Newspaper Page Text
February 21, 1912 1 THE
image and the laws governing bis being in
beauty and complexity far transcend those of the
oak or orange. Did God lose the power to restore
the wicked to perfect implicit and constant
obedience to the laws of his being after the fall?
If he did it was the greatest blunder committed
in heaven or earth to expose Eve to the temptations
of the Devil and justifies Huxley in his
inability to find in nature or history a personal
God.
But again, the objector says, "I have another
and perhaps more serious objection, viz., your
doctrine making God choose one and rejecting
another impeaches the goodness and love of God.
With you Abel was chosen and Cain left, Abraham
was chosen and Terah left to lay down this
choice and rejection as a principle in the divine
irnvppnmont "
0w ? V* UAUVU t.
Yes, it is true; this is God's divine plan and
the objection demands an answer.
First. We must accept the postulate that God
is infinitely good, just and holy, all of his plans,
works and manifestations to man are holy, just
and good. The fact that God has plans and that
these are revealed to us are sufficient at once
for us to admit them as holy, just and good,
whether they conflict with our ideas of justice,
goodness and truth or not.
"For my thoughts are not your thought, neither
are your ways ray ways, saith the Lord. Is.
4:8."
"For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways, and my
thoughts than your thoughts."
Isaiah tells us this question was discussed in
his day and precisely the same impeachment
against Jehovah was then made that is now
made. God answers the above demanding failk
in him, not opposition. Nearly 3U0 years after
Isaiah, Ezekiel and Jeremiah face the same difficulty.
"Yet saith the house of Israel, The
way of the Lord is uot equal. 0 house of Israel,
are not my ways equult are not your ways' unequal
1" Jeremiah meets the question thus,
after Jehovah had sent hiin to potter's house:
"Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
40 house of Israel, cannot 1 do with you
as this potter? saith the Lord. Behold, as the
clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in mine
hand, O house of Israel." This is very high
ground and it has been attacked with great
violence, indeed 1 may say virulence. Still it
is God who speaks.
Second. Objections stated with great force
and clarity are not necessarily valid. The llcv.
"William Fenn, in a Unitarian tract makes this
statement: "The Bible does not supply all the
materials for a perfect system of theology, its
facts are insufficient and frequently inaccurate
and its ideals not always sound," etc. This
objection to biblical fucts and ideals is fallacious
and utterly unworthy a moment's
thought. Still it is accepted by thousands of
"cultured people." Prof Iluxlcy in writing
to Chas. Kingsley declares, "The Christian is
justified in calling me an atheist or infidel.
I cannot see one shadow or tittle of evidence
that the great unknown underlying the phenomenon
of the universe stands to us in the relation
of Father." Blatchford, a London infidel,
gives us this: "I cannot see in science
or history or experience any signs" of a personal
C!~A TT_1 i>_ T i -
.vu?. uuu. iiuuvn a journal says: "society
abounds with earnest and educated people who
have lost faith in a living, personal God."
These men are honest in their convictions and
belief; the Journal says society abounds with
these earnest and educated unbelievers in a
personal God. A cure for these infidel errors
would be a firm belief in the Scriptures as the
holy and inerrant word of God. Now, the cure
for a refusal to believe in the doctrine of Pre
PRESBYTERIAN OP THE SC
destination is a belief in the word as stated
by Paul: "For whom he did foreknow he also
predestinated to be conformed to the image of
his Son." Unbelief in God's divine declaration
has been the history of the world and even
God's people. "They spake against God, and
said, can-God furnish a table in the wilderness?"
(Ps. 78:79). Christ "did not many
mighty works there because of their unbelief."
Again Paul in Ephcsians is equally emphatic
and undoubtedly Paul believed what was said
and looked upon it as a revelation of Jesus
whose servant (yes, slave) and agent he was.
"Having predestinated us unto (eis into) the
adoption of children by Jesus Christ to (eis for)
himself." Paul distinctly states that these
F.nhocian^ mnro 1 ^ 1 " 1 0
^j/uvoiuus ntiv J/l cucanuaicu ujr uuu I11IIISC1J.
for himself; it is a plain, emphatic statement
and just as worthy of our belief and acceptance
as any declaration in the Bible. I know the
doctrine has been eliminated by Nelson's American
version and it is paraded every month before
our eyes and the eyes of our children for
their delectation as I suppose. For the devil
hates this doctrine as he does the Deity of
Christ. But there will be a grand revival of
the doctrine and God will raise up men with
the courage and audacity of Calvin, Beza and
Edwards. We will have no miserable npologistic
sermons as titulate even the Southern
Church. But what does the Bible say concerning
this unbelief of his word. It may be profitable
to take up the subject briefly. "Though
he had done so many miracles before them;
yet they believed not on him.' If the best men
of the age, "cultured and educated," could reject
and despise the miracles of Christ, it is
not astonishing to see men reject and even despise
the plain statements of Paul. Luke 22:67,
"Art thou the Messiah? tell us. He said to
them, if I tell you you will not believe." The
men who asked this question stood high in the
Jewish Church as holy and devoted to God;
yet Christ brands them with the sin of unbelief.
