Earlier text: CONTAINED IN THIS ISSUETHE GREAT SALVATION
By Geo. W. Reaser
The Effect of the Word upon Human Hearts.
TO illustrate the security that is felt by all men wherever the teachings of the Bible prevail, note the following incidents: A vessel wrecked on one of the South Sea Islands. The people of the island known to one of the sailors as cannibals. The ship wrecked and they upon this island. No hope of deliverance. They seemed to have escaped the sea to be devoured by human beasts. But the sailor climbed up on a hilltop to reconnoiter. Presently his shipmates saw him swinging his arms in great excitement, and inquired what was the matter. Over the hill, he tells them, is the steeple of a meeting-house. The Bible built that church. That took away all the fear of trouble out of his soul. He knew that church spire made his life safe on that erstwhile cannibal island. Years ago, a young infidel was traveling in the West with his uncle, a banker, who carried with him a sum of money. They were not a little anxious for their safety when they were forced to stop for the night in a rough wayside cabin, which was inhabited by two rough-looking men. There were two rooms in the house, and they were given one. When they retired for the night they agreed that the young man should keep guard with loaded pistols till midnight, and then awaken his uncle, who would watch until morning. Presently they peeped thru a crack, and saw their host, the old man, in his bear-skin suit, reach up and take down a book,—a Bible,—and after reading it awhile, he knelt and began to pray; and then the young infidel began to pull off his coat and get ready for bed. The uncle said, “I thought you were going to sit up and watch.” But the young man knew that there was no need of sitting up, pistol in hand, to watch all night long in a cabin the dwellers in which held as holy the word of God, and consecrated their home by prayer. Would a copy of Paine’s “Age of Reason” have thus quieted the young infidel’s fears? “When Lepaux, a member of the French Directory, complained to Talleyrand that his new religion, ‘Theophilanthropy,’ made little headway among the people, the shrewd old statesman replied: “‘I am not surprised at the difficulty you find in your effort. It is no easy matter to introduce a new religion. But there is one thing I would advise you to do, and then, perhaps you might succeed.’ “‘What is it? what is it?’ eagerly asked Lepaux. “‘It is this,’ said Talleyrand, ‘go and be crucified, and then be buried, and then rise again on the third day, and then go on working miracles, raising the dead, and healing all manner of diseases, and casting out devils; and then it is possible that you may accomplish your end.’ The philosopher went away silent.” “Suppose that thirty or forty men should walk in thru that door. One man comes from Maine, another from New Hampshire, another from Massachusetts, and so on from each State, each bearing a block of marble of peculiar shape. Suppose I pile up these blocks in order, until I have the figure of a man, perfectly symmetrical and beautifully chiseled, and I say, ‘How did these men, who have never seen each other, chisel out that beautiful statue?’ You say, ‘That is easily explained. One man planned that whole statue, made the patterns, gave the directions, and distributed them around; and so, each man working by the pattern, the work fits accurately when completed.’ Very well. Here is a Book coming from all quarters, written by all classes, scattered thru a period of fifteen hundred years; and yet this Book is fitted together as a wondrous and harmonious whole. How was it done?—‘Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.’ One Mind inspires the whole Book, one Voice speaks in it all, and it is the voice of God speaking with resurrection power.” The word of God is dictated by the Spirit, and the Spirit works in and thru His word to make it effectual. Thus it is that God’s word can never fail, as it has all of the power of the Spirit by which the universe is upheld to make it sure and steadfast. “Again I conclude that this Book has in it the very breath of God from the effect that it produces upon men.” “Did you ever hear a man ascribe his redemption and salvation from intemperance and sin and vice to the multiplication table, or the science of mathematics or geology? But I can bring you, not one man, or two, or ten, but men by the thousands who will tell you, ‘I was lost; I broke my poor mother’s heart; I beggared my family; my wife was heart-stricken and dejected; my children fled from the sound of their father’s footsteps; I was ruined, reckless, homeless, helpless, hopeless until I heard the words of that Book.’ And he will tell you the very word which fastened on his soul. It may be it was, ‘Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.’ Perhaps it was, ‘Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.’ It may have been, ‘God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’ He can tell you the very word that saved his soul. And since that word entered his heart, he will tell you that hope has dawned upon his vision; that joy has inspired his heart; and that his mouth is filled with grateful song. He will tell you that the blush of health has come back to his poor wife’s cheek; that the old hats have vanished from the windows of his desolate home; that his rags have been exchanged for good clothes; that his children run to meet him when he comes; that there is bread on the table, fire on the hearth, and comfort to his dwelling. He will tell you all that, and he will tell you that this Book has wrought this change. “Now this book is working just such miracles, and is doing it every day.” In fact, this is the definite purpose of this Book. It was designed by its Author to carry light and life and salvation to the children of men, and this it does wherever it is received as the word of God. It is by the operation of the word of God that men are “born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, even by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever.” “You will find it (the Bible) constantly pointing and referring to one great Personage—‘the Seed of the woman’ that shall crush the serpent’s head; ‘the Seed of Abraham,’ in whom all nations of the world shall be blessed; ‘the Seed of David,’ who shall sit on David’s throne and reign forevermore; the despised and rejected Sufferer, the Man of Sorrows, the Christ of God, born in Bethlehem, crucified on Calvary, rising triumphant from Joseph’s tomb, ascending to sit at God’s right hand, and coming again to judge the world and reign as King and Lord of all forever. Around this one mighty Personage this whole Book revolves. ‘To Him give all the prophets witness;’ and this Book, which predicts His coming in its earliest pages, which foreshadows His person and His ministry thru all its observances, types, and sacred prophecies, reveals in its closing lines the eternal splendors which shall crown and consummate His mighty works.” “At the beginning of the Bible we find a new world: ‘In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.’ At the end of the Bible we find a new world: ‘I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away.’ At the beginning we find Satan entering to deceive and destroy; at the end, we find Satan cast out, ‘that he should deceive the nations no more.’ At the beginning, sin and pain and sorrow and sighing and death find entrance to the world; at the end, there shall be no more pain nor sorrow nor sighing, and no more death. At the beginning, the7earth, for man’s transgression, is cursed with thorns and thistles; at the end, ‘there shall be no more curse; but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it.’ At the beginning we find the tree of life in paradise, from which the sinner is shut away by the flaming sword, lest he eat and live forever; at the end we find the tree of life again ‘in the midst of the paradise of God,’ and the blessed and the blood-washed ones have a right to the tree of life, and ‘enter in thru the gates into the city.’ At the beginning, man was brought beneath the dominion of death and the grave; at the end, ‘the dead, small and great, stand before God,’ the sea gives up its dead, and death and hell are destroyed in the lake of fire. At the beginning, the first Adam lost his dominion over earth, and was driven out of the Garden of Eden in shame and sorrow; at the end, we find the second Adam, victorious over sin and death and hell, enthroned as King and Lord of all, and reigning in triumph and glory forever.” “Now, when you get the plan of this Book, you find that it is something more than a Book of detached sentences, good maxims and comforting words. It is a Book which unfolds the divine purpose, and not only reveals the way of salvation, but marks the pathway of the people of God thru this wilderness, and foreshadows the destiny of the world which He has made and the church which He has redeemed.” “This Book, this holy Book, on every line
Marked with the seal of high divinity,
On every leaf bedewed with drops of love
Divine, and with eternal heraldry
And signature of God Almighty stamped
From first to last,—this ray of sacred light,
This lamp from off the everlasting throne,
Mercy brought down, and in the night of time
Stands, casting on the dark her gracious bow,
And evermore beseeching men with tears
And earnest sighings to read, believe, and live.” HE who has affinity with God
Will seek His silences.
For He, the Giver of all good,
Abideth still upon the wood
Of sacrifice. Heed, then, the hidden word.
Afar from human haunts of jar and fret
Turn toward the quiet shrines, apart from strife,
To hear the Voice creative of all life.
Thy Father hath His word, as clear to-day
As heard by them of old, who learned to pray
In wilderness or mountaintop apart;
Draw near and learn His love, O craving heart.
—Selected. SENSITIVE TO THE WORLD'S NEEDS.
