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For the Index.
Parable of the Great Supper, Luke
14:15 25.
BY S. G. HILLY ER.
jesus was dining with a rich
Pharisee. Many guests were
present, and it was the Sabbath
day. Bui Jesus did not suspend
his ministry because he was at a
rich man’s table. There was
present an unfortunate man who
was afflicted with dropsy. How
he came to be present we aie not
told. Possibly some kind friends,
as in the case of the paralytic,
had brought him that he might
have access to the great healer.
The company watched Jesus to
see what he would do. They
were curious to know whether
he would heal the sufferer on the
Sabbath. Jesus asked them: “Is
is lawful to heal on the Sabbath
day?” But they gave him no re
ply. He then took the man and
healed him and let him go.
Then ever mineful of his
Father's business, the Savior
proceeded to instruct the people
As he talked, one of the compa
ny,as if moved by the wisdom of
his words, said to him: “Blessed
is he who shall eat bread in the
Kingdom of God.” These words
furnished to Jesus the occasion
” giving to t fie whole cum pa
ny the parable of
THE GREAT SI'PPER.
Turn to Luke xiv. 1 25. Read
the whole story, and try to take
in the situation. Then you will
see how appropriately the para
ble fits in with the occasion.
The company were, at that mo
nient, enjoying the hospitality
of a rich friend, and they were
no doubt glad to be there. How
natural therefore, when the al
lusion was made to the blesstd
ness of eating bread- in the king
dom of God, that Jesus should
develop the analogy between the
feast they were then enjoying
and the magnificent banquet
that God was preparing for His
people in the Kingdom which
had already been announced as
just at hand.
Under the figure of a great
supper Jesus sets forth an in
structive forecast of that King
dom, and of its reception among
men. Its coming had been fore
told for ages. It was designed
to be a blessing first to the Jews,
and through them, to all man
kind. Hence the Jews were
first invited. But they sadly
misundertood its nature and the
mode of its manifestation.
When, therefore, the divine mes
senger came to tell them that
the Kingdom (the supper of the
parable) was “at hand” —that all
things were now ready —and to
come to this heavenly banquet,
with one consent they began to
make excuses, some for one rea
son, and some for another, pray
ed that they might be excused.
This part of the parable repre
sents the attitude of the ■ aiural
heart towards the overtures of
God’s mercy through the gospel.
Absorbed in the business, the
emoluments and the pleasures
of the world, men have no laste
or relish for the high and spirit
ual enjoyments offered to them
at the banquet of God’s spiritual
Kingdom.
Following the parable a little
further we notice, that when the
Master of the feast discovered
how those worldly people had
refused his invitation, he “was
angry” and said to the servant,
“go out quickly and bring in
hither, the poor, the lame, the
halt and the blind.” This order
was promptly obeyed, and pres
ently the servant said: “Lord,
it is done as thou hath com
manded and yet there is room.”
The Lord was not yet satisfied.
He said again to his servant,
“go out into the highways and
hedges, and constrain (compel)
them to come in that my house
may be filled.”
How exactly did this parable
foreshadow the history of the
THE CHRISTIAN INDEX
gospel from its very beginning
down to the present time! The
gospel is indeed a message of
“glad tidings” unto all people.
It has come from the great God,
our Father in heaven. It in
forms us that that loving Fath
er has prepared a great supper,
representing, in a figure, all the
blessings of an eternal salvation,
and that He has invited an im
mense multitude of people to
that Heavenly banquet.
Bui how has it been received?
We learn from the parable, that
they for whom the supper was
specially designed, and to whom
was first sent the message,
“come, for ail things are now
ready” coldly rejected it. So
universal was the rejection, that
it was said, in the summary style
of the parable, that they “all
with one consent began to make
excuse.” It would have been
universal, but the Lord sent out
again into the streets and lanes
of the city and called the hum
ble poor to his great feast. Here
we have, as the Sunday school
Teacher suggests, an example
of “home missions.” In the Old
despensation, the prophets were,
with very few exceptions, home
u issionaries. So when Jesus
came to tell the world taat “all
things were ready for God's
great banquet” he went first to
the lost sheep of the house of
Israel.
