SUNDAY-READING

Greymouth Evening Star, 24 July 1920, Page 3

SUNDAY-READING

(This column will appear every Saturday.) PRAYER. We thank Thee, 0 Lord our (jfod, that we never need lose touch with Thee at any stage or any step fn the journey of life. Thou hast said to us, •T have called thee by thy name, and thou art Mine"; and Thou art prepared to honour that claim in the face of the world, the fiesh and the devil. May we not be slow to acknowledge that claim in any of life's emergencies. May no earthly honour be allowed to dim the supreme honour of ''our relationship to Thee. Slay our hearts burn with a love to Thee that shall consume all desire for what is junworthy of the sons and daughters of the Lord God Almighty. Have Mercy, O God, upon our sin-stricken, sorrow-stricken world, and give wis- ., do.m to Thy servants that they may deal wisely with its appalling needs. We thank Thee for the conquest effected on Calvary, whereby all the forces of evil have been more than matched by the Omnipotence of Love. May the power of the' Crass be everywhere recognised as the only solvent of he heart-breaking problems of the ago, so that Christ may set free all who are led captive by the devil at his will, for His own Name's sake. Amen. DRAWING NEAR TO GOD.

It is not simply good to draw near to God bj r faith in all the moral laws under His government, but it is good to draw near to God personally, to draw near to Him as one would draw near to his physician, to his father, to his best-loved friend. Conscious companionship with God is one of the greatest blessings that a man can attain. There are a great many things that men read of in books and desire. I should be glad of some visions that saints have had; I would have been very glad to have had such rapturous experiences as I find detailed in the lived of eminent Christian men; but, after all. those were Sunday clothes. That which I need more is good everyday wear. I can see that the greatest gift that can be given to a man is the feeling that God is on his side every single day; that He is. and that He is not only the rewarder of those that seek Him, but a loving Father, and rewards as a father rewards his son; so that, whatever his condition or experience, he is conscious every day, "God loves me, and knows me. and loves me altogether; why should I be disturbed?"

I know that, there are a groat many persons who have a constitution and temperament which worry them. They heat, the machine heats, and they work with difficulty. There are men who say, ''Will, I am made so. I cannot help feeling anxious and worrying." You don't help it, you mean. You say that you cannot, as an excuse for not trying. One of the greatest comforts in life is to have such a sense of the presence of God, and of the administration of His love toward you, that you can say every morning, '•Come what will, it is all right." It is very easy for a man to say that when everything is going Just as he wants it to go; but suppose that things are going beautifully with a man. and tin re comes n bauknintcy, and knocks ercrjthing oat from under him, an ' his pride is mortified, and his family distressed, can he stand up then and say, "It is good for me to draw near lo Go:l? It is the only thing that will stand by a man, or that can comfort him. when he is suddenly overwhelmed in this way.

If a man says, "I am a creature of time, and that has broken all my plans," and stands by God, and hoars iiiui say, "O, my son, a man's life oonsisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. What have you lost? You have Me"—that man will have no trouble. Where a man lias a blight upon his name, who knows what a man is as well as Cod? And if he is content, if God is for him, who can be against him? What if a man is driven down to poverty and limitation, and his crust is hard, and the sources of his blessings are few*, what then? If he says, "1 am a joint-heir with. Jesus Christ to the inheritance of God Himself; life is but a minute; eternity is my real life, and God is my best Friend, in whose hands are every law, and all providence, and all events; and if Fie Hunks it best for my final good that I should be swept over, why, it is best for my good, and I bless His name and accept it"—then that man is moving in the right direction. Whatever may be the exigency of Divine providence God knows what it is, and wherever He puts you He puts you there on purpose, and whatever experience you do not understand now, He says you shall understand hereafter.

Trust in God. His love is more than all possession, more than all honour, more than all ease. It is everything, and it brings every tiling. Do not give up your father's faith in Do not worry nor fret yoirrseil if yon have a firm faith. Hold on to God, and everything will .ultimately come right. If you do not know it here, it will be revealed to you in the glory of your Father's Kingdom.