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The Morning Message: |
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EDITORIAL NOTE - THE ORIGINAL GOOGLE TEXT FILE SOURCE HAD MANY TYPOS AND THEREFORE THE FOLLOWING DEVOTIONAL IS ONLY PARTIALLY CORRECTED (THROUGH MARCH). IT WILL BE CORRECTED AS I FIND TIME IN THE FUTURE. BELOW IS A LINK TO THE ORIGINAL WORK BEGINNING ON APRIL 1 IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO KEEP READING THROUGH THE YEAR. There is no need to explain the purpose of this book; its object is suggested by its title, The Morning Message. It is compiled from lectures and sermons delivered during the Northfield Summer Conferences, and from the published works of Dr. Morgan. The poems inserted are selected from among some of Dr. Morgan's favourite quotations, while the Biblical texts are chosen from both the Authorized and the Revised Versions. It is evident, by the remarkable gatherings for Bible Study at Northfield, that the habit of morning meditation on the Word of God commends itself strongly to an increasing number year by year (See Meditate and Primer on Biblical Meditation). It is, therefore, earnestly hoped that these echoes from Dr. Morgan's Bible lectures may come as the morning message, to guide in perplexity, to comfort in sorrow, and to stimulate the conviction that " the Word of the Lord abideth for ever." (1Pe 1:23) W. Ross. Portland, Maine |
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Joshua 24:15 Choose you this day whom ye will serve. Destiny is fixed by the choice of the human will, which selects for itself its heaven or hell. Thus each one of us is building character forever. Those who are yielding to the forces around that mar the life, do so absolutely of their own free choice. Strong Son of God, immortal Love, Thou seemest human and divine, Hebrews 10:36 Ye have need of patience, that having done the will of Go, ye may receive the promise. Patience is the capacity for being still when all around is tempest-tossed. Patience is the flower of fidelity. If fidelity is the activity of faith, patience is the condition of character resulting therefrom. Psalm 8:4 What is man, that thou art mindful of him? I stand at the foot of the mountain which lifts its head beyond the cloud and catches on its summit the first gleam of the King of Day in his rising, and I say, "What am I ?" That mountain has been there through the passing of the ages, and I am here and shall be gone before the sun melts the snow upon its summit. "What is man?" But the Psalmist has another point of observation : "Thou art mindful of him; thou visitest him." Romans 14:7 For none of us liveth to himself, and none dieth to himself. We must all exert influence, whether we will or no… You influence every man you touch by the way you look at him and speak to him, and all the time the influence you are exerting is welling up out of your actual self, and you cannot prevent it. John 20:29 Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. There are those to whom no visions come, no moments upon the mount suffused with a glory that never was on land or sea. Let such not envy the men of vision. It may be that the vision is given to strengthen a faith that else were weak. It is to the people who can live along the line of what others call the commonplace, and yet trust, that the Master says, " Blessed." John 7:37 Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. Whenever the thirst comes, go to Him; He will quench it. You will never come to Him with an honest thirst that He cannot quench ; and when He quenches thirst, it will not be simply the satisfaction of the present moment, but, filling and flooding you, the river will rush to bless someone else 2Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. The movements of God must never be measured by the slowness of a human life, or by the inadequacy of an earthly almanac. Standing by that risen Man of Nazareth, each one putting trust in Him may say with reverence and holy fear, and yet with certainty and absolute boldness, " My heart is glad, my tongue rejoices, my flesh also shall dwell in hope." Proverbs 1:5 A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels: . False culture has repeatedly attempted, with self-satisfied cynicism, to treat with indifference the Christ of God, only to find that He takes hold upon all the domain of true culture and rules supremely over it. Isaiah 43:2 When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. The river, the darkly flowing river— how men dread it; and yet there is something more fearsome than the darkly flowing river. It is the mist that, rising from the river, wraps men round in its chill embrace until they do not know where they stand or where the river is. There is no agony for the human soul like that of silence. Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Out of the pressure of tribulation we extract the new wine of the kingdom, and out of the deep, dark, death experience, in which the devil sifts and tries, there breaks a new capacity and enlarged outlook, a new meaning in life, a new tone in speech. 1Corinthians 15:57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. The victory of Jesus over temptation is victory over all the forces of hell; and all men who, abandoned to His Lordship, abide in His will, must share His triumph. John 10:28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. When the work presses, and the battle thickens, and the day seems long in coming, it is good for the heart to remember that the present conflict is with defeated foes, and that there is no room for question as to the final issue; for the Man of Nazareth is not only seated in the place of authority, but He carries forward the work of active administration. 1Peter 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: A most important principle to be perpetually borne in mind by those who would fulfil the highest function of Church life is that the world waits for light, and the Church's only capacity for shedding the light is that she should live in the day which the face of Christ creates for her. Isaiah 60:1 Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee. No Church and no individual member of the Church can fling across the darkness one ray or gleam of light, save as that Church or that person lives in the sunshine created by the shining of His face. Watcljman, taljat of tijt night? toatchman, latraarg tohat of tht nigbt ? XV Isaiah 21:11 Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night? What of the night, O watchman. Dark are the vales, but the mountains glow He teas toonnbeo for our transgressions, lje Jfamtarji teas oruiseo for our iniquities; tJje chastisement XVI of our peace mas upon ljim; ana toitlj lris stripes toe are ljcaleo. Isaiah 53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. Oh, rough and rugged Cross of Calvary ! We gather round Thy stern sublimity of suffering with our own hearts' agony, and find heart's-ease. We come to Thee with faces stained with tears, and in the strength of His victory our tears are wiped away, our sorrow is turned into joy. James 4:14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. Man comes and goes, a bubble on the stream on which for a few passing moments the lights and shadows play, and then is " forgotten as a dream dies at the opening day." fanttarp jear not the things tahich thou art about to Revelation 2:10 Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer… be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. The life is the crown. What a wondrous light this flings back upon the process! This pressure of tribulation is not accidental and capricious. Out of the tribulation we shall have our triumph. Out of darkness we shall come to light. That is the whole philosophy of suffering. Matthew 7:22, 23 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Activity in the King's business will not make up for neglect of the King. 1Peter 2:19 This is acceptable, if for conscience toward God a man endureth griefs, suffering wrongfully. There is no profounder proof of grace of character than that of being able to suffer wrongfully and yet to manifest a gracious spirit 2 Corinthians 12:9 My grace is sufficient for thee, for my power is made perfect in weakness. All the wind that blows, the rain that splashes, the changes of atmosphere that tell upon the oak, are child's play compared to the mental anguish and heart-break that have swept across your life ; and yet you have endured. Genesis 2:7 God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a lifting soul. Nature touches God nowhere but in man. In that sense there is nothing of the Divine on the earth save man; and in the heaven that lies above us and the light that is beyond the shadow, there is nothing, so far as we know, of earth but man. Romans 6:14. Sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. If you cannot be a Christian where you are, you cannot be a Christian anywhere. It is not place, but grace. 2 Samuel 14:24 Neither will I offer burnt offerings unto Jehovah my God which cost me nothing. Sacrilege is centered in offering God something which costs nothing… God looks for the giving at His altar of a gift that costs something. Philippians 4:8 Whatsover things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report… think on these things. Everything that is pure and beautiful, in poetry, art, music and science, is the direct outcome of the unveiling of the Spirit of God… All mental magnificence that is pure is an inspiration of the Spirit of God. Exodus 23:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Every man needs a god. There is no man who has not, somewhere in his heart, in his life, in the essentials of his being, a shrine in which is a deity whom he worships. Job 32:26-28 If I beheld the sun when it shined, or the moon walking in brightness; 27 And my heart hath been secretly enticed… This also were an iniquity… for I should have denied the God that is above. The flowers, the hills, the sunshine, the birds, are full of beauty, but no man ever reaches God through nature. Romans 12:1 Present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service. The divine ideal for man is that he should be spiritual, and that his spirituality should be realised by the surcharging of his whole being with the Spirit of God. Nehemiah 4:9 We made our prayer unto our God and set a watch against them day and night The Church of God has never yet fully realised that the price of liberty is eternal vigilance. Isaiah 55:12 The mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing. I will trust Him to do what He promises, and lo! the desert is gone and the garden is here, the mountains are singing, the hills are uttering an anthem, the very leaves have begun their great applause, the brier is withering, and the myrtle is coming. (Ed: Literally interpreted Isa 55:12 would be very compatible with the Millennium. See Isa 51:11). Jude 1:4 The only Master and our Lord Jesus Christ. We call you to no ignoble service when we call you to the King, but to serve the King you must kiss the sceptre and own allegiance to Him. It is not get maite manifest tohat toe shall be. JFebruarj 1John 3:2 It is not yet made manifest what we shall be We cry out for the beyond. Horizons are always a menace to our peace. We crave the infinite. Then we shall be where we would be; 1Corinthians 12:12 The problems which vex us to-day, the perpetually recurring mysteries that demand repeated acts of faith—these will all find their answer, not so much in the process of teaching or revealing, but in the vision of the Master Himself. There are deep mysteries of life, and great and marvellous secrets, but you are not ready for their understanding. We shall often walk in darkness. There will be many mysteries perplexing us. The burden we have is sufficient for the building of our character, for our growth in life, and ministry and work. The other things wait. Presently He will give us the morning star. There is no type of failure that He has not taken hold of and remade. Every gleam of light that is falling upon the darkness of men is part of the essential Light They are but broken lights of Thee, All dreams of a golden age have their inspiration in the gospel of the kingdom. The simple life is coming to be recognised sublime. Complexity and overwhelming luxury, in spite of themselves, men are recognising as vulgar. To deny Christ is to deny atonement and to deny sin, and the only voice that denies these has learned its language and caught its tone in the deep things of Satan. The true ideal of worship is that of man communing with God. Through what forms that worship expresses itself is of little moment. Christ does not call the Church at Sardis to abandon these, but to stablish them by making them instinct with life. The keenest intellect and most cultured mind are unable to understand the mystery of redemption, and therefore cannot explain it to others. Whoever can say light has broken upon the Cross, and the eternal morning has dawned, is able to do so through the direct illumination of the Holy Spirit; and apart from that, there can be no witness and no service. Imagination is sometimes ahead of truth. Poetry guesses at more than prose ever fathoms… Everywhere, on the throne and amid the multitudes, what see you ? Christ. That is why Paul,… notwithstanding Nero's threatened axe, says, " To die is gain." Feb 12 Paul did not count that he had any life except the life which was named Christ. Deuteronomy 1:19 The divine government is a disturbing element. My duty is so to live that I shall be ready to be disturbed at any moment when God pleases. John 12:6 You say the path is thorny and rough. Tramp it; for, mark you, you will find that wherever you put your foot upon a thorn, another foot has been there first and taken off the sharpness. Job 42:5 Nothing's small! No lily-muffled hum of a summer bee But finds some coupling with the spinning stars; No pebble at your foot but proves a sphere; No chaffinch but implies the cherubim. Earth's crammed with heaven, Mrs. E. B. Browning. The varieties create harmonies. Harmony is a concord of differences. The man who preaches the Cross must be a crucified man. You may preach the Cross and it is nothing but a Roman gibbet unless you preach it from yourself. It is the crucified man that can preach the Cross. It does not necessarily follow that when the light falls upon the spirit of man, he understands the source of the light. The light is the first fact; the understanding of the source follows. Shall we not swing the heart's door widely open that He may come in, to work in us "both to will and to work for His good pleasure"? The signs of the times are such as reveal the power of spirituality side by side with the development of evil; but, thank God, beyond the night that comes is the larger day and gladder age for man. If you are preaching an evangel with no vision of the Lord Christ, it is emasculated. If you are preaching an evangel without the value of His death, it is anaemic. If you are preaching an evangel with no virtue in it, it is sentimental. If you are preaching an evangel with no victory, it is hopeless. Whatever may be uncertain about Christ, it must at least be conceded that He has revealed to men the highest ideal of human life which the world has ever seen. The Word of God sounded over the chaotic earth; and, in response to that Word, there arose order, beauty— everything