FAITH OF THE NATIONS

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXVII, Issue 8612, 24 December 1913, Page 9

FAITH OF THE NATIONS

Praise the Lord all ye nations, praise Him all ye people. For His merciful kindness is' great toward us and the truth of the Lo;rd enduroth forever. Praise ye the Lord. ST. JOHN I. In the beginning mas the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. I In Him was life; and the life was the light of men. That was tho true light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld Hie glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth. ,And of His fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. i- PROM THE KORAN. In the Name of God, the Compassionate, tho Merciful. Your Lord is God -who in six days created Heaven and Earth, and then mounted the throne. He throweth the veil of night over the oay; it pursnelh it quickly: and ho created the sun and the moon and the stars subjected to laws by His own request. Is not all creation and its empire His? Blessed be God, the Lord of the Worlds. Call upon the Lord in lowliness and in secret for Ho loveth not transgressors. And commit not disorders on the Earth after it hath been well-ordered; and call on Him with fear and longing desire. Verily tho mercy of God is nigh unto the righteous. And He it is who sendeth forth the Winds as tho heralds of His compassion until they bring up the laden clouds, which we drive along to some dead lauds and send down water thereon by which •wo cause an upgrowth of all kinds of

fruit. . . . Thus will we bring forth tho dead. Haply ye will reflect. In a rich soil its plants soring forth abundantly by the will of its Lord and in that which is bad they soring forth but scantily. Thus do we diversify our rigns for those who are thankful. PROM THE TALMUD. Woe to the children banished from their father’s table. A handful of food will not satisfy the lion, neither can a pit be filled again with its own dust. Pray to God for mercy until tho last shovelful of earth be cast upon . thy grave. Open not thy mouth to speak evil. To be patient is sometimes better than to have much wealth. PROM THE GOSPEL OF BUDDHA. The tide of lust is a danger common to all; it carries away the world. He who is involved in its eddies finds no escape. But wisdom is the handy boat, reflection is tho rudder. The slogan of religion calls you to the rescue of your soul from the assaults of Mara, the enemv. Since it is impossible to escape from tho result of our deeds, let us practise good works. Let us inspect our thoughts that we do no evil, for as we sow, so shall we reap. There are ways from light into darkness and from darkness into light. There are ways also from the gloom into deeper darkness, and from tho dawn into brighter light. The wise man "will use the light he has to receive more light. He will constantly advance to the knowledge of the truth. Exhibit true superiority hv virtuous conduct and tho exercise of reason, meditate deeply on the vanity of earthly things, and understand the fickleness of life. Elevate the mind and seek sincere faith with firm purpose; transgress not the rules of kingly conduct, and let your happiness depend, not upon external things hut upon your own mind. Thus you will lav up a good name for distant ages and will secure the favour of the Tathagata.