October 13, 1909. THE PRESBYTERI/
Devotional and Selections
WINGS OF A DOVE.
Henry VanDyke.
At sunset, when the rosy light was dying,
Far down the pathway of the West,
I saw a lonely dove in silence flying
To be at rest.
"PllKrim Of air!" I orinrl "pnnM T Ht,f
? wwMtvt A uuv UUI1UVT
Thy wandering wings, thy freedom blest,
I'd fly away from every careful sorrow,
And And my rest."
But when the dusk of filmy veil was weaving,
Back came the dove to seek her nest
Deep in the forest, where her mate was grieving?
1 uv/1u tt uo uuu rest.
Peace, heart of mine! no longer sigh to wander:
Lose not thy life in fruitless quest,
There are no happy islands over yonder;
Come home and rest.
HE LEADETH ME.
I have found in my career that when we have been
brought almost to a standstill by difficulty, it means
that very soon we are going to make a great leap forward,
and I follow the secret of it, I think. Difficulties
bring us to our knees, and when we are in that at4.:
4.?J- P-J t * - - * 4 * ? ~ "
uiuuc, uuu ieaas us iorwara, ana tne difficulties are
either removed or w?, *re upborne and carried past
them. After we have come through the fire and the
water we generally come out into a wealthy place.
Anything that brings us nearer to God must be good.
I have seen flood and fire distress us; but when I have
seen how they bring us nearer to God, I can afford to
sec some churches in flames if it makes hearts burn
brighter. We can rebuild the material edifice, and in
the sacrifice to be made to do it the soul is built up
likewise. So we, having to face difficulties, face them
with this conviction, that God would lead us through
them, and make us more fit as instruments in fulfilling
thf? nnrnnipe nf T-TIc 1?<">
r??. ^rwwwu vy? x AlO uvai IW *Vr.
You remember that when the apostles entered the
cloud they feared. I have entered many a cloud with
fear; but the cloud was lighted up because Jesus was
near, and it passed away and Jesus was* dearer than
ever and His face more glorious. But we must get up
InM 1 ?- ? J '* * * * -
...iv n.t iiKiuiiLctui, rtnu il is naru cumoing, out it leads
us into purer air and finds us more vigorous.?Selected.
THE PERIOD OF REPENTANCE.
It may be said that the preacher should be past the
period of repentance. Perhaps we limit that period too
much. The saint feels a keener sorrow for his past
sins than he felt when he first believed. Besides, he
is still fighting, and perhaps not always successfully.
The time may come when his struggles will be over
and his past errors forgotten?when he is no longer
climbing up through dark gorges and over rugged
heights, but is standing in the bright sunlight of the
mountain top, the sorrows and the struggles of the
way all forgotten. But then he will be a preacher no
longer. He will be as unfit to preach to men as the
angels are. Then the work of the guide will be done.
Like Moses on Pisgah, he will be called only to lay
down his staff and to sink to sleep at the kiss of God.
?Christian Advocate.
V t * ? * +
#
IN OF THE SOUTH. 9
Quiet Hour
Seek the kingdom oi God. First. i\'ot many
people do that. They put a little religion into their
livAC 1 rT,i
?v/.iv-t a ween, pernaps. l hey might just as well
let it alone. It is not worth while seeking the kingdom
of God unless we seek it first. Suppose you take
the helm out of a ship and hang it over the bow and
send that ship to sea, will it ever reach the other side?
Certainly not. It will drift about somehow. Keep
religion in its place and it will take you straight
through life and straight to your Father in heaven
when life is over. But if vou do not nut it in its nio^
you may just as well have nothing to do with it.
Religion out of place in a human life is the most miserable
thing in the world. There is nothing that requires
to be kept in its place as religion, and its place
is what? Second? Third? "First." Carry that
home with you to-day?first?the kingdom of God.
Make it so that it will be natural to you to think
about that the very first thing.?The Standard.
"Let not thine heart be hasty to utter anything before
God." A prayer that is hasty is likely to come
from an empty head rather than from a burdened heart.
Why should we wish to come before God to make a
prayer to men or even to offer well-ordered words?
words well suited to convey a prayer, but, after all,
only empty words? Be not rash, either, in speakng
to men in God's house. It is no less than treason to
to stand up in the King's name and to deliver anything
less than the King's message. "Keep thy foot when
thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to
hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools."
There are trials that rnm#? ;? i;r?. 4-v.i* 1?
iiiv, mat v.uiiic ll? Human
hearts; that seem to eat up every green thing.
But wait! life is not through yet. There are years of
plenty, as well as years of famine. In one psalm we
are told to come and behold what desolations he hath
made in the earth. In the next verse it is said, he maketh
wars to cease unto the ends of the earth. We
ought to believe that he will give joy according to
the years wherein we have seen trouble.
"If sorrow is joy in the making,
The joy is coming on!"
?Margaret Bottome.
"True Christianity has many distinguishing elements.
One of the strongest is mutual attraction
among true believers. It would be a phenomenon of
an alarming character were any considerable number
of persons born again, saved by Christ, praying daily
for the coming of his kingdom, and burning with zeal"
for souls of others to be without fruit. Where
churches are barren it is because they have no life in
a.1 t?
mem.
Many times God answers our prayers, not by bringing
down his will to ours, but by lifting us up to himself.
We grow strong enough to no longer need to
cry for relief.?Rev. J. R. Miller, D.D.