sengers are ever traveling the shin ing pathway bearing gifts and suc cour from the distant bridegroom to His bereaved and lonely bride.” We never find an angel preaching the Gospel of the grace of God, since it has pleased God to commit to His redeemed people the ministry of rec onciliation. When the E t h i o p i a n treasurer needed someone to guide him to the Saviour, the angel of the PATIENCE In the heart there is a garden Where God's fragant flowers grow, If we let the Master Gardener Plant the ones He would bestow. Under His divine direction We shall see the choicest bloom Lifting up its sunlit beauty, Sending forth its rich perfume. In this lovely little garden Faith and hope will find their place; Joy and peace will bloom serenely Side by side with truth and grace. But the fairest, rarest flower That can grace this heart of mine, Is a precious one called patience With a touch of love divine. How I need its blessed presence When the way seems dark and long! Patience in the time of trial; Patience with its silent song. O, thou God of grace and glory Let Thy patience fill my soul. Then my heart shall be Thy garden Under Thy complete control. i —Albert Simpson Reitz Lord did not do it, but summoned Philip, the evangelist, to do it (Acts 8:26-35). When an angel came to Cornelius, he did not announce the glad tidings, but said: “Send men to Joppa and call for one Simon . . . he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do” (Acts 10:3-6). The reason for this is obvious. Angels have no ex perience of the power and blessedness
of remeeding grace; men and women have. “Not to angels but men, let us praise Him again, for the love that gave Jesus to die.” Verses 10-12 speak of the unchang ing Christ. Let us remind ourselves that the One who thus receives the worship of the angelic hosts, and who commissions them to look after us as we journey to meet Him, is our im mutable, unchanging Lord. In a day like the present when everything that can be shaken is being shaken, how blessed it is to turn to Him of whom it is said: “Thou remainest; Thou art the same and Thy years shall not fail.” “Compared with Him the firm earth with its age-enduring moun tains is as a changing, fading ves ture; the difference between it and Him is the difference between dust and Deity” (Henderson). “The cloud- capped towers of earth, the gorgeous palaces, the solemn temples, the great globe itself, yea all which it inherit, shall dissolve; and like the baseless fabric of a dream, leave not a rack be hind.” But how matchless and wonderful are those comfort-laden words, “Thou remainest.” In our faith we look into His face and he speaks to our strick en hearts: “I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.” Friends and loved ones pass away; fellowships decline and fade away, but “Thou remainest.” How often we cling too fondly to our relationships with others, turning away from Him. It is then He puts forth His hand, and withers up our gourd, that He might draw us closer to His side to find in Himself more than all. “It was thus with the proph et of old, when, in the midst of spoil ing and violence, strife and conten tion, with blasted vines and empty stalls, he was able with chastened joy to sing: “Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls; yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation” (Hab. 3:17-18). 28
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