W. B. Godbey - Enter His Rest
W. B. Godbey - Enter His Rest
W. B. Godbey - Enter His Rest
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as through all the centuries antedating the art of printing. We see God's wonderful providence in preserving it<br />
during those years in that Old monastery, which was built there to commemorate the giving of the law. Thus He<br />
offsets the two thousand errors which crept into the New Testament alone, and many more in the Old, as it is so<br />
much larger. We now may rest assured that we have the full revelation which God made in its pristine purity,<br />
and can feel that neither interpolations nor omissions can ever again contaminate this limped stream of living<br />
water flowing out from beneath the throne of God “clear as crystal,” since the art of printing has forever<br />
precluded the necessity of transcribing it any more.<br />
As the publication of my Commentaries, expounding the Scriptures in the pure, original Greek, evoked a<br />
universal clamor for a translation in which the people would have the New Testament in the charming beauty<br />
and simplicity in which they had found it elucidated in the Commentaries, therefore, the clamor becoming not<br />
only universal but importunate, Brother Knapp, as the spokesman of the Holiness people, the last time I ever<br />
looked in his inspiring face, bidding him adieu for a midnight train at the close of his last campmeeting in this<br />
world, continued importunately to plead with me to translate the New Testament, at the same time offering me a<br />
thousand dollars for that arduous work. When I bade him adieu, he still held my hand observing; “I am never<br />
going to let go your hand till you promise me to translate the New Testament.” Then I acquiesced, went at it and<br />
was in the midst of the work when the telegram arrived calling me to his funeral. As he was twenty years my<br />
junior, I expected him to preach my funeral. Thus you see, in the case of the Commentaries, God used that<br />
paragon saint to bring into the world the literal translation of the manuscript through my humble instrumentality.<br />
It has received a wonderful circulation in a short time, actually girdling the globe. Since my arrival from my last<br />
tour, in one mail I sent away ninety-two copies to India.<br />
There are two reasons why none of the people who do not read Greek like English (and but one in a million<br />
does) cannot afford to do without this translation. The first is, because it is the only translation in the world in<br />
which you get just what the Lord says, all He says, and no more, and that is what you all so imperatively need<br />
and cannot afford to do without. The other reason is because it harmonizes the Gospels in such a manner that at<br />
a single look you see everything the Lord said and did. Besides it gives you the Lord's entire ministry, arranged<br />
in topics as they transpired in consecutive order. Some things none but Matthew wrote, others Mark alone<br />
reveals, in others we must depend on Luke alone for the blessed revelation, and meanwhile John much of the<br />
time stands alone. Some things two of them give, others three, and still others the entire four. In the harmony,<br />
you have everything whether by one, two, three or four, all exhibited before the eye at a single look, everything<br />
the Lord said and did. And at the same time the topics are so arranged in consecutive order that you will all the<br />
time know where you are and at what date in the Lord's ministry. Therefore the harmony is absolutely<br />
indispensable to enable you with full intelligibility and efficiency to study <strong>His</strong> wonderful ministry.<br />
Robert Ingersoll, the great infidel, was truly an intellectual giant, towering among his peers, primus inter pares,<br />
“first among his comrades,” while he utterly discarded the Bible, believing not a word of it, and consequently<br />
freely and even recklessly criticized Moses, the prophets and Apostles. He broke down in his attempt to criticize<br />
Jesus, calling Him, “The youngest Jew,” (certainly He was the youngest Author in the Bible, only thirty-three<br />
when they killed Him. At that age I had never dreamed of writing a book Bob said so significantly, “That young<br />
Jew just beats them all.”<br />
The longer I live the more profoundly I appreciate all the works of Jesus which have come down to me in the<br />
blessed Volume of Truth. Paul is deep, but Jesus still deeper. Peter is fire, but Jesus is dynamite. Take the<br />
Harmony in which you see all <strong>His</strong> utterances on every subject, arranged in parallel columns, and ask the Holy<br />
Spirit to help you to apprehend the deep truths He communicated.<br />
As for instance when the Pharisees, who were the orthodox wing of the anti-administration party and most<br />
inveterately opposed to Roman rule, united with the Herodians, who were the Roman party, in order to lasso<br />
Jesus and get Him into trouble. Approaching Him together they asked Him the insidious question, “Tell us, Shall<br />
we pay tribute to Caesar, or no?” If he had said “Yes,” they, the Pharisees, were just ready to have Him arrested<br />
and arraigned before the Sanhedrin for disloyalty to the theocracy. If He had said “No,” then the Herodians were<br />
ready to have Him arrested and brought before Pilate for disloyalty to Caesar. Therefore, they felt perfectly sure<br />
that they would gore Him with one or the other horn of the dilemma. But you see He simply asked them to hand<br />
Him the coin which they used to pay tribute, the denarius, the most common in circulation at that time, and