January 1931 reach of human wisdom to discover, or truths of prime importance for men to accept and believe. His words are pre cisely equivalent in meaning to the sol emn Old Testament words which are rep resented as being the oath of God: “As I live, saith the Lord.” That is, “You may be ,as sure of. this thing as you are of my divine existence.” “Verily! verily! I say unto you.” In other words, “You may be as sure of this thing as you are of me, for all that I am is pledged to fulfill the words of my lips.” Is your religion joyful? Is your joy religious? The.two questions go together. And if we cannot answer these questions in the light of God’s eye, as we ought to do, let these great promises prick us into a closer walk with our Master and Lord. The out-and- out Christian is a joyful Christian. Why should we live half way up the hill, swathed in mists, when we might have an unclouded sky and a visible sun over our heads if we would only climb higher and 'walk in the light of His face? — Selected. — o — January 22—“And he . . . took the five loaves and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and gave the logves to his disciples, and the disci ples to the multitude" (Matt. 14:19). No Christian man or woman can ever be trufy given to the world who has not been broken. Oh, how much there is to be broken! How much it will cost to be bro ken ! Was not Enoch broken at a point in his experience? Was not Abraham? Was not Jacob? Was not Peter? . . . He who has taken us wills to break us that 'He may give us. There lies the great Secret. We are here not only to contemplate it but to enter into it. God’s will chooses, God’s act bruises, and God’s gift uses. —W: Graham Scroggie. — o — January 23— “As he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation” (1 Pet. 1:15). Holy thoughts breed holy words and holy actions, and are hopeful evidences of a renewed heart. Who would not have them? To keep chaff out of a bushel, one sure plan is to fill it with wheat. — C. H. Spurgeon. “Take time to be holy, Speak oft with thy lord; Abide in Him always, And feed on His Word; Make friends of God’s children, Help those, who are weak, Forgetting in nothing His blessing to seek.” — o — January 24— “What is man, that thou art mindful o f him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him” (Psa. 8:4)? O God! what dost Thou see in me ? Nothing but misery, nothing but rags, nothing but poverty; and yet Thou lovest me! O love which cherubim and sera phim adore! It passes understanding; it goes beyond my cognizance; it confounds my reason. I will sing of love, I will speak of love; my very dreams shall be employed about it. Oh that I could de clare i t ! . I— Selected.
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January 25— “That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith” (Eph. 3:17). There must be an indwelling Christ in order to have a deep and stable experience of His love. You must pass from the simple work of understanding the gospel to the higher act of faith. You must not be content with knowing; you must trust. And if you have done that, all the rest will follow. The little, narrow, low door way of humble, self-distrusting faith through which a man creeps on his knees, leaving outside all his sin and his burden, opens out into the temple palace^a large place in which Christ’s love is imparted to us all. When the sunbeams fall upon a mirror, it flashes in the light because they do not enter its cold surface. It is a mirror, because it does not drink them up but flings them back. The contrary is the case with the sentiment mirrors of our spirits. They are like a bar of iron which needs to be heated right down to its obstinate black core before its outer skin glows with the whiteness of a heat that is too intensely hot to sparkle. The sunshine must fall on us, not as it does on some lonely hillside, lighting up the grey stones with a passing gleam, that changes nothing and fades away; but as it does on some cloud cradled near its setting, which it drenches and saturates with fire till its cold heart burns, and all its wreaths of vapor are brightness pal pable, glorified by the light which lives amidst its mists. So must we have the glory sink into us before it can be re flected from us. — Alexander Whyte. — o — January 26— “Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin” (Psa. 51:2). Do you say, “Lord, I want my life to be a channel through which Thy power may flow” ? Then, let the spade of His Word go down into the depths of your heart that the hidden things may be re vealed. Blessing must be prepared for. You can hinder it and shirk it; you can shut your ears to His voice; or you can get alone with the Lord Jesus and let Him have His way. God has a glorious work to do in every yielded life; He has a glorious fullness to bestow. But there is also a work for us to do. There must be a digging down into the depths of our heart. We must resolve to get rid of all the rubbish, and to prepare for the liv ing water. — H. Earnshaw Smith. —o— January 27— “Who is among you . . . that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? Let him trust in the name of the Lord” (Isa. 50:10)., What name? “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.” What name? “Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” What name? Just this, “Jesus”! But how can we trust in what we do not much consider? Trust needs a very broad and strong foundation for its repose. . . . How we do love a little child that nestles up to us from its cot in a dark room, and kisses the hand that it cannot see, and pours out all sorts of little confidences which it did not tell in the broad day-
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