Devotional Column

Manawatu Times, Volume LIV, Issue 6942, 22 June 1929, Page 7

Devotional Column

PRECEPT. Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently i'or Him. Ps. 3/,i. PROMISE. No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper. Is. 51, I*. PRAYER. I am poor and needy. . • make no laming, 0 my God. v Ps. 10, 17. BE STILL. Not in the tumult of the rending atoim, Not in the earthquake or devouring flame; But in the husk that could all tear transform, The still small whisper to the phophet came. 0 Soul, keep silence on the mount of God, Though cares and needs throb round Thee like a sea; From supplications and desires unshod. Be still and hear what God shall say to thee. All fellowship hath interludes of rest. New strength maturing in each poise of power; The sweetest Alleluias of the blest Arc .silent, for the space of half an hour. 0 rest, in utter quietude of soul, Abandon words, leave prayer a.nd praiso awhile; Let thy whole being, hushed in His control, _ ' Learn the full meaning of His voice and smile.

Not as an athlete wrestling for a crown, Not taking Heaven by violence of will; But with thy Father as a child sit down, And know the bliss that follows His “Be Still!” —MARY BOWLES JARVIS. THIS IS “THAT.” Some years ago, in the “British Weekly,” one of those lino letters by Claudius Clear was given the title of “That.” It described the inspection of a costly painting by a wealthy connoisseur. Ho saw it, admired it, view'cd it in various lights and angles, and commended many of its points of excellence. When asked if ho would purchase it, he said ‘No.” The picture failed to attract him stroffgly, and he had no great desire to possess it. Pressed for reasons, he said the picture lacked —well* it lacked “that.” Asked what be meant by “that,” he said the master touch was lacking. It is a good illustration, for the “that” which is so often lacking in religious activities, is indeed the Master touch. It was not lacking in the power manifested at the Pentecost, for Peter said, “This is that which was spoken of by the prophet Joel.” The power that made Peter’s message compelling and convincing was the Spirit of power given unto those* who tarried at Jerusalem for it. Most of us have heard men talk on religious subjects without being gripped by any great truth, inspired by any great ideal, or arrested by the Spirit c the Lord. Was it not due to the absence of the ‘that?’ A man may have a form of real godliness but lack the dynamic thereof. It is common in our human zeal, to put such emphasise on methods and movements that the spiritua 1 nerve and objective are destroyed. PERHAPS TO-DAY. “Behold, Ho cometh with clouds.” —Rev. i.:7. “The clouds are the dust of his feet.” 1 Uahuin 1.:3.

“ ‘The clouds arc the dust of Hi s feet!’ Look up Tor thy Saviour nigh! L 7 e comes to relieve; His promises believe Though gloomy and o’crcast thy sky.

‘The clouds arc the dust of His feet-’ ' In clouds Ho is coming again; His face we’ll behold, wit hrapturq untold, And with Him forever shall reign!!”

THE CHRIST-LIKE SPIRIT OF SACRIFICE. The relationship between the Apostle and the Church at Philippi was that of a beloved pastor with people who trusted and loved him. The result is shown in a tender intimacy and a revealing frankness on the apart of the Apostlo that shows us his heart. In writing to them St. Paul is unafraid of any charge of egotism. .He knows that a statement of his experience will support and reinforce his message. When he talks in this manner of the tilings he hae been willing to sacrifice for the sake of Christ and His gospel, St. Paul is not whining about his fate. This is no doleful deliverance of a defeated Apostle. Ho glories rather in his gain; he has ‘gained” Christ. Ho has made a good bargain. He has lost the world but gained his soul!

One of tic most remarkable facts about this same Christ Jesus is that He has always been able to produce this a i deucy of sacrifice, this glamour of surrender in men and women. Sl. Paul is the herald of a mighty throng of men and women who have counted ihc world well lost for Christ. St. Francis could rightfully echo the words of St. Paul, divasting himself of every vestige of worldy wealth in a flame of devotion to cJsus. Savonarola, thundering in okl Florence, knew no Lord but Jesus. Mighty Luther hazards his life to keep the torch of the truth of Jesus alight in the world. Carey and Livingstone pierce the darkness of countries vast as continents, with the message of the Light of the World. “My Lord and my God” they air cry and follow Him,, counting all else but dross.

How poor our sacrificial flame seems against such a background as this! Itow pale our ineffectual fires! How different would be our devotion, if we but caught St. Paul’s \spirit. How mighty in spiritual dynamic wc could be!

Let us be as poor and miserable as wo can imagine, He pints others in our way worse off than w’e are, and bids us help them.