Part 9

The mighty power that works through all nature and sustains all things is not, as some men of science claim, merely an all-pervading principle, an actuating energy. God is a spirit; yet He is a personal being, for man was made in His image. As a personal being, God has revealed Himself in His Son. Jesus, the outshining of the Father’s glory, “and the express image of His person,”[166] was on earth found in fashion as a man. As a personal Saviour, He came to the world. As a personal Saviour, He ascended on high. As a personal Saviour, He intercedes in the heavenly courts. Before the throne of God in our behalf ministers “One like the Son of man.”[167]

The apostle Paul, writing by the Holy Spirit, declares of Christ that “all things have been created through Him, and unto Him; and He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”[168] The hand that sustains the worlds in space, the hand that holds in their orderly arrangement and tireless activity all things throughout the universe of God, is the hand that was nailed to the cross for us.

[Sidenote: _Omnipresence; Omniscience_]

The greatness of God is to us incomprehensible. “The Lord’s throne is in heaven;”[169] yet by His Spirit He is everywhere present. He has an intimate knowledge of, and a personal interest in, all the works of His hand.

“Who is like unto the Lord our God, who dwelleth on high, Who humbleth Himself to behold the things that are in heaven, and in the earth!”

“Whither shall I go from Thy Spirit? Or whither shall I flee from Thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, Thou art there; If I make my bed in the grave,[170] behold, Thou art there.

“If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall Thy hand lead me, And Thy right hand shall hold me.”[171]

“Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, Thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou searchest out my path and my lying down, And art acquainted with all my ways.... Thou hast beset me behind and before, And laid Thine hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is high, I can not attain unto it.”[172]

[Sidenote: “_A Father unto You_”]

It was the Maker of all things who ordained the wonderful adaptation of means to end, of supply to need. It was He who in the material world provided that every desire implanted should be met. It was He who created the human soul, with its capacity for knowing and for loving. And He is not in Himself such as to leave the demands of the soul unsatisfied. No intangible principle, no impersonal essence or mere abstraction, can satisfy the needs and longings of human beings in this life of struggle with sin and sorrow and pain. It is not enough to believe in law and force, in things that have no pity, and never hear the cry for help. We need to know of an almighty arm that will hold us up, of an infinite Friend that pities us. We need to clasp a hand that is warm, to trust in a heart full of tenderness. And even so God has in His word revealed Himself.

[Sidenote: _Mysteries in Nature_]

He who studies most deeply into the mysteries of nature will realize most fully his own ignorance and weakness. He will realize that there are depths and heights which he can not reach, secrets which he can not penetrate, vast fields of truth lying before him unentered. He will be ready to say, with Newton, “I seem to myself to have been like a child on the seashore finding pebbles and shells, while the great ocean of truth lay undiscovered before me.”

[Sidenote: “_Through Faith We Understand_”]

The deepest students of science are constrained to recognize in nature the working of infinite power. But to man’s unaided reason, nature’s teaching can not but be contradictory and disappointing. Only in the light of revelation can it be read aright. “Through faith we understand.”[173]

“In the beginning God.”[174] Here alone can the mind in its eager questioning, fleeing as the dove to the ark, find rest. Above, beneath, beyond, abides Infinite Love, working out all things to accomplish “the good pleasure of His goodness.”[175]

[Sidenote: _The Divine Teacher_]

“The invisible things of Him since the creation of the world are ... perceived through the things that are made, even His everlasting power and divinity.”[176] But their testimony can be understood only through the aid of the divine Teacher. “What man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.”[177]

“When He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth.”[178] Only by the aid of that Spirit who in the beginning “was brooding upon the face of the waters;” of that Word by whom “all things were made;” of that “true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world,” can the testimony of science be rightly interpreted. Only by their guidance can its deepest truths be discerned.

Only under the direction of the Omniscient One shall we, in the study of His works, be enabled to think His thoughts after Him.

