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ON THE HOLY BIBLE ~v MRS - A - SM,TH ,RV,NE
N CLOSING up, once for all, the
canon of Holy Scripture, it was
meet and proper that the final
words should be distinctly solemn
and impressive—the divine seal
and stamp upon the Heavenly
communication, which no man
should violate, and so it was! The
seventeenth verse of the last
V
chapter rings out a joyful peal, reiterating
and pressing home the gospel invitation—
the free open way to salvation by the Son of
God—the best news that ever came to a lost
world! But there immediately follows the
thunderous tone of the fearful words of the
eighteenth and nineteenth verses—the last
decree of omnipotence upon record; and upon
these weighty words I propose to speak. Only
one other announcement is made, and God’s
Revelation to man is done—and this pro
claims the last, glorious, prophecy of the sec
ond, and imminent, coming of our Lord Jesus.
Who shall say that God’s work was not well
done and fully complete? Who shall dare to
tamper with His word, which is the wisdom
and the power of God?
Let us, for a moment, view the situation.
God had been the Father and Creator of man.
Man had fallen, and come short of the glory
of God. Heaven and earth were appalled—
Hell was jubilant, for man was lost! Lost?
Yes, but not beyond God’s power to save. For,
even as the guilty pair who had forfeited
their first estate were sadly passing outside
the gates of Paradise, God Himself was with
them, and pointing them to a higher and
better way, by the figure of the Cherubim
(which kept the way to the Tree of Life)
itself a type and a prophecy of the coming
of the Son of Man, to take away sin, and to
die for His people.
So, from the moment of their fall, they
had promised and prefigured to them the
great sacrifice—and redemption assured by
the way of the Cross.
And what, may I ask, could be more wor
thy of our God than such an act, what more
divine—than to seek and to save the lost?
We can almost perceive the thoughts of the
divine mind—almost hear the beating of the
great heart of God.
IT IS NOW “DR.” BEESON.
President Beeson has recently returned
from commencement at his alma mater, Uni
versity of Alabama. While there he was paid
the highest honor that the University could
confer upon him, the honorary degree of
LL.D. The President, in announcing this de
gree to the audience, stated that it was for
“distinguished service” and “illustrious at
tainments.” Only one other person received
this degree at the commencement, that was
Dr. J. H. Johnson, President of Blind Insti
tute at Talladega, Alabama, who was a col
lege-mate of Dr. J. W. Beeson.
It had been exactly twenty-five years since
Dr. Beeson stood on that same platform and
received his A. B. degree. Later he received
the honor of M. A. degree. This degree was
conferred upon him for his great success as
college president, having been in this posi
tion for two years.
President Beeson has been out of the State
since his graduation, as he was five years
President of a college in Arcadia, La., five
years in Demopolis, Ala., and has been in
Meridian, Miss., for fifteen years as Presi
dent of the Meridian Woman’s College.
Now, as a matter of fact, the editor of The
Golden Age don’t believe much in the “D. D.”
business among preachers, but it is all right
for a man who has won marked distinction as
an educator to be honored as a “Doctor of
Laws,” and we heartily congratulate Dr. Bee
son because of the recognition that has
The Golden Age for June 15, 1911.
Man must not be lost utterly—the tempter
must not, nay, shall not, triumph by the way
of sin—since the sinless One shall come and
bind captivity captive and give gifts to men!
Then it came to pass—just then—that
“God so loved the world that he gave his
only begotten Son.” There in the First of
Genesis is the declaration of the Christ, just
as there is recorded in the last of Revelation,
the very same—and all through, from cover
to cover of the Holy Book, is the same teach
ing and preaching—for the guidance and sal
vation of man —man not only to be restored,
but to be lifted far above his pristine glory,
by the promised Son of Man—this God-given
sacrifice for the sin of the world!
Oh! the blessed Unity of the marvelous
work of the Spirit in framing this Word of
God! Let no one dare to meddle with its
teachings.
But we left the guilty ones, parents of the
race, outside the gates—and the way would
be long and hard, darkness would fall and
the evil one would always hover near—they
must not wander alone, they need guide and
compass upon the way—and now again what
act more worthy of our God than that He
not only implant Hope in the heart, but give
them the Word of His Mouth—a book of
directions—for the way?
