Chapter V: Part 5

“What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”[221]

* * * * *

[Sidenote: _The Question of Questions_]

This is a question that demands consideration by every parent, every teacher, every student,—by every human being, young or old. No scheme of business or plan of life can be sound or complete that embraces only the brief years of this present life, and makes no provision for the unending future. Let the youth be taught to take eternity into their reckoning. Let them be taught to choose the principles and seek the possessions that are enduring,—to lay up for themselves that “treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth;” to make to themselves friends “by means of the mammon of unrighteousness,” that when it shall fail, these may receive them “into the eternal tabernacles.”[222]

All who do this are making the best possible preparation for life in this world. No man can lay up treasure in heaven without finding his life on earth thereby enriched and ennobled.

“Godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.”[223]

_Bible Biographies_

“WHO THROUGH FAITH SUBDUED
KINGDOMS, WROUGHT RIGHTEOUSNESS,
FROM WEAKNESS WERE MADE STRONG”

[Sidenote: _A Faithful Delineation_]

As an educator no part of the Bible is of greater value than are its biographies. These biographies differ from all others in that they are absolutely true to life. It is impossible for any finite mind to interpret rightly, in all things, the workings of another. None but He who reads the heart, who discerns the secret springs of motive and action, can with absolute truth delineate character, or give a faithful picture of a human life. In God’s word alone is found such delineation.

No truth does the Bible more clearly teach than that what we do is the result of what we are. To a great degree the experiences of life are the fruition of our own thoughts and deeds.

“The curse causeless shall not come.”[224]

[Sidenote: _Retribution_]

“Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him; ... unto the wicked, it shall be ill with him; for the reward of his hands shall be given him.”[225]

“Hear, O earth; behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts.”[226]

Terrible is this truth, and deeply should it be impressed. Every deed reacts upon the doer. Never a human being but may recognize, in the evils that curse his life, fruitage of his own sowing. Yet even thus we are not without hope.

[Sidenote: _Experience of Jacob_]

To gain the birthright that was his already by God’s promise, Jacob resorted to fraud, and he reaped the harvest in his brother’s hatred. Through twenty years of exile he was himself wronged and defrauded, and was at last forced to find safety in flight; and he reaped a second harvest, as the evils of his own character were seen to crop out in his sons;—all but too true a picture of the retributions of human life.

But God says: “I will not contend forever, neither will I be always wroth; for the spirit should fail before Me, and the souls which I have made. For the iniquity of his covetousness was I wroth, and smote him; I hid Me, and was wroth, and he went on frowardly in the way of his heart. I have seen his ways, and will heal him; I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him and to his mourners.... Peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near, saith the Lord; and I will heal him.”[227]

[Sidenote: _Gain through Loss_]

Jacob in his distress was not overwhelmed. He had repented, he had endeavored to atone for the wrong to his brother. And when threatened with death through the wrath of Esau, he sought help from God. “Yea, he had power over the Angel, and prevailed; he wept, and made supplication.” “And He blessed him there.”[228] In the power of His might the forgiven one stood up, no longer the supplanter, but a prince with God. He had gained not merely deliverance from his outraged brother, but deliverance from himself. The power of evil in his own nature was broken; his character was transformed.

At eventide there was light. Jacob, reviewing his life-history, recognized the sustaining power of God,—“the God which fed me all my life long unto this day, the Angel which redeemed me from all evil.”[229]

The same experience is repeated in the history of Jacob’s sons,—sin working retribution, and repentance bearing fruit of righteousness unto life.

God does not annul His laws. He does not work contrary to them. The work of sin He does not undo. But He transforms. Through His grace the curse works out blessing.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: _The Levites_]

Of the sons of Jacob, Levi was one of the most cruel and vindictive, one of the two most guilty in the treacherous murder of the Shechemites. Levi’s characteristics, reflected in his descendants, incurred for them the decree from God, “I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.”[230] But repentance wrought re-formation; and by their faithfulness to God amidst the apostasy of the other tribes, the curse was transformed into a token of highest honor.

[Sidenote: _A Curse Transformed_]

“The Lord separated the tribe of Levi, to bear the ark of the covenant of the Lord, to stand before the Lord to minister unto Him, and to bless in His name.” “My covenant was with him of life and peace; and I gave them to him for the fear wherewith he feared Me, and was afraid before My name.... He walked with Me in peace and equity, and did turn many away from iniquity.”[231]

The appointed ministers of the sanctuary, the Levites received no landed inheritance; they dwelt together in cities set apart for their use, and received their support from the tithes and the gifts and offerings devoted to God’s service. They were the teachers of the people, guests at all their festivities, and everywhere honored as servants and representatives of God. To the whole nation was given the command: “Take heed to thyself that thou forsake not the Levite as long as thou livest upon the earth.” “Levi hath no part nor inheritance with his brethren; the Lord is his inheritance.”[232]

* * * * *

[Sidenote: _Report of the Spies_]

The truth that as a man “thinketh in his heart, so is he,”[233] finds another illustration in Israel’s experience. On the borders of Canaan the spies, returned from searching the country, made their report. The beauty and fruitfulness of the land were lost sight of, through fear of the difficulties in the way of its occupation. The cities walled up to heaven, the giant warriors, the iron chariots, daunted their faith. Leaving God out of the question, the multitude echoed the decision of the unbelieving spies, “We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we.”[234] Their words proved true. They were not able to go up, and they wore out their lives in the desert.

