---

THE

WORD AND WORK A MONTHLY MAGAZINE

SET TO DECLARE THE WHOLE COUN S EL OF GOD ~ , __ ......, ____________________ _,,, ____________ _,

R . H . Boll, Editor J . R. Clark, Publisher

S ing le subscription. $1.25 ; two subscrip tions, $2.25; Clubs of four or mor e, ~1.00 each; a free s ubscription with every ten names.

The Word nnd Work, 1046 Dudley Ave., Louisville 4, K y. ( Enle red at the Lo uisville, Ky., Post Ofli ce as second-class mat ter)

IN THIS ISSUE

Poem : My Lord nncl M y God : - - - - - - - 26 Words in Scnaon~R. 11. B.

Wl1en the Lord Walked Among i\ren - - - - - 26 The U npopu lar Chr ist - - - - - - - - - 26 The Poverty of J esm; - - - - - - - - 2G l l igh Standards - - - - - - - - - - 27 Chr ist Rej ec ted - - - - - - - - - - ~7 Compr omise - - - - - - - - - - - 28 1'heories of Christ's Coming - - - - - - 28

News and Notee - - - - - - - - - - - 2!l 0 f)cn Doors in Jn pnn - - - - - - - - - 32 Whole Co1111sol o f God- Howard Mnrsh - - - - - :!3 S ing with U ndcrst.anding-J ohn Kerna n - - - - 34 The Fruit- of the Spirit--Stnnford Cham bers - - - 36 The Xeed for Thinking Vigo1·ous ly - - - - - - 37 Anna Davis Bixler - - - - - - - - - - :rn Thought. Worth While-D. H. l". - - - - - - 40 Studies in Tsninh- R. H. B . - - - - - - - - 42 " Faith of Our Fnthers"- E . L . J . - - - - - - 45 But The re Is M1·s. Lot - - - - - - - - 48

VOL. XL!. FEBRUARY, 19 47 No. 2

L

1946 BOUND VOLUME Contains the twelve issues of Word and Work for 1946, and the four Quarterlies.. Fully indexed~

Attract ively bound in red d oth and stamped in gold.

A 1irni1ctl m1111bcr. Order yotU' ~opy today to insure delivery,

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The

Revised Standard version

of the

NEW TESTAMENT -- - - ---1

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B lu e C lotJ, . Black L catherel Board s

No. 853. L4!nthcr , bound l o e dge

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THE W ORD AND W ORK (Volume XLI, February, 1947)

MY LORD AND MY GOD Annie J ohnson Flint

I do not need to see Him in His glory To know that J esus Christ is Lord and King;

Though all the world disdain the wondrous story, My heart and soul their love and homage bring.

I see Him where the sick and sighing languish, J sup with Him in that blest upper room;

I view Him dying on the cross of anguish; I look within His open, empty tomb.

I watch the risen Lord of my salvation Reveal His wounded hands, His riven side;

And at His {eet in joyful acclamation 1 own my Lord and God, the crucified.

Then I behold Him, when His work is finished, In clouds of glory take His upward way;

And now 1 wai t, with faith still undiminished, Till He shaJ J conic again some happy day.

If I but keep my lamp all trimmed and burning, In CaitJ1£ul service, watching unto prayer,

I'll meet and greet Him at H is glad returning, And all His glory I shall see and share.

- From "Songs in the Night."

WORDS IN SEASON R f-1. B.

WHEN THE LORD WALKED AMONG MEN

· "Who tlrnt has he:ird the sweet story of old, how J esus walked .. mong men, has not Celt a wish that he might have been here tJ1cn, privileged to Sec H im in Person, 10 hear I l is voice, Lo look in His face - to mark His wonclerl11l w:i ys, to witness His marvellous work.s - and be permitted to be i11 His nearness and companionship. ·we cannot be wrong in thinking that there must have been a compelling charm and graciousness :ibom JI is presence. We wou ld wish we could hav

frank, loving, earnei.t look in His eyes, a fight t)( goodness and hofi, ncss in His face. "Tlw word , .... ,s n1aclc llcsh," ~aid .John, "and

I have taken had I been there? Would it not be a heart-breaking question and decision ? HIGH STANDARDS

But that is not ;~II yet. There was His leaching- the stern, uncompromising standard of Divine truth and righteousn ess, so .high an.d strict. which H e set up; L11e \\'arnings of e ternal retribution, such :.~had never falle11 fro111 th e lips of man; a nd Lhose requirements-that He must be loved above father and mother, wile or children, an d above life itself - so that H is own disciples, in ast0nishmenc and dism:iy. ·asked, "1Vho then can be saved?" And most awful o( all - the claims tha t H e made for I l irnself - claim5 which to th e car of the Jew rang like blasphemy - Lhat H e was the Bread o f life, that H e wa the Light of the world, that H e was the Good Shepherd , that H e wa the R esurrection a11cl the l.i fe: and Il e was the Way, the Tru th and the Lil e, and that no 111an cou ld come to Cod save through Him a lone; a nd that Cod was I £is own Father, making HimseU equal with God. t HRIST REJECTED

So they turned II isn down - His good ness. His Ion'. His mighly work\ notwilhstanding. The mone)"·Seeken, a nd money-lover~ corned Him for his povcrt} nnd scoffed at His d emands of self-re111m ·

ciation. The libcnin~ a nd r.ensua lists and pleasure-seekers h a ted Him for I fo insisten ce on truth and purity. The seekers ror honor-among-mcn ga\'c Him a wide lwrth. ..I low n111 ye believe" ( the Lord J esui. had sa id to them) ''\d10 seek glory one rrom a no ther, a nd the glory wh ich come th Erom t.he only God ye seek not?" The proud would have nothing to do with Hirn ; 1he worldly-wise a nd the policy peopk wa heel their hands of I. l iui; those wh() were afraid o f the face of man , whose Oll C great desire was to kee p OUl of trouble, Steered clear of Him. And the great thoughtless multilllde. like dumb driven cattle, h i ind fo llowers of the Iii ind, wen L al tcr their lead 1:r11. LL was no t !itrangc therefore that th e people of that clay rejected th e Son of God. l s it not easier to accept Hi m t0day? In some ways, yes. But i t is never quite easy. ;\Ian) arc ccking to popularize J c us today; but the real jl·sus is ne\'cr popular. T oda) as alwa):. it i ~ true that

Om Lord b now rejected and by the world disowned, B)' the rnany still 11egleCled and by the few enthroned.

The world hatecl Ili111 then: il loves Him no beuer now. The things tha1 det erred men fro m IJdi

COMPROMISE

The saddest mistake a good man can make is to follow the allurements of C\•il under the impression that he will be able to straighten it .alt ou,t and !ose nothing by it in the end; thinking h e can follow has CflrnaJ desire and yet not surrender his highest aims and hopes. At the parting of the ways he stands, not quite willing to deny the sweet enticements of the flesh or the world, not at all willing to give up God and his own high ide:lls and plans. Then very softly the tempter suggests. "Take both." So, glad o( this solu-tion, he takes the wrong road, bu t wi t11 his eye fixed on the goal of the right and his face yet tt1rned toward the light. Ah, but you cannot have both . In choosing t11c one you surely renou nce the other. Do you think, deluded one, that you can ever repent and return and be reinstated without having lost something irrevocably and permanently? L ittle do you know the awfu l forces with which you have trifled. and bittcr experience will teach you what before you had not rea lized. Yes, Cod is merciful: he meets the prodigal afar off and presses him to a Fa ther's heart, and forgives, and puts. new robes 0 11 him. Yet 1he wayward son has lost something irre~ parably - his years, his strength, his sq uandered portion of the Fath-er's substance: and his higher nature has been sadly t11warted. He has gained nothing; he has lost much; and if now he is safe ly back in the Father's home and love, it is because o( God's ex-ceeding grace. And not every wanderer gels even such a chance to come back: be iL for one cause 01· nnorhcr, because of outward h in-drance, or inward disinclination, many a prodigal son perishes ·a-mong the pigsties in the far country. My brotl1er, i[ you have made that awfu l mista ke, return to Cod today. T h ere will never be a bet-ter time. And if you come, there is no telling what great things. God will do for you today which he could not do tomorrow.

