Devotional Column

Manawatu Times, Volume 59, Issue 276, 24 November 1934, Page 10

Devotional Column

Precept. Fervent in spirit, serving the Lord. Rom. 12. 11. Promise. Ho shall sustain thee. Ps. 55. 22. Prayer,

O my God, I trust in Thee .... on Thco do I wait all day. Ps. 25. 2 5. Yea, the Almighty shall bo thy defence . . . then shalt thou have thy delight in the Almighty, and shalt lift up thy face unto God. Job. x-xii. 25, 26. Oh, may each heart accept The entrance of Thy power. And take Thee hence for sure defence And help in evil hour. “HE LOVED ME.” Three littlo sunbeams gilding all I see, Three little chords, each full of melody, Three little leaves, balm for my agony. “WHO” He loved me, the Father’s only Son, Ho gave himself, the precious spotless One, He shed His blood, and then the work was done. “LOVED” Ho loved, not merely Here 1 rest Sorrow may come —I to His heart am pressed. What should I fear while sheltered on His breast. “ME.” Wonder of wonders —Jesus loved me, A wretch—lost, ruined—sunk in misery. He sought me— found me— raised mosot me free! My soul, tho order of tho words approve, Christ first—me last—nothing between but love; Lord, keep me always down, Thyself above. Trusting to thee, not struggling restlessly, So shall 1 daily gain tho Victory; not I, but Christ”—Who loved me! AN EXPIRING SUNDAY. They are killing our Sunday of long ago, The good old Sunday we used to know; The day of quiet, when everywhere The spirit of peace pervaded the air, And the whole world, wearing its Sunday best, Sat down by the roadside of life to rest. They are killing our Sunday, not with a blow To end it suddenly, but sure and slow, As they did the martyrs, who suffered shame Ou the wheel and the rack and in the flame. They aro killing our Sunday, and when it is dead, W’hen the last, last drop of its blood is shed, And its spirit has gone from tho knowledge of men In their world-weary strugglo for pleasure —what then? —W. J. Lampton in the New Y'ork Sun. jehovah-jtreh. The angel calls to Abraham, and shows him another sacrifice, just when his hand was ready to give the fatal stroke to Isaac (Gen. 22:10-11). A well of water is discovered. to Hagar just when she has left the child, as not able to see its death .(Gen. 21: 16-19). , How remarkable were the tidings brought to Saul, that tho Philistines had invaded the land, just as he was ready to grasp the prey (1 Sam. 23: 26-28). Rabshakch meets with a blasting providence. hears a rumour that frustrated his design, just when ready to give tho shock against Jerusalem (Isaiah 37:7-S). So when Haman’s plot against the Jews was ripe, and all things ready for execution, “On that night could not tho king sleep” (Esther 6:1). When the horns are ready to gore Judah, immediately carpenters are prepared to fray them away (Zech. 1: IS--21). Dr. Tate and his wife, in the Irisn rebellion, flying through tho wood with a suckling child, which was just ready to expire; tho mother, going to rest it upon a rock, put her hand upon r bottle of warm milk, by -which it was preserved. A -woman, from whoso moutu I received it, being driven to a great extremitv, all supples failing, was exceedingly plunged into unbelieving doubts and fears, not seeing whence supplies should come; when, loMn the nick Of time, turning upon a piece oi gold, which supplied her present wants

till God opened another door of supply. If these things fall out casually, how is it that they observe the very juncture of time so exactly? This is become proverbial in Scripture. “In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen." (Gen. 22:14). —Flavcl. COURAGE. To fear, and yet that others may not quail To know your weakness, hide from sight your fears; To lose one's self in all tho world of living, To find one's self and give of that self's best; To work against fatigue and dire disaster. And never cry aloud for need of rest; To know that danger threatens, yet to carry An outward calm to face the trouble through, Drawing for strength upon the Source God-given— Thus shall Life's lamp burn true. Wo are called to a life of holiness or sanctification, and we are kept in that lifo by Jesus Christ. Let us ever keep before us tho wondrous vocation which is ours, and let us not be so occupied with the things of this world that the vocation loses its sense of sacrcdncss for us. Tho only cure for tho luke-warmness, workllincss and self-satisfaction in the Church, and in tho individual, is to admit to our hearts the personal, loving, living Lord of Calvary-, Who, with thorn-crowned brow, stands outside, knocking. Ho Whom we admit as Guest, then becomes Host, taking possession of every corner of heart and life, and ministering to our every need.