RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

"One adequate supportFor the calamities of mortal lifeExists, one only,—an assured beliefThat the procession of our fate, howeverSad or disturbed, is ordered by a beingOf Infinite benevolence and power,Whose everlasting purposes embraceAll accidents, converting them into good."Wordsworth.

Wordsworth.

God Himself hath said it, "All things work together for good to those that love God, to those who are the called according to his purpose."—Rom. 8:28. Had God said, "Some things," what confusion would have come to many of God's children! What enigmas would many things in the lives of many of the redeemed have been! But when God said "All things," He placed a key in the hands of every redeemed man, every real child of His, with which to unlock the door of every mystery; that every trial, every disaster, every accident, every burden, every humiliation, every disappointment, every affliction, every sorrow,—"All things work together for good to those that love God, to those who are the called according to his purpose";—"that the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise, and honor, and glory, at the appearing of Jesus Christ."—1 Peter 1:7.

Muscles are developed by trials; minds are developedby trials; God's redeemed people are developed by trials. To murmur against one's trials after being redeemed, means to murmur against being developed for one's eternal destiny. To give the muscles no trials, means for the body never to be developed; to give the mind no trials, means for the mind never to be developed; to give the redeemed man no trials, means for his character never to be developed. Two children are born into the world. The father and mother of one decide that he shall never be required to do any unpleasant things; that he shall never have any hardships. The father and mother of the other decide to give their child every unpleasant thing to do, every hardship and burden to bear, that will best develop him in body and mind. Often the redeemed plead with their Father in Heaven to give them only pleasant things, and He, the All-wise, All-powerful, in love gives them—trials.

The trials of life for the redeemed are so various. If the muscles have only one trial, the body will never be fully developed. The muscles need various trials. If the mind has only one trial, it will never be fully developed. If the mind studies only one thing, it will never be trained, developed, educated. If the soul has only one kind of trial, it will never be developed. "Count it all joy, my brethren, when ye fall into manifold temptations."—James 1:2 (R. V. Margin, trials).

But the redeemed, the children of God, often complain that their trials are so hard. Easy trials do not develop. The one who takes only light exercises for his muscles will never be fully developed physically. The boy who works the easy examples and skips thehard ones, will never be an educated man; he will be only a "hewer of wood and drawer of water." It takes hard trials to develop the body properly. It takes hard trials of the mind to develop it properly. It takes hard trials to develop the soul properly; "That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth,though it be tried with fire." He who asks for only easy trials of his muscles, asks to remain undeveloped physically; he who asks for easy trials of his mind, asks to remain undeveloped mentally; he who asks, yearns, to have no hard trials spiritually, yearns to remain undeveloped in real character, in his spiritual nature. The hard trials are the ones that develop. And the more one's muscles have been developed, the harder should be the trials for those muscles; the more one's mind is developed, the harder should be the trials for the mind; the more the redeemed man's spiritual nature is developed, the harder his trials will be.

That would be an unwise educator who, after training the pupil's mind up through geometry, would then put him back to studying the simple branches of mathematics, instead of taking him on into higher mathematics. Likewise the Heavenly Father does not, after partly developing the redeemed, His children, by hard trials, return them to lives of easy trials, but He leads them into yet harder trials. Take Elijah as an example (see F. B. Meyer's "Elijah"). He is sent to pronounce God's sentence against Ahab (1 Kings 17:1); he is then sent into obscurity (17:2, 3); he is left dependent on the ravens for food (17:4-6); he sees the brook dry up, his only hope for water, for life (17:7);he is submitted to the humiliation of being supported by a poor widow (17:8, 9); God delays answering his prayer (17:17-22); God requires him to expose himself to danger by showing himself to Ahab (18:1); he is led to face popular religious error, and in doing so is left to stand alone (18:19-38); God delays answer to his prayer till he prays seven times (18:42-45); he suffers the further humiliation of Elisha being anointed prophet in his room (19:15, 16); he is taken up by a whirlwind to Heaven (2 Kings 2:11). A study of these trials will show that they were all hard trials, and that they increased in severity. God tells us that Elijah was a man subject to like passions as we are (James 5:17); but by trials, hardships, burdens, God developed him into one of the noblest characters of all ages. God's redeemed people may expect, then, trials through their lives, and that the trials shall be increasingly severe, as they advance in the Christian life.