They need line upon line, precept upon pre
cept; they, poor lost, sinful humanity, need
the power of God and the wisdom of God —
and they get it in the Blessed Bible! And
there is a threefold reason for this: First,
God’s masterpiece, man, must not fail, for
God’s honor and glory are involved; second,
poor, lost man must be saved for his own
sake, because he is immortal, and, lastly, Sa
tan must not—shall not—be allowed to come
off conqueror in this fight! Therefore, the
great God and Almighty Father set to work
to compile and compound the Holy Book, the
unerring guide, the code of His honor, chart
and compass of man, and it is just as per
fect as the care and love of God can not fail
to make it.
Here a little—there a little—having all —
lacking nothing. Seers, prophets, saints, law
givers, martyrs, captives, apostles, preachers,
crowned his work of building one of the most
remarkable educational institutions in Amer
ica.
UPSHAW IN FLORIDA.
(Editorial in Miami Daily Metropolis.)
It should be a pleasant thought for Will D.
Upshaw to carry away with him that he has
left Miami a better city, than when he came
into it ten days ago, but it is probable that
the practical, philosophical “lay-preacher” is
only permitting himself to hope that such is
the case.
Evangelistic services, emotional and some
times sensational, frequently stir a commu
nity to its depths and then, when the froth
and the churning waves are gone, there
comes a time when the stagnant pool of so
cial life becomes unwholesome and unlovely.
But none of this has been brought to Mi
ami by the fascinating, talented Georgian.
His utterances were impassioned and his
power over his audiences marvelous, but
there was none of the bizarre, none of the
mountebank in the delivery of the series of
strong sermons that he preached to the peo
ple of Miami. He carried his hearers high
on the waves, it is true, but he left them with
the Son of God Himself, have all spoken and
written; sweet singers have sung their death
less psalms, as moved by the Holy Ghost,
and when John, on Patmos, wrote the final
“Amen,” the Holy Canon was complete! Who
shall dare to lay finger on so sacred a trust?
Well do we know that it has been ever the
policy of the evil one to shackle or destroy
this Word of God, but neither could he find
chains strong enough to bind it down, nor
fires hot enough, in market places, to burn
it up and he now sets up a new plan—of alter
ing the Word, or giving it a new teaching—
“leaving out” or “adding to.” Now read the
eighteenth and nineteenth verses of the last
chapter of the Book of Revelation and see
how the forethought of our God and His wis
dom meet this crisis and provide its penalty.
It is well to remember that this Word of
God, having withstood all assaults, is Divine,
and can never be destroyed! And, as it is
r aith (not works) that saves us—so let our
confidence stand firm—lest we, losing our
Faith, shall lose our souls. As the inspired
Seer wrote these two verses the vision of the
present age was before him—the apostasy of
the Church—leaders perverted—the flock
misled, the Worn assailed and torn like an
old garment—and His righteous wrath pours
forth like a flood upon these corrupters of the
Truth.
It is both a prophecy and a warning! Lis
ten : See how even hang the balances! “If any
man shall add unto these things God shall add
unto him the plagues that are written in this
Book.” Listen: “If any man shall take away
from the words of the Book of this prophecy,
God shall take away his part out of the Holy
City and from the things that are written
in this Book.” Dire decree, and irrevocable!
Why? “Because they shall make many to
fall!” The Word of God is the veiled power
of the Godhead, incorporated for us—it even
became flesh and dwelt among us, and not
one jot or tittle of it shall fail!
Honor God and keep His Commandments;
this is the whole duty of man!
For by grace are ye saved through faith,
which is the gift of God, to whom be all the
glory!
an abiding desire in their hearts to always
reach the higher places.
Every person listening to him talk felt
that here was an earnest, sincere man, be
lieving in all intensity the statements that
he made and wishing in all love to bring the
truth of his words home to the hearts of his
auditors.
It is by such men—fearless and strong and
gifted—that great things are accomplished.
Incased in a plaster-paris cast and hampered
by crutches, Mr. Upshaw is a living lesson
to men who are robust and strong. He seems
to be unconscious of possessing a physical
drawback—and his audiences forget it with
him, so superior he seems to be to mere phys
ical conditions.
Despising evil with all the power of a big
soul, he is perfectly free from any fear of
coming out to be shot at. He says what he
thinks—and there are few public speakers
who can excel him in silvery eloquence or in
terse, home-driven colloquisms, as the need
is—he says what he thinks and he leaves
thoughts behind him.
Miami has been blessed by the coming of
Will D. Upshaw.
Remember—The Golden Age is the only
paper in the world publishing Dr. Brough
ton’s sermons every weefc. Subscribe. Tell
your friends.
