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THE K I N G ’ S B US I NE S S
in dust and ashes every time he sinned. There were no such blots or lapses in Saul’s career as are seen in David’s, but there was no repentance or sorrow in Saul’s heart. God looks at the inten tion rather than the action. A man’s life must be estimated not by the num ber of times he falls but by the num ber of times he arises after he falls. David’s face was always Godward. This is the secret of his pleasing God. SUNDAY, June 18. Psalm 2. The Great King. David’s greatest service was the songs he sung. The temple was built and re built and for centuries not one stone has stood upon another. . His Psalms shine with a brighter luster today than when they were composed. The Messianic Psalms have a double application. They may refer primarily to David’s own ex perience as king of Israel. They refer ultimately and exhaustively to David’s Son and Lord. Jesus lived and died with the songs of David in His heart and on His lips. David so universalized his experience and anticipated the Gospel that he even described the blessedness of the man to whom God imputeth right eousness without works. David knew experimentally what Paul set forth doc- trinally and the highest Christian expe rience finds his language the best ve hicle of its expression. MONDAY, June 14. Psalm 28. The Lord Our Shepherd. Bible students differ in opinion as to the time when David composed the Shepherd Psalm. Some suppose it to have been written in his youth while he tended his father’s flocks on the hills of Bethlehem. Others believe it to be the product of his ripened age in some reminiscent hour. When we consider the depth of its spirituality, the tender beauty of its sentiment, its marvelous summary of human life, the latter sup position seems the more reasonable and
probable. The sheep under the'shep herd’s care has safety, peace and rest. Food and drink are provided. There is protection, progress and satisfaction. Danger and death may be close at hand: Then description gives place to testi mony. The Shepherd becomes the Father. “ Thou art with me.” God is never nearer than in trouble. -A very present help indeed! The rod defends from enemies. The staff is for direc tion, counsel and comfort. The Chris tian life is no longer lived by effort and striving. It is accepting Christ for each and every step and action, letting Him live and work in and through me. Priesthood is a necessity in any re ligion but priest-craft is always a men ace and a curse. History shows a ten dency in any order of priests to become selfish, arbitrary and tyrannical and to lord it over the people whom they are supposed to serve. 1 Sam. 2:12-17. Among the Jews the order of the proph ets was raised up on the ruins of the priesthood. Prophecy is usually an evi dence of failure. Clericalism is the mod ern equivalent. The ministry should be regarded as a vocation instead of a profession. There is always a tendency to professionalism which would make the Christian ministry an end in itself instead of a means to an end. The man should always be bigger than the min ister. In such a case any distinguishing mark or peculiarity of garb seems super fluous. It cannot create the spiritual qualification nor atone for its absence. WEDNESDAY, June 16. Ezekiel 34:11- 16, 23-26. The True Shepherd. The shepherd instinct rising up in the heart of Jesus, Matt. 9:36, was an evi dence of His Messianic call. Those who are called to the foreign field sometimes TUESDAY, June 15. Ezekiel 34:1-10. False Shepherds.
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