_Business Principles and Methods_

“HE THAT WALKETH UPRIGHTLY WALKETH SURELY”

[Sidenote: _Business Man’s Manual_]

There is no branch of legitimate business for which the Bible does not afford an essential preparation. Its principles of diligence, honesty, thrift, temperance, and purity are the secret of true success. These principles, as set forth in the book of Proverbs, constitute a treasury of practical wisdom. Where can the merchant, the artisan, the director of men in any department of business, find better maxims for himself or for his employees than are found in these words of the wise man:—

“Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men.”[179]

“In all labor there is profit; but the talk of the lips tendeth only to penury.”[179]

[Sidenote: _Every-Day Maxims_]

“The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing.” “The drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty; and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.”[180]

“A talebearer revealeth secrets; therefore meddle not with him that flattereth with his lips.”[181]

“He that hath knowledge spareth his words;” but “every fool will be meddling.”[182]

“Go not in the way of evil men;” “can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned?”[183]

“He that walketh with wise men shall be wise.”[184]

“A man that hath friends must show himself friendly.”[184]

The whole circle of our obligation to one another is covered by that word of Christ’s, “Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.”[185]

* * * * *

[Sidenote: _A Financial Safeguard_]

How many a man might have escaped financial failure and ruin by heeding the warnings, so often repeated and emphasized in the Scriptures:—

“He that maketh haste to be rich shall not be innocent.”[186]

“Wealth gotten in haste shall be diminished; but he that gathereth by labor shall have increase.”[187]

“The getting of treasures by a lying tongue is a vanity tossed to and fro of them that seek death.”[188]

“The borrower is servant to the lender.”[188]

“He that is surety for a stranger shall smart for it; and he that hateth suretyship is sure.”[188]

“Remove not the old landmark; and enter not into the fields of the fatherless; for their Redeemer is mighty; He shall plead their cause with thee.” “He that oppresseth the poor to increase his riches, and he that giveth to the rich, shall surely come to want.” “Whoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein; and he that rolleth a stone, it will return upon him.”[189]

[Sidenote: _Basis of Confidence_]

These are principles with which are bound up the well-being of society, of both secular and religious associations. It is these principles that give security to property and life. For all that makes confidence and co-operation possible, the world is indebted to the law of God, as given in His word, and as still traced, in lines often obscure and well-nigh obliterated, in the hearts of men.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: _Best Capital_]

The psalmist’s words, “The law of Thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver,”[190] state that which is true from other than a religious point of view. They state an absolute truth, and one that is recognized in the business world. Even in this age of passion for money-getting, when competition is so sharp, and methods are so unscrupulous, it is still widely acknowledged that, for a young man starting in life, integrity, diligence, temperance, purity, and thrift constitute a better capital than any amount of mere money.

* * * * *

Yet even of those who appreciate the value of these qualities and acknowledge the Bible as their source, there are but few who recognize the principle upon which they depend.

[Sidenote: _Stewardship_]

That which lies at the foundation of business integrity and of true success is the recognition of God’s ownership. The Creator of all things, He is the original proprietor. We are His stewards. All that we have is a trust from Him, to be used according to His direction.

This is an obligation that rests upon every human being. It has to do with the whole sphere of human activity. Whether we recognize it or not, we are stewards, supplied from God with talents and facilities, and placed in the world to do a work appointed by Him.

To every man is given “his work,”[191]—the work for which his capabilities adapt him,—the work which will result in greatest good to himself and to his fellow-men, and in greatest honor to God.

[Sidenote: “_Be Not Anxious_”]

Thus our business or calling is a part of God’s great plan, and, so long as it is conducted in accordance with His will, He Himself is responsible for the results. “Laborers together with God,”[192] our part is faithful compliance with His directions. Thus there is no place for anxious care. Diligence, fidelity, care-taking, thrift, and discretion are called for. Every faculty is to be exercised to its highest capacity. But the dependence will be, not on the successful outcome of our efforts, but on the promise of God. The word that fed Israel in the desert, and sustained Elijah through the time of famine, has the same power to-day. “Be not anxious,[193] saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink?... Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”[194]

* * * * *

[Sidenote: _Tithing_]

He who gives men power to get wealth has with the gift bound up an obligation. Of all that we acquire He claims a specified portion. The tithe is the Lord’s. “All the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree,” “the tithe of the herd or of the flock, ... shall be holy unto the Lord.”[195] The pledge made by Jacob at Bethel shows the extent of the obligation. “Of all that Thou shalt give me,” he said, “I will surely give the tenth unto Thee.”[196]

“Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse,”[197] is God’s command. No appeal is made to gratitude or to generosity. This is a matter of simple honesty. The tithe is the Lord’s; and He bids us return to Him that which is His own.