• • • THEORIES OF CHRIST'S COMING

As for a connected tl1eory o( the things perta mmg to the com-ing. I may have one, hut J place no weight on it; and I will not quarrel with my brother for having a different idea of the sequence of events. \Vhat we wa11t is the gre:i t trurh, and tl1e tru rhs con-n ected with it; and the pr:1ctica l lesson of rhe doctrine is what we need. But any theory which would do violence to the word, or, especiall y. fru$tr:ne the practical end Cod had in view, ought to be abolished. Jf there i'\ one i;uch aim in this doctrine, it is to put us on guard to be constantly rc:1dy, constant ly waiting, watching, since we know not the day nor the hour - at a time when even we think not t11e Lord cometh. I would thank no man to rob me o{ that with h is subtle and ingenious tl1cories. l would thank no man for putting the coming to the other side or a 111illennium, so that in any case one thousand years must intervene before the Lord comes. For this takes t11e point out of the doctrine. Who could wait for a thing so far off as t11at? W ho would prepare and look daily (or such a distant event?

28

r

NEWS AND NO'"fES Clubbera Como Tbrourb

We have just checked on our sub-scription receipts for 1947 thus far and find that forty-two have sent in· clubs ranging from fou1· to 130 numcs. One has g iven in 93 ; others have been marked up with 46, 41, 35, 20, 19 and on down to four. Our total, counting singles, shows 774 names on February 4, with a gonl of 1000 names by February 16 in view. We plan to publish names of dubbers in tho March issue. Send in 10 names for $10 und add vour name free. Or make it four or more at $1 each j two for $2.26. We take this means of again thanking one and a ll fo1· having n s hare in our 1947 subscripti'on cam-paisrn, and we hope this is only a beginning.

New Quarterly Arranrement Heretofore we have given the

Quarterly with a single subscription to the Word and Work. In view of rising prices our office finds itself contmually in the reel: even now when our ri:ceipts ure uL Lhc pcuk of the year. We continue the 10¢ per single copy price, with an an-nual subscription rate of 40¢. 'rhose wishing the Quarterly with Word a nd Work may have n combination s ubscription a t $1.50. All current s ubscriptions will be honored until they expire.

Ontario, Canada: "We appreci-ate many splendld fcattll·es pub-lished in the Word and Work. May the Lord continue to use you might-ily. " - H. L. Richardson.

Dugger, Ind.: "Best wishes for all who have a part in sending us the Word and Work. May 1947 be the best year ever for you.

"There were not 110 muny pl'CS• cnt nt our New Year's Eve watch mooting, but the spirit was fine. Brother Waldo Hom· o! Linton brought the message at the first part of the service. His subject bnsad on the text, 'Whon the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?' was very timely. Help!ul talks were made by the brethren in the after scrvice."-1\faurice Clymore.

Fnr.ruington, Mich.; "We had the 29

largest attendance at all the serv-ices at West Point Church yesterday that we have had for a long time, and were thereby much encouraged. P lease continue to pray for our suc-cess. W c have a wonderful little gl'oup of Christians and a ll are working."--J. Scott Greer.

Parkland Church Growtn~ Louisville, Ky.: "Praise God for

the good results of last year! In all nearly sixty soul! responded to the invitation calI in one way or an-other. or these nearly hnlf came for baptism and membership and the rest for rededication. We p11id $700 on the new addition to our building. We also gave to missionaries, to the Children's Homo at Sellersburg, to the building fund of our Christian school program, to the radio pro-g1·am, to the American Bible Soci-ety for war-torn countries, and for many benevolences. During the month of Jnnunry there have been nine responses, four for baptism, three for membership, and two for reconsecration."-J. L. Addams.

New Albany, Ind.: "We arc hap-py in our work with the Cherry Street Church in New Albany. Brother Bruce Chowning is a great help as song leader and as worker with the young people. There is a steady increase in attendance at all services.

"Seven have been added during January, six by membership and one by restoration. The spirit of love and pence prevails, also a desire to do tho will of the Lord."-E. E. Kranz.

A W ord lo Younr People Your services in the church is an

important matter, both to yourself und lo 0U1crs. No one can do YOUR wol'k for YOU 1 Filling your place earnestly and willingly Jn whatever work you may be capacitatecl to do will enable you to fill greater places. Use every opportunity ofl'ercd you for increase oC Bible Knowledge, such as in the morning Bible School, and the evening Bible Class; also such opportuniti~s as may be offered for developing yourselves for more active work in the Lord's vineyard.

-W. Ji. Allen in The Bible Way.

T;lc Shawnee Church of LouisvilTe is doing well under the ministry of Bro. Willis H. Allen. Attendance hus increased at ull services; they hnvc recently revised tl\oir budget to do extra mission work. Besides to include regular giving to the Children's B orne at Sellersburg and their regular sci vices they carry on 11 Wednesday morning ladies' Bible cla!ls and they havr just start.eel a young people's meeting. They pub-lish a weekly bulletin called "The Bible Way."

A mile, La.: "The new year hns brought. renewed zeal and activity Among the churches here. In-creased personal work is bearing fruit. We arc happy t o have some bnck with us who hod been among the roved (;Ondition permits an in-C>"cnse of labor over that of a year 11go. Besides there is a generous in-~ rcn11e of 'help from members of the l"Ongregations.

"On the 17th day o! January I went to New Orleans with a man rrom Amite and baptized him at the S1Jventh and Cilmp s treets church, Bros. Mullins and Forcade render-ing assistance. This man has been ill for several months, it was not sa fe to get him to open water (we tlo not have a local buptistry). 11 hnd gained some strength and de-si: ed to obey his Lord in baptism before entering a hospital for fur-lhl'r probable surgery.

"A cottection: in the December iRsue of Worcl ancl Work I imid : 'Eight members of n locnl Catholic fum ily had been baptized into Ch1·ist over a period of t.wenty years, and Uwt Brother Chambers had bap· th1ed the older girl of the group.' Nine members of the family hnve been baptized, and Bro. Chambers baptized the two older girls.

"On the Second Sunday night or January Brother Merton Amlrus

work to put the poem, or a short scripture selection on the cover,. and the contents, rates, address, in-side for a while?

"The church nt this place has had much sickness this winter, affecting-our attendance. Conditions in Abi-lene, permitted by God for our blessing and chastening, we ru-e sure, tend to prevent our showing much increase in numbers, but we have sweet fellowship and are confi-dent of His presence and our ulti-mate victory in Him, in spite of our-weakness and unworthiness. At our New Year's Prnyer gnthering, Dec. 31st, a man and his wife yielded their lives to Chr ist, and last Sun-day a sister confessed backsliding nnd entered into Uw work with thi~ group. So, 'Met·cy drops round u !\ are falling, but !or the showers we plead.' Since coming to Abilene. the Lord hns done much for Uf: through the love nnd generosity of the saints here. We lhnnk Him for them and strive to walk worthily.

