THE DAY OF REST.

Mataura Ensign, 26 April 1913, Page 7

THE DAY OF REST.

HE LIFTED ME.

In loving kindness Jesus cam© My soul in mercy to rod aim, And from the depths of sin and shame Thro' grace He lifted me. From sinking sand He lilted me, With tender hand He lifted in<\ From shades of night to plains of light. O praise His name, He lifted me. He called me long before 1 heard. Before my sinful heart was stirr'd, But when I took Him at His word. Forgiv'n Ho lilted me. His brow was pie reed with many a thorn, His hands by cruel nails were torn, When from my guilt and grief, iorlorn, In love Ho lifted me. Now on .» higher plane I. dwell, And with my sold I know 'tis well; Yet how or why, 1 cannot tc!!, He should have lifted me. This song was written by Mr Charles H. Gabriel, the author ol the "Glory Song," for me, and 1 consider it one of the best he has ever written. Wherever it is used I receive letters from people telling me of the great beneiit they have derived from this song. In Boston, Mass., I received a letter from a man who was brought to Christ by this song. He told me he had not been in church for 16 years, and had grown indifferent to religion. On reading thi9 song over iie was stirred profour dly, and immediately settled the que tion then and there. He wrote that he : pplied the song to his own life, anc chat Christ had indeed lilted him. —Charles Alexander.

CHAPMAN-ALEXANDER MISSION.

When the last day of the ChapmanAlexander mission at Christchureh arrived the big tent was filled with men considerably before the time for the ( commencement of the service. Upon Dr Chapman annauncing that he would , present a copy of the New Testament , Dr Chapman announcnig tliat lie would , stand up and say: "I will carry it and read it," after some slight hesitation quite a rush set in and the supply of Testaments ran out. Dr Chapman thereupon promised he would send the rest a copy each hy post. I. Kings XVIII., 21:—"How long halt yo between two opinions? If the Lord be God', then follow Him!" Dr • Chapman preached a vigorous and very memorable address from this text. He dwelt particularly upon the three perils that, in his opinion, particularly threatened the people of New Zealand, and } these were impurity, gambling and | drink. With regard to the fii'st, he said he had been shocked at the figures he had obtained from r ■ 1 'lie men and at the statements) made i, j doctors and others engaged in mission work, and he thought that there was a serious Reckoning before the Dominion if re- ' formative methods were not taken in hand without delay. He spoke very strongly against gambling and _ the drink evil, and said that the Dominion) with its unique situation had a chance to make a firm stand against the liquor traffic and be an example to the whole •world. The evening service, which was for both men and women, brought out a magnificent congregation, and nearly as many had to stand outside the tent (the sides of which were rolled, up) as were able to find seats inside. . . . Dr Chapman took as his text Deuteronomy xxx. 19: "I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live, ' and preached a powerful discourse thereon. Touching upon the question of the Bible-in-schools controversy, Dr Chapman said that wherever he had come I across States where it was in vogue, particularly in Queensland, he had been struck wita the effect for good it had. Apart entirely from the great truths that the Bible contained, he considered that as literature pure and simple it could not be beaten, and he was convinced that benefits would undoubtedly accrue by the use of the Book by the children. He thought the Old Testament was quite as suitable as the New for reading in schools if some discretion were used. Personally he preferred the Old Testament to the New as the most interesting part of the Bible, and it would have been noticed that he took most, of the texts for his discourses from the earlier portion of the Bible. In many respects the educational system of the United States differed from that pursued in New Zealand, and the reading of the Scriptures in the primary schools was optional, hut it was fairly generally practised, and anyone who knew of the results could not doubt that it had a great effect in strengthening the character and in tturning out men who were of value to the nation. ' ■