[Sidenote: _By Faith to Conquest_]

Two, however, of the twelve who had viewed the land, reasoned otherwise. “We are well able to overcome it,”[234] they urged, counting God’s promise superior to giants, walled cities, or chariots of iron. For them their word was true. Though they shared with their brethren the forty years’ wandering, Caleb and Joshua entered the land of promise. As courageous of heart as when with the hosts of the Lord he set out from Egypt, Caleb asked for and received as his portion the stronghold of the giants. In God’s strength he drove out the Canaanites. The vineyards and olive-groves where his feet had trodden became his possession. Though the cowards and rebels perished in the wilderness, the men of faith ate of the grapes of Eschol.

[Sidenote: _One Evil Cherished_]

No truth does the Bible set forth in clearer light than the peril of even one departure from the right,—peril both to the wrong-doer and to all whom his influence shall reach. Example has wonderful power; and when cast on the side of the evil tendencies of our nature, it becomes well-nigh irresistible.

[Sidenote: _Decoys of the Tempter_]

The strongest bulwark of vice in our world is not the iniquitous life of the abandoned sinner or the degraded outcast; it is that life which otherwise appears virtuous, honorable, and noble, but in which one sin is fostered, one vice indulged. To the soul that is struggling in secret against some giant temptation, trembling upon the very verge of the precipice, such an example is one of the most powerful enticements to sin. He who, endowed with high conceptions of life and truth and honor, does yet wilfully transgress one precept of God’s holy law, has perverted his noble gifts into a lure to sin. Genius, talent, sympathy, even generous and kindly deeds, may thus become decoys of Satan to entice souls over the precipice of ruin.

This is why God has given so many examples showing the results of even one wrong act. From the sad story of that one sin which “brought death into the world, and all our woe, with loss of Eden,” to the record of him who for thirty pieces of silver sold the Lord of glory, Bible biography abounds in these examples, set up as beacons of warning at the byways leading from the path of life.

* * * * *

There is warning also in noting the results that have followed upon even once yielding to human weakness and error, the fruit of the letting go of faith.

[Sidenote: _One Failure of Faith_]

[Sidenote: _Loss to Elijah_]

By one failure of his faith, Elijah cut short his life-work. Heavy was the burden that he had borne in behalf of Israel; faithful had been his warnings against the national idolatry; and deep was his solicitude as during three years and a half of famine he watched and waited for some token of repentance. Alone he stood for God upon Mount Carmel. Through the power of faith, idolatry was cast down, and the blessed rain testified to the showers of blessing waiting to be poured upon Israel. Then in his weariness and weakness he fled before the threats of Jezebel, and alone in the desert prayed that he might die. His faith had failed. The work he had begun, he was not to complete. God bade him anoint another to be prophet in his stead.

But God had marked the heart-service of His servant. Elijah was not to perish in discouragement and solitude in the wilderness. Not for him the descent to the tomb, but the ascent with God’s angels to the presence of His glory.

These life-records declare what every human being will one day understand,—that sin can bring only shame and loss; that unbelief means failure; but that God’s mercy reaches to the deepest depths; that faith lifts up the repenting soul to share the adoption of the sons of God.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: _Discipline_]

All who in this world render true service to God or man receive a preparatory training in the school of sorrow. The weightier the trust and the higher the service, the closer is the test and the more severe the discipline.

Study the experiences of Joseph and of Moses, of Daniel and of David. Compare the early history of David with the history of Solomon, and consider the results.

[Sidenote: _David_]

David in his youth was intimately associated with Saul, and his stay at court and his connection with the king’s household gave him an insight into the cares and sorrows and perplexities concealed by the glitter and pomp of royalty. He saw of how little worth is human glory to bring peace to the soul. And it was with relief and gladness that he returned from the king’s court to the sheepfolds and the flocks.

