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t\ht<xry of t:he theological ^tminavy 
 
 PRINCETON . NEW JERSEY 
 
 FROM THE LIBRARY OF 
 ROBERT ELLIOTT SPEER 
 
 BV 4905 .G67 1915 
 Gordon, S. D. 1859-1936. 
 A quiet talk with those who 
 weep 
 
4^ . 
 
 iiu>/«.; 
 
A QUIET TALK 
 WITH THOSE WHO WEEP 
 
A QUIET TAL 
 
 WITH THOSE WHO WEEP 
 
 rni-irpy 
 
 nu 2 1959 
 
 BY 
 
 S. D. GORDON 
 
 Author of 
 "Quiet Talks" Series 
 
 /9/y 
 
 NEW YORK CHICAGO TORONTO 
 
 FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY 
 
 LONDON AND EDINBURGH 
 
Printed in Great Britain by TurnbuU &* Spears, Edinburgh 
 Bound by Anderson <Sr" Ferrier, Saint Marys, Edinburgh 
 
A FOREWORD 
 
 There are lone hearth-fires to- 
 day, so many ! And those who sit 
 beside them, with the empty chair, 
 cannot restrain the tears that will 
 come. 
 
 Yes, here's the Bible close by. 
 But there's a heavy mood on that 
 affects one's eyes so. One sits 
 alone so much. 
 
 There is some One unseen, just 
 here, within reach. But somehow 
 we don't realize His presence; it 
 does not seem real. 
 
 If we would quietly put a foot 
 
 5 
 
A Foreword 
 
 on the next step up, and then 
 rise up to that foot, we can 
 recognize His presence : it is real. 
 
 Realizing is blessed, but . . . rare. 
 It belongs to the mood; to the 
 feelings. It is dependent on 
 weather conditions and bodily 
 conditions. 
 
 The rain, the heavy fog outside, 
 the poor sleep, the twinging 
 pain, the letters in the last post . . . 
 these make one's mood so much ; 
 they go so far in controlling the 
 feelings; they seem to blur out 
 the realizing. 
 
 But there's something a little 
 higher up than realizing. It is 
 yet more blessed. It is inde- 
 6 
 
A Foreword 
 
 pendent of these outer conditions, 
 whether of climate, or post, or 
 market, or tenement of clay. 
 
 It is a something that abides. 
 It abides regardless of these 
 things of such great influence. 
 Then the fire always burns 
 cheerily and warmly, regardless 
 of wind or fog or chimney 
 conditions. 
 
 It is this : recognizing that Pres- 
 ence, unseen, so wondrous and 
 quieting, so soothing and calming 
 and warming. This it is that 
 clears your eyes and brains, and 
 warms your heart, and steadies 
 your feet, and loosens out the 
 song. 
 
 7 
 
A Foreword 
 
 Recognize His presence . . . the Mas- 
 ter's own. He is here, close by; 
 His presence is real. Recogniz- 
 ing will help realizing, too, but it 
 never depends on it. 
 
 This is up on the higher level, 
 the simple child-faith level that 
 takes the Master at His word, 
 and sings because of what He 
 says. 
 
 This simple homely talk is 
 written after almost a year of 
 this world-nightmare of war, in 
 the midst of the terrible intensi- 
 fying of horrors that the past 
 weeks have brought. 
 8 
 
A Foreword 
 
 It is written with letters near 
 by from dear friends who sit in 
 the dark shadows. The mood 
 of the war is everywhere, an 
 ever - changing, but never - eas- 
 ing mood. One simply cannot 
 escape it. 
 
 But one's hand can still hold 
 hard to His hand amidst the swirl 
 and suction of the rising waters. 
 And He keeps your feet steady. 
 That's everything. 
 
 Yet the war but iniensifies the 
 sorrow for loved ones gone, in- 
 tensifies it tremendously, over- 
 whelmingly . . . yet only intensi- 
 fies it. For that sorrow knows 
 neither calendar nor map. It was 
 9 
 
A Foreword 
 
 here, everywhere, before the war 
 began. 
 
 It will remain long after the 
 prayed-for peace has been at 
 last securely signed and sealed. 
 Everywhere and always, pain of 
 spirit eats in, hearts break, bonds 
 snap, loneliness wraps in its 
 clinging folds. 
 
 And so is the comfort always 
 here. Always and everywhere the 
 truth remains the same, a bit of 
 rock for the feet, a warm hand- 
 clasp in the dark of a strange 
 place. 
 
 Aye, more, immensely more, the 
 Truth is a Presence, not a thing, 
 a fact, a statement. Some One 
 
 10 
 
A Foreword 
 
 is present, a personal Saviour, 
 a warm-hearted Friend, an all- 
 powerful Lord. 
 
 He is present, and all He is in 
 Himself is always available, every- 
 where. This is the essence of 
 truth. He ... i/e ... is that 
 part of truth which remains un- 
 changed. 
 
 And this groundwork of truth, 
 this One, Himself the truth, this 
 . . . He . . . clean overweighs all 
 the rest. Love outdoes sin. Glad- 
 ness has a big margin over sorrow. 
 The morning when it dawns will 
 make the night be clean forgotten. 
 
 And this is the joyful truth for 
 weeping hearts everywhere, what- 
 II 
 
A Foreword 
 
 ever be the hand that has drawn 
 the tears; by whatever stream it 
 be that your weeping willow is 
 planted. 
 
 12 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 Page 
 
 I, BREAKING HEARTS .... 15 
 
 II. IF THE GRIEF DIED TOO ... 27 
 
 III. THE ABSENT ONE 37 
 
 IV. THE THRONE VIEW .... 51 
 V. MAYBE NEARER THAN WE THINK 65 
 
 VI. THE PILOT'S FACE .... 77 
 
 13 
 
BREAKING HEARTS 
 
"The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken 
 heart."— Psalm xxxiv. i8. """""^ 
 
 '' He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their 
 wounds."— Psalm cxlvii. 3. 
 
 "... My heart is overwhelmed : lead me to the mrk 
 that is higher than I. "—Psalm Ixi. 2. 
 
