SUNDAY CIRCLE

Southland Times, Issue 17630, 15 January 1916, Page 11

SUNDAY CIRCLE

C.'.T.VnS <>l-’ I’fi.Ml-'ORT. (F'.y " Kail li.") 'Tvfii (•;( Hir iiiiKnwn m-mnn-nn' Ilriny: with it what it may: It wi 11 hrinff with it nothing Hut what. Ili- will lnjnr its llirouprh; Iff who friths Ihf lillfs clot.himr Will rlotho 11 is ohiltlrcm ton." "I know not what tn-inorrnw may 1 1 ri:sImt this I <ln knmv, it will hrimr with it tlntl." And if Clod is on our side- who iran stand against os? ('or has Ik- not promisivl that as our day so shall our stronjrth lip. Oh, it is sweet In hj" aid' - tn i-fsl on His nrnmisfd word, ili' says, "i'all upon Me in thf clay of troiilili' and I will dflivir lime" What.l.l- do till.SO p.-nplr do whop trollNf .■i.rnrs iviiri hnvo ni-o thf fj-od of .larofi tor it i-;r hflp. who r lo not know find V "I low nil! 11 1 v i liis How will Ihrv dir? If"rr h.-.-ir fir rress of miff. Who have not not thf limit of faith, Tin- .a i" ra f a of 1.. lirf " ■ Tliey tioffi to not out thfir P.il'dps and rr.ol how thf f.ord .li-sna Otrisl fame into tin- world in savo sinner:;. Ilf say's: "v'-rilv, vmily, 1 s:iy onto ymi, ho that lo ai'i-tl My word and ihdi <• v'i ii in 11 iin that i.t 1 : s-, liatli r vorlast iuy lif .• and shall imt I'liiiii' into < •oiulcninat ion, Imt is pass-oil iron! .hath onto lifo." "fear not trust Ili-' simplo word S,, s woo I, s' i 1 riod. s' i I i n.-. And I I 111 a 1 O :■ afo for eVTimirj

■'They than (rust in the Lord shall bo as Mount Zion which cannot be moved but aiideth for ever." “The the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so is the Lord round about Mis people, even for ever.” How sweet it Is to know that nothing ran come near us hut what He allows, Sometimes when a dark shadow rests on our lives we need to remember that it is there for a purpose, perhaps to rlraw us nearer to God, perhaps to draw our loved one nearer to Him. When time passes and God’s purpose lias he.en accomplished we look hack and ! wonder how wc could ever have thought ourselves hardly dealt with, for our heavenly Father lias more than compensated us for our trouble. He lias promisd that He will deliver us from the snare of the fowler and from the noisome pestilence. “God’s purposes shall ripen fast enfolding every hour, The. Void may have a hitter taste But sweet will bn the floAvcr." What comfort is to be had from the following;— “1 will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cnme.th my help.” "My help cometh from the Lord which made heavo.n and earth.” “He will not suffer thy foot to be moved.” “He that keepeth thee will not slumber.” “The Lord is thy keeper, the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand." “The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon hy night.” “The Lord sba.it preserve thee from all evil. He shall preserve they soul.’’ “The. Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in, from this time forth,” and even for evermore.” How grand it is to be able to rest on these precious promises and to realise that it is not on our own puny strength that we have to rely. But we know that He will hold us fast, and that Ho will perfect that which conce.rneth us. . We need to keep on praying that Ho will strengthen our faith and trust in. Him. “Come my soul, thy suit prepare, Jesus loves to answer prayer; He Himself hast hid thee pray. Therefore will not say thee nay.” It is by taking more time for prayer that we are, brought into closer relation with our heavenly Father. He says ask and ye shall receive, so —• “Large petitions with thee bring, Thou art coming to a King; And His grn.ee and power are such None can ever ask too much.” i We need to always remember that all things are possible with God. Wo ran never ask anything that is too difficult. One of the tilings we need most, is to have our hearts of stone taken away and to he given hearts of flesh. We need to ponder on the rapidly nearing approach of the second coming of the Lord Jesus. “Then, oh my Lord, prepare My soul for that great day, (>, wash me in Thy precious blood And take my sins away." —S. E. Craig. Eastern Bush. THE MAKING OF HEROES. (By Rev. J. H. .lowett, D.D.) “The people that do know their God shall be strong, and shall do exploits.” Daniel xi. .12. H is like a strong and noble tree, of which (lie roots are found in a certain knowledge, and the fruit in heroic deeds. Exploits are not manufactured goods. They are not the. deliberate creation of set purpose. They are not work;;; they are fruits. They are not made; they are grown. They are not the startling surprises of occasional ventures; they are the natural and spontaneous expression of the habits of the soul. A true hero is always heroic-. Sometimes ids heroism is seem by the public-, but he is still hemic when the: a.udience lias withdrawn. This kind of tree “yields her fruit every month” - that is to say, there is no season when its fruit cannot be found. If, therefore, a life; is lo abound in heroic deeds it must have the heroic nature. It must “be strong” if it is to “do exploits.” Every oilier kind of heroism is superficial, and it will pass witli the occasion whirl] excited it. We want a heroism which is heroic in its own secret thoughts. We want heroes who slay dragons in private. We want ihe royal courage which strangles an unworthy impulse as soon as it is born. We want exploits in sacrificial thinking. inn !r 11 i 1 ii■ c-) 11 conquests ->7 selfishness in Ihe quiet court of the soul. A real iiia.li must wrestle with linns and bears in tin- Jungle of his own spirit, and there In- must register a courage of whieli Ihe world has no account. All of which means that a man innsl lie a. hero in the very pith and fibre of bis being. it must Ice his nature to be heroi°. And how can we deal with a man’s nature excepting through his God V Mow can we make Mu- tree good? The prophet’s word gives us the eternal answer "if a man is In ‘he strong he must “know t rod. And that is not the shallow knowledge of recognition, it is the vital knowledge of communion: it is the partaking of the divine nature. It is the living fellowship which makes a man a branch on the living vine. Tlio life-sap of foe (me of life pervades every 111, re i> ( his bring. lb- lives: yet not he: Christ liveth in him. In such a life all tin- fruits shall be exploits, and the flavour of the heroic shall be in everything.