"Bernard Wright was with us four days, beginning Jan. 5th. He preached six times, Spirit filled mes-snges, heartsoarching and encour-aging. Mny Goel bless and usto his ministry. The brethren ha\·e-invited Ft·ank Mullins to preach two-weeks beginning the 1st of Anril , and Robert Bovd lnte in the sum· mer.''-James Hardison.

Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.: "Our great drawback here seems to be the lack of a i1uitable pince in which to meet. But t hanks bc t,o God, we have a nice lot in a good location, and it is paid for; also we huve around $400 toward ou r building. With God's heln we expecl to. nt least, as thr saving is, 'hull- in' our house this veu. The climate here is such that ~\"armth is no consideration in build-ing a house. Our house when com-pleted is expected to cost around $10,000 but we expect to begin us-ing it before it is completed.''-Bra-dy M. Green.

-----.rrenehed- at:-A-mitc, reliev-ing me to mect somc people In 11 private home 11ome fifteen miles away to dis-cu11s religion with n Catholic seek- A Word from Our Office Man inl? Bible informntion. The ~oup I t occurs to me that young peo-hncl tnweled sixtv miles to meet me pie should hnvc n pince in the Word that night.''-A. K. Ramsey. and Work, perhaps to the extent or

Abilene, Tex.: "Word and Work a few pages devoted to inspirational i11 even improving, we think! We articles, study lessons for youth. 1·omomber to prny for you and nil news of activities of young people's eng11ged in this good work. Could groups in tho vnrlous congregations, the cover be revised - would it rind itev1s of lnlarust concerning in,

SQ

dividual boys and girls. For example, the boys and girls

at the Seminole Avenue congl'ega-tion, Atlanta, Gu., have been devot-ing a portion of their Sunday even-ing meetings to song practice. They not only learn to render "psalms and hymns and spiritual songs" in a more pleasing munner, but to better appreciate the place of music lil worship.

This gToup is a lso active in carry-ing the principles of Christian fel-lowship into its social life. After the regulnr Sunday evening service they often go to some member's home for light refreshments and social fellowship. Once a month they gather fo r an evening of wholesome recreation. These young people have discovered that it is not necessary to resort to places of worldly amusements for their enter-tainment.

Now how about other congrega-t ions sending in reports?--John Kernan.

N. B. Wright Tour Brother N. B. Wright. is now on a

speaking tour t.hroul?h the Kentucky B luegrass region. His tentative scheaule is as follows: from F ebru-ary 2-4, Salem Church near Cynthi-ana, Ky.; 5-7, Antioch near Frank-fort, Ky.; 9-11, Melrose and Cra-mer churches at Lexington; 12-14, Main St. Church at Winchester; 16-18, Mackville, Ky. Chu rch; 19-21, Parksville; 23-2 5, Bohon; 26-28, Ebenezer. All of thes·" dates are in February allowing about three nights for each church, in-d uding one illustrated lecture. Brother Wright has just recently returned from 11 six years' ministry in Chinn and has a heart-g1·ipping message.

Boll's Winter Schedule Brothe1· Boll is i'n the final half

of a busy winter schedule, which is proving a blessing to many. In ad-dition to his regular sermons on Sunday he conducts Bible classes a t the Po1·tland Church Monday, Tues-day, and W cdnesdny afternoons from 3 :15 to 11 :30 ; n Highland Li-brary class Thursday mornings at 10; a Friday night Bible class at Portland; and, usually, he is the sneaker over WGRC Sunday morn· lngs at 7 :45.

School Building Fund The Christian S ·~hool Bu i lclin~

Bl

li'und has grown to l:>Omething ove1 $26,000, most of this being cash. Interested ones are hoping and pra, -ing that the Lord will enable us to make a start in the actual Junio1· College work next fall, either through the purchase of a 1>e1'tna-nent si te or temporary quarters. Such a school is much needed in the Louisville area and should result fo great a nd widespread blessing. 1\Iost people think a ze1·0 amoun ts to nothing. Who will add a zero tu the $25,000 al ready gathered in?

BOOK NEWS BEFORE THE PRICE GOES UP

Notea on the Pentateuch, C. 1\1 . .Mc-Intosh, 6 volumes - $6.96.

You Can Do Personal Work, Otis Gatewood - $1.50. New edition of this work is priced

at $2.00. The One Volume Bible Commen-

tary, Dummelow - $3.00. Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of

the Bible - $7.50. The New Testament in the Original Greek, Westcott and Hort- $2.75. Webster's Collegiate Dictionary -

$5.00. For The Christian Reader

Bound Volume Word and Work, 1!142 at $1.50.

How Would Jeaua Teach?, David R. Piper, $1.00. .

Paul, Hia Life and Hia Teaching, C. C. 'Paylor - 50¢

Therefore Stand, Wilbur M. Smith : "A plea for a vigorous apologet':c in this critica l hour of Ch ristian faith.'' - $3.00.

A Virtuous Woman, Oscar Lowry: "Sex life in relation to the Chri

0

s· tian life." - $1.25.

Synthetic Bible Studies, J ames M. Gray: "Containing an outline study of every book of the Bible, with suggestions for sermons, ad-dresses, anrl Bible expositions.''

- $2.50. Good for the Children

If your child likes picture book:;, he' ll like these: Bible Picture ABC Book , Els ie Eg·

ermeicr, - $1.25. Life of Christ Visualized, 075 pic-

tures in full colors, 3 vols. $ L.00 per set.

L:fe of J oseph Visualized, - 35c. Miaaion : Rescue! LaVerne Mor~e ,

"Advcnturin•t for ChriRt from Tibet to Burma,"·- 35¢.

OPEN DOORS IN JAPAN (Gleaned from 0. D. Bix.ler's letters direct from .lapnn. )

SUMMARY OF' THE PRESENT SITUATION i. All the formet· brethren, almost without the loss of O!ile, are

eager to take up where we left olT. Their former experiences arc in-valuable now. Every village in our prefectu re is clamoring for Bible classes {even to priests).

2. During t11c war t11e small Unit Hospital was begun in Shioda Mura, Ibaraki - an ideal location fo r enlargement to sanitarium pro-portions.

3. National leaders are volunteering assistance in establishing an educational u nit a t lbara'ki - such men as the Speaker of the House, Mr. Yam

WHOLE COUNSEL OF GOD Howard T. Marsh

A preacher can no longer be called a preacher when he ceases to teach and preach the word of God. Neither is the term, "Church of Christ" fitting for the congregation which does not accept all of God's Word as final authority. We all know that the Bible is true and it should be our guide in all matters. H any one part of God's Word is good, then it is all good. If we believe one pan of it we must believe all of it. There arc some critics who desire to cut ou t cenain part~ of the Word of God and cast it aside, saying that it is of no benefit to us. I feel that they know not what they say. 1£ part of it should be thrown away then you had just as well throw all of it over-board. If one has a right to cut out part of it, then some one else wou ld have the same right to cut out some other part. Of what value would it be to us then? 1 am sure that I would be exposing myself to the wrath o f God if I were to treat His word with such irreverence. "Every scripture is inspired of God, and profitable for teach ing, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in r ighteousness; that the man of God may be complete, furnished completely unto every good work." !? Tim. 3: 16, 17.

