FOR THE SABBATH.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VI, Issue 492, 17 August 1912, Page 3

FOR THE SABBATH.

COMING TO "CHRIST.

(By Bishop Ryle).

"If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink." —Bodily thirst is notoriously the most painful sensation to which the frame of mortal man is liable. Read the story of the miserable sufferers in the Black Hole of Calcutta. Hear what any old soldier will tell you is the chief want of the wounded on the battle field. Marl; the awful words of the rich man in the parable, "Send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water to cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame." The testimony is unvarying. There h nothing ao terrible and hard to hear as thirst.

But if bodily thirst is so painful how much more painful is thirst of soul! To see the value l of our souls and find that they are in rJanger of eternal ruin, to fee! the burden of unforgiven nin and not to know to tJtn for relief. It is a thirst after pardon, forgiveness, peace with God. This 13 the thirst the Philippian gaoler felt when he fell down before Paul and Silas, saying, "Sirs, what must Ido to be saved." This is the thirst many of the greatest servants of God have felt. Augustine, seeking rest among the Manichean heretics and finding none John Bnnyan agonising amidst doubts and conflicts in his Elston-cottage—George Whitefield groaning over self-imposed austerities, for want of clear teaching when an undergraduate at Oxford —all have left on record their experience. I belisve they all knew what our Lord meant when He spoke of thirst.

And surely all of us ought to know something of this thirst. Living in a dying world—knowing that there is a world beyond the grave and that after death comes the judgment—conscious that on our us of time depends our place in eternity—we ought to feel and to realise something like "thirst" for a sense of peace wjth the living God. Bufc, y , alas, nothing proves so conclusively the fallen nature of man as the general want of spiritual appetite. For money, for power, for pleasure, for rank, for honour fur distinction —for all these the vast majority are now intensely thirsting. But few are those who thirst after eternal life. But who is there that feels the burden of sin, and longs for peace, with God? Who i 3 there that really feels the words of our prayer-book confession, "I"have erred and strayed like a lost sheep—there is no health in me —I am a miserable offender." You are the man that ought to thank God. A sense of sin is the first stone laid by the Hojy Ghost when He builds a spiritual temple. Universities may confer degrees, schools may impart knowledge of all mysteries, but they cannot make men feel sin. To realise our spiritual need and feel true spiritual , thirst, is the A B C in saving Christianity.

People betray their character by whst they laugh at.

True courage is doing right without the desire for praise or the fear of censure.

The British and Foreign Bible Society has circulated the Scriptures or portions of the Scriptures in 432 different languages. At the beginning of the last .century*the Bible retained a sealed book for four out of "every five people in the ' world. Now, mainly through the agency of this society, the Bible lie open more or less completely to seven people out of every ten.

Ther° is a power with'rn you which if you could discover and use would make of you everything you ever dreamed or imagine you could become.

TELL AND QUELL.

When you hear of good in people—

tell it. When you hear a tale of evil—quell it, Let the goodness have the light. Put the evil out of sight, Make the world we live in bright, Like to heaven above.

The Auckland Ladies' Methodist Missionary Auxiliary have forwarded the sum of £SO to the local Methodist Church as a donation towards the Land ana) Building Fund.

In Korea in 1887, three years after the missionaries first entered that wonderful land, there were seven native Christiana. In 1912 there were 350,000. Truly the fields are "white unto harvest." The residents of Ta Kuiti were pleased to see an old friend, the Rev. R. Mitchell, in their midst again last week 1 . Mr Mitchell preached at the induction service, held on the of the Rev. Griffiths who was formally welcomed to his charge last Wednesday evening.

"Jsaua Christ teaches us that inward peace must never be sacrificed to outward ease. A lie might help us oftentimes to momentary rest, a great black falsehood might be the softest pillow sometimes on which for the time being to rest an aching head. Of what account is it if there he great outward peace whilst the Heart is at war with itself, whilst there is a scorpion in the inner nature, stinging the conscience aad inflictingmortal pain?" —Dr Parker.