Quiet Time

Every true Christian life needs its daily "silent time," when all shall be still; when the busy activities of other hours shall cease, and when the heart, in holy hush, shall commune with God. One of the greatest needs of Christian life today is the revival of devotion. Ours is not an age of prayer so much as of work. The tendency is to action rather than to worship; to busy toil rather than to quiet sitting at the Savior's feet to commune with him.

Family Faith

Fathers, you are the heads of happy families today. All that I ask is, that you make them happier still—happy, not only in your love, but in the love of God the Savior; happy for time and through eternity. The happiest family may not always be so. The most smiling circle will be in tears some day. All that I ask is, that you will secure, for yourself and your children, a friend in that blessed Redeemer, who will wipe all tears from all faces. Your families may soon be scattered, and familiar voices may cease to echo within your walls. They may each go to his own, and some of them may go far away. Oh, see to it, that the God of Bethel goes with them; that they may set up an altar, even on a distant shore, and sing the Lord's song in that foreign land.

God's Presence

We never keep so true a watch over our ways as when we walk as in God's presence. The realization of God's presence is the one sovereign remedy against temptation. It is that which sustains us, consoles us, and calms us. It is not by constraint or by painful effort that we make real progress. On the contrary, it is simply a question of yielding up our will, of going from day to day whithersoever God may lead us, discouraged by nothing, satisfied with the present moment, thankful to let him do all who has made all, and to leave our own will immovable within his will. How happy it is to abide in this condition  How satisfied is the heart, even though it may lack all else!

A Collection of Sayings

--What we make our trust God often makes our shame.

--God made man of the dust, but man too often makes a god of the dust.
--We can force God to punish us, but not to love us.
--The sun is not so full of light as God is of love to those who fear him.
--Lusts within are worse than lions without.
--God is to be adored in the heart, and not painted to the eye.
--To set up an image to represent God is to debase God infinitely below himself.
--The people began to have golden images when they had wooden priests.
--Those hate the true God who worship him by images.
--The vial of God's wrath drops, but the fountain of his mercy runs.
--Sin creates all our trouble; it is the gall in our cup, and the gravel in our bread.
--No physician can heal the wounds of the tongue.
--Those who do not care for Christ's members do not care for Christ.
--For a cup of cold water here, you may have rivers of pleasure hereafter.
--For a drop of pleasure, many will drink a sea of wrath.
--The body goes out of the world naked, but the renewed soul goes out well clad.
--Discontent and impatience charge God with folly.
--Those who think long are better able to speak short.
--We should hear more from God if we thought more of him.
--The earth that stays us up will soon swallow us up.
--Our greatest blessings are to be made blessings, and to be kept from sin.
--Troubles are the trials or tests of friendships.
--While living we are sowing, in eternity to reap.
--We should persevere in the way of duty, though it cost all that is dear to us.
--Those who are prayerless are graceless.
--Fretful, passionate people tear and torment themselves.
--Those whom God has not honor from he will get honor upon.
--The way to have our hearts' desire is to make God our hearts' delight.
--There is no way to fly from the justice of God but to fly to his mercy.

Almost Heaven on Earth

Said one friend to another: "How would you like to live in a community where nobody drank any intoxicating liquors—where everybody was perfectly sober?"


"I would be delighted with such a community," said the other.

"And how would you like to live where every one was industrious—where they rose early and went to their work, and retired in season; where everybody was at home in the evening, and where no one used profane language?"

"Oh, that would be perfectly delightful," was replied.

"And," continued the questioner, "how would you like to live in a community where every one attended divine service every Sabbath?"

"Why," said the other, "such a community would make almost a heaven, but there is no such community."

"Oh, yes; I know several such communities."

"Where can I find one?"

And the other replied, "In any well regulated penitentiary."

The Fence Story

A man who prided himself on his morality, and expected to be saved by it, was constantly saying: "I am doing pretty well on the whole. I sometimes get mad and swear, but then I am perfectly honest. I work on the Sabbath when I am particularly busy, but I give a good deal to the poor, and I was never drunk in my life."

This man hired a canny Scotchman to build a fence around his pasture lot. He gave him very particular directions. In the evening, when the Scotchman came in from work, the man said, "Well, Sandy, is the fence built, and is it tight and strong?"

"I can not say it is all tight and strong," Sandy replied, "but it's a good average fence, anyhow. If some parts of it are a little weak, other parts are extra strong. I don't know but I may have left a gap here and there a yard or so wide; but then I made up for it by doubling the number of rails on each side of the gap. I dare say the cattle will find it a good fence on the whole, and will like it, though I cannot just say that it is perfect in every part."

"What!" cried the man in astonishment, not seeing the point, "do you tell me that you built a fence around my lot with weak places and gaps in it? Why, you might as well have built no fence. If there is one opening, or a place where an opening can be made, the cattle will be sure to find it, and will all go through. Don't you know, man, a fence must be perfect, or it is worthless."

"I used to think so," said the dry Scotchman, "but I hear you talk so much about averaging matters with the Lord, I thought it might be well to try it with the cattle. If an average fence will not do for them, I very much fear that an average character will not do in the day of judgment."

Fear and Love God

True reverence for God includes both fear and love—fear, to keep him in our eye; love, to enthrone him in the heart; fear, to avoid what may offend; love, to yield a prompt and willing service; fear, to regard God as a witness and judge; love, to cleave to him as a friend and father; fear, to render us watchful and circumspect; love, to make us active and resolute; love, to keep fear from being servile or distrustful; fear, to keep love from being forward or secure; and both springing from one root, a living faith in the infinite and ever-living God.—Cope

The Bible and Error

Error is often plausible, and the most ensnaring errors are those which have an obvious resemblance to truth. Even though the outside coating is not brass, but real gold, the leaden coin is none the less counterfeit; and, like the devil's temptation, wrapped up in a Scripture saying, many false doctrines come nowadays with a sacred or spiritual glamor around them, quoting texts and uttering Bible phrases. But the question is not, who has a text on his side? but, who has the Bible? Not, who can produce certain sentences torn from their connection, and reft of the purport which that connection gives them; but, looking at Scripture in its integrity—having regard to its general drift, as well as the bearing of these special passages— who is it that makes the fairest appeal to the statute-book of heaven?

Jesus Christ Is God!

