Covenanter Witness Vol. 55 - Rparchives.org

. . Draw. Resist.me."sinned"sin."peculiar kind of cape, well known by aname taken from this verb (we mightcall it a 'tie up'), and this kind of capewas a badge of sevitude. This Peter bidswas a badge of servitude. Thus bidsthem all gird themselves for one anotherin a slave's 'tie-up' of humility. None areto be masters in the Church of Christ."Humility and Grace."God resisteth the proud, but givethgrace unto the humble." James is quoting Proverbs 3:34. God must resist theproud because the proud resist God. Theyacknowledge God in no way. They haveno need of His Grace. In their ignorancethe proud claim to be sufficient in themselves. If Abraham had been justifiedby works he would have had whereof toglory, but not before God. Romans 4:2.But Abraham was not justified by worksbut by faith, so did not glory in hisworks, but in God. But men, believingthat they have no need of God, creditthemselves with their own achievementsand are proud in their own attainments.But their glory is their shame. The manwho fancies that he is conspicuous beyond all others, that he outshines them,as the word suggests, is proud. And Godresisteth the proud. What a hopelesssituation!On the other hand, the humble manfeels his absolute dependence upon Godfor everything. We are lost and helplesssinners, guilty and condemned. We do notmerit even the least of God's mercies.We cannot save ourselves or provide forour own needs. But God giveth graceunto the humble grace, aboundinggrace, Sovereign grace! What blessedgrace! Oh that God would make ushumble that we might have His gracegrace for every need! Hebrews 4:16; IICor. 9:8; Romans 5:20.Humility and Victory."Submit yourselves to God. .devil .nigh to God .theWhat a formidable foe the proudhave! God resisteth the proud.Who can overcome God's resistance?Who could even hope for victoryunder such conditions? But in submission to God there is victory. How dowe draw near to God? It must be inhumility. Jesus said, "I am meek andlowly in heart." Matt. 11:28-30 If lowliness of heart rests upon a sense of unworthiness, how could our sinless Lordbe lowly in heart? "For the sinner,humility involves the confession of sin,inasmuch as it involves the confessionof his true condition; while yet for theunfallencreature the grace itself astruly exists, involving for such the acknowledgment not of sinfulness, whichwould be untrue, but of creatureliness,of absolute dependence, of having nothing, but receiving all things of God.August 17, 1955"And thus the grace of humility belongsto the highest angel before the throne,being as he is a creature, yea, even tothe Lord of Glory Himself. In Hishuman nature He must be the patternof all humility, of all creaturely dependence; and it is only as a man thatChrist thus claims to be "lowly inheart."livinglove. .His human life was a constanton the fulness of his Father'sTrench. Jesus lived the life ofconstant victory. He was able to resistthe devil. I Peter 5:8-9; Matthew 4:4,7,10; How may we draw near to God inVictory? I Peter 5:5-6. I John 5:4.Humilityand Repentance."Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep."Is this "laughter and joy." the frivolouskind? Eccl. 7:6; James 5:5. What isrepentance unto life? Is there any placefor pride in the heart of the truly repentant? So there can be no place for pride,for all need repentance. All men stumblein learning to walk, and even afterlearning, have stumbled and limpedmore than once. The same is true inlearning to walk spiritually. Abrahamturned aside into Egypt. Sarah laughedat the seeming impossibility of the fulfillment of the Divine promises. Mosessmote the rock twice. Good KingHezekiah suffered "pride of heart." IIChron. 32:25-26. Peter wept bitterlyafter his denial."And none, O Lord, have perfect restFor none are wholly free fromDavid confessed, "I acknowledge mytransgressions; and my sin is ever beforeTrue humility leads to repentance, butfoolish pride robs us of this blessing. Isit hard to say, "I haveor "I amwrong?"Proverbs 28:13. Is there anything more abhorrent to God thanhuman pride? Luke 14:7-11. Can there betrue repentance apart from humility?How very necessary repentance is!Humility"Speak not evil one ofand Censoriousness.another."Matt.7:1. Is censoriousness a manifestationof pride? Is such "speaking" an evidenceof love or fulfillingof the law? James2:8-9. "Is it true that what Peter saysof Paul tells more about Peter than itdoes about Paul?" "Who is man to dareto unsurp the office and prerogative ofthe Supreme Judge by judging his neighbor? True humility enjoins a deliberaterefusal to enter into a spirit of judgmentupon others, and an attitude of strictobedience to the law."Prayer: For the grace of humility; forthe missionaries who returning to thefields this fall and for the workers onthe field; for our teachers and youngpeople who are entering school and forthe Christian Amendment Movement.W. M. S. DepartmentMrs. Ross Latimer. Editor,Prayer Hour. 1:00 P.M. MondayBRIEF REPORT OF THANK OFFERING SUPERINTENDENT 1954-1955Ten Presbyterials reported a total of$11,237.33 Thank Offering and $3,000.36Self Denial gifts. This report came from36 societies. There were 83 specialThank Offering meetings and 14 SelfDenial Meetings.There should be a space on the localreport blanks for life memberships ifthis record is to be kept by the ThankOfferingsuperintendent. No life memberships nor memorial membershipswere reported since there was no placefor this.Guest speakers at Thank Offeringmeetings include: Miss Orlene Lynn,Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Sanderson, Dr.Wilbur Weir, Miss Blanche McCrea,Pastor Awad, Miss Rose Munnell, MissElla Margaret Stewart, Miss EuniceMcClurkin, Miss Eleanor Faris, MissEilzabeth McElroy, and some missionaries from other denominations. Oftenthe juniors had a part in the meeting.Some plays were given also.Since many of the plays turned overto me contained information no longervalid, and some were nearly all gone, aneffort was made to secure new plays.Miss Esther Latimer, in charge of publication for Synodical, assisted me insearch of new plays. The play given atSynodical 1954 is now out of print. Wereceived one from the Women's department of the Christian Herald, 'The Missionary Barrel.' It was given at theKansas Presbyterial, with slight alterations. It is easy to present and has agood message. One play is good forjuniors. It isabout David Livingstonand mentions his boyhood Covenanterhome. Other plays required much workor needed more male characters thanavailable in W.M.S. If any one has anygood plays I would be happy to havethem. Mrs. McKelvy's book "Taught ofthe Lord" has a good suggestion for aThank Offeringservice for children.Petty cash for Thank Offering superintendent :Balance on hand March 31, 1954 $3.15Expense for plays 1.60Postage .29Balance on hand March 31, 1955 $1.26Respectfully submitted,Grace Caskey109