To believe, accept, put into practice, 1each and preach the whole counsel of God seems w be the best basis for unity. Yet there is division over th is very matter. If there is any group o( people on earth that should work together in harmony and peace, surely it is the members of the body or Christ. Had it ever occurred to you bow much we could accomplish for Lhc cause of Christ and how many more souls could be saved if we were united, rather than fighting and fussing all the time? Then why not take every part o{ God's \ !\ford and stand on just thnt. Everyone should be willing to do that. If we arc worshipping the same way, and all hope to spend eternity in the same place, it seems to me that we should begin to make some p reparation and live that way while we arc here in this life.

T o be sure, there arc certain parts of 1hc Bible tliat we like bet-ter, but that is no reason Lha t we do nor need other parts o( it. \ Vhilc reading your Bible, if you come lO a part that doesn't appeal to you or doesn't fit inlO you r scheme of Lhinking, it will be good to s top and study that pan a little more. It may be just what you need. If you pas.s it by as unimportant you may h:wc missed a blessed truth that God wanted you to have.

Let us press on in this rnanncr in the study o( the Word of God, and for greater s1rcngll1 let Ll1e minister, individ ua l member, and l11e congregation as a whole, believe, ~1cccpr. tea< 11 and dccl:u·e the • whole counsel of Cod.

\Vherdore I tcstiry unto you this day, 1hat 1 am pure from the blood of all men. For 1 shrank not [rom dedari11g unto you the whole counsel of God.-Acts 20:26, 27.

33

SJN,G. WITH UNDERSTANDING' John Kernan

" L et the word of Christ dwelt i11 you licl1ly1 as you teach and ad-monish one nnolher in all wisdom, and as you sing psalms and hymns. nnd spiritunt songs with tlumltfulness in your henrts to God." (Col. :r 16, from RSV.)

Thi~ quor:ition h:is been used so much in reg:irds Lo the instru-menrnl music con rro,·ersy th:ir T hesitate to use It now, but it does. present the theme of this article in its pr:ictical application, which l believe is cp1ite genera lly overlooked. Th is application is pre-~emed in Lhe first part of the second clause - teaching :ind admon-ishing. If I may be perm itted to combine the King J ames version with tile one used above. J can presen t my the is very well: "As you tench and admonish one :inother ... in psalms and hymns and' spiri twtl songs."

H ow 111a 11y of 11s regard singing as a means of 1.each ing cincl ad· monishing? How many of us regnrd it even as an act of worship, prcseming pra ise or supplica tion Lo God? H ow many of us put any significance into the ~ingin~ of church music? Not many, T fear. \Ve mouth the words while we thi nk o( myriads of unrelated t11ings. But singing is as much a pan of Lhe worship as is prayer and preach-ing.

Jn rhc fir~t cenwrics :ifrl'r Christ. :.i11ging was accorded an im· portant pf:i cc. Tn Plin y's lt• 11 cr to the Roman eu1pcror Trajan wc-read that Christians "111et on n stated clay before it was light," and sang "hymns LO Chrisl. as a god." \ i\Te rnn imagine that those Chris-1 ians. consecrated and ferven t :is 1\ 'C know rhcy were, ptH a great' deal of life anti mea ning into 1he ir songs.

Paul te lls the Ephesians to "be fill ed with the Spirit, addressing one ;mother in psalms and hymns and spiri111al songs. singing and making melody 10 rhc Lord wi1h all your heart." (Eph. 5:19 RSV.) Mere we have the pu rpose of singi ng - sing to rhc Lord. Do we sing to 1.hc Lord? Perhaps many of us do not even consider the Lord as. c;iring whether we sing o r 1101. What do we think about when we repea t. "My Jesus, I love thee, I know thou ;in mine"? I fear that's. just wha t we do - mcn:ly repeat. Rut there is meaning in Lhe words of our sac-eel sougs. and it is up to 11 to indicate that meaning in our singing. and 10 take no te of the significance for Olll' benefit.

Singi ng has nlw:lys been an accepted form or communing with G,,cl. We read in Exodus 1;,: 1 th:iL Moses :incl the children of l srnc? sang unto rite Lord, sayin'g, " 'I wi ll sing unLo the Lord, for He has tri'· umpf1ed gforiously." Then follows the beautiful song of rejoicing at the de tiveranre from the Egyptian army. We n1n y believe that the

• d1i ldren of Israe l s~ ng with the ir hearts. pouring out all of their joy to the I.ord. But do we feel the same when we sing, " I will sing of my R edeemer. and His wondrous love for me'"?

Paul decl:lred, "I will sing with the spirit , :rncl I will sing wil11 the 11ndcrslancling also." (1 Cor. t tj: 15.) Oh , thar all of us could sin· ccrely say lhe same. Our singing woulcl be v.a$tl y \n.ore heauti£ut

M

and precious than it is now; our service would mean vastly more to us. I wonder i( we understand the words o( the transcendently. beau-tifu l "Flee as a bird to the mountain, thou who art weary o{ sm; go to the clear flowing fountain, where you may wash and be clean." .

To go back to the first scripture quoted, we very seldom think of singing for muwal benefit ; yet one of ~l ~e g_rea.test. powers o{ music is to cheer or console or encourage. 1 he 111vttauon song is a good example of the type o( song tha t admonishes - "Hear the invitation; come whosoever will." To sing it properly requires that each one of us yearn with all our hearts that tile unsaved sinner come to Christ.

Singing is a definite part o f the worship program :rnd should be regarded as such. There arc many wa)S in which singing may be used in addition 10 the " two-~ongs·prayer·and-a-song" pattern. T o vary the usua l Sumlay night or 111 id-week .!>cn ·ite, a song·centercd pro-&•ram is very effect ivc. rherc a rc SC\·craJ types.

One sucl1 program is the song practice. Sollie congregations have a special period each week o r each month for song practice. Others include it as a part ol the young people\ service or the mid· week meeting. lL is ccn a inl )' no t time wasted LO learn how to sing better and to learn new song'S. l :he Lord doc:. no t t cquirc profes· sional singing, bill, just as in any .)Crvicc which we do for the Lord, we want to impro\·c; we wam LO endeavor to prc.)en t the best possible. To this end the song practice i.!> important.

A simple type ot a ll-song program 11iigln I.Jc Lcn11cu the "olu favorites," in which n1embcrs o l the congregation suggest songs. IC this becomes tri1 e. the person suggesting a song may be required to present two or tJ1rec .)Clllencc.) as to why he thinks the group should s ing tltat particula r song. O r he may be asked to present a p assage from the Bible which re lates LO the song.

Another t)' j)C of song servile i~ what I call the .. pra ise program." Scriptw·cs ol prai.)c to God arc read, interspcr.)cd with songs of praise. Psalms arc particularly good l'or this thc1ne.

A varintion is to mold the service around a central theme, pre-scming that theme in scripture and song. An Atlanta church had a VCI')' efTective Chr istmas progralll on 1hc li [c.; of Christ done in this manner. Firs t was presented a :.crip w rc concerning the birth of C hrist, then an appropriate song or two, then other scriptures with their songs on \·arious even ts of llis life. The subject matter for this type of progralll is limitless.

On the same order is the use o( songs inspired by scripture, and t he reading of the relcrnnt p assage. For example. Ps. 1 19:9: "Whcre-wiLhal shall a )'01111g- man c lc'amc hi. \\':t )'i' Hy taking heed there to according to t..lt y word... The so11g, of course, is "llow Sha ll the Young Secure the ir J fcar tS?" T h is presenta tion may be made more interesting if the members of th e congi·egation suggest the songs ana·.-- - ---J·ead or yuote the scripture.