In the one hundred and second Psalm, eternity and unchangeableness are ascribed to the great Creator; and there is no opponent of the Savior's divinity who would not sing that psalm as a fitting ascription to the Most High God; when, behold, the Epistle to the Hebrews informs us that it is a hymn of praise to Jesus Christ. (Heb. i, 8.) To hail any creature, and say, "Holy, holy, Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of thy glory," we shall be told, by those who view Christ as a creature, is blasphemy. And yet, when we push our inquiry up the stream of time, and go back to the period to which John the Evangelist sends us— seven centuries before the advent—we find this identical anthem sung to Jesus Christ by no meaner worshipers than the celestial seraphim. (Isaiah vi. 1-9; John xii. 39-41.)

Jesus Our All in All

Jesus is our Example, we must copy him; Jesus is our Leader, and we must follow him. Jesus is our Sovereign, and we must submit to him; Jesus is our Savior, and we must confide alone in him. We must look to his blood for pardon; to his righteousness for justification; to his Spirit for strength, and to his fullness for all our supplies. We must make use of Jesus every day, every hour and every minute.

Christ the World's Saviour

The Savior who is announced in the Bible is the Savior of men. Every child of Adam, who hears the glorious news, may point to him and exclaim: "This is my Redeemer. For my deliverance is he come. For me he became incarnate, lived and died. For me he rose again, and ascended to the heavens. To wash away my sins, he poured out his blood to intercede for my soul, he stands before the throne. To me he cries: 'Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.' To me he calls: 'Buy wine and milk without money and without price.'"

Christ Is All

Under the gospel, Jesus is our propitiation. His atonement is our plea, the ground of our confidence, and the cause of our reconciliation. He advocates our cause; he intercedes for our persons; he renders our services acceptable. We need no merit, no priesthood, no sacrifice but Christ.

Bring Your Troubles to Christ

To Christ we should go with everything that troubles us; for he is ready to listen, relieve, or counsel us. Nothing should be kept back from him. He considers nothing beneath his notice which affects the peace, or prosperity, or happiness of his people. Whatever troubles us, interests him. Our little every-day troubles and annoyances should be carried to his throne, and whispered in his ear.

Spliting the Bible

Some people split the Bible. They set aside all the precepts, and appropriate all the promises; they cull out all the doctrines, and do away with all the duties; and in this one-sided fashion they never become the blessed and beautiful characters which that Bible could make them.

Money

Translated into its equivalent, money just means food and clothing and a salubrious dwelling. It means instructive books and rational recreation. It means freedom from anxiety and leisure for personal improvement. It means the education of one's children and the power of doing good to others. And to inveigh against it, as if it were intrinsically sinful, is as fanatical as it would be to inveigh against the bread and the raiment, the books and the Bibles which the money procures. It would be to stultify all those precepts which tell us to provide things honest in the sight of all men; to do good and to communicate; to help forward destitute saints after a godly sort; to make friends of the unrighteous mammon. And as there is nothing in the Bible to prohibit the acquirement of wealth, there is much to guide us in its right bestowment. Using but not abusing God's bounties, the Christian avoids both the wasteful and the penurious extremes, and is neither a miser nor a spendthrift.

Industry

Christian industry is just the outlet of a fervent spirit—a Christ-devoted heart. The industry which is not fervent is not Christian; and, on the other hand, the love which does not come out in action—the fervor which does not lead to diligence—will soon die down. He who has an eye to Christ in all he does, and whose spirit is full of that energy—that love to his work and his brethren, and his Master in heaven, which the Holy Spirit gives—will not soon weary in well-doing.

Murmurings

All our murmurings are so many arrows shot at God himself, and they will return upon our own hearts; they reach not him, but they will hit us; they hurt not him, but they will wound us; therefore it is better to be mute than to murmur; it is dangerous to provoke a consuming fire.--Anon

The Child of God

The child of God may be rudely tossed on a troubled sea; but that ship shall never be shipwrecked where Christ is the pilot, the Scriptures the compass, the promises the tackling, hope the anchor, faith the cables, the Holy Ghost the wind, and holy affections the sails, which are filled with the Spirit.--Anon

Religion

Religion invariably involves the action of the will. Religion, radically, is a choice, not a feeling. You cannot ignore the will and make religion real. Locate it in the intellect, and it becomes an opinion—a bald belief; make it a matter of pure feeling, and it falls into a sentimentality—a sigh, a tear; lay it on the will, and at once it is a decision—a life. And herein appears the deep philosophy of Jesus' remark: "If ye love me, keep my commandments."

Death

Death to the Christian is the funeral of all his sorrows and evils, and the resurrection of all his joys.--Anon

Scripture Interprets Scripture

Scripture is the interpreter of Scripture; and just as one divine perfection may set limits to another, as God's wisdom may be the limit of his power, as his truth or holiness may be the limit of his benevolence, so, in Scripture, one truth may be the limit of another, or a precept may be the limit of a promise. It is true, God gives his angels a charge concerning his saints; but then he gives his saints a charge concerning themselves. And if the angels are not to forget the saints, neither are the saints to tempt the Lord their God. Observe the condition, and the result is infallible. Fulfill you the precept, and God will fulfill the promise. But to leap from this pinnacle, when there is no end to be answered—to spring into the air, when it is not God, but Satan, who gives the command—this is to tempt Jehovah; and God's will must be done, even though the doing of it should look so pusillanimous as to provoke a sneer from the devil.

Prayer and God's Glory

We are first of all, in all our prayers, and in all our conduct, to have respect to God's glory.— Jacobus

Attitude in Prayer

You must not put too much stress upon your prayers. Take heed that you do not set them up instead of Christ, that you do not hope to merit by your prayers the things which you pray for, but only look upon them as a means and ordinance which God hath appointed to obtain those good things that you stand in need of.— Bishop E. Hopkins

The Abundance of God

As the fountain finds its expression in overflowing, as a river in rushing to the infinite main, as trees bursting into life and blossom in the springtide, so God feels it his joy to give liberally, and to give above all we can ask or think or desire for Christ's sake.—Cumming

Life Long Enough
 
Life is long enough for the sinner and for the saint. Seventy years are a sufficient period to try the character. Were the sinner to continue longer in the world, he would still be equally hopeless and more guilty. Habits of wickedness, strengthened through so long a period, seldom permit either removal or hope. Whither shall we go to find penitence after this period has passed? The antediluvian world was immensely more wicked than the present, because man lived a thousand years. Their plans of sin were vastly more extensive, their sagacity in pursuing them greatly superior, their opportunities amazingly more numerous, and their hopes of success beyond comparison better founded. In this manner their evil habits became fixed beyond recall, while death was at such distance as to make the present life seem not a little like an eternal duration. What existed then would, in like circumstances, exist now. Were human life to be equally protracted, mankind would soon become as profligate as they were before the Deluge. That the present life is a sufficient period of probationary existence to the righteous will be readily acknowledged by all men. Every person of this character secures, within this period, an everlasting inheritance beyond the grave. This is the end for which we live—the only end of real importance. Plainly, therefore, the present period of human life is well suited to the circumstances of both saints and sinners, and wisely appointed by God.—President Dwight

Promise and Prayer

The promise is the measure of prayer. And assurance in prayer will be in direct proportion to faith in the promise. There can be no fanaticism while we keep thought and desire within the circle of the promise. There can be nothing but delusion if we wander beyond these limits.—-John L. Rice, D.D.