 " Calm me, my God, and keep me calm ; 
 Let Thine outstretched wing 
 Be like the shade of Elim's palm, 
 Beside her desert spring." 
 
 Horatius Bonar 
 
BREAKING HEARTS 
 
 It is always raining somewhere. 
 Tears are ever falling. Always 
 some heart is breaking. And the 
 rain beclouds other skies. And the 
 tears wet other eyes. And the 
 breaking hearts make other hearts 
 bleed. 
 
 Yet there would be no rare 
 beauty at rising and setting of sun, 
 holding our eyes in grateful praise, 
 were there no clouds. And there 
 is no rainbow in the skies that 
 
 B ly 
 
Breaking Hearts 
 
 can compare with the one made 
 when the dew-drops of the heart 
 reflect the rich colours in the light 
 that shines out of the eyes. 
 
 And the hearts that break are, 
 in their very breaking, coming into 
 the most real touch with the heart 
 of all the race, and with the heart 
 of Him Who died of d broken heart 
 The only healing salve for hearts 
 that are breaking comes out of 
 hearts that have broken. 
 
 The pressure on the clouds be- 
 comes greater than they can 
 bear. So the rain comes. And 
 the pressure is relieved. And the 
 earth is refreshed. It gives grate- 
 ful thanks in greener grass and 
 i8 
 
Breaking Hearts 
 
 browner soil and more beauteous 
 colouring of flowers, while all the 
 air is fragrant with a new de- 
 licious freshness. 
 
 The pressure of the heart on the 
 eyes becomes more than they can 
 stand. So the tears come, pressed 
 out by heart action. And the 
 pressure on the heart is relieved. 
 And the eyes are bathed. They're 
 cleaner now and cooler and clearer. 
 There is truer, stronger sight. 
 
 The pressure of life's ills upon 
 the heart is ofttimes more than its 
 sensitive walls can withstand. 
 They quiver and tremble, and give 
 way, or seem to, or feel to; even 
 while the outer surface may be 
 19 
 
Breaking Hearts 
 
 fairly well under a proper control. 
 But under all is a broken or 
 breaking heart. 
 
 Yet no heart was ever broken 
 past repair. Though repairing 
 seems quite utterly impossible 
 while the breaking bewilderment 
 is crushing you. For the pressure 
 is relieved in the very breaking, 
 and need never never regain its 
 breaking strength. 
 
 And the warm heart-juices 
 loosened out under the terrible 
 pressure have a softening in- 
 fluence. They mellow and ripen 
 and grow into richer fineness all 
 the heart qualities of the 
 character. 
 
 20 
 
Breaking Hearts 
 
 They have healing virtue. They 
 cure the unconscious hurt of 
 hardening made by life's easy 
 unconsciously-selfish flow. They 
 heal the heart whose breaking 
 presses them out. It becomes a 
 better heart because of the heal- 
 ing touch of its own breaking 
 juices. 
 
 And blessed influences go out, 
 as mellowing, soothing, healing, 
 fragrant balm, to the countless 
 other broken, breaking hearts, 
 waiting wearily on the crowded 
 street for help. 
 
 No heart ever broke past mend- 
 ing. It may not be mended. But 
 it can be, even though you feel it 
 
 21 
 
Breaking Hearts 
 
 can't while the breaking's going 
 on. The worst broken heart was 
 the one that broke on Calvary. 
 The tremendous strain and stress 
 on that great heart was too 
 much for even uncommon human 
 restraint. That heart broke. 
 No heart ever broke 50, so 
 utterly, so overwhelmingly, as 
 that. 
 
 And so no heart need ever 
 break so. For that heart, the 
 heart of hearts ; and that break, 
 the break of breaks, gave out 
 under pressure the wondrous salve 
 that can mend up every other 
 broken heart, and knit together 
 the edges of every other break. 
 22 
 
Breaking Hearts 
 
 Since the heart of our Lord Jesus 
 broke, our breaking hearts can 
 be repaired. 
 
 The weather has been very 
 stormy of late, the clouds the 
 heaviest and blackest, and the 
 downpour the greatest. It is not 
 too much to say, very thoughtfully, 
 that weVe been going through the 
 worst storms this old earth of 
 ours has ever known. 
 
 The massing of black clouds, 
 the horrible growling of the 
 thunder so near, the terrific driv- 
 ing of the winds, the furious 
 lashing of the waves, the drench- 
 ing of the rain, have broken all 
 records. 
 
 23 
 
Breaking Hearts 
 
 Tempest and hurricane, typhoon 
 and simoon and cyclone, seem 
 all rolled into one, and to have 
 got a momentum terrific beyond 
 words or imagination or ex- 
 perience. 
 
 And the wreckage is every- 
 where. Broken homes, broken 
 families, broken hearts, broken 
 plans, broken laws, broken tradi- 
 tions, broken honour, — was 
 there ever such breakage ! No ; 
 sober second thought looks and 
 thinks back and solemnly says, 
 " Never such breakage and wreck- 
 age." 
 
 And tears have come in floods 
 till the tear-ducts seem to have 
 24 
 
Breaking Hearts 
 
 run their waters clear out, and 
 only dry eyes stare blankly, hope- 
 lessly out over the distracting 
 beach of life. 
 
 Will the sun ever shine again? 
 Will the clouds ever break ? Will 
 the storm ever spend itself, and 
 calm come again ? And the ques- 
 tions themselves seem but an 
 intenser way of underscoring a 
 negative, and crying out despair- 
 ingly, "Never." 
 
 Yet this is not the full answer, 
 nor the right answer. The feel- 
 ings may not be allowed to over- 
 ride the judgment. The tears 
 must not blind the eyes to what 
 is there to be seen. The storm 
 25 
 
Breaking Hearts 
 
 is not all there is to be seen, 
 though its horrible growling 
 thunder is so deafening and so 
 close. 
 
 26 
 
IF THE GRIEF DIED TOO 
 
"And He touched her hand, and the fever left her ; 
 and she arose and ministered unto Him." — Matthew 
 viii. 15. 
 
 "When He giveth quietness, who then can make 
 trouble ? "—Job xxxiv. 29. 
 