[Sidenote: _In Training for the Throne_]

When by the jealousy of Saul driven a fugitive into the wilderness, David, cut off from human support, leaned more heavily upon God. The uncertainty and unrest of the wilderness life, its unceasing peril, its necessity for frequent flight, the character of the men who gathered to him there,—“every one that was in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one that was discontented,”[235]—all rendered the more essential a stern self-discipline. These experiences aroused and developed power to deal with men, sympathy for the oppressed, and hatred of injustice. Through years of waiting and peril, David learned to find in God his comfort, his support, his life. He learned that only by God’s power could he come to the throne; only in His wisdom could he rule wisely. It was through the training in the school of hardship and sorrow that David was able to make the record—though afterward marred with his great sin—that he “executed judgment and justice unto all his people.”[236]

[Sidenote: _Solomon_]

The discipline of David’s early experience was lacking in that of Solomon. In circumstances, in character, and in life, he seemed favored above all others. Noble in youth, noble in manhood, the beloved of his God, Solomon entered on a reign that gave high promise of prosperity and honor. Nations marveled at the knowledge and insight of the man to whom God had given wisdom. But the pride of prosperity brought separation from God. From the joy of divine communion Solomon turned to find satisfaction in the pleasures of sense. Of this experience he says:—

[Sidenote: _The Pride of Prosperity_]

“I made me great works; I builded me houses; I planted me vineyards; I made me gardens and orchards; ... I got me servants and maidens; ... I gathered me also silver and gold, and the peculiar treasure of kings and of the provinces. I gat me men-singers and women-singers, and the delights of the sons of men, as musical instruments, and that of all sorts. So I was great, and increased more than all that were before me in Jerusalem.... And whatsoever mine eyes desired I kept not from them, I withheld not my heart from any joy; for my heart rejoiced in all my labor.... Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labor that I had labored to do; and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun. And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness, and folly; for what can the man do that cometh after the king? even that which hath been already done.”

[Sidenote: _Unsatisfied_]

“I hated life.... Yea, I hated all my labor which I had taken under the sun.”[237]

By his own bitter experience, Solomon learned the emptiness of a life that seeks in earthly things its highest good. He erected altars to heathen gods, only to learn how vain is their promise of rest to the soul.

[Sidenote: _The Late Return_]

In his later years, turning wearied and thirsting from earth’s broken cisterns, Solomon returned to drink at the fountain of life. The history of his wasted years, with their lessons of warning, he by the Spirit of inspiration recorded for after-generations. And thus, although the seed of his sowing was reaped by his people in harvests of evil, the life-work of Solomon was not wholly lost. For him at last the discipline of suffering accomplished its work.

But with such a dawning, how glorious might have been his life’s day, had Solomon in his youth learned the lesson that suffering had taught in other lives!

* * * * *

[Sidenote: _God’s Witnesses_]

For those who love God, those who are “the called according to his purpose,”[238] Bible biography has a yet higher lesson of the ministry of sorrow. “Ye are My witnesses, saith the Lord, that I am God,”[239]—witnesses that He is good, and that goodness is supreme. “We are made a theater unto the world, both[240] to angels and to men.”[241]

[Sidenote: _Accusation from Satan_]

Unselfishness, the principle of God’s kingdom, is the principle that Satan hates; its very existence he denies. From the beginning of the great controversy he has endeavored to prove God’s principles of action to be selfish, and he deals in the same way with all who serve God. To disprove Satan’s claim is the work of Christ and of all who bear His name.

It was to give in His own life an illustration of unselfishness that Jesus came in the form of humanity. And all who accept this principle are to be workers together with Him in demonstrating it in practical life. To choose the right because it is right; to stand for truth at the cost of suffering and sacrifice,—“this is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of Me, saith the Lord.”[242]

[Sidenote: _The Testing of Job_]

Very early in the history of the world is given the life-record of one over whom this controversy of Satan’s was waged.

Of Job, the patriarch of Uz, the testimony of the Searcher of hearts was, “There is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil.”

Against this man, Satan brought scornful charge: “Doth Job fear God for naught? Hast Thou not made a hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side?... Put forth Thine hand now, and touch all that he hath;” “touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse Thee to Thy face.”

The Lord said unto Satan, “All that he hath is in thy power.” “Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life.”

Thus permitted, Satan swept away all that Job possessed,—flocks and herds, men-servants and maidens, sons and daughters; and he “smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown.”[243]

[Sidenote: _Misconception of Adversity_]

Still another element of bitterness was added to his cup. His friends, seeing in adversity but the retribution of sin, pressed on his bruised and burdened spirit their accusations of wrong-doing.

Seemingly forsaken of heaven and earth, yet holding fast his faith in God and his consciousness of integrity, in anguish and perplexity he cried:—

“My soul is weary of my life.” “O that Thou wouldst hide me in the grave, That Thou wouldst keep me secret, until Thy wrath be past, That Thou wouldst appoint me a set time, and remember me!”[244]

“Behold, I cry out of wrong, but I am not heard; I cry for help, but there is no judgment.... He hath stripped me of my glory, [Sidenote: _Hath God Forsaken?_] And taken the crown from my head.... My kinsfolk have failed, And my familiar friends have forgotten me.... They whom I loved are turned against me.... Have pity upon me, have pity upon me, O ye my friends; For the hand of God hath touched me!”

“O that I knew where I might find Him, That I might come even to His seat!... Behold, I go forward, but He is not there; And backward, but I can not perceive Him; On the left hand, where He doth work, but I can not behold Him; He hideth Himself on the right hand, that I can not see Him; [Sidenote: _Faith’s Assurance_] But He knoweth the way that I take; When He hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.” “Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him.”