How to Sin Not

An old writer says: "The way to be angry, and sin not, is to be angry at nothing but sin."

The Devil Said, "Amen!"

"My son," said an old, dead-head church-member, "be sure to favor every enterprise that is proposed. By this means you will gain the support of its friends. But, mark me, my son, be sure in every case to oppose the plan for carrying out the proposed enterprise. In that way you can gain the support of its enemies. Moreover, it will be for the comfort of your conscience that you favor all good enterprises; and it will be to the credit of your judgment that you object to all unwise plans. And mark this, my son, that nothing is easier than to find some objectionable point in any plan or method ever proposed by human beings. It is a fortunate thing, my son, that we can thus always keep ourselves in the right, while, at the same time, we can keep free from complications, and legitimately excuse ourselves from all troublesome tasks, and also keep our pockets from leaking." Thus he said, and the devil said, "Amen."

A Single Sin

"A single sin, however apparently trifling, however hidden in some obscure corner of our consciousness—a sin we do not intend to renounce— is enough to render real prayer impracticable."

Christ and Creation

"Separate any part of this creation, or any event that has ever taken place, from its relation to Christ, and it dwindles into insignificancy. No sufficient reason can be assigned for its existence, and it appears to have been formed in vain. But, when viewed as connected with Christ, everything becomes important; everything, then, appears to be a part of one grand, systematic, harmonious whole—a whole worthy of him that formed it."

Short Quotes

"The Christian armor will rust, except it be polished with prayer."

"The gospel, instead of precise rules, furnishes sublime principles of conduct."

"Driving a man into sin is worse than driving him into trouble."

Loving God's Word

"Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against thee." How shall we love God's word? Accept it as from God. Accept the Savior, whom it reveals. Trust the Spirit, who gave us the word; and "obey, I beseech thee, the voice of the Lord, which I speak unto thee, so it shall be well with thee, and thy soul shall live."—S. E. Wishard

On Faith

1. Whatever you want, go to God by faith and prayer, in the name of Christ, and never think his delays are denials.

2. Faith is the basis of the new life, as it accepts and appropriates all that God offers; but love is the basis of the Christian character.

3. The Bible speaks of various degrees of faith; and there are different figures employed to denote the operation of this great principle. Its first and simplest act is represented as a "looking to Christ," then a "coming to Christ," a "receiving Christ," a "laying hold of Christ," a "cleaving to Christ," a "trusting in Christ." But the lowest in this scale, provided it be a real faith, gives a sinner an interest in Jesus and his salvation as well as the highest.

4. The faith of the soul is most rational when it looks to the counsels of Jesus for guidance, to his blood for purity, to his merit for acceptance, to his grace for aid, to his consolation for support, to his promises for hope, and.to his Spirit for heavenly-mindedness.

5. Faith relies on Christ for salvation, on his blood for its purchase, on his grace for its bestowal, on his power for its completion, and on his love for its blessedness.

6. Christ alone, as having died for our sins, as having risen.again for our justification, and as now pleading for us in heaven, must be the daily, hourly object of our faith.

A Hymn

United to Christ, as the branch to the vine,
I am my dear Savior's, he also is mine ;
He calls me a member, while he is the head;
And while I cleave to him, I have nothing to dread.

He is my Redeemer, and for me he died;
He was, for my sins, on the cross crucified;
Oh! grant me thy grace, my dear Savior, to be
More thankful for all thy great mercies to me.

Without thee I'm wretched, and mourn all the day;
It is thy blest presence drives sadness away.
With Christ as my friend I will smile at my foes;
He bestows his sweet love, and dispels all my woes.

How long I shall live, I care not to know;
United to Jesus, I'm ready to go,
Where angels are sounding his praises abroad;
I long to sing, with them, sweet anthems to God.

Princeton, Gibson County, Ind., 1863.

The Object of the Gospel

The one eternal object of the gospel, consummated in Christ, is to bring men back from their wanderings in folly, selfishness and sin, to God our Father; to unite our hearts and wills in living communion with him, and to incite us, through the impulse of a strong and transforming affection, to work freely, trustfully, rejoicingly in and with and for him alone. This is the true gospel of Christ. ''The same yesterday, to-day and forever." (Anon)

Faith

The seat of faith is the soul; the ground of it is God's word; the object of it whatever God orders or promises. If he commands, faith leads us to doing; if he promises to assured hope: it comes by hearing—is opposed to sight.--Anon

We Fade

As the trials of life thicken, and the dreams of other days fade one by one into the deep vista of disappointed hope, the heart grows weary of the struggle, and we begin to realize our insignificance. Those who have climbed to the pinnacle of fame, or revel in luxury and wealth, go to the grave at last with the poor mendicant who begs by the wayside, and, like him, are soon forgotten. Generation after generation have felt as we feel, and their companions were as active in life as ours are now. They passed away as a vapor, while nature wore the same aspect of beauty as when our Creator commanded her to be. And so it shall be when we are gone. The heavens will be as bright over our graves as they are now around our path. The world will have the same attraction for posterity that it once had for ourselves, and that it has now for our children.--Anon

Converted to What?

