THE GARLAND.

Otago Witness, Issue 3384, 22 January 1919, Page 58

THE GARLAND.

FOR THE QUIET HOUR. No. 282. " By Duncan Wright, Dunedin. "IT'S NOT IN MY LINE.*' Can any reader of the Otago Witness name the author of the very suggestive lines ? There's so much bad in the best of us, And so much good in the worst of us, That it ill becomes one of us To talk about the rest of us. Oblige me if you can. These odd little nuggets often catch the eye and arrest the attention, and we are not always able.to name the writer. Sometime ago I had quite a hunt to find the name of the author of the somewhat familiar lines : Eattle his bones over the stones; He's only a pauper whom nobody owns. Seems so simple, and yet lots of intelligent people blundered over the name. Could you give the oorrect name ? Try it. He is quite an obscure writer. But all this is clearly a digression. The young man who foolishly and thoughtlessly said "It's not in my line,!-' was just like many other flippant persons whom one meets in the different walks of life.

In one of the prosperous towns of New Zealand where we were having, in the Town Hall, crowded evangelistic services a group of young fellows almost blocked the entrance. When asked to go inside and join the eager throng one of the lads said, "It's riot in my line." How often have you heard the phrase in its relation to the things of God and eternity ? Please lend us your ears and eyes for a few minutes as we try to explain. If there is nothing in what we write, then laugh at it, tear it to tatters and laugh again; but—mark well this "but" — if there be something in the message when God speaks to head and heart, then play the man and not the fool. Act! act! act ] the bettor part for, the sake of your country, your dearest on earth and in heaven, the place you call home, and for the honour of Him who suffered and died on the tree of shame!

"It's not in my line." Just turn aside for a few quiet moments and tell us frankly—what do the words mean? Were the words used in jest? Were they uttered partly as a stave off? We refuse to believe that one of God's creatures could or would seriously and deliberately say, "It's not in my line/' so long as God's monitor, which we call conscience is not dead or seared with .a red-hot iron. No, sir; we hope for better things, and ask you : Has the Almighty any claim upon your body, your soul, and your substance? Has He? Did He form your body? Did He create your spirit? If He be the Great Wise Creator can you seriously and soberly, in your quiet moments, say, "It's not in my line?" Do me the kindness and yourself the justice of taking this quiet message aside (tnd read the strong words of Holy Scripture, and perhaps you will be more thoughtful and concerned about the vital matters which cheer and sustain untold millions of men and women to-day. (1) "God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day : if he turn not He will whet His sword : He has bent His bow and made it ready." (Psalm vii : 11, 12.) Is that in your line? Don't put your fingers in your ears and refuse to listen. And don't imitate the silly ostrich when danger is at hand. Be in earnest. Be quite honest with God and your own conscience. (2) "The wicked shall be turned into hell and all the nations that forget God." (Psalm ix : 17.) Is that in your line? Do you forget God and His just claims? Never lend an ear to the vapid sneer of men of foul speech, and fouler lives. Never! Never!

(3) "Rejoice, 0 young man, in thy youth and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thy heart, and in the sight of thine eyes; but know thou that for_ all these things God will bring thee into judgment." (Ecclesiastes xi : 9.) Is that in our line? Some, in fact many, say : "If life be brief, let it be merry." Quite so. But are the words c 'God," and "iudgment" to be brushed aside? At Richmond Railway Station, . Melbourne, tens of thousands of people have seen and read the words in cianf, letters, "AFTER THIS THE JUDGMENT." In the hurry and bustle of daily life, what about the judgment.—not the biased judgment of biased men with limited vision, but the judgment of the unerring Judge of all men? "It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment." Dare anyone say of these dread words, "It's not in my line ?" (4) "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ that everyone may' receive the things done in his body, according to that he hafch done, whether it be good or bad." (II Cor. v: 10.) ALL. Are you excluded, or included ? Ts that in your line? Honour bright! Face the question ! Toe the line! (5) "A sword, a sword is sharpened and also furbished. . . . Should we then make mirth?" What about the giddy, thoughtless ones who. like the moth, dance round the light and suddenly disappear in the darkness?

