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to ru in them as to thw art the designs of th e Redeemer th rough them . The in terest of the heavenly hosts is under stood by th e fact th a t redem ption is a double and far-reaching victory, not only delivering man bu t bringing bless ing to the heavenly regions. Eph. 3:10; 1 Pet. 1 :12 ; Rev. 10:10-12; Rev. 18:20. W hat a w onderful Saviour we have who can prevent the enemy from thw arting a previously inaugu rated salvation | TUESDAY, Ju n e 24. P salm 116:1-9. Obligation to God. Obligation may be oppressive if incur red toward a strang er. F ilial obliga tion created by paren tal love and care is not a burden b u t a blessing. How can we repay th e debt of obligation we owe th e heavenly F ath e r? W h at have we th a t we did no t receive? “Who daily loadeth us w ith benefits.” All benefactions of n atu re and grace come from Him. Jas. 1:17. The ever-recur ring ¡question to every th a n k fu l h ea rt is “W hat shall I rend er unto the Lord for all His benefits to m e?” The first th ree words of th e following verse sug gest th e proper course to follow. “ I will ta k e.” The best way of express ing our g ratitu d e for past favors is to tak e higher and la rg e r mercies from our F a th e r’s open out-stretched hands. Sup pose we s ta rt w ith the P salm ist in Ps. 116:1 and say “ I love th e Lord be cause,”— and pausing th ere w rite out our own list of th e reasons why we do and ought to love Him. The Psalm ist only states a single reason, th a t of answered prayer. This is b u t one of ten thousand th a t m ight be mentioned. To count our blessings provokes th e liveliest sense of g ratitude. Any a t tem p t to do so, shows them to be innum erable. Obligation m ust be recognized before it can be discharged. W hat re tu rn can a little child make fo r all th e p aren tal provision th a t it enjoys? I t rem ains for us to show fo rth our Redeemer’s praise no t only w ith our lips b u t in our lives, by giving up our selves unto H is service and by walking before H im in righteousness and holi ness all our days. WEDNESDAY, Ju n e 25. Isaiah 55:1-3. G racious Invitation. There is a sense in which every so- called invitation from God to man may be regarded in th e ligh t of a command. An inv itation may properly proceed
dependent. Each explains th e others. L ight and darkness are Scriptural sym bols for holiness and sin. In th e sp irit ual world darkness is more th a n th e absence of light. There are powers of darkness. Sin is no t merely a nega tion. It is a positive force seen in th e sp irit th a t energizes in th e children of disobedience. Eph. 2:2. “The ligh t shineth in th e darkness and th e d ark ness overcame it not.” John 1:5. The life and m inistry of Christ are sum marized in the passage. A tiny candle may be lighted in a dark room. A t first th e re seems to be an unequal conflict. The flame flickers uncertainly as waves of darkness roll over it. I t can no t be extinguished. It asserts itseif and gain ing in ten sity and new lu stre each moment finally bu rn s w ith a steady flame before which darkness flees away. The new b irth of a soul is a sunrise. I t is a tran slation ou t of the darkness of n atu re and sin into th e marvellous ligh t of th e Gospel, afte r which th e newly born walks as a child of th e ligh t and of th e day. Eph. 5:8. D ark ness can not be d ealt w ith effectively and dissipated in any o th er way th an by letting in the light. “T h at which doth make m anifest is ligh t.” Eph. 5 :1 3 ; Is. 60:1-3. hosts above to th e g rain of sand below, from th e m ighty archangel before the th rone to th e animalcule in a drop of w ater, from th e g ian t sequoia to th e tiny lichen. The Bible assures us th a t th e C reator is also th e Redeemer, th a t everything was created no t only by H ijn b u t for Him and th a t to Him the praise of all shall ultim ately be ren dered. Rev. 4 :11 ; 5 :13 ; Ps. 148. Sin was in th e universe before th e hum an race was created, and we may believe th a t ,our race was created for th e pu r poses of redemption or victory over sin. Job 38:7 represents th e angels as being delighted w ith th e creation of th e earth and Prov. 8:31 may rep resen t Christ as being sim ilarly affected. Instead of supposing th a t th e ea rth was in trin sic ally interesting, m ight it not have been th e purpose of redemption fo r which th e earth was created, th a t aroused such in terest? The chief reason why S atan was in such a h u rry to lead our first p aren ts into sin was no t so much MONDAY, Ju n e 23. Gen. 1:26-31. God Our C reator. Who has no t been impressed w ith th e vast extent and infinite v ariety of creation! I t ranges from th e starry
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