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THE KING’S BUSINESS
sheep upon the right, And the choice goes by forever, twixt that darkness and the light. —/ . R. Lowell. A missionary in Russia was tried and sentenced to Siberia for preaching and teaching the gospel, and that without his knowing anything about the trial. “All right,” he said, when he heard the sentence, “that is where I have been wanting to go for some time. I long to preach Christ there, and I have been studying how I might get there, as I do not have the means, and now the question is providentially solved for rue—I am to go at the expense of the gov ernment.” God’s will will be done, even though watchful enemies are the instru ments for carrying out His plans. D r . W ilfred T. G renfell , the brave hero of the Labrador, said th e, other day, ■'“I love the Bible. I believe it contains all necessary truth about the way a man should walk here below. I am glad there are still some puzzles left in it for me and for those who come after me. The milk I find in it nourishes me. There is no doubt meat which I cannot digest, but that those with dilferent viscera than mine are already as similating.” Surely that is a common sense view to take of the “ difficulties” in Holy Writ. If the simplest mind or the cleverest could fathom all the Divine mysteries they would cease to be Divine. Human thought is never beyond some human understanding. But God is above our finite and limited in tellects. M ere formalists may be content without answers to their prayers, but genuine sup pliants cannot; they are not satisfied with the results o f prayer itself in calming the mind and subduing the will—they must go further and obtain actual replies from heaven, or they cannot rest; and those re plies they long to receive at once, if possible; they dread even a little of God’s silence. God’s voice is often so terrible that it shakes the wildernesses, but His silence is equally
full of awe to an eager supplicant; when God seems to close His ear, we must not therefore close our mouths, but rather cry with more earnestness; for when our note grows shrill with eagerness and grief, He will not long delay us a hearing.— C. H. Spurgeon. W here everything is at its worst we may be most needed. The place which is least attractive to us because we are Christians may be the very place to which God is calling us because we are Christians. Other things being equal, is not the neediest field the preferred field? Paul seemed to think so when he said: “Making it my aim so to preach the gospel, not where Christ was already named, . . . but, as it is written, They shall see to whom no tidings of him came, And they who have not heard shall under stand.” As we consider God’s assignments of our work, let us rejoice if we see that we are permitted to go to, or remain in, a place of unattractively great need. These are big assignments. And God’s assignments are always the biggest that He can give us. T hese lines by Israel Zangwell, the bril liant Jewish author, were suggested by see ing blind children at play. Praise God, the Redeemer with the Royal touch is coming: Laughing, the blind hoys Run round their college lawn, Plays such games of buff
Over its dappled grass. See. the blind frolicsome Girls in blue pinafores, Turning their skip ropes. How full and rich a world Theirs to inhabit is! Sweet scent of grass and bloom, Playmates’ glad sympathy, Cool touch of western wind, Sunshine’s divine caress— How would they know or feel They are in darkness?; ; But—O the miracle If a Redeemer came, Laid finger on their eyes— One touch and what a world, Newborn in loveliness!
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