Too many have no idea of the subjection of their temper to the influence of religion; and yet what is changed, if the temper is. not? If a man is as passionate, malicious, resentful, sullen, moody or morose, after his conversion as before it, what is he converted from or to?—John Angell James

Indifference

We can not afford to be indifferent Christians. We can not make progress in Christian life if we live in a state of supine indifference. We are to work out our own salvation as earnest men work— thinking before, thinking after, full of resources, full of desires, as men are when they are searching for things which their whole heart is set upon.--Anon

Right and Wrong

How hard it is to do right; how easy to do wrong. To go toward destruction is to float down with the tide. When a young man is going to the devil, how many boon companions will lead him onward, and how pleasant they will be. How few are the warning voices that will break upon his ear. But let him turn into the better way, a steep hill is before him, and the way is narrow and very rough at the start.--Anon

A Dead Soul

In vain the wrath of God against sin is set forth—the perceptions of his soul are stopped up; like tho sleeping traveller, he does not see the coming storm. In vain the bread and water of life are offered to him—his soul is neither hungry for the one nor thirsty for the other. In vain he is advised to flee to the Great Physician—his soul is unconscious of its disease — why should he go? In vain you put a price into his hand to buy wisdom — the mind of his soul wanders—he is like the lunatic who calls straws a crown, and dust diamonds — he says, "I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing." Ah, there is nothing so sad as the utter corruption of our nature; there is nothing so painful as the anatomy of a dead soul.—Ryle

Troubles Increased

"Sometimes," says John Newton, "I compare the troubles we have to undergo in the course of a year to a bundle of faggots far too large for us to lift. But God does not require us to carry the whole at once. He mercifully unties the bundle, and gives us first one stick, which we are to carry to-day, and then another, which we are to carry tomorrow, and so on. This we might easily manage if wo would only take the burden appointed for us each day; but we choose to increase our trouble by carrying yesterday's stick over again today, and adding tomorrow's burden to our load before we are required to bear it."

Sorrows and Pleasures

That which the French proverb hath of sickness is true of all evils, that they come on horseback and go away on foot. We have often seen a sudden fall or one meal's surfeit hath stuck by many to their graves; whereas pleasures come like oxen, slow and heavily, and go away like post-horses, upon the spur. Sorrows, because they are lingering guests, I will entertain but moderately, knowing that the more they are made of, the longer they will continue; and for pleasures, because they stay not, and do but call to drink at my door, I will use them as passengers, with slight respect. He is his own best friend that makes least of both of them.—Bishop Hall

The Stream of Sorrow

The stream of sorrow, like water, ascends no higher than the spring from which it came. We know that sin gives two bloody stabs — the first is at the soul of man, the second is at the heart of Christ; and, if the first stab only grieve me, if I mourn for sin, as it hath only wounded my soul, it is a sign this stream flows from a natural heart, because it ascends up to a natural height; but, if I weep for sin, as it hath wounded Christ, as it hath shed that blood that would save me, as it hath pierced that heart that would love me, then no question but the spring is in heaven, because it riseth to a supernatural ascent. Lord, grant that my sorrow may bo sound; pierce my heart for sin, as it strikes through my soul, and pierces Christ —Christian Treasury

Family Sorrow

May not a man say, with some reason, "Let us build here three tabernacles, and abide in this paradise of God"? But in the providence of God one child dies, and another child is prostrated with sickness, and alienations come in to disturb the peace of the family circle, and the household is divided and scattered, and the paradise is invaded, and thorns and thistles come up where were blossoms and fruit. Under such circumstances a man is tempted to charge God falsely. And where there has been such temptation, and waste, and sickness, and desolation, and the heart has been burdened with sorrow, and the head has been bowed down with grief, and suffering has written its lines on the face at last, though for the present these things are not joyous, they begin to bring hunger for that which the earth cannot supply, and to cause the soul to cry out, "O God, feed me, and give me the hidden manna out of the cloud and darkness," and in answer come Divinely-supplied patience and inward joy. How many persons have at last borne witness, " I have learned what I could not have learned if I had been spared from sorrow"—Beccher

Light Afflictions

A pleasing Danish writer tells a story of which the following is the substance. The writer is represented as a lady seated at an upper window in a town, and observant of what passes around her. From this window she could see a court-yard with a garden, communicating by a door with the street. Some children were playing in the garden, and appearing as busy and important as the full-grown people in the world outside. She soon observed these children actively occupied in burying a favourite dog which had died, and ornamenting its grave with worthless scraps of rubbish. At last one of them suddenly thought of calling the children from the street outside to see the little dog's grave, demanding some very trifling article as payment for admittance. Now the show was not worth seeing, but, childlike, tho street children set a value on it beciuse others did so; and one by one they paid for their entrance, saw the very little there was to be seen, and went out again. But there was one little girl who had nothing to give; she was obliged to remain outside, and, as the last child came away, the lady in the upper window saw the little girl crying bitterly because she had "not seen the little dog's grave." At the time it was a real affliction to the child, and yet it was a very trifling and even absurd cause for grief. But even thus trifling may many things which now distress us appear when viewed "from an upper window"—viewed (as we may picture to ourselves) by those happy spirits to whom " that which is perfect is come;" or as they may hereafter be looked on by ourselves, when wo shall have exchanged timo for eternity. They will not only seem "light afflictions," but, considered as "chastenings for our profit," they will even be regarded as blessings.—F. F. Trench

Perishing Souls

If the cry "A man overboard" thrills a ship's company with anxiety, and stirs them up to effort for the rescue of the sinking mariner, what interest should bo felt, and what effort should be put forth, for the salvation of perishing souls!

Gaining Souls

"I cared not where or how I lived, or what hardships I went through," said Brainerd once, "so that I could but gain souls to Christ. While I was asleep I dreamed of these things; and, when I waked, the first thing I thought of was this great work. All my desire was for the conversion of the heathen, and all my hope was in God."