By J. H. Jowett
BUT we need to be sensitive, not only to the world's sorrow and to the world's sin, but also to the world's awakenings and yearnings. You will notice my descriptive word "awakening." "Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead." I would know when men are awakening long, long before they may arise. I would have so fine a discernment as to know when the sleep of indifference and of death is just breaking up in a man, and he is turning his half-opened eyes upon the light of life. I would know when the first faint spiritual impulse is knocking at the door of his life, and he is half inclined to lift the latch. "When thou wast under the fig-tree, I saw thee." That is when I would see the man, before he comes out into open discipleship, when he is brooding by himself, and, may-hap, with torn and wounded fingers blindly groping his way to the light. Nay, I would know him earlier still, before the groping had begun, when perhaps the first cold, chilly wind of dissatisfaction has blown across his sinful revels, and he is beginning to be disquieted within him. "When he was yet a long way off, his father saw him." That is the sight I covet for myself and for the church, this telescopic sight, which sees a man in a far-off country, when he is away in the fields of debasement and want, when first he turns his longing, tired eyes in the direction of the homeland, even before he has taken a single step on the homeward way! But if the church is to discern the prodigal when he is still a long way off, how sensitive she must be! She must have the very gentleness and compassion and delicacy of the Lord, or she will never thrill to the far away. If she be insensitive, she will know her prodigals only when they knock loudly at her door, and to her will be denied the golden privilege of helping and cheering them on the way. If we would win the world, we must surprise it by our knowledge of sorrow, by our pained recognition of its sin, and by our excellent discernment of its trembling yearnings after light.—J. H. Jowett. Wilderness of Temptation
By W. A. Alway
THE SUPREMACY OF THE PREVIOUSLY WRITTEN WORD.
II. Christ and the Written Word.
CHRIST Himself taught most emphatically the abiding, authoritative supremacy of the ancient Scriptures. In his reproof of the Pharisees He pointed out the sad truth that the reason for their blindness of heart which resulted in their rejection of His divine mission, lay not so much in their refusal to believe in the marvelous works which attended His ministry as in their unbelief of the Old Testament scriptures, which testified of Him. It was their rejection of the authoritative character of the previously written word which made it impossible for them to believe Christ. "For," said Jesus, "had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed Me; for he wrote of Me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe My words." John 5:44-47. The Pharisees, in order to enhance their own selfish desire, to exalt themselves to the position of spiritual dictators in the church, had encouraged unbelief in the minds of the people concerning the word of God to such an extent that the traditions of those who sat in Moses' seat were exalted not only above the word of the prophets, but also above the Ten Precepts which God had spoken with His own voice. See Mark 7. How different the personal attitude of Christ to the previously written word! Of Him it had been foretold long centuries before His appearance in the flesh: "He will magnify the law, and make it honorable." Isa. 42:21. The psalmist declares: "Thou hast magnified Thy word above all Thy name." Ps. 138:2. Consistent with these predictions of Holy Writ, we read in the record of the Sermon on the Mount: "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets; I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil." Matt. 5:17. All that was involved in that "fulfilment" to the Son of God can only be faintly realized as we trace His weary pilgrimage thru a strange and hostile land, over the rugged, thorny pathway of His human experience, thru Gethsemane's deep shadows to Calvary's cross. Let us linger a moment near the to note His attitude to the Father's word uttered fifteen long centuries before thru mortal lips. For forty days He had suffered the pangs of hunger, and now the demands of appetite reenforced by the temptation of an artful foe combine to drive Him from His heaven-appointed pathway of suffering service. Isaiah 53. What is it that puts to flight the wily foe?—Ah, it is the sword of the Spirit: "It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." Matt. 4:1-3. He did not quibble over the lapse of centuries since that word was written. He did not destroy the sword's keen edge and neutralize its prevailing power by adding, "as far as they are correctly translated." If the previously written word marked out for Him a pathway of sorrow, a life of unappreciated service, a crown of thorns and a death of shame (Isaiah 53), He would not seek an easier way. Rather He would uncover His head in its sacred presence, and in kingly submission to its supreme authority say, "Thy will be done." But perhaps the most striking example of Christ's devotion to the Old Testament Scriptures is recorded in Matthew's account of the thrilling scenes connected with by the mob. The blood stains of the agonizing struggle of Gethsemane were upon His brow, as, emerging from the garden, He was met by Judas and the rabble. The traitor-kiss is bestowed, and as that murderous mob binds without resistance those noble hands, Jesus says to His impulsive, belligerent disciple: "Thinkest thou that I can not now pray to My Father, and He shall presently give Me more than twelve legions of angels?" Matt. 26:53. Why did He not do it? Why did that prayer of simple justice falter and die upon His pale lips? Listen, reader, and mark well the reply: "But how then shall the Scriptures be fulfilled that thus it must be?" Matt. 26:53, 54. What8supreme reverence for the word of the prophets! He could surrender those innocent hands to the disgrace of criminal bands; He could bare that kingly brow to the shame of spitting; He could permit that royal form to be mockingly robed in the faded purple, and crowned with a wreath of thorns; yea, He could humiliate Himself and become "obedient unto death, even the death of the cross;" but He would not raise so much as a finger to prevent the fulfilment to its sad and tragic end of one jot or tittle of those simple prophetic utterances. Dear reader, if Jesus, the exalted Son of God, displayed such supreme reverence for the Scriptures, with what awe and heart-searching should dying mortals approach their sacred pages? How sad, methinks, must be our risen Lord, after having endured so great "contradiction of sinners against Himself," that He might crown with unfading glory and immortal honor "every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God," to behold in His professed followers such indifference to its teachings, such neglect of its admonitions, and warnings; to actually find some of us willing to adopt the dishonest quibbles and tactics of infidelity rather than crucify the worldly lusts which the requirements of that word demand? May we rather say with the poet in the presence of the Christ-life and example:
"What truth and love Thy bosom fill!