Often God's children are discouraged because they cannot see any purpose in their trials. But God assures us that there is a purpose. The child cannot understand the purpose of the lessons at school, but the father has the purpose. Elijah, possibly filled with apprehension, sitting by the drying brook Cherith, did not see any purpose, but God, who makes all things work together for good to His people, had the purpose and accomplished it in the development of Elijah's character; and so, as F. B. Meyer has so aptly put it, the redeemed, sitting by the drying brook of health, of property, of reputation, of family happiness, may not see the purpose, but the HeavenlyFather will work, in His plan for each, every trial into the warp or woof of each life. The Saviour said to Peter, "What I do thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter."—John 13:7.

"Behind our life the Weaver standsAnd works His wondrous will;We leave it all in His wise handsAnd trust His perfect skill.Should mystery enshroud His plan,And our short sight be dim,We will not try the whole to scan,But leave each thread to Him."

Who knows the defects, the weaknesses, of each character? Only God. Who knows what each character ought to be? Only God. Who knows how to develop each character properly? Only God. Who is able to so shape the circumstances of each life as to properly develop each character? Only God. And He has promised that He will. "We know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to his purpose" (Rom. 8:28); "that the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise, and honor, and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ."—1 Peter 1:7. This isthe onlyexplanation of the many harassments of life.

God has revealed that the standard by which character is measured is patience, endurance. "Let patience have its perfect work, that ye may be matureand complete, lacking in nothing."—James 1:4. If there were no harassments, no afflictions, no burdens, no sorrows, no disappointments, no sufferings, there could be no patience, endurance; and if there were no patience, no endurance, there could be no maturity and completeness of character. As to what trials are needed, and are best in each case, only God can decide. In our dimsightedness we think that many things are mistakes in God's plans, and that He cannot bring good out of them; but He will. A boy was born with a badly deformed foot. When he was eight years of age his father had two surgeons to operate and try to straighten the foot, but they failed. After a second operation, the foot was placed in a brace which was worn for months. But the foot remained as badly deformed as ever. The surgeons then informed the father that the foot could never be straightened. The father studied the deformed foot for many days, and then had a strange-looking box made with screws, felt taps and iron rods in different parts of it. He had the surgeons to operate again on the boy's foot, cutting the muscles and tendons in different places. The foot was then placed in the strange box; a screw was turned till the felt tap pressed against the foot at one place, almost breaking the bones; then another screw and felt tap were brought to bear on another deformed part of the foot, straightening the foot and almost breaking the bones in that part of the foot; then the iron rod was used to straighten another part. For months the boy's foot was kept in that box. The suffering, day and night for months, was indescribable. The child would weepfor hours, the pain being all but unbearable; and when the father would come home the child would beg piteously for the box to be taken off and to be left a cripple. The father, mingling his tears with the tears of the suffering child, would turn the screws tighter than before, and the child would shriek in fearful agony. During those weeks and months of suffering he looked upon his father as being harsh and cruel and without love for him. Finally the father loosened all the screws and said, "Son, stand up," and for the first time in his life the boy stood erect. Often has that son, now a gray-haired man, stood over the grave of that father, long since dead, and bedewed the grave with his tears, and thanked God that he had a father who was true enough to continue the suffering until the terrible deformity was corrected. The father may have turned the screws one thread too much, but the Father in Heaven makes no mistakes, and far beyond the grave many of the redeemed will praise Him, when they understand, for the sufferings and afflictions and burdens they were led to endure here.

"Choose for us, Lord, nor let our weak preferringCheat us of good Thou hast for us designed.Choose for us, Lord; Thy wisdom is unerring,And we are fools and blind."

