The Presbyterian of the South : [combining the] Southwestern Presbyterian, Central Presbyterian, Southern Presbyterian. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1909-1931, February 10, 1909, Page 9, Image 9

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

February 10, 1909. THE PRESBYTER! Great Commission, "Teaching tlicm." Teaching them what? (1) "To observe; (2) all things." "All" things absolutely? No; very far from it; all things (3) "Whatsoever I have commanded you." A very severe limitation, indeed, cutting up rationalism bv the roots. "Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you." Go the fullest length and breadth of my commandment, but at that point come to an absolutely full stop; venttirn nnt rmr? tmir'c Km-xlfl, T* 1 VJ uivauill ut^UHU. 1 CilCIl Illy word, not yours. Beware of palming off upon the people that which comes "out of your own heart" and iabeling it the "truth of God." It is "rebellion." It is the tap-root of all heathenism. "I sit a queen, and am no widow," says the Babylonian harlot. All preaching is teaching, but not all teaching is preaching. The former is illustrated by Jonah's "preaching" to Nineveh; by John the Baptist, "crying in the wilderness," etc., etc. The latter is illustrated by Jesus' teaching Nicodemus by night, and by his conversation with the woman of Samaria as he sat at the curb of Jacob's well. Let it suffice, for the time being, to call attention briefly to 2 Tim. 4:2 and 5: "Preach (herald) the word." "Do the work of an evangelist." The herald is sufficiently familiar. The peculiar functions of the evangelist are sufficiently indicated by the general contents of these two epistles to Timothy, e. g., 1 Tim. 3:15, "That thou rnayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God." Also, Titus 1: 5, "For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldst set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city as I had appointed thee." And again, Acts 8:5-40. That Philip was an "evangelist" is distinctly asserted in Acts 21:8; also he is affirmed to be the same "which was one of the seven." That he was acting as "evangelist" in this chapter is proven (1) by the class or order of "work" he was doing; (2) by the explicit word of scripture, viz., 8:4, "went everywhere evangelizing the world" (Greek) ; v. 12, "evangelizing concerning the kingdom of God"; v. 25,-"they (Peter and John) returned to Jerusalem, evangelizing many villages of the Samaritans"; v. 35, "Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture evangelized unto him the Jesus"; v. 40, "and massing through he evangelized all the cities, till he came to Caesarea." Now, this fact, together with the force of the preposition, pleen ' not "ei mee," completely refutes the false inference, that they who were scattered abroad were "all," men, women and children, "except the apostles." It teaches that "all" the officials were "scattered abroad, i>Yr(>nt" tUnt- 1 < . . .... ? .. . ?mat umtiiu ciass to wnicn "the apostles" belonged. If the contrary were stated, viz., that the men, women and children (private members) "were scattered abroad but not "the apostles" (officials) then, (i) the mention of "Philip" would be a contradiction; and, (2) it would follow that men, women and children (private members) being "they that were scattered abroad," went everywhere "evangelizing the word" and "baptizing as Philip did, and as they would have right?authority to do if they were all "evangelist.*'* asPhilip was> Waynesboro, Ga. * 4 AN OF THE SOUTH. 9 CALVIN AS A MAN. By Prof. Henry E. Dosker, D. D. V. When D. L. Stahelm was writing his biography of Calvin, he received a letter, in which.these words are found: "I know not how to view this figure in its humanity and thus to appreciate it. He looks to me like ice and granite, as a man of a different species." The writer begs, therefore, to be introduced to the human side of Calvin's life. Bossuet is the author of the oft quoted words: "Un hommc triste, un esprit chagrin." Our aim in this brief sketch is to glance at Calvin merely from the human standpoint. What do we find? Here is his traditional picture. A man of middle stature and attenuated frame. Face thin and keen, complexion sallow, nose prominent and finely chiseled, brow high and commanding, eyes black as night and gleaming with that peculiar bluish light, which indicates deep and clear thinking, mouth large and well formed; a man who in every line of face and in every action betrays his Latin origin, a man once seen never to be forgotten. Physically he was never strong and he endured much. His strenuous life, incessant study and manifold cares quickly sapped his vitality and he died at 54, old before his time. He ate sparingly, in his last years but once a day, and slept little. In his personal habits he was extremely neat, but almost stoical as to the limitations _r 1.: i- <<TT . t 1 - - ?? "vt - .? - ui ins warns. nc iovea poverty. i\ot even tne Ditterest of his enemies could say, with a shadow of truth, that Calvin was ever swayed by sordid motives or selfish interests. He was a man of prayer and of holy disposition. In his letters again and again he begs for the prayers of his friends. To him God was an ever present reality, "his strength and daily resource." When sorrow and suffering had mellowed him, in his later years, his prayers were touched with tenderest trust and faith. He was a leader of 'men, because he was a man of God. As a preacher, Calvin was simple, direct and practical nlwavQ insictinrr nn faifli in ortirtn TToifli trine muted into life alone counted with him. He always spoke extempore and deliberately, on account of a weak chest. His address was neither ornate nor impassioned, although he could rise to heights of impassioned oratory, when occasion demanded it. Then he became irresistible and all quailed before him. He had progressive ideas and yet proved again and again that he was the product of his environment. Thus, contrary to prevailing ideas, he advocated burial outside the churches and wrote against astrology, in the thralls of which his superstitious age was firmly held. He was in this regard ahead of Bucer, Melanchthon and even Luther and Zwingli, and many other leading men of atht day. He resisted the tendency to presentiments and mysticism. His letters and writings abound in humor and he knew full well how to handle the keen-edged weapon of sarcasm. On the other hand, he was excessively modest, the more astonishing, as it is impossible that Calvin could' have been unconscious of the prominent place he occupied in the world of his day; and yet