. This is the second year that the Institute has pro vided this splendid instruction. Last year 249 enrolled in this special course. The reports that came in from the actual work during the summer of some of those that enrolled were most gratifying. This is work that Christian young people are .enthusiastic over. It is a splendid opportunity for a young man or woman to invest some energy, love and time. The fruitage of this seedsowing of the Bible in the hearts of these boys and girls will be abundant. “If among the older people we may not be apt to teach ‘Feed my lambs,’ said Christ the Shepherd, place the food within their reach: And it may be that the children you have led with trembling hand; Will be found among your j ewels, when you’ve reached the Promised Land.”
' J ’HE demand for trained leaders and teachers in this branch of Christian instruction has over, balanced the supply. This demand has steadily increased in pro portion to the growth of the movement. For twenty years the Daily vacation Bible School has been blowing its horn and thousands of children have followed its clarion call. It .is not considered any longer an experi ment. It is a very practical necessity. With thousands upon thousands of children, playing idly in our streets during the summer months, these Schools have turned their play to profit for both the children, the parents, and the community. The Vacation School uses the leisure time of the children to inculcate vital, moral and Christian princi ples. The children on the other hand thoroughly enjoy the program of Bible talks, music, story telling, hand craft, patriotic exercise and supervised play. The demand then is so great for leaders in this work that trained men and women are at a premium. Because of this demand from the churches, the Bible Institute has arranged for a special Training Institute for teachers and leaders in Daily Vacation Bible and Church Schools in the Evening School department.
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winner. Though this is a commercial age—and perhaps, because it is—Ahere never has been a time when people so hungered for spiritual light.” . * * * * He was called a fool, and was laughed at by his friends. For ten years he was practically penniless. But always Charles Goodyear said: “If it is to be done, it must be done, and it will be done.” The result was a product which has revolutionized more than half of the world’s industry. Would to God the Church had more men who would make a similar resolve in rela tion to the work of Christ. * * H= Dr. Helfenstein declared recently that “the biggest business: of the Church is to keep the children from wandering away from God, to be lost on the ‘low way’ of sin. The Church should show great interest in bringing the wanderer back to God; but its major emphasis should be with the children, in seeking to keep them within the fold 6f God’s love.” That seems a commonplace statement, yet how difficult it is to get people to act along these lines. Rich dividends await the church that gives proper consideration to the children. Ruskin was right when he declared, “What a child cannot understand of Christianity, no one need try to understand.” •;$ 3(C 3|C 9^ S(C “How many people know that a Presbyterian Missionary is responsible for one of California’s great industries?” asks a writer in the bulletin of the central Brazil Mission. Bahia, Brazil, is the native home of the finest oranges in the world; it is the place of origin of the seedless orange. In 1870 the Rev. F. C. Schneider, the first Presbyterian missionary to Bahia, secured, and' ¿sent to California slips of the seedless orange. The “Mother Orange Tree” is still to be seen on the grounds of the Mission Inn in Riverside. Many communities of bur fair state owe much of their prosperity to the far-sightedness of this Presbyterian missionary. ♦ 3jc sfs * Subversive societies and organizations actively working for the destruction of Christianity,. civilization and government in America, number several hundred—there are now listed 275. Devoted to the interests of these various cults of destruction are 1500 publications, which include daily and weekly papers printed in many languages, with large circulations. Of these the “Daily Worker” (Communist), Chicago, printed in English, is the largest. Of the Weeklies the “Young Worker” (Commun ist), printed in English is the largest. In addition to these out-and-out communistic and socialistic publications, various subversive organizations maintain an active propaganda service which reaches out into the ordinary news paper, magazines, college and school publications and church periodicals. The accomplishments of this service are all but incredible, so insidious is the method of approach. ( “What’s What”) 3* s|e * The Literary Digest points out that 1926 was the year of disasters. There was no single overwhelming catastrophe like the Russian famine or the Japanese earthquake. Yet in its whole history the Red Cross was never called upon in a single twelve months to relieve the victims of so many misfortunes. As the Springfield Republican recalls, “in two months, it had to deal