“I know that my Redeemer liveth, And that He shall stand up at the last upon the earth; And after my skin hath been destroyed, this shall be, Even from my flesh shall I see God; Whom I shall see for myself, And mine eyes shall behold, and not as a stranger.”[245]

[Sidenote: “_So Was It unto Job_”]

According to his faith, so was it unto Job. “When He hath tried me,” he said, “I shall come forth as gold.”[246] So it came to pass. By his patient endurance he vindicated his own character, and thus the character of Him whose representative he was. And “the Lord turned the captivity of Job; ... also the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.... So the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning.”[247]

* * * * *

On the record of those who through self-abnegation have entered into the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings, stand—one in the Old Testament and one in the New—the names of Jonathan and of John the Baptist.

[Sidenote: _A Faithful Friend_]

Jonathan, by birth heir to the throne, yet knowing himself set aside by the divine decree; to his rival the most tender and faithful of friends, shielding David’s life at the peril of his own; steadfast at his father’s side through the dark days of his declining power, and at his side falling at the last,—the name of Jonathan is treasured in heaven, and it stands on earth a witness to the existence and the power of unselfish love.

[Sidenote: _The Unwavering Witness_]

John the Baptist, at his appearance as the Messiah’s herald, stirred the nation. From place to place his steps were followed by vast throngs of people of every rank and station. But when the One came to whom he had borne witness, all was changed. The crowds followed Jesus, and John’s work seemed fast closing. Yet there was no wavering of his faith. “He must increase,” he said, “but I must decrease.”[248]

Time passed, and the kingdom which John had confidently expected was not established. In Herod’s dungeon, cut off from the life-giving air and the desert freedom, he waited and watched.

There was no display of arms, no rending of prison doors; but the healing of the sick, the preaching of the gospel, the uplifting of men’s souls, testified to Christ’s mission.

[Sidenote: _Fellowship in Sacrifice_]

Alone in the dungeon, seeing whither his path, like his Master’s, tended, John accepted the trust,—fellowship with Christ in sacrifice. Heaven’s messengers attended him to the grave. The intelligences of the universe, fallen and unfallen, witnessed his vindication of unselfish service.

[Sidenote: “_There Hath Not Risen a Greater_”]

And in all the generations that have passed since then, suffering souls have been sustained by the testimony of John’s life. In the dungeon, on the scaffold, in the flames, men and women through centuries of darkness have been strengthened by the memory of him of whom Christ declared, “Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater.”[249]

* * * * *

“And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gideon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthah, ... and Samuel, and of the prophets; who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.

[Sidenote: “_Through Faith_”]

“Women received their dead raised to life again; and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection; and others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment; they were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword; they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented (of whom the world was not worthy); they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

“And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise; God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.”[250]

_Poetry and Song_

“THY STATUTES HAVE BEEN
MY SONGS IN THE HOUSE OF MY
PILGRIMAGE”

[Sidenote: _Poetry of the Bible_]

The earliest as well as the most sublime of poetic utterances known to man are found in the Scriptures. Before the oldest of the world’s poets had sung, the shepherd of Midian recorded those words of God to Job,—in their majesty unequaled, unapproached, by the loftiest productions of human genius:—

“Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? Or who shut up the sea with doors, When it brake forth; ... When I made the cloud the garment thereof, And thick darkness a swaddling-band for it, And prescribed for it My decree, And set bars and doors, And said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further; And here shall thy proud waves be stayed?

“Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days began, And caused the dayspring to know its place?...

“Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? Or hast thou walked in the recesses of the deep? [Sidenote: _The Earliest Poem_] Have the gates of death been revealed unto thee? Or hast thou seen the gates of the shadow of death? Hast thou comprehended the breadth of the earth? Declare, if thou knowest it all.

“Where is the way to the dwelling of light, And as for darkness, where is the place thereof?...

“Hast thou entered the treasuries of the snow, Or hast thou seen the treasuries of the hail?... By what way is the light parted, Or the east wind scattered upon the earth? Who hath cleft a channel for the water-flood, Or a way for the lightning of the thunder; To cause it to rain on a land where no man is; On the wilderness, wherein there is no man; To satisfy the waste and desolate ground; And to cause the tender grass to spring forth?”

“Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, Or loose the bands of Orion? Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season? Or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons?”[251]

[Sidenote: _From “Song of Songs”_]

For beauty of expression read also the description of spring-time, from the “Song of Songs”:—

“Lo, the winter is past,
The rain is over and gone;
The flowers appear on the earth;
The time of the singing of birds is come,
And the voice of the turtle is heard in our land;
The fig-tree ripeneth her green figs,
And the vines are in blossom,
They give forth their fragrance.
Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away.”[252]

And not inferior in beauty is Balaam’s unwilling prophecy of blessing to Israel:—

“From Aram hath Balak brought me, The king of Moab from the mountains of the East; Come, curse me Jacob, And come, defy Israel. [Sidenote: _An Ancient Prophecy_] How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? And how shall I defy, whom the Lord hath not defied? For from the top of the rocks I see him, And from the hills I behold him; Lo, it is a people that dwell alone, And shall not be reckoned among the nations....

