SUNDAY CIRCLE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 15707, 8 March 1913, Page 7

SUNDAY CIRCLE

DEVOTIONAL. ; Yoob Sour, was a Wild Bibd, Wotoded. Your eoul was a wild bird, wounded. I Taised it up; My two warm bands, these made a cup To hold it near my breast And give it rest; Water it had to drink, From tho spring of my heart's brink; It's wound was closed and knit, My happiness torn and bound to it; Naught was hid from it that wodd ease its fret; AH that I loved to remember was given it to forget. Then with tho break of day, It rose and soared away To that place far, far beyond the green walls of the sea, Where there is a brighter sun and a colder

wind than shall ever be known to me. Waiting, whilo tho lifrht turns grey upon the shore and Btrand,' I 'felt my empty heart, and hands, and breast, and understand: For in my emptiness and pain There is that which many a woman would

give the world to coin; And in my desolation move Grand and terrible things whose name is Love. Agnes Grozier Herbertson, in the Nation. Supplication. Oh, Lord, I know not what I should ask of Thee. Thou only knowest what I want, and Thou West me, if I am 'I\iy friend, more than I can love myself. Oh, Lord, give to me. Thy child, what is proper, whotever it be. I dare not ask either crosses or comforts. I only present myself before Thee. Behold mry wants of which lam ienorant, but do Ihou behold, and do according to Thy mercy. Smite or heal, depress or raise mo up—l adore all Thy purposes without knowing them. lam silent. I offer myself in sacrifice. I abandon myself to Thee. I have no more any desire but to accomplish Thy wiiL Lord teach mo to pray. I beseech Thee, dwell Thou Thyself in me by Thy Holy Spirit. Amen. , A Prayer of Fenelin's. . Mbditaiion. • THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS. We occasionally hear such expressions as " I felt that something was wrong with So-and-so or that So-and-so wanted mo, and I must go at once,, or I found myself thinking of So-and-so, and prayed that he might bo blessed and guarded. . Such things do happen, not certainly and regularly, but often enough to force us to admit that they aro not , duo only to 1 coincidence. We may bo quite • surie that when tho clog of the body is .gone • the 6pirit becomes more responsive to all such appeals, and hence I do not hesitato to say that a 6trongly concentrated desiro will find its object .in heaven more certainly than it will do so on earth, and bring response in kind. When Dr Parker said, as he did eay, that he deliberately sent his thoughts into tho invisible to meet and mingle with those of the dear fellow spirit who had been his greatest kejp on earth, and that he felt it was not in vain, but that her love was still ministering to him, ho but exemplified this law of God. This is tho communion of the' eainte, a communion which' death is powerless to destroy; but it can only live on the highest plane, and it only deals in one thing: tho impartation of that love eternal which is the soul's only real weidth. Speak in this Divine language, poor, bereaved, hearts; call to what is yours in heaven; and live on the level where the response can reach you. Expect it; lie open to it; and it will surely come. It will always bo the 6amo thing, just tho same sweet thing—nothing new— and you want nothing new. Longfellow was thinking of this when he so tenderly sang in his " Footsteps of Angels "| When tho hours of tho day aro numbered, And the voices of the night' Wake the better 6oul that slumbered

To a holy, calm delight; Then the forms of the departed Enter, at the open door; The beloved, the true-hearted, Come to visit me once more. I do not believe that the poet who wrote these simple heartfelt lines meant us only to understand that these'wero the consolations of sacred memories. No, he meant what I moan, that from the great beyond thoso we "have loved long since and lost awhile " are ministering to us still by faith and prayor, and by the exercise of Christborn faculty over which , has no power.—Rev. R. J. Campbell.

Exhortation. GOD 18 HASTEB. This is not the time for cowardice, for relaxation, for fear. We need to hear the exhortation of the o,po9tle, "Hold fa6t." It is the time {or courage, for hope, for renewed energy. And why? In saying this am I ffuihy of tie foEy of blind optimism? Is it the cry of a man who refuses to admit defcaifc altkmgh_ the citadel is falling about big 03jtT? Or is it a rational exhortation, based upon immutable principles? Let us see. There are four reasons advanced by the apostle which give us a solid ground for confidence and hope. And the first is that God Himself is shaking tho world. Behind the 'Roman legions, behind the decay of the tottering, priesthood, , the writer saw God. Amd tenky, behind the visible and easily explainable human oansos of the complicated disquiet which reigns everywhere. we, too, must see God. For us, at least, there ie no question ■ that fhe_ world has a Master and that Ho knows His own business. That is a' fundamental truth of our religion. If that is insecure nothing else can stand. Well, if wo honestly believe this we must have the courage to five by it and to act upon it God is-M-aster, «nd neither man ikvt devi! possesses detaraied power to manago God's world for Him. His hands are not palsied; Bra wisdom is: not defective. He is still at work, and He knows how to manipulate human action, whether, it be wi&e or unwise, in the interests of that .grand ei>d for the universe which His love has set itself—Frederick C. Spurr. ABOUT PEOPLE. Mrs Hetty Green,. reputed . the richest woman in the world, joined the American, Episcopal Church on January 5 in Jersey City. : . We are sorry to learn, fays the Indian Witness, that, owing to a breakdown im health, ,Dr S. D. Gordon will rxrt be aWe to come to India this ■ season Ho hopes to oome at some later time; whenever he may como he will be received with great pleasure.