But after the poor were gath
ered to the feast still there was
room. Then came the command:
“Go out into the highways and
hedges, and constrain them to
come in that my house may be
tilled.” Here we have an exam
ple of “foreign missions.” The
Lord has prepared his ban
quet with a magnificence so
great, and with a plentij so
abounding that he cannot be sat
isfied with only a moderate num
ber at his table. So, while He
wept over Jerusalem because
she would not come, He cast His
eye far beyond the confines of
Israel and stretched out over all
the nations His abounding love.
So He said to His Apostles (only
another name for missionaries),
“go make disciples of all na
tions, baptizing them into the
name of the bather and the Son
and the Holy Ghost, teaching
them to observe all things what
soever I have commanded you;
and lo! I am with jou always
even to the end of the world."
As the Savior uttered these
words, no doubt His eye swept
beyond the Aegean, beyond the
Danube, far away to the shores
of the Baltic and to the North
ern Ocean, across to the British
Islands, and across the Atlantic
to the distant Americas, and
then across the Pacific to the
land of Sinim, and of India, back
to the Indus and the Euphrates
and the Jordon. Then, no
doubt, that loving eye swept
southward to Africa’s southern
cape. N.iy, His love was not sat
isfied 'till, like the waters of the
deep, it ci: eled round all the is
lands of the sea.
Long before the giving of the
great commission, the Lord had,
by the iips of an ancient prophet
already anticipated it. He said:
“Look unto me, ail ye ends of
the earth, and be ye saved, for I
am God, and besides me there is
none e se.” Is. 45:22 But ala>!
the ends of the earth did not
bear those sweet words. Cen
turies rolled away and they did
not hear that loving invitation
But it was the word of God, it
was not lost, nor was it ever for
gotten. It was the signal note
of the great commission, which
by and by, should send its lov
ing words in bugle tones around
the world. So the great banquet
of our Father’s house shall at
length be tilled with guests.
Oh, brethren, ought not this
wonderful parable to be to us all
an inspiration to win guests for
Christ’s great supper, both at
home and in the far distant re
gions of this great globe.
273 Washington St , Atlanta.
For the Index.
Our Sacred Songs.
BY MRS. LAVRA RICHARDS.
The Bible and hymn book, how
irseparably connected ! In the
days of our forefathers, the pio
neer preachers wended their way
through the wilderness of sin
with no other weapon save the
Bible and hymn book.
The Scriptures are linked to
gether with song, beginning
with the time when ‘ ‘the morning
stars sang together” in the crea
tion, and ending with the song
of the redeemed host, in Revela
tion. No sweeter, grander song
has ever been sung on earth than
that sung by the angels at the
birth of the Savior, “ Glory to
God in the highest and on earth
peace, good will toward men.”
It was a golden link binding
heaven to earth and opening the
gates of paradise to earth’s
vision.
Songs of victory, songs of
praise, songs of joy, songs of
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I 'NISTERS, I.o*. I
gratitule, all emenating from
the heart, expressive of its emo
tions. Song is a gift of God. It
is the escape valve for pent up
feelings. Every song we sing
is the experience of some soul.
When we can take to ourselves
and live over again such experi
ences, we can make the song ours;
and then, and only then can we
gt t out of it the good there is in
it for us.
When thoughts and words are
framed into song the melody
takes it, as a bird takes wings
and wafts it abroad. The com
mand is: “ make melody in the
heart.” After all, it is the spirit
and not the letter.
Songs are sacred when they
embody a sacred subject. Prayers
of deepest emotion are often in
terwoven in song, and it is sacri
ligious to sing such in a careless
manner. As the inspiration of
God’s holy spirit they merit rev
erence.
