SUNDAY READING.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXX, Issue 9181, 22 April 1893, Page 4 (Supplement)

SUNDAY READING.

THE RIGHT POSTURE TOWARD CHRIST. [BY THE REV-. THEODORE L. CUYLER, D.D.] "Sitting at the feet of Jesus,"—Luke viii. 35. There is a vast amount of precious gospel to be gathered from those passages which describe various persons as sitting at the feet of Jesus." Nearly all of them are to bo found in the narrative of the evangelist Luke ; they present a series of most instructive object lessons. The core of Christianity then, as now, consisted in contact with Jesus Christ. 1. The first figure we contemplate is that of the sinful woman who bent weeping at His feet as He sat at the table of Pharisee Simon. Here is the posture of true penitence. Remorse ends often in despair ; but Christian penitence lias a sweet apprehension of mercy in a loving Saviour. Confession ot guilt, with a forsaking of sin, always brings pardon. When we take that contrite woman's place, heartsick of sin, if we listen attentively we will hear the comforting words, Thy sins are forgiven; thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace." '2. A place at the feet of Jesus is also the right posture of sincere humility. Selfconceit is everyone's Insetting sin. When it overmasters us, we are go sure that we are right that we are never willing to be set right. When it becomes stubborn selfasseition and self-excusing before God it is a long step towards perdition. There is no salvation for the man who has built his own raft, and tries to float on it into heaven. The difference between the Pharisee and the Publican was that while both were sinners only one of them realised the fact. When that fact is realised, and self-conceit grounds its arms at the feet of Jesus, and sues for mercy, then the conflict ends in the victory of grace. For the decisive batUe for everyone s salvation is fought out just at that very spotthe feet of the crucified Saviour. When pride, or self-will, or covetousnese, or fatal sin of any kind, submits to Christ, the question is settled. Conversion takes place right here. This humble self-submission never degrades us; he that thus humbleth himself all be exalteth. Whoever would go into heaven must go there on his knees. 3. Beautifully are we taught what is the proper posture of prayer by such examples as that of Abraham, who fell on his face, and then God talked with him ; and those of Jairus and the Syro-Phoenician mother who fell at the feet of Christ. Prayer is the soul's converse with God; it never should assume the slightest air of demand or dictation. It is supplication—the more humble, child-like, and submissive the better. Its right posture is at the feet of the Divine Giver; its richest blessing often is in its influence upon ourselves. When you or I can rise up from the feet of Jesus, satisfied entirely to let Him have His own way, then our prayer has brought a supreme blessing. The more fully that we can get into heartharmony with God the more of Him shall we possess; and what else can compare with this? If we delight ourselves in the Lord He will give us the desire of our hearts. One prayer is sure of an answer, and that is the trusting prayer of a true penitent; the Master himself has given the assurance, " Him that cometh unto Me I will in no way wise cast out."

4. The fourth scene from this book of Luke presents the posture of docility. There at the feet of her condescending Teacher sits the loviug Mary in the Bethany home. She has done her part in the household preparations, and then, impatient for something which Christ can give to her, she hastens to take her se.U as a lowly listener and a loving learner. The supper she hungers after is soul-food. The very word " disciple" signifies a learner ; he is the wisest Christian who is the most teachable. The term - time in Christ's school is short, some of the lessons cut deep ; but when we draw up close to the Master He rewards us with the gracious words, "Thou hast chosen the good part, which shall never be taken from thee." This brings us on the posture of joyful gratitude. Look at that healed leper with smooth skin and clean tongue, who is prostrate before his deliverer, not whispering, but shouting out his thanks. As he lies there, overwhelmed with gratitude, he puts to shame thousands of discontented, growling Christians. One of the most abominable sins of which any pardoned, converted, adopted heir of heaven can bo guilty is that of grumbling ingratitude. We apply the microscope to our troubles, and make them as big as possible, and then minimise our mercies. Having Christ, who should dare to complain? Instead of whining complaints and grumbling disquietudes let us imitate that cured demoniac, who was so delighted with his deliverance from the legion of devils that he not only sat down happy at the feet of his Saviour, but wanted to stay with Him for ever. His attitude is one of self-consecra-tion. Jesus takes him at his word, and sets him to preaching to all his neighbours " what great things Jesus had done unto him." Here is a hint for young converts. If you do not use the first ardours of your spiritual life in personal efforts for others, and in setting forth Christ to them, you are likely to be a mute or a drone in the Church as long as you ive.