that we see to-day, only in its perfection. Hebrews 11:1 When sacred things lose power, precious things lose blessing. When faith is dead, hope becomes dread… The promise which produced a thrill of joy becomes a thought of terror to the men who have fallen out of harmony with the Lord and Master. Acts 10:38 God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: Who went about doing good. No Christian man has any right to attempt to create saintliness of character by hiding himself from the activities of everyday life. Romans 15:3 The man who does as he likes is the greatest slave. The man who never does as he likes is God's free man. 1Pe 2:21 As you look at the pathway you will think that it is a hard one; but as you begin to tread it you will find that He is with you, and every step is leading you into finer air, and larger life, and more infinite possibilities. Luke 22:42 God will not come and help men to do their work. He asks that they should give themselves to Him for the doing of His work. Psalm 40:8 The will of God should be the supreme matter, beyond the doing of which the soul should have no anxiety. Isaiah 40:7 He brings death as a process and a necessity. The pitiless east wind has in it the breath of health. Welcome, wild Northeaster! Through the black fir forest Come, and strong within us John 1:14 We challenge the world to-day, and we say that Jesus of the New Testament, the Jesus of virgin birth, of virtuous life, of vicarious dying, and of victorious resurrection, stands amid this age, with all its fierce light, its boasted civilization, and its new psychology, facile princeps, the crowned Lord, because of the supernal glory of His own character. Acts 17:30 Ruin of human life is always the issue of false attempts to satisfy its legitimate claims. Galatians 6:14. O wondrous Cross! Therein sin rejected the King and grace crowned Him. Therein sin destroyed the Priest, and grace, through the Priest, made atonement. Therein sin silenced the voice of the Prophet, and grace caught up the message and repeated it to all the race, for a new law of life and love. Romans 7:18 We are to tell men we fail, but the One Who never failed took our place. You cannot get away from the words " vicarious atonement." Malachi 4:1. What men shall catch daybreak first ? Not the men who are wicked and are to be as stubble, but the watchers on the mountains—souls who have been tired of the apostate age and have been saying, " Lord, come, come! " They first will see the break of day, and to them its rosy tints will bring healing. 1 Corinthians 13:4, 5 It is so easy to judge love by the partial realisation of it that has come within our consciousness. We love those who love us, those who please us, those who like us; and at the root of all this, in the last analysis, there is but a refined form of selfishness. Matthew 5.45 The thorn and the lily both live in the same soil, in the same atmosphere. Both receive the same ministry from without, and yet how different the result. John 1.4. The first meaning of this statement is that the living Word of God, the eternal Christ, is the centre and source of all life. But it also suggests that in man life was different from life anywhere else; in man life became light. John 14.3 As surely as God is, the hidden Man Christ Jesus, the King Whom the heavens have received for a season, must come again, and the light and glory of this promise is the hope of the Church. John 20:28 My Lord and my God. The Lordship of Jesus is the basis of all Christian life. The Christian graces and virtues all spring from the recognition of that Lordship, and from absolute surrender thereto. 1 Corinthians 2:14. Intellect divorced from Deity deals only with dust. Scientific investigation has been almost exclusively occupied with the investigation and tabulation of material things. Col 1:9. You only discover the will of God as you obey it the moment you do discover it. (cp Jn 7:17) Luke 12:40 God never fore-announces His examinations… What you are flashes out when you do not know anyone is likely to be watching you critically. Genesis 1.3 God works in all things ; all obey His first propulsion from the night; Wake thou and watch ! the world is grey With morning light. J. G. Whittier. Matthew 5.16 No tinge of brightness can you put upon the beauty of His character, no greater fulness of love can you give. How then can I glorify Him ? God is glorified in the perfect realisation on the part of His people of all the gracious purposes of His love for them. Gen 4.9. God safeguards the life of each by making all responsible for the lives of individuals. Psalm 145.4. God fulfils Himself in many ways. In every new awakening there are fresh manifestations of God, new unfoldings of truth meeting requirements of the age. Psalm 90:2 Nothing is more restful to the heart of man than the sense of the eternity of God. The thought is utterly beyond our perfect comprehension, for the mind of man cannot grasp the thought of eternity. The very fact, however, of our inability to do so is the reason of the security we feel when we remember that God is Himself eternal. Luke 5:8. A man stands erect until he sees the vision of the Lord Jesus Christ, and then he is afraid until he sees the value of the cross of Christ. 1 Corinthians 3.13. There is a tree planted by the river. The running stream waters its roots, and the summer sunshine falling upon it makes it spring to green and beauty ; and here is a field of stubble; and the same sun that touches the tree by the river to beauty, burns the stubble with its scorching rays. Isaiah 43.10. The only reason why those born again of the Spirit are left in the world is that they may be His witnesses. Acts 15.26. A man who was not already a martyr never laid down his life for truth. The noble army of martyrs died, not to become martyrs, but because they were martyrs. 1 Cor 13:3 If our gifts are bestowed that we may be kept square with duty, they are utterly refused in heaven. But if they express a sacrifice and a sympathy, though they be but small according to the arithmetic of men, they are counted of great worth in that temple where gifts are valued according to the giver. 1 Corinthians 13.3 Men can only live the life that is in harmony with the teaching of Christ as they are possessed and energized by the Holy Spirit of God. John 3:7 Ye must be born anew. Times have not altered human nature, nor have they changed the essential character of Christianity. Romans 14.23 If there comes into my life as a Christian a question as to whether some action is right or wrong, and I continue in it, while yet doubtful concerning it, I am sinning, because my action is " not of faith." Jeremiah 1:17 No man can be a messenger of the Master and the Church save as he is held in the right hand of Jesus and interprets, not his own idea concerning the Church's well-being, nor the Church's wish concerning its function, but the will of the Master. Genesis 22:1 The fact that "God did prove Abraham" is in itself suggestive. He confers honour where He proves. He did not prove Lot. Sodom did that. God proves the man who is proof against Sodom. 1Timothy 5:22 Keep thyself pure. We constantly attempt to comfort our hearts with the idea that we can manipulate the results of sin so as to make them less hard to bear, and then have to prove through long and bitter experience that it is not so. There is only one moment in which we can save ourselves from sin, that is before we commit it. John 21:15 As long as hope is set upon service it is not fixed upon Christ, and He should hold full and absolute possession of our hearts. Our lives may be so occupied with things good in themselves that we do not see the King. CORRECTIONS COMPLETE AT THIS ENTRY 2 Corinthians 5:1. In the eternity of God, time has but one significance—it is perpetually and unceasingly " Now." Not built with hands is that fair radiant chamber Of God's untroubled rest, Where Christ awaits to lay His weary-hearted In stillness on His breast. O Home of God, my Father's joy and gladness, O riven Veil, whereby I enter in! There can my soul forget the grave, the weeping, The weariness and sin. T. S. M. Psalm 42:5. We live in the springtime of spiritual things, because Jesus died and rose. The summer and the autumn are not yet. The sunlit glory and golden fruitage are our hope, but they come through this awakening of the spring. Our winter is over. It had its place and value, that long, dreary stretch of the centuries, in which for the earth at least the only colour was that of prophetic pictures and the singing of that constrained and imprisoned psalmist. Ps 104:30 Wherever I look over old mother earth today there are signs and sounds of Spring. Wherever I look o'er all the race that long in darkness lay, there is light upspringing, and the music and the might of life are everywhere. John 15.4 We carry our atmosphere with us if we abide in Christ by the indwelling Spirit, and so rare and sunlit is it that all the somberness of the season does but create background for its revelation. Matthew 5.14 This is one of the most precious values of our relationship to Christ. On the dreariest drab we may cast the golden shining of our Sun, until the very drab yields up its hidden secret of brown, which is, after all, only veiled sunlight; on the most cold grey we may cast a warmth of light that shall enfold it until the possibility of a blue is found therein. 1 Peter 1:8 Submission to the King involves the finding of the mystic key that opens every avenue of pure delight, for in His will the powers which He in love created are no longer prostituted to ignoble purposes, but serve the purpose of that love creation. James 4.15. One might, perchance, make a program for one's own life for a week, if one knew all that could possibly happen within that week. Seeing, however, that that knowledge does not extend to the next minute, the folly of a self governed life becomes apparent. 1 Corinthians 2:11 As it is the Spirit of God Who knows the things of God, it must of necessity be the Spirit Who unveils and reveals those things, so much as is necessary and possible, to those outside the marvellous and mysterious circle of the Deity. Genesis 1:2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. The Holy Spirit is the Creator of beauty. He is revealed in the garnishing of the heavens, in the blue of the day, and in the darkness of night with all the splendours of stars scattered in profusion across it. Ps 144:16 Happy is that people whose God is the Lord. God has one will for all of us. It is that we should be happy. Our happiness, then, is dependent upon our being wholly within that will. ®ake heeo an£t betoare of tlje leaben of the ^pril Jlhariseea ana of the ^aooiweea. XI Matthew xvi. 6. It is always but a step from formalism to rationalism, and if external things lack internal force they themselves will crumble to decay. April 12 1Peter 1:3 Bless be the God… Who… begat us again unto a living hope. Mists lie all along the valleys, but we may flash upon them glory from the upper heights until they become purple with hope, until they melt in the coming of morning. Jtpril |Kn 05nb shall snppljj all jjonr neca. YTTI Philippians iv. 19. There is no heart hunger but that He can satisfy, and no need but that He can meet most perfectly. Those who trust Him wholly Find Him wholly true. Jlpril Ha an eagle that siirotl j op her nest, that XIV flnttmth ober her gonna, tje spreaft abroaii his brings, he took them, lje bare them on his pinions. Deuteronomy xxxii. 11, R.V. God comes into your life and disturbs you, breaks up your plans and extinguishes your hopes, the lights that have lured you on. He spoils everything. What for ? That He may get you on His wings and teach you the secret forces of your own life, and lead you to higher development and higher purposes. ^nb he ia before all thttuja, anb in him all JVpril tilings conatat. XV Colossians i. 17, R.V. Flower in the crannied wall, I pluck you out of the crannies;— Hold you here, root and all, in my hand, Little flower—but if I could understand What you are, root and all, and all in all, I should know what God and man is. Tennyson April 16 Deuteronomy 6:13 Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve Him. Whenever a man stops short of that face-to-face worship of the Eternal God, he is working ruin to his own character, because he is breaking the commandment of God. ^pril grata nigh to ©00, ano lje taill orata nigli XVII to jon. James iv. 8. Without priest, prophet, or preacher, man can go right into the presence of God and worship Him. 3vpril ®tiis is ttjtc taill of <5oo, cbcn jour sancti XVIII fixation. i Thessalonians iv. 3. Let us cultivate our own life according to the will of God. The neglect or destruction of any side of our nature dishonours God and robs the commonwealth of a contribution it has a right to expect from us. Jtpril gut there ia a spirit in man, ana tlje hreatlj of XIX tlje JUmi0ljtjj ninetl j tljem nnocratanoing. Job xxxii. 8, R.V. All pure genius is inspired, not in the same degree as the Scriptures, because not for the same purpose, but by the same Person. 8£e«lj mc to bo t(rg toill; for tljou art mp (Bob. ^pril Psalm cxliii. 10. Yy Man's will is paralysed, robbed of its glory and magnificence, save as he has opportunity to use it. April 21 Ephesians 5:16 Redeeming the time. The consecration of time is sadly neglected. We are ready to consecrate material possessions and gifts bestowed, but are often careless of our time. gear je one another's htrccns, ana so fulfil ^pril t\jt lata of dtjrist. vy 11 Galatians vi. 2. -rt^11 Let us remember that God's call comes to us most often and most continuously through the needs of men… Every burden we help to bear will prove us in partnership with Him Who is ever calling men to roll their burdens on Him. ^.pril Wjmfore comfort one another tottr) these XXIII tonrba. i Thessalonians iv. 18. When presently all the tribulation is passed, and the painful processes of the little while are over, and the last grim pressure ceases, then we shall be crowned with life, then we shall know the meaning of life. SftS. fjwbe trjis mino in jjon, inrjiilj toas also in XXIV florist Jeans. Philippians ii. 5, R.V. Christ came to create, not a creed, not a formula of doctrine, not a profession in orthodoxy which may become the most veritable heterodoxy, but— character. J came that then man habe life, anb map habe i&pril it abunbaniln. XXV John X. Io, R.V. His dying is the pathway of deliverance for those who at the Cross turn from the things the Cross condemns, to put their trust in Him. Such He leads by the way of the Cross to the broad life that stretches away on the other side. jjo his oton self bare oar sins in his boon ^.pril upon the tree, that toe, habino, bitb unto sins, Yyvi might libe unto rialjteonsness ; bjr tohosc stripes we toere healea. i Peter ii. 24, R.V. The inevitable issue of sin is death. Sin committed cannot be undone by sorrow, or by promise of amendment. Sowing demands the harvest. It cannot possibly be avoided. Before man can be delivered from the slavery of sin, the penalty of sin must be borne. 