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T h e K i n g ’ s B u s i n e s s
May 1932
yourself in the desert o f experience. The fountain is there, close to you, if you are in Jesus Christ. And so, while in one sense we have, in another sense we have not, till we seek and receive the fullness o f blessing. W e have by our covenant title, but we have not, till we have used our title and acted on it. Let us, for daily life, for that old dif ficulty, for that inveterate failure, go forth looking unto the Lord Jesus Christ, and drawing from Him the stream o f the spir itual life.— H andley C. G. M oule . “My heart is resting, O my God, I will give thanks and sing; My heart is at the secret source O f every precious thing.” M AY 20 L ove ’ s A ttitude “Love your enemies” (Lk. 6:35). This pose or temper o f the soul can be acquired only in the atmosphere of prayer. It is in the ministry o f prayer that the crooked become straight. If we entertain feelings o f perilous hatred against another, let us force ourselves into the presence of God, and in that all-corrective Presence, the foul inclination will be changed, and the posture o f the soul will be transfigured into the forgiving attitude o f God. Love your enemies. Love is the instrument o f knowing. W e can have no real knowledge of our enemy if we are destitute o f love. Love is the posture in which vision is pos sible. It is through love that we have dis cernment and knowledge. If a man say, “I know my brother,” and he loves him not, his knowledge is only pretense. Love reflects the disposition o f God. I f I may say it reverently, to love an enemy is the very pose o f God. “While we were yet sinners, Christ died.” “ I know the thoughts that I have toward you, . . . thoughts of peace, and not o f evil.” T o let the mind dwell upon the disposition o f God is to un consciously acquire His pose. It always helps us to be well-disposed toward any body when somebody whom we love is well disposed toward them. The attitude of the one we love imperceptibly fashions our own. Because God loves His enemies, we shall find it possible to love ours. ■—J. H. JOWETT. . M AY 21 A M utilated B ible “I f any man shall take away from the words o f the book o f this prophecy, God shall take away his part out o f the book of life” (Rev. 22:19). A man from South Ireland told me this story. There came a new minister to a certain church. He was full o f the new “higher critical” theories and started teach ing them, one after another. A t the end of two years, he was told that one o f the leading men o f his church was ill. He went to see him. There was no chance of re covery; the man was dying. A fter a little talk, the minister said, “ Shall I read you a little and pray with you?” “Yes,” replied the man, and beckoned to his wife to bring the minister a Bible. A Bible was brought, and he opened it and saw a strange sight. Some books were taken out o f it, some pages torn away, some chapters gone, and some verses cut out; it was a shamefully mangled Bible, hardly fit for a rag basket. The minister opened it and said, “ Do you not have a better Bible than this?” The dying man said, “When you came, I had a whole Bible. But as soon as you told me that one book was fiction, I tore it ou t; and that one chapter was not true, I re-
C>I)ciily CDevohonal(^fteadings A M E S S A G E F O R E V E R Y D A Y O F T H E M O N T H
M AY IS T he W itness
branch. Nothing we can say to the Lord, no calling Him, by great or dear names, can take the place of the doing o f His will. W e may cry out about the beauty o f eat ing bread with Hijn in His kingdom, but it is wasted breath, and a rootless hope, unless we plow and plant in His kingdom here and now. T o remember Him at His table, and to forget Him at ours, is to have invested in bad securities. There is no sub stitute for plain, everyday goodness. — S elected . M AY 18 W hen the T ables are T urned “I am a companion o f all them that fear thee" (Psa. 119:63). The traveler by the “narrow way” has no cause to be ashamed o f such com panions. His associates are of the royal seed. They are princes of the blood. The King’s enemies may deride us, saying, “ Fine princes ye are!” Truly, present ap pearances are against us. Our raiment in their eyes may more resemble “old cast clouts and rotten rags” than the royal ap parel. Our enemies now make merry over us, asking about our country and our es tates, what size is our mansion, and whether its furniture is goodly. W e know that the laugh will be on the other side one day. Alas, for the scorners who delight in their scorning ! What a look o f surprise and dismay will they give when the King “cometh with clouds” and “every eye” shall see Him, and to all it is manifested that we are “the children o f God” (1 John 3: 10) ! — F ranklin F erguson . M AY 19 N ew T ruth from a F am iliar P assage “ The Spirit o f life in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 8 :2 ). Where shall I look for the Holy Spirit? In the Lord Jesus Christ, “my boundless treasury, filled with boundless stores of grace.” I was reading my New Testament the other morning, working steadily through it again. I always find something new in it. At the beginning o f Romans eight, in the familiar passage, I noticed for the first time, I am ashamed to say, the phrase, “the Spirit o f life in Christ Jesus.” Are we in Christ? Yes, we are, for the Spirit has brought us to Him. Then we are, as it were, at the fountainhead o f the Holy Spirit. “Weary one, stoop down, and drink, and live.” It may be you feel An Old Favorite I have been taking T he K ing ’ s B usiness fo r fourteen years, and I feel I could not do w ithout it. — S onora , C alif . Your magazine means more to me every day. I could not afford to go to school this year, so I am making use of the studies given in T he K ing ’ s B usiness and find them very helpful and beneficial. — L edger , M ont .
“If. ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Fa ther glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples ” (John 15:7, 8 ). Would’st thou a witness for thy Saviour be, In word and life, to men on every hand, While passing through a dark and dreary land? Then hear the Master’s word, “Abide in Me, And ever let My words abide in thee.” Thus walking in the sunshine o f His face, Show forth the beauty o f His lowly grace; That others, in the daily round, may see In one who treads in peace the pilgrim way, Some heavenly fruit brought forth from day to day: That from the fullness of thy life may flow Love, kindness, meekness, humbleness of mind, That thou, in passing through this world, may show The loveliness o f Christ before mankind. — S cripture T ruth . M AY 16 T he C hristian ’ s C overing “Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ’’ (Rom. 13:14). I thank Thee, O Lord, that it was in Thine hour o f sacrifice the world received Thy garment. I thank Thee that it was at Thy cross Thy robes were parted among men. It is Thy moment of humiliation that has reclothed humanity. There was a garment o f Thine on the Mount o f Trans figuration ; but that has not been parted among us. I am glad that was not the garment chosen. It suited Thee, but it would not suit us. It was too white, too glistening, for our toilsome day. W e want something that will stand for tear and wear o f life, something fitted for work that soils the outer hand. And we have found it in this second garment o f Thine— the garment given at Thy cross. Ever let me touch the hem of that garment, O ■Lord! .With that robe upon me, I can do all work and receive no stain. With that robe upon me, I can touch impurity and still be pure. With that robe upon me, I can touch things soiled with moth and rust; and the moth will not corrupt, and the rust will not corrode. The saints in heaven may walk in white before Thee; but the garment for me is the garment o f Thy cross. — G eorge M atheson . M AY 17 P ractical C hristianity He that doeth the will of God abideth fo r ever" (1 John 2 :17). Christianity is not a voice in the wilder ness, but a life in the world. It is not an ideal in the air, but feet on the ground, going God’s way. It is not exotic to be kept under glass, but a hardy plant to bear twelve manner of fruits in all kinds of weather. Fidelity to duty is its root and
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