enthusiastically makes it into some thing wholesome, useful, comfortable and lovely (w . 11-13). She is like the merchant ships, bring ing foodstuffs from afar. Her brood is not fed on village gossip, but she gath ers mental and spiritual food for them from the best sources and even from Heaven itself. Her vision is not con fined to the four walls of her home, but is world-wide and eternity-reaching. She rises before dawn to feed her own soul and to prepare food for her house hold that will send them out spiritually- fortified for the day. She enlarges her field of activities prudently, not trying to belong to numerous organizations, but making sure she is really counting where she does invest her time, concen trating on her own vineyard. She pre pares herself energetically for her task, making sure that she thoroughly under stands God’s Word. The candle of her implicit faith does not go out, no mat ter how dark the night of trial (vv 14-18). She knows she is weaving soul-fabrics for eternity and she does it with conse crated courage. She is generous and sympathetic. “ She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet” ! She is not afraid that her husband or children will be led astray by their as sociates; she is not fearful lest college or military service should chill the warmth of any of her family’s love for Christ, for she has long since made sure that each of them is “ clothed with scarlet”—washed in His precious blood and clothed in His righteousness (vv. 20 , 21 ). Nor does this virtuous woman neg lect her own soul. She develops a char acter pleasing to God. “ The king’s daughter is all glorious within.” She studies to keep her wardrobe filled with mantles of charity, prayerfulness, wis dom, contentment, Christ-centeredness. Her husband is respected and trusted; her gentleness has made him great. She “maketh fine linen” — beautiful things come forth from her efforts, things that help and inspire others, and she “ sells” them to people who will pass them on to those who look to them for spiritual help. Because the blessed Spirit of Christ dwells within her, she is strong, honorable, wise, kind. “ She shall rejoice in time to come” ; nothing daunts her, for, “ The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day,” and she knows it. Therefore she is fearless (vv. 22-26). She looks well to the ways of her whole family. She knows where her chil dren are, what they are doing, and sees to it that they are motivated with high ideals and holy ambitions. She looks after her own physical health as she should, so of course she takes her rest as it is needed. But she never eats the bread of idleness—never does anything just because she is so bored that she
S HEN I went into the potter’s house. It was my first visit to this village. After passing through the large entrance house, I walked into the compound, and found myself in the potter’s house. Drawing aside the rope curtain in front of the door, I saw the potter at work. She sat with a lump of clay in her hand. She was molding and pounding the clay into shape with a stone. As I stood watching, she told me about her work. “After the pots are finished, we set them out in the sun to dry.” “Why are some of them cracked?” I asked. “ The sun was too much for them,” replied the potter. “ It doesn’t do to have too much sunshine in our lives.” I mused. My hostess continued, “ When they are thoroughly dry, we dampen and polish them with a smooth stone. We rub and rub them until they are smooth. After that we put them into the fire.” Next she took me to the place where the pots were put through the process of baking. Noticing some broken pieces thrown to one side, I asked, “ Why do some of them fall to pieces?” “ They can can find nothing else to do. Even her recreations and relaxations are con structive (v. 27). As is always true when one chooses God’s ideal way, this woman has com pensations with which all those price less rubies at Tiffany’s cannot compare. But that was to be expected. God was speaking figuratively as to a woman when He said through Isaiah (54:11, 12), “ I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires . . . and all thy borders of pleasant stones. And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord; and great shall be the peace of thy children.” God’s ideal woman is rewarded often
not stand the fire,” she replied. “We never know when we put them into the fire which ones are going to come out whole and which are going to break.” “ Lord, help me to stand the fire,” I prayed silently. After this she took me into a little room and showed me a neat array of pots, ready for the market. Pointing to the various shapes and sizes, she ex plained their use. Molded, polished, baked, ready for use! Serious thoughts filled my mind as 1 walked back along the narrow winding path. “ Beloved, think it not strange con cerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing hap pened unto you” (1 Pet. 4:12). “ Butina great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work” (2 Tim. 2:20, 21). *Biola ’SI. Missionary of the Sudan Interior Mis sion. by the consciousness that to her each one of her little family group would like to say, “ I love you because you are God’s heavenly messenger to me, Because you are holding me up, enabling me to endure; Because you are an hourly comfort to me, Inseparable in my thoughts from all that is divine And precious and beautiful and lasting— God’s greatest earthly gift to my thirsting soul.” Yes, even her earthly reward is “ far above rubies!”
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T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
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