“Behold, I have received commandment to bless; And He hath blessed, and I can not reverse it. He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, Neither hath He seen perverseness in Israel; The Lord his God is with him, And the shout of a King is among them.... Surely there is no enchantment against[253] Jacob, Neither is there any divination against[253] Israel; Now shall it be said of Jacob and of Israel, What hath God wrought!”

“He saith, which heareth the words of God, [Sidenote: “_The Vision of the Almighty_”] Which seeth the vision of the Almighty: ... How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, Thy tabernacles, O Israel! As valleys are they spread forth, As gardens by the riverside, As lign-aloes which the Lord hath planted, As cedar-trees beside the waters.”

“He hath said, which heard the words of God, And knew the knowledge of the Most High: ... I shall see Him, but not now; I shall behold Him, but not nigh; There shall come a Star out of Jacob, And a Scepter shall rise out of Israel.... Out of Jacob shall come He that shall have dominion.”[254]

* * * * *

[Sidenote: _Sacred Song_]

The melody of praise is the atmosphere of heaven; and when heaven comes in touch with the earth, there is music and song,—“thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.”[255]

Above the new-created earth, as it lay, fair and unblemished, under the smile of God, “the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy.”[256] So human hearts, in sympathy with heaven, have responded to God’s goodness in notes of praise. Many of the events of human history have been linked with song.

The earliest song recorded in the Bible from the lips of men was that glorious outburst of thanksgiving by the hosts of Israel at the Red Sea:—

[Sidenote: _At the Red Sea_]

“I will sing unto the Lord, for He hath triumphed gloriously;
The horse and his rider hath He thrown into the sea.
The Lord is my strength and song,
And He is become my salvation;
This is my God, and I will praise Him;
My father’s God, and I will exalt Him.”

“Thy right hand, O Lord, is glorious in power,
Thy right hand, O Lord, dasheth in pieces the enemy.
Who is like unto Thee, O Lord, among the gods?
Who is like Thee, glorious in holiness,
Fearful in praises, doing wonders?”

“The Lord shall reign forever and ever....
Sing ye to Jehovah, for He hath triumphed gloriously.”[257]

* * * * *

Great have been the blessings received by men in response to songs of praise. The few words recounting an experience of the wilderness journey of Israel have a lesson worthy of our thought:—

[Sidenote: _Unsealed by Song_]

“They went to Beer; that is the well whereof the Lord spake unto Moses, Gather the people together, and I will give them water.”[258] “Then sang Israel this song:—

“Spring up, O well; sing ye unto it:
The well which the princes digged,
Which the nobles of the people delved,
With the scepter, and with their staves.”[259]

How often in spiritual experience is this history repeated! how often by words of holy song are unsealed in the soul the springs of penitence and faith, of hope and love and joy!

[Sidenote: _With Praise_]

It was with songs of praise that the armies of Israel went forth to the great deliverance under Jehoshaphat. To Jehoshaphat had come the tidings of threatened war. “There cometh a great multitude against thee,” was the message, “the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them other beside.” “And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. And Judah gathered themselves together, to ask help of the Lord; even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.” And Jehoshaphat, standing in the temple-court before his people, poured out his soul in prayer, pleading God’s promise, with confession of Israel’s helplessness. “We have no might against this great company that cometh against us,” he said; “neither know we what to do; but our eyes are upon Thee.”[260]

[Sidenote: “_The Battle Is Not Yours_”]

Then upon Jahaziel a Levite “came the Spirit of the Lord; ... and he said, Harken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the Lord unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s.... Ye shall not need to fight in this battle; set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord.... Fear not, nor be dismayed; to-morrow go out against them; for the Lord will be with you.”[261]

[Sidenote: _Victory_]

“And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa.”[262] Before the army went singers, lifting their voices in praise to God,—praising Him for the victory promised.

On the fourth day thereafter, the army returned to Jerusalem, laden with the spoil of their enemies, singing praise for the victory won.

Through song, David, amidst the vicissitudes of his changeful life, held communion with heaven. How sweetly are his experiences as a shepherd lad reflected in the words:—

[Sidenote: _The Shepherd Psalm_]

“The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures;
He leadeth me beside the still waters....
Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil; for Thou art with me;
Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me.”[263]

In his manhood a hunted fugitive, finding refuge in the rocks and caves of the wilderness, he wrote:—

[Sidenote: “_In the Shadow of Thy Wings_”]

“O God, Thou art my God; early will I seek Thee;
My soul thirsteth for Thee; my flesh longeth for Thee,
In a dry and weary land, where no water is....
Thou hast been my help,
And in the shadow of Thy wings will I rejoice.”