3lpril Htljen lje aaanieb up on ljigh, Lje leb raptittita XXVI1 £aPifre, an^ Sa^c S^i2 unto inen. Ephesians iv. 8. The King has accomplished the Exodus ! Are we living in the bondage, or in freedom ? The answer to this question will be found in the answer to another. Have we yet come into the place of trusting identification with Him in His Cross? If so, then for us Bars are riven, Foes are driven, and our bondage is at an end. Jlpril XXVIII 3 am tlje u&nttulian, anft tlje life. John xi. 25. The living risen Christ is the Centre of the Church's creed, the Creator of her character, and the Inspiration of her conduct. His resurrection is the clearest note in her battle-song. It is the sweetest, strongest music amid all her sorrows. It speaks of personal salvation. © ocatlj, ialjtxt is tlnj sting? © grabc, ^pril toljm is iljn iiictorn ? v x 1 Y 1 Corinthians Xv. 55. A1A Christ's resurrection promises the life that has no ending, it declares to all bereaved souls that " them also who are fallen asleep in Jesus will God bring with Him," and therefore the light of His resurrection falls in radiant beauty upon the graves where rest the dust of the holy dead. Clje fellobisljip of ljis sufferings. 3Uril Philippians iii. 10. VYV There was a moment when Paul became absolutely independent, and he wrote these words declaring his independence, " Hereafter let no man trouble me." "What makes you independent, Paul ? " "I bear in my body the brands of the Lord Jesus." And you and I will only begin to know what it is to serve God when we have touched the point of sacrifice. May 1 Psalm 139:7 Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? In every gleam of the glory of nature there is the evidence of an everpresent God. Fair are the flowers and the children, but their subtle suggestion is fairer ; Rare is the rose-burst of dawn, but the secret that clasps it is rarer ; Sweet is the exultance of song, but the strain that precedes it is sweeter ; And never was poem yet writ, but the meaning outmaster'd the metre. Great are the symbols of being, but that which is symboll'd is greater ; Vast the create and beheld, but vaster the inward Creator; Back of the sound broods the silence, back of the gift stands the giving ; Back of the hand that receives, thrill the sensitive nerves of receiving. Space is as nothing to Spirit, the deed is outdone by the doing; The heart of the wooer is warm, but warmer the heart of the wooing ; And up from the pits where these shiver, and up from the heights where those shine, Twin voices and shadows swim starward, and the essence of life is divine. Richard Realf. May 11 Acts 13:2 Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. God is seen choosing men fitted to the times for the accomplishment of work, the full value of which the rolling centuries alone declare. Let us take heart, knowing that perhaps the deepest meaning of what we do to-day will only be known and felt in the distant future. fori, mhat toUt tljort ljabe mc to 60 ? Acts ix. 6. To-day a man is in the sphere where God has put him, and on every hand God is graciously setting His seal upon the work He has given him to do. But the Divine voice comes : " Ye have tarried long enough." That work must be dropped. All its hallowed associations must be left behind, and all the tender ties that have become entwined around the heart… must be snapped. OTaatj me tljoroiioljlg from mine iniiptttj. rtriiJ t,t" clennse me from mv am. IV * Psalm li. 2, R.V. Abandonment to God is not merely the act of enlisting as soldiers to fight battles—that is a secondary matter. It is first abandonment of self to the Spirit of God, that He may purify and cleanse from everything that is unlike His own perfection of beauty. 3f thou knehtest the gift of (Soft, ano taho it is that saith to thee, (Sitte me to orink; thon toouloest habe askcu of him, anii he fooulo hatie giiien thee lining toater. John iv. 10. He still gives the living water, enters into and heals personal sorrows, communicates virtue to distressed souls, transforms into beauty the most difficult and perplexing characters, and deals with exquisite tenderness with those who, trusting Him, have not yet perfectly understood Him. gag unto haw nttcrcth speech, ann night tmto night shetoeth knotolcoge. VI Psalm xix. 2. The Bible itself does not exhaust Him, and in every successive age He creates new records of His grace in the experiences of trusting souls. He is able to do this in you and for you … for He is the exhaustless One. iltag Hotn can these things be ? VII John iii. 9. The first steps may be taken in the dark without seeing a reason, but take them, and you begin to see the wisdom, and tenderness, and compassion, and love of God. jKttj $eek je first the kingfrom of <8o&, anii his VIII righteousness. Matthew vi. 33. Obedience is the first thing. In the beginning, seek first the kingdom, and when the soul seeks the kingdom by obeying the King, the soul discovers the Father, and discovering the Father obeys more readily, and obeying more readily, has a larger revelation which makes obedience easy and the horizon greater. ®ljim shall lobe the fori tlnj ffiob toith all #aj tbf (reari. IX Matthew xxii. 37. God is calling for the investiture of form with power, and the one power which God recognises is that of love… The preacher is to preach and the worker to work, not to give God a mechanical quantity, but in response to love. iKy holg name sljall ge no more profane toitlj iKag pour gifts. X * Ezekiel xx. 39, R.V. Gifts presented to God by hands that are impure, are themselves impure, for God only receives the gift according as He has received the giver. The offering that we bring to God is the true expression of the value at which we appraise the altar. In his times hc shall sheto, inho is the Messed XI anb Dulg fJotcntate, tbs lliiig of kings. i Timothy vi. 15. We believe that the King is doing work preparatory to His coming. He is gathering out His Church… The light of this truth falls upon the chaos and unrest of our age—arming of nations, mutual distrust, "wars, and rumours of wars." Man is failing in governmental power, and the hope of the world is that Jesus will come to rule within the lines of His own royal policy. (Continue tljon in tbe iljings tohirl j tbon ljaai lcarneir antr ljaat been aaarireo of, hnotoing of XII inhorn tljou ljaat leameo them. 2 Timothy iii. 14. To lose the Christ of virgin birth, and virtuous life, and vicarious death, and victorious resurrection, is to lose the New Testament. And the reverse is true. To lose the New Testament is to lose that Person. The Christ of Christianity and the Christ of the New Testament are one. JFor toe are bis toorRtnanahip, created in IK*? Chriat Jeaua for goob toorka. XIII Ephesians 2:10 The age knows well, notwithstanding all its small criticism of the inconsistency of individual Christians, that the Church stands, a shining light, revealing to the world the possibility of highest heroism in all such as are loyal to the King: Human history affords no parallel in glory and strength of empire. Wilja gabe himself for ua, iljat he might rey T-j iieem iia from all iniquity, ano purify, unto himself a people for hta obm poaaeaaion. Titus ii. 14, R.V. These facts concerning Christ are not merely indisputable, they are undisputed. There is to be found no man of intelligence, or woman either, who denies the glory of His ideal, His ability to redeem, the marvel of His rule, or the certainty of His power to restore. Jttaij ®lje bag of the $oro ia at hano. .y-y Isaiah xiii. 6. The Day of the Lord is at hand, at hand ! Its storms roll up the sky ; The nations sleep starving on heaps of gold ; All dreamers toss and sigh ; The night is darkest before the morn ; When the pain is sorest the child is born,— And the Day of the Lord at hand. Who would sit down and sigh for a lost age of gold, While the Lord of all ages is here ? True hearts will leap up at the trumpet of God, And those who can suffer, can dare. Each old age of gold was an iron age, too, And the meekest of saints may find stern work to do, In the Day of the Lord at hand. C. Kingsley Psalm 10:16 The Lord is King for ever and ever. The history of human sin is the history of man's attempt to deny the Divine Kingship, and to resist its claims. In spite of all this terrible history of rebellion and failure, God has not resigned His throne, He has not abandoned His sceptre, He has not yielded the reins of government… His right to reign does not depend upon the vote of a crowd. (Boo gibetlj it a boog eben as it pleaaeb him, XVII ano to each aeeo a boog of its oton. May 16 i Corinthians Xv. 38, R.V. Take a seed and hold it in the hand— strange little seed, without beauty, the very embodiment of weakness. But within that husk, in which the human eye detects no line of beauty or grace, no gleam or flash of glory, there lie the gorgeous colours and magnificent flower itself. From that seed, through processes of law, plant and bud proceed, until at last the perfect blossom is formed. Seeing it is (Boo, that aaib, ftight shall shine #ttatf out of oarkness, toljo shineo in our hearts, ta XVIII gibe the light of the knotoleoge of the glorg of (Sotr in the fare of leans ffihrat. 2 Corinthians iv. 6, R.V. How often, even amid the shadows of the little while, the faces of the saints are seen lit with the light of the inward glory. Those who, indeed, would shine amid the darkness of the world must be transformed and transfigured by union with God. |]e habe been put to grief in manifolo trials, that the proof of gour faith • • - might be XIX founo unto praise anb glorn ano honour at the rebelation of f esus Christ. i Peter i. 6, 7, R.V. Power bestowed, becomes truly powerful when it has been tested through the process of temptation. What is seen in perfection in Christ, is a lesson ' that men do well to lay to heart. Fulness of the Spirit becomes the power of the Spirit, through processes of testing. Herein is revealed the value of the trials and temptations that beset the pathway of the Christian worker. Ephesians 2:18 For through Him we both have out access in one Spirit unto the Father. The God-man is the gateway between God and man. Through Him God has found His way back to man, from whom He had been excluded by his rebellion. In Him man finds his way back to God, from Whom he had been alienated by the darkening of his intelligence, the death of his love, and the disobedience of his will. ®ljen tljc befail leabetlj ljim; anb, be(jolo. angels camt anil ministcreo unto tim. XXI Matthew iv. n. The enemy of the race is seen in all his subtlety and terrible power, but yet spoiled, defeated, crushed. The Redeemer is seen in all the terribleness of conflict, upon the issue of which depends the carrying out of the purpose of God, and the deliverance and uplifting of man ; but yet victorious, crowned, and exercising the functions of the Conqueror. Jaithful is the sawing, ana htorthn of all amptation, that fflhrist Jfesns came into the XXII iitorlo to sabe sinners. 1 Timothy i. 15, R.V. The evangel is not denunciatory of sin. It is not pronunciatory of punishment. It is annunciatory of salvation. That is its great value. iKajj $lota unto the fling eternal, immortal, in XXIII bisiblc, the onln. (Soo, be hononr anb glorjr for eber anb eber. Jlmen. i Timothy i. 17, R.V. We have not merely to claim that Jesus is Lord, but we have to demonstrate that He is Lord. We have to show to this age in the light of a new century, with all its advance, and progress, and civilisation, that Jesus Christ is Lord, not merely because God has appointed Him King—though that is true — but because of His inherent royalty. Ittajj Hoto nrach more ahall the bloob of Christ. XXIV • • • r'cnnse S'TM1' eonsricnrc from bcitb toorhs to aerbe tlje lining (80b ? Hebrews ix. 14, R.V. We must get back to the Cross to know its ruggedness, to know its brutality, its blood-baptism. It is only there that the heart finds the conscience cleaned. ©pon this n>rk 9 mill hrilo mjt rhnrrh; anb Jitag the gates of fjabes shall not orebail against it. XXV Matthew xvi. 18, R.V. That is the Church I belong to, the Church impregnable, unconquerable, marching out in perpetual triumph into the ages beyond. That is Christ's estimate of the Church. He taas in the biorlb. anb the morlb toas mabc on him. Creation is not an open book to man. God is allowing him, by the slow and tedious processes of the centuries, to learn to read its secrets. To Jesus all these secrets were apparent. John i. 10. XXVI May 27 John 10:11 I Am the good shepherd; the good shepherd layeth down his life for the sheep. O wondrous Shepherd of the sheep! The hireling careth not for the sheep, and fleeth because he is an hireling. The Shepherd came into conflict with the wolf, and by His dying overcame. Cljat 1 mag lmota tjim, ano the potocr of his XXVIII resumption. Philippians 111. iO. All the working values of the Gospel of grace are founded upon the fact of the resurrection of Jesus. fleinjj therefore juatifteo bg faith, toe ljabe peare toitl j (Bob through our lEorb JUaua Christ. XXIX Romans V. I, R.V. The scattered, frightened sheep, receiving the life liberated through the death of the Shepherd, receive all the values and the virtues which God accepts, and thus in Christ are accepted of God. 3fn tohoae hatto ia the soul of eberg Hiring thing, anb the breath of all tnankinfl. XXX Job xii. 10. Man was made for the God Who declares that His creature shall have none other God before Him. He will be the God and the centre of every man, and the very nature of man's being makes the demand a reasonable one. gjofo sljall tljejr beliebe in him of inhorn iheg XXXI habe not hcarb ? Romans X. 14. There is but one excuse for idolatry, namely, ignorance; and there are cases in which even that fails to justify. If a man does not know God, he cannot worship Him ; but if he lives in a place where he may have the light if he will, then the last excuse for idolatry is swept away. Jfane I mateb. Gthou sentost forth thg spirit, theg arc Psalm civ. 30. All creation is of God, to the man who lives and walks with Him. One Spirit—His Who wore the platted thorn with bleeding brows Rules universal nature ! Not a flower But shows some touch, in freckle, streak, or stain, Of His unrivall'd pencil. He inspires Their balmy odours, and imparts thetr hues, And bathes their eyes with nectar; and includes, In grains as countless as the seaside sands, The forms with which He sprinkles all the earth. Happy who walks with Him, whom what he finds Of flavour or of scent in fruit or flower, Or what he views of beautiful or grand In nature, from the broad majestic oak To the green blade that twinkles in the sun, Prompts with remembrance of a present God. W. Cowper. 1£et each one of us pltB.it ljis neigljlnmr for jnnc tisat iaWl j is gontf, unto coifjiing. „ Romans Xv. 2, R.V. ll No man can deny his accountability for a share in the development or destruction of the race. The solidarity of humanity is more than a dream of visionaries. It is an indisputable fact. Every life is contributing its quota of force to the forces that make or mar. All are hindering or hastening the perfect day. June 9 knoffi gim, tljat lje bull commanb his chil I I I bren ano ljia ljouaeljolb after him, anii iheji aljall keep the mag Df tlje l£ora, to oo justice ana fuogment. Genesis xviii. 19. The family is an unity of individuals sharing a common life and governed by a common love. Society is a union of families. Every attempt to create society upon any other basis is wicked and ends in disaster. June Hc no* Deceiiteo; (bod is not mockeo: for Iy mljataoeber a man aotoeth. that ahall Jje alao reap. Galatians vi. 7. Every man of science will bear testimony to the awful demand that nature makes for purity, and will assert that she has no pity for the unclean. |Je tljat labt the lorb, hate cbtl: he presero- ?tttte cih the souls of his saints. V Psalm xcvii. 