With the reader this may seem mere theory; he may feel that it cannot explain all the seemingly unfathomable mystery of suffering in the lives of many of the redeemed, the real children of God. Let the reader consider two things: first, that as a juror, he wouldnot form a judgment till all the evidence had been placed before the jury. God's purpose in each case, and what God actually accomplishes in each case, in the development of character,—these have not yet been placed before the jury; but, backed up by many fulfilled prophecies, by the character of Jesus Christ, by His resurrection, by what He has accomplished in the world, we have God's solemn assurance thatHe will yet place this evidence before the jury.

Second, let the reader remember that with God character counts more than comfort. What father would prefer his son to be a brutal, ignorant pugilist, enjoying food and drink, physical life,—to a useful, noble, highly educated, refined, learned son who could "listen in the orange groves of Verona to the sweet vows of Juliet, or to the blind bard's harp as he strikes the chords but seldom struck harmonious with the morning stars, or to the music of the spheres as they hymn His praises around their Creator's throne"? Far more than the earthly father would choose the latter for his son, does the Heavenly Father value the soul and its development above that of the body.

Could God's redeemed people only learn that perfection of character comes only through suffering, that as certain as God is true, a blessing will come from every sorrow, every burden, every affliction, every pang, every heartache!

"The ills we see—The mystery of sorrow deep and long,The dark enigmas of permitted wrong,Have all one key—This strange, sad world is but our Father's school;All chance and change His love shall grandly overrule."

Rarely has the author been stirred, thrilled, as he was while listening to an audience of a thousand colored people of the South sing the following hymn. Some of them had been slaves; many were poor; many uneducated; some Greek scholars; some were destitute; some were half-invalids; some were aged and infirm; but few had the comforts of life; all were heavy burden-bearers. White people from New York and Texas, from Mississippi and Kansas, were moved to tears, as that audience sang with such rhythm, such cadence, such pathos, such sweetness, such soul-power, as only they can sing:—

"We are tossed and drivenOn the restless sea of time,Sombre skies and howling tempestOft succeed the bright sunshine.In that land of perfect dayWhen the mists have rolled away,We will understand it better by and by."By and by when the morning comesAnd all the saints of God are gathered home,We'll tell the story, how we've overcome,For we'll understand it better by and by."We are often destituteOf the things that life demands,Want of shelter and of foodThirsty hills and barren lands.We are trusting in the Lord,And according to His word,We will understand it better by and by."Trials dark on every hand,And we cannot understandAll the ways that God would lead usTo the blessed promised land,But He guides us with His eyeAnd we'll follow till we die,For we'll understand it better by and by."Temptations, hidden snares,Often take us unawares,And our hearts are made to bleedFor a thoughtless word or deed,And we wonder why the testWhen we try to do our best,But we'll understand it better by and by."

"By and by when the morning comesAnd all the saints of God are gathered home,We'll tell the story, how we've overcome,For we'll understand it better by and by.

"We are often destituteOf the things that life demands,Want of shelter and of foodThirsty hills and barren lands.We are trusting in the Lord,And according to His word,We will understand it better by and by.

"Trials dark on every hand,And we cannot understandAll the ways that God would lead usTo the blessed promised land,But He guides us with His eyeAnd we'll follow till we die,For we'll understand it better by and by.

"Temptations, hidden snares,Often take us unawares,And our hearts are made to bleedFor a thoughtless word or deed,And we wonder why the testWhen we try to do our best,But we'll understand it better by and by."

But they are not the only ones who

"Wonder why the testWhen we try to do our best."

They are not the only ones who can say,

"Trials dark on every handAnd we cannot understand,"

But they and all the redeemed, God's real children, can say,

"We will understand it better by and by."

Till then they can rest upon His word, that "the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ,"—1 Peter 1:7; for "we know that all things work together for good to those that love God, to those who are the called according to his purpose."—Rom. 8:28.

"Thou art as much His care as if beside,Nor man nor angel lived in Heaven or Earth."

FOR FURTHER STUDY:—Some readers may conclude, because trials come to the lives of the unredeemed as well as the redeemed, to those who are not God's children, as well as to those who are God's children, that, therefore, their characters are likewise developed by trials. Let such readers consider two facts:—

First, it is a creature of God being developed in one case; in the other, it is one who has been redeemed and adopted as a child of God (Gal. 4:4-7), and born of the Spirit (John 3:8), that is being developed.