“Why art thou cast down, O my soul?
And why art thou disquieted within me?
Hope thou in God;
For I shall yet praise Him,
Who is the health of my countenance,
And my God.”

“The Lord is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the strength of my life;
Of whom shall I be afraid?”[264]

The same trust is breathed in the words written when, a dethroned and crownless king, David fled from Jerusalem at the rebellion of Absalom. Spent with grief and the weariness of his flight, he with his company had tarried beside the Jordan for a few hours’ rest. He was awakened by the summons to immediate flight. In the darkness, the passage of the deep and swift-flowing stream must be made by that whole company of men, women, and little children; for hard after them were the forces of the traitor-son.

In that hour of darkest trial, David sang:—

[Sidenote: _Songs in the Night_]

“I cried unto the Lord with my voice,
And He heard me out of His holy hill.

“I laid me down and slept;
I awaked; for the Lord sustained me.
I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people,
That have set themselves against me round about.”[265]

After his great sin, in the anguish of remorse and self-abhorrence he still turned to God as his best friend:

“Have mercy upon me, according to Thy loving-kindness;
According unto the multitude of Thy tender mercies blot out my
transgressions....
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.”[266]

[Sidenote: _Yearnings for Home_]

In his long life, David found on earth no resting-place. “We are strangers before Thee, and sojourners,” he said, “as all our fathers were; our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is no abiding.”[267]

“God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble.
Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed,
And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea.”

“There is a river, the streams whereof make glad the city of God,
The holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High.
God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved:
God shall help her, at the dawn of morning....
The Lord of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our refuge.”

“This God is our God forever and ever;
He will be our guide even unto death.”[268]

With a song, Jesus in His earthly life met temptation. Often when sharp, stinging words were spoken, often when the atmosphere about Him was heavy with gloom, with dissatisfaction, distrust, or oppressive fear, was heard His song of faith and holy cheer.

[Sidenote: _The Saviour’s Song_]

On that last sad night of the Passover supper, as He was about to go forth to betrayal and to death, His voice was lifted in the psalm:—

“Blessed be the name of the Lord From this time forth and forevermore. From the rising of the sun until the going down of the same The Lord’s name is to be praised.”

“I love the Lord, because He hath heard my voice and my supplications. Because He hath inclined His ear unto me, Therefore will I call upon Him as long as I live.

“The sorrows of death compassed me, And the pains of hell gat hold upon me; I found trouble and sorrow. Then called I upon the name of the Lord: O Lord, I beseech Thee, deliver my soul. Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; Yea, our God is merciful.

“The Lord preserveth the simple;
I was brought low, and He helped me.
Return unto thy rest, O my soul;
For the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee.
For Thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my
feet from falling.”[269]

* * * * *

[Sidenote: _In the Last Crisis_]

Amidst the deepening shadows of earth’s last great crisis, God’s light will shine brightest, and the song of hope and trust will be heard in clearest and loftiest strains.

“In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah:
We have a strong city;
Salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks.
Open ye the gates,
That the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in.
Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace
Whose mind is stayed on Thee; because he trusteth in Thee.
Trust ye in the Lord forever;
For in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength.”[270]

* * * * *

[Sidenote: “_With Singing unto Zion_”]

“The ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”[271]

“They shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the Lord; ... and their soul shall be as a watered garden; and they shall not sorrow any more at all.”[272]

* * * * *

The history of the songs of the Bible is full of suggestion as to the uses and benefits of music and song. Music is often perverted to serve purposes of evil, and it thus becomes one of the most alluring agencies of temptation. But, rightly employed, it is a precious gift of God, designed to uplift the thoughts to high and noble themes, to inspire and elevate the soul.

[Sidenote: _Power of Song_]

As the children of Israel, journeying through the wilderness, cheered their way by the music of sacred song, so God bids His children to-day gladden their pilgrim life. There are few means more effective for fixing His words in the memory than repeating them in song. And such song has wonderful power. It has power to subdue rude and uncultivated natures; power to quicken thought and to awaken sympathy, to promote harmony of action, and to banish the gloom and foreboding that destroy courage and weaken effort.

[Sidenote: _A Means of Education_]

It is one of the most effective means of impressing the heart with spiritual truth. How often to the soul hard-pressed and ready to despair, memory recalls some word of God’s,—the long-forgotten burden of a childhood song,—and temptations lose their power, life takes on new meaning and new purpose, and courage and gladness are imparted to other souls!

The value of song as a means of education should never be lost sight of. Let there be singing in the home, of songs that are sweet and pure, and there will be fewer words of censure, and more of cheerfulness and hope and joy. Let there be singing in the school, and the pupils will be drawn closer to God, to their teachers, and to one another.

As a part of religious service, singing is as much an act of worship as is prayer. Indeed, many a song is prayer. If the child is taught to realize this, he will think more of the meaning of the words he sings, and will be more susceptible to their power.