The Spirit of Man

Gold can no more fill the spirit of a man than grace his purse. Between heaven and earth, spirits and bodies, souls and silver, there is no proportion, and therefore no earthly excellencies, no carnal pleasures, no worldly treasures are fit matter or a full object for such an immaterial, immortal, and heavenly born being to feed upon with any proper delight, true comfort, or sound contentment.—Bolton

Soul Growth

If a tree is not growing, it is sure in the long run to be dying. And so are our souls. If they are not growing, they are dying; if they are not getting better, they are getting worse. This is why the Bible compares our souls to trees, not out of a mere pretty fancy of poetry, but for a great, awful, deep, world-wide lesson, that every tree in the fields may be a pattern, a warning to us thoughtless men, that as that tree is meant to grow, so our souls are meant to grow; as that tree dies unless it grows, so our souls must die unless they grow.--C. Kingsley

Worldlings

There are those who toil from early morn till dewy eve to earn the necessities of life— who are goaded to effort by the pressure of need—whose highest care is to solve the question, "What shall I eat, what shall I drink, and wherewith shall I be clothed?" and who entirely ignore tho wants of the soul; whose whole life has reference to the animal, and in whom the higher nature lies undeveloped. All they do has relation simply to time, and the eternity approaching is forgotten. They are content to live godless, prayerless, and hopeless. To them religion is a hissing and a reproach, while the world is as Paradise.— Anon

God's Building

The soul of man is a building of God. He hath laid out the treasures of His wisdom, power, and goodness in this noble structure. He built it for a habitation for Himself to dwell in ; and indeed such noble rooms as the understanding, will, and affections are too good for any other to inhabit. But sin hath set open the gates of this hallowed temple, and let in the abomination which maketh desolate. All the doors of tho soul are barred and chained up against Christ by ignorance and infidelity. He seeks admission into the soul which He made, but findeth non?. A forcible entrance He will not make, but expects when the will shall bring Him the keys of the soul, as to its righful Owner.—Flavel

A Dead Soul

In vain the wrath of God against sin is set forth—the perceptions of his soul are stopped up; like tho sleeping traveller, he does not see the coming storm. In vain the bread and water of life are offered to him—his soul is neither hungry for the one nor thirsty for the other. In vain he is advised to flee to the Great Physician—his soul is unconscious of its disease — why should he go? In vain you put a price into his hand to buy wisdom — the mind of his soul wanders—he is like the lunatic who calls straws a crown, and dust diamonds — he says, "I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing." Ah, there is nothing so sad as the utter corruption of our nature; there is nothing so painful as the anatomy of a dead soul.—Ryle

A Prosperous Soul

"I have heard of a good man whose soul prospered alike in temporal prosperity and adversity. He had an intimate friend, who used to make free with him, and, observing his prosperity, one day thus addressed him: 'Do not you find the smiles of the world, my friend, to be a snare to you?' He paused and said, 'I am not conscious that I do; for, though I enjoy much of this world, I think I enjoy God in all things.'

"By-and-by Providence turned another way; he lost all his prosperity, and sunk into indigence; he had scarcely a competency left to support him. His old friend thus addressed him: 'Well, my friend, how is it with you now? Do not you find your heart dejected in these circumstances?' 'I am not conscious,' said he, 'that I do. As before I enjoyed God in all things, now I enjoy all things in God; I find God to supply all my wants— and a little, with His blessing, is enough.'

"This, my friend, is a prosperous soul. A soul of this description might well bear prosperity, and his friend might well follow the example of John with respect to Gaius, and say, 'Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper, and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.'" --Andrew Fuller

Building for Eternity

What if a man should see his neighbour getting workmen and building materials together, and should say to him, "What are you building?" and he should answer, "I don't exactly know—I am waiting to see what will come of it;" and so walls rush up, and room is added to room, while the man looks idly on, and all the bystanders exclaim, "What a fool he is!"

Yet this is the way many men are building their characters for eternity; adding room to room, without plan or aim, and thoughtlessly waiting to see what the effect will be. Such builders will never dwell in "the house of God, not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." Many men build as cathedrals were built — the part nearest the ground finished, but that part which soars towards heaven, the turrets and the spires, for ever incomplete. A kitchen, a cellar, a bar, and a bedroom: these are the whole of some men, the only apartments in their soul-house. Many men are mere warehouses full of merchandise: the head, the heart, are stuffed with goods. Like those houses in the lower streets of the city which were once family dwellings, but are now used for commercial purposes, there are apartments in their souls which were once tenanted by taste, and love, and joy, and worship; but they are all deserted now, and the rooms are filled with earthly and material things.—Beecher

Doubting Soul

A remarkable instance of a soul under this trouble came under the author's observation some years ago. A Christian man, who had served God for a lifetime, was seized with consumption. The repeated visits of the attending minister seemed to afford no consolation, and, in truth, all the ordinary means of comforting were tried in vain. Thus matters went on for a long time, and at length the invalid went abroad for the winter. At the end of the winter he returned, and the minister, having heard that he continued in the same state of mind as before, held back from visiting him. The invalid, however, desired to partake of the Holy Communion, and so his pastor went to him. It was a very painful scene; the agitation of this poor afflicted Christian was such that all present were greatly distressed. For many weeks did he linger, the minister now visiting him regularly as before, but the same distressing doubts continued, and to all human appearance they were likely to shroud him even in his departure. The mercy of God, however, at length dispelled the gloom. One night the sick man asked for his dressing things, and washed and shaved himself; then he asked for a clean shirt, and when he had put it on, and sat up in the bed, he said, "Now I am dressed for my last journey!" Thus he remained for a couple of hours, when, lo! all clouds and mists rolled from before his eyes, the light of heaven shone in upon him, a ray of brightness streamed through the golden gates upon his soul, and he departed full of joy.— Power

Soft as Silk

The flatterer is like the worm 'teredo,' mentioned by Pliny (in Nat. Hist.), as soft as silk in the feeling of the hand, but it biteth so hard with the teeth that it eateth out the heart of the strongest timber.—Swinnock

Sound Advice

Be simple, be unaffected, be honest in your speaking and writing. Never use a long word where a short one will do. Call a spade a spade, and not a well-known oblong instrument of manual husbandry; let home be home, not a residence; a place a place, not a locality; and so of the rest. Where a short word will do, you always lose by using a long one. You lose in clearness; you lose in honest expression of your meaning; and, in the honest opinion of all men who are qualified to judge, you lose in reputation for ability. The only true way to shine, even in this false world, is to bo modest and unassuming. Falsehood may be a very thick crust; but, in the course of time, truth will find a place to break through. Elegance of language may not be in the power of all of us; but simplicity and straightforwardness are. Write much as you would speak; speak as you think. If with your inferiors, speak no coarser than usual; if with your superiors, no finer. Be what you say; and within the rules of prudence say what you are.—Alford