“None of us is perfect, For even those,” said Grimes, “Upon the straight and narrow way. Detour, alas, sometimes.” ♦ * * * “A learned blockhead is a greater blockhead than an ignorant one,” says the “American Patriot.” * * * * One kind of an automobile thief is the man who steals the hour of the church service to go riding in his car. * * * * The United States now has about 240,000 places of religious worship in charge of over 215,000 clergymen. 5ft Sjt * * The Los Angeles Times made this editorial statement: “The, clergy may do as it pleases, but it takes a lot of nerve to abolish hell in times like these.” 3ft s|e sfe * We have been told that one uses sixty-two muscles of the face when he frowns and thirteen when he smiles. Some people are wasting a lot of energy. 5f« 3ft * * The largest sum of money ever left to a single church was recently bequeathed to the Chicago Congregational Extension Society. The amount was $11,000,000. Hi * * 3fe It would be well if more modern fathers wrote to their sons at college as did this one. His son wrote: “No mon, no fun, your son.” The father answered: “How sad, too bad, your dad.” s|e sfc sfs sfc The Rev. D. D. Forsyth, corresponding secretary of the M. E Church, deplores the fact that one-half of the 150,000 Protestant churches in the rural districts are closed on Sunday because of the dearth of ministers. s|e sfe * * “It remains irrefutably true,” says the Biblical Review, “that the best apologetic for Christianity is a Christian. A life that exemplifies Jesus Christ, our divine Saviour and Lord, is more effective with men than the finest theological argument.” * * * * “No matter how many damp places you went to last week,” says “The Methodist,” “if you took cold at all be sure to say you took cold in the church. And then see how many other people also always get their colds in church. Is there nothing significant about such ridiculous excuses being so general?” sfs * * a|e “Absence of children from church congregations is sympto matic of a dying church,” Justice Thomas Crain told the New York Federation of Churches. Dr. S. G. Hefelbower of Carthage College finds 8,000,000 American children growing up in' fipn- ehurch homes. “Spiritual illiteracy is a fact,” he says ,“and the church cannot deny a large share of the responsibility.” sfc a|e * sj: Harold Bell Wright, seven of whose books have aggregated sales of over eight million copies, told a newspaper reporter: “What Americans want and need now is spirituality.' The pub lic wants wholesome literature. The author who writes to sat isfy a soul hunger, or ’a personal or public need, is the financial
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Various magazines’have analyzed the statistic's gathered by the newspapers in their questionnaires concerning religion in the United States“,. If it has shown anything, it is that there are more orthodox believers than many have thought. Out of 125,- 000 replies; 85 per cent, regard the Biblé as divinely inspired. There is a direct challenge to the Church in the discovery that a large number- who belieye in God and the Bible are not church members. One writer says: “It is a striking fact that while the percentage in favor of religion in general is so strong—much above that indicating church membership—appar ently the churches have not capitalized on this inter- . est. It proves that in our great cities there is a large opportunity for the Church to demonstrate its value, even to those who are committed to religion and who, naturally, should be sympathetic toward the doctrines for which the Church stands.” There is no surprise, as the Albany News puts it, that, “the old faith stands. There are skeptics, there always have been and always will be, but there > is not- so much skepticism ás some have made it appear.” Ms D ilapidated House W HEN John Quincy Adams was eighty yearg old he met in the streets of Boston, an old friend, who shook his trembling hand and said, “Good morning. And how is John Quincy Adams today?” “Thank you,” was