Northwestern Bible School - Scroll Yearbook (Minneapolis, MN)

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That rock was a God-chosen rock. The rock that 1 will show thee. The rock to be smitten was chosen and appointed by God. Jesus Christ was the chosen and appointed of God. This is my beloved Son. Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God. ye have crucified. That rock was a God ' possessed rock. 1 will stand upon the rock. How suggestive of the incarnation! God was In Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, Here lay the secret of the riches and ability of that rock to supply the need of the people. The rock of Horeb of itself could do nothing, but God in the rock could do anything, me rock represents the human na+ure of the Lord Jesus, God on the Rock, His Divine power and Godhead, The source of our salvation is in God, the channel of communi¬ cation is Jesus. That rock was a God-smitten rock. Thou shalt smite the rock. Jesus Christ was smit¬ ten and afflicted of God, He was wounded for our transgressions, Smite the Shepherd, said Zecharlah (13:7). The rock was smitten with a rod. God said to Moses, Thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, It was the rod of judgment that turned the rivers into blood. The rod of judgment smote Christ. Truly He is the Rock smitten in the wilderness. There never was such a scene of desolation as at Calvary. There He hung, deserted by friend, afflicted by foe. forsaken of God! He went through all t e desolation of soul that shall ever be suffered In eternal death. Smitten of God! That rock was not smitten for itself, but for the salvation of others. The chastisement of our peace was upon Him. Christ also suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God. That is the secret of His smiting. Jehovah Jaid on him the iniquity of us all. He bare our sins in his own body on the tree. It was then that the rod of God ' s justice fell upon His Son, as He took unto Himself the judg¬ ment that should have been ours. Christ died for our sins, Jehovah lifted up His rod: O Lord, It fell on Thee: That wast sore smitten of Thy God, There’s not one siroke for me. There was no water until the rock was smitten, but then there came an abundant flow. It was not a meager supply for it ran in the dry places like a river (P sa. 105.41], He smote the rock, that the waters gushed out 1 |Psa. ?8:2Gh When Christ our Rock was smitten, forthwith came there out blood and water. There began the flow of that river which is for sin and uncleanness. It was the River of Life, for His death was the death of our sins and the life of ouf souls. That River of Life was for all. Even the smiters could drink of its mercy. Father, for¬ give them. Whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely. It is without money, without price. That rock followed them, In some supernatural way, that wafer flowed by every encampment. The salvation of God is perfect In its ' character and continuous in its application. That Rock still follows us. Lo, ! am with you alway. Furthermore, at that River of Life any man in the desert mlqht drink. It is for you, sinner, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. It is for you. It is for all. Roll on, Thou mighty, beneficient River. God hasten the day when Thy waters will bring blessing to all peoples, and nations, and kindreds, and tongues. Rock of Aqes, cleft for me, Let me hide myself in Thee: Let the water and the blood, From Thy riven side which flowed. Be of sin the double cure H Save me from its guilt and power. [ 23 ]