. The cl111rd1es of Christ tlo a g reat deal of singing. lL is my o p1111011, however. that we ~ou 1 ~1 . deve lop o_u1: ~i 11!:?i 11~ in to an even more p o tcn1 mea ns of worship. l he rcspons1bd1ty 1s OJJ the congrega·

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tion to supply good leaders and wt:ll-planned programs, but even more on each incfividual to ~ng "with spirit and understanding."

THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT To bear or not Lo bear the frui t of the Spirit is with many but a

i:nauer of preference o n the part of the individual. If some one has zeal and the hem to go and bear fruit, it is all right, their actions say, but as for myscl(, on that matter I have no deep concern. It need not be stated that such persons arc unsatisfactory, disappointing fruit-bearers.

And yet the bearing of fruit, the fruit of the Spirit, is of grave import. "Every tree that bringeth not forth good frui t is hewn dowR, and cast into the fire," saicJ Joh n the Baptizer. The man in the par-able who plamed a fig tree in his vineyard came regularly for three years seeking fruit thereon. F inding none, he commancJed that tree to be cut down that the ground which cou ld th us be supporting a fruit-bearing tree, might not longer be encumbered. 'When our Lord came to the fig tree on the road to J erus:l lern and fou nd nothing but leaves, He pronounced the sen tence which ' vithered the tree. In the parable of the vine and the branches J esus stresses the importance of fruit-bearing. " Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; and so shall ye be my disriplcs." "l chose you and appointed you that ye should go and bear fruit, and t11at your fruit should abide." May these words of Holy \Vrit stir within every one an intense con-cern for fruit.

The Holy Spirit is given ror the sake or the fruit thus to be borne in our l ives. Every Christian is LO be "like n tree planted by the rivers ~f water, that bringeth forth its fruit in its season." Rut "wit11out me ye can do nothing." The secret of fruit-beadng is to walk by the Spirit, to live hy the Spirit. Our strength is "through his Spirit in the inner matt." ' "The Spirit helpeth our infirmities." He is the Comforter who abideth forever, and He bears the fruit of comfort. "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace. longsuffering, kinclness. goodness. faithhilness. meekness, self-control." "The love of God hath been shed ahro.1d in our hearts tluough the Holy Spirit which is given unto us."

Consider now whether it is a matter of concern whether one bear.; chc fruit of lo,re. Anivit ics there may be, re ligious activities, like ~peaking with longucs of men, even of angels, miracle work, prophesying. giving, much giving. to the poor, but none of these activities is worth anything unless motivated by love, the great fruit f the Spirit. But cxn rnine one by one every item of the fruit of the Spirit, each one a principle oC action, inq uire of your own soul whether a single one is unimportant, and whether the bearing of it is just a matter of prefcrenre. And in the ligh t of J ohn 15:8 ask whether one is a disciple o f J esus if he does not bear fruit for Hin\.-StanCord Olam· bers, in Tn,t/1 11.dtiance.

THE NEED FOR THINKING VIGOROUSLY '

Samuel M, Zwemer

\ '\'hen Petc..>r ~aid to ''gird up the loins o[ your mind," he meant to Lighten the brh about the loins o! your wandering thoughu;.

Let your miod be alcn, a~yake, active, prepared for decision and conclusion.

Gird up your loins! Free yourse1£ from the entanglem.enl6 o( m inor maucrs Lhat cli ng like a robe dangl ing on your ankles.

The Duty of Vigorous and Co11clusiue Tltinlcing. Thought is mil. "Bill we have developed in America," Mt}'$ a writer in Sc1·ifmer'.s J\ fognzine, "a heany aversion w the character 0£ the thoughtful me11; at least. our young people are not attraCLed to the contemplative t emperament. Our young people wanL to be amused. And their minds wi ll take only what t hey wanL. They cxpecl litcr:Hurc to keep M least some sort of respectable pace with the movies. T he calm, '11Cditative, poised and lucid life has no a llurements. Jn the old -tlayi, bO)'S wen t to school because they wanted to be scl1ola 1~; now, 1110!!1 or them go because they a.re sent, wherefore perhaps it is ex· peeling 100 much 10 hope that rhe nverage studen1 should be serious :minded."

The work as thinkers - in an age that n eeds clear thought and .decisive Jcadersh ip - is urgent. On the very 1hrcshok1, however, yon will fi nd a host of lurking· demons to lure you away from the' task.

Lassitude and love of case will b id you loo~cn your girdle. The superficial ity of the masses will tempt you, too, 10 be sat isfied "'ilh surface knowledge - to become nn echo and not a voice. Do uot be satisfied with wha t you have " read in a book" anti take your religion second-han d.

The apostle Pe ter, however, en trcal5 us to do hard thinking, not JJl'imaril y because we arc men endowed with minu, bttl becnu.se we nre Christians endowed with the Spirit of Christ.

No man should think so nmGh, so bard and 10 highly as a Chris· ti:tn , becnuse none has so wide a ran~e of thought open to him, Think what those early Christians mus t have b een to read and ;lf,pre·

wrestling against wind and tide: H e reminds us drnt in the realm of thought there is progress and service and conflict. W e must gird llp the Joins o[ our m ind like the runner to win the prize, like the Master to wasb each o ther's feet, like a soldier of Lhe Cross who has the lo ins of his mind girt about with Truth.

It a ll rem intls us of Goethe's words: "\ ,Vherever you arc. be all there." Not a leaning on o ther m in ds, a ha ng ing on o th ers' girdles; but indcpcndc11ce, streng th, vigor, and conclusiveness.

Such g irdling of the mind, such concenu·ation of thought on the highest a nd best is the per petua l sea·et o[ th e su·ong will, of decision of character, ol dearn c:.s of vision that enable us w wrest victory out of the jaw of defeat in the arena of T ruth. \ •Vha t m en have done, men can do on this ba ttlefield. The record of this war-fare is inspir ing. T he record is in your li bra ry.

Slovenliness in thougln is far more common tha n slovenliness of dress o r in speech a nd it is Jess excusable in those who have h ad the .privilege of a modern education. Yet ·we. seldom re buke it. In-stead of clear-cut, crystal-like concepts of the great (undamen tal cate-gories o f thought, the slovenly thinker uses words without defini ng lhem, leaps ;1L conclusions without the process of reasoning, and generalizes before he has mustered a corpora l's guard of facts. The real student o[ na ture or oE the supernatural is swift to h ear and slow to speak. J\ sem ina ry or coll ege is nm a knowledge faet0ry or a bureau of a classified card index o( all that may be useful to the casual applicant. Shoes can be repaired and even trousers pressed "while yo u wait"- bu t real education cannot be m asticated a t a !unch counter, a lthough the train of desire stops five minutes for r e-rresh me n ts.

Loose thinkipg l.1as been the great cause of heresy in church and sta te . Po litical fe uds, new religious and p a tent philosophies find adhcrem s beca use 111e11 do 11ot think fo r themselves. T hey have lost the g ird les o( their minds. Their thoughts are a t loose ends. They a re driven abou t by every wind o[ doctrine and captivated by the latest fad . How else cou ld cuJmred men a nd women fi nd mental pabu lum in such hybrid relig ions as Clu-istian Science, Russt:l-ism and Ba haisni, or how co uld they turn away Crom Lhc ' cw Testa-ment co New T hought and [rom the Med iator to rhc Medium? R e-member J esus Christ and you will think. The Ctu·ist-centerecl li fe h as t.h.e largest r adius.

