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for Canaan, he was very ignorant. He only knew he would possess the land. But now the pathway leading down through Egypt, and all the weariness and the waiting of four hundred years were revealed to him by the voice of God. It was a sad though it was a glorious revelation. There came a shadow with it that deepened knowledge. Abraham was not the first and not the last to learn the noble sorrow of all progress. Next note how God's love allows no hurry-the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full (v. 16). Till the day came that their cup was running over, the seed of Israel should not possess the land. Not even for Israel would the Amorites be cut off, till the full hour of their doom had come. So do we see the impartiality of God; so do we learn the justice of His mercy: God's love is so great it allows of no despair, but it is so holy it allows no hurry. Lastly, where the furnace smokes there is a lamp that burns, the light of heaven is near us in our trouble. When the pall hangs heavy, and we move among the dead, with little to cheer us in the murky gloom, even then, close to the furnace is the lamp-the presence of the covenant-keeping God.

WH

SEVENTH SUNDAY

Evening

THE FIRST DISCIPLES

Passage to be read: John i. 35-51.

HEN a man has risen to great eminence, we are always interested in the story of his childhood. We listen eagerly to any scrap of information about his earliest days. And the deep interest that centres in these verses springs from the fact that here are

D

the beginnings of fellowships and friendships that have changed the world. When we think of all that Christ was to be to John, and of all that John was going to be to Christ; when we recall what the future had in store for Peter, we feel what great issues lay in these first meetings, that are so simply and so quietly told. It is not often with any stir or uproar that the great moments come to men or women. They are not heralded with any sound of trumpet-the way of the Lord is not prepared like that. Quietly and unobtrusively two men follow Jesus, or a friend gives a word of welcome to a friend, or a brother goes and seeks out a brother-and from that hour all things shall be changed.

NOTE first to what different natures Jesus appeals.

Four or five men are mentioned in our verses, and we know a little about the character of each. We know enough to convince us of the differences between the natures of these first disciples. Peter was eager and enthusiastic; John had a perfect genius for loving. Philip was slow, deliberative, cautious; Nathanael had a most unworldly and gentle heart. Yet all were drawn to the one Lord and Master, and took their place in the ranks of the disciples. Some teachers appeal to certain kinds of men, or they attract those who are educated to one level; but it was one of the mysteries of Jesus that He drew to Himself such distinct and diverse men. Let the teacher of a class remember that. Let the mother lay it to heart among her children. Their natures are utterly different one from the other, yet all may find their friend in the one Lord.

AGAIN, mark in what different ways men are led to

Jesus. When Andrew and the other disciples followed Jesus, they did so because of the Baptist's word. Their days of companionship with John had made them ready to enter into the fellowship of Christ. Now John

was the last and the greatest of the prophets; he closes and embodies the spirit of the Old Testament. These two, then, were the first of those many thousands who have been led through psalm and prophecy to Christ. Then follows Peter, and his was a different avenue. It was a brother who brought him to the Lord. So Peter is the first of that great company who have been brought to Christ by the influence of home. But it was not even a brother that brought Philip. It was the voice of Jesus saying, Follow Me. Philip is the leader of all who have yielded obedience because they have heard the Master calling them. Last comes Nathanael, and Philip brings Nathanael. There was old intimacy between the two. Nathanael is a type of every one who is brought in by the influence of a friend. Do you note the diverse roads into Christ's presence? There are a thousand paths converging to that spot. They used to say that all roads led to Rome; perhaps it is truer that all roads lead to Christ. One highway rolls along through psalm and prophecy; another is built on the prayer and the peace of home. One path would not be known save for the Shepherd's voice, and another lies through the meadowland of friendship. Of all these, we have God's foreshadowing in the coming of the first disciples.

AGAIN, remark by what different methods Jesus deals

with new comers. We can never note too earnestly or gratefully the value, in the eyes of Christ, of one. It was for one coin the woman swept the house. It was for one sheep the shepherd went a-seeking. It was for one son the father watched and prayed. Christ preached to vast audiences on many occasions, and a great crowd moved Him to compassion; but the woman of Samaria did not get poorer teaching because she formed an audience of one. The same thing strikes us in Jesus' dealing with new comers. They are not dealt with on any scale of ten. Each stands apart, and has a

separate treatment, for each was precious in the eyes of Christ. One new comer has his motives searched and sifted that is the meaning of the sharp 'What seek ye?' (v. 38). Another is convinced that he is known-' Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile' (v. 47). While a third is summoned and strengthened by a word of command, 'Follow Me' (v. 43). Let us not dream, then, that the Lord's way with us will be the same as His way with other people. Let us not despise our own peculiar welcome because no one else had ever quite the same. He knows us separately; separately He loves us; and every new comer has his separate dealing.

LASTLY, the Kingdom begins in personal acquaintance.

You know how other societies are formed? They are formed by the drawing up of rules and statutes; and men are solemnly enrolled as officers, and everything is formal and exact. Here only, in quiet and simple ways, a kingdom (though not of earth) is being founded, and it begins in acquaintance with the King. As it began so has it continued. The mark of citizenship is personal knowledge still. Strangers and aliens may say, 'I know about Him.'

Him.'

But the true citizen can say, 'I know

WE

EIGHTH SUNDAY

Morning

ABRAHAM AND SODOM

Passages to be read: Gen. xviii. 1-8, 23-33.

E now reach one of the most familiar of all the scenes of the life of Abraham. We stand on the threshold of the doom of Sodom. Three figures approach Abraham as he rests in the noonday heat; with characteristic readiness he gives them a hearty welcome; and when everything has been made ready for their entertainment, and when the patriarch's love to God has been witnessed by his love to the brethren, there are words spoken, of such heavenly hope and cheer, as might well repay the richest hospitality. But often, in the experience of human life, the brightest and the darkest meet together; often where the garden is exquisitely beautiful, the place is found where the cross must be erected; and so it proved with Abraham in this memorable hour. The doom of Sodom follows hard upon the promise. The tragic fate of the cities of the plain forms part of that same embassage that was so full of hope. And the lesson that had opened with an angel's message, and with an assurance of a glorious future, closes in flight and misery and death.

FIRST note then how God meets us in our usual station.

Abraham sat in his tent-door in the heat of the day. It was the hour of sultry noon and everything was drowsy, and Abraham rested in the shadow of his tent. It was

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