10. Love that is God-like, far-seeing, and comprehensive, love which permits of no present pleasure at the cost of possible future pain ; such love can only be where character is in harmony with Divine intention. ^tnog to bt oniet, ana to 00 jour oton lmsi- *ntte iteSs. ano to toork butlj Boot hanos. VI 1 Thessalonians iv. n, R.V. Not only the law of God, tender and beneficent, but the law of human society, too often stern and cruel, says to man, Thou shalt work! The fact that there are any who escape obedience to the command is the saddest fact in sociology. June Jjlesseii arc tlje pure in ljeart: for tfren sljall yij see ©06. Matthew V. 8. No man who knows God, no man who is living in daily communion with Him, needs a picture to help him to pray… If a man crave help, it is thereby proven that he lacks the spiritual consciousness. This very lack renders him incapable of creating anything which gives a proper representation of God. June 8 Hebrews 4:12 The word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword. I believe the Word of God, if we will but read it with simplicity, is more clear and powerful than anything that can be said about it. ano more in lmotoleoge ana all oiaarntnent. iy Philippians i. 9, R.V. Loss of first love to Christ will inevitably issue in loss of love to the brethren, and cannot fail to dry up the rivers of compassion toward the outside world. It is the first love of the saint that is the true light that shines in a dark place. Revelation 2:2, 4 I know thy works and thy toil and patience… but… thou didst leave thy first love. Without first love we may retain ceaseless activity, immaculate purity, severest orthodoxy, but there will be no light shining in a dark place. Ittttt f}g this shall all men knobr thai nc are mrr XI Disciples, if jje habe lobe one to another. John xiii. 35. It is not our doing that lightens the world. It is not our ceremonial cleanness that helps men. It is not our correctness in the holding of truth that helps a dying race. It is our love, first for our Master, then for each other, and then for the world. fune Christ is all, ana in all. XII ColossiAns iii. 11. Christ speaks to art, to music, to science, to literature, to all life, to each separately, and yet to each in its relation to all the rest. Many waters, many messengers, many messages, yet one voice, one word, one revelation. If am (Sob, … declaring the ena from the *nnc beginning, ana from anricnt times thc things XIII that are not jet aone. Isaiah xlvi. 9, 10. We are in danger of living too much in the present, and of looking upon Divine activities as if they were haphazard or accidental, as our own always are, save as we are under control of the Spirit of God. JFcar not: … 3 mas aeaa, ana bchola. 1 June am aline for ebermorc, ana 3 ljabe the kegs of XIV acatb ana of Uaaes. Revelation i. 17, 18, R.V. O suffering saints, and all who approach the shadow-land, fear not, fear not! Trust Him utterly, be faithful, confiding, even unto death, and through the dark chambers of death and of Hades, He will lead to light. Christ never tells us not to fear until He Himself has fathomed all the mystery. Romans 9:2, 3 I have great sorrow and unceasing pain in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were anathema from Christ for my brethren's sake. Oft, when the Word is on me to deliver, Lifts the illusion and the truth lies bare, Desert or throng, the city or the river, Melts in a lucid paradise of air. Only like souls I see the folk thereunder Bound who should conquer, slaves who should be kings, Hearing their one hope with an empty wonder, Sadly contented in a show of things ; Then with a rush the intolerable craving Shivers throughout me like a trumpet call, Oh, to save these, to perish for their saving, Die for their life, be offered for them all i F. W. H. Myers. M % iiiill that ljt tarrg till 1 come, toljat is £mte tljat to tljce ? follofo tljou me. XVI John xxi. 22. God is absolute Monarch wherever He is King at all… He never permits us to make compromises with Him for a single moment. He speaks the word of authority… Our only relationship to that government is that of implicit, unquestioning, immediate obedience. geljolo, happjj is tlje man toljnm (Boii rorrert- f utte etlj; therefore Despise not tljou tlje rljastening XVII of tlje JUmiijljtji. Job V. 17. This we know, that what He wills is best, so to His chastisements we render ourselves that we may find His great reward. June (Rur ritijenship is in hcanen. XVIII Philippians iii. 20, R.V. I belong to the heavens, and when I touch the earth I must touch it with the equity of the heavens… I must bring into all transactions the principles of righteousness upon which God is building His city, and accomplishing His work. June j zamt noi jo senb peace, bnt a atoorb. XIX Matthew X. 34. It is a very remarkable thing that the Church of Christ persecuted has been the Church of Christ pure. The Church of Christ patronised has always been the Church of Christ impure. June (Bberji plant tohieh run ljeabcnln ^atljer plantcii XX not sljall br rootcir np. Matthew Xv. 13, R.V. You cannot grow the tulips of the Kingdom of God save as you get the bulbs from heaven. ®lj£ Son of man is not came to oeatron men's June libes, but to sabe them, Vyi Luke ix. 56. A^"1 It is the great work of Christ to heal the wounds, to make dissensions cease, and to bring the world around Himself into a sacred brotherhood, in the Fatherhood of God. ®his man's religion is bain. June Tames i. 26. XXII That man cannot do anything for God in public places if his own home is devastated and broken up by the principle of rebellion against God. And if the influence a man is exerting on his family is an influence that scatters, that man is not with Christ. Sunt Che fori reigneth. Yyiii J Chronicles xvi. 31. Cljjt tljrone, © (Dud, is for fiiier anit ciier. Psalm xlv. 6. These and kindred phrases tell the character of the music. When the song is of human experience at its best, it is ever of the joy and peace to be found in the law of God… When the music becomes a dirge, it is because in individual or national life God has been forgotten. Jfane ®o be snn of men. -,-..-.. Matthew xxiii. 5. A.A.1 V Human opinion is the test of all their doing and speaking. Conventionality holds them in an iron grip. They will do, or refuse to do, anything according to the opinion of someone else. The habit of the crowd becomes the rule of life. iltanp tljea bc that sag, Who tail! shear us jutu anj gooa ? $orb, lift thou up the light of thy XXV amntenanre upon ua. Psalm iv. 6, R.V. In all ages, in all lands, and under all circumstances of life, man desires and seeks after happiness. It is very doubtful if a single exception can be found to this rule in the ranks of the human family. Luke 19:42 If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. The heart of man was made for peace, and joy, and love; and through all the foolish blundering of popular pleasure-seeking, it is after these men seek. Jtone ' frestre therefore thai tlje men pran in enern XXVII Pla"' i Timothy U. 8, R.V. When men retire from the conflict to pray, they cut the nerves of prayer. Men only pray with prevailing power, who do so amid the sobs and sighing of the race. Romans 5:12 By one man sin entered into When man, God's crowning work, first sinned, he dragged down all creation in his fall; but when Jesus shall come again, to reign in the power of His Cross, Passion, and Atonement (for that is to be the strength of His rule), then the whole creation shall feel the touch of His presence, and shall respond to His redemptive work. 31 sain a neto ljeaben ana a neto tmtlj. ?»"* Revelation xxi. 1. XXIX Not until Christ shall have banished evil, brought in the new heavens and the new earth, and given the City of God to the earth, will our Lord's work be complete and His glory at the highest. flljis same ftsne, ioljich is tektn up from you Jfatic into (reotten, aljall so come in Uke marour. XXX Acts i. 11. Once take firm hold of this great truth of the coming of the King, and it affords a bright outlook along every avenue of life, and brings gladness to the weary heart. Jfulg ©lft things are passeo ainag; beholfl, iheu are I become nem. 2 Corinthians V. 17, R.V. There can be no love for God until all the false views are swept away by the new vision that breaks with the new birth. Breathe on me, Breath of God, Fill me with life anew, That I may love what Thou dost love, And do what Thou wouldst do. Breathe on me, Breath of God, Until my heart is pure, Until with Thee I will one will, To do and to endure. Breathe on me, Breath of God, So shall I never die, But live with Thee the perfect life Of Thine eternity. E. Hatch. tSSthrafore if unj man is in Cljrist, lje ia a J^S neto mature. II 2 Corinthians V. 17, R.V. Admiration of the Person and character of Christ, together with patronage of His teaching, are insufficient, and indeed do but insult the purpose of Christianity, whose mission it is, not so much to captivate the admiration, as to remake and beautify the character. John 7:37 If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink The water which Christ gives is the living water of the Spirit, perpetually springing up in the soul of man unto eternal life. JWj fflanst thon bg seanding finb out (Sob ? Job 11:7 To those who live and walk in the Spirit, all creation is seen to be of God. No man can find God through nature; but every man may find nature through God. If man begin with nature, he cannot climb from it to God ; but if he begin with God, he may enter into the mystic region, wherein lies true appreciation of the glories and beauties of nature. Romans 8:18 The glory which shall be revealed in us. What the glory of the coming One will be, none can imagine ; nor can they yet know what will be the glory of the children of God, when the work of God is finished in their lives. The Holy Spirit within, seals unto that glorious issue. (Uriebe not ilje Holn spirit of (Bab, in tohoni Jfnljj ge torn sealeb unto tlje frag of rebempiion. VJ Ephesians iv. 30, R.V. It is a very terrible thought that the grieving of the Spirit within the Church postpones the coming of the kingdom of God in the world. In proportion as men are obedient to the indwelling Spirit, and allow Him in the whole territory of their own lives to have His way, in that proportion are they hastening the coming of the Day of God, and bringing in the Kingdom of Peace. VII Ifmbn toe knoto tljat he abioetl j in us, bjj the Jnln spirit toljul j he jjabe ua. 1 John iii. 24, R.V. As when our blessed Lord was transfigured upon the mountain it was not the transfiguring of a glory that fell upon Him, but that of a glory that was already resident within Him, outshining through the veil of His flesh, so, when the Spirit seals, He does so by the gift of life, which is able to transform character. Join tStthiclj tljinga ljaite inbeeb a ahoto of toiabom VIII in iniU-tooraljip, anb humilitij. Colossians ii. 23. In every instance where men permit themselves to look at sacred things in a frivolous light, there is evil reaction upon the heart and consciousness. They are robbing themselves of that sacred sense of veneration and reverence for God, without which there is no real worship and no acceptable service. Jfalg ^.nb he gaiie some to bt apostlea; anb aome, IX prophets; anb aome, etiangeliata; anb samt, paatora anb teacljcra. Ephesians iv. 11, R.V. No man ever really enters the Christian ministry in the deep spiritual sense of the term, save as he receives a gift from the Head of the Church, by the Holy Spirit, which perfectly equips him for the work he has to do. In efrerjttljmjj ne mere enricfyeb in hini, in all Jfuln utterance anb all knomleanA X 1 Corinthians i. 5, R.V. No single branch of knowledge is out of place to the man who is going to do the work of an evangelist. You may gather illustrations from all sciences, from all literature, and if you are only living close to the centre, and close to Christ, you will see light gleaming and breaking everywhere. |je cannot aerne (goo anb mammon. jfaig Matthew vi. 24. YT Christ revealed the antithesis between the two great forces which govern human lives, God and mammon. God governs man through the spiritual side of man's nature, and man can only be governed in the highest aspect of his life when he is so governed. Mammon, which stands for all the worldly power and worldly greatness, … as a governing force issues in the degradation of man. Jfultf %i)ai ge might foalk toorthjt of the Hforo unto y.,j all pleasing, being fruitful in energ gooa toorfe, ana increasing in the knotolebge of (Sob; strengthenea krith all might, arcoraing to his glorious poiner. COLOssians i. 10, ii. It is infinitely better to have a little power, and use it within the doors He opens in loyalty to His teaching and Himself, than to have much power and use it as abetting the work of those who, robbing Him of His dignity, hinder His coming into His Kingdom. fRilt kings of the earth set themselbes in j,^ arraij, ano the trulm toere gathered together, YITT against the Sorb, ano against his Jlnointeb. A 111 Acts iv. 26, R.V. As of old, David, the anointed king of Israel, was for a time exiled from his kingdom, … so, for to-day, Christ is earth's rejected King, but He is still God's anointed King. Wiljtn 3 sag unto the toixheo, (Khou ahalt ~j surelu Die; ano thou gibest him not teaming, * nor speakest to team the toirkeo from his inirheo tnajj, to sabe his life; … his blooo inill 3 require at thine hano. Ezekiel iii. 18. Any doctrine, any philosophy, that makes it easy to sin, whether by excusing it, minimising its enormity, or denying its existence, is of hell; and not merely are those held guilty who teach the doctrine and practise the sin, but that Church also which is not clear and outspoken in its protests against sin. Jtalj Sfhou sljalt not bear false toitnm. XV Matthew xix. 18. A whisper broke the air, A soft light tone, and low, Yet barbed with shame and woe ; Now, might it only perish there, Nor further go ! ' Ah, me ! a quick and eager ear Caught up the little-meaning sound ; Another voice has breathed it clear, And so it wandered round, From ear to lip, from lip to ear, Until it reached a gentle heart, And that—it broke.' Anon. f tilg We toalk. bg faith, not bn ainht. vVI 2 Corinthians V. 7. Let there be no asking for visions. When transfiguration, and garden, and cross, and resurrection, and ascension hours are passed, the Master will not apportion His rewards according to the number of visions, but according to fidelity to the opportunities He creates. ®lje true £ighi, mljirh lighteth eitern man tljai |nlg comeilj into tlje toorlb. XVII John i. 9. He was the essential Light of men, the Light of the world, and all the men who have flung light across the pathway of human life, from that moment until now, have not been the Light, but light-bearers, and they have lit their torches from the Light, the Son of God. herein mas tbt lone of <8oo manifeateff in us, jf„j« tljat (Soft ljatlj sent ljis onln btQotttn J$on into XVIII tbt foorlit tljat iai, migljt litie tbxanQb (jim. 1 John iv. 9, R.V. The Cross is the insistence of love. It is the persistence of love. It is love that holds the throne in the darkness. But for that love there would have been no Cross. Jtalg $0ttt ta ^e juogntetrt of tljis toorlo: noto aljall XIX ihe prinre of tljis toorlo be raat out. i&Jto 3, if 3 be