January 1, 1970

The Word of a King   “Where the word of a king is, there is power.” — Ecclesiastes viii. 4.   KINGS in Solomon’s day had a vast amount of power, for their word was absolute. They did according to their own will, and none could check them; for, as Solomon said, “the king’s wrath is as the roaring …

Ecclesiastes:8:4

January 1, 1970

MY SOLACE IN MY AFFLICTION.   “For ever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven. Thy faithfulness is unto all generations: thou hast established the earth, and it abideth. They continue this day according to thine ordinances: for all are thy servants. Unless thy law had been my delights, I should then have perished in mine …

Psalms:119:89-92

January 1, 1970

PRAYING AND PLEADING.   “O Lord, though our iniquities testify against us, do thou it for thy name’s sake: for our backslidings are many; we have sinned against thee. O the hope of Israel, the saviour thereof in time of trouble, why shouldest thou be as a stranger in the land, and as a wayfaring man that …

Jeremiah:14:7-9

January 1, 1970

THE SINGING PILGRIM.   “Thy statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage.” — Psalm cxix. 54.   THE one-hundred-and-nineteenth Psalm is said by many to consist of detached sentences, and to be rather a casket of gold rings than a chain of united golden links; yet the position of this verse is somewhat remarkable, for …

Psalms:119:54

January 1, 1970

THE VALUE AND RANK OF THE BELIEVER.   “Since thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee: therefore will I give men for thee, and people for thy life.” — Isaiah xliii. 4.   ONE of the worst mistakes we could make would be to judge our condition before God by our …

Isaiah:43:4

January 1, 1970

Without Carelessness   “I would have you without carefulness.”— 1 Corinthians vii. 32.   AT the time when Paul wrote these words he was giving judgment as to whether it was expedient for Christians in those days to marry. The question was whether they were likely to be better Christians married or unmarried. This was a question of much …

1 Corinthians:7:32

January 1, 1970

The Horrible East Winds!    “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.”— Colossians iii. 15.   I DO not know-how it is, but during the last two or three days I have been called to sympathize with an amount of sorrow such …

Colossians:3:15

January 1, 1970

The Use of the Bow    “And David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son: (Also he bade them teach the children of Judah the use of the bow: behold, it is written in the book of Jasher.)”— 2 Samuel i. 17, 18.   THE translators have acted very properly in inserting the words, “the …

2 Samuel:1:17-18

January 1, 1970

The Orphan's Father   “For in thee the fatherless findeth mercy.”— Hosea xiv. 3.   THE Lord God of Israel, the one only living and true God, has this for a special mark of his character, that in him the fatherless findeth mercy. “A Father of the fatherless, and a Judge of the widows, is God in his holy …

Hosea:14:3

January 1, 1970

The Bird Escaped from the Snare   “Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: the snare is broken, and we are escaped.”— Psalm cxxiv. 7.     THIS text describes a soul-matter. The Psalmist is not speaking of a temporal deliverance, although even in that sense an escape from death would be a …

Psalms:124:7