June, 1938
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
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JULY 24, 1938 THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF CITY AND COUNTRY TO OUR NATIONAL LIFE A mos 7:14, 15; A cts 21:39; 22:3 Meditation on the Lesson As the Lord does not have respect to persons, so places are also alike to Him. Circumstances and environment may have a part in the development of a life, but the work of the Holy Spirit in the heart far transcends any human limitations. In the Bible, many of God’s chosen ones lived in rural districts, and were shepherds, farmers, or fishermen. Because of the preponderance of humble folk employed in the Lord’s serv ice, we see the significance of Paul’s state ment in 1 Corinthians 1:26, 27: “ For ye sec your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty.” Amos is a fair representative of the rustic type of God-used man. He was a shepherd and a farmer, and God called him to prophesy in His name. Amos was conscious of his weakness and inability, but God was greater than his inefficiency; He transformed him into a mighty prophet. Dr. Weddell says of him: “W e find here no putty, no velvet touch, but a stern foretell ing of the judgments which God had re vealed to him would come on the whole house of Jacob. He seemed to have been without preparation, and yet we know that ‘whom God calls He enables.’ ” Paul typifies the metropolitan, educated man of affairs who has felt the pulse beat of the great centers of the world. He ranked high in civic, religious, and cultural circles. Tarsus of Cilicia was “no mean city.” It was the residence of the Roman governor of the province, and was a chief manufac turing center. Along with Athens and Alex andria it was celebrated for its educational opportunities. In such an atmosphere Paul grew up and was trained in what would correspond to one of our best universities. Whether a man comes from the country or the city, his usefulness to his country depends upon his responsiveness to the call of God. Although men of the world do not always willingly acknowledge the fact, Christian leaders contribute the greatest benefit to a nation. Empires have achieved or fallen according to their sensitiveness to the will of God. Where He has been ignored, nations have sunk into shame and oblivion. Only through a personal, definite relationship to the Lord Jesus Christ can we today effectively augment the virtues of our national life. Helps for the Leader I. C haracter , N ot C ircumstances The Lord does not design that we should stand aloof from the world because we are not of it. “ I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world,” He says. He would have us live as missionaries in a foreign country, strangers and pilgrims, in deed, seeking all the while to gather out a
the richest heritages pf the church. Because of the eternal majesty of the One whom they honor and praise, they are imperish able. Helps for the Leader I. T he S cripture B ehind the H ymns As the cross is the center of the Word of God, so should much of our singing center around it. Devout writers have given us wonderful hymns on this theme of themes. Here are some of the most loved: “ Alas, and Did My Saviour Bled,” “ Beneath the Cross of Jesus,” “ O Sacred Head Now Wounded,” “ In the Cross o f Christ I Glory,” “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross,” and “Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross.” Often a knowledge of the Biblical back ground greatly enhances the message of such hymns as “Our God, Our Help in Ages Past” (Psa. 9 0 ); “ Nearer, M y God, to Thee” (Gen. 28:10-22), and “ Jesus Shall Reign Where’er the Sun” (Psa. 72). —M. G. G. II. Q ualities of a G ood H ymn In the choice of hymns for church serv ices, the chief consideration, of course, should be that of the message of the song. God alone is worthy of our praise and adoration; therefore He, not His creation nor creatures, should be the object of our worship. As a testimony to unbelievers, gospel songs expressing the joy of salvation and the comfort of Christian fellowship have their place, but they should be sub servient to those which directly magnify the Lord Jesus Christ. Much shallowness and instability in the lives of Christian young people today result from the super ficial knowledge of the work of Christ and the doctrine of His Word, which deficiency is reflected in many of our sentimental, almost jazzy choruses and songs. Substan tial hymns are a definite means of grace. —E. E. W . III. S ongs of F ire A fire occurred over two hundred years ago in the rectory of a little church in Ep- worth, England. Tw o things escaped the flames: One was a bit of paper that was carried up into the air and fell singed and smoked upon the grass; the other was a puny child, who was with difficulty rescued from an upper window. Never fire yielded richer salvage, for the paper contained the words of a hymn just written by the rector,' which has found a permanent place in Methodist hymnology: “ Behold the Saviour of mankind Nailed to the shameful tree! How vast the love, that Him inclined T o bleed and die for thee!” The puny child became the leader of that mighty evangelical movement which swept over England in the eighteenth century, and which developed and crystallized into the organization we know as the Methodist Church. The incident was prophetic, for John Wesley could never have succeeded in building that great organization had it not been for the hymns of his brother, Charles. —Stories of the Great Hymns of the Church, by Silas H. Paine.
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