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January 12, 1910. THE PRESBYTERIAN
THE UNITY OF THE BIBLE.
The Bible is a unit. One thought pervades it from
Genesis to Revelation. One dominant purpose underlies
prophecy and history, parable and poem. Although
it took i,600 years to write the Bible, and although
nerhanc ??? -'?
-0? x 1? *j uuuiau miners, representing all
degrees of social life, intellectual culture and spiritual
attainment, were employed in this sacred composition,
still a complete unity marks the entire book,
There is, indeed a great difference between the Psalms
of David and the Epistles of Paul; but it is the difference
between the moon showing us a crescent of
her disk and the moon in the fullness of her beauty;
it is the difference between the gray dawn of the
morning and the splendor of nooday. One thought
pervades the book as the diaason pervades, unifies
and dominates a great oratorio.
i ne unity ot the Bible, considering the manner of
its human origin, is one of its great wonders and one
of its divine beauties. If we deny its divine inspiration,
it seems impossible to account for its historic
and spiritual unity. The charm of this unity grows
upon us the more we study the sacred records. This
unity is internal rather than external, essential and not
accidental, spiritual rather than merely litera-y.
It is delightful to note this unity in the harmony
which marks considerable sections of the Bible. The
first three chapters and the last three chanters of the
Bible show a harmonious unity to a remarkable degree.
Those who have never studied these six chapters
with the thought of their harmony in mind will be
surprised and delighted at its discovery. In :he first
three chapters of Genesis we have the first heaven and
the first earth ruined by the sin of man. In the last
three chapters of Revelation we have an account of a
new heaven and a new earth, the tabernacle of God
being with men. In Genesis we had the victory of
the tempter; in Revelation we have his utter overthrow
and his eternal doom. In that first section inGenesis
we had paradise lost; in this last section of
Revelation we have paradise regained. In the first sec
tion of Genesis we had Adam with his new-found
bride, and both of them tempted and fallen; in the
last section of Revelation we have the second Adam
with his holy and blessed bride, the Church, forever
safe and glorious. In the earlier section we have
death and misery. In the later scripture we have life
and felicity.
In the beginning of the New Testament, as in the
beginning of the Old Testament, we had the holy and
blessed Immanuel, God with us; and in Revelation
the crowning joy of the redeemed in their consciousness
of God's presence, their rapturous realization
of God once again as Immanuel. This presence is
rthe grand consummation, the glorious triumph, the
blessed victory won by the "Strong Son of God."?
Robert Stuart MacArthur.
In Santa Cruz, California, a few weeks ago, a
"Christian Scientist" was addressing a gathering of
his fellow believers. Just as he had uttered the words,
"Sickness is error; death is error," he fell to the floor
of the platform and expired, of sudden heart failure.
And yet there is no such thing as sickness and death!
OF THE SOUTH 41
"FOLLOW ME."
This is the summary of the Christian religion?
the all-inclusive requirement of the Founder. To follow
Christ is to discharge all obligations both to God
and to man, it is to fulfill the duties completely which
grow out of all the relations of life. Christ was never
a husband or father, and yet he who follows Him will
be an ideal husband and father. Christ was never an
official in either State or Church, using the term
Church in the epn^
a. vioiuic msiiLuiion, ana yet to
follow Christ will make one an ideal ruler in any
sphere. He was the ideal man, exhibiting in character
and conduct the model of perfection. Let all be like
Christ, and no one would ever have a just co-mplaint
against another.
There is a loud clamor in some sections of our country
for social and civic righteousness, for the betterment
of the masses, for a more equitable adjustment
of the relations between capital and labor, between
wage earner and wage giver. The Socialists are leadinC
til#' damnr 4-U.o. ? A 1
...0 me vaiiuus iraaes unions and industrial
brotherhoods are swelling the clamor. Reform
associations are adding to its volume, and at length
the Church, through many of its more aggressive
leaders, is lending a voice.
As a means of securing social and civic righteousness,
this clamor points attention to legislation by
which trusts are to be destroyed, corporations restricted,
hours of labor shortened, just wages secured,
child labor abolished, old-age pensions granted and
an all-round improvement of the conditions of the
poor. It is easy to figure it out that legislation could
be made effective to these ends. Only put legislation
in the hands of those who sympathize with these objects,
and the proper laws will be passed. Then put
the execution of the laws in the hands of those who
wish them executed, and the thing is done. In other
words, only let a majority of the people, an influential,
dominant majority of the people set themselves to secure
civic righteousness by means of legislation and
the plan is feasible.
Let US settle it in our 4-U?4. ? 1 *
... ikuiuo LiKH >vc can uesi
promote social and civic righteousness and all
other righteousness by holding up before the
eyes of men Jesus Christ as the ideal and by pledging
with individual men and women to follow him.
By this means better than by any and all other means
we can swell the number of those who will stand for
all that is just in the demands of those who claim to
be the victims of unjust laws and unrighteous social
conditions.?Exchange.
Jehovah, the loving God, distinctly promises to answer
the prayers of his children. He that gave parents
a love for their children, will he not listen to the cries
of his own sons and daughters? He has wonders in
store for them. What they never heard of, never saw
or dreamed of, he will do for them. He will invent
new blessings, if needful. He will ransack sea and
land to feed them ; he will send every angel out of
heaven to succor them, if their distress requires it. He
will astonish them with his grace, and make them feel
that it was never before done in this fashion. All he
asks of them is that they call upon him.?Spurgeon.