March 1929
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O Lord Christ whom having not seen I love and desire to love, O Lord Christ' who lookest on me un comely yet still Thy dove, Take me to Thee in Paradise, Thine own made fair ; For whatever else I know, this thing is so : Thou art there. —British Weekly. Daily Scripture Reading Mar. 25. A Bible Hint, Luke 20:35-38. Even the holiest of earthly relations is but for this present life. The earthly family is but the blessed antitype of the family of God, which is being gathered out of all nations. Yes, there have al ready been myriads of family reunions in heaven and there will be myriads more, but the most beatific and joyful reunion will be that when the saints sit down at the marriage supper of the Lamb.— Huyser. Mar. 26. Himself the Life, John 6:47- 50. The world cannot bury Christ. The earth is not deep enough for His tomb, the clouds are not wide enough for His winding-sheet ; He ascends into thé heavens, but the heavens cannot contain Him. He still lives—in the church which burns unconsumed with His love; in the truth that reflects His image; in the hearts which burn. Mar. 27. The Soul Immortal, Matt. 10 : 28. The immortality of the soul is assented to rather than believed, believed rather than lived.— O. A. Brownson. All men’s souls are immortal, but the souls of the righteous are immortal and divine.— S ocrâtes. A beautiful story was told some time ago in a German paper. It was of a peasant, at the door of whose room death one night knocked, and called him by name. The peasant was afraid, and kept silent. Death came the next night; and, when the peasant inquired what was wanted, he said the time had come for him to depart. The peasant begged to be allowed to remain a fortnight, and then if death would come he would be ready, pro vided he were assured that, after a week, he should be brought back again. The fortnight passed; Death came, and the peasant was ready. He was carried to a beautiful garden, filled with choicest flow ers ; and he was so happy among them that it seemed almost no time until Death came once more. “What do you want?” he asked, forgetful of the agreement. “I have come to fulfil my promise, and take you back to earth,” was the answer; to which the peasant replied he was so happy where he was that he would release Death from the agreement, and on no account return whence he had come. So it will be with us. When the change shall once be made, nothing will induce us to be willing to return.— Christian Age. Mar. 28. The Way to Life, John 8:51. It is a dark, stormy night, and a little child, lost in the streets of the city, is crying in distress. A policeman, gather ing from the child’s story enough to lo cate the home, gives directions after this manner: “Just go down this street half a mile, turn and cross the big iron bridge, then turn to your right and follow the river down a little way, and you’ll see
then where you are.” The poor child, only half comprehending, chilled by the wind and bewildered in the storm, is turn ing about blindly, when another voice speaks and says in a kindly tone, “Just come with me.” The little hand is clasped in a stronger one, the corner of a warm cloak is thrown over the shoulders of the shivering child, and the way home is made easy. The first one had told the way; this one condescends to be the way. Mar. 29. Treasures Above, Matt. 6:20. A confidential clerk in Wall Street, New York, had an agreeable surprise re cently. One of the large stock operators called him into his private room, and said to him: “I have put your name in my will, and you will get ten thousand dollars when I die. Now I am in good health, and don’t intend to die soon, and so I will help in the meantime by paying you legal interest on the amount. Here is a check for six hundred dollars, to pay the first year’s interest.” The clerk was doubly gratified. The prospect of the legacy was good news, and the interest in hand ren dered the prospect a reality. This is, in a far higher sense, the believer’s position. He does not have to wait for death to re ceive his inheritance, though the prin cipal does come then, but daily grace is the interest and promise of an exceeding and eternal weight of glory.— Sunday School Banner. Mar. 30. Today, after Death, Paradise, Luke 23:43. The malefactor asked for a future blessing. He received an assurance of immediate felicity. Our Lord did not go immediately to heaven when He died. After His resurrection He said to Mary, “Touch me not, for I have not yet as cended to my Father” (Jn. 20:17). At that early stage of His resurrection life He had not presented Himself inside the veil. Where had His spirit been during those three days His body lay in Joseph’s tomb? He had been in paradise and in the other departments of hades (place of departed spirits). See Mt. 12:40; 1 Pet. 3:19. Hades was in the regions beneath (Mt. 12:40). Jesus was there to make a proclamation to the imprisoned ante diluvian souls, and He liberated those spirits of the righteous (1 Pet. 3:18, 19; Heb. 2:14, 15). Our Lord did not make an offer of salvation in hades, but an nounced His own finished work in confir mation and vindication of Noah’s faithful testimony. The descent of Christ into hades (sheol, as it is called in the Old Testament) wrought a mighty change for the Old Testament worthies. We no longer hear of the abode of saved spirits as “down” but as “up” or “away” (Acts 7:55; 2 Cor. 12:4; 1 Thess. 3:13; Jude 14). The old paradise (section of the spirit world where the spirits of the saved awaited) was emptied. “When He as cended up on high,” He led a band of cap tives (Eph. 4:8, 9). The spirits of the pious received release from hades. So the apostle could speak of the “entire family in heaven and on earth” (Eph. 3:15). Until the atoning death was accomplished, this new and living way into the heavenly places had not been opened up (Heb. 12: 18-24).— Needham.
April 7, 1929 The Bible a Daily Guide Ps. 19:7-11; Rom. 15:4-7; Heb. 4:12 “My O ld B ible ” Though the cover is worn, And the pages are torn, And though places bear traces of tears, Yet more precious than gold Is the Book, worn and old, That can shatter and scatter my fears. When I prayerfully look In the precious old Book, Many pleasures and treasures I see, Many tokens of love From the Father above, Who is nearest and dearest to me. This old Book is my guide, ’Tis a friend by my side, It will lighten and brighten my way; And each promise I find Soothes and gladdens my mind As I read it and heed it today.— Sel. (A plan for the reading of the Bible through in a year may be had free of charge by making request for same of the editor of this department.) Daily Scripture Reading Apr. 1. A One-Book Man, Ps. 1:l-6. A member of a college class soon after graduation was admitted to the practice of his profession as an attorney. Leaving the courthouse he was met by a brilliant young man, who took him by the hand, saying: “Now you have been admitted^ to the bar. Let me give you a little advice. Have your name taken from the church roll, burn your Bible, and you will make your mark.” It was a moment of tempta tion—turning from him, the young attor ney walked straight to a depository and invested almost his last half dollar in a pocket Bible. A quarter of a century passed and this lawyer met again the brilliant young man, now a wreck, with bloodshot eye and unkept hair and beard. Extending the same hand, he said: “Colonel, for God’s sake give me half a dollar and let me get out of town to get off this spree.” The attorney gave the asked-for coin and thought of his former half-dollar investment. When Stanley started across the con tinent of Africa, he had seventy-three books, but as the journey continued through the days and weeks he was obliged to gradually throw away the books until they were all gone but one—the Bible. It is said he read it through three times on that remarkable trip. It is the one Book that lives through the ages, that has stood the test of all centuries and earth’s great est minds. A noted professor in the Uni versity of Edinburgh was asked by its li brarian to go into the library and pick out all the books on his specialty that were no longer needed. His reply was, “Take every textbook over ten years old and put it in the cellar.” Apr. 2. A Cleansing Guide, Ps. 119:9. Rob the world of the Bible, and you have robbed it of its chart; robbed it of its compass, the bulwark of its liberties; robbed it of that which has produced the noblest manhood and purest womanhood; robbed it of that which has worked out — o —
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