Kind Words

They never blister the tongue nor lips. And we have never heard of any mental trouble arising from this quarter. Though they do not cost much, yet they accomplish much. They help one's own good-nature and goodwill. Soft words soften our soul. Angry words are fuel to the flames of wrath, and make it blaze more fiercely. Kind words make other people good-natured. Cold words freeze people, and hot words scorch them, and bitter words make them bitter, and wrathful words make them wrathful. There is such a rush of all other kinds of words in our day that it seems desirable to give kind words a chance among them. There are vain words, and idle words, and hasty words, and spiteful words, and silly words, and empty words, and boisterous words, and warlike words. Kind words also produce their own image in men's souls. And a beautiful image it is. They soothe and quiet and comfort the hearer. They shame him out of his sour, morose, unkind feelings. We have not yet begun to use kind words in such abundance as they ought to be used.—Anon

Holy Conversation

Next to conversation with God by prayer, tho conversation of good men does wonderfully contribute to the building us up in faith and virtue. How do the sense and experience of such as deserve our esteem and affection settle and establish our judgment when they concur with us! How does their knowledge enlighten us, their reason strengthen our faith, and their example inflame us with emulation! A pious friendship renders religion itself more engaging; it sanctifies our very diversions and recreations, and makes them minister to virtue; it minds us when we are forgetful, supports and encourages us when we faint and tire, reproves and corrects us when we give back, and recalls us to the right path when we go out of it. This is, or it should be, the business of conversation, the end and advantage of friendship; we should be often talking together of the tiiings of God, communicating and laying open the state of our souls, our fears, our hopes, our improvements, and defects; we should watch over one another, comfort and support one another; our discourse should always minister new warmth or new strength to our holy faith and love.—Lucas

Words Misapplied

The worst features of vice disappear under cover of a pleasant phrase; and the man who, on any much-agitated topic, can invent a happy expression —pointed, exact, euphonious—will often achieve a victory over his opponents, and almost, it would seem, over the common intelligence of mankind.

Take an instance of the force of misapplied words from the conventional language of society. Is it likely that we should ever have heard anything about the nobleness and courage of a Roman death, if suicide had always been called, what it plainly is, a cowardly desertion of one's post, a weak-minded impatience of disappointment and adversity and pain?

Or would that miserable, and, as we trust, expiring relic of barbarism, duelling, have continued to this day, if Satan had not persuaded the abettors of this murderous sport never to speak of it but as an "affair of honour"? And thus it happens that no inconsiderable proportion of the vices which afflict society live and grow and are fostered by this trickery and devilish tact in the use of words.

See you a man who, either frequently or habitually, degrades and brutalises and unmans himself in the low indulgences of the table? Oh! the world's account of his offending is that he is one who is "fond of society."

Or see you a woman, perhaps a wife and mother, merging all the aims and responsibilities of womanhood in frivolity and show, and turning night into day? The world's smooth censure will be satisfied if you speak of her as "a fashionable person."

Or, once more, see you a young man known to be chargeable with offences of yet deeper dye—offences which have broken more hearts, ruined more homes, filled more early graves than any other in the sight of this sun? You will find parents, and reputable parents too, instead of frowning such an one from the society of their children with a righteous aversion, ready, if he be a person of wealth or position, to receive him into their houses, and even to apologise for him as a "thoughtless" young man, somewhat "gay, nobody's enemy but his own"!

Oh, let us be well assured, God's anger rests heavily on this misuse of terms! It is idle to say that we adopt this soft style of speaking—that we couch our censures in these "holiday and lady terms" — from a motive of charitableness. We all know it is no such thing. It is a sinful shrinking from calling "evil" and "darkness" by their own names; it is turning tho noble gift of language to the purpose of a miserable fraud; it is a plying of that base art which "by good words and fair speeches deceives the hearts of the simple;" it is the " turning of judgment into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into hemlock;" it is changing "the truth of God into a lie," and making awful parody on the sacred precepts of inspiration! Oh, "woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!''— Moore

Temper in Early Life

Every human creature is sensible of the propensities to some infirmity of temper which it should be his care to correct and subdue, particularly in the early period of life; else, when arrived at a state of maturity, he may relapse into those faults which were originally in his nature, and which will require to be diligently watched and kept under through the whole course of life, since nothing leads more directly to the breach of charity, and to the injury and molestation of our fellow-creatures, than the indulgence of an ill-temper.—Blair

Wilberforce's Self-Control

A friend once found Wilberforce in the greatest agitation looking for a despatch he had mislaid, for which one of the Royal Family was waiting. At the moment, as if to make it still more trying to his temper, a disturbance was heard in the nursery overhead. Now, thought the friend, surely for once his temper will give way. The thought had hardly passed through his mind, when Wilberforce turned to him, and said, "What a blessing it is to hear those dear children; only think what a relief, among other hurries, to hear their voices and to know they are well!"

The Great Preservative

If Satan, the prince of this world, come and find our hearts fortified against his batteries, and provided to hold out, he not only departs, but, as James says, he " flies." For the provision to be laid up, it is that which is provided in the Gospel for us. Gospel provisions will do this work; that is, keep the heart full of a sense of the love of God in Christ. This is the greatest preservative against the power of temptation in the world. Joseph had this, and therefore, on the first appearance of a temptation, he cries out, "How can I do this great evil and sin against God?"—Owen

Hour of Temptation

In the hour of spiritual temptation—in these hours (and where is the true child of God who has never known them?) take refuge in the written word, lie down in peace on many a blessed promise; reply to the tempter that, though God withholds for a time the spiritual bread which strengthens and the wine which cheers, "man does not live by broad alone, but by every word which proceedeth out of the mouth of God," and that you have enough, and more than enough, in that blessed word to subsist upon until God shall again comfort you with the light of His countenance and the fulness of His blessing. Trust as simply and entirely to God, during the famine of the soul, as your blessed Redeemer did in the famine of the body.—H. Blunt

Worldly Honours

Atalanta, a beautiful princess of Scyrus, determined to live in a state of perpetual celibacy. Many admirers gathered around her. Being swift of foot, she challenged them to meet her upon a course, and the one who out ran her to the goal was to be rewarded with her hand. But those whom she out ran she was to slay with a dart which she held in her hand as she fled along the course. Most of her suitors perished. But there was one to whom it is said Venus had given golden apples from the garden of the Hesperides. He threw these apples artfully along the road, so that she might be tempted to pick them up, and thus lose time in the race. While stooping to the tempting fruit he out ran her and won the race. Many a Christian has out run a multitude who have sought to overtake him on the road to heaven; until a more subtle adversary has strewn golden apples in his pathway—prizes, preferments, honours—and he has been out run and compelled at last to give the world his heart and hand.--Anon