 ** Be still (let go) and know that I am God."— Psalm 
 xlvi. 10. 
 
 •• Yes, keep me calm, though loud and rude 
 The sounds my ear that greet ; 
 Calm in the closet's solitude ; 
 Calm in the busy street." 
 
 Horatius Bonar 
 
II 
 
 IF THE GRIEF DIED TOO 
 
 Let us see. Has every thing 
 been done that can be done? Is 
 the boat as shipshape for the gale 
 as we can make her? Are the 
 ropes all taut and well knotted? 
 Are the sails set best for the winds 
 that blow ? 
 
 Have we done the best to meet 
 the hour's need, the best of gold 
 and honour, yes, and of . . . steady 
 within there, steady ... of ones 
 own loved onesj one's own heart 
 29 
 
If the Grief Died too 
 
 blood? Has the best been given 
 and done that can be ? 
 
 Yes ? Ah, yes ! Yonder vacant 
 room, and this empty chair by the 
 fire, and at meal-time ; the memory 
 of the voice that speaks not, of the 
 old laugh that rings not, of the 
 gentle smile that comes not, of the 
 step that is ever missing ; and that 
 little pile of letters there : these all 
 answer a mute emphatic, "Yes." 
 
 Well, then, it may ease the wait- 
 ing time a bit to sit down, and, in 
 between prayings, talk awhile in 
 slow, hushed tones. Aye, and it 
 will do more than ease waiting 
 time. It will ease the tension on 
 the heartstrings. 
 30 
 
If the Grief Died too 
 
 The thing that hurts the 
 very most, down under all, 
 is the personal loss. The feel- 
 ing here is too deep and in- 
 tense for speech. Always there 
 is someone who is not here. 
 There's the one who doesn't 
 come now. 
 
 " The lights are out 
 
 In the mansion of clay ; 
 The curtains are drawn, 
 
 For the dweller's away ; 
 He silently slipped 
 
 O'er the threshold by night, 
 To make his abode 
 
 In the city of light." 
 
 A bit of ourselves has gone. 
 The absent one is a part of one's 
 very self. We're not all here. 
 
 31 
 
If the Grief Died too 
 
 There's a strange, bare, gone 
 feeling. 
 
 A part of the life has gone. A 
 part of the inner heart of one is 
 quite gone. There's only an empty 
 space ... so empty . . . where he 
 was. And the emptiness aches, a 
 dull heavy aching, even in sleep. 
 
 There isn't even a place to put 
 flowers out maybe, on a little 
 hilled-up sod, under a drooping 
 elm. This personal part is the 
 part that hurts most. This is 
 where the thing comes closest 
 and cuts deepest. This it is that 
 seems to hold the break in the 
 heart from getting together and 
 healing. 
 
 32 
 
If the Grief Died too 
 
 " Here in this leafy place quiet he lies, 
 Cold with his sightless face turned to 
 
 the skies ; 
 *Tis but another dead — all you can say is 
 
 said. 
 
 "Carry his body hence— kings must have 
 slaves ; 
 Kings climb to eminence over men's 
 
 graves. 
 So this man's eye is dim; throw the 
 earth over him. 
 
 "What was the white you touched there 
 
 at his side ? 
 Paper his hand had clutched tight ere 
 
 he died ; 
 Message or wish, may be— smooth out 
 
 the folds and see. 
 
 " Hardly the worst of us here could have 
 
 smiled— 
 Only the tremulous words of a child- 
 Prattle, that had for stops just a few 
 
 ruddy drops. 
 
 ^ 33 
 
If the Grief Died too 
 
 " Look, she is said to miss, morning and 
 
 night. 
 His— her dead father's— kiss ; tries to be 
 
 bright. 
 Good to mamma, and sweet — that is all, 
 
 * Marguerite.' 
 
 "Ah, if beside the dead slumbered the 
 
 pain! 
 Ah, // the hearts that bled slept with the 
 
 slain ! 
 If the grief died !— But no— Death will 
 
 not have it so." ^ 
 
 And there's the broken future. 
 So much of the to-morrow of one's 
 life was bound up in the one who 
 isn't here. 
 
 It is as if all the morrows, that 
 were so bright with radiant sun- 
 light, and clustering with buds 
 
 1 Austin Dobson. 
 
 34 
 
If the Grief Died too 
 
 and roses, and rippling with joy- 
 ous music, and fragrant with all 
 the sweetest subtlest fragrances 
 of life, as if all these morrows 
 were clean wiped out with one 
 fell stroke. 
 
 And only a dull heavy laden- 
 skied to-day remains, with intervals 
 of nights for sleeping ; if sleep will 
 come. And a routine of goings 
 around to ease the sharper edge 
 a bit; but just to-day] no mor- 
 row; the future is dropped quite 
 out. 
 
 Future, plans, sunlight, flowers, 
 
 fragrance, music ... all quite gone, 
 
 for he is gone. Only to-day's dull 
 
 round, heavy steps, drab skies, 
 
 35 
 
If the Grief Died too 
 
 wintry chill, clinging fog. The 
 cherished plans have gone. This 
 adds its sting to the personal 
 loss. 
 
 36 
 
THE ABSENT ONE 
 
•*He leadeth me beside the waters of quietness. 
 He refresheth my life."— Psalm xxiii. 2, 3 (Free 
 translation). 
 
 "Thy rod and thy staff (tokens of His presence) 
 they comfort me."— Psalm xxiii. 4. 
 
 *' Calm in the hour of buoyant health, 
 Calm in my hour of pain ; 
 Calm in my poverty or wealth, 
 Calm in my loss or gain." 
 
 Horatius Bonar 
 
Ill 
 
 THE ABSENT ONE 
 
 Yet . . . there is something 
 more to be said. Sit still, my 
 heart, and let me try to see all 
 there is to be seen. 
 
 Let us stir the fire a little, 
 that what blaze there is may 
 flame out. And let us draw our 
 chairs up a little closer, for 
 there is surely some warmth 
 here by this fire, more than we 
 are getting. 
 