Dr Ernald Lane, Dean, of Rochester, diei suddenly of heart failure, at tho age of' 76, while in the act of dictating a letter to his wife. As an undergraduate at Oxford he was an athlete, and rowed twice in the University boal. He was presented' to the. rectory of Leigh;" Staffordshire, bv his uncle, Lord Biujot, in 1871, amd. 1 remained in tJia narish until 1904. when he succeeded Dean Hole art Rochester. For six vcaro previously ho had been Archdeacon of Sloke-on-Tront, At IWhester he continued the work of' his pTcrtecefpor in the and improveiitent of the cathedral, :ind took ii special interest in oduoational matters.

Mr .John Masefield, author of " The Kverlasting Mercy," was once, the New York Christian Advocate savg, a bar tender on a Sixth avonuo saloon in New York. The Advocate remarks that the famous poem is largely autobiographical. " First of --ill, God gsiTO him a fine mind, which even thepeasant Wo of England and the shim life of American cities could not whollv obscure. Then God sent His Holy Spirit searching through the. mud and scum to roach tho deep moral nature of tho roan. To speak bluntly, and after a fashion too iittle hooded now, the man waa 'converted,' ho 'experienced religion,' he was ' saved.' "

Dr Charles M. Sheldon has been making o. 12 weeks' trip in tho Western Statce of A.morioa., and' has hold meetings ;n W. (owns. Tho author of "In His Stops" has set himself to be a propagandist of "everyday Christianity in a practical world wiere peoplo work." He stayed at 01.C.A. buildings to get away from tobacoo smoke, which ho found offensive in hotel lobbies. At one pbeo in Califonra, where the Bible is prohibited in tho sohoota by law, he was told j'jst beforo going on tho platform by tho principal not to bring religion into his S))ecoh aS.it nwg.ht got him into lettai trouble. Dr Sheldon told tho principal tlhat if ho had to leave Christianity out of his speoch he' would not bilk', l&o principal said later that he would risk it. and Dr Sheldon gave his addrffls. Dr Sheldon's new book is called "Of One Blood."

The Rev. Robert Campbell, of th© Calton United Free Oburoh, Glasgow, has just celebrated his jubilee a.s a minister, and the occasion was marked by tho presentation of various gifts. Speaking at a social gatherin? hold in the City Hall, the Rev, Thomas Wliitelaw, D.D., Moderator of Assembly, re-

EEMQIOUS RSADIWG FOE THE HOME

marked that Mr Campbell merited tho honour done him on account of his fidelity as a minister of the Gospel and as a preacher of the grand old evangelical truths whioh 6omo who occupied tho pulpit at the present day seemed disposed to forget. Personally, he could remember Calton Church 45 years ago, when tho congregation was a very small one, bat he also knew it when it was filled by the large oongregation which had been brought together by Mr Campbell, and ho did not think ho was wrong in saying that there was not a minister in the (Jty of Glasgow or in tho United Free Church who had done more successful work than Mr Campbell had accomplished. The United Free Church will have to faco the task at its next General Assembly of filling two of its professorial chairs, one in Edinburgh and one at Aberdeen. For that at Edinburgh, vacated by. Professor J. A. Patorson, tne candidature of Dr Welch, of Claremont Church, Glasgow, who has been for 6ome timo convener of tho College Commitfco "sooms likely to receivo a large amount of support; while fpr tho chair at Aberdeen, from which Professor Cameron is resigning, the claims of Dr Selbie, tho coadjutor of Dr Hastings, seem to be -generally acknowledged. Other names, however, are being mentioned, and are likely enough to obtain considerable support, and among these is that of Rev. James Qrichton, 8.D., wall known in Glasgow as lately minister of North Kelvinsido United Free Church, and now of Cpiapclha.ll, near Airdrie. Both are Hebrew Chairs.

FROM ALL SOURCES. , ' Nearly three times as many Bibles were distributed in Japan during 1911 as. in the previous year. The Moravian Himalaya Mission to the Tibetans reports thai its missionaries have "ompleted a translation of tho entire Bible into tho Tibetan tongue. The New Testament has long boon published in that language, and has had an extensive circulation.

A qUMr suggestion is made by tho Bialiop of Sout'nwell that preachers should announce their text and then invite tho congregation to meditate silently on it for a quarter of an hour.. Would it not be better (commereto the Christian Wor!d) to announco the texts on'the previous Sunday and jriv« the congregation a week to lei them soak into.-their.minds and start, trains of thought? That would have the additional advantage of_ putting the prcachcr on his mettle. It might tend to the ripening of sermons. At pre-ent there is reason to believe that a good deal of [jrecn sermon fruit is put upon the market on Sunday. Henry Ward Bcechcr once said that it took months for some of his sermons to get ripe enough to preach.

