Our Master
‘ Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto Him, Rabboni; which is to say Master.” — JOHN xx,
SHOULD think no one ever could have been happier than Mary was that moment when she said “Master!” But every one who says “Master,”’ and means i¢, must be happy too; for we do not care to call Jesus “Master” until we love Him, and loving Him always makes people happy. When we have learnt the sweet words “my Saviour” and “my Redeemer,” because we believe that Jesus has saved us and bought us with His precious blood, then we are sure to want to call Him “my Master.” “I want to do something for Jesus” is one of the first wishes that rises up in our hearts when we see what He has done for us, and perhaps it is one of the surest proofs that we do love Him. We feel like the Queen of Sheba when she said, ‘‘ Happy are these thy servants” (1 Kings x. ). And when we have tried a little bit of His service we are very glad to say, “O Lord, truly I am Thy servant” (Ps. cxvi.:
But it is the Master Himself that makes the service sweet, and so we are gladder still when we just look up to Him and say, like Mary, “Master!’’ When we say that word to Him it makes it all so real. For we have not only to look back at a dying Saviour, but to look up at a living one. When Mary said it, He had come up out of the tomb never to die any more (Rom. vi. ), but always to live for us; and when we call Him by that name it may remind us that He is risen, and is really alive now, and that He says, “because I live ye shall live also” (John xiv.
:
He has given a beautiful answer to every
one who loves Him enough to call Him by this name. He says, “Ye call Me Master and Lord, and ye say well” (John xiii. ye So He likes to hear us say it, and values the love of the poor little sinful heart that yet looks up and says, “I love my Master” (Exod. xxi. y
I love, I love my Master,
T will not go out free!
He loves me, oh, so lovingly,
He is so good to me!
I love, I love my Master,
He shed His blood for me,
To ransom me from Satan’s power,
From sin’s hard slavery.
I love, I love my Master,
Oh, how He worked for me!
He worked out God’s salvation,
So great, so full, so free.
My Master, O my Master,
If I may work for Thee,
And tell out Thy salvation,
How happy shall I be!
ELLEN P. SHAW
ie
,
For He hath met my longing
With word of golden tone,
That I shall serve forever
Himself, Himself alone.
“* Shall serve Him,” and ‘‘ forever:”’
O hope most sure, most fair!
The perfect love outpouring
In perfect service there!
Rejoicing and adoring,
Henceforth my song shall be:
I love, I love my Master,
I will not go out free!
He Reekle
*,.* These three last verses are added since their writer went away to ‘‘serve Him day and night in His temple.”