Satan's Snares

Williamson, in his "Oriental Sports," says: " When the track of a tiger has been ascertained—which, though not invariably the same, may yet be known sufficiently for the purpose—the peasants collect a quantity of the leaves of the prauas, which are like those of the sycamore, and are common in most underwoods, as they form the larger portion of most jungles in the north of India. These leaves are then smeared with a species of birdlime, made by bruising the berries of an indigenous tree by no means scarce; they are then strewed, with the gluten uppermost, near to that shaded spot to which it is understood the tiger usually resorts during the noontide heats. If by chance the animal should tread on one of these smeared leaves, his fate is considered as decided. He commences by shaking his paw to remove the encumbrance; but, finding no relief from that expedient, he rubs the nuisance against his face, by which means his eyes and ears become smeared over with the gummy matter, which occasions such uneasiness as causes him to roll, perhaps among many more of the smeared leaves, till at length he becomes completely enveloped, and is deprived of sight. In this situation he may be compared to a man who has been tarred and feathered. The anxiety produced by this strange and novel predicament soon discovers itself in dreadful howlings, which serve to call the peasants, who in this state find no difficulty in shooting the mottled object of detestation." So doth Satan lay in the path of men numerous temptations. If but one is succumbed to, others will follow, and with them, it is to be feared, the sinner's destruction.

Numbered Days

Every day is a little life, and our whole life is but a day repeated: whence it is that old Jacob numbered his life by days, and Moses desired to be taught this point of holy arithmetic, to number not his years but his days. Those, therefore, that dare lose a day are dangerously prodigal; those that dare misspend it, desperate.—Bishop Ball

God's Promise

Trust with a child-like dependence upon God, and you shall fear no evil; for be assured that even "if the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him." While, at that dread hour when the world cannot help you, when all the powers of nature are in vain, yea, when your heart and your flesh shall fail you, you will be enabled still to rely with peace upon Him who has said, " I will be the strength of thy heart and thy portion for ever."—H. Blunt

Divine Dealings

God is wise to conceal tho succours he intends in the several changes of thy life, that so he may draw thy heart into an entire dependence on His faithful promise. Thus, to try the metal of Abraham's faith, He let him go on till his hand was stretched forth, and then came to his rescue. Christ sends His disciples to sea, but stays behind Himself, on a design to try their faith and show His love. Comfort thyself, therefore, with this: though thou seest not thy God in the way, yet thou shalt find Him in the end. —Gurnall

Truthfulness in Children

Dr. Johnson, giving advice to an intimate friend, said, "Above all, accustom your children constantly to tell the truth, without varying in any circumstance." A lady present impatiently exclaimed, "Nay, this is too much; for a little variation in narrative must happen a thousand times a day, if one is not perpetually watching."

"Well, madam," replied the doctor, "and you ought to be perpetually watching. It is more from carelessness about truth, than from intentional lying, that there is so much falsehood in the world."

Teeming Truths

There are fundamental truths that lie at the bottom, the basis upon which a great many others rest, and in which they have their consistency. These are teeming truths, rich in store, with which they furnish the mind, and, like the lights of heaven, are not only beautiful and entertaining in themselves, but give light and evidence to other things that without them could not be seen or known. Our Saviour's great rule, that we should love our neighbour as ourselves, is such a fundamental truth for the regulating human society that I think that by that alone one might without difficulty determine all the cases and doubts in social morality. Truths such as this we should endeavour to find out and store our minds with.—Locke

Wedded to Truth

If a man be sincerely wedded to truth, he must make up his mind to find her a portionless virgin, and he must take her for herself alone. The contract, too, must be to love, cherish, and obey her, not only until death, but beyond it; for this is a union that must survive not only death, but time, the conqueror of death. The adorer of truth, therefore, is above all present things. Firm in the midst of temptation, and frank in the midst of treachery, he will be attacked by those who have prejudices, simply because he is without them; decried as a bad bargain by all who want to purchase, because he alone is not to be bought; and abused by all parties, because he is the advocate of none—like the dolphin, which is always painted more crooked than a ram's horn, although every naturalist knows that it is the straightest fish that swims.—Cotton

Cause of Truth

Visions and dreams were regarded by the superstitious as omens either of good or ill. There were few among even the great men of ancient times who disregarded them. Pyrrhus, however, appears to have despised them, and, when his friends desired to encourage him in the belief that one of his dreams predicted great success in his engagements, he told them that such things might serve as amusements for the vulgar, but that they were too uncertain and obscure for him to trust. He urged them to take their weapons in their hands, remembering, "The best of omens is the cause of Pyrrhus." Those who have no faith in the cause they advocate had better let their tongues be still and their swords rest in their scabbards. No signs or omens can give either the skill or the courage which a certainty of right can bestow. We should not deceive ourselves that our cause is good, though the whole skies are fall of portents, if it is not built upon truth and buttressed by righteousness. "The cause of God and truth " needs none of the adjuncts which men would give to it. It bears its own seal manual, which is that it is divine; and this divinity is enough to ensure its ultimate and glorious success.--Anon

Grace and Sin

There is no grace for which the Word doth not afford sufficient encouragement to labour after it; there is no sin against which the Word doth not afford sufficient ground to forsake it; yet neither the one nor the other is any whit at all available with an unbeliever. —Gouge

Teaching of a Straw

It is said of the great Galileo—who had been accused of infidelity because he asserted that the earth went ;round the sun, in apparent contradiction to the language of Scripture — that, when questioned by the Roman Inquisition as to his belief in the Supreme Being, he pointed to a straw lying on the floor of his dungeon, saying to his accusers that, from the structure of that trifling object, he would infer with certainty the existence of an intelligent Creator. And this is the welcome conclusion to which an attentive examination of the grass of the field inevitably leads.—Macmillan

Virtue Personified

Dr. Blair once thus apostrophised virtue: "O Virtue, if thou wert embodied, how all men would love thee!"

His colleague, Dr. Walker, the same day rejoined as follows: "Virtue has been embodied. Did all men love her? No; she was despised and rejected of men, who, after defaming, insulting, and scourging her, led her to Calvary, where they crucified her between two thieves."

Chief Virtue

As the hermits were communing together, there arose a question as to which of all the virtues was most necessary to perfection. One said, chastity; another, humility; a third, justice. St. Anthony remained silent until all had given their opinion, and then he spoke. "You have all said well; but none of you have said aright. The virtue most necessary to perfection is prudence; for the most virtuous actions of men, unless governed and directed by prudence, are neither pleasing to God, nor serviceable to others, nor profitable to ourselves."— Anon.