 He is not here. That is true. 
 39 
 
The Absent One 
 
 Yet he is somewhere. The 
 precious outer casket that his 
 spirit carried about, that is . . . 
 well it is not here. We may not 
 know just where, some of us. 
 But then he is not with it He , . . 
 where is he? the real he that 
 used that precious bit of vitalized 
 clay? 
 
 Now let the answer to this 
 come, and linger, until it is seen 
 as big as it really is. He was 
 trusting Christ as His Saviour, 
 was he not ? Swift down under 
 all you know ... in his heart this* 
 was his trust, was it not ? 
 
 And possibly you cannot put 
 your eagerly reaching out, trem- 
 40 
 
The Absent One 
 
 bling finger, on any particular 
 word or act or even bit in the 
 letters yonder. 
 
 Yet one remembers how in 
 the thick of the trenches, and 
 of the awful smoke and fire 
 and din there's been a most 
 unusual sense of an unseen Pre- 
 sence brooding. 
 
 And men's hearts, once so 
 thoughtless, have been strangely 
 caught and hushed. And your 
 prayers in Jesus' Name have 
 gone up so many times. And 
 prayer does not fail 
 
 And one remembers that when- 
 ever there is the half-turning of 
 an eye upward, homeward, in 
 41 
 
The Absent One 
 
 longing and desire . . . that's a little 
 something that our Lord yearns 
 for and reckons with, and quickly 
 sees and eagerly responds to. 
 
 Some come in at close of day, 
 as the tired-out child creeps in- 
 to his mother's soft lap, wanting 
 only rest, and coming for it to 
 the one place. And we know the 
 mother never fails her child's acted 
 plea. And would He? 
 
 This is the one decisive thing. 
 Our one hope is the blood of 
 our Christ. Precious old family 
 ties, dearly-cherished traditions, 
 personal accomplishments and 
 achievements, treasured posses- 
 sions all fade away now. And 
 42 
 
The Absent One 
 
 this, this thing that Christ died 
 for us, this is the one thing that 
 stands out. 
 
 And if this blessed hope is his^ 
 the absent one's of whom we think 
 this hour, if under all there was 
 a little of the real thing of this, 
 enough for iffm, our Lord, to see, 
 whose love makes His eyesight 
 so keen, then, ah ! then, there's 
 another little chapter to add to 
 our story. 
 
 This answers our question: 
 Where is he? the real he? We sit 
 very still and let the answer come 
 into our inner spirit-ears, as quiet 
 and clear, as sure and undoubted, 
 as the title-deed to an estate: He 
 43 
 
The Absent One 
 
 is in the presence of our glorified 
 Lord Jesus* 
 
 Now as we sit here, as we stir 
 the fire to get more warmth out to 
 help the inner chill, even now he 
 is in thdt ivondrous Presence. He 
 has been blessedly changed. He 
 is in full rhythm of spirit with 
 things up yonder. 
 
 He is looking into the face of 
 our Lord Jesus, into those eyes so 
 kindly and gentle; and the Lord 
 is smiling into his eyes. And he 
 answers that wondrous smile with 
 his own smile. The two are in 
 touch of spirit. 
 
 Is not this enough, alone, to 
 bring sunshine down through these 
 44 
 
The Absent One 
 
 low-hanging clouds, till it reaches 
 clear in, and warms up where the 
 wintry chill is ? 
 
 But there's more to add, much 
 more. He is 50 happy up there. 
 There's the music of that upper 
 world. He is listening, caught 
 and held, thrilled and thralled. 
 For it's a great place of music, 
 of singing, up there. 
 
 Was he fond of music? Well, 
 he never heard such soft rich 
 harmonies as reach his ear now. 
 Maybe he didn't know much 
 about it, though he liked to 
 hear it. 
 
 Well, he's being swept by it 
 now, even as a fragrant breeze 
 45 
 
The Absent One 
 
 from over a field of wild roses in 
 the early summer blows softly 
 into one's face, at times, and 
 sweeps his spirit away into subtle 
 wordless communion with nature 
 and with God. 
 
 And up yonder there is a throne. 
 There is a rainbow of exquisitely 
 soothing quieting green round 
 about the throne. And a won- 
 drous One in a soft blaze of 
 blinding light is sitting on the 
 throne, looking out over all, there 
 and here. 
 
 And round about are the hosts 
 
 of angels with their pure strong 
 
 faces and winsome presence, 
 
 coming and going, some hasten- 
 
 46 
 
The Absent One 
 
 ing up from the old earth to tell 
 of their last errand and get 
 further instructions. 
 
 And some are eagerly hasten- 
 ing away down to the old earth 
 with glad faces and outstretched 
 hands, to guard and minister and 
 help down here. And they're 
 singing, always singing, softly 
 singing praises to the King, as 
 they quickly, eagerly go and 
 come. 
 
 And there are the redeemed 
 ones of earth, a wondrous com- 
 pany from all the ages, and all 
 the nations, gathered about the 
 throne, talking, ministering, doing 
 errands, busy with glad tasks, 
 47 
 
The Absent One 
 
 singing, always singing, and with 
 such glad faces. 
 
 Over yonder is Enoch still walk- 
 ing with his Friend, and Moses 
 with his face shining more softly 
 than ever, and gentled Elijah, and 
 Isaiah with vision clearer than 
 ever, and Paul down on his face 
 again, but in wonder and worship, 
 all softly singing. 
 
 And here are some that he . . . our 
 loved one . . . knew. The one he 
 loved so tenderly, and who slipped 
 away that early dawning from 
 your clinging grasp and his . . . 
 theyre together now in gladdest 
 reunion. 
 
 And the children are there, hosts 
 48 
 
The Absent One 
 
 and hosts of them, babies of 
 months, and babies of wee years, 
 and growing children each tenderly 
 cared for, and each growing, ever 
 wondrously growing in that won- 
 drous atmosphere, and all singing, 
 always singing, whatever else may 
 be going on. 
 
 And he is part of all this. And 
 he is growing too ; growing in his 
 mental powers, growing in his 
 understanding of the reason of 
 things, growing in knowledge, and 
 in the fine graces of strength and 
 beauty. And most of all growing 
 in love, which is the perfection of 
 strength and beauty and life. 
 