We have thus presented a halt-dozen objectlessons from Scripture as a guide for all who are inquiring, " \\ hat must I do to Le saved ?" The answers are :—"Go to the feet of Jesus in true penitence; confess your sins with humility and self-surrender ; pray to Him with a submissive spirit; entreat Him to give you life; then pour out your hearty thanks to Him, and ask Him to let you serve Him as long as yon live. Can any better passages for an inquiry-room be found than these which set forth the right posture towards Christ, the only Saviour? The apostle John tells us that when he first saw his glorified Lord amid the flashing splendours of heaven, he "fell down at His feet as one dead 1" So will we if our eyes ever see the King in His beauty. John laid prostrate until his Lord lifted him to his feet and bade him not be afraid. To the feet of Jesus let us all hasten, the backslider for recovery, the penitent to find pardon, the troubled to find help and guidance, the awakened to find salvation. Let us lie very low there, and lie until He lifts us up, for he that humbleth himself shall in due time be exalted. Surely when we get to heaven, we shall want to bathe with grateful tears and to kiss the sacred feet which trod our earth on the errand of Divine love and which were pierced for us on the cross.

DELIVER US FROM EVIL. [by ARCHDEACON karrar.] "Deliver us from evil"—first in its lower sense, from the evils of this life; from the evils of penalty and of consequence; from outward mischief: from the stupidity and malevolence of man ; from sorrow, need, sickness, or any other adversity. Deliver us from these, in both senses of the word deliver. Protect us from them. Say that the enemy shall not be able to do us violence ; rescue us out of them, so that in the deep mire we sink not. As for protection from these miseries of the sinful world, it can at the best be only partial and relative. It is not Gods will, and us things now are it would not be good for us that this world should be either our rest or