Rev. Dr Horton is contributing to the Daily Chronicle a series of pen-impressions of India. Describing Benares, lie says:— " By far the most notable thing in Benares to-day is the Central Hindu College, founded by Mrs Annie Bosant. More than a thousand boys and young men arc hero under instruction; the teachers are largely honorary, Tlieosophists drawn from all over the English-speaking world. ... For tho moment, Mrs Bcsant's work is probably the most serious obstacle in the country to Christian missions. But probably no keen and far-sighted observer is misled by appearance. The real force at work in India i? Christianity."

It is encouraging to learn from various quartern that' Dr John R. Mott's meetings in India arc productive of much spiritual blessing. Writing of the sorvico6 at Madras, in the columns of a missionary review published in India, the Rev. W. L. Ferguson, D.D., eajn:—"A great stimulus has come to Christian work in tlie city. , The meetings have ovoked the efforts of leaders, not- as individuals merely, but as' a. united body. They have been praying and working together for this one thing for weeks. There is a stronger bond of fellowship and .a greater sense of interest in. the work than before the meetings took place. Then there is an awakened desire on the part of 6ome for. a deeper", work of grace for themselves, and. a- purpose ha 6 been formed to do more in the way, of individual and personal evangelism. . There is a deeper, feeling of responsibility • re- - garding life and service "which cannot fail to issue in good. But aside from the6e more limited and somewhat visible results, the larger - and greater fact is that Christ has been proclaimed .wisely and searchingly, and therein all truo-Christian hearts rejoice and all lovers of India will continue to do 60 as tho fruit 6 beoomc manifest."

A New Year sermon of Principal Alexander White, ' D.D., LL.D., appears in a recent iseue of tho British Weekly, in which ho gives a fine testimony to tho value of the Scottish Sabbath The Scottish Sabbath is a proverb indeed, but from two very opposite poles. On tho one hand, the Scottish Sabbath is a proverb of the sanctity, and the sweetness, and the spiritual fruitfillness of. the Lord's Day. Whereas, on the other hand, it is to some other people a proverb of all that is gloomy, and burdensome, and wearisome, and what not. Which of these two extremes speaks God's truth about thin holy ordinance of His will be best decidcd by every man's 0™ experience. Now I am in a place where I must speak the truth. And if my experience of the Lord's Day is of any value, or any interest, to any of you—well, here it la. I have had a long- lifetime's experience of, on the whole, a somewhat scrupulously kept ford's Day. And that day, so kept, has been to me one of my chief blessings in a life fulj of such blessings, I can testify, and with the most entire integrity, that from my childhood, down to this hour. I have greatly loved and greatly valued the eechision, and the silonce, and the rest, and, especially, the reading proper to the Lord's Day, And, at the end of a long life, I look back and bless God for those who brought me up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord's Day." MISSIONARIES AT CALCUTTA. DR J. R. MOTTS ADDRESS. Far-reaching results aro hoped for from the All-India Missionary Conference at Cajloutta, at which the decisions of the six provincial conferences wero reported to a gathering representing all ■ the societies, including the S.P.G. and tho University Missions. A spirit of unbroken unity prevailed. The utmost respect wo 6 shown by all tho speakers for varying methods of work and differences of doctrine. Two points were emphasised-—the importance of avoiding all interference with one another's station operations, and the resolve not to employ workers without first communicating with the societies with winch they may have been previously connected. A desire for actual 00-operation in work was also warmly expressed. Six bishops, including Dr Lcfroy, the new Metropolitan, and several Indian leaders, were present. Dr John R. Mott's address seems to have made a deep impression. He was struck, ho said, by .tho unanimity of the findings of the provincial conferences. "As I have listened to tho findings of your committees. I have heard God speak. His voice has been tho same voice, whether we have been meeting in Madras, or in Bombay, or in Jaba-lpur, or in Allahabad, or in Lahore. It has been a voice whidi I have interpreted as calling U3 into very large fhinjrs." Nothing had pleased him more; than the desire among tho missionaries and the different races to understand cadi ot'.ier. He did not deplore the fact of different points of view. Ho could see that out of it they wxwdd get something richer than a dull uniformity. Dr Mntt expressed his'be■lief that God was calling the missionaries to a larger dynamic. He is not calling us to inorea.se our machinery. My impression is. He desires us to simplify it. I-Ie is not calling us to now organisation, but to new power. What wo need is the discovery of tlie hiding of God's riower and the secret of the releasing of that power." Ho'closed ■with an appeal to his hearers to act cosmopolitanly, inter-denominationally, seriously, and "as the family of God, even though we miw not have ;ocn much of each other as children."