What zeal to do Thy Father's will!
Such zeal and truth and love divine,
I would transcribe and make them mine."
—W. A. ALWAY. LOSSES AND GAINS.
By Eliza H. Morton
We lose the sight of the cloud
By looking beyond its shade,
Watching the gleam of the bow
In colors of beauty laid.
We lose the pain of the fire,
Now making the final test,
Watching the glory revealed—
A glimmer of perfect rest. We gain a discipline sweet
By bearing the cross alway;
We gain an uplift of soul
By walking with Christ each day;
We gain new strength and new power
By seeking the Lord in prayer;
We gain a peace and joy
By casting on Him our care. WHEN KNOWLEDGE IS NOT POWER.
By Gualterio
"Master, the tempest is raging!
The billows are tossing high!
The sky is o'ershadowed with blackness;
No shelter or help is nigh." THE old homestead was not so far removed from the regular suburban type as to attract unusual attention; neither were its inmates above the average in intelligence or talent. Nevertheless, the man who sits by the grate on a certain autumn evening, thinking seriously upon the problem of life, has to battle with the same subtle temptations as come to all, be their mental attainments ever so brilliant or mediocre. Sooner or later the tempest rages for each, and the soul either lives with the storm for a time by shutting the windows heavenward and deifying the ego, or it distrusts itself, and resting its hope by the life-line of faith in the vicarious atonement of Christ, finds itself drawn above the storm area by the great magnet of God's love. Such was the situation of the man by the fire. Which shall it be, the cross and crown of rejoicing of the Christian's hope, or the "pleasures of sin for a season" and then oblivion? The first based upon a faith he did not possess, and the last in the hope of buoyant youth and the hidden future. The odds were apparently in favor of the materialist, but the lines of a hymn would intrude themselves:
"Earth with its riches is only dross,
Bright treasures beyond the cross I see." "Now, I have seen people to whom these 'treasures beyond' were quite a real asset," he soliloquizes, "but I really have no such assurance about it. I have said my prayers faithfully ever since I was coached at my mother's knee, and I have read the Bible 'from cover to cover,' lo, these many years. I can lay my finger upon the arguments for orthodoxy with unerring precision;9but the 'anchor of the soul both sure and steadfast,' doth not yet appear. Wherein am I at fault? or am I to believe that the good of past and present feast their souls upon a chimera of the imagination, which, nevertheless, has a wonderful, sustaining power that fails not, even at the critical moment of taking the 'leap into the dark'? No, it can not be. With all my knowledge of the Bible; with all my oft-repeated prayers, and with all my church-going, 'the secret of the Lord' is still a riddle to me. 'Let's see, how does the psalmist put it? —'What man is he that feareth the Lord? him shall He teach in the way that he shall choose,' for 'the secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him; and He will show them His covenant.' 'O my soul, this is getting to be a vexed question. And it must be settled at once, for behold the crossroads, and it is one way or the other. Believe I'll trudge down to the grove and have a little chat with the sexton. He is old in the way and practical withal; mayhap he can help me a trifle.' We follow him. The night is ideal, and, as if upon the faintly stirring zephyr, come the lines of the 19th Psalm:
"The heavens declare the glory of God;
And the firmament showeth His handiwork.
Day unto day uttereth speech,
And night unto night showeth knowledge."
