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T HE K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
they buried him in his own inheritance, th e city of th e Sun. “ Dare to stand w ith Joshua Dare to say the word, As for me and for my house We w ill'serve th e Lord.” FRIDAY, December 16. H Sam. 23: 1-7. David’s death-bed Jacob when dying foresaw th e fate of a family, Joseph the fate of a nation bu t David say? and rejoiced to see, the destiny of mankind. His dying eyes saw th e dawn of th a t Christian era- which has come to the ea rth like th e clear shining of th e sun after rain and- clothed it in fresh tender green. The last words of David are brief, ab rup t and enigmatical. They fall brokenly from his lips as though u ttered w ith difficulty and pain. They consist of a prelude and a revelation. The prelude extends to th e m iddle of verse 3. The revelation goes to the close of verse 7. The dying king sees in a vision of the fu tu re, the tru e Divine king, th e ideal Ruler, for whose advent th e weary earth w aits and groans, who shall ru le with perfect equity and yet tem per justice w ith mercy, Christ, who will come In th e glory of th e F ath e r as th e tru e and perfect King of men. The Psalm ist be comes a prophet and as his eyes close on the vanities of earth , they open on a'v ision of surpassing glory. SATURDAY, December 17. Matt. 27: 34-50. The d eath of Jesu s The m anner of th e Saviour’s death is most significant. Men do not usual ly die like th at. The streng th gradual ly fails as the life ebbs away. The voice sinks to a whisper and relapses into silence. There is a fain t expiring sigh and all is over. “ Jesus cried w ith a loud voice and yielded up the ghost.” Must not th is have been th e battle-cry of victory? It is the shout of trium ph of a victorious w arrior as he tu rn s th e tide of conflict from defeat and hurls his opponent to the dust. This was the •issue of the age-long contest between th e seed of the woman and th e serpent. Has Satan who has th e power of death, a t la st succeeded, in bringing th e Son of Man beneath his sceptre? His tr i umph was only apparen t and of short duration. Through death the m ighty Saviour destroyed him th a t had the power of death, Heb. 2 :14 ; even as
last words a man speaks on earth have a peculiar in terest. Thomas Hobbs said, “ X am about to tak e a leap in tho d ark .” D. L. Moody, “E arth is reced ing, Heaven is opening.” Voltaire, “ I am forsaken by God and man.” Alfred Cookman, “ I am sweeping through tho gates washed iu th e blood of th e Lamb.” Queen E lizabeth, “All my possessions for one moment of tim e.” F rancis W il lard, “ It is so beautiful to be w ith God. ’ WEDNESDAY, December 14. Deut. 34:1-12. Moses’ d ep artu re A lthough Moses was not perm itted to lead Israel into Canaan, he had a cer tain compensation. He enjoys th e unique honor of a private funeral of which th e Almighty was th e und ertak er and angels th e pall-bearers vs. 6. I t is also significant to note th a t th e firs- tim e Moses is seen in the New T esta ment, he is in the promised land. Mani fold and sweet are the compensations which God gives His children, even when He deals w ith them in p arental and corrective discipline. I t is well, to bear in m ind th a t the word chastise m ent in th e Hebrew Epistle may be lit erally and uniform ly rendered by “ child-training.” “And had he not high honor? The hill-side for a pall, To lie in state while angels wait W ith stars for tap ers tall, And the dark rock pines like tossing- plumes, Over his bier to wave, And God’s own hand in land, To lay him in th e grave. th a t lonely THURSDAY, December 15. Joshua 24:19-31. Jo shu a’s valedictory. When Moses passed away God raised up Joshua to tak e his place The work ers go bu t th e work goes on. Joshua s symbol was th e spear as the rod was in th e hands of Moses. He was a s°ldier __sta te sm an train ed by long and close association w ith Moses. As captain of the°Loird’s host, he brought th e children of Israel into Canaan and established them to th e ir possessions. His admin- w . . p. He is the Cromwell of th e Oia i esta m ent His final appeal to Israel is an earnest solemn statem ent of: oW ig a ^ n to Jehovah on a covenant of loyal ser vice. He died a t a good old age ana
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