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T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S cause. Herein lies the blessing of tak ing sides with God. “ He always wins who sides with God” because the Divine cause must eventually triumph. That victory will he so far-reaching and com plete that those who participate therein may well be described as “ more than conquerers.” Moreover the pre-assur ance of victory imparts a' constant im pulse to high endeavor and heroic achievement. SUNDAY, April 11. Rev. 7:9-17. Eternal Deliverance. The various deliverances of Israel were temporary and typical. God was too faithful to allow them to prosper in their apostasy. When they departed from his law, he allowed them again to fall into the hands of their enemies. “ Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble and he saved them out of their disiresses.” The time is coming when the people of God shall be confirmed in holiness and beyond the reach even of temptation. They shall be delivered not only from the power but from the pres ence of sin. In the last hook of the Bible the veil is drawn aside from the future and we get a glimpse of the eter nal security and felicity of the redeemed. MONDAY, April 12. Judges 6:1-10. Israel Oppressed. After the defeat of the Canaanites by Deborah and Barak, Israel had rest for forty years. “ Then they did evil again in the sight of the Lord” and he per mitted the Midianites to oppress them seven years. They were helpless under the power of their oppressors. Their crops were destroyed, their towns were plundered and existence became a bur den. Then they cried unto God for help and he raised up Gideon to be their deliverer. It was well for Israel that a man of God lived among them on whom God could lay his hand in time of need, and make him an agent for deliverance. A godly man is a most valuable asset
He seemed to take delight in multiply ing difficulties and creating apparently impossible situations in order to empha size the helplessness of the people on the one hand and to bring His own om nipotence out into stronger relief on the other. Although we may he able to assign a definite date to the composi tion of a psalm like the forty-sixth, nevertheless its general character as a poem of praise gives it a timeless appli cation to the history of God’s people in every age. The religious aspirations of Jew and Gentile are substantially similar. “ He fashioneth their hearts alike.” FRIDAY, April 9. Heb. 11:32-40. Faith and Victory. Barak’s name is listed in this bead- roll of Hebrew heraldry, because in yielding to the summons of Deborah the prophetess and in going forth to battle with the hosts of Sisera, he showed that he was animated and sustained by faith. The historical books of the Bible give many instances of defeat be ing turned into victory because of faith. The career of Joshua and David as well as Barak shows that faith is to be reck oned among the assets and resources of. the soldier. Faith is confidence in God and the object of the writer of this chapter is not so much to illustrate the nature of faith as to show its power in sustaining the soul especially in times of trial. Faith leads one to act as if certain things are so, simply because God has declared that they are so. SATURDAY, April 10. Rom. 8:31-39. More Than Conquerors. There is a unique advantage in be coming identified with . a moral move ment and committing oneself to a cause that shall react favorably and helpfully upon the life. The influence of a great moral issue upon an adherent may be of greater importance and value than the contribution of the individual to the
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