“It is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.”[198] If honesty is an essential principle of business life, must we not recognize our obligation to God,—the obligation that underlies every other?

* * * * *

[Sidenote: _Ministry_]

By the terms of our stewardship we are placed under obligation, not only to God, but to man. To the infinite love of the Redeemer every human being is indebted for the gifts of life. Food and raiment and shelter, body and mind and soul,—all are the purchase of His blood. And by the obligation of gratitude and service thus imposed, Christ has bound us to our fellow-men. He bids us, “By love serve one another.”[199] “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, ye have done it unto Me.”[200]

[Sidenote: “_I Am Debtor_”]

“I am debtor,” Paul declares, “both to the Greeks and to the barbarians; both to the wise and to the unwise.”[201] So also are we. By all that has blessed our life above others, we are placed under obligation to every human being whom we might benefit.

These truths are not for the closet more than for the counting-room. The goods that we handle are not our own, and never can this fact safely be lost sight of. We are but stewards, and on the discharge of our obligation to God and man depend both the welfare of our fellow-beings and our own destiny for this life and for the life to come.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: _Profit and Loss_]

“There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty.” “Cast thy bread upon the waters; for thou shalt find it after many days.” “The liberal soul shall be made fat; and he that watereth shall be watered also himself.”[202]

“Labor not to be rich.... Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven.”[203]

“Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye meet withal it shall be measured to you again.”[204]

* * * * *

“Honor the Lord with thy substance, and with the first-fruits of all thine increase; so shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.”[205]

[Sidenote: _The Best-Paying Investment_]

“Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in Mine house, and prove Me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field.... And all nations shall call you blessed; for ye shall be a delightsome land.”[206]

“If ye walk in My statutes, and keep My commandments, and do them; then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. And your threshing shall reach unto the vintage, and the vintage shall reach unto the sowing-time; and ye shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely. And I will give peace in the land, ... and none shall make you afraid.”[207]

[Sidenote: _Security for Deposit_]

“Seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.” “Blessed is he that considereth the poor; the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble. The Lord will preserve him, and keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth; and Thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies.” “He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the Lord; and that which he hath given will He pay him again.”[208]

He who makes this investment lays up double treasure. Besides that which, however wisely improved, he must leave at last, he is amassing wealth for eternity,—that treasure of character which is the most valuable possession of earth or heaven.

* * * * *

[Sidenote: _Insurance_]

“The Lord knoweth the days of the upright; and their inheritance shall be forever. They shall not be ashamed in the evil time; and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.”[209]

“He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart; ... he that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not;” “he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, ... and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil; he shall dwell on high; ... bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure. Thine eyes shall see the King in His beauty; they shall behold the land that is very far off.”[210]

God has given in His word a picture of a prosperous man,—one whose life was in the truest sense a success, a man whom both heaven and earth delighted to honor. Of his experiences Job himself says:—

[Sidenote: _A Successful Career_]

“In the ripeness of my days, When the secret of God was upon my tent; When the Almighty was yet with me, And my children were about me; ... When I went forth to the gate unto the city, When I prepared my seat in the broad place,[211] The young men saw me and hid themselves, And the aged rose up and stood; The princes refrained talking, And laid their hand on their mouth; The voice of the nobles was hushed....

“For when the ear heard me, then it blessed me; And when the eye saw me, it gave witness unto me; Because I delivered the poor that cried, The fatherless also, and him[211] that had none to help him.

“The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me; And I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy. I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; My justice was as a robe and a diadem. I was eyes to the blind, And feet was I to the lame. I was a father to the needy; And the cause of him that I knew not I searched out.” “The stranger did not lodge in the street; But I opened my doors to the traveler.”