the ex-president’s answer, “John Quincy Adams himself is quite well, s ir; .quite well I thank you. But the house in which he lives at "present is becoming dilapidated. It is tottering upon its founda tion. Time and seasons have nearly destroyed it. Its roof is pretty well worn out. Its walls are shattered, and it trembles with every wind. The old tenement is, becoming almost uninhabitable, and I think John Quincy Adams will have to move out soon; but he himself is quite well, sir; quite well.” . With that the venerable sixth President of the United States moved on with the aid of his staff. It was not long afterward that he had his second and fatal stroke of paralysis in the Capitol at Washington. “This is the last of earth,” he said, “I am content.” Thus history bears record of many who faced and met this dreadful’foe and enemy-—death, but have met it undis turbed," Such was made possible, because they put their trust in Him, who conquered death, hell and the gravé, and is alive evermore. Rev. 1 :18. The Thorn Crown AN ancient legend tells;how a monk in days long gone i l b y found the crown of thorns which had encircled the Saviour’s brow. He laid it on the altar in the chapel on Good Friday, and he and his flock looked with reverent awe on the dreadful relie, so rugged, so cruel, with its awful stains of blood. Very early on Easter morning, the monk came to the church to remove the thdrn-crown, which would be so strangely Out of. harmony with the bright thoughts of Easter Day. When lie opened the door he found the chapel filled with st wondrous perfume. The early sunlight, shining through the eastern window, fell upon tjie alfar. There the monk s,aw the crown of thorns stjjl living, but it had burst into roses of rarest love^, liness and sweetest fragrance. What a fragrant, radiant truth should' the resurrection of the Saviour be to every Christian!
Easter T HERE is no evidence that Easter was kept by the apostles or the first Christians as a resurrection festival. Even the early church fathers are silent about it. The apostles were so intent upon elevating all life to resurrection levels that they gave no thought to special feast- days for Christians. Even Chrysostom held this point of view. “The whole of time is a festival unto Christians,” he writes, in commenting on 1 Cor. 5 :7, “because of the excellency of the good things which have been given.” Bede tells us that the word Easter comes from Eost're, the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring, and the word was adopted by the church, and given a Chris tian significance, just as the names of the days of the week, originally the names of' pagan gods, were adopted while their an cient meanings were dropped. The church was faced with the fact of the pagan fes tival of spring. Following its policy, it adopted the festival and the name of it, but filled it with a Christian content. Easter became the festival of the resur rection. English is the only language in which this term appears. In other European lan guages the Faster festival is called by a word derived from the Hebrew passover, which, of course, falls at the same time as Easter. In Italian it is Pasqua; in Spanish, Pascua; in Danish, Paaske; in Dutch, Paasch; in Welsh, Pasg. All come from the Greek pascha.
with the Illinois River flood, the Kansas flood, the Iowa flood, two great fires in Alaska, floods in Oklahoma, a tornado in Ohio, the Florida hurricane, the Cuban hurricane; a flood in Mexico, and hurricanes in the West Indies.” To these might be added mine disasters that snuffed out 148 lives, and the explosion at Lake Denmark, New Jersey, last Jfily, which killed 21 men and destroyed $10,000,000 worth of property. * * * * “No present fact is more significant than the reaction in many nations against democracy and in faVor of one-man power.” This is the summing-up of a distinguished American, Mr, James Beck, a former Solicitor General of the United States, addressing the National Republican Club of America, “It matters not,” he said, “whether the one man be called a czar, ail emperor, a king, or a di'ctatof—the essential fact is his power. Today half of the oldest nations of Europe are in the grasp of dictators.” Sir Sidney Low said: “This year 1926 opened with a broad belt of dictatorships, extending from the Atlantic seaboard to Central Asia. Mussolini stated the game; his success has inspired imitators and adapters all over the Mediterranean and Near East area. So now we have constitutionalism suspended, or heavify fettered, in Spain, Italy, Greece, Bulgaria, Hungary, Turkey, and Persia.”