[Sidenote: _The Angels’ Song_]

As our Redeemer leads us to the threshold of the Infinite, flushed with the glory of God, we may catch the themes of praise and thanksgiving from the heavenly choir round about the throne; and as the echo of the angels’ song is awakened in our earthly homes, hearts will be drawn closer to the heavenly singers. Heaven’s communion begins on earth. We learn here the keynote of its praise.

_Mysteries of the Bible_

“CANST THOU BY SEARCHING
FIND OUT GOD?”

[Sidenote: “_Canst Thou Find Out God?_”]

No finite mind can fully comprehend the character or the works of the Infinite One. We can not by searching find out God. To minds the strongest and most highly cultured, as well as to the weakest and most ignorant, that holy Being must remain clothed in mystery. But though “clouds and darkness are round about Him, righteousness and judgment are the foundation of His throne.”[273] We can so far comprehend His dealing with us as to discern boundless mercy united to infinite power. We can understand as much of His purposes as we are capable of comprehending; beyond this we may still trust the hand that is omnipotent, the heart that is full of love.

[Sidenote: _Ground for Trust_]

The word of God, like the character of its Author, presents mysteries that can never be fully comprehended by finite beings. But God has given in the Scriptures sufficient evidence of their divine authority. His own existence, His character, the truthfulness of His word, are established by testimony that appeals to our reason; and this testimony is abundant. True, He has not removed the possibility of doubt; faith must rest upon evidence, not demonstration; those who wish to doubt have opportunity; but those who desire to know the truth find ample ground for faith.

We have no reason to doubt God’s word because we can not understand the mysteries of His providence. In the natural world we are constantly surrounded with wonders beyond our comprehension. Should we then be surprised to find in the spiritual world also mysteries that we can not fathom? The difficulty lies solely in the weakness and narrowness of the human mind.

[Sidenote: _Mysteries Evidence of Divinity_]

The mysteries of the Bible, so far from being an argument against it, are among the strongest evidences of its divine inspiration. If it contained no account of God but that which we could comprehend; if His greatness and majesty could be grasped by finite minds, then the Bible would not, as now, bear the unmistakable evidences of divinity. The greatness of its themes should inspire faith in it as the word of God.

[Sidenote: _Simplicity and Adaptation_]

The Bible unfolds truth with a simplicity and an adaptation to the needs and longings of the human heart that has astonished and charmed the most highly cultivated minds, while to the humble and uncultured also it makes plain the way of life. “The wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.”[274] No child need mistake the path. Not one trembling seeker need fail of walking in pure and holy light. Yet the most simply stated truths lay hold upon themes elevated, far-reaching, infinitely beyond the power of human comprehension,—mysteries that are the hiding of His glory,—mysteries that overpower the mind in its research, while they inspire the sincere seeker for truth with reverence and faith. The more we search the Bible, the deeper is our conviction that it is the word of the living God, and human reason bows before the majesty of divine revelation.

[Sidenote: _Limit to Comprehension_]

God intends that to the earnest seeker the truths of His word shall be ever unfolding. While “the secret things belong unto the Lord our God,” “those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children.”[275] The idea that certain portions of the Bible can not be understood has led to neglect of some of its most important truths. The fact needs to be emphasized, and often repeated, that the mysteries of the Bible are not such because God has sought to conceal truth, but because our own weakness or ignorance makes us incapable of comprehending or appropriating truth. The limitation is not in His purpose, but in our capacity. Of those very portions of Scripture often passed by as impossible to be understood, God desires us to understand as much as our minds are capable of receiving. “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God,” that we may be “thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”[276]

[Sidenote: _Inexhaustible Riches_]

It is impossible for any human mind to exhaust even one truth or promise of the Bible. One catches the glory from one point of view, another from another point; yet we can discern only gleamings. The full radiance is beyond our vision.

As we contemplate the great things of God’s word, we look into a fountain that broadens and deepens beneath our gaze. Its breadth and depth pass our knowledge. As we gaze, the vision widens; stretched out before us we behold a boundless, shoreless sea.

Such study has vivifying power. The mind and heart acquire new strength, new life.

[Sidenote: _Tested by Experience_]

This experience is the highest evidence of the divine authorship of the Bible. We receive God’s word as food for the soul, through the same evidence by which we receive bread as food for the body. Bread supplies the need of our nature; we know by experience that it produces blood and bone and brain. Apply the same test to the Bible: when its principles have actually become the elements of character, what has been the result? what changes have been made in the life?—“Old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”[277] In its power, men and women have broken the chains of sinful habit. They have renounced selfishness. The profane have become reverent, the drunken sober, the profligate pure. Souls that have borne the likeness of Satan, have been transformed into the image of God. This change is itself the miracle of miracles. A change wrought by the word, it is one of the deepest mysteries of the word. We can not understand it; we can only believe, as declared by the Scriptures, it is “Christ in you, the hope of glory.”[278]

A knowledge of this mystery furnishes a key to every other. It opens to the soul the treasures of the universe, the possibilities of infinite development.

