THE GARLAND.

Otago Witness, Issue 3830, 9 August 1927, Page 68

THE GARLAND.

FOR THE QUIET HOUR.

No. 728.

By

Duncan Wright, Dunedin.

(For the Otago Witness.) There’s nae sorrow there, John, There’s neither cauld nor care, John, The day is aye fair, In the land, o’ the leal. —Lady Nairne. How small of all that human hearts endure, That part which laws or kings can cause or cure! Still to ourselves in every place consigned, Our own felicity we make or find, With secret course, which no loud storms

annoy. Glides the smooth current of domestic joy. > —-Samuel Johnson. PERHAPS TO-DAY. The Spirit and ’ the Bride say, Come! ” —Rev. xxii, 17. Then we shall learn the sweet meanings Hidden to-day from our eyes, Then wo shall waken, like children, Joyous at gift and surprise. Come, then, dear Lord, in the gleamin’, Or when the dawning is grey; lake us to dwell in Thy presence Only Thyself lead the way.” —Anon. * * * THE JOY OF RELIGION. A great many’ people suppose that religion is a sad and gloomy usiness. They regard it as a kind of medicine, useful to take, but bitter to the taste. Now, wherever that idea came from, it did not come from the Bible. In the Old Testament and in the New, religion appears as the most joyous thing in the world. Whatever there is in these books, of wretchedness or of fear, is for those who are not religious. They represent the children of God as walking in the sunlight, singing for joy. radiant, rejoicing, triumphant. The New Testament especially abounds in this spirit of cheer. Nowhere else can be found such expressions of gladness. “ Your heart shall rejoice,” said the Saviour, ' and your joy no man taketh from you.” “ Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you ; not as the world giveth give I unto you. ’ “ The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace.” “Ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.”

These words are not to be understood of some rare and mystical experience, out of the roach of common men. The Bible is a book for common men. And anyone who sets about a religious life in the right way will find for himself that in P lies the highest happiness. Abraham “knew not whither he,went” on earth; but he knew he was Heavenbound. He sought the city which hath foundations. Toward that glorious capital of the Great King he bent his steadfast eye through all his wanderings. So may we march on, day by day, from duty to duty, from toil to trial: but by and by comes “ eternal weight of glory.” That is enough. Let the storm roar; yonder is the haven. What though the way be dark, if I can only feel Jesus’ hand in mine and hear Him say: “It is I; fear not, my child. Where I am thou shalt he also.” This Divine voice brings the calm. My beloved is mine, and I am His. So I go on, not knowing. I would not if 1

might. I would rather walk with God in the dark

than go alone in the light. I would rather walk with Him by faith than walk alone bv sight.” * * * A SONG IN THE NIGHT. I take this pain Lord Jesug From Thine own hand. The strength to bear it bravely Thou wilt command. I take this pain Lord Jesus As proof indeed That Thou are watching closely My truest need. That Thou my Good Physician Art watching still That all Thine own good pleasure Thou wilt fulfil. Psa. xli, 3. Psa. xlii, 7,8, 11. —By Francis R. Havergal.

My mind to me a kingdom is: Such perfect joy therein I find, As far exceeds all earthly bliss That God a.nd Nature hath assigned. Though much I want that most would have, Net still my mind forbids to crave. „ —Bvrd. * * * THINGS TO THINK ABOUT. Where I am, there shall ye be also.” We are to live where Christ lives. His home is to he ours. We are to share its peace and its splendour, its glory and happiness as well as its dignity.’ As brothers and sisters of Christ we are to share in all His life—the environments of it, its activities, its honours, its moral and spiritual perfections. His joy in the Father and His access to Him are to be ours. The “ Many Mansions ” suggest that among the blessed there r.re varieties of function and honour. We do well to remember that our rank and the ineasure of our power and blessedness in the lire to come dejiend largely upon the fidelity with which we discharge our earthly duties. We shall learn by and by that the humblest tasks faithfully performed out of love to God and man. have given us a higher place in the Eternal Home. Every honest endeavour to lessen the miseries of mankind, to cheer their sadness, to recover them from sin, will raise us in the spiritual order, and prepare us lor a larger share in the government of the Divine Kingdom hereafter. There is room in the Fathers House for all His

children, but their places will be determined by their loyalty to the Mau "Who bore their sins in His Body on the tree. —Rev. Dr R. W. Dale.

THE GIFT FOR THIS AGE. “ The Comforter which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in My Name, He ehall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance whatsoever I have said unto you.”—John xiv; 26. “We are living in the flood-tide of the Holy Spirit.”—J. R. H. Some ask, “ Where are the angels, And other wondrous signs? From old days far beliind us Their joyful witness shines. “ And when the Lord was with us, What wondrous happenings then — And when lie first ascended, What gifts He gave to men!” And then—the change came slowly. A mightier Power was shown, The Presence of the Spirit Was to His Church made known. • That silent, viewless Witness -Working from then till now v V. here’er the wide world over Fresh hearts to Jesus bow. No sign our faith compelling That suddenly arrives; But, through His own indwellinsr, Changed hearts, and lifted lives. Rejected or neglected Hia Presence we can miss, And yet no angel bringeth Such satisfying bliss. The day ot Thy Returning O Christ, we think draws near; The Spirit seems to whisper That soon Thou wilt appear. Meanwhile. His wondrous flood-tide Is breathing round our way; Let us not miss the blessings Which may be ours to-day. —Constance Coote. * » » A PRAYER, For all the good I’ve left undone, For all the evil wrought For all the battles I have lost, And. battles never fought; For joyous songs I’ve never sung, I* or souls I've failed to reach, For healing words unspoken, I*or silence marred bv speech : For beauty passed upon' life’s road, Unwelcomed, unperceived, For ugliness left unreproved, For sorrow unrelieved; For all, O Lord, I might have been, And now can never be, nle ’ 1 bcBee «h Thee. Lord, Of Thy great charity. —A. M. P. Dawson. * * * WORTH REMEMBERING—

'That in the last analysis a Christian’s faith is not what he holds, but what he IS. „ That while obedience is better than sacrifice, the sacrifice of oneself is often the best obedience. That the destroyer of souls invariably prefers a flank movement to a frontal attack. That nothing in the whole world is meaningless, and suffering least of all. That soldiers of Christ, if winsome, are bound to win some. That m the lowest classes of the community sin is but another word for crime. That it is chiefly in the spiritual sphere that the effects of (he Eden Fall declare themselves. That spiritual redemption includes not merely the payment of the ransom, but the deliverance of the ransomed. That Divine truth, though it may seem above human reason, is never unreasonable. That no one who has not experienced th e new birth can ever sec the Kingdom of God. That while the devil sometimes wins the skirmish, God always wins the battle.