When the Hoiy Spirit comes he will "reprove
the world of sin because they believe not on
me." Again Paul was preaching in a Jewish
synagogue in Antioch of Pisidia, Asia Minor,
and after doing with Barnabas his best to persaude
them to accept eternal life many were
offended; they were highly offended and thus
he spoke: "Beware therefore, lest that come
upon you, which is spoken of the prophets;
Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish;
for I work a work in your days, a work which
ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare
it unto you." On the next Sabbath the
contradiction and blasphemy was worse, then
Paul turned to the Gentiles who heard the
word gladly. "And as many as were ordained
to eternal life believed," Acts 1:14.
A SAFE MAN.
The man who is scrupulously polite and respectful
to all women in public, but habitually
saves coarse manners and vulgar language for
his own wife and daughter is no gentleman. He
is only an impostcr. The young man who bows
with charming elegance to lady friends, and goes
home to sneer at his mother, disobey her wishes
and treat her with familiar discourtesy, is a
pinchbeck imitation of a gentleman. Genuine
good manners and gentle breeding should begin
at home. As a rule the men in a community who
are the most trusted are the best men at home.
When a man opens his front gate only to meet
his wife's |ace at the gate radiant with pleasure,
and hears the shouts from the eager children,
"Papa is ooming," it is a safe rule to lend that
man money. He is honest, and will repay it if
he can.?Selected.
) U T H (171) *
ABBOTSFORD AND DRYBURQ.
BY REV. W. II. T. SQUIRES.
We were fain to visit Abbotsford, some three
Scotch miles from Melrose, but loathe to walk
thither. There seemed no help, for the sadfaced
young man who was the factotum of the
small hotel could not possibly drive us that
morning?no, not for a crown a piece! A strong
young Scotchman from Glasgow was at table
with us eating the inevitable oats porridge.
He would take us to Abbotsford in his automobile,
as he had plenty of room and was driving
passed Sir Walter's very gate. He whirled
us there at such a rate, and around such sharp
curves, that if we had met just such another
young Scot, driving from Glasgow in just such
another automobile at the enmn onno/1 ntr^A
v. U wuiuv UUU
around the same curves we would all have been
whirled together into a better world than this.
The old gardener at the Abbotsford gate was
anxious to chat. He looked upon America as
a veritable paradise. lie only regretted that he
had not gone to the golden western republic
when he was young, but he was too old now.
All the people of the poorer classes seemed thus
to long for America. In contrast those who
are noble or well-to-do regard America cynically,
a land of the newly rich, a nation of parvenus.
Almost invariably the poor man would
say, "I had a relative who went out years ago
and made a fortune," the last with a sigh. We
were told of many who made fortunes, but we
feared that manv nf tl\pm
^ ?r? ? v XJVt 0\J OUUSLUiitial
as seemed at the great distance. "You get
tired of so many American sight-seers, do you
not?" we asked the old man. "Tired?" he exclaimed,
"No, indeed, they are the chief eendustry
of this coontry. Not so many have
come this year. I hear the people complaining.
They say the Coronation has frighted them
awa."
For the usual consideration, a nimble sixpence,
some fifty of us were herded like the
beasts of the field through a part of the famous
mansion JSir Walter built here. The guide with
the intonation of a phonograph rattled off his
speech, pelted us \nth names, dates and other
facts as fast as human lips may speak and faster
far than our poor intellects could comprehend.
The study, armory, library, entrance hall, and
other rooms were passed with kaleidoscopic rapidity.
Tantalizing vistas of the beautiful lawn,
gardens and the liiver Tweed could be obtained
in brief glimpses from various windows. It
is a consolation to all those who have a weakness
for relies to learn that the great Sir Walter was
himself a past master in the art of seeking and
obtaining them, lie gathered up many articles
associated with the sad history of the unfortunate
and degenerate "Bonnie Prince Charlie."
Some too connected with the history of that most
beautiful and romantic of queens?Mary Stuart.
A stool is treasured upon which Prince Charlie
sat while he was hiding in the Highlands, and a
ArilPifiv tliflf Hnnon At l>o.l ~ 1 5 * 1 1
? \(uwu iimi jr uau uiU!i|)VU Unci KliSCQ
as she mounted the fatal scaffold to lay her head
upon the block at Fotheringay.
It was a short ride to the little village of St.
Boswcll's east of the triple Eildon Hills.
Through the village we hurried and along Bowden
Burn, across the Tweed on a suspension
foot-bridge and under the giant oaks to Dryburg
?"City of Trees." Sir Walter Scott and his
family are here laid to rest. This abbey was
never richly ornamented as was Melrose. The
ruined arches are graceful and the gothic is perfect,
but there is no carving of stone. One looks
in vain for the statues of kings and queens,
(Continued on Page 5.)