Christian Disciplines - Chambers, Oswald
Volume 1
The Discipline of Divine Guidance
The Discipline of Suffering
The Discipline of Peril
Oswald Chambers
Introduction
Source
Talks and lectures given in great Britain and the united states from 1907 to 1915.
Publication history
The six disciplines were published individually as articles and booklets before being issued as a two- volume book in 1965.
The discipline of divine guidance:
CO”s messages on divine guidance, published in gods revivalist magazine, march/April 1909, and February 1911, were most likely given at summer camp meetings in Cincinnati. They were also published as a pamphlet by gods revivalist press.
The discipline of suffering:
This material was delivered as a sermon at gods bible school, Cincinnati, ohio, during early 1907. It was published as two articles in gods revivalist magazine (may 1907) and later that same year as a pamphlet by gods revivalist press.
The discipline of peril:
The first of these messages was given in the autumn of 1914, immediately following britains entry into world war i. Chambers was forty years old with a wife and a one-year-old daughter. As the country mobilized for all-out war, men were joining the army at the rate of thirty thousand a day, people were asked to sell their automobiles and farm horses to the government, and lists of the dead and wounded began appearing in daily newspapers. Uncertainty was the order of the day. Chambers was addressing fearful people facing a very real threat of personal and national peril. The messages in the discipline of peril appeared as articles in tongues of fire magazine, September 1914may 1915 and were published by oc as a booklet in 1915. The message the day of the lord is very specifically related to Britain during the days of war and probably for that reason was not included in the 1965 book christian disciplines. The edi- tors have chosen to include it in this collection: the discipline of peril, tongues of fire, September 1914
Christian seemliness, tongues of fire, October 1914
Slighted security, tongues of fire, November 1914
Fitness, tongues of fire, December 1914
First and last, league of prayer 1 new years convention, Friday, January 1, 1915, in pontefract, w. Yorkshire
Gods parenthesis, tongues of fire, march 1915
Are you ever disturbed? Is a talk given at a btc2 devotional meeting, may 27, 1914
Radiant in the thick of it is a talk given in hawes, Yorkshire September 12, 1915, at the Sunday evening service, Wesleyan Methodist chapel
The day of the lord, tongues of fire, may 1915
The discipline of prayer:
this material was published by oc as a pamphlet in the summer of 1915.
The discipline of loneliness:
These were sermons given, most likely, during the summer of 1908 at the annual camp meeting at gods bible school, Cincinnati. The material was published as two articles in gods revivalist, January 1909.
The discipline of patience:
These were lectures given, most likely, to league of prayer audiences during spring 1909. This material was first published in tongues of fire magazine as three articles, in July, august, and September 1909.
Christian disciplines incorporates some of the earliest published lectures of Oswald chambers, some dating back to 1907. In d. W. Lamberts book Oswald chambers: an unbribed soul (1968), Lambert says of the discipline of suffering, the discipline of loneliness, and the discipline of guidance: these three booklets based on talks given in America before the war, were first issued by the Cincinnati bible school. These, unlike the later books, bear the marks of having been edited by chambers; one feature is the prolific use of apt poetic quotations. All of the Oswald chambers books originated with his spoken words, but most were published after chambers died in 1917. In only a few cases did he personally edit his spoken material before it was published. Because chambers was primarily a teacher, it should be remembered that he gave the same lectures and sermons on many occasions in various places and always altered his presentation to address the unique character and needs of his audience. Mrs. Chambers had shorthand notes of several versions of some mes- sages. Because she used all the notes in her possession to prepare the final copy for print, the book versions of his messages often differ from the earlier articles and pamphlets.
Just before chambers left the bible training college in July 1915, a friend persuaded him to publish some of his messages in Britain. Any proceeds from their sale were designated for ocs work as a YMCA chaplain in egypt. By the summer of 1915, the discipline in the cure of souls (later expanded into the book workmen of god) and the discipline of peril were in print. The discipline of prayer was in the press.
All of the six disciplines were printed first as pamphlets, then in the 1930s were issued as individual booklets in a series. In 1965, they were combined into two books, christian disciplines, volume 1 and volume 2.
Where possible, the date and place of individual messages has been added in this volume.
Contents
Foreword to The Discipline of Peril …………………………………………. 268
The Discipline of Divine Guidance ………………………………………… 269
First Stage. By God’s Sayings …………………………………………. 271
Second Stage. By God’s Symbols ……………………………………. 272
Third Stage. By His Servants …………………………………………. 274
Fourth Stage. By His Sympathy ……………………………………… 276
Fifth Stage. By Himself …………………………………………………. 278
Conclusion…………………………………………………………………… 280
The Discipline of Suffering ……………………………………………………. 281
The Springs of Suffering ……………………………………………….. 281
The Signs of Suffering …………………………………………………… 284
The Sublimity of Suffering …………………………………………….. 287
The Discipline of Peril ………………………………………………………….. 292
The Discipline of Peril ………………………………………………….. 292
Christian Seemliness……………………………………………………… 293
Slighted Security …………………………………………………………… 294
Fitness…………………………………………………………………………. 296
First and Last……………………………………………………………….. 297
God’s Parenthesis …………………………………………………………. 299
Are You Ever Disturbed? ………………………………………………. 300
Radiant in the Thick of It (Romans 8:33–39) …………………… 301
The Day of the Lord …………………………………………………………….. 302
Foreword to “the discipline of Peril
This booklet is composed of articles by oswald chambers written during the great war, 3 with two added messages that have appeared in leaflet form. In the main they stand as they were first prepared. They are full of that penetrating insight into those principles underlying our human lives which explains much that happens in the days of personal or national tragedy. The heart that knows and loves Jesus Christ will not yield to panic. But such will hear the call to keep awake and pray. When the veil is lifted we shall find that the seemly conduct of prayer wrought the things of god in man. Our lord foresaw days of crisis in the lives of men and nations, and bid us be ready for them. Always Jesus Christ is to be lifted up as an atoning saviour, and always we are called to intercessory prayer on the basis of his wonderful redemption. We commend this vital booklet to all thoughtful people in these days of international uncertainty and strain.
David lambert4
London, October 1938