 49 
 
THE THRONE VIEW 
 
" Be silent to God, and let Him mould thee."— Psalm 
 xxxvii. 7 (Luther's translation). 
 
 "He that goeth aside to sit quietly in the secret 
 place with the Most High, will find Him coming over 
 so close that this man shall be lodging under the very 
 shadow of the Almighty." — Psalm xci. i (Free 
 translation). 
 
 " Calm in the sufferance of wrong, 
 Like Him who bore my shame; 
 Calm, 'mid the threatening, taunting throng, 
 Who hate Thy holy Name." 
 
 Horatius Bonar 
 
IV 
 
 THE THRONE VIEW 
 
 But does he know about us 
 down here ; about just asy here by 
 the old family hearth-fire ? 
 
 And does he know about how 
 things are still going on down here, 
 the awful war still on and even 
 getting worse, the distress and 
 sorrow, the hunger and suffering, 
 the awful moral tragedies, and . . . 
 and . . . the loneliness, and . . . 
 all the rest of it : does he know ? 
 
 And if he does how can he be 
 S3 
 
The Throne View 
 
 happy? How can one ever be 
 happy again who knows even a 
 little of what has happened just 
 this year . . . how can he ? 
 
 And the rush of uncontrolled 
 emotion comes anew. And the 
 break in the heart begins bleeding 
 afresh. And one of those great 
 flushes of feeling sweeps over you 
 as you ask. 
 
 You may let it out. Some can 
 and do. You may keep it, most 
 of it, under the lock and key of 
 strong restraint. Some can and 
 do. And they feel the wear on 
 the inner wheels all the more. 
 
 How can he ? . . . They up there 
 . . . how can they ? Well, you see, 
 54 
 
The Throne View 
 
 you have dropped your eyes a little, 
 until you see only part, the dis- 
 tressing weeping breaking part. 
 But they can see all That's the 
 answer to your ^^how?'' 
 
 There's a throne up yonder. 
 They are getting the throne view. 
 They're under the blessed brood- 
 ing spell of the quieting green 
 rainbow which the throne-light 
 makes as it shines out. 
 
 Over all our world there's a 
 throne ; there is control ; there 
 is mastery. There is an eye 
 that never slumbers, but instead 
 watches sleeplessly with love's 
 sleeplessness. There is a sensi- 
 tive hand laid on the pulse of the 
 55 
 
The Throne View 
 
 old earth's life. There's a master- 
 ful hand on the helm. 
 
 He . . . the one you are thinking 
 of ... he sees all this. He doesn't 
 know all. Ah ! he's just beginning 
 his lessons in knowing. But he 
 does know enough to steady him, 
 while the rest is working out. 
 
 Suppose we let him, the one you 
 are thinking of, help us here a 
 little. That is, let us try to see 
 things a bit as he sees them up 
 there. Let us try to get some- 
 thing of the throne view. 
 
 We'll draw our Bibles over and 
 recall some of the things the Book 
 tells. And he, his presence yonder 
 . . . what we know that he does 
 
 56 
 
The Throne View 
 
 know, this will help us. It will 
 make it all more real and personal. 
 
 What we're needing most is the 
 throne vie^w. We need to see 
 things as our Lord Jesus sees 
 them. That will help us greatly 
 as our feet press the common clay, 
 our common round of life. 
 
 The present time is not all the 
 time there is. There is more 
 coming after this. And the more 
 will be a different sort from this. 
 And it will change the whole 
 look of things. And— may be — it'll 
 come soon, this other different 
 sort, sooner than any of us now 
 think. 
 
 This horrible riot of blood and 
 57 
 
The Throne View 
 
 din, of smoke and confusion, of 
 suffering and wrong and in- 
 humanity, this breaking of all 
 honour and right and pledged 
 word, this is not God's plan. 
 
 This tangle of tragedies and 
 horrid discord of noises, this stifl- 
 ing nightmare, this is all dead- 
 set against God's plan. It runs 
 straight across the grain of God's 
 plan. It hurts His heart more 
 than it does ours. 
 
 It is a result of man's freedom; 
 only this ; all of this. This is the 
 one only explanation. This is the 
 image of God in which we were 
 made . . . this freedom of choice and 
 action. And this hell-thing called 
 58 
 
The Throne View 
 
 war, now in its superlative degree, 
 this is a result, one result, of 
 man's freedom. That is one thing 
 to see clearly. 
 
 The present is not the whole. 
 It's only a part. Ifs only a 
 hyphen, a thing in between. 
 There's something coming after 
 the hyphen, this bloody tangled 
 tangling hyphen. 
 
 There is a change coming. It 
 will be a radical change. It will 
 be a blessed change. It will be 
 a change back to original Eden 
 conditions. 
 
 Some day our Lord Jesus is 
 coming back. The blue that 
 opened to let Him through and 
 
 59 
 
The Throne View 
 
 up, will open again to let Him 
 through and down. 
 
 He will come in great glory 
 just as He naturally is. His 
 glory was hidden before, for the 
 sake of our eyes. No one knows 
 when He will come. But, mark 
 you keenly, when He does come 
 
 I 
 • . . • 
 
 That fire is doing better now, 
 isn't it? That stirring up of the 
 fagot did good. We are getting 
 a bit warmer now. The chill is 
 less marked. Give that big log 
 there a turn . . . so . . . that's 
 good! Now well go on. 
 
 When He does come, it will not 
 be to wind things up, to close 
 60 
 
The Throne View 
 
 things up. It will be to begin 
 things anew on the old earth, on 
 the original plan. 
 
 Yes, there will be some radical 
 changes at the beginning of the 
 new order of things. But chiefly 
 it will be a fresh start on the 
 original plan of life on this same 
 old earth, as first planned by God. 
 
 There will be no war then. 
 There will be a gradual cessation 
 of sickness and death until these 
 are largely, almost wholly un- 
 known. Envy, hatred, jealousy, 
 bickering, fighting, rivalries of the 
 bad sort and of the not-good sort 
 . . . these will be gone. 
 
