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T h e K i n g ’ s B u s i n e s s
August 1932
o f a good conversation his works with meekness o f wisdom” (Jas. 3:13). When Mr. Hudson Taylor was traveling once in China, he engaged a boat to take him over a river. Meanwhile, a Chinese gentleman came along in his silks and proudly proceeded to demand the boat. He struck Mr. Taylor. As he was about to embark and had turned to the river, Mr. Taylor said he raised his hands to push him in, but did not. This surprised the man. Then Mr. Taylor said: “This boat is mine. But Jesus, whom I serve, will not let me strike you. I invite you to share it with m e .’ W SELECTED. AUGUST 22 H abakkuk ’ s H igh T ower “I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower” (Hab. 2:1 ). Habakkuk’s tower was not built o f stone and lime. Hiram’s Tyrian workmen, with all their skill in hewn stone, and in timber and in iron and in brass, had no hand in building Habakkuk’s tower. “The name o f the Lord” was Habakkuk’s high tower. The truth and faithfulness and the power o f God—these things were the deep and broad foundations o f Habakkuk’s high tower, into which he continually escaped, and from the high top of which he was wont to look out upon the land, and up to his God. God’s grace and mercy and long- suffering were the doors and the stairs, were the walls and the battlements, of Ha bakkuk’s high tower; and God’s sure sal vation was the golden and far shining roof of it.—A lexander W hyte . AUGUST 23 C hristian G entleness “But the fruit o f the spirit is . . . gen tleness” (Gal. 5:22). There is a way of doing kindness which looks as if no kindness has been done, a gentle and delicate way which adds pre ciousness to the gift. I have known some men do a kindness as if they were receiv ing it rather than giving it, so that the poor were not made to feel their poverty. This was Jesus Christ’s method, and it will be ours as we approach His likeness. —J oseph P arker . AUGUST 24 P recious N ame “ Glory ye in his holy name" (Psa. 105: • 3 ). . His name blossoms on the pages of his tory like the flowers o f a thousand spring times in the limits o f one garden. It sounds down the corridors o f the centuries like the music o f all choirs, visible and in visible, in one anthem. It perfumes the air o f continents like spice gales from heaven, and with no beating of drums or flare of trumpets, He holds the flag o f equality over palace and slave market alike. —R obert G. L ee . O, the precious name of Jesus, How it thrills our souls with joy, When His loving arms receive us, And His songs our tongues employ! —L. B axter . AUGUST 25 T he C hristian S oldier “More than conquerors” (Rom . 8:37). “ More than conquerors” means not only the spoils o f war and triumph over all the assaults o f our foes, but it means new territory, aggressive warfare, and positive and ever larger conquests for the glory
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AUGUST IS T he Y oke “My yoke is easy and my burden is light’’ (Matt. 11:30). : The Lord’s collars are yokes fashioned for two, and He Himself is always one of the two. And thus the significance o f our Master’s appeal is this: “ Take off that sin gle collar 1 Exchange it for this yoke, and let me share the burden with y ou !” The offering of a yoke is the gracious offer of a partnership. It is the tender purpose of the Lord that we should pull our loads in fellowship with Him. But we decline the partnership; we work in single collar, and our necks are galled and our strength is broken.—J. H. J owett . AUGUST 16 L ight from the B ook “ Thy light and thy truth, let them lead me" (Psa. 43:3). There are three ways in which God re veals His will to us—through the Scrip tures, through providential circumstances, and by means o f the direct voice of His Holy Spirit, making impressions upon our hearts and upon our judgments. The Scriptures come first. If you are in doubt upon any subject, you must first of all con sult the Bible about it, and see if there is any law there to direct you. . . . If we fail to search out and obey the Scripture rule, where there is one, and look instead for an inward voice, we shall open ourselves to the deceptions o f Satan, and shall almost inevitably get into error. . . . There are not many important affairs in life for which a clear direction may not be found in God’s Book.—H. W . S. AUGUST 17 A B lessing , not a C urse "I . . . mil refine them as silver is re fined" (Zech. 13:9). To refine anything does not mean to punish it, but only to purify it, to get rid of all its dross and rubbish, and to bring out its full beauty and worth. It is a bless ing, not a curse. And instead o f being something God demands o f us, it really is something we ought to demand of God. W e have a right to be made as pure as God can make us. This is our claim upon Him. Trouble and sorrowj therefore, are not our curse, but one o f our rights. We are like statues, “hewn in the rough,” which can only be perfectly shaped by means of the chisel. —M rs . P earsall S mith . AUGUST 18 D ivine D eliverer “ The Lord will deliver him in time of trouble" (Psa. 41:1). I, too, have my prison house, and only the Lord can deliver me. There is the prison house o f sin. None but the Lord can bring me out. There is the prison house o f sorrow. And none but the Lord can bring me out. And there is the prison house of death. My Master is Lord o f the road!—J. H. J owett . .
With mercy and with judgment My web of time He w ove; And aye the dews o f sorrow Were lustred with His lov e: I’ll bless the Hand that guided, . I’ll bless the Heart that planned, When throned where glory dwelleth In Emmanuel’s land. —A nne R. C ousin . AUGUST 19 F ar -S ighted F aith “Seen . . . afar off" (Heb. 11:13). God’s promise to Abraham was twofold —the land and the seed; and his whole life was spent in clinging faithfully through tests, and even through failures, to those two words from heaven. . . . And God so trusted Abraham’s faithful ness that He kept him waiting to his very end. A fter all the marvelous promises about the land, north and south and east and west, and a seed like the stars and the sand, he .closed his eyes on life with one purchased field for a cave-tomb, and one childless son. But he had not failed God, and God had not failed him. He has watched the fulfillment from that far land where he is now. He is watching it still. — I. L ilias T rotter . AUGUST 20 R est in the L ord “ We which have believed do enter into rest” (Matt. 4:3 ). “Learn of me, . . . and ye shall find rest” (Matt. 11:29). Why not live the richest, fullest, largest life that God makes possible for us? Why go limping along the way when we might rise as on eagles’ wings, or swiftly run? He is our sufficiency at every stage and in every state. Take that part o f the message which applies, whether to come, or to learn, or to take. But there does remain the keeping o f a Sabbath for the people of God, a rest, not in heaven, but here and now. W e may be at rest in the midst of perpetual motion; in the hurry and rush, and under the stress and strain o f our modern life, we may carry about a con stant calm.—W . G raham S croggie . AUGUST 21 M eekness in A ction “ Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? Let him shew out The Heaviest Cross It is not His cross that is heavy; It is those that our hands have made That hinder us on our journey, On our aching shoulders laid; There is strength for the load He gives us, And balm for the thorn He sends, But none for the needless burdens, And none for our selfish ends. —J. A. F lint .
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