We worship God in song when
we give to him the highest,
purest emotions of the heart;
and although we take the words
of another and make them ours,
they are none the less accepta
ble. That sweet old song, “Je
sus lover of my soul,” has been
sung all around the globe, in
every tongue and tribe, and is
just as precious and inspiring to
one nation as another. Who has
not been uplifted by the congre
gational singing of, “ There is a
fountain Hilled with blood,”
until the inspiration of it carried
the soul upward upon the waves
of song? Songs of peace and
joy sing themselves into the
heart in their calm, still way,
and almcst unconsciously the
words well up from the heart.
In all sincerity the heart re
sponds to the truth of the words:
“ I know I love thee better, Lord,
Than any earthly joy;
For thou hast given me the peace
Which nothing can destroy ”
The comfoit ar d courage and
consolation there is in a song,
none know except those who ap
propriate it. When trials and
temptations assail, some one be
fore us has trod the same path,
and given us the stiengthening
words:
“Yield not.to temptation, for yielding
is sin,
Ea :h victory will help you some other
to win.”
There is soniet hing about song,
something about music and
rythm and harmony that catches
these words and fastens them in
the mind, almost immovably.
Time, which steals from us so
much that we prize, leaves us
our songs. Fond memory holds
in.store for us the songs of early
years, when all else that binds to
the past is gone. It is wise to
store the mind with songs and
hymns; they furnish a fund from
which to draw in declining years.
Gne of the glories of heaven will
be the new song sung before the
throne of God, the song of the
redeemed. If heaven is sweefer,
brighter, happier for song, let us
treasure this gift of God to mor
tals, and use it for the uplifting
of humanity and the glory of
God.
Canton, Ga.
F ir the index
Somethin)? lor the Young;. Small
Things in the Letter Art.
BY P. S. WHITMAN.
Take the two words would and
could. Have you ever thought
what a difference it sometimes
mokes whether}on use one or
the other? We invite your at
tention to a i ice little illustra
tion i f this difference found in
the third sentence of my article
in last week’s Index (March 12).
I was trying to show the incon
sistency of being baptized in
Jordan, when, otherwise one
would not be baptized at all. But
in the printing it is could instead
of would. You see how per
fectly my aim was defeated by
this change of w into c, making it
could, instead of would. For what
inconsistency can there be in
one’s being baptized in Jordan if,
otherwise, he could not be bap
tized at all ? Here it is seen how
easy it is to spoil the sense, and
how constantly we must keep on
the watch for the right word.
Our advice to young persons is
not to rely on any special rules
to guide them as to w’hich of
those auxiliaries, as might, could
etc , should be used; save the
one direction which should be
kept in constant use in respect to
all words, namely; In selecting
one of any two words or more,
be sure to take the word that
tells best what you mean. As
for myself, I was early taught
this rule, but it seems as if the
type setters were conspiring to
rob me of any reputation for fol
lowing it. They are all the while
making me say the opposite of
what I mean. They extend their
skill even to the punctuation.
Yes, let me tell you what mis
chief a misplaced comma made
in an article of last week’s Courier,
a weekly remarkable for accu
rate printing. I was trying to
ATLANTA, GA., THURSDAY, APRIL 9,1896.
ho .v that popular church gov
< rnment was established before
the Christian Pentecost. It is
such a fino example, I will give
you the sentence with the punctu
ation as printed. “ Before even
a gospel church stood forth to
the gaze of the world, on the day
of Pentecost it was established
in the election of Matthias where
church government was to lie.”
Thus, by putting the comma
after world instead of after Pen
tecost, I am made to admit what
1 aimed to deny, and, in addition,
proclaim the historic falsehood
that Matthias was elected on the
day of Pentecost. I thought 1
was making a sensible artice: but
the fruit of my effort was in
fected with chagrin.
Evidently the reputation of
writers for the press is subject
to the capricious fingers of type
setters. And still let us all, both
old and young, keep on trying to
use the word which tells best
what we mean.