 Pain, hunger, poverty, weak- 
 6i 
 
The Throne View 
 
 ness, distressing partings, ignor- 
 ance, passion, prejudice, super- 
 stition, gradually these will go 
 until they will be almost for- 
 gotten. It will be a reign of 
 love, on this same old earth, with 
 the present laws of living, learn- 
 ing, growing, serving, all in full 
 sway, but in a natural way. 
 
 The common word for it all 
 is Kingdomy the thing we all pray 
 daily to come. The atmosphere 
 of it will be an atmosphere of 
 love— strong, pure, true love. 
 
 The purpose of it will be to 
 
 let men really get acquainted with 
 
 God, and God's way of things. 
 
 They will be finding how life will 
 
 62 
 
The Throne View 
 
 be when God is let in as freely as 
 is natural, both to life and to 
 Him. 
 
 There'll be need of helpers in 
 that day, great need of trained, 
 tested, trusty helpers. This pre- 
 sent time is part of our school- 
 time. And so is the present 
 interval with those who have 
 been taken up and away. 
 
 Our loved ones who have been 
 taken from our clinging grasp are 
 in school They are in training. 
 They are being got ready for the 
 service of the Kingdom time that's 
 coming down on the old earth. 
 
 63 
 
MAYBE NEARER 
 THAN WE THINK 
 
*'Sit still, my daughter, until thou know how the 
 matter will fall : for the man will not rest until he have 
 finished the thing. "— Ruth iii. i8. 
 
 "He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waters 
 thereof are still." — Psalm cvii. 29. 
 
 " He rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was 
 a great calm."— Matthew viii. 26. 
 
 " Calm me, my God, and keep me calm, 
 Soft resting on Thy breast ; 
 Soothe me with holy hymn and psalm, 
 And bid my spirit rest." 
 
 Horatius Bonar 
 
V 
 
 MAYBE NEARER THAN 
 WE THINK 
 
 That day may be much nearer 
 than we think. He, our Lord 
 Jesus, may be much closer in His 
 return than any of us suspect. 
 
 ''Some glorious morn— but when? Ah 
 
 who shall say ? 
 The steepest mountain will become a plain, 
 And the parched land be satisfied with 
 
 rain. 
 The gates of brass all broken ; iron bars, 
 Transfigured, form a ladder to the stars. 
 Rough places plain, and crooked ways 
 
 all straight, 
 
 67 
 
Maybe Nearer 
 
 For him who with a patient heart can 
 
 wait. 
 These things shall be on God's appointed 
 
 day : 
 It may not be to-morrow— yet it may." 
 
 It is quite possible — yes, a 
 stronger word can be used there 
 — it is probable that our generation 
 will see this great change in the 
 order of things. Some of us may 
 actually see Him coming down 
 out of the blue. 
 
 The very darkness of the night 
 speaks of the coming of the new 
 day. 
 
 " It darkens to the dawning 
 More than in all the night ; 
 Earth's shadows cast an awning 
 Just round the gates of light. 
 
 68 
 
Than We Think 
 
 " O'er the horizon nearest 
 
 Lie balanced light and shade, 
 And where the light is clearest 
 The dark is darkest made." ^ 
 
 And now there's another warm- 
 ing, helping bit here. We'll put 
 another log on the fire. When 
 He does come, these loved ones 
 of ours who are with Him now, 
 they "will come with Htm, 
 
 Some day we will suddenly notice 
 that the sun's light at its noon- 
 brightness has become a shadcnv. 
 Startled, we shall look up to see 
 a brighter shining above the sun. 
 
 There will be a break in the 
 blue over our heads, and out of it 
 will come the Lord Jesus Himself. 
 
 ^ F. W. Robertson, of Brighton. 
 
 69 
 
Maybe Nearer 
 
 The brightness of His Person will 
 outshine all else. 
 
 Then some very swift and very 
 wondrous, though simple, trans- 
 formations will take place. It'll all 
 be quicker than the words can be 
 told. 
 
 These dear bodies of our loved 
 ones that have been laid away will 
 know the touch of a new life 
 coming into them, as their former 
 dwellers shall re-enter them and 
 rise up into the presence of the 
 Lord Jesus in the air. 
 
 "How can we know that the flowers will 
 bloom, 
 When blue, and scarlet, and gold, 
 Lighting no more the forest's gloom, 
 Lie slain by the frost and cold ? 
 
 70 
 
Than We Think 
 
 " How can we tell that the birds again 
 Will warble from leafy spray ? 
 Garden, and copse, and wood, and fen, 
 Saw them all fly away. 
 
 " And yet, serenely, for bird and flower 
 We wait spring's fragrant breath. 
 Faint hearts, shall we not trust His power 
 To lift tlie veil of deatli ? '' 
 
 How can we know this other 
 spring is coming? Very simply. 
 We have His Word pledged to us. 
 And, under that, we have the yet 
 more sacred pledge of His blood 
 shed for us. 
 
 And beyond that we have the 
 yet more joyous pledge of His new 
 life rising up out of death and being 
 lived for us. A three-fold cord that 
 cant be broken. 
 
 71 
 
Maybe Nearer 
 
 So the spring is coming, this new 
 blessed Kingdom springtime, with 
 its wondrous new life for those 
 we've loved long since, and lost . . . 
 but only for a little while. 
 
 Then we who are living, who 
 have courteously waited, and given 
 these loved ones precedence, 
 then we too shall know a Divine 
 change in our bodies, making 
 them answer to a new law of 
 gravitation upward. 
 
 And we shall all at once find our- 
 selves up with Him and with them. 
 And then with them and with 
 Him we shall share in the blessed 
 earthly ministry of the Kingdom 
 time. 
 
 72 
 
Than We Think 
 
 " Out of the chill and the shadow 
 
 Into the thrill and the shine ; 
 Out of the dearth and the famine 
 
 Into the fullness Divine. 
 Up from the strife and the battle 
 
 (Oft with the shameful defeat), 
 Up to the palm and the laurel, 
 
 Oh, but the rest will be sweet ! 
 
