What May It Mean?—In this issue we give an article from “Immanuel’s Witness” that will be of interest to our readers. Recently in one of these Notes we quoted a paragraph from the same periodical on Dr Klausner’s “Life of Jesus,” and made reference to the interest awakened in this work in American Jewish circles. The “Dayton Herald” (Tennessee) reports a sermon by Rabbi Meyerberg, from which we quote the following:—”We, Jews all over the world, would long since have bowed to Jesus—the greatest Son our nation produced—with love and respect. We would long since have included the name of the noble Nazarene in the list of our saints and prophets. But, alas! the savage persecutions by the Christians of the Middle Ages—their decrees and inquisitions against us in the name of Christianity widened the breach between us and the Nazarene. But, thank God, the dark Middle Ages with its persecutions is a thing of the past! There no more exists an official decree against Jews, the reason being that we understand each other better. The time is now approaching when the Founder of Christianity will be officially acknowledged by all Israel.” While these utterances come very far short of giving God’s Son the place which is His right, they are an extraordinary advance on sentiments hitherto expressed by Jews on the Son of the Highest, and countenance what the Editor of “Immanuel’s Witness” asserts when he says—”The Name that is above every name is to-day on the lips of every Jew. Never since the day of the Crucifixion of our Lord are Jews so full of that Name.”
Trusting in Christ!—Mr Samuel Levermore, in an interesting account of his evangelistic labours in Calais, given in the January issue of the Trinitarian Bible Society “Quarterly Record,” tells the answer he received from a French lady in answer to his question, “Are you trusting in Christ?” “Am I trusting in Christ?” she cried in amazement. Then, like Ignorance in Bunyan’s heavenly book, she fumbled in her bosom, and produced a bunch of little medals, charms, etc., still crying, “Am I trusting in Christ?” Look at this—Notre Dame de Lorette—and this, Notre Dame de Lourdes—trusting in Christ indeed? Look at this medal of the Holy St Antoine. What medals have you got? Where are your indulgences? What do you think of the holy St Antoine? Trusting in Christ indeed! I should just think I am. I would not lose these for anything.” And she rattled her charms, and displayed her medals and indulgences with a smile of perfect complacency. Then we turned her mind from dead charms, medals, and indulgences, to the living Saviour; from the lying legends of semi-paganism to the infallible and incorruptible Word of God. She listened like a quickened soul, as we sought—in dependence upon the Holy Spirit—to preach the gospel to her, knowing that the revelation of Christ in her heart would be the grave of Rome’s wretched, soul-deceiving materialism.
A Queensland Reader’s Comment.—A Queensland reader of the Magazine throws some light on the religious condition of things existing in his district in a letter sent to our printers. “I have tried,” he writes, “to get some new subscribers, but it is so difficult. They think the teaching too old for the times. I tell them it is old, as old as the Bible, the very Word of God, which they will have to face at the Great White Throne. This country is steeped in Romanism, Arminianism, Theosophy, and Paganism; every Sabbath Day is used for tennis, golf, football, seaside excursions, shooting, fishing, etc. I am forty years in the colonies, but I have never changed my Calvinistic views, for they are God’s mind manifested to men through Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour.” It is encouraging to find scattered throughout the world a few who are not ashamed of the old truths of God’s Word, and who, when need arises, can put in a word in their defence. We feel gratified in knowing that the teaching of the Magazine is reckoned as belonging to this type, and in antagonism to modern teaching. Spurgeon, when twitted for being behind the times, used to say that he liked to be behind the times to see
where the times were going. But anyone who wishes to keep an eye on the times in our day will have his task cut out for him—the movements are so swift. We highly appreciate the efforts of our Queensland reader and those of others in endeavouring to get new subscribers to the Magazine. A young Canadian friend in one of the Prairie Provinces wrote us saying as he could not preach, he intended to get the people in his district to subscribe to the Magazine, so that they might have some scriptural truth brought to their notice at least once a month. Help of this kind is appreciated by us, and we trust that under God’s blessing it may bear fruit to His glory.
Strange Self-Denial.—The so-called Salvation Army has an annual Self-Denial Week. Self-denial is a beautiful Christian grace, and we have no quarrel with the Boothites in practising it not only for a week but throughout their whole life-time, but their Self-Denial Week is a somewhat peculiar institution. This organisation is almost as expert in begging as the nuns and monks of Rome. They not only believe in self-denial for themselves, but they send crowds of expert and inexpert beggars through our towns to help them in their self-denial efforts. Self-denial, if it is to have any meaning, is to be done by the individual, and not by asking others to do it for us. This is the strangest kind of self-denial we have ever known, and is in keeping with many of the other ways of this organisation which are peculiar to itself.
Ordination of Women.—It looks like that the United Free Church is gathering momentum on the downward course, if one is to judge by the resolutions of some of its courts. Recently the question of the ordination of women has been before some of the Presbyteries. Edinburgh Presbytery, one of the largest and most important in the Church, agreed unanimously to transmit an overture asking the General Assembly to initiate legislation declaring the eligibility of women for admission to the colleges of the Church as regular theological students, who on completion of their full course of study might be licensed to preach and ordained to the ministry on the same terms as men. A somewhat similar motion came before the Greenock Presbytery, but while receiving considerable support, it was rejected. The motion by the ecclesiastical feminists in Glasgow Presbytery, while receiving large support was rejected. Hamilton Presbytery decided to send up an overture similar to that of Edinburgh. The matter will now, through these overtures, come up before the General Assembly in May, and it re-
mains to be seen what the Assembly will do in the matter. The Scripture seems to be explicit enough on the subject—”Let your women keep silence in the churches; for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law. And if they will learn anything, let them ask their husbands at home; for it is a shame for women to speak in the church” (I. Cor. xiv. 34, 35.) We call our readers’ attention to Dr Warfield’s article on another page of this issue.