T H E K I N G ’S B U S I N E S S Nor shall he call in tender tones to me Across the wide abyss of weary years, If there be no Christ, my friend, If there be no Christ. And then, my patient wife, for forty years, Walked by my stumbling side, Until one day they say she died; And as she went away, of Christ she sang, Oh, those old songs so sweetly rang From her dear, old faithful lips! She went to Christ in joy she said, But if there be no Christ, she’s dead, If there be no Christ, my friend, ■- If there be no Christ. If there be no Christ, No Christ. Then what is left for me So old and weak and scarce can see? No hope, no life, no resurrection day, No stores in heaven where never may The thief break through nor steal; Nor shall I hear the sounding peal Of God’s triumphant host; Oh, the labor that I’ve lost; No crown to follow cross, If there be no Christ, my friend, - If' there be no Christ- I fondly hoped that on some happy shore I’d meet my loved ones; where for evermore We’d dwell together in the crystal light, Nor ever dread a coming night, Nor shudder when the wind blew cold Across the fields so bleak and bold; Ofttimes I’d glance where white and still I saw the graves my darlings fill-^M I chuckled with a faith made bold; “ They’re not out in all that cold.” And oh, that thought was sweet you know, But then, of course, it isn’t so, If there be no Christ, my friend, If there be no Christ. t —Douglas Dobbins.
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sinner or of saint can make one either righteous or holy. At the very begin ning .of the letter an awful curse is pro nounced upon any one who preaches any other gospel, than the Grace of Christ even if such an one should be an angel. Throughout that epistle there is a con trast between faith and works, and the whole of the teaching centres in the cross- The cross of Christ is not only the answer to all sin, but it is the an swer to all that is of the flesh and of the world. By it, not only did Christ die for our sins, but there the believer in Christ has died also, so that his life, now is Christ Himself, and that life is received entirely by faith (Gal. 2:20). Christ Himself is our salvation and we are shut up to Him for salvation from sin past, present and future. He is the “ author and finisher of our sal vation” (Heb. 12:2), and we may look to Him and be saved.to the uttermost (Heb. 7:25). With such a Savior and such a salvation, oh, what folly, yea, what sin to be taken up with anything of self whether Of work or merit! And since He saves and we receive salvation solely by faith or by simply taking it as a gift, what blessed rest to the burdened heart; what peace and joy may be ours if we will but believe “ that since Christ died for our sins,” and rose again, eternal salvation is ours at this moment if but received as a gift.
IF THEBE BE NO CHRIST My friend, you say there is no Christ;
You say the sciences reveal Unto the world this fact. Why do I turn my hack? That I may conceal
The tears that fill my dim, old eyes. Long years ago, my precious son Dropped from the ranks of men; If there be no Christ, ah, then, I never more his blessed face shall see,
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