Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-12-26
CHRISTIAN ENDEAVOR HOUR
Conducted by
GRACE LIVINGSTON HILL.
For December q.

Topic: 'An Optmist's Missionary Meeting Isaiah
60: Is.
/. Arise, shine: for thy light is come and
the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.
2. For, behold, the darkness shall cover
the earth and gross darkness the people;
but the Lord shall arise upon thee and His
glory shall be seen upon thee.
3. And the Gentiles shall come to thy
light and kings to the brightness of thy
rising.
4. Lift up thine eyes round about and see:
all they gather themselves together; they
come to thee; thy sons shall come from far
and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy
side.
5. Then shalt thou see, and flow to-
gether and thine heart shall fear and be
enlarged; because the abundance of the sea
shall be converted unto thee, the forces of
the Genties shall come unto thee.
THE sixtieth chapter of Isaiah" says the
Expositor's Bible, "is the spiritual counter
part of typical eastern day. with the dust
laid and the darts taken out of the sun
beams-a typical eastern day In the sud-
den splendor OF its dawn, the completeness
and apparent permanence of Its noon, the
spaciousness 1t reveals on sea and land. and
the barbaric profusion Of life which it's
strong ESnl Is SuIucleuC 10 HOCQ Will
glory"
1t would almost seem, as we look abroad
at the missionary field today that we,
Christ's church. are being spoken to In the
words of this psalm, to arise and shine
with the light that the coming Lord is be-
ginning to shed into our very faces
Can we look over into darkest Africa and
know that the Gospel is bringing JOY to It's
benighted multitudes, and not feel that this
time Is hand3 Can recall last
months study of India and doubt 1t? Can
we study about the isles of the sea and not
thrill with the JOY of 1t?
1t Is to the light that is shining upon US
who love Jesus that all the 'Gentiles -
those who know not Chrfst-are to be
brought.
DIR. George Adam Smith calls the fifth
verse 1.-The fairest verse in this chapter.
Thou shalt see and be radiant and thy
heart shall throb and grow large; for there
shall be turned upon thee the seas flood
tide. and the wealth Of the nations shall
come to thee" DIR. Smith further says that
the phrase shall flow together" in the
authorized version means liquid light
Light that ripples and sparkles across the
face as 1t best appears in that beautiful
passage of the Thirty-fourth Psalm. they
looked to Him and their faces were light
ened.' Here 1t suggests the light which
face catches from sparkling water. The
prophets figure has changed. The stately
mother of her people stands, not among the
ruins of her city, but upon some great
beach. with the sea In front-the sea that
casts up all heavens light upon her face
and drifts all earth's wealth to her feet
and her eyes are upon the horizon with the
hope of her who watches for the return of
children"
Do We feel like that about the missionary
work In foreign lands? Are our eyes, as
we stand upon our shore. fixed upon those
far countries, and our thoughts on the
souls we are praying for and longing for,
with great yearnng, that they may know
the love of Jesus as we know? Or are
they. upon the wealth that Is flowing to our
feet? AS a nation OF Christians, as the
church of the blood-bought covenant, are
we thinking more of our earthly possessions
than OF our heavenly work?
There Is not a country to which our eyes
may turn but encouragement shines bright
throughout its fruitful fields
Moffat told Livingstone that he had seen
the smoke OF a thousand African villages
whore no one knew the name of Christ.
Stanley said that Livingstone by his Jour-
neys drew the rude figure Of a cross upon
the dark continent And now all over this
hitherto unknown land the story OF that
cross il known and retoiced Ia to salvation.
Recently the secular papers have told US
Of the death Of that cruel foe Of missions,