Second, the characters being developed in the two classes, while they may appear to men as similar, in the sight of God are as different as light and darkness are to men, as different as Heaven and Hell. Let itbe remembered that character is dependent, not on the deed, buton the motive back of the deed(1 Cor. 13:1-3).

No unredeemed man can have that motive, because it springs from complete redemption through Christ (2 Cor. 5:14, 15). Hence, "they that are in the flesh cannot please God."—Rom. 8:8. Their motive power is all wrong and cannot be otherwise; hence their characters, however they may be developed, are all wrong in the sight of God. Jesus said, "Cleanse first the inside of the cup and of the platter, that the outside may be clean also."—Matt. 23:26. The child who, from love, bears trials and burdens placed upon him by the father, the slave who, from fear of the lash, bears trials and burdens placed upon him by the master, the hireling who, from desire for the wages, bears trials and burdens, and the stoic who, from sheer force of will, or from a cold sense of duty, bears trials and burdens, because he must,—are developing altogether different characters. Even so, the child of God, redeemed and adopted, who, from love, bears the trials and burdens of life, the unredeemed one who, from fear of the law, from fear of Hell, bears the trials and burdens of life; the unredeemed one who, from what he hopes to gain thereby, a home in Heaven (as the hireling his wages), bears the trials and burdens of life, and the unredeemed one who, from a cold sense of duty, bears the trials and burdens of life, are developing widely different characters for eternity. Which shall it be in your case, reader?

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HOMER S. BODLEYThe Fourth "R"The Forgotten Factor in Education.$1.75.Mr. Bodley's book is a plea for the insertion in all educational textbooks of elements of instruction which give prominence to the goodness of God to the end that all should honor Him, and to the furtherance of the spirit of genuine altruism among men, without regard to sect or creed.WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYANThe Menace of DarwinismPaper Binding.net, 35c.A resumé of, and an extract from, "IN HIS IMAGE," Mr. Bryan's epoch-making book against Darwinism. For use in study classes, for distribution, etc.E. C. KNAPPGen. Secretary; Inland Empire Sunday School Association. Author of "The Community Vacation Bible School," etc.Side Lights on the Daily Vacation Bible School$1.00."Here is a new book for those seeking light on vacation school work which we can heartily recommend. Mr. Knapp has had much experience in such work and knows how to tell what should be done. A very helpful handbook for workers."—Herald of Gospel Liberty.J. A. CROSSPresident, First National Bank, Bruin, Pa.The Bible Class and the Community$1.25.Mr. Cross writes in terse, straightforward fashion, without waste of words, discussing the most practicable methods of helping the life of the community by fostering and developing character."H. P. S."The God of Our Fathers$1.25."An able, clear and excellent statement of reasons for believing in the existence of God. In simple language and easily read by anyone. Should have a wide reading."—Herald and Presbyter."FUNDAMENTALS"RT. REV. WILLIAM T. MANNING, D.D., D. C. L.Bishop of New York.Personal ReligionWhat It Is and What It Means.$1.00.With fine force and frankness, yet in a spirit entirely free from controversial bitterness, Bishop Manning discusses some of these paramount questions and their vital relation to the life of our own time.J. C. MASSEE, D.D.Pastor of Tremont Temple, Boston, Mass.The Gospel in the Ten CommandmentsA Series of Sermons Delivered on Sunday Evenings by the Pastor of Tremont Temple.$1.25."As an evidence of the forcefullness of these sermons, approximately one hundred fifty people made public professions of faith in Christ during the time of their delivery."—Baptist Messenger.CLARENCE E. MACARTNEY, D. D.Pastor, Arch Street Presbyterian Church,Philadelphia, Pa.Twelve Great Questions About Christ$1.50 or $1.75.Dr. Macartney stands foursquare for fundamental Christian beliefs. He has also a good understanding of views and opinions contrary to his own, and demonstrates his ability to measure and mark the trend of modern criticism.MARK A. MATTHEWS, D.D., LL.D.Pastor. First Presbyterian Church, Seattle, Wash.Gospel Sword-Thrusts$1.25.A book of addresses eminently characteristic of their author. Dr. Matthews is a national figure. Pastor of the Presbyterian Church having the largest membership in the world, he is a fearless protagonist of Fundamentalist doctrine and greatly in demand at conventions and other gatherings.EDWIN C. SWEETSER, D.D.Pastor-Emeritus, Church of the Messiah, Philadelphia.The Image of GodAnd Other Sermons.$1.50.Dr. Sweetser is a veteran preacher, having spent more than fifty years in the active ministry. Here are twenty-five sermons treating on great themes—of questions which are of importance to everybody, and of paramount interest to the Christian believer.

