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in a sin-stricken world, pervaded by dense darkness, in which we are the light-hearers, empowered with a commission and command from the King of kings and Lord of lords to communicate to a world of sinners the welcome words of a sin-bearing Saviour. In such a service there should be the intensest joy for all who gladly obey the order from headquarters. THE ALLELUIA CHORUS OF THE CHURCH There are four “ Alleluias” in the first six verses of the nineteenth chapter of Revelation, and the last one of the four is full of suggestive help for the New Year, “Alleluia: for the Lord God Omnipotent reign eth!” World conditions are more threatening than they were before or during the last great war. Conditions in the professing church are more crucial
CHRIST’S CALL TO THE CHURCH FOR 1924
Christ loves us. He wants our fellowship. He wants our help. His voice should reach our hearts, by His Spirit. He calls us— To Solace. He wants to comfort us. j He wants us close to Himself. His arms are outstretched and He says always to us, * ‘ Come unto mé and I will give you rest.” We used always to apply this text to the sin ner, and it is true ; He says to every sinner, 11Come un to me, and I will .give yoii rest” and there is no other place of rest for the wicked. But we can never forget the day that new light broke in and we found that this exhortation was for believers also, and pillowed our head upon His bosom and found rest, and hundreds of times since have we found delight in that haven of rest.
than ever before in our day. The attacks upon the in fallible Word of God are more definite and more num erous. The rejecters of the Vir gin born Son of God are more numerous and more vehement. The drift from the' spirit ual to the worldly is more rapid and more rank.
To Surrender. He wants our wills surrendered to His holy will. He wants us to be in His right will. He has the plans. He wants us to cooperate with Him in the working out of those plans, according to His purpose. The greatest difficulty God has is to secure the surrend er of His own people. How blessedly satisfied are we when we are consciously do ing His good pleasure! The joy hells are always ringing then. Every day is a glad day then, and the joy of the Lord is our strength. To Separation. “ Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world,” He says. We are a separate people. Do not be deceived by the clatter of the call to ‘‘social service. ’’ That may provide you with better sur roundings, but it does not eliminate the bitterness of the spirit that is in man.
ANOTHER YEAR IS DAWNING Another year is dawning! Dear Master, let it be In working or in waiting, Another year with Thee.
Another year of mercies, Of faithfulness and grace; Another year of gladness In the shining of Thy face. Another year of service, Of witness for Thy love; Another year of training For holier work above. Another year is dawning, Dear Master, let it be, On earth, or else in heaven, Another year for Thee!
But—we can sing, no mat ter how low the clouds hang, “Alleluia: for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth!” God knew it all from the béginning. He knows it all now, and has seen fit to ad vise us of the days of de parture from the faith. We sorrow over it all. -We can weep over the souls that are being led astray—and we should weep. We must do all within our power to dis charge our duty and to stem the tide, but we must not despair. There must be no note of despondency in our song. “Alleluia: the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth!” Heaven is in fellowship with us. The departed saints have trod thé path before us. His purpose will be worked out, and, if it be His will that the trials shall be greater and the path more rugged as the year passes, we know that He knows, and we are sure that His. love changeth not. The darker the night for the world, the brighter the Light of the world shineth for us. and the deeper should be our hearts’ desire for the lost who walk in darkness. Wherever we go and whatever awaits us, we can and must sing, “ Alleluia : Praise His name ! the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth!”- I take my pilgrim staff anew
—Frances Ridley Havergal
You may raise the standard of amusements, but that will not rally people to the standard of Christ, but rather the contrary. If believers do not have a better time than worldly people, or worldly Christians, then it is a sure sign that they are not living in the sunshine of the Son of God. To Service. The service is two-fold. First, it is “ Feed my lambs—feed my sheep.” We are to minis ter to His own dear people—our brethren in the faith —His household. We are to comfort them with the Word, but not coddle them. We have a two-fold duty to our fellow saints,—loyalty to God’s Word in our re lation to them, and a living expression of God’s love in us in our regard for them. We must seek to be true and faithful in each relation. The second thing in our service is “ Go and give.” The Gospel is a world gift and we are commanded to give it. We have no choice in this connection. “ Duty” is spelled with large letters, but it should be an in tensely loving service. It is an incomparable privilege which is accorded us, that of being- His representatives
Life’s path, untrodden, to pursue, Thy guiding eye, my Lord, I view; My times are in thy hand.
—Selected.
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