W. B. Godbey - Enter His Rest
W. B. Godbey - Enter His Rest
W. B. Godbey - Enter His Rest
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earing the image of Caesar. When they handed it to Him and He looked at it, He said, “Whose is this image and<br />
superscription?” and they responded “Caesar's.” Then handing it back He merely observed, “Render unto Caesar<br />
the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's.” To this neither party could possibly take<br />
any exception, but both were utterly dumbfounded; and without another word they went away. For three years<br />
all the great, scholarly men of the Sanhedrin put their heads together to lasso and down him, but utterly failed.<br />
When the holiness people constrained me to translate the New Testament, they did not ask me to give them the<br />
harmony of the Gospels, but I knew not one of them in a thousand had any harmony, and that all the harmonies<br />
that had been made so abounded in error that it was a pity for people to use them. Therefore I felt it my duty to<br />
give them the harmony of the Gospels in a correct translation, so they could all intelligently and successfully<br />
study the Lord's ministry with all the possible facilities to master the situation.<br />
Even since they discovered the Sinaitic manuscript, I have made it a rule to carry with me the inspired Greek<br />
everywhere I go. As I traveled around the world last year, did I actually, by snatching up the fugitive moments<br />
now and then as I might happen to have a little leisure, read it through five times. The whole Bible is too heavy<br />
to carry constantly, under all circumstances of manual labor and business peregrinations, but not so with the<br />
New Testament. It is small enough to carry in your pocket everywhere you go and riding on the car or waiting<br />
for the train, you can read so much of it and treasure it up in your memory, besides constantly using it as your<br />
sword both of defense and offense. Let me insist that you now adopt the rule of constantly carrying a New<br />
Testament. You will soon get so used to it that you will feel lost without it. <strong>Rest</strong> assured that the longer you<br />
pursue that habit the more you will be delighted with the precious Word of the Lord and the sweeter an richer it<br />
will become. It will d envelope in you the habit of studying the Word each revolving day. It will also be a<br />
constant inspiration to you to minister this blessed saving truth to the people with whom, in the providence of<br />
God, you come in contact. So my lifelong habit has become the carrying of the Greek Testament, feasting on it<br />
night and day. I'll advise you to carry the translation of your humble servant, as in it you have the Word of the<br />
Lord faithfully translated out of the pure original, without addition or subtraction, so that you can rest assured<br />
that everything you read is just what the Lord has revealed. Besides, it is the only one that harmonizes the<br />
Gospels so that at a single look you can see everything the Lord said and did and study <strong>His</strong> ministry in its<br />
regular historic order. You can find other harmonies, but they do not contain anything but the Gospels, and<br />
besides, they are much encumbered with errors. You want the entire New Testament in a single volume,<br />
convenient for you to stick in your pocket and carry everywhere you go, and that volume ought to contain the<br />
Gospel harmony, to prepare you for the clear, topical study of the Lord's ministry in consecutive order. All of<br />
this you have nowhere in the world, except in the above translation. In the other current translations, whereas<br />
the most of the errors are corrected, some of the large interpolations are retained to the detriment of the student<br />
who does not want to encumber his memory with anything but the real and literal Word which the Holy Ghost<br />
has revealed. Besides, these translations do not give you the harmony of the Gospels.<br />
“Footprints of Jesus”<br />
My “Footprints of Jesus” has been wonderfully blessed in its circulation among the people, and also very<br />
extensive. The most intellectual and cultured people in this commonwealth, whose names I could give you, have<br />
told me that it was the most interesting book they had ever read. In a mysterious way it is exceedingly magnetic<br />
to people. A sanctified woman in a New England city, who was in the habit of reading all of my writings, said to<br />
me, “Brother <strong>Godbey</strong>, I do wish you had a book which my infidel husband would read. He is a scientist and a<br />
great reader, but never reads the Bible nor any religious book.” I said, I have a book here that he will read if he<br />
gets his hand on it. She bought it unhesitatingly, carried it home and handed it to him. He read it night and day<br />
and in forty-eight hours was in the meetings and asking everybody to pray for him. He is now the best reader I<br />
have, reading everything I write with the greatest appreciation, and always making me stay with him when I go<br />
thither to preach. He is a very humble, beautiful Christian character. This book has an especial charm for<br />
children, who read it over and over with delightful edification. Sinners read it like a novel and get their souls<br />
blessed. It should certainly be in every home.