THE SUNDAY CIRCLE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21544, 16 January 1932, Page 15

THE SUNDAY CIRCLE

- READING FOR THE HOME WOODBINE WILLIE’S AFFIRMATIONS. Mr Studdert Kennedy opened all his mission services in Croydon with the following affirmations:— O my God, I believe That Thou art good and great, perfect in wisdom and in love, And that Thou lovest me. 0 my God, I believe That Thou art present here, in all Thy power and in all Thy love. Ready to answer my prayer. 0 my God, I hope To be made perfect, Wholly free from sin. O my God, I hope To see Thee face to face with all Thy saints, Without sin and without shame. 0 my God I love Thee, Not as I ought to, not as I want to, But Thou Who knowest all things. Knoweet the sin and the shame of my heart. Thou knowest that I love Thee; Grant me grace to love Thee more, For Jesus Christ’s sake. Amen. PRAYER. O Almighty God, infinite and eternal, Thou filleet all things with Thy presence; Thou art everywhere by Thy essence and by Thy Power; in heaven by Thy glory, in holy places by Thy grace and favour, in the hearts of Thy servants by Thy Spirit, in the consciences of all men by Thy testimony and observation of us. Teach me to walk always as in Thy presence, to fear Thy majesty, to reverence Thy wisdom and omniscience; that I may never dare to commit any indecency in the eye of my Lord and my Judge; but that I may with so much care and reverence demean myself that my Judge may not be my accuser but my advocate; that I, expressing my belief of Thy presence here by careful walking, may feel the effects of it in the participation of eternal glory, through Jesus Christ. Amen.— Jeremy Taylor. A TEXT FOR EACH DAY’S MEDITATION. BIBLE ” SHALLS ” ARE FACTS. Sunday.—“ The Lord shall endure for ever. He hath prepared His throne for judgment. And He shall judge the world in righteousness. He shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness.”— Psalm 9: 7 and 8. Monday.—“ Lord, who shall abide in Thy tabernacle ? Who shall dwell in Thy holy hill? He that walked uprightly and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.” —Psalm 15; 1 and 2. “ I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with Thy likeness.” —Psalm 17: 15. s Tuesday.—“ The Lord is my Shepherd. I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters. . . . Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.” —Psalm 23; 1,2, and G. Wednesday.—“ Wait on the Lord and be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thy heart.” —Psalm 27: 14. “Thou art my hiding place: Thou shalt preserve me from trouble: Thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah. I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go.”—Psalm 52: 7 and 8. Thursday.—“ Fret not thyself because of evil-doers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. Trust in the Lord and do good, so shalt thou dwell in the land and verily thou shalt be fed. Delight thyself also in the Lord, and He shall give thee the desires ot thine heart.” —Psalm 37: 1,3, and 4. Friday.—“ The heavens shall declare His righteousness, for God is Judge Himself. Selah. Offer unto God thanksgiving. And call upon Me in the day of trouble. I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify Me.” —Psalm 50: 6, 14, and 15. Saturday.—“ The righteous shall be glad in the Lord, and shall trust in Him, and all the upright in heart shall glory.”— Psalm 04: 10. “ Then shall the earth yield her increase; and God, even our own God, shall bless us.” —Psalm 67; 5 and 6. H. R. Higgens, in A.C.W, INEXPLICABLE! God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish, but have eternal life.—John 3: 16. If God is not love, then the whole world becomes inexplicable. If love does not lie at the centre, I cannot account for human love. It is here, beautiful, mysterious, heavenly. It is an angel. Whence has it come? . . . It must have come from God. It is a stream of crystal water at which we slake our thirst. Whence flows this stream of lifegiving water if not from under the throne of God? . . . “God-so loved the