 " Leaving the cloud and the tempest, 
 
 Reaching the balm and the cheer, 
 Finding the end of our sorrow, 
 
 Finding the end of our fear. 
 Seeing the face of the Master. 
 
 Yearned for in * distance and dream,* 
 Oh, for that rapture of gladness ! 
 
 Oh, for that vision supreme ! 
 
 " Meeting the dear ones departed. 
 
 Knowing them, clasping their hands, 
 All the beloved and true-hearted 
 
 There in the fairest of lands ! 
 Sin evermore left behind us. 
 
 Pain nevermore to distress ; 
 Changing the moan for the music, 
 
 Living the Saviour to bless. 
 
 73 
 
Maybe Nearer 
 
 "There we shall learn the sweet meanings 
 
 Hidden to-day from our eyes ; 
 There we shall waken like children 
 
 Joyous at gift and surprise. 
 Come then, dear Lord, in the gloaming. 
 
 Or where the dawning is gray ! 
 Take us to dwell in the presence — 
 
 Only Thyself lead the way. 
 
 " Out of the chill and the shadow. 
 
 Into the thrill and the shine ! 
 Out of the dearth and the famine, 
 
 Into the fullness Divine. 
 Out of the sigh and the silence, 
 
 Into the deep-swelling song ! 
 Out of the exile and bondage, 
 
 Into the home-gathered throng."^ 
 
 This is the throne viewj the upper 
 view, the fuller view. It fits this 
 present sore time into its niche in 
 the whole sweep of our Lord's 
 
 ^ Margaret E. Sangster. 
 
 74 
 
Than We Think 
 
 plan. And this wholly changes 
 the outlook. 
 
 This is the view our loved ones 
 have up in the Master's presence. 
 And we may have it and keep it, 
 too, if we will. And 50, many 
 questions will be answered and 
 much of the heartache eased. 
 
 75 
 
THE PILOT'S FACE 
 
"In the midst of you standeth One whom ye 
 recognize not." — John i. 26. 
 
 "Jesus stood on the beach: yet the disciples dis- 
 cerned not that it was Jesus."— John xxi. 4. 
 
 "And lo, I am with you all the days." — Matthew 
 xxviii. 20. 
 
 " A garden is a lovesome thing, God wot ; 
 Rose plot, 
 
 Fringed pool, 
 Fern'd grot — 
 The veriest school 
 Of peace ; and yet the fool 
 
 Contends that God is not — 
 Not God 1 In gardens ! When the eve is cool ! 
 
 Nay, but I have a sign ; 
 'Tis very sure God walks in mine." 
 
VI 
 
 THE PILOT'S FACE 
 
 But— meanwhile — there's a mean- 
 while. There's a waiting time, 
 before the storm clears. And we 
 must needs live through this wait- 
 ing time. The road up to the hill- 
 top where the air is bracing and 
 sunshiny, that road leads through 
 a valley. 
 
 It goes down before turning up. 
 It may even go further down be- 
 fore the turn-up is reached. And 
 the valley is apt to be damp and 
 79 
 
The Pilot's Face 
 
 chill. Raw winds blow there. 
 The sun doesn't get through for 
 days at a time, sometimes. And 
 the fog of the valley wraps you 
 about with a close clinging 
 clammy fold. 
 
 And we are in this valley. The 
 hill-top's there, that we have been 
 looking at, from which one can 
 see all The valley is only a part, 
 the sun-lit hill is the greater part. 
 
 But we are so apt to get the 
 vdley moody and let our eyes drop 
 instead of keeping them lifted up 
 to the hills. Well there is a bit of 
 vdlley-truth for us valley-travellers 
 to warm by. 
 
 Let us put another log on the 
 80 
 
The Pilot's Face 
 
 fire, a good-sized log this time, 
 one that is well-seasoned and will 
 kindle quickly, and burn brightly 
 and send out a good glow of heat. 
 And let us clear the ashes a bit so 
 that the fresh air can get to fire 
 and log. 
 
 Here is the simple but wondrous 
 bit of meanwhile truth, the vattey 
 truths to cheer the lower road : 
 there is Somebody by your side. 
 When youVe alone ; you're not 
 alone He's there. 
 
 The angels of the Lord are 
 round about. Yes ; but this One, 
 the Lord Himself is inside that 
 angel-circle, nearer than they. 
 
 But our eyesight is a bit blurred. 
 ^ 8i 
 
The Pilot's Face 
 
 Maybe it is like Mary*s in the 
 garden.^ Her tear-misted eyes 
 thought she saw a gardener, but tt 
 was Jesus. And He had come there 
 just for her. He spoke her name. 
 Then she knew. And all changed. 
 
 Suppose you get still a bit . . . 
 quiet . . . and listen. You'll hear 
 your name in the same voice. And 
 there'll come the same change as 
 with Mary. One sound of His 
 quiet voice will change everything 
 for you. Reach out your hand 
 sometime as you sit alone. Hes 
 there by your side now. 
 
 We are bothered, sometimes, 
 like the seven men in the boat 
 
 1 John XX. 1-18. 
 
 82 
 
The Pilot's Face 
 
 that grey dawn on Galilee's blue 
 waters.^ A long night it had been, 
 and they were tired in body and 
 more tired in heart. 
 
 There seemed no outlook, nor 
 aplook. Only a discouraging in- 
 look and the despairing downlook. 
 But they were wrong. That 
 "seemed" wasn't right. Jesus 
 was there, close up. 
 
 He was talking with them, con- 
 cerned about them, making a fire 
 to warm their cold, and broiling 
 fish to feed their hunger. What 
 a Saviour to think of such things, 
 just as a thoughtful mother would 
 do ! And His presence being recog- 
 
 ^ John xxi. 1-14. 
 
 83 
 
The Pilot's Face 
 
 nized made outlook and uplook and 
 glad-look. 
 
 Are you and I like them ? . . . eyes 
 down . . . heart down ? But He is 
 here. Listen to Him. Sit still with 
 Him a bit. Sing to Him a snatch or 
 two of praise for what He is, and 
 what He is going to do. 
 