For the Index.
The Unshaken Faith.
BY 0. E. W. DOBBS, D.D.
The writer of the Epistle to
the Hebrews (12:27,28) refers to
the “things which are not sha
ken”—“a kingdom that cannot
be shaken.” This in contrast
with the shaken things of the
old dispensation. The shaken
things passed away—the un
shaken remain, Peter appears
to have thought similarly when
he quoted from the prophet. Isa
iah those triumphant words,
“Behold, I lay in Zion a chief
corners tone, elest, precious; and
he that believeth on him shall
not be put to shame.” (1 Pet.-
2:6). The quotation is from Isa
iah 28:16. Paul also quotes the
same words to the same effect.
(Rorn.9-.33; 10:11). In the proph
et we read “shall not make
haste.” In Peter and Paul we
have (Revised Version) “shall
not be put to shame.” In the
common version of Peter it reads
“shall not be confounded.” The
prophet’s words seem to refer to
one surprised, and in fear flying
to a supposed place of refuge.
The apostles quote the Septua
gint, where the same Greek
word is used as is f 6 d in the
epistles. It means ty ci- Appoint,
to put to shame in tIZ testing
time of one’s hope or trust. Dr
Toy says the He of; i
and that perhaps the- seventy
hud a different word in their He
brew manuscripts. Bui the idea
is substantially the same in all.
Our faith is well founded. It
shall never disappoint the soul
which cherishes it. No one who
builds on the sure “corner stone,
elect, precious,” shall ever come
to shame. The word rendered
“believes” means to “trust” or
“confide” in one. The favorite
figure of the sacred writers is
that of our God and Christ as a
ro :k on which they who love and
serve him may confidently rest
their hope. What a precious as
surance Peter and Paul could
write out of a rich experience. Af
ter thoroughly testing this sure
foundation for many long years
of toil and patience, the one
calmly testified, “For we did not
follow cunningly advised fables
when we made known to you the
power and coining of our Lord
Jesus Christ.” The other tri
umphantly shouted, even while
he waited the axe of the execu
lioner, “lam not ashamed; for I
know him whom I have believed,
and I am persuaded that he is
able to guard that which I have
committed unto him.” In the
same holy confidence may the
child of God sing:
“How firm a foundation, ye saints of
the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in his excellent
Word."
Consider what faith is to the
Christian. It is the turning
point in the soul’s character and
destiny; the crisis of its life; the
line between the “old man” and
the “new man.” In the act of
believing in Christ we pass out
of death and condemnation into
life and justification. In a word,
“By grace are ye saved through
faith.” Let us ever rejoice that
that faith is so well founded.
Faith is twc-fold. It is that
which we believe, and it is the
personal trust of the heart in Je
sus as Lord and Savior. The
“faith” may be conceived of as
the doctrine of the gospel—the
“creed” of Christianity as a reli
gious system; or as the penitent
surrender of the soul to the woo
ing grace of the Redeemer, when
the heart unreservedly trusts
that grace for salvation. In both
of these senses of faith we may
unhesitatingly affirm that our
foundation is on the sure rock.
Neither Christianity nor the
Christian shall ever be put to
shame.
Some one has said that ‘ ‘faith
is a higher faculty than reason.”
We believe before we reason.
Indeed this is necessarily so, for
one must trust something as a
basis from which to reason. Ar-
istotle laid down the rule that
one must doubt in order to really
believe. In a sense that is true;
fqr matured faith is the child of
intelligent conviction. And con
viction comes only to him who
has learned to calmly consider
with unfettered mind the evi
dence supporting faith. But
this is said of the faith of the
head rather than that of the’
heart. “With the heart man be
lieveth unto righteousness " And
that faith of the heart is the sim
plest act of trust, which even
the child can exercise. The
child trusts before it reasons.
“Faith is the subtle chain
Which binds us to the Infinite;
The voiceof a deep life within,
Which will remain until we crowd it
thence.”
