THE GARLAND.

Otago Witness, Issue 3818, 17 May 1927, Page 68

THE GARLAND.

FOR THE QUIET HOUR. No. 716. By Duncan Wright, Dunedin. (Fob thb Witness.) YESTERDAY, TO-DAY, AND FOREVER. Has He had His day, the Crucified? Is the fire He came to kindle, cold? * ° n . touc}iatonca of experience tried All His words are proven gold. ’ Did they wait the Comforter in vain !n the Upper Room, that little band? J mi ‘ TOI . U Arctic zqn e to tropic plain The circles of His grace expand. When the little child “Our Father" pravs Is Ins prayer a bubble lost in space? ’ ’ ,m„ Sl J ldes lnm then through tangled ways, J.ill he sees the Father, face to face? Lord, Thou knowest in a world like this How easy quenched is grace divine; oh help us, lest our goal we miss, Like many ethers once called Thine. Lord, each morning in our dust-dimmed hearts, Clear fountains of Thy grace renew • Quickly, ah! too quickly, morn departs, And with morn the sparkling drops of dew. „ —C. Field. * * # A SONG OF HOPE. When storms of sorrow sweep O’er life’s mysterious sea, My Heav’nly Pilot'takes the helm, And guides and comforts me. ’

He marks my frequent sighs, My tears like wintry rain; He sets His bow amid the clouds, And hope revives again. ’

I think on days of old, Past mercies 1 recall; And with deep love and fervent praise At Christ’s dear feet I fall. And now the skies arc blue, There’s sunshine on the sea,’ A.nd my frail barque is safe from harm, For Jesus sails with me. —H. J. G. * * * “ Let us come around the old Gospel well. . A good many of you came in these doors this morning carrying a very heavy burden. I do not know what it is—l cannot guess what it is; but I noticed some of you when you came in this morning looked sad. It may be a home trouble you cannot tell anybody. How many have burdens on your shoulders and on your hearts! Come to the well; put down the pack right beside the well. Jacob’s well was 100 ft deep, and_ cut through the rock; but this Gospel well is deep as eternity, and it is cut right down through the’ heart of the Son of God. Shovels opened that other well; spears opened this. You remember that the old well-sweep in the country was made out of two pieces—one planted in the ground, and on it was swung a long beam, which we laid hold of in our boyhood and brought down, and the bucket dipped into the water and came up full. So the cross of Jesus is made out of two pieces. I take one piece and plant it close by this good old well, and then swing on it the long piece, and I lay hold of it with my prayer, and I pull it down until the bucket strikes the bottom of the Saviour’s groans and the Saviour’s tears, and then I fetch it up, bubbling, foaming, brimming, sparkling, with the water of which, if a man drink, he shall never thirst.

To the dear fountain of Thy blood, Incarnate' God I fly; Here let me wash my spotted soul From crimes of deepest dye.

A guilty, weak, and helpless worm, On Thy kind arms I fall; Be Thou iny strength and righteousness, My Jesus and my all.

“ Cowper, overborne with his' sin, threw himself into a chair by the window, picked up a New Testament, and his eye lighted upon this: ‘ Whom God hath set forth as a propitiation through faith in His blood,’ and instantly he was free. Unless Christ pays our debt we go to eternal gaol. Unless our Joseph opens the King’s corn-crib we die of famine. One sacrifice for all. A heathen got worried about his sins, and came to a priest and asked hew he might be cured. The priest said: ‘ If you will drive spikes into your shoes and walk 500 miles, you will get over it.’ So he drove spikes* in his shoes and began the pilgrimage, trembling, tottering, agonising on the way, until he came about 20 miles, and sat down under a tree, exhausted. Near by, a missionary was preaching Christ, the Saviour of all men. When the heatken heard it he pulled off his sandals, threw them as far as he could, and cried: ‘That’s what I want; give me Jesus; give ine Jesus!’ O ye who

have been convicted and worn of sin, trudging on all your days to reap eternal woe, will you not this morning at the announcement of. a full and glorious Atonement, throw your torturing transgressions to the winds ? ‘ The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin’; that was the very passage that came to the tent of Hedley Vicars, the brave English soldier, and changed him into a hero for the Lord.”—Anon.