Histoq• is llis st0ry. His incnrnation is the d ivid ing line of a n-cien t a nd modern history. His life a nd teaching, His death and resur-rection have cha nged the character o f architecwre, sculpture, m usic, pain ting. poetry. p hilosophy. e thics, imernatiomd law - a ll chat con-lltitutcs civilizacio 11 . I f we cease lo Lhi11h of ll im, we i111poverish our-seJut:s.

faith kindles the fire~ of thought. Agnosticism quenches thern . Life ;1bunclant begins, for the intellect. when we seek to know Goel anti .J esus Christ, whom H e h~s sen t. The (ear o f God is only the bcg·in n ing of wisdom; for per[ect love casts out fear. Search for truth in the hea vens a bove, in the earth beneath, in the waters under the

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eart.h; take the wings of the morning; penetrate 1.he darkness of stellar space beyond 1.he sperrru111 and the telescope, or search the deeper d e pths of the human soul - '1 A IJ is )'Ou1·s, for ye ar c Christ's, and Christ. is God's,"

The Reward of Hard 1'houglit. T hinking, like virtue, is its own reward. · T h e reward of thinking is lo receive now the earnest of o ur inher itance, ' ' incorruptible, undefiled and that (adeth not 11way."

Deep thought. prod 11ct-s d eep theology ond deep p ie ty. When our thinking is biised upo n 1.he Rork of Ages, we hiive an a nchor of hope. sure and stedfost. Nothing cal'I disturb us, and we know thiit ' 'God is i n His hcayen and ~111 is right. with the world." '\tVh'i helper of many. T his is home out by the fact t.hat today ever)'· where Brother Bixler goes in .Japan, where the Ilixlers &crved fa it.hrully ~Lnd diligently over l\\'Cnly years. sincere tJ1anks and appreciation nre expressed tor their home of years gone by.

l\fay 1he Loving FaLher - in whom Lhe Bixlers have long rklccd lhe ir ll'llSI - COlllfOrt, S\IStain, gu ide, and keep the bCr rcavcd in His rrndr.r care!

THOUGHTS WORTH WHILE D.H.F.

A STRANGE FAMILY "The father has never missed church or Sunday school in

twenty-three years. The mother has had a perfect record for eleven years. A son has not missed for twelve years. A daughter has been at Lhc evening service every Sunday for eight years.

What's the matter with this family, anyway? Don't they ever have company on Sunday to keep them away from church?

Don't they ever get tired 011 Sunday morning? Don't they belong to any lodges, where they get their re-

ligion, instead of at their Father's house, or to any clubs, or to anything?

Don't they ever have headaches, or colds, or nervous spells, or tired fee lings, or sudden calls out of the city, or week-end parties, or business trips, or picnics, or any other trouble?

Don't they even have a radio, so that they can get some good sermons from out-of-town preachers?

Don't they ever get a lot more good out of reading a sermon out of a book?

What's the matter with this family anyway, and why are they so happy and cheerful?

lV e leave it to )'OU to answer."

RADIANCE vVe looked in the dictionary 10 get the exact meaning of

the word "radiance" and found that it implies lively joy or satisfaction, especially in the face. '\Te fear that many have not found the seo·et of Lh!s superabundant joy.

' '\Te read of one who wrote a book several years ago, en-titled, The Lo.~t Radi(lnce of Christianity. Jn this book the overflowing joy o( lhc Christianity of the first century was contrasted with "lack-luster" Clu·istianity of today. Back there the disciples rejoiced that lhey were counted worthy to suffer for Clu·ist; l>ut o(tcn loday we line.I Christians moaning and groaning and magnifying a mere pin prick. ••• Go into some churches today anc.I you will almost get a chill. A few people come straggling in late. A few people dolefully sing out of key. "'ith others sitting around looking as if they were miserable uncl wished that th

in you, and tl1at yo ur jor might be fu ll." Have you Jost the radiance that belongs in a Christian's life? JC so, let the Holy Spirit fill you with such jorous cnt11Us iasm and you, also, will have 1..he unbounded joy of becoming a soul winner. The promise is J.o you, Claim itl .Edit0ri;d , in Gosj;el H eraZ.d.

THE ȣST RECO~IMENDATIOI\ It was just a linle sandwich shop, and 1 was not 100 sure I warlled

to e;u ihcrc until J saw 1hc large si.gn over the co111Her. It read, ' 'And I~ Eat.s His Own Sa ndwiches." Then I knew I was in 1h.e r ight P.lace, lf the proprietor could cal. his own sa!lflwichcs, I could, i.oo, fh is man was announcing to all the worlrl thaL what was good for his customers was good enough for ))jm, He was practicing what h e preached .. . . We sometimes act as though we .thoughJ. our Gos· pcl was good for others, but we would rather not u·y it on 01J.rselv~. Yet others will noL u·y it, unless tJ1cy sec us livi ug the message we pro· claim .. .. \\le cannot be abom our Famcr's business unti l we rrrcly share with others 1he message that Cod c~iJJj, upon us w Jive.-1 lte Secre/ Peace.

l~ CllRISTS DAY A~'iD NOW ls wailing upon God in public worship one oC my established

habiLS, or do I say, "But church isn't interesting," and stay away? The tiynaJ.,"Oguc must hal'e been f;u· less illlere.sLiug in J esus' clay; yet I le 1weml Do I think. 1 do not need i1 .? But did anyone ever need it le$s Lha11 J esus? YeL He we11tl Do J say, "There arc hypocrites there?" The "scribes and Pharisees" were prcsem in J esus' synagogue; yet H e wentl How idle seem all my excuses about neglecting church when 1 am confronted by the s imple fact Lh :u my Lord and Master entered , ' 'as his cus1.0m was, .. , inio the synagogue on the sabbaLb day." -Prom T oda)'.

~JME TO LOOK UJ• Our Savior for h. and r le is au1horiLy, " When ye &ee these things

begin to come to pa~. look up. alltl 1ifi up your beads; because your redemption draweth nigh." Read the context. Luke 2 t. Wh~t Lhings foretold canno1 be sec11 com ing 10 p ass? What more is there to -;cc? And say not wiiJ1in yourself that it is or 110 con.sequence whether you be in the attitude of looking up, That were to prote.sL the wisdom .of Him who thus admon ishes. Dare not neutralize His Leaching, or J11J111Jntze its imponancc. Rather do tl1011 heed H im 1hy.self and Jou /, up. Furthermore. ··~Jake upplication that ye may prevail co ~scape all thctic things tliat shall come LO pass, and LO stand before the 5on of man. " Again, ''And what I say unto you I say unto all, Wat.ch " -Truth Ad11ance.

ONLY A CllUCIFIEO CHI~JST WILL DO 1 Cor, 1 :23

" A ChristkE.S cro~ no refuge were for me; A a ·osslcss Chril. t my Savior could not be; J3u1, 0 Chrisr crucified, J res• in Theel''

'1

STUDIES IN ISAIAH R.H. B.