Uftetr up front the earth, toill brato all men unto me. John xii. 31, 32. O blind men, infatuated men! While they gloat over their fancied victory, God rends the veil of the temple in twain, and for evermore does away with the priest. Just as they thought they had ensured their dominance of humanity by crucifying Him, He by His dying spoiled their power, rent the veil, and by abolishing the priest, created the priesthood of all believers. Jfultj He sljall not fail nor bt oiscouraueb. vy Isaiah xlii. 4, Every worker with God is conscious of the presence of evil in the world. Let that consciousness always be held in connection with the glorious fact that over all, Christ is absolute Master. The Church is not fighting a conflict, the issue of which is uncertain. The victory has been won, and therefore it must be won. Hithereof be hath gtben assnranee unto all I^H men, in that he hath raisei lj»n from ihe oeao. XXI Acts xvii. 31. The value of the resurrection as a Divine act, is threefold: First, it is God's attestation of the perfection of the life of the Man Jesus; secondly, it is God's attestation of the perfection of the mediation of the Saviour Jesus ; thirdly, it is God's attestation of the perfection of the victory of the King Jesus. JFulj Hhen theg hearb of the resurrection of tlje XXII teao, some morkeo; … but reriain men rlabe unto tjim, anb beliebeo. Acts xvii. 32, 34, R.V. There is no verdict upon fallen man so final in its declaration of his rejection, as is the risen Christ. There is no door of hope so radiant with light for a fallen people as this way into acceptance through the reception of the Christ. Jfulg Whom (Boo fratlj set forth to be a propitiation XXIII throujjl j faitlj in ljis Mooo. Romans iii. 25. To deny the vicarious nature of Christ's dying is to refuse to believe the account of His own view thereof, and, moreover, to affirm that the apostolic writings are false in interpretation. Jesus … manifestei his glorn; anb his Ms- fnljj cipks bel«tieb on him. XXIV John ii. n, R.V. He was a soul so sublime, that He turned the mountain into a sanctuary, until His communion made it flame with the glory of transfiguration. So sweetly simple was the Christ as to utter words which children for nineteen centuries have learned and loved. His kingdom nileth ober all. Jfolw Psalm ciii. 10. XXV We are not called upon to compare the Church as she is with what she should be, or as she is with what she was; but rather the Church as she is to-day with any empire, apart from her, which the world has ever seen. There is nothing in past or present history to compare with the rule of Jesus over His own. Jttlj Seeing ge hatte purifiea pour souls in nour XXVI obebience to the truth. i Peter i. 22, R.V. Truth is a sanctifying force, and a man holds the truth only when he is held by the truth. When truth possesses a man, all its glory and beauty are manifested through his life and character. Jnlj JVno none is able to pluck them out of run XXVII Father's hani. John X. 29. God is superior to the slum or the tenement, to ungodly companions or influence. God is greater than the sneer of the mocker. Live in God consciously, and thou hast found the environment that is highest and closest and strongest, the environment which is superior to all others. It ia goo0 not ta cat flesh, nor to brink inine, Jnlg nor to bo angthing toherebn thn brother stumblctlj. XXVIII Romans xiv. 21, R.V. Every prohibition of God, and every command He lays upon men, have their reason in His good will toward men… Love prohibits that which, if permitted, would blight the life and mar the pleasure. It is also true that every commandment calling to paths of duty is the outbreathing of God. 1 ani doi, … Declaring the eno from the fnln beginning. XXIX Isaiah xlvi. 9, 10. It is said that every flower that decks the sod has its root far back in eternity. So, also, every human life, in the will and purpose of God, is linked to the past and to the future, and His laws for it forget no fact of all the ages. Jfnlji (Bac\j man hath his obm gift from (Soft. XXX : Corinthians vii. 7, R.V. Every man is a new starting-point for good or for bad in the history of the human race. I am the heir of all the ages past. I am also a startingpoint for ages to come. Jhtlj ®ljoiujh Jje foas a Jstari, jet karaea obcDkiuc XXXI bji the things rnhkh he suffmo; … b£ became unto all them that oben ljim the author of eternal salbation. Hebrews V. 8, 9, R.V. The finer graces of the Christian character are only revealed under bruising and pressure, as the fragrance of fine spices is only obtained through crushing. Christ preeminently became a sweet-smelling savour to God through the terrible experiences of the Cross. gut bthcn the Comforter 12 rome, whom 3 taill Ungual senb unto jou from the JFatljcr, … he shall I bear hriiness of me. John Xv. 26, R.V. The Spirit is directly the Messenger and Gift of the Son. Weary and sad and sorrow-spent were they In that still upper room, While the rich crimson of the closing day Was fading into gloom ; And over all, benumbing soul and sense, Hung the cold shadow of a dread suspense. The promise of a Spirit yet to come, That other Paraclete, To lead them on to Truth's eternal home And guide their wandering feet; They could not soothe the anguish of their heart, They ask'd in sadness, Must their Lord depart ? Yes, after all, or clear and open speech, Or sayings dark and dim, They yet had much to learn and He to teach, Ere they could rest in Him, Ere they could preach His words with cleansed lips Or He impart His full Apocalypse. E. H. Plumptre. ^ugnat Itook therefore rarcfullj hain Be btalk, not as II untaise, but as taiae. Ephesians V. 15, R.V. You can't go through a single day carelessly and let things go as they will. Every step must be watched. Every moment must be held as sacred for God, and we are ever to live in the power of the thought that we may miss an opportunity. August JFor Bo is the brill of (Bab, that 03 toell-bohtg III ge shonlo put to silent* the innoranxe of foolish men. 1 Peter ii. 15, R.V. God calls you, God calls me, God calls every child of His, to be His representative in the world, taking hold of the things that seem to be against the development of spiritual character and turning them into opportunities for prosecuting His work upon the earth. fBeljolb, thn aerbants are xtnbv to 00 fohatso- Jlunttat ebcr … the king ahall djooae. jy 2 Samubl xv. 15, R.V. What is my relation to the government of God ? First, I should always be ready; and, second, I should move the instant the word comes. That marks the line of wisdom. J the f oro tljg <Boi brill holii ihn rijgljt hano, ^ngvat sajiing unto thee, JFear not; *' brill help thee. y Isaiah xli. 13. God is not making an experiment with you. We are not pawns upon a chessboard, moving which God may win or lose. Every movement is arranged. I did not know what was to come to pass to-day, but God was in this day before I came into it. Doing what? Choosing the place for me, making arrangements, controlling everything. JUrgust flomto, man, % sag onto tljee, JVtise. Luke vii. 14. VI Christ is dealing with every man alone just now, and you know what He is saying to you at your weakest point: Begin and do the right thing. Arise! Jtugust incline mjt ljeart onto tljn testimonies, ana VII not to roijetousness. Psalm cxix. 36. The inspiration and force of service in the camp of God is that of rest and satisfaction. The stimulus and spur of service in the camp of Mammon is that of desire and covetousness. JUnust IStorsljip 600. Revelation xxii. 9. VIII There is a centre, a motive, a reason, a shrine, a deity somewhere—something which man worships. It has been said that when man dethrones God, he deifies and worships himself. 3Vnb mhethcr one member suffereth, all the Jt^ust members suffer faith it. IX 1 Corinthians xii. 26, R.V. The Church is to be so constituted, a fellowship of souls in Christ, that the wrong-doing of one is felt by and affects the whole; and the purity of the entire Church must be maintained, even at the cost of the excommunication of a brother who persists in wrong-doing. QThat tahirh is born of the flesh is flesh; ana JUigust that tahirh is born of the spirit is spirit. x John iii. 6. Christ takes into account the paralysis in human life. You cannot build up a regenerated society unless you have regenerated men. JVttguat What agreement hath a temple of (Soft mitb y j iools ? 2 Corinthians vi. 16, R.V. You will find that Christianity is preeminently practical. It does not attempt to construct a living society out of dead matter, neither does it attempt to realise a pure order among corrupt men, neither does it attempt to give a perfect ethic to paralysed individuals. It takes hold of the man first, and remakes him, and then remakes society. Jluguat 3 bditbc, for 3 mill speak: 3 mas nreathj Yit affltctco. -rt"11 Psalm cxvi. 10, R.V If you are doubting, you cannot inspire faith. If you are not sure how this thing is going to turn out, no one will be persuaded. You must be a man of certainty, a man on the resurrection side of the grave, the old life behind. 3fn tbe beginning %ob. ^.ttgnst Genesis i. I. Vttt The last scientific assertion synchronises with the simple statement of the Nazarene long years ago, that at back of the flower, and bird, and everything, is God. 3Chtj righteousness is an everlasting right- August etrasness, tm!> thn lain is trntlj. XIV Psalm cxix. 142, R.V. When love becomes the motive of law, then law conditions the true happiness of the one that is loved… Righteousness, apart from its relation to love, may do many cruel things. 3 habe labtls thec ritifrj an cbcrlasting lobe. JUguat Jeremiah xxxi. 3. XV Love is not love Which alters when it alteration finds, Or bends with the remover to remove: Oh, no! It is an ever-fixed mark That looks on tempests and is never shaken. Shakespeare August 16 Job 23:12 Man's capacity for pleasure finds its full satisfaction when his life is surrendered to the will of God… Infinite meaning lies within the words of Christ, " I delight to do thy will, O my God." August 17 Luke 11:1 Lord, teach us to pray. All prayer lies within the two petitions of the pattern prayer the Master taught His disciples, "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done." There is no prayer beyond that. H* is a great liing ober all tiie earth. Ungual Psalm xlvii. 2. WTTI Christ is to-day Ruler over the most wonderful empire the world has ever seen. We are living in a day when criticism of the Church is one of the most popular pastimes of some inside its borders. I am intensely weary of this whole business. Genesis 30:27 I have learned by experience Man is expected to profit by experience, and if he declines to do so he must bear the penalty. ftobe taorketh no ill to ljis neighbour: lobe j&uguat therefore ia the fulfilment of the lata. -j^x Romans 13:10RV No man is to imagine that when he has fulfilled certain obligations to God, he may then live his life without reference to his neighbour. August fje tljat oppressetl j t\jt poor reproarljeth his XXI iRaker. Proverbs 14:31. There is yet to be found a man who, out of love to God, will lay his first fruits on the altar, and then oppress another man in poverty and need. Pr 25:21 If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat; and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink: An enemy is to be treated in such a way as to prevent his loss or suffering. It is not merely that a man is not to do his enemy harm, but he is to prevent harm coming to him if it is possible for him to do so. finoto therefore ana Sec tljat it is an coil thing Jlngust antr bitter, that thou hast forsaken the IForo thn XXIII (Bob. Jeremiah ii. 19. The measure in which any people neglect the sacred means which express Divine relationship, is the measure in which sooner or later they violate the principles of social relationship, and oppression and suffering take the place of liberty and prosperity. (BoMiness toith contentment is great gain. 3Vngust 1 Timothy vi. 6. YYTV The story of Lot is one which is full of the most solemn warning. There is manifest in him the growth of the world spirit. First, he chooses selfishly; then he pitches his tent toward Sodom ; then he enters in; and, finally, he sits in the gate. j¬tat J$et gout minir on tlje tljhtgs tljai are abolij, XXV not on ilje tljinga tljat are upon tlje eartlj. Colossians iii. 2, R.V. Men constantly affirm that they are strong enough to seek the things of the world and the things of the Kingdom at the same time, but it is never so. Directly the desire to possess lies at the root of life, a deterioration sets in which sooner or later will manifest itself openly. Genesis 21:6 God hat made me to laugh In all the merriment of unbelief there is an admixture of bitterness. There is some laughter that is more sorrowful than any tears. When God causes the heart to laugh, or causes laughter, it is always the expression of a full and generous satisfaction. 3^na JVbraljam rose up from before his neait. Jbtgust Genesis xxiii. 3, R.V. VVVTI The sorrows of life reveal a man's true character as perhaps nothing else can. Faith weeps beside the dead, and then moves out to the fulfilment of duty as it puts a check on sorrow. Faith takes hold on earth's greatest despair, death, and makes it the occasion of a possession which holds within itself all the future. Commit thg man nnto the lEoro; trust also in ^.uouat him, anb lje aljall bring it to pass. XXVIII Psalm xxxvii. 5. Nothing brings greater comfort to the human mind as it stands amid all the perplexing mysteries of evil and of good, of the power and limitation of the human will, than to fall back upon the certainty that what we know not, God knows. ^.ugtiat 3£ the prophet hao bio thee oo some great XXIX tying, taouloest iljou not habe oone it ? 