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June 1930 man’s dignity. Man originally was cre ated “in the image and likeness of God” —a little lower than God, but with power over the works of God’s hand. Through the fall man’s likeness to God was marred, but God’s redeeming love has made possible his restoration to His like ness through His Son Jesus Christ. To a large extent man has lost the dominion originally given, but through the redemp tion of Christ he will ultimately regain his lost estate. How appropriately does the Psalmist close this wonderful hymn of adoration with the same term used at its beginning. * * * . S ide -L ights Nature furnishes abundant illustra tions of law counteracting law. We think of the law of gravitation as being uni versal. Stones never rise unless a force superior to gravitation lifts them, and if they are thrown into the air they fall as soon as the superior force is spent. Yet we find the trees persist in 'lifting them selves out of the earth, holding them selves erect, and thrusting their branches skyward in apparent independence of the law of gravitation. There is a higher law that governs the acorn and the oak that does not belong to the pebble or the stone. Bury a pebble and it will obey the law of gravitation. But the buried acorn has in it a vital force which is superior to gravitation. The same principle explains why one man grovels in his sin, and another, through the new law of life in Christ, is lifted to the nobility of the sons of God. Paul said to the lame man at Lystra, “Stand upright on thy feet.” Responding to the command, he leaped and walked. How is it with you? Is the vital prin ciple of the life of Jesus Christ in you, enabling you to walk firmly where you formerly have limped? Concentration is needed in our daily work. A harmless hobby is useful to fur nish relaxation. Simply to cease working, and not to occupy the mind with any thing else, will result in mental coma. Walking is delightful if we have learned to observe while we walk. Merely to walk is good, but to walk and think is better.— J. Alexander. — o — July 20, 1930 Some Good Summer Reading Eccl. 12:11, 12; 1 Tim. 4:12, 13 S uggestive S ervice Opening hymns. Prayer by leader. Scripture reading: Psalm 119:1-16 (each member reading a verse). Hymn. Announcements and offering. Special musical number.
T h e
K i n g ’ s
B u s i n e s s
preserved, strengthened, and invigorated; so by the other, virtue (which is the health of the mind) is kept alive, cher ished, and confirmed.— Addison.
chosen books should be our companions during this period. “Good books are to the young mind what the warming sun and refreshing rain ,of spring are to the seeds which have lain dormant in the for ests of winter.” We can often judge the character of a person by the company he keeps. His life is largely influenced by constant contact with other lives. Just so with books—the type of reading one chooses often deter mines one’s character. In the first Scripture passage assigned for today’s lesson we have a study in con trasts. In the ninth verse a wise preacher is introduced who ponders and searches out precious truths for his people. Not only does he teach these truths orally but he “sets in order many proverbs,” the inference being that the proverbs were in writing. The tenth verse reads: “The Preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and that which was written was upright, even words of truth.” An alternative rendering is, “He sought to write down uprightly [or aright] words of truth.” The Authorized Version speaks of acceptable words in the sense of agreeable. The other rendering sug gests words that are true and correct. God’s Word is always true, but it may not always be agreeable to the readers. Even in the days of Solomon, the writer of Ecclesiastes, there were many books which were beneath the level of in spired literature and which brought “weariness to the flesh.” And what shall we say of our day? Is there not much light literature which is not uplifting and ennobling and much other reading mat ter that is positively degrading? The author of Ecclesiastes closes his message with a warning of coming judg ment. Both writers and readers of books must be brought before the judg ment seat. An evil book can do incom parable harm. On the other hand, what untold influence for good can be exer cised by a volume which teaches one to “fear God and keep his commandments.” Almost two million printed copies of the works of the late Dr. A. J. Gordon have been issued to date. Who can esti mate the influence for good that has come from this one man’s pen? The wide in fluence of hundreds of other authors of good books might be mentioned. In this issue of T he K ing ’ s B usiness will be found advertised appropriate books for all classes of readers, which are likely to be of interest during the summer months. Cut out some of these “ads” and have them read in your meet ing. * * * S ide -L ights In the poorest cottage are books: is one Book, wherein for several thousands of years the spirit of man has found light, and nourishment, and an interpreting re sponse to whatever is deepest in him.— Carlyle. Some new books it is necessary to read, part for the information they con tain, and others in order to acquaint one self with the state of literature in the age in which one lives; but I would rather read too few than too many.—Lord Dudley. Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body. As by the one, health is
July 27, 1930 Missions in Changing China 2 Chron. IS :l-7 S uggestive S ervice
Opening hymns. Prayer by leader. Responsive reading: Acts 1, or selected reading from hymnal. Hymn. Announcements and offering. Special missionary number: Solo or reading. Leader’s remarks. Sentence prayers, remembering espe cially missionaries in China. Closing hymn. Benediction. * * * T houghts on the T opic The following extracts from “Chang ing China and the Unchanged Message” by Robert H. Glover, M.D., F.R.G.S., of the China Inland Mission, printed by per mission, will give some first-hand infor mation on the topic for today. Free copies of this interesting booklet may be ob tained by writing to the Mission’s head quarters, 237 W. School Lane, .Philadel phia, Pa., or the Canada office, 150 St. George St., Toronto 5, Ontario. “No one could visit China today, as we have recently done,” Dr. Glover writes, “without being impressed by the changes that are sweeping over that land and peo ple. The China of thirty or even twenty years ago is no more, and the whole country and its people are rapidly taking on a completely new aspect. Western goods and Western ideas and ways are being more and more adopted. . “It is some years since steam naviga tion has superseded the' old sailing craft on China’s waterways. But now land travel is undergoing an even greater transformation. In city after city we saw the old narrow streets converted into broad, well-paved thoroughfares, lined with handsome stores displaying all kinds of Western goods. Many a venerable city wall, which had stood unchanged for a thousand years or more, has been lev eled and turned into a boulevard for motor vehicles. In several of the hitherto most backward provinces of the far in terior, hundreds of miles of excellent motor roads have been built, connecting together all their principal cities. At more than one stage of our journey we covered distances by motor bus in as many hours as it formerly would have taken days. Indeed, it can be only a very short time now until overland travel throughout that vast country will be com pletely revolutionized—a prospect which has its very obvious bearing upon mis sionary work. “But it was not only new transporta tion that we witnessed. New dress, new etiquette, new social and moral ideals, new commerce, new industry, and new education were everywhere in evidence, while a drastically new political system was in process of being tried out—with what success only time can tell. We saw the queue discarded, footbinding con demned, torture of prisoners on trial for-
Leader’s remarks. Sentence prayers. Qosing hymn. Benediction.
* * * T houghts on the T opic
In thinking of our summer vacation, we ought to plan for both mental and physical refreshing. A number of well-
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