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April 21, 1909. THE PRESBYTERL
Luke?"He led them (the apostles) out as far as
Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them."
The lifting up of the hands has from very early times
been associated with prayer, intercession, and blessing.
In the war against Amalek, when the hands of
Moses were held up, Israel prevailed. At the dedication
of the temple, Solomon "spread forth his hands
toward heaven." The acts of prayer and blessing in
divine service are still aernmnaniprl wiH-?
, k"v
of the hands. "I will therefore," says St. Paul to
Timothy, "that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy
hands, without wrath and doubting." We can not always
stretch out our hands to help others. We can not
always lay hands on them, or take them by the hand.
Put we can always help them by lifting up our hands in
prayer and blessing, and remembering their needs belore
the throne of God. It was to his young scholars
at St. Paul's Grammar School that the good Dean
Colct wrote, "Lift up your little white hands for me."
None are too humble to help in this ministry.
All these actions bring vividly before us our Savior's
tireless industry. He was always busy, never idle.
"My meat is to do the will of him that sent me." "I
must work the works of him that sent me, while it i,s
day." These words are a rebuke to our idleness and
sloth. At one time it was thought beneath the dignity
of anv one but n slavp tr? \?r<->rL- ? ? 1
. - ? w- * ? ww ?? vy? i\ nivn in v nanus. lVldlllUtl
labor was despised. Pen and sword were deemed the
only honorable implements for the hand. But we never
hear of our Lord's making use of cither. Even in our
sense of the word he was a "working man,"?"Jesus
the Carpenter of Nazareth."
Those hands were, moreover, always at the service
of others. Never was the phrase, "a helping hand,"
Petter illustrated than in Jesus. His hands could perform
the most exalted or the most lowly services. He
could raise them to bless his disciples, or lower them
to wash their feet. And the Christian spirit will always
snow itseit in the same way. Be willing to be of use.
Be glad to do a service. Count it a privilege to help
others.
There came a time when these blessed hands were
powerless. They were bound, pierced, stretched on the
cross. The Savior was delivered into the hands of
wicked men. The hand of him that betrayed him was
on the table. The false disciple dipped his hand with
him in the dish. Cruel men smote him with the palms
of their hands. His judge washed his hands of him.
Soldiers' hands scourged him and nailed him to the
tree. Yet he proved himself our Savior in standing
still and suffering evil, even more than when he went
about doing good. He that can suffer is he that can
succor; he that can bear is he that can save. And until
we, too, learn that final lesson for ourselves, our hands
are not like his. We must bear on our body the marks
?f the Lord Jesus. We must have, as St. Francis
dppmorl La LAJ ^ 1? 1 -' " ' ^
?He iidu, me sacrcu sugmata. 1 o work, as
Christ did, for others, is a great thing. To suffer, as
Christ did, for others, is a greater thing. And our
hands must be heady for both.?Life and Work, Edinburgh,
Scotland.
I here are no languishing churches where souls are
4 saved.
[
\N OF THE SOUTH. u
The Quiet Hour
PRAYER.
Our Father in Heaven, as we study thy dealings with
thy children in the past, and as we meditate upon thy
dealings with ourselves, we are lost in wonder at the
magnitude of thy seeking and redeeming love. How
wondrous is thy compassion and how far-reaching thy
mercy. In the Son of Man coming to seek and to save
the lost we see the expression of thy great yearning,
loving heart. Hear us, our Father, as we confess our
sin and lay hold of Jesus for pardon and for cleansing.
Deliver us, not only from the guilt of sin, but from its
enslaving power. We pray for the joy of heart purity,
that we may be delivered from the domination of evil
in our hearts. Create in us clean hearts and renew
right spirits within us, and make us to know the joy
and gladness of those whose hearts are at one with
thee. Amen.
OUR BEST FOR GOD.
It is not wise for a man to waste toe much time comparing
his several performances. There will naturally
be some better than others; but the inferior work is
not always a proof of carelessness, or even a sign of
deterioration, but simply one of the many incidents
common to our earth and our humanity.
The Lord of Life, whose verdict alone is final, never
fails to consider the circumstances; and in the great
judgment it may appear that some magnificent deeds
fell short of being the best; and some very inferior
performances were in deed and truth the very best possible
to the agent at the time. Let us not fret if the
day finds our strength weaker or our hand less skillful,
but simply try each day in the fear of God to do the
best we can with the strength and the tools that the
day has brought, only careful of this, that we never
offer our God or our race indifferent or half-hearted
work.
Emotion has no value in the Christian system save
as it stands connected with right conduct as the cause
of it. ' Emotion is the bud, not the flower, and never
is it of value until it expands into a flower. Every
religious sentiment, every act of devotion which does
not produce a corresponding elevation of life, is worse
than useless; it is absolutely pernicious, because it
ministers to self-deception and tends to lower the line
of personal morals.?W. H. H. Murray.
We set out in the morning with purposes of usefulness,
of true living, of gentle-heartedness, of patience.
of victoriousness; but in the evening we hiul only
fragments of these good intentions wrought out. But
God's intentions are all carried out. No power can
withstand him or balk his will. It was in this thought
that Job found peace in his long sore trial. All things
were in God's hands, and nothing could hinder his designs
of love. Our God is infinitely strong. In all
earthly confusions, strifes, and troubles, his hand
moves, bringing good out of evil for those who trust
him. He can execute all his purposes of good. He is
never hindered in blessing his children.?J. R. Miller.