world.” This flashes a light on the magnitude of His love. He loves the human race. —Rev. Charles Jefferson. WHERE GOD IS FOUND. “ I thought,” wrote Samuel Rutherford, “He would come by the road of the hills, and lo! He came by the road of the valleys.” It is no unusual experience that in the place of least expectation God is most preciously found. _ For His ways are not our ways and it is good for us to discover _ something of the range of Divine possibility. WHEN MUCH MAKES LITTLE. * It takes ten thousand kilos of rose petals to make one kilo of attar of roses. Which reminds us that, not only for this rare perfume does it take much to _ make little, but if the fragrance of living is to endure, ten thousand kilos of idealism will make but one kilo of human progress. We need to remembe/ this when the steel of our good courage tends to lose its temper.—John C. Wingett. MYSTERY PICTURE IN THE CITY TEMPLE. Dr Norwood preached at the City Temple under unusual circumstances on Armistice Sunday evening. When he rose to begin his sermon all the lights were switched off, leaving the church in darkness except for a single beam of light from the floor of the pulpit that shone on a large picture of Christ stretching protecting hands over the two hemispheres. “ Probably,” said Dr Norwood, “ there is in this congregation a man who is an entire stranger to me, but to whom thanks are due for this beautiful painting of Christ. It is by his request, indirectly communicated to me, that it is displayed, and that I am to preach on the text which gives the picture its title, ‘lf Thou Hadst Known.’ This stranger came to the studio of the artist some months ago, saying that he had made inquiries as to the man who might best be able to carry out what was in his mind. He said he wanted a picture of Christ. There should be associated with it the thought of world kingship, and it was to be entitled ‘lf Thou Hadst Known.’ Several times he came to the studio to watch the progress of the picture, and finally he came to pay for it. Then he vanished entirely, leaving no name or address, but merely requested that the painting should be sent here as a gift from *Mr Nobody, of London.’ ” Dr Norwood’s sermon was based on the peace message which the picture is intended to convey, and was followed with rapt interest by the crowded congregation.

NEHEMIAH. Dr Hubert Simpson, in a recent reference to Nehemiah, described him as “ that Prime Minister who made it his first task to restore confidence at home and the prestige of his country abroad.” NIGERIA. A statement issued by the C.M.S. says that the financial situation in Nigeria has become increasingly serioua and is affecting the whole community. This makes the support of the clergy and teachers a matter of great difficulty. In the Niger Diocese the African clergy with all the catechists and teachers in church and school have surrendered one-eighth of their salaries. This means real sacrifice, for the remuneration they receive is very small. In the Lagos Diocese trade depression is equally grave and a reduction of 20 per cent, in all salaries of church workers has been agreed upon. In spite of these hindrances common to the whole area, nows conics from the Benin district of the opening of 11 new stations through the preaching and witness of Christians in the neighbourhood. CIRCULATING THE SCRIPTURES. At the last monthly meeting of the directors of the National Bible Society of Scotland, held in Edinburgh, it was intimated that very large orders for had been received from many parts of Africa. Scriptures in Efik, Chinamwanga, Tumbuka, Luba Sanga, and Nyanja to the number of many thousands have had to be exported to meet the demand for such on the part of the native churches in Calabar, Nigeria, Livingstonia. Rhodesia and Lanza. The motor caravan by which the society carries on its work in Cape Colony is proving an ever-increasing moans of circulating Scriptures, and the reports received are full of encouragement. It was reported that a letter of congratulation had been sent to the Czech Brethren Church of Bohemia on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the Edict of Toleration issued by Joseph II in 1781. The letter recalled the fact that since 1865, when work was begun in Czechoslovakia, the society had circulated 826,630 Scriptures in that land. NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR THE BLIND. Although the annual report of the National Institute for the Blind covers a period of intense industrial depression, there is no sign of despondency in any of its 80-odd pages. The opening note is one of gratitude on behalf of the sightless population to a public whose generosity in such hard times has enabled the institute’s welfare work to be maintained, and grateful thanks are rendered to the thousands who have contributed personal ser-

vice. "The gratitude of the blind is heartfelt,” says the report. “ The assistance afforded them is as gratefully received as it is graciously given, and they are showing their sense of its value in the best possible way—by helping themselves with courage and industry.” TEACHING “ PROPER FASHION.” “I can only say that I was amazed.” So writes a pioneer missionary of the' C.M.S. on his first tour in the Isoko country of West Africa. He found obscure villagers, far away in the bush (or jungle), previously unvisited by a European, yet each with a little mud-walled church, some finished, and others in the course of erection. All of them asked for teachers to teach them “ proper fashion ” how to follow God. SHEEP WITHOUT A SHEPHERD. A missionary of the C.M.S. working in Africa writes: "As one looks back on the past year one is full of gratitude for what has been done in this part, and at the same time somewhat appalled at the terrific amount of work still to be done, and the lack of workers to do it. The most serious part seems to me to be the hundreds who are baptised every year, and then return to their homes. What happens to them there? Unshepherded they often wander astray, and there is no one to bring them back.” MOSLEM TEACHER’S CONVERSION. A Moslem teacher in Palestine came several times to church. He said he kept a Bible by his bed and read it daily. He was fond of argument and some doubted his sincerity. Helpers prayed for him, and subsequently, having moved to another district, he came into touch with the C.M.S. clergyman and said that he wished to be a Christian