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eur of age, with no trace of its weakness; of
the tenderness of age, without imbecility; of
the eloquence of age, with undiminished fer
vor; delivered over a register of cadence mel
dowed by a tremor in harmony with the snow
upou his head, but vivified by a dynamic power
in harmony with the valor and sanctity of his
aspect. Let not any reader omit the perusal
of what he said, lie pleaded, as Paul in old
age would have pleaded, for charity, love and
brotherly good-will. I In pleaded that the pres
ent might be used to brighten the future and
hide the past. "Bjt what this Assembly does
today," he exclaimed, "Christ will be greatly
honored ? or dishonored." lie had been told
of one who had so excellent a memory that he
never forgot anything. "I have read of one
who had a still better memory ? Archbishop
Cranmer, who never forgot anything but in
juries. May God in His mercy give us all such
memories."
But the appeal was in vain.
A MUCH NEEDED METHOD OF HOME
MISSION WORK.
By Rev. J. M. Clark. D. D., Superintendent
and Evangelist, Concord Presbytery.
Two kinds of Home Mission work are in
vogue in the Church, viz.: 1 ? New work in
destitute regions, such as great industrial cen
ters, destitute mountain sections, and fron
tier portions of the country^ 2 ? That kind of
work which is designed to aid organized
churches and groups of churches in the sup
port of pastors, commonly called Sustentation
work.
The first of these kinds of Home Missions
is the one that is doing the aggressive work
of the Church, and the second generally does
but little more than keep alive churches that
would probably have died had it not been for
the help that was given them.
Very little aggressive work is accomplished
by Sustentation. The churches thus helped
are usually so weak that several of them have
to be grouped in one pastorate, which neces
sitates such a division of the time and labors
of the pastor that it is practically impossible to
develop them so as to become very potent fac
tors in the extension of the Kingdom of God
either at home or abroad. In many groups of
churches forming pastorates, there are some
that have splendid possibilities in them, but,
because of having to divide time with other
churches in the same group, they have no ade
quate chance for development to the extent to
which they may be capable.
Now, for the sake of a more rapid exten
sion of the Kingdom of God through His or
dained method, the visible Church, I want to
make a plea for those churches that are now
hampered in their development by being
grouped with other churches so as to prevent
the realization of the possibilities that are in
them.
When we stop to think about it, we will
find that there are many such churches, and it
may be shown that a little help from Horn?
Mission Committees would enable them to be
come strong factors in the aggressive work
of the Church in a surprisingly short time.
This work of aiding such churches to be
come potent factors in the Kingdom of God*
is just about as important a service as Home
Mission Committees can render.
If these committees would select some of the
most promising churches, which are now suf
fering from arrested development, on account
of being in groups, and give them such aid
as would be necessary to provide for them all
time pastors, who are capable of bringing out
the latent possibilities which they possess, it
would bo seen that the general work of the
Church would increase in proportion to the
number of churches thus aided.
I sometimes think, as I go around among
the churches, and in the mission fields, that
it would be a wise step for Presbyteries to
suspend to some extent, for a time, their work
on the tiring lines, and give more attention to
the development of the home base. The
"strengthening of the stakes" is just as im
portant in Church work as the "lengthening
of the cords."
Several tilings would result from suitable
attention to this kind of Home Mission work.
Churches thus aided would soon become strong
supporters of the benevolences of the Church,
and thus the general work of the Kingdom
would be promoted through the help of these
new recruits for aggressive work. Again, such
churches, as they are developed, would become
object lessons to others which would be en
couraged to follow their example, and thus the
constant tendency would be to lesson the num
ber of group pastorates and increase the num
ber of pastorates with single churches, both of
which would be a forward step in Church
work.
Would it not be worth while for Home Mis
sion Committees to take this question under se
rious consideration at their next meetings, and
by careful and thoughtful study of group pas
torates within their bounds, ascertain whether
there are any churches that are ready and
anxious for larger development than they can
possibly realize under the circumstances in
which they are now placed?
THE KING S MESSAGE OF TODAY.
By Rev. A. W. Pitzer, D. D.
Commentators on the "Revelation" have
had a hard time in handling the "Beasts" and
disposing of them. The "Beasts" always in
the Scriptures symbolize the Enemy of God;
and yet the "Beasts" of this Book are often
in the presence of God in Heaven, and join
the redeemed in worship.