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Resurrection and Modern Theories B y t h e E ditor - in -C h ie f
The analogies are wholly inadequate to explain the facts; The resurrection story was created and cir culated in Jerusalem, while those who put Christ to death were still living there and vitally interested in what hap pened. This theory also has to reckon with an empty tomb and'a transformed life. These phases are wholly lacking in the myths of comparative religion. III. T h e S pir itua l S ig n ifica n c e T heory This says, “Faith has by no means to do with knowl edge of form in which Jesus lives, but only with the con viction that He is the' living Lord.” “What Paul and the disciples regarded as ail important was not the state in which the grave was found, but -Christ’s appearances.” Thè Easter faith was that Christ actually survived the crisis of death and lives a deathless life. This theory is one of the most*; subtle set forth today, but is by no means free from difficulties. (à) In the final analysis this is nothing more than a belief in immortality and that cfertainly was not a new belief in the day of Peter and Paul. Then why should the conviction that Jesus lives beyond death lead them to accept Him as the Son of God with power to change their thinking and. lifefl The New Testament story is that the men of that day; actually believed that they met Jesus Christ; in a sense;, in which they never met anyone else who had died. They experienced Him in a sense in which they had experienced' none of their departed loved ones. Saul of Tarsus, for example, had no doubt that Jesus, who was crucified as a malefactor, survived the crisis of death. That simple fact meant nothing to him. The thing that he resented was the idea that this Jesus was actually raised from the dead, and when, on the way to Damascus, he met Him and became convinced that He was actually alive in a new and a different way, he believed on Him as the Son of God and this faith made him a new man. So real,,was this thing that the,Apostle says without it wè are of all men most miserable. The: story of the resurrection is the story-of the action of God as master in the realms of life and death and it remains forever the guarantee of the. final victory of righteousness and.the triumph of love.
EN have tried to get rid of the supernatural in the resurrection story of the New Testa- mènt ever since the day the Pharisees .paid soldiers money in order to lie about it. Men in our day try to get rid of it in ways which are in keeping with the thinking of the day.
Let us look at three of the ways in which mén of our day endeavor, with a show of reasonableness, to read the story apart from the supernatural. I. T h e P sychological W ay This has two approaches : (a)-5That 'which 'is empha sized from the psychical research point of view. It is said that it is now established that we can communicate with those who have gone before. In this, way Jesus communjA cated with the disciples and they called the experience a resurrection. This theory encounters at least two serious difficulties : First, it is not established as a fact that we can com municate with the dead. Second, communication with the dead in the sense which Dr. Oliver Lodge and others claim does not empty the graves of the people they talk with. (b) The second approach of the psychological theory is that it is now recognized that it is a common psycholog ical experience for men to project certain ideas from their subconscious life and objectify them in such a way as to make them think that they are really experiencing an ob jective reality. The thing that happened to the disciples was that while they could not possibly give up the idea that Jesus was the Messiah, the lurking thought of His resur rection buried in the subconscious life 'came to the surface and was projected in such a way that they honestly thought that they actually saw Him. This has several insuperable difficulties :■ : (1 ) Thé trouble with the disciples was that they did not have this idea in their subconscious life-^-far from it. This is why it was almost impossible for Christ Jo con vince them that He was actually alive. (2) It is not usual for five hundred people to project- the same kind of an idea at the same time. This is a fact in spfte of all that may be said regarding the won ders of mob psychology. (3) Even if the psychological conditions were favor able for such an experience, it certainly could not get rid of the tomb that held- the body of the One that they believed to be raised from the dead. II. T h e C omparative R elig ion T heory This theory calls attention to the fact that" other religions have, stories of gods who died and rose again, hind the New Testament writers got their idea of a resurrection from them. This also is embarrassed by several.serious difficulties : (a) The assumption that the New Testament stoty was influenced by oriental conceptions concerning a dying and rising Messiah is simply not justified by history. This has been settled in a very able way by Dr. Kennedy of Edinburgh in his treatment o>f this subject.
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Legal Form of Bequest
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OnllarSi and I direct the release of the President of the Board of Directors of said Bible Institute 1 of Los Angeles shall be a sufficient discharge SKt s® to my executors in the premises. m MW TSeall yVi*
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