STUDY 7. Isaiah's Call and Commission. Isa. 6. Sometime after Isaiah's actual ministry as prophet had begun, for sec I : I . A king h ad died; but Isaiah now has the vision or the King (v. 5.) H e secs the King's holiness and stands confounded. (Comp. J ob 42:5, 6.) The symbolic action o( vs. 6, 7 portrays atonement and cleansing. (Cp. Ps. 51:2, 7.) Then (and not 111Hil then) he is abl e to olier himself to God for service. I it. not so today? True service fo llows convic-t ion and cleansing. (Tit. 2: 14.) Let all who think to do acceptable works before being cleansed take note o( this. The mission of Isaiah is to harden rather than to save, \'S. 9, 10. (Comp. 2 Cor. 2: 15, 16.) The prophet in dismay asks how long. The answer is "Un til the Nation is wholly destroyed" (for so is the doom) - a ll except that remnant (cp. 1 :9). That is the stock (the stump) that remains after Lhe tree is fe lled. O n the sym bolism of the s111111p consu lt Dan. 1.: 15, 26; comp. also Job 14:nJ· This passage (vs. 9, 10) is quoted three times in the New T esta1nent, each time in con nection with an important crisis. (Matt. 13: 1.1. 15 and pi:i ra llels; John 12:39-41; Acts 28: 26-28.) Note how in John 12:4 1 it is declared that it was the Lord J esus Chrilt t's g lory Isa iah saw 011 this occaltion. Isaiah never got over the vision of God's tlwful holiness. Hie scd the preacher who starts out with a sound conception of God's terrible holiness and won-drous mercy. This is the secret of earnestness and faithfulness and power.

STUDY 8. The " Bnol< of Jn1111m111d.'' l saiah 7-12. This is a new section - a cominuom and con nected strain of prophecy, extending over six chapters. T oday's lesson is chapcer 7. R eact 2 Clu·on. ~: 1-7, 19 for a sketch of the ti mes. The prescm occasion of d istrcs is stated in Isaiah 7:2. Isaiah is sent witlr a message from .J ehovah

to meet Ahaz al a designated place. The message: (1) A command : "Take heed, be quie t, fear not, ne ither le t thy heart faint." Cp. v. 2. (2) An assurauce from .J ehovah : T he purpose of the enemies ''shall not stand. ne ither shall it come w pa ·s." (3) .\ w;irn ing: "If ye shall no t believe. surely ye shall no t be established." (4) The oJier of a sign from God to confirm Isaiah's message. T his latter i\haz refused under hypocritical pretense, lest by accepting he might be under obliga tion to J ehov:ilt . Then J ehova h gives a ~ ign: v. 14, one of 1.he im portant prophecies of Chr ist: sec rvlatt. 1 :23. Note that the sign is not to Aha7. persona lly but LO "you" (plural), thal is, the "house of D a\'id." A virgin should conceive and bear a son. 1md ca ll his name "God-W it h· lls." \\'hatrvcr m:an·r and typical imd preliminary fulfillment Lhis passage may h ;l\ r had in that gen-eration (and it may ha,•e had some imperfec 1 :11•0111plishmen1 then) it becomes evident that the prophecy reaches much further, unto a per[ecl and glorious (u lfillmcnt. for the ch ild Immanuel of 7: 14 is certainly the ch ild of 9:6, 7, and therefore a lso th(' ''shoot" and "branch" of Jesse's stock in 11 : 1·;;. Thi!> could be none o ther than

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the promised :\k~~iah. "Buttt1 and honey" - thaL is wilder? ess rood (cp. , . 22) for the land should be deso~ate. Th_c ~wo kings of ,.. 1 G arc R ezi11 and Pi:kilh. 50011 after (in Hezekiah s days, 2 King:. 17) tlte king of .~i.l>yria devast:ued. Lhosi: tw~ coun tries . . T he Messiah also grew up ~ome :>ix centuries later. in that tcr~1tory, which never regained its glory. With v. 1 i cons1d~r Ahaz' al11ar:ce, 2 Chron. :!8:20, 2 1. Tlw rest of the cliapt cr describes the resulung desolation.

ST UDY 9. The ·'nooh of / 111man11el" continued, lsa iah 8. "Maher. ~hala l.hash-baz" may ban.' been the typical fulfillment of 7: 14; but only if 1.hc ''prophctes5" of , .. .3 was not ''Shcar.jashub's" mother (;:3): ebe she could 11ot have been c:a llec.l a "virgin" even in the

acco111n1oda1ecl en c that th is was her first.born. Verse 4. The deso-lation ca me soon (v. 4) though not fully accomplished till some years later. Verses 5-8 is aga in ~t / jme/, i. e., the northern, the ten·tribc kingdom, which had gone into al liance with Rezin of Syria, against .Judah (7: 11 2). l 1nman11cl 111emioncd again in verse 8: the land is I/ is land. The defeat of J erusalem's enemies in the near er emer· gcnry - nml, afler the prnph c1ic 111anner, J erusalem's deliverance in her last ;ind gre:i 1cs1 t·xtrc111i ty yet future - foreseen in vs. 9-:1:1. The nations muster and ga ther a nd roar ;iga inst her o nly to be broke n to pieces (cp. D ;in. 2:35: Ps. 83: 13). This is one of the most fre. quem prophetic picture,. R ead Joel 3:9-17; Zech . 14: 1-9: Isa. 17: 12-1 .1: 29:1-. On ,·er~e 10 \Ce P:.. 2; Ps. 33; 10, 11; Prov. 21:30. I I ere is Cod's counsel lor time~ of pan ic, ver:;es 11 -15; cp. 7:1 and t Pe ter 3: 14. 15. Cbri tians ma) need rhi again ere long. The ' 'lh

I~ had been p~edicted to Ahaz that lsrnel would be desolated by the long of Assyria, and that ]udnh would be invaded (Isa. 7: 16, 17; 8:7, 8). R ead now carefull y l sa. 36 and 37. Note the Assyrian's p~oud, boastful message, and how he ranks the God of Israel along with the gods of the nations :ind despises them all alike. Then H ezekiah's distress; a second message from the Assyrian (by letter, this time) of the sa me insulting tone, which le tter H ezekiah spreads before .J ehovah. Then God's answer, (1) to the Assyrian: (2) to H ezekiah. Follows the marvellous deliverance. The accoum of this is g iven in deta il in II Kings 18. 19. Study it now in order to prepare for the prophe tic mes~age i11 Isa. 10.

STuov 12. Tlte Pro/Jhccy about the Assyrian. Isaiah 10:5-34. The Assyrian is but the tool of J ehovah - an "instrument of un-righteousness" - the rod and staff by which just chastisement is in-fli c1ed upon guilty nations (vs. 5. 6). The Assyrian himself is un-conscious of that. lfe follows only the im pulse of his own wild am-bition in boastfu lness and pride of power, incidentally blaspheming Cod. (Vs. 7-1 1.) Because of th is, Goel will tprn His hand in judg-ment upon the Assyrian, as soon as He has done using him. (Vs. 12-1!).) T he Assyri;m's 111is1akc in verse 13 appears Crom Acts 17:26. Consider world-affairs of the present day in the light of this. The Assyrian will meet his doom when he clashes with the Holy One of Israel who dwells in Zion (v. 17). After the manner of the prophets, lsa iah now slips fro111 the present case of the Assyrian (who is there-fore the type of the fin:il great oppressor, the Assyt·ian o f the End) to Israel's last great tria l and deliverance. (Vs. 20-27.) Then they will be cured forever of depending on the arm of fl esh (or help (Hosea 14:3). W ho is the "mighty God'' to whom the R emnant will rewrn? Sec Isa . 9:6. Sec in ;: 3. margin, the meani ng of "Shear-Jash ub,'' and consider 8: 18. On the Remnant, see J er. 3 1 :2, 7, 8. Cod wi ll not make a full end of Israe l U er. 30: 11 ), but wi ll finisb llis work in 1he canh (v. 13) which in\'o lvcs a terrific slaughter and will greatly diminish iL, inhabitants. (Ps. 46:8-10.) After that de-liverance Israel will be free and unmolested. U er. 30:4-10.) The progress of the Assyrian army 1oward J erusa lem is traced, and the people re-assured, , . . 28-3.1.

