THE GARLAND.

Otago Witness, Issue 3774, 13 July 1926, Page 68

THE GARLAND.

FOR THE QUIET HOUR. •„ No. 672. *r Dchcah Weight, Dun«dia. (Fob the Witkesr.) “WATCH,” “WAIT,” “WORK.” WATCH. It may be in the opening year Christ our “Prince-Leader ' shall appear ... (Heb. 9,' 38). Ims hope should make our hearts rejoice, , , (Titus ii, 13). U! let us then, now hear His voice, Bidding us “watch” with ceaseless care, , (Matt, xxiv, 42) That, when we meet Him “in the air,” (I Thess. iv, 17) And find from earthly things relief, ’Twill be with joy and not with grief. So, fellow Christians, let us heed Our Lord's command to “watch.” We need This exhortation every day— As we pursue our onward way. WAIT. And, then, as those that for Him “wait” (Luke xii, 36) Ready,’ “immediately,” the gate To open—when He “will return,” (Mark xii, 36) Their Lord for whom <they oft did yearn, So let us “wait for Him,” yea, “more (Psalm 130, 5,6) Than they that watch for morn/’ in pain— Let us believe His promise sure: “For you I will come back again.” (John xiv, 3) WORK. And we must work till set of sun, (Luke xix, 30) Then may we hear Him say, “Well done, (Matt, xxv, 21) Thou faithful servant, good and true, My joy shall now be shared by you.” (Matt, xxv, 21) So as the future’s unhewn way We enter. May we hear Christ say: “Wait” thou, and “work”; keep “watch,” and pray— Then—“ Rise, beloved, come away.” (S. of Sol ii, 10) —L. Mortimer. • * « A BUGLE NOTE. Child of My love. Come, labour on with Me, I send you not alone the toil to bear. Close at My side the way will not seem long, While I thy burdens lift and sorrow share. Time’s sun is setting and the harvest waits, The fields are white and labourers few. Leave all for My sake all the world holds dear, And bind the golden sheaves with ardour true. It is the Master's voice that calls to-day, Our hearts beloved, hear His sweet command. The First and Last and Living One is He, Why need we fear, held in that Mighty Hand. Come, labour on—for weak and tired and sad, Friendless and dying souls are rouvd us, Yet ne’er forget that all our laurels grow, Beside His olives, in Gethsemane. All Power for this service will be given, If in our Master we will but abide. Sharing with Him the Reaper’s joy He'll see, Of His Soul’s travail and* be satisfied. —Elsie Dovey. * * * BIBLE METAPHORS. A Cake not Turned. Hos. vii, 8. Representing a character overdone on one side and underdone on the other. A Broken Tooth. Prov. xxv, 19. Representing unfaithful friendship. The Blue Cord. Num. xv, 37-41. Representing things that keep us from forgetting God little Foxes. Cant, ii, 15. Representing active sins that spoil character. Dead Flies. Eecl. x, 1. Representing passive sins that spoil character. The Reproach of Disuse. “The rust of them shall be a witness against you.’’— James v, 3. • # • ONE FOR THE Y.M.C.A. I stepped lie ross the way into the Young Men’s Christian Association of New York 4 with its reading rooms, and library, and gymnasium, and bathrooms—all means of grace—a place that proposes to charm young nen from places of sin by making religu.. attractive. It is a palace for the Lord; the pride of New York, or ought to be—l do not believe it really is—;but it ought to be It is fifty churches with its arms of Christian uesfulness stretched out towards the young men. If a young man come in mentally worn out, it gives % him dumb bells, parallel bars, and a bowling alley with no run at either end of it. It physically worsted, it rests him amid pictures, and books, and newspapers. If a young man comes in wanting something for the soul, there are Bible classes, prayer meetings, and preaching of the Gospel. ReUgion wears no monk’s cowl in that place, no hair shirt, no spiked sandals ; but the floor, and the ceiling, and the lounges, and the tables, ana the cheerful attendants, seem to say: “Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.' I never saw a more beautiful scene in any public building than on one of those bright sofas, fit for any parlour in New York, where lay a weary, plain, exhausted man, resting—sound asleep. Another triumph of Christianity that building is—a Christianity that is erecting light houses on all the coasts, and planting its batteries on every hill top and spreading its bouquets all the world over. Well, with these reflections I started for Brooklyn. It was just after six o’clook, and tired New York was just going home. Street cam and ferries all crowded. Going home! Some to bright places to be lovingly greeted, and warmed, and fed, and

rested. Others to places dark and uncomely ; but as I sat down in my own home, I could not help thinking of the three spectacles I had seen during the day. Sin, in its shame; art, in its beauty ; religion, in its work of love. God give repentance to the first, wider appreciation to the second, and universal conquest to the fchira.—Talmage, D.D. * * * FRAGMENTS. If I believe in the name of Jesus Christ, I must acknowledge his precepts as my rule of life. I must be pure in heart. I must be meek and forgiving. I must be temperate and self-denying. A different society ipust be lived in; new habits formed; old habits abandoned. It is an evidence of great hardness to be more concerned about our sufferings than our sins. No man is good unless others are made better by him. # * * PATIENCE. Consider Him that endured.—Heb. xii, 3. Why should we mourn o’er the stones in our pathway, Leading through earth to the City of God? Every one bears the mark of a footprint Showing the road which our Saviour has trod! Hungry? Yes. Thirsty? Yes. Homeless and weary; Lacking a shelter to rest His tired head; Pointing to God as the Clotli6r of lilies—- “ Fear ye not, therefore”; He tenderly said! Have our friends grieved us, and even forsaken ? Are our hearts sore with the sense of our lo&3? Kneel with the Christ in Gethsemane's Garden; Think of the Hands that were nailed to the Cross! *• What are our griefs, when compared to ITis sorrow, Despised and rejected by those He would bless? Even the Father, whose will He was doing, Hiding His face, in that last, lone distress! Lift up your heads, ye wlio follow the Saviour! * Think of the “place” “prepared” you above! Troubles on earth are preparing you for it! Can you not trust to Omniscient Love? -A. M. L. * * * OUR SHEAVES WITH US. The--time for toil has passed, the night has come, The last and saddest of the harvest eves; Worn out with labour long and wearisome, Drooping and faint, the reapers hasten home, Each laden with his sheaves. I know these blossoms, clustering heavily. With evening dew upon their folded leaves, Can claim no value or utility— Therefore shall fragrance and beauty be The glory of my sheaves. So do I gather strength and hope anew; For well I know thy patient love perceives Not what I did, but what I strove to do — And though the full ripe ears be sadly few, Thou wilt accept my sheaves. -C. C. A. * * * CHURCH METHODS IN AMERICA. The intimation to “strangers” in the Presbyterian Church, Glendale, California, is worthy of note. It is in these terms: “We welcome you to worship with us, and hope you will feel at home. To help us get acquainted with you, will you be kind enough to take one of the cards from the pew rack, and write your name and address on it, and leave it with an usher?” The card referred t-o is about the size of our Communion card, and under the words, “Friendly Card,” are spaces for name and address. On the reverse side there are the following lines: A SCOTCH BLESSING. If after kirk ye bide a wee, There’s some wad like to speak to ye. If after kirk ye rise and flee, We’ll all seem stiff and cold to ye. The one that’s in the seat with ye Is stranger here than ye, maybe. All here ha’e got their fears and cares, Add ye your soul unto our prayers. Be ye our angel unawares. The poetic value of these cards mav not be great, but their spirit is quite worthy of any congregation.—“M.,” in Willison Church Record, Dundee.