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But—that' it may reflect Thee, Lord, Thy beauty be on me. —Selected, 12. Seeing God “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God” (Matt. 5:8). We need to be made clean within through the Spirit and the Word, and then 'We shall be clean without, by consecration and obedience. There is a close connection between the affec tions and the understanding; ir we love evil.^we cannot understand that which is good. If the heart is foul, the eye will be dim. How can those men see a holy God who love unholy things? . . . In Christ Jesus the pure in heart behold the Father. Lord, make us piye in heart, that we may see Thèe.— Baptist Beacon. 13. Turn to Thy Nearest “ I will greatly rejoice in the Lord... he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation” (Isa. 61:10). A child cannot bear to enjoy a de light alone; it turns to its nearest friend with a shout of joy___ Turn so to thy Nearest, soul beloved. Speak thy quick thanks and share thy joy. Offer not the discourtesy of remember ing thine unseen Companion only when nettles sting thee, and thorns prick thee, and thy feet are. cut on the stones.—Amy Carmichael. 14. Persevering Prayer “ I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry” (Psa. 40:1). Hast thou stood at God’s door long er than many of thy brethren ? David is careful, for our encouragement, to let us know how well he succeeded after his long waiting at God's door. ... Doth not Christ.Himself wait for an answer to His prayers? He hath been already more than a thousand years there at prayer for His church, and against His enemies, and still is expecting, till the one be saved and the other made His footstool. He prefys , . . and waits.—William Gurnall. 15. The Debt Has Been Paid “Who is he that oondemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again” (Rom. 8:34). Is it sin that threatens me? Behold . the resurrection of my Redeemer pub lishes my discharge. My surety was arrested and cast into fhe prison of His grace. Had not the utmost farthing of my arrears been paid, He oopld not have come forth. He is come forth; the sum is fully satisfied. What dan ger can there be of a discharged debt? Infinite justice hates to be twice paid; He is risen; therefore He is satisfied*. —Bishop Hall.
BEHIND THE NEWS [ Continued, from Page 195]
REJOICE W ITH US Though the size of the KING'S BUSINESS is tempo rarily smaller than usual, in cooperation with the rulings of the War Production Board covering the use of paperl not one of the regular depart ments has been omitted. Most of them—such as the Interna tional L e s s o n Commentary and the Christian Endeavor— have not even been abridged.
But, prior to the establishment‘of His international rule, nations w ill grow more intensely nationalistic and self ish than ever, before. There will be little real cooperation among them, except for war-making purposes. Idealists may try to twist it one way, while dictators try to pervert it an other way, but history will continue to follow the pattern of Bible pro phecy. POLYGAMY—SIMULTANEOUS AND SUCCESSIVE: • Polygamy was tolerated by the re ligious sect which‘originally settled in the state of Utah. However, it was of ficially renounced when the Supreme Court upheld the federal law banning polygamy ‘ throughout the United States. The individuals now being charged with its practice have* stated that they adhere to the “old code of the founding fathers” of thfir religious sect. The members of the Supreme Court declared that “monogamy—the mar ital system of one man and one wo man, mating for life—is the founda tion of our Christian civilization.” While they outlawed one kind of polygamy, another kind is sweeping the nation. After all, there are two kinds: simultaneous and successive! As the noted enemy of Christian ethics, H. L. Mencken, declared, “Modern Americans believe in compromising with monogamy, to the extent of hav ing just one wife at a time!” Free-and- easy divorce laws permit a system of “ polygamy on the installment plan." One may have a number of wives suc cessively, butnoi simultaneously. t Successive polygamy leaves children fatherless; it degrades womanhood; it makes a mockery of the" divinely in stituted marital system; it makes liars of those who commit themselves to marital vows “ until death do us part.” From the social standpoint, and from the Scriptural one, virtually every argument against simultaneous polygamy holds with equal validity against the successive kind. Polygamy, of one kind or another, is always found among backward and barbarous peoples. It is not strange that twentieth-century pagans should find it as congenial to their unregen erate natures as did first-century pagans. But it is rather strange that they should take the pósition that it , is an element of “the new morality,” ' of “socfal progress,” and of “ advanced civilization.” Yet, professors of sociol ogy in modern universities have a habit of commending companionate marriage and installment-plan poly gamy to youth, as though they repre sented something really new and novel.
When the king of Assyria conquered the northern kingdom of Israel, he carried away a large part of the popu lation. As time went on, these trans planted folks could no longer be iden tified, and so they were called the lost tribes___ Today as God’s heart throbs out its call to lost sinners, it aches also over His “ lost” , Christians—over the child of His, chosen by his Lord to be a re flector, and whose life Instead so con forms to the pattern of his environ ment, is so free from the flash of miracle, that he is mislaid and un seen. ... He looks so much like every body else you can’t tell them apart. He is the “lost” Christian. 10. Is Your Heart Right? "And it came' to pass afterward, that David’s heart smote him, because he had cut off Saul’s skirt” (TSam. 24:5). Though it was a very small thing that he had done, David was struck with remorse for having taken advan tage of Saul’s retirement in the pre cincts of the cave, where his men and he were hiding. It was a trifling mat ter, and yet it seemed dishonoring to God’s anointed king; and. as such, it hurt David to have done it___ His men unanimously approved the act, they even wanted him to go further___ How wonderful that David kept his high ideal amid such comrades! We shall not be judged in the Hereafter by the standard which obtained among our comrades.—F. B. Meyer. Thy Beauty, Lord “ Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us” (Psa. 90:17). An earthly loveliness have some,' A beauty all may see. But Lord, to ask Thee this I come: Thy beauty be on me. A life obedient to Thy Word I would present to Thee, 11. —Nathan Moore. ______
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