The Sabbath

Waikato Times, Volume 127, Issue 21218, 14 September 1940, Page 19 (Supplement)

The Sabbath

A SONG AF THANKSGIVING O Lord of Heaven, and earth and sea, To Thee all praise and glory be! How shall we show cur love to Thee, Giver of all? We lose what on ourselves we spend, We have, as treasures without end, Whatever, Lord, to Thee we lend, Who givest aIL Whatever, Lord, we give to Tnee, Repaid a thousandfold will be; Oh! gladly will we give to Thee, Who givest all. O Thou, from whom we all derive Our life, our gifts, our power to give; Oh! may we ever with Thee live, Giver of all! —C. Wordsworth. WEEKLY TEXTS It is Dark Days that Test Faith.— For the Lord will not cast off His people, neither will He forsake His inheritance.—Psalm 94:14. This Promise Will Be Redeemed. —Fear thou not, for I am with thee: be not dismayed, for I am thy God; I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of My righteousness.—lsaiah 41:10. No Bad Thing: Can Completely Overwhelm a Righteous Man. —When thou passeth through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers that shall overflow thee; when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.—lsaiah 43:2. This is Great Courage. —For the Lord God will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded; therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed. ; —lsaiah 50:7.

God Anticipates Our True Needs. —And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I -will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.—lsiah 65:24. A Manly Stand.—Surely it is meet to be said unto God, I have borne chastisement, I will not offend any more: that which I see not, teach thou me; if I have done iniquity I will do no more.—(Job 34:31-32, We are in God’s Hands Though.— The Lord will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. And they that know Thy name will put their trust in Thee; for Thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek Thee.*—Psalm 9:9, 10. QUIETNESS AND CONFIDENCE A special characteristic of the faith which shines throughout the Bible is its persistence. The early patriarchs receive divine promises, and do not cease to trust God because the fulfilment of these promises, which at first they had expected to come speedily, proves to be still remote. More than one of the psalmists has to own that the speedy deliverance from danger, personal or national, on which he had counted has been mysteriously withheld. Yet if this disappointment suggests anything like despondency, the psalmist rounds upon himself and masters the failing. “Why art thou so heavy, O my soul,” he asks, “and why art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou still in God, for I will yet give Him thanks, which is the help of my countenance and my Godl” The Prophets Were No Less Sure that the divine purposes which they had foreseen would be accomplished when that accomplishment was delayed. Enough to know that “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, saith the Lord.” In the last pages of the New Testament the writer looks out from his island of banishment upon a world in which civilisation is crumbling and the Church is persecuted relentlessly. The unceasing prayers that have been made seem to be unheard. There is, as he suggests in a vivid phrase, “silence in heaven.” Yet this latest of the New Testament teachers is sure that the silence will only last, as it were, “for half an hour,” and will be followed by the triumph-song of the redeemed in heaven as they witness God’s victory on earth. This tenacity distinguishes a religious faith, in the right sense of that term, from mere hopefulness, from a fretful and fluctuating reliance on God, ranging from an expectation that He will at once do everything, to a fear that He can or will do nothing. It is the right kind of religious faith, a faith which endures through every strain and waits on God in quietness and confidence; and it is the faith which all Christians need most specially today. The unalterable certainty remains that factors other than human are helping to shape affairs to their ultimate

issue, that among them are spiritual powers of good and evil, that ultimately the supreme power of God must prevail, and that the humblest soul can help not only the world but God Himself by persistent and undiscouraged prayer. While, as in the apocalyptic vision, the seals are being opened and Unexampled Horrors are being released upon the earth, it may again seem that there is “silence in heaven.” And how long ! that half-hour of waiting may appear to continue! Yet its end will come. These encouragements to enduring faith, these promises of the Bible, are more than written pledges. The> j have been tested and verified already j by the life and example of our Lord, j The extremes of apparent failure, of j treachery and defeat, of persecution ' and agony, came within His experi- | ence, before the ultimate victory. He knew how largely His first disciples would have to undergo them. Yet continually He bade them be of good cheer, and gave them a peace, “not as the world giveth,” of which no ; outward circumstance could deprive 1 them. That gift each loyal disciple may be able to obtain, even in times 1 like these. He will serve his fel- 1 lows to the utmost. He will trust. ! He will wait. Above all, he will j pray. And then to a degree beyond anything he could hope, and in spite ■ of all his human fears and weakness, ; the peace of God, which passeth all i understanding, will fill his heart and j mind. i