King's Business - 1913-12

THE KING’S BUSINESS

578

it is the life that was manifested in Jesus Christ when here upon earth. Its essence is knowledge of God. It is a life perfect in its quality, and end­ less in its duration. It is freely of­ fered to all, even the vilest of sinners, upon the simple condition, that they believe in Christ. If in verse 15 we take the reading "in Him” instead of the reading “into” or “upon Him” the thought is the faith rooting in and abiding in Christ, and especially in this connec­ tion in Christ as the atoning Saviour {the one lifted up as the serpent was in the wilderness). From the con­ nection it involves the thought of the believer’s anguish on account of the bite of the serpent of sin and his earnest looking to the crucified Christ as the one in whom alone there is healing. Such a faith brings everlast­ ing life. If we take the other reading “into” or “upon Him” the thought is essentially the same, only it repre­ sents the faith going out toward Him and resting upon Him as the One who was lifted up for us. Just for Today He does not bid us bear the burdens of tomorrow, next week, or next year. E'very day we are to come to Him in simple obedience and faith, asking help to keep us and aid us through the day’s work; and tomorrow, and to­ morrow, and tomorrow, through years of long tomorrows, it will be but the same thing to do; leaving the future always in God’s hands, sure that He can care for it better than we.— Madam Guyon. The Best Bible Teacher The best Bible teacher is the Holy Spirit of God. He knows the'mean­ ing of every passage in the Bible, for He gave it. He knows the bearing upon our life of every Bible passage we read; and He knows what Bible

passages we most need at any particu­ lar time. He can explain all this to us as no human being who ever lived could do. Are we letting Him do iit? Are we asking Him to act as our per­ sonal friend and teacher every time we open the Bible, that He may be given His fullest desire with us? Do we ask Him to teach, explain, illum­ ine, interpret everything we read in the Bible? Do we refer to Him the questions that come to us as we read? Do we ask Him to show us not only what we need for ourselves in all our Bible study, but also what others need to whom we are to bring the results of our study, in our teaching, preaching dr writing? If this is not our invari­ able life habit, is it strange that our Bible study is not always as helpful as it might be ? What Martha said of Jesus, does not Jesus Himself, send­ ing to us the Spirit of truth, say to us -“The Teacher is here, and eall- eth thee” ?—5'. 5". Times. The Protestant Squire Concluded from page 5.69 bank recognized the Divine leading by which he was brought, first to Dub­ lin and then to the Rotunda. He had no doubt that his conversion was su­ pernatural. It might be hard to per­ suade a worldling that he gained much by giving up a life of pleasure for a life spent in the service of God; but Mr. Firbank always spoke of the past as his dark days. Now his one desire was to live and walk with Jesus. His attitude toward the Saviour might be expressed in the words of the well-known hymn:— Hold Thou my hand! the way is dark before me, Without the sunlight of Thy face Divine; But when by faith I catch its radiant glory, What heights of joy, what rapturous songs are mine!

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