The "Heading" used by the King James
translators is misleading. The whole book is
not "the Revelation of St. John the Divine,",
but the Revelation of Jesus Christ sent by an
angel to his servant John.
John was simply the human instrument
through whom Christ was revealing Himself.
In this wonderful Book, Jesus Christ is re
vealing Himself in His person and work of re
deeming love. In no possible sense was it a
"Revelation of St. John the Divine."
Jesus revealed Himself to John as the Alpha
and the Omega, the Lord God, who is and who
was and who is to come, the Almighty.
And He came near to John and laid His
right hand upon him, saying, "Fear not; I am
the First and the Last, and the Living One;
and I was dead, and behold, I am alive for ever
more, and I have the keys of death and of
Hades."
Then Christ reveals Himself as the King
Priest in nis robes of office, walking in the
midst of the seven Churches of Asia Minor.
He is inspecting and judging the seven
churches represented by the seven candle
sticks.
The seven Churches of Asia Minor were and
are :
Representative Churches.
They present a completed and perfect pic
ture of all the churches in all generations and
in all lands until the return of the King-Priest
at the end of the age.
How many churches, like Ephesus, have left
their "First Love"; or, like Smyrna, are poor
and persecuted, or like Pergamum, located
where Satan's throne is, and yet holding fast
to the name of Jesus; or Thyatira, suffering
that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a
prophetess, to teach and seduce my servants;
or Sardis, with a name to live, but dead; or
Philadelphia, with an open door, but little
power, yet keeping the Word; or Laodica,
thinking herself rich and in need of nothing,
and yet she is ready to be spued out of the
mouth of the true and faithful Witness?
How searching and startling are these mes
sages of the King-Priest to all the churches
through all Christian centuries in all the earth.
The picture is painted by the King-Priest,
the Inspector and Judge, and it is perfect.
To which of these seven churches do you be
long?
Another Revelation.
A door is opened, and John sees the Re
deemer and Restorer on a throne and around
Him four and twenty thrones, four and twenty
elders, and four Zoa "Living Creatures." The
King James version calls them "Beasts."
The Cherubic Symbol, the man, the lion, the
calf, the eagle, represented the creation and
symbolized redemption through the blood of
the Lamb.
The Cheribnm first appears at the east of the
Garden of Eden as the symbol of redemption,
a place where Jehovah Elohim was worshipped
by Antediluvian believers, who looked for sal
vation through the coming seed of the woman,
who was to bruise the serpent's head\.
The Cherubic Symbol was the Gospel
preached to the Antediluvian world. Heie wts
the shekinah presence of Jehovah, the altar
of sacrifice and the atoning blood.
After the flood, the shekinah presence of
Jehovah appeared to Moses in the burning
bush, and in the cloudy fiery pillar in Egypt
and in the Wilderness.
When the Tabernacle, as the "Dwelling
Place" of Jehovah, was erected and filled with
the shekinah glory, the Cherubim are found in
the Most Iloly Place, just over the Ark of the
Covenant and the Mercy Cover, and from here
Jehovah met with His people and communed
with them.
After 500 years the Tabernacle gave way to
the Temple built by Solomon; and the
shekinah presence of Jehovah, and the
Cherubium reappear in the Most Holy Place.
The Prophet Ezekiel saw the Cherubic sym
bol leaving Jerusalem after its capture by the
Babylonians. He also saw it with the Jews on
the river Chebar.
The next- time we see the Cheribum is
through the open door in Heaven (Rev. 4-5),
as the "Zoa" translated in the A. S. V. as
"Living Creatures." The Greek word "Zoa"
is here translated properly in the A. S. V.
"Living Creatures," not "Beasts," as in the
King James version.
In Rev., 5th and 6th chapters, we have reve
lations of Christ in the midst of His redeemed
creation and the Cherubium sang the new
song. (Rev. 5-9:10.) "Thou art worthy to
take the book and to open the seals thereof,
for thou wast sl^in, and hast redeemed us to
God by Thy blood out of every kindred and
tongue, and people, and nation; hast made as
unto our God kings and priests, and we shall
reign on the earth."
Salem, Va.