2 Kings V. 13. So many men are ready to spread a banquet and slow to give a cup of cold water. JUgtiat <0me no man anntljing, aabe to lobe one XXX another. Romans xiii. 8, R.V. To love is to discharge all obligations except that of loving. It is impossible to finish paying the debt of love. In the moment in which a man ceases to owe his neighbour love, he will begin to be in his debt in some other direction. SCljere is ant (Soft, one meoiator also bettocen 3V»0tiat (Soil mis men, himadf man, Christ Jleana, inho XXXI gabc ljtmaclf a ransom for all. 1 Timothy ii. 5, 6, R.V. The interference of a human being between another and God is an impertinence and a blasphemy, whatever the name by which the interferer is called, whether it be priest, or teacher, or friend. it is fintaljeb. Mtsttmbtt John xix. 30. I As He passes out of death, He comes into a new life which He may now communicate. As the load Immense, intolerable, of the world's sin, Casting its dreadful shadow high as heaven, Deep as Gehenna, nearer and more near Grounded at last upon that Sinless Soul With all its crushing weight and killing curse, Then first, from all eternity then first, From His beloved Son the Father's face Was slowly averted, and its light eclipsed ; And through the midnight broke the Sufferer's groan, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani ? • • • • * • But now Once more the agonising Victim moan'd, Uttering His anguish in one dreadful plaint, I thirst; His last: for, when the cooling sponge Had touch'd His lips, a loud and different cry, As if of triumph, It is finish'd, rang Upon our startled ears ; and with a child's Confiding tender trustfulness, that breathed Father, to Thy hands I commend My spirit, He bow'd His head, and yielded up the ghost. E. H. BlCKERSTETH, " Yesterday, To-day and Forever." September gl0tting mit the hanbittritiiuj of orbinances II that teas against us, … nailing it to his cross. Colossians ii. 14. Justification must be infinitely more than forgiveness. Sin must be put away, and made to be as though it had not been… To be justified before God is to be put into such condition that no trace remains of the guilt of sin. That is the problem which is solved in the Cross. JFor in that he himself ljaiI r auffereo being September tempteb, he is able to suttonr them tljat are III tempteo. Hebrews ii. 18. In every weakness of man's life He was strong, and in the great crisis of temptation He overcame with majestic might, and so completely broke the power of the enemy, that forevermore Satan is the conquered foe of the race. September Jf ffibrist be in pou, the boon is bean btcaust IV of sin; but the spirit is life because of rigtrieonsness. Romans viii. 10. Notice where the apostle places the emphasis of personality. It is not upon the body, but upon the spirit. The worshipper is man as a spirit. The sacrificial symbol of worship is his own body. This he is called upon to present to God, and the apostle declares that this act is of the nature of spiritual worship. September Walk as chiltren of light. Ephesians V. 8. V The children of God are to walk as children of the day, even though as yet the night is round about them. They already feel the breath of the morning moving through the darkness, and, casting off the garments of the night, they are to clothe themselves with the armour of light, and watch for the first gleam of the breaking dawn. Sljou sljalt jjtribe tnc taith thjj counsel, anu September aftermaro receibe me to glorg. VT Psalm lxxiii. 24. * x It is always a daring thing to seek a sign. The man to whom God can tell His ways must live very near to Him. Yet even then it is a question whether it is not better to walk quietly with Him than to seek signs from Him. Jlnit he toent … nnto the place mhere ljis September tent ljab been at tlje beginning, … unto tlje yjI place of tlje altar, mhicl j lje ljatr mabe tljere at tfre first. Genesis xiii. 3, 4. Happy is the man who, having turned aside from the simple pathway of evident obedience, in the consciousness of his wrong goes back to first principles. September In all thn hrags aclraotaleige him, ani lje sljall VIII i'txtct thg paths. Proverbs iii. 6. Our deflections from faith occur most often through our failure to allow God to undertake in all the small matters of life. Some little business worry, or home difficulty, or personal danger, will drive us to acts that dishonour our Master. That is the man of greatest faith who not only in the crises but in the commonplaces waits for God. ^eptsmber I am ihe ftori, I rhange not. Malachi iii. 6. Dispensations come and go, dawn and vanish ; but God remains the same, underneath, with, and in each. Some people speak as though God had not only altered His methods, but His mind. I agree that He has changed His methods, but His mind, Never! … He has always been a Father, He never changes. Jtefoice tljat jmnr names are written in ^September heafren. X Luke X. 20, R.V. There is one Scroll of Honour, and it is never kept on the earth, but in the heavens; and in that Book of Remembrance have been written the names of those who, amidst rampant apostasy, have been faithful; amidst the prevalence of darkness have witnessed to the light; amidst the seeming conquest of evil have been true to righteousness and God. September Mt 26:39 Not as I will, as Thou wilt. No desire of our own for early and easy realisation of peace ought to be allowed to interfere with the declared will of God. No policy of compromise can ever justify a coming short of Divine purpose. £e»tember IN lcaoetlj me in tlje pailjs of rinljteousness XII for ljis name's aake. Psalm xxiii. 3. It is good that the heart should remember that even though He chastise, He continues to conduct; and when through our own unbelief it is necessary for us to pass through the paths of the wilderness, He never forsakes. Nu 33:56 As I thought to do unto them, so will I do unto you. To tolerate and allow to remain what God has ordered to be driven forth, is to retain that which in itself will be a source of continual difficulty and suffering. ?Ste eamtot but apeak the ttjinjja totjich toe sain &tptember ana hearb. VT„ Acts iv. 20, R.V. -X-1* The Spirit did not come to save you alone, but to make you a herald, a messenger, an evangelist, a soul on fire that the light may be flashed over the dark places of the earth. Isaiah 35:1 The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.
Thou Breath from still eternity, Breathe o'er my spirit's barren land— The pine-tree and the myrtle-tree Shall spring amidst the desert sand, And where Thy living water flows The waste shall blossom as the rose. My spirit turns to Thee and clings, All else forsaking, unto Thee, Forgetting all created things, Remembering only God in me. O living Stream, O gracious Rain, None wait for Thee, and wait in vain. G. Tersteegen. September geholfr m^ serbant. Isaiah xlii. i. Gentle and strong, trusted of the weakest, feared of all tyrants, He moved without strife of words, or lifting up the voice in- self-advertisement, through the Divinely marked programme of the waiting years, to the Cross of ultimate pain, which He made the centre and source of all healing for wounded and broken humanity. ^ptembcr © htoman, great is tlro faith. YVTT Matthew Xv. 28. In all social relationships His action was such as to reveal God's Will in an entirely new light to men, thus revolutionising human thought and human society… Let the mind dwell for one moment on His unvarying attitude towards women; and then remember how, since the years of His human life, woman the world over has lived in a new realm, for the day of her final emancipation dawned with His appearing. It is <8ob toljictj toorketlj in pu. September Philippians ii. 13. YVIIT This implies the actual presence of God at the centre of our being. The very simplicity of these words renders them difficult of understanding; for no man understands the complex and marvellous mechanism of his own personality. God worketh in you—not outside, but in—in the place where thought is born, and the throne of the will is set up, and the affections have their seat; in the inward shrine of the being, God worketh. September jUcorttmo, to his goob pleasure. Ephesians i. 9. If we would know the good pleasure of God, man must be seen in all his perfection. In Christ we have the revelation of perfect manhood. Think of His perfection of tenderness, His beauty of character, of all the great overwhelming strength which centred in His sacred Person. In beholding Him, behold the "good pleasure of God." September ' fa*" createo him for mw jjlorjr. Isaiah xliii. 7. We all profess to believe that God has given us our being, and in a deep conviction of that truth lies the reason why we should yield ourselves wholly to His government in order that we may attain perfection of being. ®heir totirks bo follom them. September Revelation xiv. 13. XXI What light is flung upon the pathway of each day if once this fact is understood. The day is not done with when its sun sets. The deeds of any given hour are not fully comprehended in the passing of its sixty minutes. If the deeds of the days have been those planned by God, then they are days, the full blossoming of which will be found in the perfect light of the everlasting day. (Bob hath maiie him both %otb ano Christ. September this Jlesus tohom ge mteifiei. XXII Acts ii. 36, R.V. It is a sad commentary upon the blindness of the human heart through sin, that the vast mass of the people who came into contact with Jesus during the years of His sojourn upon the earth, saw no beauty in Him that they should desire Him. Through the process of the centuries, and by the teaching of the Spirit, men are coming to understand the wonderful glory and beauty of His Person and character, and are now recognising that all perfection of life, individually, socially, religiously, finds in Him its first and chief expression. September Uljat shaa 9 j0 tljat 8 msg indent eternal XXIII Ufe? Mark X. 17. Man is everywhere, and at all times, and in every way, at war with decay. The hatred of death, the loathing of the grave, mark the fact that man has capacity for life, and therefore feels rebellious against the faintest suggestion of its cessation. (Bibe fciligetue i(iat ne mag be founit in peace, September toithout spot anii blanteleaa in his sigljt. XXIV 2 Peter iii. 14, R.V. In our younger days we imagine that we know the possibilities of our being, and are able to plan and arrange the whole line of progress. The years are startling revealers. As they pass, we discover new powers for good and evil, that had lain dormant within, and of which we had absolutely no consciousness until some crisis aroused and called forth to action the sleeping forces. September 25 Matthew 5:6 Blessed Men hold two views of what happiness consists in, viz., having and doing. To possess much, or to do some great thing, constitutes the sum of human blessedness according to popular theory. Our Teacher sweeps these conceptions away by absolutely ignoring them… Being is everything. A man's happiness depends upon what he is in himself. (Ed: And I would add ultimately "in himself", in Christ). September JEhej shall Irailo houses, anit inhabit them; XXVI ana they shall plant binegaros, ana eat the fruit of them… JHg chosen shall long enjoy the taork of their hanbs. Isaiah lxv. 21, 22, R.V. It will be a great change; but when Jesus is King, profit shall go to the toilers. September ^e that is not against us is for ns. XXVII Luke ix- 5°- In proportion as you may hold the Truth, you will become loving toward those who differ from you… We may rest assured that, in the day when we have full knowledge granted unto us, we shall discover that the men of whom we were most afraid, have held truth which we, perchance, have never known. Wljen tiit IScn of man sIjall romc in ljis glorjj. ^eBictnber Matthew Xxv. 31. XXVIII Oh that believers had not lost their bright hope of the Lord's return, while they faithlessly and continually talk of death as their portion! True, we may "fall on sleep," and no man knoweth the hour of Christ's coming, save the Father; but the one bright hope of faithful Christian hearts is ever this— the Lord Himself shall come. September fie not therefore ansioiia… |1our heabenljj XXIX father hnotoeth that je habc neeb. Matthew vi. 31, 32, R.V. God is so interested, that He takes us one by one, and thinks of, and arranges for, every detail of our life. To Him there are no little things. What we call great things are but the perfect union of the small ones, and every small one has the element which makes the greatness of the great ones. September ®his man meibeth simtera, ani eateth faritb XXX them. Luke Xv. 2. Take hold of the man who by reason of his unfitness cannot survive. Fling him out of your enterprises, spurn him from your society, and Christ says: That is the man I am after. " I came to seek and save that which was lost." ffiill lje &mb ioxtij jubjjmeitt unto bictatft. ©rtobEr Matthew xii. 20. I Christ came long ago, a lonely man, our brother-man… He will come again to break the bruised reed of iniquity, to quench the smoking flax of opposition. Lo, 'tis the heavenly army, The Lord of Hosts attending : 'Tis He—the Lamb, The great I Am, With all His saints descending. To you, ye kings and nations, Ye foes of Christ assembling, The host of light, Prepared for fight, Come with the cup of trembling. Praise to the Lamb forever ! Bruised for our sin and gory, Behold His brow, Encircled now With all His crowns of glory— Beneath His feet reposing, The whole redeemed creation Are now at rest, Forever blessed, And sing His great salvation. Sir E. Denney. (Drtober £,a iIjg £laj, & ju J^j pott^'a hanJ>r, Bo are je II in mine Ijanft. Jeremiah xviii. 6. The tendency of this day is to a loose doctrine of Divine government, which is producing impious blasphemy in the way that men look into the face of God, and tell Him what He ought and ought not to do… How longsuffering God is! Clay in the hand of the Potter : that is our position, and He can make or break, mould or fashion us, as He will, so far as our right of resistance or questioning or complaint is concerned. ©ctober 3 toill trust, ano not be afraio. HI Isaiah xii. 2. Look at the purpose of God underlying all His dealings with us. Let everything else be put out of the vision. When we get to this point, though it be through heartbreak and disappointment, everything else vanishes from sight, and only the thought that God is doing a great work stands before us. We never saw this when God was dealing with us. At first we simply stood in the presence of God and yielded ourselves to His will. ®(je (5o& of pearc {jitnself sanrttfji jjtra (Bctobst toljollg. IV I Thessalonians V. 23, R.V. y Lord Jesus, from to-day let me more than ever be a gatherer of Thine. Prevent me from scattering. Do this, Lord, by taking more complete possession of me than ever before. To this end I yield to Thee all I am, and have, and hope for, in order that through me some part of Thy kingdom may come and Thy will be done. Amen. October What both it profit a man, to gain the tahole y toorlo, ano forfeit his life ? Mark viii. 36, R.V. There is no failure more heartbreaking and disastrous than success which leaves God out of the bargain… If you are simply setting out in life to amass mere material success, fame created or position gained, then success will be the most dismal and disastrous failure. 1Timothy 6:11 Follow after righteousness. If a man shall build his character upon the basis of truth, which shall find itself in harmony with God, then that man has made a success, though he never make a fortune, and never make a name. |?e habe omelt long enough in this mount. ©rtober Deuteronomy i. 6. VIT If God disturbs me to-morrow, in being disturbed is my chief rest, because I know that when He moves it is to higher reaches of life, to better positions beyond; and though the ultimate issue of this present disturbance may be far on, every mile of the journey He has chosen, and every place where I pitch my tent He has selected for me. JIhe fforo our (Boo is one fora. (Bctobtt Deuteronomy vi. 4. VTTT God is behind everything the final, certain One. You cannot analyse, or divide, or explain Him, yet He is the one and only absolute certainty. He is ONE, all-comprehending, indivisible. When you have said that, you have said all. When you have omitted that, you have left everything out, and babbled only in chaotic confusion. ffirtober Ifata unsearchable arc ljis jubgments, anb his IX toaga past finbing out! Romans xi. 33. In God intelligence is unlimited, emotion is unlimited, will is unlimited. In men all these facts are found, but in each case within limitations. John 5:21 Then so the Son quickeneth whom He will. In controversy with His foes He made this sublime assertion of His power to give life to those who are dead, an assertion He could only make in view of His victory over death through the Cross and resurrection. ffte place tohirh is callei Calbarj. Luke xxiii. 