September, 1933
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
324
private to a friend? You feel nervous, anx ious, powerless. Your brain, too, may be confused, bewildered. Place yourself, and the notes of your address, if any, in the hands of Christ . . . Say to Him, “Here is nothingness; be Thou my fullness, my utterance, my tenderness, my sympathy, my intellect, my memory, my judgment, my in tonation of voice, my look, my gesture.” Plead that He will be to you “a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay or resist.” Thus looking to Christ, you put honor on Him (Ex. 4:12). Thus honored by you, you will be honored by Him . . . Is your mem ory bad? Ask the Lord to be in your mem ory. He will not fail you. At the right moment the needed reminder will be given, and your memory refreshed. “According to your faith be it unto you.” — E. B . E lliott . OCTOBER 7 “Looking unto Jesus" (Heb. 12:2). Upon myself and my mistakes, on weary, dreary days I sometimes look with aching heart, with long and troubled gaze; Forgetful that to look within, commun ing with my woes, Is to unlock and ope the door that hides my spirit’s foes. They, like a swarm of angry bees, with my despair their goal, With wrath fresh-stirred and furious, be set and sting my soul. They close my eyes to hope and love, they close my ears to peace; My tiny cares they magnify, they make my fears increase. And so my looking glass I break and cast away today, Determined not to look within, but unto Christ alway; For looking unto Him I find, that weary, dreary days Are changed to days o f joy and peace, and that my heart is filled with praise. — P au l H utchens . OCTOBER 8 “ That which concerneth me" (Psa. 138: 8 ). Note, it is “that which concerneth me.” Here is the glorious individualism o f the promise o f God. He knows exactly what you are, and what you have to face as cir cumstances. He will perfect the adjustment of His supply to that which concerneth thee in all the individuality o f thy soul’s need . . . “Thy mercy, O Lord, endureth for ever.” The mercy absolutely to meet our need to the end endureth for ever. And that mercy comes out in the wonderful patience and longsuffering o f the Lord with such slow learners. He is not out of pa tience with you, though you let your un believing heart often be out of patience with Him. “His mercy endureth for ever” —over your mistaken view, your short sighted understanding of His will, your broken faith, your folly and failure which need never have been. Look up again from the waste of the things which discourage you within, to Him. — H andley C. G. M oule . OCTOBER 9 “My people shall be satisfied" (Jer. 31: 14). . This one question is supreme: Am I sat isfied with Jesus Christ? Is there any part o f my life into which He does not enter, intellectual life, social life, recreative life,
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ther. There is nothing in the far country to wait for.— J oh n M ac B eath . OCTOBER 4 “And Peter followed him afar off" (Mk. 14:54). Peter’s fall teems with instruction for every believer. Concerning it, one writes: “No natural endowments can bear the strain of the spiritual life.” To this we add: Yes, and not even when exceptionally great natural endowments are inspired by equally exceptional love to Christ. Peter was as great spiritually as he was morally; and yet he fell. W e say truly it was trust in his own heart that led to his denial of Christ; but let us not forget that that heart was great in sterling worth, and rarely true and tender and loyal to its Master. It was not only a great man that fell that night, but a great disciple. How this emphasizes the lesson—“He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool” I — S elected . OCTOBER 5 “For thus saith the Lord God, the Holy One o f Israel . . . in quietness and confi dence shall be your strength" (Isa. 30:15). When we enter the school of Christ, it is our object to learn the way o f God more perfectly. Having been justified by faith, we enjoy peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, but we have to go on to perfection. It is in our service for Him that we discover the great need o f the rest He offers. In all our enterprises for the kingdom of God, we learn that in quiet ness and in confidence we shall find our strength. It is in returning and in rest that we enjoy full salvation. Even those who have walked with the Master for many a long year are constantly in need o f the exhortation to rest in the Lord, and to wait patiently for Him. — L ife of F a it h . OCTOBER 6 “I will give you a mouth and wisdom"I (Lk. 21:15). Are you about to speak for Christ, in public, to the congregation, or perhaps in
OCTOBER 1 "Set your affection on things above” (Col. 3:2). It is in the trials, the pressures, the vi cissitudes of life that the heart turns to God for comfort and help, and thus comes to know Him better and to learn more fully the riches o f His grace. And so the Heavenly Father, who is ever lovingly con cerned for His children’s highest spiritual welfare, and whose own heart yearns for the fellowship of those who are His, sends or permits adverse experiences as a means of loosening the grip o f the things o f earth upon them, and leading them closer to Himself and into a fuller appreciation and enjoyment of His spiritual riches. — R obert H. G lover . W e would seldom, perhaps never choose to be laid aside from our usual activities. Fortunately, God does not consult our wishes, so He lets illness come, or some other “circumstance beyond control,” and we have no choice in the matter. And thereby may come into our life some of the greatest blessings we could ever know. “On earth they say, laid aside by illness. In heaven they say, laid aside for still ness.” — S unday S chool T im e s . OCTOBER 2 "Holy to Jehovah” (Ex. 28:36, R. V .). As the people drew near to God with their prayers and offerings, ever with in firmity and insufficiency and iniquity at tached to them, how could they be sure •that God would hear, and welcome, and receive? How can prayer from sinful hearts and defiled lips prevail to come into the presence of God? Here is the provi sion. These prayers and sacrifices came not alone; the high priest came with them, and on his forehead this golden crown engraved with holiness to the Lord. This prevailed to secure access and acceptance before the Lord for all true prayers o f Israel, despite their inherent faultiness. So it is with us. At best, our prayers are imperfect, mingled with sin, unfit for God’s presence. But we have an High Priest, ever before God, and ever accepted in His own perfect holiness. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace.:— H ubert B rooke . OCTOBER 3 “And when he came to himself, he said . . . I will arise and go to my father" (Lk. 15:17,18). Even more significant was the prodigal’s twofold return: He came to himself—he came to his father. Some base motive, some false self had caused him to act out of character, and he lapsed from the thing he had been to the thing he was . . . But that is only the first part o f the return. Some have never got beyond that first part. In some sickness or in some sorrow, or under the influence o f some sermon or appeal, they resolved that they would after ward lead a better life; but it never hap pened. The impression passed and was forgotten. The man came to himself, but he did not come to his Father. The com pleted experience is the return to the Fa
The Better Part Strive not so much to do, but learn to be, That God Himself may do His will through thee. Better it is fo r thee to please Him so Than by such ceaseless running to and fro On errands which thine own blind heart hath planned; Better to lay in His thy restless hand And let Him choose thy task, or keep it there Inactive, if. He will; to do or bear, His choice is best; I know in His great plan That God can find a part for every man. — E dith H ic k m a n D ivall .
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