THE KING’S BUSINESS
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heads sliced open like apples, of other heads crunched into soft jelly by the iron hoofs of horses,’of faces trampled out of all like ness to anything human. This is what skulks behind “a splendid charge.”— Chas. Dickens. W hat a precious and matchless verse and statement is: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath eternal life.” We are the actual inheritors and possessors of present eternal life by our belief in Him, and are now living in Him. Surely we may say with Paul, “To me to live is Christ.” I n modern warfare there are not only op posing forces in the field, but submarine mines and destroyers in the deep and Zep pelins and aeroplanes in the air. In spirit ual warfare, too, we contend with “evil men and seducers,” with the “depths of Satan,” and with “spiritual wickednesses in heaven ly places.” Our defenses are “the sword of the Spirit” ; the trawler of watchfulness; and prayer aimed effectively into the skies. A young English minister came back re cently from a tour of India with a good illustration for a sermon on humility. He overheard an Indian landowner asking a British irrigation engineer if a certain piece of farm land could ever be made profitable. The engineer responded: “Yes, I can make it bear enormous crops, provided it lies low enough.” There are a great many Chris tian souls whose lack of fruitage is ex plained by that saying; they don’t lie low enough. I t is frequently explained that in the say ing, “God loveth a cheerful giver,” the Greek word translated “cheerful” is one which the English language has taken over letter for letter in the word “hilarious” ; so that the liberal meaning is, “God loveth an hilarious giver.” Now, the mark of hilarity is that it goes farther than most people think is proper. An hilarious person is carried away for the time being, forgets the limits most
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A new victory, over death and the
grave ( 4 . T. Pierson. T hey find it easiest to communicate with God in a crisis who, are most familiar with the way to His throne. Every day prayer is the best preparation for emergency prayer. “T he mother is through the door in a trice when she hears a cry of a child of hers in the next room. But God doesn’t have to pass from one room to another: He is there all the time, ready to heal and re store.” “G ive and it shall be given unto you,” said our Lord. “Keep and it shall be kept for you,” says the world. Whoever shares with men, shares also with God. “Who gives himself with his alms feeds three— himself, his hungry.neighbor, and me.” “P rayer is not a conquering of God’s re luctance, but a laying hold of God’s willing ness.” The Father in heaven is more ready to give good things to His children than is an earthly parent; this we know on the word of His best beloved Son. For God’s other name is Love. B ut what a cruel thing is war, to sepa rate and destroy families and friends, ana mar the purest joy and happiness^God has granted us in this world ; to fill our hearts with hatred instead ,of love for our neigh bors, and to devastate the fair face of the beautiful world.— Robt. E. Lee. H owever lovely the chosen lamb, however ideal its excellence, yet unslain it would have availed nothing. It is not Christ’s blameless, beautiful life that saves us, Lut His sacrificial, substitutional death for us, His poured-out life, the “shed Blood” of the Lord Jesus Christ. T hei I e will be the full complement of backs broken in two, of arms twisted wholly off, of men impaled upon their bayonets, of legs smashed up like bits of firewood, of 15 ) . § 1 /
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