 " I have not seen His face — 
 
 Not yet, not yet ! 
 But oft beside my own 
 
 His feet are set, 
 And I'll no strangeness feel, 
 
 No chill surprise, 
 That glad day when He bids 
 
 Me lift mine eyes. 
 
 " If I have felt His touch 
 I am not sure. 
 But when earth-sorrows grow 
 Past all earth's cure, 
 
 84 
 
The Pilot's Face 
 
 Comes there such sense of Him 
 
 So close, so dear. 
 That mine own blood and breath 
 
 Seem not more near. 
 
 " I have not heard His voice, 
 
 That, too, I wait ; 
 And not so much I pray 
 
 The opening gate. 
 And all that shows or sings 
 
 Dark Jordan past. 
 As but to hear Him speak 
 
 At home at last." ^ 
 
 And as we sit in stillness, and 
 say to ourselves, ** He is here," 
 something else comes. We re- 
 member that He has been here 
 before. This road I'm on — this is 
 no new road to Him. And it was 
 a rougher road then. 
 
 * William Hervey Woods. 
 
 85 
 
The Pilot's Face 
 
 " Rougher ? " you say instinc- 
 tively, without stopping to think, 
 while your hand goes to your 
 heart. Then as you think a bit 
 you say softly : " Yes, it was 
 rougher for Him.'' The pain cut 
 deeper . . . yes, this same sort of 
 pain. He knows. He understands. 
 He feets. He feels with you. He 
 suffers with you. He has come to 
 help. Let Him. Learn to spend 
 the day with Him. That will 
 brighten this "little while between." 
 
 " Let the little while between 
 In the golden light be seen." 
 
 Lean on Him. He's here. 
 Readers of Robert Louis 
 86 
 
The Pilot's Face 
 
 Stevenson will remember that 
 in one of his books he tells the 
 story of a ship at sea in a severe 
 storm. Things had got into 
 desperate shape. 
 
 And now the storm is driving 
 the ship toward the coast, which 
 means certain wreckage of the 
 ship, and possibly death for most 
 of crew and passengers. 
 
 The passengers are all below, 
 and sternly forbidden to attempt 
 the deck. The hatches are all 
 fastened securely down. And 
 there, huddled together, with only 
 the dreadful noises of the storm 
 and the distressing pitch and toss 
 of the boat, and the close foul 
 87 
 
The Pilot's Face 
 
 air that can hardly be breathed, 
 the passengers are in great bodily 
 discomfort and mental distress. 
 They are surely going down. 
 
 Above, everything is tied up 
 that can be tied, the decks are 
 washed by the furious waves, and 
 forward the pilot is lashed 
 securely with ropes at the wheel, 
 that he may not be washed away 
 while he tries to guide the wheel 
 and turn the ship out into safe 
 waters. It is a most distressing 
 scene. 
 
 Then a venturesome passenger 
 
 manages to elude officers and 
 
 crew, finds a way up on deck, 
 
 and with great difficulty he 
 
 88 
 
The Pilot's Face 
 
 creeps along the smooth slippery 
 deck, holding as best he can 
 here and there, until finally he 
 manages to get within sight of 
 the pilot. 
 
 Yes, the pilot is still there. 
 That's something. And as he 
 gripped hard to the rail he 
 thought he could half see through 
 blinding dash of wave and spray 
 that, slowly, little by little, the 
 wheel was turning the ship out 
 from the coast toward the deep 
 water. 
 
 Just then the pilot seemed to 
 feel the presence of someone, 
 and glancing over saw the man 
 so intently watching him. And 
 
 89 
 
The Pilot's Face 
 
 a smile lit up his tired, set face 
 for a moment. 
 
 Quickly as he could, the man 
 crept back the length of the 
 slippery deck, and down below; 
 and as he reached the crowd of 
 huddling passengers in the dark 
 and damp of their close quarters 
 cried out, "/ have seen the face of 
 the pilot; and he smiled^* 
 
 The story tells its own tale to 
 us just now. It ts a tremendous 
 storm that is raging now. The 
 ship seems headed straight for a 
 rocky coast. The wreckage will 
 be terrific beyond any experience 
 yet, if the ship actually strikes 
 the rocks. 
 
 90 
 
The Pilot's Face 
 
 And we're huddled in most of 
 us, where the outlook is so limited. 
 Sometimes it seems as if there 
 were no outlook. And the storm 
 blinds our eyes. And our per- 
 sonal distress seems quite beyond 
 words. 
 
 But listen, there s a Pilot* His 
 hand is on the wheel, steady and 
 firm. And if we may, in the ven- 
 ture of a child's simple faith, creep 
 out and look, ^ive can see His face. 
 
 For it is always turned toward 
 us. And He is smiling quietly 
 down into our bewildered eyes. 
 And we can say, in the words of 
 the venturesome passenger, "/ 
 have seen the face of the Pilot . . . and 
 91 
 
The Pilot's Face 
 
 . . . He smiled.'' And that will settle 
 everything for us. 
 
 For He knows all. And He sees 
 the sunshine after rain, and calm 
 after storm. He has our loved 
 ones up in the sunlight of the 
 homeland with the Father. 
 
 And He Himself walks close by, 
 saying in a quiet voice with a 
 thrill of soft music in it, ^^ Be of good 
 cheer, I am here,'' 
 
 92 
 
"After the wind . . . after the earthquake . . . after 
 the fire, a still small voice (which was a sound of gentle 
 stillness)."—! Kings xix. 11-12 with margin. 
 
 "Drop Thy still dews of quietness, 
 
 Till all our strivings cease : 
 Take from our souls the strain and stress ; 
 And let our ordered lives confess 
 
 The beauty of Thy peace. 
 
 Breathe through the pulses of desire 
 
 Thy coolness and Thy balm ; 
 Let sense be done, let flesh retire, 
 Speak through the earthquake, wind, and fire 
 
 O, still small voice of calm." 
 
 John Greenleaf Whittier. 
 
 "Then are they glad because they are quiet ; So. 
 He bringeth them unto their desired haven ."— Psalm 
 cvii. 30. 
 
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