Life is real! life is earnest! And the grave is not its goal; Dust thou art, to dust returnest, Was not spoken of the soul. Is this but the visionary dream of a poet? (6) "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God." (Rom. iii : 2,3.) Worth, perhaps £IOO,OOO, the sermon made him angry. "Am I," he said to his wife, "am I to be classed with vulvar sinners?" That nasty word, with a sting

in it, "all" comes in again. How awkward; rub it out if you can. Sin is in you, sin is on you. That must therefore be in your line. Is there any possibility of wriggling out of this sentence : "All have sinned ?''

(7) "If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema (accursed) maranatha (the Lord cometh)." (I Cor. xvi : 22.) Someone says : "Don't be harsh" ; "don't be too severe" ; "don't use istrong language" ; be charitable." Not for my life shall I judge the reader; nor would I dare to utter any one of the sentences given above. But let it be clearly understood that it is the Holy Spirit who speaks; and as the adorable third person of the Trinity He never exaggerates and is incapable of making a mistake. Therefore He, and He alone, uses authoritatively the sad word "accursed." Whatever else may be found in your heart, if there be no personal faith in and love to God's Son you are "accursed" whether you live in a hut or in a gilded palace. God says so. (8) "Jesus died." For whom? For sinners. Do you recall the words of the well-known spiritual song— Jesus, Thy blood' and righteousness My beauty are, my glorious drees; 'Midst naming worlds, in these arrayed With joy shall 1/ lift up my head. (9). "Come now and let us reason together, saith the Lord : though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." (Isaiah i : 18.) Just note that. Scarlet sins! Crimson sins ! Snow ! Wool! Listen to mercy's call, "Come now !" (10) "Come unto Me all y« that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." . (Matthew xi : 28.) What tenderness ! What grace! What love! Come unto ME! To ME! I hear the "Come" of Jesus, And to His Cross I fly. That's exactly in your line. Is 'it not ? A farmer in who was a rejector, wrote : "Sir,—l have been trying an experiment. I have .a field, of corn/which I ploughed on Sunday. I planted it on Sunday. I' did all the cultivation on Sunday. On Sunday I gathered the crop and hauled it to my barn, and I find I have more corn in October per acre than any of my neighbours." Clever, do you think? Some people would say "Impudence." His mother's Bible had this message : 'For he stretcheth out his hand against God, and strengtheneth himself against the Almighty.' 'He runneth upon him, even on his neck, upon the thick bosses of his bucklers. . _. 'He shall not be rich, neither shall his snbstance continue, neither shall he prolong the perfection thereof upon the earth.'" (Job xv : 26.) What did the farmer think, I wonder, when the editor appended these words : "God does not always settle His accounts in October."

The King of Denmark, it appears, was given to walking about Copenhagen entirely unattended, even although he was one of the most democratic of sovereigns. One time he determined to pay a quiet unofficial visit to his doctor. It was in the morning, and the doctor was engaged with, patients. The maid, who came to the door, not recognising the King, told him rather sharply that her master was too busy to receive callers. "Will you tell your master that the King wishes particularly to see him," said his Majesty with a smile. Hke the girl in the Acts of the Apostles, the maid lost her head, and screamed : "The King!" slammed the door in his face, and left him standing on the doorstep while she flew to tell the doctor. And so we read of another distinguished Visitor who came to the world concerning whom we read: "HE IS DESPISED AND REJECTED OF-MEN."

FOR OUR SAKE. I .Cor. viii: 9; I _ Peter ii: 21. Was it for mo, my Saviour, Thy poor and lowly birth, Thy poverty and suffering, Whilst sojourning on earth? Was it for me, my Saviour, O! could it be for me, Thy sweat of blood and tears Thou shed st In dim Gethsemane? Refrain—- " Yes for thee, all for thee." Saith thy Saviour, "Come to Me!" Was it for me, my Saviour, Thy death on Calvary, The cruel mails, the crown of thorns, The spear that pierced Thee? Was it for me, my Saviour, Thy victory over death? O'l may I claim, in Thy dear Name Thy Holy Spirit's breath? Refrain—- " Yes for thee, all for thee," Saith thy Saviour, "Come to Mel" la it for me, my Saviour, Thy saving love and power, To cleanse from sin. and reign within, For me each day and hour? Is" it for me, my Saviour, To see Thee face to face? Amongst Thy many mansions, • Hast Thou for me a place? Refrain — "Yes for thee, all for thee," Saith thy Saviour, "Come to Me!" —Harriet Julia Evans.