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THE RIVER FROM THE ROCK By R. L. MOYER The natural world is a desert that stretches hot and terrible on all sides. The hot sun beats down upon that sea of sand to slay every green thing. The desert is a parched, uninhabited place—a place of death. The only growth of the desert is a worthless, sapless, useless shrub that is a picture of death itself. Rivers introduced into that waste and desert place would become rivers of life, causing life to spring up everywhere Egypt, in Scripture, represents the natural world. The river Nile is the life of Egypt. Without the Nile, Egypt would be a place of famine and death. Because the Nile is the life of Egypt, the Egyptians worship the river as a god. What the river is to the desert, what the Nile is to Egypt, Jesus Christ is to the human soul—Rivers of life. That one whose life is waste and desert because of sin may be transformed by Jesus Christ into one whose life is like frees that are dripping because of the new life that has come through the sparkling current. We beleive that nothing in the Word of God speaks more sweetly of Him than its rivers We believe that there is not a stream in which He is not found Prophecy declares that He Himself shall be as rivers of water In a dry place, Certainly He is the One from Whom the rivers of life flow. We have read a translation of John 7:37-39 which suggests the following: If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and let him drink that believeth on me, according as the scripture hath said concerning me, ' Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water ' . In all probability this translation is true. Certainly the rivers of life flow forth from Him. The source of the Nile was not in Egypt itself. The Nile is thirty-five hundred miles in length. Its source is far down in tropical Africa, in abundant rain from heaven The source is so far away from Egypt that the men of Egypt have said, My river is mine own, and I have made it for myself. They certainly did not create the waters of the Nile, although they may have devised means of spreading the water over the land. The Nile came from heaven. They neither knew nor acknowledged its source. The rivers of life do not arise in man, himself. By grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God. The river of life has its source in heaven It originated in the eternal councils of the Godhead, even before the foundation of the world, and was manifested in time in the healing stream that flowed forth from the Cross of Calvary. That river transforms and transfigures the sinner by bringing in life and fragrance and beauty. This river is typified by that stream that sprang forth from the smitten rock of Horeb. While the people of God were in the wilderness, They drank of that spiritual rock that followed them, and that rock was Christ [I Cor. 10:4). That Rock was Christ. So the type Is clear. Christ is often called the Rock. He Is the Rock of Life (Deut, 32:18], He is the Rock of Salvation [II Sam. 22:47) He is the Rock of Refuge [Psa. 27:5). He is the Rock of Rest and Refreshment [Isa. 32:2). The smitten rock was in the wilderness, where Israel journeyed. It was a barren place. Christ is a Rock In a weary land [Isa 32:2) Horeb means dry, or waste There was not water [Ex, ! 7:1}. It was the thirst of the people that emphasised the barrenness, just as an awakened soul will be conscious of dearth. The world can never supply the wants of the human soul. There was help for Israel in that apparently hopeless place, though Israel knew ft not. Jesus Christ was in the world, and the world knew Him not. Can one get water out of a rock? Can any good thing come out of Nazareth? Yes! From a rock God caused water to flow! Yes! From Christ God caused the stream of salvation to flow! [ 22 ]

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FACULTY From the age of six a conviction of sin was rather constantly with me, but only at seventeen years did 1 make a surrender to the Lord and accept His promise of salvation. At twenty, while planning my life work In the law as a profession, I fell under deep conviction that preaching was God s will for me. After six months of rebellious struggle ! surrendered to serve, ! have been a pastor for fifty-one years, and can truthfully say that in that entire time God’s grace and goodness has been my increasing surprise and joy, W. B. RILEY Unto you therefore which believe He is precious (I Peter 2:7). How precious none can realize Bui- those who seek to prove: Lord, give me faith that 1 may prize The treasure of Thy love. MRS. W. B. RILEY My conviction: I thought on my ways, and turned my feet unto Thy testi¬ monies, 1 ' My salvation: Thy Word hath quickened me. My work: My tongue shall speak Thy Word. My pra yer: Order my steps in Thy Word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me. My testimony: Thou hast dealt well with Thy servant, O Lord, according unto Thy Word [Psalm I 19:59, 50, 172, 133,65), ROBERT L. MOYER Thankful may those of us be who passed through a period of deep conviction before we accepted the Lord Jesus as our Saviour. To us that ACCEPTANCE was truly the passing into a NEW LIFE, This experience, through the goodness and grace of God, was mine, at the age of eleven. But for the one who desires to ’go on with the Lord ' there is more to follow. It was so in my case. At the age of twenty-one, at the close of a strong message by the saintly and gifted Bishop McIntyre, 1 surrendered my life to the Lord Jesus for full¬ time Christian service. Since that hour Christ has become more and more a LIVING BRIGHT REALITY and my supreme anticipation Is that of seeing Him face to face. A. H. NORUM The son of godly parents—converted as a lad—drifted with Modernism and away from the Book until a man past thirty. Then business disaster—and a quickened desire for things enduring —prompted interest in a Bible Confer¬ ence directed by Dr. Riley and the Northwestern Bible School. Here God spoke afresh through His Word—and brought consecration and dedication to His work, F. C, BASS [ 24 ]