January, 1933
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
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hours in fretting over their troubles, instead o f praising God for their blessings. A Christian soldier returned from war, having lost his arm in an engagement. His friends gathered round him, and most of them said, “ What a pity you have lost your arm !” But the grateful soldier replied, “ Why don’t you help me to praise God that the other arm is left?” Would it not be better if we could always look at the bright side of things, and cultivate the habit of thankfulness and praise? The bees can get honey out o f nettles and bitter herbs, and the Christian should find sweets in the bitterest trials of life. W e have more mercies than sorrows, more smiles than tears, and the darkest night will break into the morning of joy. A thankful life is a happy life. Praise lightens our bur dens, soothes the spirit, strengthens the heart to overcome temptation, and hushes the murmur. Praise will cheer many a lonely hour, dry many a tear, and will raise our thoughts nearer unto Him who giveth songs in the night. Reader, if you are not happy, haste away to the cross, cry earnestly unto your loving Saviour, trust Him, trust Him with all your soul— and you will soon be able to sing, “ He brought me up also out o f an horrible pit, out o f the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God.” The praise thus started at the cross continue to sing as long as you live, and soon God will raise you to heaven, where the inhabitants praise Him day and night in His temple for ever and ever. — L iving W aters . There is a remedy—and yet the One who holds the remedy within the palm o f His almighty hand is not consulted, nor is His help solicited. Under similar conditions, which existed during the reign of King Solomon, the Lord said, “ If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” God heard repentant Nineveh and turned His wrath from it. He heard the people under Solomon who humbled themselves; and He healed their land. And what God did for these apostate, sinful people, He will do for apostate, sinful America. Our land was founded on Christian prin ciples by Christian believers. Trust in God was the corner stone of our nation. As a result, we have been signally hon ored and favored throughout our entire history. Honor brings responsibility. It is Our responsibility to witness uncompromisingly for the Christ who has made our salvation possible, for the God who has protected us and guided us. But instead, we have become proud in our own conceits; we have turned from the spiritual way, and we have made a golden calf of money, position, and educa tion, forgetting that what “ is highly esteemed o f man is abomination in the sight of God” (Lk. 16:15). God demands of us what He has demanded o f other peoples under like ‘circumstances. W e must humble our selves, repent of our sins, acknowledge our corruption, and seek His face. And “ behold, the Lord’s hand is not short ened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it can not hear” (Isa. 59:1). Let us call upon His name !
through my interpreter, not, “ Children, have ye any meat ?” but its near equivalent, “ Have you caught anything ?” They were just preparing their nets to begin the work of fishing, and I did not presume to instruct them how to fish. I did, however,- charter their boat for a brief ride upon the beau tiful blue water o f the same sea where Christ taught fisher men how to fish. But the events about Galilee are too numerous, to de scribe. Here Jesus found a number of His apostles. On its northern slope, He fed the five thousand. From a boat, He preached, while the people stood on the shore. At Caper naum and on the eastern coast, He cast out devils. All about it, He did “ many mighty works,” and here, after His resur rection, He met His apostles, and reinstated Peter, the most vascillating of all, into his apostolic office (John 21). PRAISE II ^ ow bright and glad this world would be if all voices were chiming the praises of G od ! Praise is a very impor tant element in religion, and yet it is frequently neglected. W e are often reminded o f the duty of prayer, and exhorted to cultivate a prayerful spirit. W e are pointed to the cheer ing promises which encourage us to make known our wants by prayer to God, but how seldom we are advised to praise the merciful Giver of a ll! It is written, “ Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me” and “ in everything give thanks.” Are there not many homes, many hearts, that are daily crowned with heavenly gifts, and yet no sacrifice of praise is presented in return ? Many people spend precious he glory of Nineveh is as traditional in world history as is the glory o f Rome. It seems an inevitable occurrence that, once a city or country becomes recognized for its worldly grandeur and glory, it is shortly doomed to dismal ruin. Coincident with its political and physical decay in variably comes spiritual apostasy and ultimate religious de cay. Nineveh, which was no exception to this order of things, has come to stand in the Gentile world as a symbol o f religious apostasy. But under the ministry of God’s prophet, the Holy Spirit convicted the wicked Ninevites of their gross sins. In true repentance, the king issued a decree that every one from the greatest unto the least o f them should cover him self with sackcloth and “ cry mightily,unto God; yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the vio lence that is in their hands. Who can tell if God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?” (Jonah 2 :8 ,9 ). The result was that God “ saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he,did it not.” And “ the people of Nineveh be lieved God” (Jonah 2:10, 5 ). Here is the record of a city recovered from its apostasy, •of a people healed o f their unbelief and forgiven their transgressions. This all transpired in 862 B.C., or approx imately 2,900 years ago, and yet how perfectly the setting ■coincides with our present-day conditions! Truly, we are living through a period of unprecedented apostasy. Unpar alleled wickedness prevails throughout our land. There is graft in high places. Men, women, and even children are bartering God-given birthrights for pottage. The outlook •of the world is black. But the situation is not hopeless.
Ç f f a n d i s ^ ìd o i o f ì i o r i e n e c l
B y HELEN MILLER LEHMAN, Santa Rosa, CaliL
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