“Unto me men gave ear, and waited.... [Sidenote: _Its Crown of Honor_] And the light of my countenance they cast not down. I chose out their way, and sat chief, And dwelt as a king in the army, As one that _comforteth the mourners_.”[212]

“The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and He addeth no sorrow with it.”[213]

“Riches and honor are with Me,” declares Wisdom; “yea, durable riches and righteousness.”[214]

[Sidenote: _A Fruitless Venture_]

The Bible shows also the result of a departure from right principles in our dealing both with God and with one another. To those who are entrusted with His gifts but indifferent to His claims, God says:—

“Consider your ways. Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes.... Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it.” “When one came to a heap of twenty measures, there were but ten; when one came to the press-fat for to draw out fifty vessels out of the press, there were but twenty.” “Why? saith the Lord of hosts. Because of Mine house that is waste.” “Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed Me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed Thee? In tithes and offerings.” “Therefore the heaven over you is stayed from dew, and the earth is stayed from her fruit.”[215]

[Sidenote: _Gains That Impoverish_]

“Forasmuch therefore as your treading is upon the poor, ... ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them; ye have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drink wine of them.” “The Lord shall send upon thee cursing, vexation, and rebuke, in all that thou settest thine hand unto.” “Thy sons and thy daughters shall be given unto another, ... and thine eyes shall look, and fail with longing for them all the day long; and there shall be no might in thine hand.”[216]

“He that getteth riches, and not by right, shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool.”[217]

The accounts of every business, the details of every transaction, pass the scrutiny of unseen auditors, agents of Him who never compromises with injustice, never overlooks evil, never palliates wrong.

[Sidenote: _The Audit_]

“If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting of judgment and justice, ... marvel not at the matter; for He that is higher than the highest regardeth.” “There is no darkness, nor shadow of death, where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves.”[218]

“They set their mouth against the heavens, and ... say, How doth God know? and is there knowledge in the Most High?” “These things hast thou done,” God says, “and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such a one as thyself; but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes.”[219]

* * * * *

[Sidenote: _A Witness Never Silenced_]

“I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a flying roll.... This is the curse that goeth forth over the face of the whole earth; for every one that stealeth shall be cut off as on this side according to it; and every one that sweareth shall be cut off as on that side according to it. I will bring it forth, saith the Lord of hosts, and it shall enter into the house of the thief, and into the house of him that sweareth falsely by My name; and it shall remain in the midst of his house, and shall consume it with the timber thereof and the stones thereof.”[220]

Against every evil-doer God’s law utters condemnation. He may disregard that voice, he may seek to drown its warning, but in vain. It follows him. It makes itself heard. It destroys his peace. If unheeded, it pursues him to the grave. It bears witness against him at the judgment. A quenchless fire, it consumes at last soul and body.

* * * * *

“What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”[221]

* * * * *

[Sidenote: _The Question of Questions_]

This is a question that demands consideration by every parent, every teacher, every student,—by every human being, young or old. No scheme of business or plan of life can be sound or complete that embraces only the brief years of this present life, and makes no provision for the unending future. Let the youth be taught to take eternity into their reckoning. Let them be taught to choose the principles and seek the possessions that are enduring,—to lay up for themselves that “treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth;” to make to themselves friends “by means of the mammon of unrighteousness,” that when it shall fail, these may receive them “into the eternal tabernacles.”[222]

All who do this are making the best possible preparation for life in this world. No man can lay up treasure in heaven without finding his life on earth thereby enriched and ennobled.

“Godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.”[223]

_Bible Biographies_

“WHO THROUGH FAITH SUBDUED KINGDOMS, WROUGHT RIGHTEOUSNESS, FROM WEAKNESS WERE MADE STRONG”

[Sidenote: _A Faithful Delineation_]

As an educator no part of the Bible is of greater value than are its biographies. These biographies differ from all others in that they are absolutely true to life. It is impossible for any finite mind to interpret rightly, in all things, the workings of another. None but He who reads the heart, who discerns the secret springs of motive and action, can with absolute truth delineate character, or give a faithful picture of a human life. In God’s word alone is found such delineation.

No truth does the Bible more clearly teach than that what we do is the result of what we are. To a great degree the experiences of life are the fruition of our own thoughts and deeds.

“The curse causeless shall not come.”[224]

[Sidenote: _Retribution_]

“Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him; ... unto the wicked, it shall be ill with him; for the reward of his hands shall be given him.”[225]

“Hear, O earth; behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts.”[226]