Part 23 (1/2)
”Oh, if our ears were opened To hear as angels do The Intercession-chorus Arising full and true, We should hear it soft up-welling In morning's pearly light; Through evening's shadows swelling In grandly gathering might; The sultry silence filling Of noontide's thunderous blow, And the solemn starlight thrilling With ever-deepening flow.
”We should hear it through the rus.h.i.+ng Of the city's restless roar, And trace its gentle gus.h.i.+ng O'er ocean's crystal floor; We should hear it far up-floating Beneath the Orient moon, And catch the golden noting From the busy Western noon; And pine-robed heights would echo As the mystic chant up-floats, And the sunny plain resounds again With the myriad mingling notes.
”There are hands too often weary With the business of the day, With G.o.d-entrusted duties, Who are toiling while they pray.
They bear the golden vials, And the golden harps of praise, Through all the daily trials, Through all the dusty ways.
These hands, so tired, so faithful, With odors sweet are filled, And in the ministry of prayer Are wonderfully skilled.
”There are n.o.ble Christian workers, The men of faith and power, The overcoming wrestlers Of many a midnight hour; Prevailing princes with their G.o.d, Who will not be denied, Who bring down showers of blessing To swell the rising tide.
The Prince of Darkness quaileth At their triumphant way, Their fervent prayer availeth To sap his subtle sway.
”And evermore the Father Sends radiantly down All-marvellous responses, His ministers to crown; The incense cloud returning As golden blessing-showers, We in each drop discerning Some feeble prayer of ours, Trans.m.u.ted into wealth unpriced, By Him who giveth thus The glory all to Jesus Christ, The gladness all to us!”[29]
Money
Limitations.
The Best Partners.h.i.+p.
Jesus' Teaching.
Be Your Own Executor.
Missing the Master's Meaning.
Money Talks.
Debts.
Rusty Money.
Are We True to Our Friend's Trust?
Money
Limitations.
Money seems almost almighty in its power to do things, and make changes.
It can make a desert blossom as a rose. It can even defy death. Medical skill holds the life here that otherwise would have been snuffed out.
Great buildings go up. Colleges begin their life with apparatus and books, skilled instructors, and eager students. Mammoth enterprises spring into being. Hospitals and churches rise up with skilled attendants and talented preachers.
We have come, in our day, and perhaps peculiarly in our country, to think that there is no limit to the power of money. Our ideas of its value are really greatly exaggerated. That first sentence I used would be revised by many to read, ”Money is almighty.” The cautious words ”seems” and ”almost”
would be promptly cut out.
Yet money has great limitations. It will help greatly to remember what they are. And many of us need the brain-clearing of that help. Of itself money is utterly useless, so much dead-weight stuff lying useless and helpless. It must have human hands to make it valuable. It gets its value from our conception of its value and from our use of it. It must have a human partner to be of any service at all.