33. There sin manifested its prostitution of emotion in the brutality of an awful tragedy. There grace through the untold abyss of suffering smiled back with love ineffable, until the very murderers of Christ found the highway open to the heart of God. £'m, fohen it is finisheb, brittgeth forth beatlj. James i. 15. Whoever may be inclined to judge sin by the superficial measurements of much so-called new thought, should be brought back to the Cross for a revelation of its true nature; and all those, moreover, who would confine the river of grace within small human channels, should stand again in the presence of the Cross for an understanding of the irresistible sweep and might of this river of life; flowing from the throne of God. October (Kome ge gourselbes apart into a insert place, XIII an^ mt a toljilc. Mark vi. 31. We are told that this is the age of progress. It is the age of rush, of movement, of effort. The old sacred art of contemplation and meditation is almost dead… The old solemn hours of quiet loneliness with God, that made the saints of the past, are almost unknown. October 'Mho then is fatilling to consecrate ljis zerbice Xiv iWH ba? unto ilj' If ire ? 1Chronicles 34:5 We are not automatic machines. We are independent, free agents. I can choose heaven or hell. It is a tremendous issue, but it is a magnificent possibility. That is the dignity of human life. If we were but machines then the romance and the poetry and the passion of life would be at an end. If I must, then I must, and the colours fade from the sky, and everything becomes ashen and grey. It lacks iron, force, vim, virtue. Life is life to me, because I have to choose. Mff. MlJ, Mj, Woti <8n!t JUmijjIjtiT. ©rtober Revelation iv. 8. v_7 A. V Bear me on Thy rapid wing, Everlasting Spirit! Where bright choirs of angels sing, And Thy saints inherit; Waiting round the Eternal throne, Joys immortal are their own : This the cry of every one— " Glory to the Incarnate Son ! " Four and twenty elders rise From their princely station, Shout His glorious victories— Sing His great salvation, Cast their crowns before the throne, Cry, in reverential tone, " Holy, Holy Holy One, Glory be to God alone 1 " (Bctobtt jfljc sufferings °f Christ, anb tlje glories tljat XVI ahouli foUota tljem. i Peter i. Ii, R.V. Is the Cross anything but suffering ? Yes, the Cross becomes something infinitely more than suffering. Suffering is its first experience; passionate delight is its final experience. Peter was afraid of the Cross when it was outside him, but when abandoning himself to Jesus Christ wholly, and being baptized by the Spirit into living union with Christ, I read even of Peter that he counted it all joy that he was worthy to suffer shame for the Name. ©rtober ®he farorlft is erurifiei onto me, atiit 1 nnto XVII ihe toorli. Galatians vi. 14. Paul said, " I have been crucified with Christ," by which he meant to say, " I have learned and am living in the power of the lesson, that the only pathway to power is that of the descent to death which must precede the ascent to the throne and the crown and the victory." ««*«; see |esub … crohmeb tmth jjlorjt aito ©rtober hoturar; ihat Ire bg the grace of (Sofr shoulo taste XVIII fceath for eberjj matt. Hebrews ii. 9. I suppose none of us that are in work for God have not at some moment come to feel that there are some people who are hardly worth the toil and the sacrifice and the pain. If ever we are tempted to feel it, let us get back quickly to the Cross, and looking into the face of Christ know this, that whatever we think of the worth of man, whatever we think of man's condition in his sin, Christ and God think he is worth dying for. ©rtoher Ijcloneo, toe are pcrsuacco better things of XIX nan. Hebrews vi. 9. To say, " I have been crucified with Christ," and then to have a heart that never feels the throb of the world's agony, is to lie. If indeed I have been crucified with Him, then by that Cross I know the world's sin and love the world ; by that Cross I know the world's sorrow and my life must be poured out in order to help save the world. October J^oia shall toe escape, if toe neglect so great XX sanation? Hebrews ii. 3. If men fling in their lot with things which are doomed and judged, then they must share the doom and judgment which have been passed upon them by the Cross of Calvary; but if they turn their backs upon doomed things, and lift their eyes toward the things that abide, … then for them judgment was borne upon the Cross, and they have entered into justificationlife. 3 pma totoarb the mark for the pri|e of the ©ctober high calling of (Soo in (Khrist Jeans. XXI Philippians iii. 14. This is the school time and we are all at school still. But presently there is Commencement, passing out into the eternal. Get that vision and obey it, and these nearer things toward which you look to-day, life, life strenuous, life successful, these nearer things will not perish, they will not be spoiled, but they will be made to contribute to the great finality, and so find their own fulfilling. (Bctobtx gt pXcaseb tit fatitx tfcat in him simlis all XXII fnlness fctoril. COlossians i. 19. There are four facts concerning Christ which cannot be disputed by any person of intelligence and honesty… Let me state them in order. Christ is the Revealer of the highest type of human life. Christ is the Redeemer of all types of human failure. Christ is the Ruler over the most remarkable empire that man has ever seen. Christ is demonstrated the Restorer of lost order, wherever He is obeyed. ©rioter ^e ^ ia faithful iti tfotf tehith ia least is XXIII faitjjfnl also in nrarlj. Luke xvi. 10. The Carpenter's shop made Calvary not a battlefield merely, but a day of triumph that lit heaven and earth with hope, and if you and I would triumph when our Calvary comes, we must triumph in the little things of the common hours. 1John 4:8 God is love. The will of God ensures the pleasure of man, because God is love. This is, perhaps, at once the simplest and sublimest statement that revelation has made concerning the nature of God… If, then, God is love, His Will is the Will of love; and the common mistake that law and love are in any sense antagonistic must be once and forever abandoned. $ing unto the lEorb a ncfo song; for he hath d&rtober oonc madidlous things. XXV Psalm xcviii. 1. Looking back, how marvellous is the mosaic of the Divine arrangements! In the midst of the darkness yonder we thought the light had forever failed, and yet we were but in the antechamber of clearer vision. October ilheji tljat sour in tears shall reap in Jojt. yvyi Psalm cxxvi. 5. Sorrow is a minister, creating character for those who dwell in the Will of God; for such, sorrow is turned into joy. October |je of goob courage, ana he shall strengthen XXVII four heart, all jie that hope in the lorij. Psalm xxxi. 24. The evangelist … not only preaches the possibility of victory by the indwelling Christ, he is in himself truly optimistic in the power of personal realisation of victory. Pessimism paralyses power in evangelistic preaching; but this great optimism of the indwelling Christ is a perpetual power. 2Co 10:4 Mighty through God The world is coming to recognise that not the voluptuary who buries himself in material things, nor the ascetic who attempts to strengthen spirituality by the destruction of the material, presents the true ideal; but rather the man who is at home on the earth, while yet conscious of the infinite spaciousness of things around, … who touches all the things of today in the consciousness of infinite issues. ©richer XXVIII ffljt ungobljj shaU not atanb in the jnbgment. Psalm i. 5. In the race of life, especially in this keen competitive age, it is the fit man who survives. It is so in the business world. It is so in the professional life. The corrupt man does not survive long anywhere. October XXIX ©ctober Christ abiictlj forcbcr. xxx JOHn xii' 34' The Christ of to-day cannot be eliminated from history, or from the consciousness of the age, because the Scriptures cannot be broken. By His grace we will follow Him in the train of those who have lived and hoped and suffered and died. (Bdabtt IRljoso hath this raorlb'a jjoob, mb seetl j his XXXI brother habe mtb, ano ahuttcth up ljis bowels of compassion from ljim, ljoto otoellctl j tlje lobe of (Bob in ljim ? i John iii. 17. We are dead indeed if we lack compassion. If the love of Christ is shed abroad in the heart, and the Church is swept by that love, there is utter forgetfulness of all the things that are objectionable. Refinement that refuses to relieve is nothing more than cultured paganism. |)e sljall ljaoe oominion also from sea to sea, jHobemoer ano from the rioer unto the eniia of tlje eartb. Psalm lxxii. 8. I have every confidence in the victory of righteousness … because I believe in God. The fog's on the world to-day, It will be on the world to-morrow, Not all the strength of the sun Can drive his bright spears thorough. The cause of the peoples I serve To-day in impatience and sorrow, Once more is defeated—but yet 'Twill be won—the day after to-morrow. And for me with spirit elate The mire and the fog I press thorough, For heaven shines under the cloud Of the day that is after to-morrow. W. J. Dawson. I Honember Hot 8, but Christ. II Galatians ii. 20. When the enemy seeking spiritual devastation comes against me to assault my soul, and blight my life, and mar my character, it is not I that live, but Christ that liveth in me; and He repeats the conquest of the wilderness, and scatters my foes like chaff before the wind. iHofrember JKore than conquerors through him that HI looea uz. Romans viii. 37 Thy secret place of victory, O my soul, is not the place where thou shalt assert thy strength; it is the place where thou shalt assert the strength of thy Master, and put Him as thy shield forevermore to quench the fiery darts of the evil one, … to strike thy blows for thee, and get for thee thy victory. Jls ge habe therefore receibeb Christ Jesus ilobember the l?orb, so toalk £e in him- IV Colossians ii. 6. Every one of us exerts influences which will have their effect upon other lives, and the generations yet unborn will be lifted nearer God or thrust into deeper darkness, because we have lived and moved and had our being on the earth. $e lookeo for a nig mhirh hath fmtnoations, |Hobember bihose buiUter anii maker is ©oft. y Hebrews xi. 10. See how Abraham, the father of the faithful, lived. "A tent and an altar, a tent and an altar." He pitched his tent and erected his altar. His altar was the mark of the fact that he lived in relationship to the Divine. The tent marked the fact that he was only a sojourner, a stranger, and a pilgrim upon the road. $.obember |jegottcu us again … to an inheritance Vi incorruptible, anb unbcfilcb, anfr that fabcth not atoan, reserbcb in ljcaben. i Peter i. 3, 4. We are a heavenly people sojourning upon the earth; and therefore, through us, the light of the heavenly is to fall upon the earthly. Jlobember ®o inljorn be glory for eber anb eber. 3Vmen. Galatians i. 5. VII There is nothing better in this world, no higher experience, than that we should, to every revelation of the Will of God, utter our whole-hearted Amen, and crown it with our joyous Hallelujah. Jfiobember $«t atoan the ebil of nour boings from before YUl mine eges ; cease to bo ebil; learn to bo toell. Isaiah i. 16, 17. To exert a destructive influence is the most terrible sin that is possible to any man. No man has any right to perpetuate evil. en % taoula bo Qooo, enil is present toith fiobzmbtx me. IX Romans vii. 21. Until men have seen their own individual helplessness, there will be no coming to the rivers of cleansing and the life of Christ for the power that is necessary for pure, strong living. ®be roino Motoeth inhere it listeth, … thon ILolietnber … eanat not tell toljence it eometh, anb ^ tohitljer it goeth: so is enerj one that is born of the spirit. John iii. 8. You may count the petals on the rose and tell the story of floriculture and cultivation, but behind all your schemes is the touch of the Divine, the presence of God ; and as thou canst not explain … the working behind the thousand mysteries of beauty and nature, neither can I tell you how God will come into your soul and purify it. Honember fifths bo, mis tljou sljalt libc. XI Luke X. 28. In so doing thou shalt fulfil His law, and out of that obedience shall come the cleansing of thy nature ; the putting away of thy sin; the commencement of that new life which shall exercise an influence—pure, and strong, and high, and lovely—which shall stretch out far beyond the little years of thy life, into God's great eternity. jHobember tRijan opcneBt thine hano, anb satisfies! tlje XII ocsirc of eberg Uiiing tl;inn. There is plenty in the world for every man to live in comfort, and all lack is the result of human mismanagement. Mtljatsoeber ge bo, bo all to the glory of (5oa. Jiobember. 1 Corinthians X. 31. XIII How should I transact my business, knowing that even as I make an entry in my ledger I may be interrupted by the call of my Master? How should I take my recreation when, at any moment, He may summon me from it to His own presence? The purifying effect of such considerations is evident. He tljat is unjust, let ljim be unjust still … gELobember ana lje that is holy, let him be Mg still. XIV Revelation xxii. 11. There is no thought of the future so full of solemn, heart-searching power as this of permanence of character. Do you choose impurity in any of its forms ? Then you choose it, not for to-day, but forever. Do you choose purity at any cost? Then you choose it, not for to-day, but forever. tfLobzmbtt %o tearh ns to number our frags, that toe mag XV appljt our hearta unto toiabom. Psalm Xc. 12. Destiny is being created by the choice you are making now. We act as though moments came to us to be smiled or sobbed away, as the case may be, and then to be done with forever. It is not so. Montgomery sang truly when he sang— Tis a mistake : time flies not, He only hovers on the wing: Once born, the moment dies not, 'Tis an immortal thing. |?e think ne ljabe eternal life … anb ne mill fabtmbtt not camt to me, tljat 5c might ljane life. XVI John V. 39, 40. The most difficult thing to get a man to believe is the thing which he thinks he does believe. You believe in God— you live, and move, and have your being in Him. Believe that—believe that only, believe that supremely, and then begin life in that belief. And in that belief, believe above everything else that Hell is nigh, but God is nigher, Circling you with hosts of fire. Shat as sin tratlj reigneb unto ftcatlj, elicn so J&oiremlrer minljt grace reign tljrouglj righteousness. XVII Romans v. 21. Righteousness has had its conflict with evil, and has won in the fight. Hobember f|e, foljen |je ia come, brill conbict the morlb XVIII in respect of sin … because thej beliebe not on me. John xvi. 8, 9, R.V. The Spirit declares that the sin lies, not in the fact of passion, but in the refusal to let the Master master the passion. Hobember M am tht boor: bn me if ang man enter in, he XIX «Wl be sabeb. John X. 9. The Door of the Church is Jesus Christ: and reverently the figure may be carried further—the Holy Spirit guards the Door. From that Pentecostal effusion to this hour, the Holy Spirit has guarded the entrance to the Church of Christ, and admitted all its members by His own baptism. 3t is the spirit that beareth tartness. 