The fundamental facts of
Christianity arc demonstrated
verities. In the bright light of
the full day was the gospel born.
Not in mysterious secrecy did
our God lay this precious corner
stone. “This thing was not done
in a corner.” This was the apos
tle’s confident challenge in the
presence of the skeptical Agrip
pa. Our gospel has stood the
tests of centuries of severest in
vestigation. Every nook of his
tory has been searched for evi
dence —every possible avenue
has been explored—by friend and
foe. The victory has been won,
and to-day earth’s highest intel
lect bows before the Galli lean
Teacher as King of kings ard
Lord of lords. The gospel is ac
knowledged as founded on the
impregnable, rock of indisputable
truth.
The grand teachings of Christ
shall never disappoint the be
liever. He taught as never man
taught. In manner and matter
he spoke with an authority which
astonished and awed his immedi
ate hearers, and which has con
strained the willing assentof the
world's best thought. Tne, ‘ say
ings” of our L- rd are regnant
to-day even over minds which
recognize not their origin; aid
we hear the unbeliever frequent
ly applauding truth which the
world knew’ not till nttered by
the Christ he ignorantly rejects.
Notably this is true concerning
those sublime teachings in which
Jesus revealed God to man, and
taught the race to say “Our
Father who artin Heaven.” Till
then humanity had not so learned
of the Creator and Lord of the
’universe. 1 So th?.', “'ven 'he tn-.i.rh
abused and misused catch
phrases, “thefatherhood of God”
and the “brotherhood of man,”
rest upon the Woik of the Mas
ter whom a blinded unbelief secs
not.
Nor shall one wore! of our Lord
ever disappoint the soul which
believes on him. No truth of
the gospel has been found want
ing in the testing time. Every
doctrine of our holy religion has
been proved to rest securely on
the sure foundation laid in Zion.
They stand among the unshaken
things which cannot ben moved.
They are the eternal verities
worthy of all acceptation. No
matter what may be the final
outcome of the confessed rest
lessness in the religious world:
let the “higher criticism” do its
most dreaded work; the perfect
Christ and his } erfect truth and
his perfect ideal shall stand f< r
ever the admiration of angels
and men.
•‘0 holy trust! O endless sense of rest!
Like the beloved John,
To lay the head upon the Savior's
breast.
And thus to journey on!”
Indianapolis, Ind.
Pen Droppings.
BY l. l. v.
No Baptist preacher thinks
himself a priest. In his denom
ination there is no room for the
slightest approach to priestcraft.
In this particular he follows the
pattern set by the churches that
were organized immediately after
the ascension of the Saviour.
But it cannot be denied that there
is more and more danger of the
priestly idea creeping in as our
ministers become more distinctly
a separate class, and preaching
the gospel becomes more of a
profession. In the olden time
neither idea obtained at all
Brethren who were endowed w ith
gifts that fitted for the work of
proclaiming the gospel were
honored for their gifts, but they
were not the object of any super
stitious veneration. The idea
that ordination consecrates a
minister and endows him with
authority to do what it were sac
riligious for others to perform is
altogether foreign to Baptist
theory. We would have all things
done decently and in order. We
would therefore have baptisms
and the Lord’s supper adminis -
tered by ordained ministers. But
we by no means insist that these
solemn ordinances derive any of
their value from the official rank
of the administrator, or that they
may not, in case of emergency,
be administered by one who is
not an officer at all.
Not As I Will.
MISH MARIA E GRAF F.
Not us I wlll,o Father. but ns Tlum
Dost deem the best fur me. I humbly how
A suppliant at Thy sci t.nml put lent wait
Until Thou grantvst me the favor great.
stnmgUi to control this longing to In* free,
To ilixl my happiness in serving rime;
To pat b ut ly endure v hat Thou dost send.
And l rust Thee,i hough I can not see t Im end.
Again I come In weaknessand in p»iln.