[Sidenote: _Pledge of Eternal Growth_]

And this development is gained through the constant unfolding to us of the character of God,—the glory and the mystery of the written word. If it were possible for us to attain to a full understanding of God and His word, there would be for us no further discovery of truth, no greater knowledge, no further development. God would cease to be supreme, and man would cease to advance. Thank God, it is not so. Since God is infinite, and in Him are all the treasures of wisdom, we may to all eternity be ever searching, ever learning, yet never exhaust the riches of His wisdom, His goodness, or His power.

_History and Prophecy_

“WHO HATH DECLARED THIS FROM
ANCIENT TIME? HAVE NOT I THE
LORD? THERE IS NO GOD ELSE”

[Sidenote: _The Earliest of Annals_]

The Bible is the most ancient and the most comprehensive history that men possess. It came fresh from the fountain of eternal truth, and throughout the ages a divine hand has preserved its purity. It lights up the far-distant past, where human research in vain seeks to penetrate. In God’s word only do we behold the power that laid the foundations of the earth, and that stretched out the heavens. Here only do we find an authentic account of the origin of nations. Here only is given a history of our race unsullied by human pride or prejudice.

[Sidenote: _Philosophy of History_]

In the annals of human history the growth of nations, the rise and fall of empires, appear as dependent on the will and prowess of man. The shaping of events seems, to a great degree, to be determined by his power, ambition, or caprice. But in the word of God the curtain is drawn aside, and we behold, behind, above, and through all the play and counter-play of human interests and power and passions, the agencies of the all-merciful One, silently, patiently working out the counsels of His own will.

[Sidenote: _Distribution of Races_]

The Bible reveals the true philosophy of history. In those words of matchless beauty and tenderness spoken by the apostle Paul to the sages of Athens is set forth God’s purpose in the creation and distribution of races and nations: He “hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed and the bounds of their habitation; that they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after Him, and find Him.”[279] God declares that whosoever will may come “into the bond of the covenant.”[280] In the creation it was His purpose that the earth be inhabited by beings whose existence should be a blessing to themselves and to one another, and an honor to their Creator. All who will may identify themselves with this purpose. Of them it is spoken, “This people have I formed for Myself; they shall show forth My praise.”[281]

God has revealed in His law the principles that underlie all true prosperity both of nations and of individuals. “This is your wisdom and your understanding,” Moses declared to the Israelites of the law of God. “It is not a vain thing for you; because it is your life.”[282] The blessings thus assured to Israel are, on the same conditions and in the same degree, assured to every nation and every individual under the broad heavens.

[Sidenote: _National Prosperity_]

The power exercised by every ruler on the earth is Heaven-imparted; and upon his use of the power thus bestowed, his success depends. To each the word of the divine Watcher is, “I girded thee, though thou hast not known Me.”[283] And to each the words spoken to Nebuchadnezzar of old are the lesson of life: “Break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by showing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity.”[284]

[Sidenote: _The Source of Power_]

To understand these things,—to understand that “righteousness exalteth a nation;” that “the throne is established by righteousness,” and “upholden by mercy;”[285] to recognize the outworking of these principles in the manifestation of His power who “removeth kings, and setteth up kings,”[286] —this is to understand the philosophy of history.

In the word of God only is this clearly set forth. Here it is shown that the strength of nations, as of individuals, is not found in the opportunities or facilities that appear to make them invincible; it is not found in their boasted greatness. It is measured by the fidelity with which they fulfil God’s purpose.

[Sidenote: _Object of Government_]

An illustration of this truth is found in the history of ancient Babylon. To Nebuchadnezzar the king the true object of national government was represented under the figure of a great tree, whose height “reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the end of all the earth; the leaves thereof were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all;” under its shadow the beasts of the field dwelt, and among its branches the birds of the air had their habitation.[287] This representation shows the character of a government that fulfils God’s purpose,—a government that protects and upbuilds the nation.

[Sidenote: _Babylon the Great_]

God exalted Babylon that it might fulfil this purpose. Prosperity attended the nation, until it reached a height of wealth and power that has never since been equaled,—fitly represented in the Scriptures by the inspired symbol, a “head of gold.”[288]

But the king failed of recognizing the power that had exalted him. Nebuchadnezzar in the pride of his heart said: “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honor of my majesty?”[289]

[Sidenote: _Its Oppressive Power_]

Instead of being a protector of men, Babylon became a proud and cruel oppressor. The words of Inspiration picturing the cruelty and greed of rulers in Israel, reveal the secret of Babylon’s fall, and of the fall of many another kingdom since the world began: “Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed; but ye feed not the flock. The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them.”[290]

[Sidenote: _Retribution_]

To the ruler of Babylon came the sentence of the divine Watcher: O king, “to thee it is spoken: The kingdom is departed from thee.”[291]

“Come down, and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon,
Sit on the ground; there is no throne....
Sit thou silent,
And get thee into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans;
For thou shalt no more be called the lady of kingdoms.”[292]