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T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
July, 1933
on CHRISTIAN ENDEAVOR . . . B y M ary G. G oodnek
AUGUST 6, 1933 HOW FAR DOES NATURE REVEAL GOD ? P salm 93 :l-5 Suggestions for the Meeting Hymn—“There’s a Wideness in God’s Mercy.” Hymn—“God is Everywhere.” Prayer. Scripture Lesson. Quartet—“Beside Blue Galilee.” Testimonies. Leader’s Talk. Quiet Hour. Benediction, closing with Psalm 19:1. Meditation on the Lesson “The Lord reigneth”—^“the world also is stablished, that it cannot be moved.” . This millennial psalm, as we know is now, was thought by the Jews to refer to the first ad vent of Christ. However, for all time, it describes the supremacy of God in cre ation and providence. We stand in reverent awe before this majestic King “clothed with strength” ; and as we read also in Psalm 104: “ O Lord my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty: Who coverest thyself with light as with a gar ment,” we humbly worship and adore. This reigning Sovereign is from everlast ing and has power and dominion over the most powerful objects in nature—even the tempestuous floods which have “lifted up their voice.” “ The Lord on high is migh tier than the noise of many waters, yea, than the mighty waves of the sea. “Thou rulest the raging of the sea: when the waves thereof arise, thou stillest them.” No more sublime scene has ever been de picted than that matchless one on the Sea o f Galilee. Jesus, weary and worn from the pressing cares and demands of the day—healing, teaching, preaching— took a boat and endeavored to get apart to rest. One of those sudden storms, so, frequent on the lake, swept down on the little crew. Jesus, who was calmly sleeping in the hinder part of the boat, was awakened by the disciples, who were terrified by the gale. Rising, the Master of the seas “rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.” This terse, dramatic description of the power Jesus had over the natural ele ments thrills the believing heart and moves it to worship and adoration. Leader’s Helps I. P araphrase o n P salm 93 God reigneth, He is clothed With majesty most bright; Himself Jehovah clothes with strength, And girds about with might.
But yet the Lord on high Is more of might by far Than noise of many waters is Or great sea-billows are. Thy testimonies all In faithfulness excel; And holiness forever, Lord, Thy house becometh well. Amen. God, the Lord, a King remaineth, Robed in His own glorious light, He hath robed Him and He reigneth; He hath girded Him with might Hallelujah! God is King in depth and height. In her everlasting station Earth is poised, to swerve no more; Thou hast laid Thy throne’s foundation From all time where thought can soar. Hallelujah! Lord, Thou art forevermore. Lord, the waterfloods have lifted. Ocean floods have lift their roar. Now they pause where they have drifted, Now they burst upon the shore. Hallelujah 1 For the ocean’s sounding store. B8 e P-T ohn K eble . III. A R ight I magination The people of God in Isaiah’s day had starved their imagination by looking on the face o f idols, and Isaiah made them look up ai the heavens, that is, he made them begin to use their imagination aright. Nature to a saint is sacramental. If we are children o f God', we have a tremendous treasure in nature. In every wind that blows, in every night and day of the year, in every sign o f the sky, in every blossom ing and in every withering of the earth, there is a real coming of God to us if we will simply use our starved imagination to realize it. Learn to associate ideas worthy of God with all that happens in nature, the sunrises and the sunsets, the sun and the stars, the changing seasons, and your imagination will never'be at the mercy of your impulses, but will always be at the service o f God. —O swald C hambers . IV. N ature R evealing G od 1. In the Seasons. “While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease” (Gen. 8:22). “Thou hast set all the borders of the earth: thou hast made summer and winter” (Psa. 74:17). 2. By the Heavenly Bodies. “The heavens declare the glory of G od; and the firmament showeth his handiwork. . . . In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, which is as a bridegroom coming out o f his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race” (Psa. 19:1, 4, 5). “And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also” (Gen. 1:16). “The day is thine, the night also is thine: thou hast prepared the light and the sun” (Psa. 74:16). — S cottish P salter . H. G od , the L ord , a K ing R emaineth
“ The sun to rule by day: for his mercy endureth for ever: the moon and stars to rule by night” (Psa. 136:8, 9). 3. By Rain and Clouds, Snow, etc. “Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit” (Lev. 26:4). “Who covereth the heaven with clouds, who prepareth rain for the earth, who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains” (Psa. 147:8). “ Fire, and hail; snow, and vapor; stormy wind fulfilling his w ord : Mountains, and all hills; fruitful trees, and all cedars: . . . Let them praise the name of the L ord : for his name alone is excellent; his glory is above the earth and heaven” (Psa. 148:8, 9, 13). V. N ature N uggets Not a flower But shows some touch, in freckle, streak, or stain, O f His unrivall’d pencil. —C owper . A voice is in the wind I do not know ; A meaning on the face o f the high hills Whose utterance I cannot comprehend, A something is behind them; that is God. —G eorge M ac D onald . The omnipotent God has sown His name on the heavens in glittering stars, but upon earth He planteth His name by tender flowers.—R ichter . “ God,” sing ye meadow streams with glad some voice 1 Ye pine groves, with your soft and soul like sounds! And they, too, have a voice, yon piles of snow, And in their perilous fall shall thunder, “God.” —C oleridge . AUGUST 13, 1933 W H AT THE POETS SAY ABOUT GOD P salm 70:1-5 Suggestions for the Meeting Hymn—“God is Love; His Mercy Brightens.” Hymn—“God Will Take Care of You.” Prayer. Hymn—“A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.” Poem—“ Strong Son of God” (Tenny son). Scripture—Psalm 70 :l-5. Hymn—“ O God, Our Help in Ages Past.” Poem—“ God Moves in a Mysterious Way” ( Cowper). Quiet Hour. Hymn—“Holy, Holy, Holy.” Benediction—Jude 24, 25. This meeting, in the hands of a skillful leader, could be a most helpful and inspiring one. Let your objective be one of praise to God. The poets have extolled Him, and the singers have exalted Him, so that there is much material available to make this meeting a memorable one. “Whoso ofifer- eth praise glorifieth me,” writes the psalm ist, of God, and this meeting should surely
The world established is That it cannot depart;
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Thy throne is fixed o f old, and Thou From everlasting art. The floods have lifted up, They lifted up their voice, The floods have lifted up their waves And made a mighty noise.
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