L« l not my hitter ers ascend In viiln;
But though the discipline seems sharp and
long,
Teach me, I pray, to “HiifTcr and hr strong.’’
Meal Thou my lips from murmur and com
plaint.
Let me he I r< e from r , ‘he||jous tn Ini ;
I bow In meek submission to Tin will;
Help me. O Lord, “to sutler and be Htlll.”
—Cent nil Ba pt Ist.
The Divine Interest Personal to Each
of Us.
In the average life there is a
deal of work which is out ard
out drudgery. It is hard and
wearisome and often repulsive.
In the schcol, in the home, in the
store and office and mill, on the
farm, in the mine, at sea, there
are services to be performed
which nobody would undertake
were there not necessity. It
taxes nerves and offends taste
and crucifies the flesh to do these
things.
How much of this work falls to
the lot of motheis lo whose wis
dom and patience is committed
the training of children! How
much to clerks and apprentices
who mean to know their business
from top to bottom and in all its
ins and outs!
Then outside of this, when
men and women put their hands
to benevolent tasks and reform
movements, and try to make in
dividual lives better and homes
better and cities better and na
tions better and races better, how
much there is to annoy and
weary and discourage! It is
often a marvel to me how leaders
and lawgivers like Moses and
prophets like Jeremiah, how the
Ezras and Nehemiahs, how the
Daniels and Pauls, how the Lu
thers and Wesleys, how the Frys
and Howards, how the Wilber
forces and Garrisons manage to
hold fast to their aims from the
moment when their eyes are first
opened to what is to be done and
their hearts are kindled into en
thusiasm, to the final hour when
they fold their hands and fall i
asleep.
In all these spheres, in one’s
own personal work and in the
larger services which are under
taken for the elevation of hu
manity, there is always much to
quench zeal, to overburden mind
and body and to make one ques- j
tion at times, at least,whether the I
energy and courage one may pos- |
sess are a match for the work re- |
quired.
But when we think of our
selves as individuals toward
whom the currents of the indi
vidual love of God are always
flowing like incoming tides up
ihe mouths of brooks,—of our
selves as never getting beyond
the sweep of his individual care,
never doing a thing in such ob
scarify that he does not see us
and take accurate note of the
spirit in which we toil and the
secret aims we cherish, never
bearing a burden lhat he does
rot know its exict weight and
how hard it presses, nt ver mis
judged, never wrongly esti
mated. never put at cisadvan
tage by the greed and ambition
and thoughtlessness of men,
without him by our side to re
judge and re-e-timate and recti
fy all, if not altogether for time,
yet for the record of eternity, -
it, makes all the difference in the
world. Drudgery is never again
so trying. Hardness is never
again so hard. Obscurity is
never again so difficult to endure.
“He loves me. He is interested
in my interests. If my interest
moves along in the Tne of duty
and helpful service, I can be pa
tient and bear my burdens.” So
the soul reasons so soon as it be
comes conscious of this individ
ualizing of the divine regard.
This is the open secret of the
uncomplaining fidelity with
which a great many saintly
souls keep about their tasks.
They do not feel themselves to
be mere indistinguishable parts
of a stupendous whole on which
God looks only in a kind of all
inclusive and general way. The
astronomer lifts his telescope
and surveys the distant star, but
he is able to distinguish little
save in dim and uncertain out
line. God turns his eye to the
earth, and he discerns separate
souls, —individuals, persons, and
he follows them with an individ
ual, personal love and a sympa
thy tenderly suited to their in
dividual needs. The maid scrub
bing the floor of the kitchen; the
street-sweeper; the sailor amid
storms on the high seas; the sol
dier on the frontier guarding the
interest of an advancing civiliza
tion; the miner down in the
depths of the earth with his can
dle and pick; the farmer toiling
under the heat of the noon day
sun; the mechanic at his bench;
the engineer with eye thrust
sharply forward and hand on
lever, guiding his long train with
VOL. 76--NO. 15
its precious freight through the
d trkness; the teacher trying to
impart knowledge and quicken
aspiration in du 1 minds, it may
be; the reformer who is sound
ing. a note for which the age is
not yet ripe; the missionary con
fronting the ignorance and su
perstition and vice of the great
pagan world, —each and ail of
them may be sure that if there
is any desire for his presence
God is at hand, taking the meas
ure of the work and noting ail
that is irksome and oisagreeable
about it and bestowing grace and
strength sufficient for what is to
be d me. Some thing’s could not
be done at all without this con
sciousness; but there is no work
which would not be easier could
we only think of God as near to
us while doing it.
