THE SUNDAY CIRCLE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18198, 19 March 1921, Page 5

THE SUNDAY CIRCLE.

RELIGIOUS READING FOR THE HOME. “HE IS THY PRAISE.” Praise, always praise; amid the changing years Ho changoth not; away with doubts and fears. Praise, always praise: if dark thy present way, It leads straight on “unto the perfect clay.” Praise, always praise: for every 'answered prayer Wnon cast on Him thy trouble, sorrow, cure. Praise, always praise: though heavy trials press. Then most of all He proves His faithfulness. Praise, always praise: though moved with tears to say, “Lord, dost Thou only give to take away”? Praise, always praise: in seeming loneliness His presence goeth with thee none the less. Praise, always praise: till at His throne ascend Thy sinless, tearless praises without end. Alice Jano Home.

PRAYER. “O God, the Protector of all that trust in ■ Thee, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy; increase and multiply upon us Thy mercy; that Thou, being our Ruler and Guido, wo may eo pass through things temporal! that we finally lose not the things eternal; grant this, O heavenly Father, for Jesus Christ’s sake our Lord. Amen.” WHY CHRIST WAS REJECTED 1 He came, this great Prophet, this Jesus of. Nazareth, Ho came with a message; He came to tell men of God, that the Being who made them, th& Ruler W the world, is the'Father of each and all; that he is love, that where love is God is, and where love is not God is not; and that ,if men would abandon their selfishness, their cruelty, the indulgence of their selfish appetites and lusts, they would be happy, and the Kingdom of God would be visable among men, the Kingdom of God which was at hand, which was within you, among you. And he did mighty works of love. Ho had a strange power, corresponding to the beauty of His words and their authority. He went about doing good, and healing all that were possessed with devils; feft- God was with Him. And no one had a word to say against Him; there was no question that He was perfectly. good, perfect in kindness. How was it, then, that men did not welcome or believe Him? The answer is quite plftin: Because He came up against men’s selfishness, the ingrained prejudices bred of the tradition of selfishness in the world. / He came up against all the great interests —ecclesiastical, political, financial—and, as generally happens, they were not openminded ; they were not prepared to listen; they were not prepared to ask whether their interests were the true interests. They simply were determined to get rid of this troublesome voice. And we ask ourselves, would it be any different to-day? If a like voice, with like power, making a like claim came amongst us, would the great interests accept it? Would the ecclesiastics and the rulers and the great financial interests give finy readier hearing to such a message? ■ Would the mass of people, occupied with their various political and' class views, give him any ’ readier welcome? I see no signs of it. So I would beg you, before "yon seek to celebrate His resurrection at Eastertide, to bring again your heart, the secret springs of your being, before that tremendous Cross, to ickindle there your courage and to fight forever for the best within yourself and for yourself. But not only , so, but to try yourself narrowly, to see that in fighting for the best it is with the best in yourself, And that you will, as far as your motives and efforts can, bo content with no lower ideal than the ideal of Jesus Christ.—Dr Charles Gore. THE INDIAN UNREST. MANIFESTO BY MISSIONARIES. A “statement and appeal ” qp the present situation in India has been issued by the National Missionary , Council of India, Burma, and Ceylon in view of the into operation of the new India Councils* Act. Recognising that many look to them for guidance, at a time when men’s minds in India are deeply moved, and passions excited to a dangerous degree, the- missionaries proceed to outline what they believe to be the Christian view of the situation. They reaffirm the principle of the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man, which should determine all relations between governors and governed, “ causing all government to rest upon the foundation of willing consent.” .Under this conception of brotherhood, a group of nations like the British Empire should live together like a family, in which there would bo no thought of the exploitation of weaker races, or of discrimination against any peoples’ on purely racial grounds.—.—.—.—The single aim of the stronger and more advanced members of such a family should be to assist the progress of the others iii prosperity, good government, freedom, and every other good thing.” The appeal is notable for its vindication of British government and its warning against measures of violence. “ The history of every Imperial Power contains pages bloodstained and disfigured ; we do not pretend.that the history of_ the British Empire is an exception to this rule. But the fact is_ beyond controversy that, now for a long time, it has been characterised by an ever-growing tendency to grant to its component parts measures of selfgovernment. The Empire is becoming a Commonwealth of Nations, and those nations are learning to regard themselves as a family. The attention of the British people is now turned to India, and we believe that there is a general and sincere desire among them that India shpuld have full self-government as soon as possible. W© urge all the inhabitants of this country, both foreigners and Indians, to accept with good-will the recent chp.ngos in the system of government, and to do all in their power to make the new conditions a successful stage in the progress towards that goal. . . . Wo call upon all men, in the name of God, to lay aside all race hatred onS class hatred, upon which it is impossible to build any solid structure, social or political. We utter a solemn warning against the desperate and false contention that, the inequalities of the existing order can only he removed by violence and blood. The truth is that society cannot be reconstructed by breaking the elementary laws of God. We utter an equally solemn warning against tho_ inclination, which is one of the e vil legacies of war, to trust to force as the means of procuring obedience and maintaining 1 authority. The truth is that society cannot bo saved by force, apart fr%m that reasonableness and equity in government and administration which win the hearts of the people. Wo beg all our felloweitizens to turn to God, Who created them to be brethren, and to seek from Him, Who alone can give it, the power to love as brethren and in love to serve one another.” THE DIVINE WILL. The pulpit at King’s Weigh House, London, on a recent Sunday was occupied for the first time since his recent appointment by Dr Orchard’s assistant minister, the Rev. Douglas Muir. Mr Muir has a pleasing Scottish accent, and preaches with an unconventionalit* and vigour that the Weigh House has learned to appreciate. He divesls himself of his’ surplice on entering the pulpit, and preaches in a friar’s robe with short capo. His evening sermon was largely un argument against those who attributed to the will of God happenings which were certainly not His will. Occasionally, ho said, ho had had the sorrow of conducting the funeral service of a child who was born amL brought up in a slum and died because it was a slum. The distracted mother had said that she must submit because it was the .will of God. “I do not believe it. No mother in such circumstances ought to be submissive. The death of one child on ac- ■ count of shim conditions is enough to justify the burning down of every slum.” Again, in his_ pastoral visifation, he had come across’ tired and overworked people suffering .from headache and neuralgia who had said: “ Well, we all have a cross to boar, and this is mine.” “ But,” he had answered, “ I suppose you have been to the chemist’s, or the dentist’s, or th e doctor’s?” Ho denied that disease was of God’s appointment. If it were, why did we try to get rid of it ? In that case, all hospitals must be regarded as agencies for, the thwarting of God’s will. Another very common fatalistic notion against which he protested was the idea that God matches away our loved ones in jealousy, because we love them too much. The idea of a vengeful, vindictive God Who willed war sr.d disease and suffering did immense harm, because, since we became iike that which *we worshipped, wo tended t.o become vengeful and vindictive in our turn.