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(5 ) God’s hand is never shortened th a t it cannot save. (6) Our Heavenly manna is th e Man from Heaven. I t is a real feast to feed on Him. (7 ) We will find daily food if we follow instructions. (8) God’s m anna meets a hung ry m an’s deepest h e a rt need. Sp iritu al Food Necessary. An old P u rita n fath e r asked his son, when he came into th e library, one morning, th is question, “How many b reak fasts have you had Jo h n ? ” And th e son replied, LESSON “Two fa th e r.” He ILLUSTRATIONS had tak en physical W. H. P ik e food and sp iritual food. Our morning reading of th e Bible and prayer is ju st as necessary as is our b reak fast for the body. Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, bu t by every word th a t proceedeth out of th e m outh of God.” Matt. 4:4. If I go w ithout my sp iritu al meal one day I notice it in a lack of faith and courage. If I go two days, my fam ily notices it. If I go th ree days my friends notice it and if I go a week th e public notices it. There is a lack in me “W ithout Me ye can do noth ing .” Keep F ed Up To Date. A little boy said one day, as he was standing in a ray of sunshine, “Me stand ing in God’s smile, mamma.” Years afterw ard when his m other was dead and he had wandered far away from God, he was one day looking over some keepsakes in an old tru n k and found a parcel Containing a little pair of baby shoes and th is note in his m o th er's hand w riting. “These shoes were worn by my darling boy when he was two years of age. He stood one day in a ray of sunshine and said, “Me standing in God’s smile m amm a.” God g ra n t th a t my boy may so live as to always stand in God’s sm ile.” Through
and m urm ur again st H is Providences. A lady recently said: “ I had sweet companionship w ith my husband for th irty years, and I plead w ith God to spare him , b u t He failed me and let him die. I can never believe in prayer; a g a in !” T h at is poor, hum an natu re. Israel m urm ured: chosen of God in the first place; crowned w ith innum erable blessings, they were ceaseless in th is sin of fault-finding w ith God. Nothing dis honors God so much; nothing h u rts H is h e a rt so grievously, as to doubt H is goodness and love. All of His provi dential dealings are for our good. W hat do you grumble about? th e w eather? th e income? th e home? th e food? the o th er person’s blessings, successes, a t tainm ents? "How does God answer th e grumbling? He opens Heaven and gives angels’ food, th e most w onderful type of Christ. This m iracle finds its prac tical commentary in th e sixth chapter of Jo h n ’s gospel. The deeper th e sin, th e more rad ia n t shines th e goodness of His grace and glory. Food from Heaven, adapted to th e ir need, w ithin reach of all, abundan t in supply, ready to be gathered, m u st be eaten and should be received w ith thanksgiving and everlasting gratitude. There are two outstand ing things in th is lesson; th e w retched sinfulness of the hum an h eart, and th e wonderful grace and goodness of God. Why did He not blot them out, and why does He spare us, H is grumbling, fault-find ing children? PRACTICAL POINTS (1) The m iracle of th e Red Sea was fo rgo tten in th e m u rm u ring a t Marah. (2 ) Calvary’s tree alone can change e a rth ’s b itte r w aters into sweet. (3) There is a grouch ag ain st God in our natu re. (4) We fo rg et p ast favors in th e pres ence of pressing needs.
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