THE MESSAGE OF THE STARS

"When I consider the heavens, the work of thy fingers; the moon and stars which thou hast ordained."-Psalmist.

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N the minds of the ancients the stars occupied an important place. They were supposed to exercise some influence over human life and the course of nature.

In Dr. Van Dyke's "Story of the Other Wise Man," he makes Tyranus say: "The stars are the thoughts of the eternal. They are numberless." And in the story of Christ's birth the star of Bethlehem has a prominent place. To Abraham the promise was given: "I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heavens. The message of the stars comes down through all the ages.

The Star of Bethlehem shines out in history with a light and mystery which adds to its lustre. What it was and where it came from has led to many opinions. Some believe it was a special star; some a new planet; a comet. Others advocate the theory of a conjunction of planets.

The wise men of Sacred story rejoiced when the star appeared. It was their guiding star and led them to Bethlehem where they found the babe Christ.

The Bethlehem star truly sheds the light of truth on the pathway of the ages and leads all men to the rewards that come to those who believe.

An unknown author writes: "This star shines through clouds of war and tumult and human unrest; for it is He who shall shake

all nations, turning and overturning until the sceptre is acknowledged to be His in all the kingdoms of the world. It shines in the dark places of the earth, bringing promise of the morning. It shines in homes of sorrow, a blessed ray among the gloom. Happy, indeed, are we if upon our own spiritual sky His star has risen and become our light, our guide, our harbinger of eternal day."

"In the light of that star lie the ages impearled,
And that song from afar has swept over the world.
Every heart is aflame, while the beautiful sing
In the homes of the nations, that Jesus is King."
-J. G. HOLLAND.

THE EVENING STAR

"Many glories mingle

In the azure air,

But to me most charming
Shines the evening star.
For in its pure whiteness
'Tis a type of Him
In whose holy brightness
Sun and stars are dim.

Thou art high and holy,
Angels worship Thee:
Thou art meek and lowly,
For Thou lovest me.
Thou with light enlivening,
Shining from afar,

Art at once my evening

And my morning star.'

-Selected.

THE JOYS OF WORSHIP

"They that worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."―Jesus.

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HERE are those in the world who speak with contempt concerning the joys of Christian worship, or the reality of religion.

By the pleasures of sense, man resembles the beasts which perish; by the joys of devotion he is assimilated to the immortal angels of light. A father once wrote to his son concerning this theme and said: "Every branch of devotion is laden with delicious fruit."

To worship God acceptably one must know him. Formality alone is not worship. Jesus taught that the joys of true spiritual worship surpass all others in purity, intensity and permanence. A noted writer once said: "The spirit of worship is one of the greatest blessings and the lack of it one of the greatest misfortunes, that a man can experience." How true, then, are the words of Richard Watson: "I know of no pleasures so rich, none so pure, none so hallowing in their influences and constant in their supply as those which result from the true and spiritual worship of God."

Worship is the communion of our spiritual natures with God. It implies the engagement of all the powers toward God. Religion becomes a blessed reality when the spirit of worship lives in the soul. Without it there is an aching void. It leads the soul to prayer and to the sanctuary.

The joys of this present world are passing, uncertain, shallow, vain, and of brief duration. But the joys of the worshipper of God are enduring even throughout all eternity.

"Lord, what a change within us one short hour
Spent in thy presence will prevail to make!
What heavy burdens from our bosoms take,
What parched grounds revive as with a shower!
We kneel, and all around us seems to lower;
We rise, and all, the distant and the near,
Stands forth a sunny outline brave and clear.
We kneel, how weak! We rise, how full of power!
Why, wherefore should we do ourselves this wrong,
Or others, that we are not always strong;
That we are ever overborne with care;
That we should ever weak or heartless be,
Anxious or troubled, when with us is prayer,

And joy and strength and courage are with thee.”
-RICHARD CHENEVIX TRENCH, D. D.

A proper admonition, then, is "Let us consider one another to provoke unto love and good works; not forsaking our assembling together, as the custom of some is, but exhorting one another; and so much the more, as ye see the day drawing nigh."

THE GIFT OF THE SPIRIT

"But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit to profit withal."-St. Paul.

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HE work of the Divine Spirit is observed in creation, in the incarnation and in the gift of prophecy, "For no prophecy ever came by the will of man: but men spake from God, being moved by the Spirit of God."

The operations of the Holy Spirit were further seen in the inauguration of the Church, when the apostles "were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.'

Jesus declared that the proof of the Spirit's coming would be "conviction of the world in respect of sin; of righteousness and of judgment". The Scriptures clearly teach, then, that as Christ is God by eternal filiation with God the Father; so the Holy Spirit is God by an eternal procession. Jesus further said: "But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall bear witness of me."

In His relation to the Christian life, the Holy Spirit is Teacher, Remembrancer, Guide, Glorifier of Christ, Promise of the Father, other Comforter.

"O Spirit of the living God,

In all thy plentitude of grace,

Where'er the foot of man hath trod,
Descend on our apostate race.