THE K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
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more blessed, by keeping us from undue absorption in it. The S pirit is the Com forter. He fits us for duty. So be sure th a t nothing will come to you in your earth ly fu tu re, which He does not H imself accompany to in te r p ret it, and to make it pure blessing. IV. The practical duty in view of th e future. 1. The g reat th ing we ought to look to in the fu tu re is our work— not w hat we shall enjoy or what we shall endure, bu t w hat we shall do. This is health fu l and calming. 2. The g reat remedy for morbid anticipation lies in regarding life as th e - opportunity for service. Never m ind about the fu tu re. Work! That clears away cobwebs from our brains, as when a man wakes from troubled dreams, to “ hear the sweep of scythe in morning dew,” and the shout of the peasant as he trudges to his task, and the lowing of the cattle, and the clink of th e hammer. 3. The g reat work we have to do in the fu tu re is to be w itnesses for Christ. This is the meaning of all life; we can do it in joy and in sorrow and we shall bear a charmed life till it be done. So the words of th e text are a prom ise of preservation. Then, dear breth ren , how do you stand fronting th a t Unknown? How can you face it w ithout going mad, unless you know God and tru st Him as your F ath er, th rough Jesus Christ? If you do, j^ou need have no fear. To morrow lies all dim and strang e before you, bu t His gentle and strong Hand is working in th e darkness and He will shape it right. He will fit you to bear it all. If you regard it as your supreme duty and highest honor to he Christ’s w itness, you will be kep t safe, “ deliv ered out of the mouth of the lion” ,th a t by you “ the preaching may be fully known.” If not, how d reary is th a t fu tu re to you, “all dim and cheerless like a rainy
sea from which wild shapes may come up and devour you! Love and friend ship will pass, honor and streng th will fail, life will ebb away, and of all th a t once stretched before you, nothing will be left bu t one little strip of sand, fast jellying w ith th e tide beneath your feet, and before you a wild unlighted ocean!
The bullet-pierced T estam ent shown above is owned by E. H. B arbour of th e Biola Book Room and has been exhibited in the display window of the Book Room. The bu llet pierced to the book of Acts, the point resting on the words “ on th e morrow ,” the soldier’s life being saved by th e Testament. However the peculiar circum stance is th a t “ on the morrow” he was struck again and killed. May it not have been a warning to prepare to meet. God? We know not w hat shall be on the mor row, so “ be ye also ready.”
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