The Sabbath

Waikato Times, Volume 116, Issue 19399, 27 October 1934, Page 18 (Supplement)

The Sabbath

I HAVE SEEN. “I have seen the glint of the suns first ray ~ , When it touches the hill-top far away, , , I have se6n the glory of sunset glow And the gleaming white of the winter snow, I have seen the sheep on the windy down And the apple -dressed in her April gown. ' I

I have heard the surf in the seething bay And known the sting of the ocean spray, , , . I have heard the owls In the elm-trade shade And the rustle of the leaves in the woodland glade, I have heard the muslo of childrens call , , And the organ notes of the waterfall.

I have thrilled to the touch of the summer breeze And the dsep rich tints of the autumn trees I have seen the sparkle of April rain And the cows pace slow down the leafy lane, I have seen the moonlight In the forest halls And the rabbits play when the twilight falls.

And In all the beauty mine eyes have seen — In the sunset glow and ocean sheen — And in all the music mine ears have heard — In the ripple of brook and the song of bird—■ I havo found, wherever my steps have trod, The beauty,- the touch, and the voice of God, —Reginald C. Eva, in Chamber’s Journal. DAILY TEXT.

Sunday. Picture of Peace: The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with tho kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together: and a little child shall lead them. —Isaiah 11: 0. Monday. The Fountain of Praise: O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise. For thou deslrest not sacrifice; else would I give it. —Psalm 51: 15, 16. Tuesday, A Safe Fortress: As the mountains are round Jerusalem, so flic Lord is round about his people from henceforth even for ever. —Psalm 125: 2. Wednesday. The Cry of the Helpless; 0 God, give us help against the adversary, for vain is the help or man.—Psalm 60: 10, 11.

Thursday. A Secret Retreat: Hear my voice, 0 God, in my prayer: preserve my life. Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked.—Psalm 64: 1,2. Friday. Better Than Life: Because thy loving kindness, 0 God, is better than life, my lips shall praise thee—Psalm 63: 3. Saturday. The Road to Want: He that oppresseth the poor to increase his riches, and he that giveth to the rich, shall surely oome to want.—Proverbs 22: 16. OUR GODS THAT DIE. What would any man do if he discovers that, with the coming and going of the years, he is not able to hold on to certain beliefs and attitudes of mind which he once thought to bo fundamental to hts religious faith? That is not a merely academic question. There are some people who have a ready answer to such a question. They say that there are certain beliefs that are essential to a genuine Christian faith, and you must hold on to these if you are to be a Christian believer at all. But beliefs that are forced in that way, and that one tries to keep because he is told that he must, seem to lack the one thing that would make them of any real and vital value at all. They come very near to being mero sham and makebelieve, and even if we cannot get an altogether satisfactory answer to our question in any other direction we may be rather sure that the answer does not lie along that line. The beliefs that wo have serious doubts about —doubts that we cannot allay by any fair and reasonable process—would seem to lack any real vitality or virtue. And the reverse is quite as true: that beliefs that have real vitality and virtue must be strongly and convincingly held. „ In such a dilemma what can we do? One thing we must do —face the issue frankly and fully. Arid in doing that one of the first questions that will probably meet us will be this one: are some of the beliefs that we have felt to be fundamental, and that we have great difficulty in keeping a convinced hold upon, quite as necessary and fundamental as we felt them to be? The process of reaching a conclusion on that matter may be a difficult one, and the way to a decision may be trying and perplexing, but it is the way we must take in interests of a faith that will have strength and virility and worth-whilcness to it. For a faith that has not such qualities may conceivably bo almost vtorse than no' faith at all. —The Mow outlook.