S-ruov 13 . The R eign of th e Brnnch of Jesse's Storlt. I sa. 1 h Tl1e Assyrian army is likened to a forest ( 10: 18, 33. 34) - mighty u:ccs that shall be cut down. But out of the stock of Jesse (D avid 's anrcstor) shall come a li11 le shoo /. n bit of a ln-rmrlt, which shall p rov

"FAITH OF OUR FATHERS" WHY /\RE THE .JEWS YET Wl TH US?-JI.

J. W. McGnrvey

Abraham was a childless mnn at seventy-five, wiLh a barren wife of sixty-five, when Goel called him away from his kindred, and native land and said to him: " I will make of thee a great nation; and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and be thou a blessing; and J will bless them tlrnt bless thee. and him that cursctl1 thee J will Ctll'SC; and in thee sha ll all the families of the enrth be blessed" (Gen. 12: 1·3) . This is the most rc111ark1lble promise ever ad-

dressed to a mortal man. It bears within itself unmistakable proof of its divine origin: for the specifications nrc such as no human being could ever have conceived with respect to nnothcr. The modem rationalistic conceit tlrnt it originated with the hypoth etical ".J'' bf the eighth century before Christ, or that he found it floating around among the oral traditions of his tribes, is proof only that he who thinks so is incapable of appreciating it. IL accoun ts for . the great race t.ha t has sprung from the loi ns o[ Abraham, for the divine curse which has visited and destroyed all Lhe mighty nations of antiquity that cursed Israel; and for the (act that the richesL spirit· ual blessings which have ever descended upon the families of the canh have all been received through the seed of Abraham. All the prophets, all' the apostles, Christ himself, and the most noted heroes of the e

be banished and scau ered among all ~he nations of the earth; but by t.he mouth of the same prophet who pronounced th is doom, he sa1d:

"Fear thou not! 0 Jncob my servant; neither be dismayed 0 Israel: for lo, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from th~ land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be quiet and ' at . ease, and nol'\e sha ll make him afraid. ]i'or I am with thee, sn1th Jehovnh, to save thee: for I will make a f ull end of all the nations whither I huvQ scattet·ed thee, but I will not make a full end of thee; but I will conect thee with judgment and will in no wise leave thee unpunished" (Jer. 30 :10, 11). '

The same promise by the rnout11 of the same prophet, is re-peated with trcmendotis emphasis in the following lines:

"Thus ~ailh .Jehovah, who giveth , the sun Ior a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night

. \vho stirreth up the sea, and the waves thereof r oar; Jehovah of -hosts is his name: if these ordinances depart from before me, saith Jehovah, then tho seed of l sl'ael shaJJ also cease from being a nation before me forever" (81 :35, 36) .

These utterances were

vex Judah shall be cut off. Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim" (vs. 11-13) ....

1\ s Lhis mauer of the fina l rcst0ra1ion of the twelve tribes to their own land is not u nderMood by many, a ncJ is grossly misunderstood by some, I thin k ·it proper tr1 1)rolon g th is part of my argument by

. adding some unambiguous p:1~~ages from other proph ctS. Amos. the earl iest o( the wr i t ing p ro phe ts, closes the d ark p inure w hich h e

1 d ra ws of l:irael's future w ith exulting words. He fi xes the time o{ the events which he is about ro predict by saying:

" ln that day I will raise up of the tabernacle of David that· ii; fullcn .

1and closr up the l>rcaches thereof; nn.d I will rnise up his

1·uins, am I will build it ns In the dnys of old, that they mny possess the r emnant of Edom, and nil the nntions that were cnlled by my · nnme, saith Jehovah that doeth this" (9:11, 12).

This refers undoubtedl y, to the reign of Christ. in wh ich the 1hrnnc of Dnv ic1 i6 rcstorccl . Then follows ;is b elo nging to the 1mme period:

"Behold, the days come, !laith Jehovah, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper [ the harvest being so grea t that tho reaper cnnnof 1 cut it dowll' before the plowing fo1· the next crop must set In]; and the treader of grapes him tha t !low-0th seed [lhnt. is, the grape

harves t will be so enormous that rail sow1ng :;hall ~ct in before the grapes are itll pressed); nnd the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and the hills shall melt. And I w ill bring again ' the cap-th'il~· of my people Israel, and they shall plant vinc~·ards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and ent the fruit of them. And I will plnnt them upon t.heir land, and they shnll no mo1·e be 11lucked u11 out of their lnnll whfch I hnvc giV:en them, saith Jehovah thy God" (13-15) .

.-\II tJ1is i yet in the fu111rc,

BUT THERE IS MRS. LOT To "remember Lot's wife" is to do a thing the Lord Jesus has

told us to do. Mrs. Lot was no missionary to Sodom. She would say that she was never cut out for that. She would never have given consent for her husband to be one (unless a salary in proportion had been in prospect) and as for her children, that they should be missionaries there or :inywhere, perish the thought! Her children were there for the polish Sodom's society would certainly afford. Though her husband's righteous soul was vexed from d ay to day with tJ1e fleshly defilements of Sodom, Mrs. Lot had not a soul subject to such vexations. What a wonderful city, tl1e city of their adop-tion, and how modern! H er husband really made himself an object of pity, especially wllen his periods of vexation and grief came upon him. No doubt there appenred to come over him forebodings of grie( ahead of some retributive nature, and no doubt he was often counted a pessimist. There was one thing concerning her husband for which Mrs. Lot could always be thankful, and tllat was his true wisdom in making the wise choice when his uncle Abraham made him the generous offer of hill country or plain.

l\frs. Lot was a fortunate woman: She had a good husband. She had been associated closely with Abraham and Sarah. She knew about the covenant of the Promise. She always lived well. She was once delivered by divine providence through Abraham

from captivity when Sodom once was taken. She enterta ined angels in her home. She was led out of Sodom by holy angels' hands before its doom. Mrs. Lot was a lmost saved. "Likewise even as it came to pass in tlle days of J.ot; they ate.

r.hey drank. they bought, tl1cy so,ld. they planted, they builded; but in the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from hea,•en, and desLroyed them all: after lhe same manner shall it be in the day the Son of man is revealed. In that day, he that shall be on the housetop. and his goods in the house, let him not go down to take them away: and let him that is in the fi e ld likewisf not turn back. Remember Lot's wife: .... Jn that night there shall he two men on one bed; the one sh:i 11 be taken, and the other shall be left. There sha ll be rwo women grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left." (Luke 17:28-86.)

Yea. "Remember Lot's wifc."- Trnth Advance.

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it best who come feeling that tliey arc on holy ground; that it were fitting, like Moses before the burning bush, to take off o ne's shoes and to cover the head, and to bend with reverence and godly fear to hear the Voice that speaks. If this which we are abou t to SLudy is Cod's word, tl1en happy is he who re-ceh es it, a~ such, " not as the word o( men, but, as it is in truth, the word of God." (1 Thess. 2: 1 ~.) For "to this man will I look" sa ith the Lord, " even 10 him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and that tremhleth at my word." (Isa. 66:2.)

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