"His love in time past Forbids me to think He'll leave me at last In trouble to sink."

OCTOBER The Seventeenth

_NO QUEST OF G.o.d_

"_He inquired not of the Lord._"

--1 CHRONICLES x. 6-14.

That was where Saul began to go wrong. When quest ceases, conquests cease.

"He inquired not"; and this meant loss of light. G.o.d will be inquired after. He insists that we draw up the blinds if we would receive the light. If we board up our windows He will not drive the gentle rays through our hindrance. We must ask if we would have. The discipline of inquiry fits us for the counsel of the Lord.

"He inquired not"; and this meant loss of sight. When light fails, sight fails. The ponies in our pits become blind. When a spiritual power is not exercised in the heavenly, it is deprived of its appointed functions. And the tragedy is this, that the blind are deceived into thinking that they still retain their sight. "Ye say, we see!"

"He inquired not"; and this meant loss of might. For "the light of life"

is not only illumination; it is inspiration too. It is both light and heat; it confers guidance and dynamic. When a man, therefore, refuses the light he becomes a weakling, and he will meet with disaster in the first tempestuous day.

OCTOBER The Eighteenth

_UNANIMITY IN THE SOUL_

"_A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways._"

--JAMES i. 1-8.

If two men are at the wheel with opposing notions of direction and destiny, how will it fare with the boat? If an orchestra have two conductors both wielding their batons at the same time and with conflicting conceptions of the score, what will become of the band? And a man whose mind is like that of two men flirting with contrary ideals at the same time will live a life "all sixes and sevens," and nothing will move to purposeful and definite issues. If the mind flirt with Satan and Christ, life will be filled with disastrous instability and confusion.

The first thing we need, therefore, for influential and impressive living is unanimity. Unanimity in the mind is the primary factor in a forceful life. To bring "all that is within me" into concord, to make every instrument of the soul bow to one conductor, to lead all the powers into homage to the Lord--this is the unanimity which a.s.sures the perfection of holiness. "Unite my heart to fear Thy name." That is the mood which wins life's prize, "the prize of the high calling of G.o.d in Christ Jesus."

OCTOBER The Nineteenth

_READY!_

"_Let your loins be girded about._"

--LUKE xii. 35-40.

Loose garments can be very troublesome. An Oriental robe, if left ungirdled, entangles the feet, or is caught by the wind and hinders one's goings. And therefore the wearer binds the loose attire together with a girdle, and makes it firm and compact about his body. And loose principles can be more dangerous than loose garments. Indefinite opinions, caught by the pa.s.sing wind of popular caprice, are both a peril and a burden. Many people go through life with loose beliefs and purposes, and they never arrive at any glorious goal. "Let your loins be girded about." Bind your loose thinkings together with the girdle of truth into firm and saving conviction.

"_And your lights burning._"

Be ready for the emergency. When the darkness falls, don't have to hasten away to buy oil. Look after your resources, and be competent to meet the crisis when it comes. Let the light of conscience be burning with clear flame, like a brilliant lighthouse on a dangerous sh.o.r.e. Let the light of love be burning, like a lamp which sends its friendly, cheery beams to the pilgrims of the night. "Our sufficiency is of G.o.d," and the oil of grace will keep the lights burning through the longest night.

OCTOBER The Twentieth

_THE LORD AS THE SERVANT_

"_Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He came forth from G.o.d, and goeth to G.o.d_...."

--JOHN xiii. 1-20.

And how shall we expect the sentence to finish? What shall be the issue of so vast a consciousness? "_He took a towel, and girded Himself ... and began to wash the disciples' feet._"

So a mighty consciousness expresses itself in lowly service. In our ignorance we should have a.s.sumed that divinity would have moved only in planetary orbits, and would have overlooked the petty streets and ways of men. But here the Lord of Glory girds Himself with the ap.r.o.n of the slave, and almightiness addresses itself to menial service.

And that is the test of an expanding consciousness. We may be sure that we are growing smaller when we begin to disparage humble services. We may be sure we are growing larger when we love the ministries that never cry or lift their voices in the streets. When a man begins to despise the "towel," he is losing his kingly dignity, and is resigning his place on the throne. "I have given you an example that ye also should do as I have done to you."

OCTOBER The Twenty-first

_THE CONTRITE HEART_

ISAIAH lvii. 13-21.

Let us look at this description of the dwelling-place of the Eternal G.o.d.

"_I dwell with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit._"

And who are the contrite? In the original word there is the significance of pieces of rock or lumps of soil having been crumbled into the finest powder. Have I not sometimes heard the phrase--"He's just a lump of pride"? Well, that pride has to be broken down into the finest powder, until not a bit of stubborn self-conceit remains. And then the contrite become the humble! Our gracious Lord has sometimes to use heavy hammers in the destruction of this hard and stony pride: the shock of calamity, the battering of disappointment and defeat! Our pride _must_ be ground to powder. Then He will come in and dwell with us!

And what then? He will "_revive the spirit of the humble, and revive the heart of the contrite ones_." Our broken pride shall be as broken soil in which our Lord will grow the flowers and fruits of the Spirit. The death of pride shall be followed by a revival of all things sweet and beautiful.

When pride is laid low, it is a "day of resurrection." The wilderness shall "blossom as the rose."

October The Twenty-second

_THE TRUE STANDARD OF GREATNESS_

MATTHEW xviii. 1-7.

Here is our Lord's estimate of true greatness. How infinite is the contrast between His standard and the standards of the world! The world measures greatness by money, or eloquence, or intellectual skill, or even by prowess on the field of battle. But here is the Lord's standard--"_Whosoever, therefore, shall humble himself as this little child, the same is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven._"