1 John V. 6. Every vision of Christ granted to the believer has been the result of the presence in that believer of the Holy Spirit, Who alone gives grace to say in new realms of life, in new vistas of outlook, that Jesus is Lord. idobentber XX §e ne aoers of the tooru, anb not hearers onljj. Jlotrember James i. 22. XXI The Lordship of Christ is the doctrinal fact which is the centre of all others; the Lordship of Christ is the practical fact which is the issue of the doctrine. Doctrine and duty are wedded in the scheme of Christianity. Every doctrine has its expression in some duty; all creed has its out-blossoming in character. ^Lobember IJrajr brithout ctasing. i Thessalonians V. 17. Prayer is the voice of man in his need speaking to God : prophecy is the voice of God in His power speaking to man. Ilobember % habe nourished aub brought np chilbren, XXIII anb thcg habe rebulkiJ against me. Isaiah i. 2. The Fatherhood of God was a fact before the coming of Jesus. He illuminated it for men, so that since His coming they have understood it as never before. Though men had wandered and lost their sense of relationship, God was ever their Father, and His presence their home. ©aught up into paraaise, ana ljcarfr unspeakable taorus, toljielj it is not latuful for a man to utter. 2 Corinthians xii. 4. No man can tell his own vision and help another as that vision helped him, so it is infinitely better to be silent about the deepest things that God says to the heart. Each must for himself have the vision, if it is to be of use and of blessing. Jflotrember XXIV Without ©oo in the morlb. Ephesians ii. 12. The logical, irresistible, irrevocable issue of sin is to be God-forsaken. Sin in its genesis was rebellion against God. Sin in its harvest is to be Godabandoned. Man sinned when he dethroned God and enthroned himself. He reaps the utter harvest of his sin when he has lost God altogether. That is the issue of all sin. Ilohember XXV l&obember He steaofastljj set ljia fare to go to Jerusalem. xxvi LuKe ix- "• We see Christ passing by the way of the Cross with the step of a Conqueror, the Leader of the great hosts, who by His victory shall be delivered from the bondage of sin and the bondage of death, into all the spacious freedom of the Kingdom of God. Iflobember St is pour JFathcr's 0oob pleasure to gibe XXVII 2o" the llingoom. Luke xii. 32. M ue abibc in me, anb tun toorus abibe in Jtou, lie shall ask toljat ne toill, ana it shall be bone unto rou. John Xv. 7. The Church is to be aggressive, capturing men, fighting against wrong, urging everywhere and always the claims of Jesus Christ, and this she can only be as within her own borders the purposes of God are realised. M knofo tljg ioorka, anb tribulation, antr pobertjr, Jkobcmber but thou art ruh. XXVIII Revelation ii. 9. Outward adversity of a church, of a people, or a person is not proof of essential poverty or weakness… How often it has been that some struggling company of believers, fighting with poverty, contending for very existence, has been the truly rich and prosperous church. xffilithout tra $t can ba nothing. J&obentber John Xv. 5. Christianity has never become, nor can it become, independent of the Person of Jesus the Christ… It began with Christ. It has continued through Him. It must stand or fall with Him. jELobember £Jc shall kiioiri them bg their fruits. Matthew vii. 16. The man who openly blasphemes, and who, standing under the sun, looks up at the heavens and says, " I hate God," is far less dangerous in the influence of his life than the man who says, " I love God," and disobeys Him. gemnber ®o this eno Christ both oiefr, anfr rose, anb I rebibei, that he might be |Eorb both of the beao ano libiiuj. Romans xiv. 9. The One in Whom death had no place, has died in the place of those who ought to die. Over against His Dead God sat in silence : for the Earth was dead, And dimly lay upon her awful bier, Wrapped round in darkness ; yea, her shroud was wrought Of clouds and thunders : for the Earth had died Not gently and at peace, as tired men die Toward the evening ; but as one who dies Full of great strength, by sudden smiting down : The Earth was dead, and laid upon her bier, And God, Sole Mourner, watched her day and night— The living God a Watcher by the dead, Sole Mourner in the Universe for her Who had been once so fair. But, behold, there came One, treading softly to the house of Death, Down from among the Angels, through the room: He came, as comes a King, unto the place Where lay the Dead; and He laid His right hand Of strength on her, and called her tenderly Saying, " Arise, beloved, from thy sleep, For I will ransom thee by Death to Life ; Arise and Live." For everlasting, He hath made her Bride Of Christ, the King. B. M. " From Death to Life.' gccEmier ®ljis is inn belobeii j^on, … hear Jje hint. I I Matthew xvii. 5. To many there comes no mount of transfiguration, but there is for all the speech of the Son. If the majority are not called to some mount of vision where they may behold the glory as the three men beheld it, yet to every soul amid the multitudes of the redeemed He speaks in every passing day. God forbid that the babel of earth's voices should drown the accents of His still small voice. gecember 3f am biell pleaseb. Matthew xvii. 5. Ill Satisfied with the private life in Nazareth, with the honest toil of the carpenter's shop, with the years of public ministry, with the deeds of love that had been scattered over all the pathway, the whole life of Jesus from beginning to end had given satisfaction to the heart of God. gamsel, 3 saw nnto thee, Arise. geccmber Mark V. 41. Ttt There was no thunder about His voice, no magnificence of majesty, suggesting the assertion of authority, but the sweet whisper of an infinite Love, in response to which the spirit of the little one came back from the Spirit land to its clay tabernacle. He stood in the home evidently Master of death, with a strength and dignity that needed no outward pageantry. Hebrews 12:2 The Author and Perfecter of our faith. The word "Author" literally means a file-leader, the man in front, who makes a track through the forest in which all that come after Him shall walk in safety. His exodus was to be a passing through death into life, through the baptism of passion in the infinite spaces of His Father's Kingdom. geeember Mhosocbcr tljou art tb.tt fufrgcst … ihon VI coniemnest thjjself. Romans ii. i. Job's judges and Christ's critics are on a level, and they are on a level with every one of us who tries to pass his sentences upon his fellow-men. §ercmber Jiuppose jc that these … lucre sinners yII … because then, suffereb stuh things ? Luke xiii. 2. If we cannot understand what God is doing with that woman whose heart is crushed and broken with overwhelming sorrow, let us be reverently silent lest we help the men who drive the nails, and break the Lord's own heart. Unmblc noursclbes in the sight of the Iorti. gerember anb he shall lift giro up. VIII James iv. 10. Self renders it impossible to know Christ when other loves and interests intervene, and breeds dissatisfaction with all else, and makes that very self sad and weak. Christ absolute, lights the whole being with His love and joy and beauty, and shines on other loves to their sanctification, and so the abnegation of self is self s highest development. Hh0 hath sabco us, ana ralleo us truth an gccember holn calling. IX « * 2 Timothy I. 9. I go to His Cross to be in some measure a sharer of His suffering for others… In the death of self on the cross the new pain begins, and so long as I remain here, the sorrow and sin of the world must press on my heart, for His life now holds and governs it. gecember lEljosoeber lje be of nou that forsaketrj not all X tljat lje hatlj, he cannot be mn otsriple. Luke xiv. 33. There must be a clean severance from all entanglement, and an utter uncompromising abandonment of ourselves to Him. Unless this be so, we cannot be His disciples. gecember Uc that oppressed tlje poor to increase his XI rirljcs … shall surclu come to tiiant. Proverbs xxii. 16. A Christian cannot consent to enrich himself by taking advantage of the downfall or misfortune of another man. That man who strikes a bargain to his own profit which takes advantage of some pressing need on the part of another is none of Christ's. <&ibtn to hospitality, gmmber Romans xii. 13. XII The ideal Christian home will ever have a door open to welcome the homeless ones of our great centres of population, that its atmosphere of love may help to guard and form the life of such. [e habe thought of thj? lobing lunbncss, <B Jmrnber XIII Psalm xlviii. 9. Can we not look back and see that some of the hours that throbbed with agony were the most blessed of all the hours of life ? … That affliction was my door to strength, that grave the prelude to resurrection power, that disappointment my finding His appointment, that lonely hour the one in which I found Jesus only. gecember XIV Revelation ii. ig. Faith is here mentioned not as the principle out of which an attitude grows, but rather the attitude of fidelity that grows out of the principle of confidence. I know thy steadfastness, I know that in thee is manifested the opposite of fickleness. § Member XV ^urclg 3 comt quickly. JVmcn. Revelation xxii. 20. Surely He cometh, and a thousand voices Call to the saints, and, to the deaf, are dumb ; Surely He cometh, and the earth rejoices, Glad in His coming, Who hath sworn, ' I come.' This hath He done, and shall we not adore Him? This shall He do, and shall we yet de- spair ? Come, let us quickly fling ourselves before Him; Cast at His feet the burden of our care. F. W. H. Myers. tyuaxlj tlje gospd to eterrt mature, geamber Mark xvi. 15. If we are truly waiting for Jesus, we shall not be careless of those for whom He died; and we shall not dare disobey His word which bids us preach the gospel to every creature. But, as far as individual life is concerned, the coming One should fill the heart's vision through all the days and moments. fjis sirfmnts attall serbc ljim; ano tljcg aljall JjMember ace ljia fore. Yvit Revelation xxii. 3, 4. A VII We shall see Him, and want to serve. We shall be like Him, and be able to serve. We shall know, and be prepared to serve. Inspiration for service in vision; equipment for service in correspondence ; preparation for service in knowledge! Thus Himself will be the reason of all the service of the new life, and therefore His Will will be the plane of heaven's activity. gerember XVIII <Jn tlje taorla jje shall hatie tribulation. John xvi. 33. The tendency of the age is to softness. Some may read this final mesage and, turning from it, say, This is not easy. Easy! When did Christ suggest ease to men in the method of their own making? Did He not solemnly warn those who would follow Him … that the pathway of His footprints necessitated the denial of self and the taking of the Cross ? |e«mber JChink. not that 3 am come to oestron the lain, XIX DE the prophets : 31 am not come to beatron, but to fulfil. Matthew V. 17. The severity of the law of God is the necessary sequence of His infinite love. The Eternal Heart purposes and seeks the ultimate perfection of every human being. To condone sin in any way, or excuse it, would be to make impossible the realisation of that purpose. He that sofactb to hia flesh shall of the flesh ge«ntber reap eorruption; but he thai sotocth to the spirit " yy shall of the spirit reap life eberlasting. Galatians vi. 8. So many live as though the whole purpose of life were realised in the little day on earth. Yet men know that it is not so, that this passing life is preparatory and probationary. To-day men sow, to-morrow they reap. The reaping depends upon the sowing. Dthosoeber shall keep the bihok lata, anft yet oficna in one point, he is guiltji of all. Jjerraber ®ljis poor iniuokj hath cast more in, than all XXII iljeB bihkh habe rast into the treasury. Mark xii. 43. He measured the gift then, as ever, by its cost to the giver. The men who had put into the treasury out of their abundance did not forego any luxury when they reached home. There was no self-denial in their giving… To such, let me say, God does not thank you for your gift. gmmber 3t is bain to serbe ©ofr: ano biljat profit is XXIII ti tljat toe ^abe kept his oriJinanre? … theg that tempt (Soft are eben Mibereb. Malachi iii. 14, 15. When man begins to excuse sin, and to say that it does not matter so much, that God delights in them that do evil, that there is no judgment; then he is committing high treason. (Ehrist Jesus: inho, existing in the form of gecember (Bob, … emptieb himself, taking the form of XXIV a serbant. Philippians ii. 6, 7, R.V. The Word passed from government to obedience, from independent cooperation in the equality of Deity, to dependent submission to the Will of God. By the way of the Incarnation there came into existence a person in all points human, in all essentials Divine. GChere is born to jtou this ban in the ritjj of gmmber gabib a ^abionr, mho is Christ the ^avii. Yyv Luke ii. n, R.V. <»'•*" Faith, Hope and Love never stand closer, or sing in sweeter unison than over the new-born… Christ came into the midst of sorrow and sighing, and at once angels and men began the carol of a great joy… Through His advent in weakness and strength, in innocence and knowledge, faith becomes possible to men again, hope begins its new song, and love enters upon its new enterprises. December He shall gibe gou another Comforter. XXVI John xiv. 16. To the waiting people of God the character of the Spirit is love; He will come to fill the gap, to take the place of the tender Christ, to be to the orphaned disciples a Comforter nigh at hand—to comfort them, and to do it by pleading within them the cause of their absent Lord and Master. gerember Hotobeit toben he, the spirit of truth, is come, XXVII he alja^ Sui^e Sou mia a^ ^e iratlJ John xvi. 13, R.V. Protestants are perpetually being told that they have no centre of authority. This statement is due to the fact that those who make it forget that the one, the abiding, and the only centre of authority, in matters of faith and doctrine, is the Holy Spirit. |Brinn Jib the toljole titbfi into tbe storc-house gecEtuber … atto probc ms note heretaitb, … if 3 mill XXVIII not Dpen Tjou tbfi brinooms of ljeaben, anb pour Jjou out a bkaaing. Malachi iii. 10, R.V. When men come and say, " Here we are, our interests, ourselves, our business—everything," then the windows of heaven are never shut—never! When my all is upon the altar, then the windows of heaven are open and the blessing descends. Chc $oljj Spirit, inhorn tbe JFathcr mill senb gcCctnDcr in nijj namc. Yyiy John xiv. 26, R.V. AA1-* The Holy Spirit was poured out upon the Day of Pentecost as a gift of God. Man had no claim upon God for that great gift; He was not poured out in answer to any prayer of man, nor on account of any merit in man: He was, as was the gift of Jesus, a gift of Grace which all received as from God. B crcmber ^Raster, 3 toill folloiu thee. vvv Matthew viii. 19. O Nazarene, Thou hast conquered by an infinitude of love; and if out of the wreckage of my life Thou canst create character that abides, I give myself to Thee, and I " will" to follow Thee. December Wherefore let them also tljat suffer aecorbino, XXXI to ilje k"l l 0^ ®00 Iommit their souls in toellboinrj unto a faithful Creator. 1 Peter iv. 19, R.V. Let the end be as the beginning. There is but one thing that matters. It is that God's Will should be done. . . The ultimate issue will be perfect compensation for all the toil of the pathway that leads thereto. Printed by Morrison & Gibb Limited, Edinburgh. |