our home. We do not need I only need sad experience to teach pi 7 '*! I of us that sorrow and Mi»hinc -iin..- k V?<>&» ; / "In the world, our Lord and I "ye shall have tribulation." \y e »1 *■"?' l is already beginning to, sink tow .",??°'»» I west, oh, how many trials have we "» ! perienced, but we know not how man^ o ',"*- K may yet he in store for us ! Sureli %i i mercy that God hides the future tIJ, '3 • gracious impenetrable darkness p Q *i» II the days of happy boyhood rneiicOMlJ i 0l » H forward to all tout awaits them th ?"Wl W oion, the struggles, the failure, the I . 11( - merits, the loss, the throbbing nerv* ,fc ' often-aching heart, how would th,.u u s ' % I'h to endure? y be tlik j Tin; poet takes little chifdren of l,: and says:— m »«wo, Oh, little foot, that such long years mint », , '•" Through hop-s and fear, i»,„t ache »A f 1) neatli your load; M Mt*j |% I, nearer to the waysiilo inn win toil ik.u ■-' And rest begin, aw weary thinking of yourSj SI " To-day," wrote the gallant and ..:■ Sir William Napier. "is the «,„.; I, 1 the battle of Seville, in which iV? 1 * lieutenant colonelcy. I wus then ron n Ki \ swift of foot. Only one man cot int £ ' rock of Leraiue before me,mid he wash*' : step; yet 800 veterans, strong 'lion* *' 1 striving madly to be first. Now 1 ».» W *H f feeble, bent, miserable; my eves areM very dim with weeping for my ] ost Ml „" ll . my brain is feeble also; 1 cannot read*!!! pleasure., still less can I think or juuVj »7*l And it is not only for the great and n »t,, i that life has such calamities in store- tk happen to the humblest of us. Thecomas '■ crowd no more remember it, and grow W| and perish like the summer fly. Thevle,, " J f to the most obscure; they happen 'fc oh how differently! to the wise a,,'} H, foolish, the good and the had. 'j>, M;,\ brightest boy or girl here present rcito the certainty that "the days will *"( when they shall say, ' We have no ■ in them.'" " god's dklivekance. If, then, God does not altogether proU. us from these evils, can He, will ]i Ci ] 1M ji any means to deliver us out of them'' y« 1 He has the perfect means. The Lord kiW ' * how to deliver the ungodly out of trials. "it !■ maketh sore, and bindeth up ; He woiitujJ I and His hands make whole. .He shall deliy* them in six troubles, yea, in seven; the!!* shall be no evil touch thee. In famine';'! >' shnll redeem thee from death, audio „";{ from the power of the sword. Thou shalti> I hid from the scourge of the tougue, neitU Eg shs.lt thou be afraid of destruction t\ux,l 1 cometh." The troubled Psalmist found lK sj| thousands of good saints have experjejwy I after him, that "He healeth them that. B broken in heart, and maketh medicine {! m heal their sickness ;" that many «e Z i afflictions of the righteous, hut the h* i delivereth him out of all." He deliveriW • but how? Very briefly, in four ways. (3 § delivers us, first, when He quickly takes ; evil from us, and does not suffer it to a* I tinue. His wrath endureth but the twi n i |I ling of an eye, and in His pleasure is ltf> II heaviness may endure for a night, but i* *1" cometh in the morning." Secondly, HeSfP hirers us when He mingles some comfort »m| our affliction, that He may make us burl the better. Sudden calamity came m» 1 Joseph in Egypt as it came upon so mast he was hurled from his prosperity into I'r dungeon; calumny, like the poison of mm blighted his innocent name; yet in prJM ;;! God sent him sweet alleviations, andl eomai H him forget all his labour ami travail, that fat 1 called his first-born son ManaMeb- '% 1 getting." And so, too, David says, "fag, I multitude of the sorrows that I had lan I heart, Thy comforts have refreshed my soul' I And so, too, St. Paul, poor, sick, hated 1 persecuted, wrote, " Blessed he God, em I the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, th I Father of mercies and the God of all' 1 fort, who comforteth us in all our affliction." i God delivers us from evil* by girls? m I patience to bear them. We think little 0 I this virtue of patience, resignation, submis- f sion to God's will; but it is very dear to God because it cannot exist without With and I hope, and because it is closely akin to i humbleness and charity. Any calamity is i more than compensated to us if it teaches 1 us by patience in the days of adversity to | acquire possession of our souls. v .And God delivers us out of these evilsV i' turning them into greater good. He chut*! us in the world that we may not be cvgrthmhuk« demned with the world ; He turns the tea g of our sorrow into the pearls of a brighte ■ crown by weaning us from the transitort; J He leads us to the eternal ; He makes 4 y via crttcis the via lucis ; He comes to us is the very fire, and causes us to feel and tbrcl Him while we feel that our light affliction, I which is but for a moment, is working tea I a far more and exceeding weight of glory. He, then, whom, in these four ways-h 1 removal, by comfort, by patience, and ti I Divine compensations—God delivers outs' the calamities of life, need not fear. I He shall not dread misfortune's an/try mien, , 1 Nor idly sink beneath her piWfC rude. , I Much more, then,should we teeter and?* f cecd to offer with all our hearts t'uepraje I j in its higher sense : " Deliver us not oalj j from evils, but from the evil of all evils,from j sin, from the Evil One deliver us, for Thot 1 art our Father; deliver us from the En] H One, for not only our name, but Thine." 1

THERE REMAIN ETH A REST. Oft 'mid this world's ceaseless strife. When flesh and spirit fail me, I stop and think of another life, Where ills can ne'er assail me; Where my wearied arm shall ceue its fight, My heart shall cease its sorrow, And this dark night change fur the light Of an everlasting morrow. On earth below there's nought but woe--E'en mirth is gilded sadness; But In heaven above there's nought bat lots, With all its raptured gladness I There— 1 come—waits mo a home All human dreams excelling, In which at last, when life is passed, I'll find a regal dwelling. Then shall be mine, through grace Divine, A rest that knows no ending, Which my *onl's eye would fain descry, Though still with clay 'tis blending. And, Saviour dear, while I tarry here, Where a Father's love has found me, Oh ! let me feel, through woe and weal, Thy guardian arm around me. sir James Simpson, M.D., Edinbms.