Unbidden the lines flow on until the seventh verse, "The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul." "Ha! I have the seat of the trouble. I can not be converted; I surely can not be converted," exclaims the troubled one. "I believe I realize Peter's strait when, after three years spent in the company of Him who is 'Master of earth and sky,' the Christ must needs tell him, 'When thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.' Well, now I am here, I'll let the old sexton take a hand in solving the puzzle. Hark, I believe he has company. He is talking most earnestly to some one. Ah, he is praying." "My Father, 'the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity,' when I was but a young man the words of Thy Book said to me, 'Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to Thy word.' And, my Father, I earnestly entreated Thy Spirit to teach me Thy way. I sought not in vain, for Thou didst fill my soul with peace. Furthermore, I did eat Thy word with delight, and meditated much upon its promises. What it admonished me to do I did, and its prohibitions I gladly complied with. Never did I lack strength to do Thy will while relying upon Thy free grace and power. My Father, I was glad when Thou didst declare, 'I will put My law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts,' for then was I sure of Thy promise to come in and sup with me and I with Thee. And all the years, my Father, the trials and sorrows have been silver-lined and freighted with Thy blessings. Thou hast guarded me as the apple of Thine eye; Thou hast led me; Thy goodness and mercy have encompassed me. As I look to Thee to-night, when the sands of my life are nearly run, my cup runneth over; for faith has given me the victory over besetting sins, and I press toward the prize. Make my declining days to show forth Thy praise and the glory of Thy coming kingdom. So shall I trust in Thee, and dwell with Thee on the other shore." As the old man ceases, but remains upon his knees as if harkening for the answer from the "other shore," the young man at the threshold turns away with a new light in his eyes and a new hope in his heart. As he returns to the homestead hearth, he continues to meditate and soliloquize. " 'Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen,' says the Spirit of God to the Hebrews. Praise the Lord; I believe it is true. The old sexton prayed as seeing the Invisible, and the sense of his assurance has surely demonstrated to me that a man may have all knowledge and ability, yet lacking childlike faith in the Father's love and mercy, may go thru life without having experienced the living, acting power of the Gospel of Christ. In other words, one may have the word of God as an external asset; yet, by failing to hunger and thirst for the Spirit, by continued neglect of the great essential life-principle of the Gospel, commit the unpardonable sin against the Holy Spirit; for in neglecting we virtually deny His power. "How vividly that text appeals to me to-night, 'Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled,' and its complement, 'But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus who of God is made unto us wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption.' It must be upon this principle that Paul so logically reasons in Romans 8, where he finds the Holy Spirit to be the representative of Christ, which takes up its abode in the heart of the converted man, and becomes the actuating 'life because of righteousness,' which results in 'as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.' Strange I never saw the force of these principles before. From this moment I dedicate myself and all I have to be worked by the Spirit of God. Peace like a river is mine." "Master, the terror is over,
The elements sweetly rest;
Earth's sun in the calm lake is mirrored,
And heaven's within my breast.
Linger, O blessed Redeemer,
Leave me alone no more;
And with joy I shall make the blest harbor,
And rest on the blissful shore."
Mountain View, Cal. WORK FOR THE DEAD.
By Charles Nelson
"Wilt Thou show wonders to the dead? shall the dead arise and praise Thee? (Selah.) Shall Thy loving-kindness be declared in the grave? or Thy faithfulness in destruction? Shall Thy wonders be known in the dark? and Thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?" Ps. 88: 10-12. MANY who believe in a probation after death would no doubt answer the above questions in the affirmative. We desire, however, to study them in the light of other passages of scripture. Before doing this let us notice the last question—"Shall Thy wonders be shown in the dark? and Thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?" The grave where all men go when they die is here called the land of forgetfulness. This clearly indicates that man is unconscious in death and has forgotten all he ever knew. This is made plain also by the following: "For in death there is no remembrance of Thee; in the grave who shall give Thee thanks?" Ps. 6:5. "Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish." Ps. 146:3, 4. "So man lieth down, and riseth not; till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep." Job 14:12. Do they know anything while in this condition? "For the living know that they shall die; but the dead know not anything, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion forever in anything that is done under the sun. . . . Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in the grave, whither thou goest." Eccl. 9:5-10. We see from these quotations that man between death and the resurrection is in an unconscious condition and knows nothing. He can not love, hate, nor do anything whatever because his thoughts have perished. But the question may arise in the minds of some persons, Can not something be done for those, who in this life, have not made their peace with God? Will they not again have an opportunity to hear and believe the Gospel? We will let the Scriptures answer: "If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth; and if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be." Eccl. 11:3. "For the grave can not praise Thee, death can not celebrate Thee; they that go down to the pit can not hope for Thy truth." Isa. 38:18. "When a wicked man dieth, his expectation shall perish; and the hope of unjust men perisheth." Prov. 11:7. "Be not deceived; God is not mocked; for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting." Gal. 6:7, 8. These scriptures plainly show that man's probation expires at death; the character he has at this time will decide his eternal destiny, and nothing that any one can do will avail anything, as he has no portion in what is done under the sun. All sleep in the dust of the earth (Dan. 12:2) till the resurrection, when they will come forth, "they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation." John 5:29. The time to seek the Lord and prepare for eternity is this life. "Behold, now is the accepted time. Behold, now is the day of salvation." If men procrastinate their repentance until death, it will be forever too late; "for then cometh a dark night in which no labor can be performed." So while we have time and opportunity, let us heed the admonition given in the Word of God: "Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon." Isa. 55:6, 7. ONE moment in the kingdom,
The first that I shall know,
Will pay for all the trials
That I have known below,
Will pay for all the heartaches
And disappointments sore,
For tears and pain and sorrow
Will fill the heart no more. One burst of heavenly music
From that unnumbered throng,
The far-surpassing sweetness
Of that angelic song,
Transcending any music
This sin-cursed earth can know,
Will fill the heart with rapture
Unknown to man below. The flowers I shall gather
In field and garden there
Excel in fragrant beauty
Earth's flowers howe'er rare.
There I shall pluck fair roses,
And lilies sweet and pure,
Whose perfume-laden petals
Unfading shall endure. And friends who there shall greet me
Thruout eternal years,
Forever true and loyal,
Shall never part in tears.
No good-by shall be spoken,
For age on age we'll meet
Each new moon and each Sabbath,
To bow at Jesus' feet. The One of all most precious
Whose praise the saints shall sing
Thruout eternal ages,—
My Saviour and my King.
When I shall look upon Him
Who for my ransom died,
My cup of joy o'erflowing,
I shall be satisfied.
MAX HILL. WHEN o'er the azure of your sky
The blighting storm-clouds sweep,
And by the tempest cherished joys
Are crushed and buried deep,
Let not your soul be overwhelmed;
Be brave, and cease to weep. If careful plans have come to naught,
Your house of peace o'erthrown,
And rankest weeds the place has filled
Where seed of good was sown;
View not the scene in dark despair,
Have faith; God tries His own. When you are called to suffer long,
And pain seems hard to bear,
The enemy e'er tempting you
To think God does not care,
Remember 'tis a privilege
With Christ a part to share. And have you vainly struggled long
In efforts to be free
From follies and from subtle sins
Which mar humanity?
Trust then no longer your own strength,
In Christ is victory. To those who shall endure in faith
He promises a crown;
By harshness be thou not dismayed,
Nor by the worldling's frown;
But bravely still bear up the cross,
Till called to lay it down. I HEARD of a young lady whose parents had died while she was an infant, who had been kindly cared for by a dear friend of the family. Before she was old enough to know him, his business took him to Europe. Regularly he wrote to her thru all the years of his absence, and never failed to send her money for all her wants. Finally, word came that during a certain week he would return and visit her. He did not fix the day nor hour. She received several invitations to take pleasant trips with her friends during that week. One of those was of so pleasant a nature that she could not resist accepting it. During her trip he came, inquired as to her absence, and left. Returning, she found this note: “My life has been a struggle for you, might you not have waited one week for me?” More she never heard, and her life of plenty became one of want. Jesus has not fixed the day or hour of His return, but He has said, “Watch!” and should He come to-day would He find us in thoughtless dissipation?—British Evangelist. A SOLEMN WARNING.
By Alexander Maclaren
(From an article in the Sunday School Times, by Alexander Maclaren.) People dispute whether the Sermon on the Mount is to be taken literally when it enjoins non-resistance to evil. Is Christ's example not His own commentary on His own precept? But His silence [before Pilate and Herod] has another aspect. Neither Pilate nor Herod were thought worthy to hear words from the lips into which grace was poured, and which had been wont to pour out that grace so freely on all. Because He saw that neither had ears to hear, He was silent to both. To have spoken would have been to waste His words and to increase their guilt. His silence was judicial, but it was merciful, too. It was a commentary on that other place in the Sermon on the Mount which forbids giving that which is holy to dogs. That silence is eloquent, for it warns us to take heed lest by levity or neglect we make ourselves deaf and Him dumb. GROWTH in grace is often helped by having the grace to say, No.