HOMER S. BODLEY

The Fourth "R"

The Forgotten Factor in Education.

$1.75.

Mr. Bodley's book is a plea for the insertion in all educational textbooks of elements of instruction which give prominence to the goodness of God to the end that all should honor Him, and to the furtherance of the spirit of genuine altruism among men, without regard to sect or creed.

WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN

The Menace of Darwinism

Paper Binding.

net, 35c.

A resumé of, and an extract from, "IN HIS IMAGE," Mr. Bryan's epoch-making book against Darwinism. For use in study classes, for distribution, etc.

E. C. KNAPP

Gen. Secretary; Inland Empire Sunday School Association. Author of "The Community Vacation Bible School," etc.

Side Lights on the Daily Vacation Bible School

$1.00.

"Here is a new book for those seeking light on vacation school work which we can heartily recommend. Mr. Knapp has had much experience in such work and knows how to tell what should be done. A very helpful handbook for workers."—Herald of Gospel Liberty.

J. A. CROSS

President, First National Bank, Bruin, Pa.

The Bible Class and the Community

$1.25.

Mr. Cross writes in terse, straightforward fashion, without waste of words, discussing the most practicable methods of helping the life of the community by fostering and developing character.

"H. P. S."

The God of Our Fathers

$1.25.

"An able, clear and excellent statement of reasons for believing in the existence of God. In simple language and easily read by anyone. Should have a wide reading."—Herald and Presbyter.

RT. REV. WILLIAM T. MANNING, D.D., D. C. L.

Bishop of New York.

Personal Religion

What It Is and What It Means.

$1.00.

With fine force and frankness, yet in a spirit entirely free from controversial bitterness, Bishop Manning discusses some of these paramount questions and their vital relation to the life of our own time.

J. C. MASSEE, D.D.

Pastor of Tremont Temple, Boston, Mass.

The Gospel in the Ten Commandments

A Series of Sermons Delivered on Sunday Evenings by the Pastor of Tremont Temple.

$1.25.

"As an evidence of the forcefullness of these sermons, approximately one hundred fifty people made public professions of faith in Christ during the time of their delivery."—Baptist Messenger.

CLARENCE E. MACARTNEY, D. D.

Pastor, Arch Street Presbyterian Church,Philadelphia, Pa.

Twelve Great Questions About Christ

$1.50 or $1.75.

Dr. Macartney stands foursquare for fundamental Christian beliefs. He has also a good understanding of views and opinions contrary to his own, and demonstrates his ability to measure and mark the trend of modern criticism.

MARK A. MATTHEWS, D.D., LL.D.

Pastor. First Presbyterian Church, Seattle, Wash.

Gospel Sword-Thrusts

$1.25.

A book of addresses eminently characteristic of their author. Dr. Matthews is a national figure. Pastor of the Presbyterian Church having the largest membership in the world, he is a fearless protagonist of Fundamentalist doctrine and greatly in demand at conventions and other gatherings.

EDWIN C. SWEETSER, D.D.

Pastor-Emeritus, Church of the Messiah, Philadelphia.

The Image of God

And Other Sermons.

$1.50.

Dr. Sweetser is a veteran preacher, having spent more than fifty years in the active ministry. Here are twenty-five sermons treating on great themes—of questions which are of importance to everybody, and of paramount interest to the Christian believer.

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