* * * THE OLD AND THE NEW. Do you want something old, something settled and sure, That has stood through the ages and still shall endure; Reliable records of -all that is past, Indelibly graven, forever to. last? Then come to God’s Word and the message it brings The Book of Beginnings, first cause and first things, Creator, Creation, a story sublime, The darkness of chaos, the dawning of time; The world that once was, and the world that

nqw :s; Man made by God’s hand, in His image, all His.

Do you want something modern and startling and new, As fresh as the morning, as clear as the dew; To-day’s current topics brought quite down to date, Forecast of to-morrow that’s never too late? Then come to God’s Word, for its prophecies hold The symbols of all that the years shall un-

fold, A wonderful outline of history’s course

From a truly authentic and trustworthy

source. Naught else is so ancient, naught else is co

new, And nothing so wise is, and nothing so true. While the vivid events of the past it can tell, And the future’s great drama is pictured an well.

Satisfying and full is the message it brings: The Book of Completions, the end of all things. —Annie Johnson Flint, in Biblical Recorder.

A PITHY LIFE STORY.

“ I abandoned a professorship to give my life to the British Army on the western front. I was with them when the last shot was fired. Yet I hate war. It is the greedand selfishness of men, greed armed and regimented. It is a violent betrayal of Christ, and cannot be reconciled with any form of- religion,” writes Dr Alexander Irvine in the Yorkshire Evening News. “ I was not a candidate for medals or honours or emoluments. When the work was done I went back into obscurity. Life to me is an adventure, an inspiration, a chance to work and serve. I ask for only that which keeps the human machine going. I give all I have; I give it to anybody, anywhere. My home is the world. The inhabitants thereof are my family and friends. In matters of small importance I am a millionaire. I have capacity. I can appreciate great paintings, great sculptures, and great architecture, I understand good music. I know the literature of my race. I have capacity to serve a great cause and to work and suffer for it, as I have in the past. I know life. I understand men. I have a sense of humour, and it keeps me young. I warm both hands at the fire of life. And all of that is wealth, real wealth. I am now climbing the steps of my seventh decade, and I am neither a fool, incompetent, nor a wastrel, but I do believe in the first four books of the New Testament, and try to square my life with the philosophy therein.” * * * SUNSET AND SORROW. Sunset clouds trail home to sleep, Down the sunset stealing; Vesper stars their watches keep; • Vesper bells are pealing; Amber glory of the air, Over young corn creeping. Makes a phantom harvest there For a faery reaping'.

Dewdrops full of fancied fright, All the sunset holding, Tremble as they watch the night Swiftly them enfolding. Shallow pools among the fields Flash a farewell token; Eventide to moonlight yields Holy calm unbroken.

From, a shadow-haunted crag, Gloomy, rent, and battered, Floats a cloud-wrought, rebel flag. Crimson, frail, and tattered Then the mountain flame expires In a pearly dimness, Falls in vapour, and attires All the mountain grimness.

At the regal sun’s behest I my grief surrender. Peace and glory of the west, Be my soul’s defender! Light Eternal! Thou hast cast Shadows of affliction. Grant now, ere Thy Light be passed, Twilight’s benediction

—Karl Cherry. * * * UP TO GOD. The plants that grow The winds that blow; The streams that run In rain and sun, Throughout ills year They truly lead Through wood and mead Through mould and sod Unto, unto God.

“HAPPINESS LIES, FIRST OF ALL, IN HEALTH.”—G. W. Curtis.

A cough or cold makes happiness impossible, and may quite easily undermine your constitution. The one standing health rule for all homes should be “Keep ‘ Baxter’s ’ Handy.” Baxter’s Lung Preserver roots out the moat stubborn cough or cold and acts as a tonie by enriching and renewing the blood-cells. Penetrating, warming, soothing, and pleasant to take. Be sure and get “ Baxter’s.” All chemists and stores; 2s 6d for generoussized bottle, or, better still, get the family size at 4s 6d.—Advt.