It is the mother and her chil
dren over again. They are
grown up and are no longer
about her. They make no more
a group which she can take in
with a single sweep of the eye.
One is in the sunny South; one is
yonder amongst the mines of
Colorado; one is back on the hills
of New England; one is far away
across the waters ir. India. Their
occupations differ; and some are
engaged in dignified and some in
lowly services. Some are win
ning wealth and goldenopinions,
and some are still, as they were
at the outset, very near the bot
tom. Bur wherever they are
and whatever they are doing, the
mother heart goes straight out
to each one of them. What the
mother does imperfectly, God
does perfectly, lie takes in all;
but he takes in each—each sepa
rate soul: and he has a sympa
thetic interest in each.
*******
Here again we ward off the
thought, and so defeat very often
the purpose of our Heavenly
Father, by massing curst Ives
with the great body of our fel
lows. We say that sooner or
later suffering is sure to come to
all, and that we are under a com
mon dispensation of general
laws which take no note of indi
viduals and make no exception
in anybody’s favor. The moth
er says: “Yes, I have lost my
child; and my heart is wrung to
agony; but how many mothers
there are everywhere weeping
for their little ones because they
are not!” The son or the daugh
ter says: “Yi-s, my mother is
dead, and life is not now and
never can be again what it was
once, —what it was when morn
ing by morning her face beamed
upon me and her voice was mu
si ; but how many there are suf
fering from a like bereavement'”
Or there is an accident, a railway
collision, a drowning, a falling
from a scaffold, a plunge to
death down the shaft of an
elevator, a premature dis
chai ge of a gun, a run-away; and
it is all grouped under the head
of natural causes or the chances
to which all are subject. There
is no effort to go behind the ele
ment of nature and see what the
divine intent may be for us and
how it may become a matter in
tensely personal to our souls.
We miss the meaning of it and
we miss the blessing < f it, for
the reason that we choose to
think of ourselves as belonging
to a great and indistinguishable
multitude called humanity or as
having our place in a system
which is under the control of in
exorable laws, and not as in
dividuals, distinct from all
others, and in whom God takes
a distinct personal interest.
Our Lord took great pains to
impress this view of the individ
ualizing of God’s regard for hu
man souls in his teaching. Not
a sparrow falls without the
Father’s notice; and the hairs
of men’s heads are numbered. If
we are called upon to endure
losses; if we are checked here
and therewith disappointments:
if it is defeat to-day and still an
other defeat to-morrow; if it is
blackness in the sky from year
to year and life seems all over
clouded with storms, —we may
be sure there is a purpose
in it for w.s. He took the babe
out of the mother’s arms, not
only with a view to the highest
good of the child, bit also that
he might teach the mother some
lesson in the higher tuitions of
life. He took the mother from
the open fellowship of sons and
daughters, not because he will
ingly afflicts and not alone be
cause the mother was ripe for
the Heavenly ingathering, but
that he might through the chas
tening and sanctifying influence
of tears and the uplift of holy
memories purify the hearts of
those left behind. God, let it be
said again, individualizes us His
interest in us is direct and per
sonal. If our property is swept
away by the flames, if our earth
ly hopes are crushed, or death
breaks our circles, it is that there
may be clearer vision of Heaven
ly realities and a closer walk
with Christ.— The Divine Life in
Man.—Noble.