THE GARLAND.

Otago Witness, Issue 3713, 12 May 1925, Page 60

THE GARLAND.

FOR THE QUIET HOUR. No. 611. By Duncan Wright, Dunedin. The following verses by a well-known and much honoured Dunedin pastor will be read with pleasure by many persons:— HYMN OF JUBILEE. A. Lvoff. God of Eternity! Lord of the Ages! Father and Spirit and Saviour of men! Thine is the glory of time’s numbered pages; Thine is the power to revive us again! Thankful, we came to Thee, Lord of the nations, Praising Thy faithfulness, mercy and grace, Shown to our fathers in past generations, Pledge of Thy love to our people and race. Far from our ancient home, sundered by oceans, Zion is builded, and God is adored; Lift we our hearts in united devotions, Ends of the earth join in praise to the Lord. Beauteous this land of ours, Bountiful Giver! Brightly the heavens Thy glory declare: Streameth the sunlight on hill, plain, and Shineth Thy Cross over fields rich and fair! Pardon our sinfulness, God of all Pity, Call to remembrance Thy mercies of old, Strengthen Thv Church to abide as a city Set on a hill ’a3 a light to Thy Fold! Head of the Church on earth, Risen, Ascended l Thine is the honour that dwells in tins As Thou "hast blessed us through years that have ended, Still lift upon us the light of Ihy Face. —E. N. M. Amen THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. He was a lawyer of wide experience with a host of clients in all walks of life, and, because lie was trusted, had an intimate knowledge of their affairs. More probably than many a minister he had had to ‘make a close acquaintance with the darker side of human nature. It was perhaps this which imparted to his speech an occasional touch of cynicism, but as a rule his view of life was tolerant —he knew too much of its strange and compulsive undercurrents to be pharisaic in his judgment. He made no profession of religion, nor did he, as far as one was aware, take any part in Church affairs, but, looking at his strong, quiet face, one felt instinctively that here was an upright man. In the club he had been talking generally of some oS his cases, and something that was said made him lean back and mentally review the past. When he came out of his reverie it was to say: “The chief truth I have learnt from my lifetime of professional experience in dealing with men and women is that it is always easier to do right than to do wrong. There is no doubt about that. All lawyers know it. If people generally would only realise it also, a vast amount of trouble and misery would be saved to themselves and others.”

Coming from a- man of the world who had no thought of moralizing or preaching, it was the most striking thing one had heard for many a day.

After one of his foreign touirs, Mr Gandhi was received by a tremendous meeting of people in Calcutta. He was the popular hero of the day, and the place was crowded with, I think, 15,000 Bengalis come to weloome him. For three hours the orators of Bengal 6poke in praise of themselves and Mr Gandhi; and then came the great moment, when Mr Gandhi rose, and all this vast assembly settled themselves on their haunches, waiting for their great orator to speak. His speech consisted of one sentence, and one sentence only: “The Man to whom I own most, and to whom all India, owes most, is a Man who never set His foot in India—and that is Christ.” And then he sat down.—Dean of Bristol. 1 Kings xxii, 84.—“ A certain man drew a bow at a venture.” INFLUENCE OF A TRACT. A society was some yeans ago established to distribute tracts by post in the higher circles. One of these tracts, entitled, "Prepare to meet thy God,” was not long since enclosed in an envelope and sent by post to a gentleman wellknown for his ungodly life and his reckless impiety. He was in his study when he read this letter, among others.

W hat s that?” said lie, “ 'Prepare to incet thy God.’ Who has had the iin-'U-ucuee to send me this cant?” And v. ith an imprecation on his unknown correspondent, he arose to put the paper in the fire. -Vo I won’t do that.” he said to himse I » ‘ 0,1 second thought, I know what I iviJl do. 111 .send it to my friend B ; it will be a good joke to hear what he’ll say about it.” So say.ng, he enclosed the tract in a l }‘ es \ fovcp, and in a feigned hand directed it to his boon companion. Mr B was a man of his own stamp, and received the tract as his friend had done, with an oath at the Methodistical humbug, which hi,s first impulse was to tear m pieces. ‘Til not tear it, either,” said Ire to himself. 1 repare to meet thy God” at once arrested his attention and smote his conscience. Like those of whom the poet says,— They came to see ff, And remained to pray; the arrow of conviction entered his heait as he read, and he was turned ‘‘from darkness to li glit, from the power of baton unto God. A.most bis first thought was for his ungodly associates. “Have I received such blessed light and truth, and shall I not strive to communicate it to others?” He again folded the tract, and enclosed and directed it to one of his companions m sin. Wonderful to sav, the little arrow hit the mark. His friend read. He also was converted, and both are now walking as the Lord’s redeemed ones. GOD OUR REST. Let us comprehend our own nature, ourselves, and our destinies. God is our rest, the only one that can quench the fever of our desire. God in Christ is what we want. When men quit that, so that “the love of the Father is not in them,’ then they .must perforce turn them aside; the nobler heart to break with disappointment; the meaner heart to love the world instead, and sate and satisfy itself, as best it may, on things that perish in the using. Herein lies the secret of our being, in this world of the affections. This explains why our noblest feelings lies so close to our basest; why the noblest so easily metamorphose themselves into the basest. The heart which was made large enough for God, wastes itself upon the world. LOST SHEEP. How many sheep are straying, Lost from ths Saviour’s fold! Upon the lonely mountains They shiver with the cold; Within the tangled thickets, Where poison-vines do creep, Anti over rocky ledges, Wander the poor lost sheep. Oh who will go to find them? Who, for the Saviour’s sake, Will search with tireless patience, Through briar and through brake? Unheeding thirst or hunger, Who. still from day to day, Will seek, as for a treasure. The sheep that go astray? Say, will you seek to find them? From pleasant bowers of ease. Will you go forth determined To find ‘the least of these”? For still the Saviour calls them, And looks across the wold, And still he holds wide open The door into His fold. How sweet ’twould be at evening, If you and I could say, “Good Shepherd, we’ve been seeking The sheep that went astray; ” Heart-sore, * and faint with hunger, We heard them making moan, And lo! we come at nightfall, Bearing them safely homel —Ellen M. H. Gale (American). * * # # * Prov. xiii, 4. —“The soul of the diligent shall be made fat.” DILIGENCE. A Lord Chancellor. —A friend of mine, says Mr Gurney, one day inquired of the then Lord Chancellor, how he managed to get through so much business? “Oh,” said his lordship, “I have three rules; the first is, I am a whole man to one thing at a time; the second is, I never lose a passing opportunity of doing anything that can be done ; and the third is, I never entrust to other people what I ought to do myself.” Earl of Chatham.—The celebrated Earl of Chatham performed an amount of business every minute which filled common improvers of time with astonishment. He knew, not merely the great outlines of puhjic business, the policy and intrigues of foreign courts, but his eye was on every part of the British dominions, and scarcely a man could move without his knowledge of the man and of his object. A friend one day called on him when Premier of England, and found him down on his hands and knees playing at marbles with his little boy, and complaining bitterly that the rogue would not play fair, gaily adding, “that he must have been corrupted by the example of the French.” Tlie friend wished to mention a suspicioiuplookthg stranger, who for some time had taken up lodgings in London. Was he a spy, or merely a private gentleman? Chatham went to his drawer, and took out some scores of small portraits, and, holding up one which he had selected, asked, ‘la that the man?” “Yes, the very person.” “Oh! I have had my eye on him from the moment he stepped on shore.” All this was .accomplished by a rigid observance of time, never suffering a moment to pass without pressing it into sendee.