602 men. It is the old Hebrew ideal univer salized and spiritualized. Christ planted th e seed of a social order th a t is eventu ally to become the only rule of all man kind. When the will of God is done on earth as in Heaven, then the kingdom of God and Heaven shall fully and final ly come. Every social problem will be solved, all social disorder will be quieted and every social objective will be real ized; The kingdom of God is not to he identified with either church or state. It includes every agency in which soci ety can be organized. It embraces fam ily, community, city, school, commerce, a rt and every economic system. The only motive is to do the will of God. The only condition is- the right relationship to him. SUNDAY, June 26. John 3:1-10. The Method of Jesus. Jesus undertook to make new men, knowing th a t when we have new men we shall have a new state. Some are saying we must Christianize th e social order. Others are replying th a t we must social ize our Christianity. Jesus simply says “Ye must be born again.” Outward con ditions are not good in themselves. They are to be judged by th eir effect upon character. The sole aim of th e kingdom of God and the purpose of all its agencies is to perfect character. It is b etter for a man to starve than to be pauperized by charity. It is better for a man to suffer the physical consequences of his tran s gressions than to receive hospital help th a t will enable him to go on in sin with fancied impunity. Because the kingdom of God keeps the life eternal in view, So cialism and Christianity are antipodal. Socialism is a code of law s.' Christianity is the reign of love. MONDAY, June 27. Acts 22:1-3, 27, 28. Saul Born in Tarsus. Tarsus stood high among the cities of th e ancient world as a literary and edu cational centre. It counts for a good, deal to breathe the stimulating air of a university town. As Caesar boasted of Rome and Demosthenes of Athens, so Paul spoke of Tarsus. Ch. 21:39. Here was doubtless laid the foundation of th at large and liberal culture, th a t courteous personal address which is so apparent before Felix and Agrippa. As a Jewish child Paul received a thorough religious training, arid a possible reason for the removal of his parents to Jerusalem was to place their promising boy under the
T H E K I N G ’S B U S I N E S S best Jewish instructors. H is zeal as a propagandist of the national faith 3ho ved how heartily he had accepted it, and his frequent announcement th a t he was a Pharisee showed th a t he was not ashamed of his birth nor his early re ligious training. TUESDAY, June 28. Judges 13:8-16. Hebrew Parents’ Love for Their Children. Child-training among th e Jews occu pied a most important place. Deut. 6:4-9. Unless the Bible standard is adopted in teaching and training the young, the high est moral character is impossible. If every man is a law unto himself there is no law and no authority whatever. A vine may be trained by placing its branches upon a trellis or a wall, but without something to re st upon it can not be trained a t all. There is no room for a choice of standards. It is the Bible or nothing. It would be an inestimable advantage from a moral standpoint to have th e Bible read in the public schools without comment or interpretation. The time is coming when we may have to supplement the secular teaching of the schools w ith week-day religious instruc tion. Some are willing to borrow from the Bible th eir moral principles and yet are unwilling to acknowledge its Divine authority. If it is binding in one respect it is binding in all. WEDNESDAY, June 29. Judges 13:17-24. Samson as a Baby Bay. Pre-natal influences have great power in controlling and moulding th e after life of the child. While original sin can never be removed, a bias toward sainthood with distinctive moral aptitudes may be im parted th a t shall prove to be a moral safe-guard in an evil world. How un speakably sad it is th a t an immortal be ing should be called into existence by the dictates of passion or caprice! Godly parentage is a sacramental privilege in volving a responsibility for the discharge of which Divine grace and power .are necessary. Every child has the inherent right of being well born and of being wel come in the-home and in th e world. “Jesus loves the little children, A1V the children of the world, Brown and yellow, black and white, They are precious in his sight, Jesus loves the little children of the world.” THURSDAY, June 30. \ Sam. 1:21-28. A Hebrew Boy Dedicated to God. To properly bring up a child calls for
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