Vice and Virtue

Virtue is not a mushroom that springeth up of itself in one night, when we are asleep or regard it not, but a delicate plant, that groweth slowly and tenderly, needing much pains to cultivate it, much care to guard it, much time to mature it. Neither is vice a spirit that will be conjured away with a charm, slain by a single blow, or despatched by one stab. Who, then, will be so foolish as to leave the eradicating of vice, and the planting in of virtue into its place, to a few years or weeks? Yet he who procrastinates his repentance and amendment grossly does so; with his eyes open, he abridges the time allotted for the longest and most important work he has to perform; he is a fool.— Barrow

Pastoral Vigilance

Latimer told the clergy in his time that, if they would not learn diligence and vigilance of the prophets and apostles, they should learn it of the devil, who goes up and down his diocese, and acts by an untired power, seeking whom he may destroy. When the wolves are abroad, the shepherd should not sleep, but watch, remembering that he were better have all the blood of all the men in the world upon him, than the blood of one soul upon him, by his negligence or otherwise.—Brooks

Varieties of Watchfulness

Men are afraid of breaking down where they are strongest, but are seldom afraid of their weaknesses. If a man is hard, he fears mellowness. A proud man watches lest he should let himself down. A selfish man is vigilant against being unduly tempted by profuse kindness. And no man has a more salutary fear of rash generosity than he whose pores are sealed so tight that all the suns of prosperity cannot open them. Men are apt to guard themselves where it is impossible for them to be overcome; but they are quite careless of those open avenues through which temptation comes and goes so easily that they are unconscious of wrong-doing because they are not pained by it. —Beecher

Innocency and Wisdom

Wisdom without innocency is knavery; innocency without wisdom is foolery: be therefore as wise as serpents and innocent as doves. The subtilty of the serpent instructs the innocency of the dove; the innocency of the dove corrects the subtilty of the serpent. What God hath joined together let no man separate.—Quarles

Motto

"In the world and not of it," is the real Christian's motto.—Whitefield

Bait for Covetousness

Martin de Golin, master of the Teutonio order, was taken prisoner by the Prussians, and delivered bound to be beheaded. But he persuaded his executioner first to take off his costly clothes, which otherwise would be spoiled with the sprinkling of the blood. Now the prisoner, being partially unbound to be unclothed, and finding his arms somewhat loosened, struck the executioner to the ground, killed him afterwards with his own sword, and so regained both his life and liberty. ..... We are all Achans by nature, and the Babylonish garment is a bait for our oovetousness; whilst therefore we ask to take the plunder of this wardrobe, we let go the mastery we had formerly of it.— T. Fuller

Hearts Mortified

Labour to get your hearts mortified to the world, dead to the world. Paul saith, "I die daily." We should die daily to the world: we are baptized into the death of Christ— that is to signify that we have taken such a profession as to profess to be even as dead men to the world. Now there are no crosses that fall out in the world that doth trouble those that are dead; and, if our hearts were dead to the world, we should not be much troubled with the changes of the world, or the tossing about of worldly things. Let afflictions and trouble find thee with a mortified heart to the world, and they will not break thy bones. The bones of those that are broken by crosses and afflictions are those that are alive to the world. When the soldiers found Christ dead, they brake not His bones, but they broke the legs of one that was crucified with Him and of the other.— Burroughs

An Apologue

The quiet of a Sunday morning was broken by the tones of a church bell. Over the town floated its full, rich music, and then came back again in faint echoes. The bell seemed charged with a message to the people, which it was telling with all its might; and the message ran thus: "Come—come! Come — come! Come — come!"

But, although well understood, it was not heeded by many; and this is what the people said who did not heed it, and what Conscience said to them.

Bell: "Come—come!"

People: "We do not feel very well to-day."

Conscience: "Isn't it strange there are so many sick people on Sundays? Many who are well enough on Saturday night are unable to go out on Sunday; and those who are so sick on Sunday recover when Monday morning comes. It might seem as if some weekly epidemic visited the town with a full supply of headaches, colds, and other disorders."

Bell: "Come—come!"

People: "The weather is too unpleasant to-day."

Conscience: "Yes, the weather on Sundays is always wrong—too hot, too cold, too wet, too cloudy, or too windy. Sunday heats are so exhausting, Sunday rains are so penetrating, Sunday colds so piercing, that no one but the minister and the sexton should go out to church!"

Bell: "Come—come!"

People: "We have company.

"Conscience: "Isn't there something said about the stranger within thy gates keeping the Sabbath holy?"

Bell: "Come — come!"

People: "Our garments are not good enough."

Conscience: "There are a great many directions in the Bible about how we should come before the Lord, but the style and quality of one's clothing are not mentioned. The church isn't a millinery establishment or a showroom. In old times the rich and the poor met together, for the Lord is the Maker of them all."

Bell: "Come — come!"

People: "We are better than some who go to church."

Conscience: "It may be, much better than some, but are you satisfied with that? Will it do to tell the Lord so? There is something in the parable of the Pharisee and Publican bearing upon this point."

Bell: "Come— come!"

People: "We haven't any seats in church."

Conscience: "Yes, there are always seats there for all who come. There need be no fear of intruding, for all are welcome, and there need be no fear of wearing out your welcome, for you are urged to come every Sunday."

And so the church bell kept ringing out its message, "Come — come !" and some heeded the message, came, thanked God for the privilege of coming, and resolved to come always. Others still refused, and Conscience went to sleep, murmuring ere it slept, "What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul?" — Christian Treasury

The Time of Youth

The time of youth is the choicest and fittest time for service. Now your parts are lively, senses fresh, memory strong, and nature vigorous. The days of your youth are the spring and morning of your time, they are the first-born of your strength; therefore God requires your nonage as well as your dotage, the wine of your times as well as the lees, as you may see typified to you in the first-fruits, which were dedicated to the Lord, and the first-born

The time of youth is the time of salvation; it is the acceptable time, it is thy summer, thy harvest-time. O young man I therefore do not sleep, but awaken thy heart, rouse up thy soul, and improve all thou hast; put out thy reason, thy strength, thy all, to the treasuring up of heavenly graces, precious promises, divine experiences, and spiritual comforts against the winter of old age; and then old age will not be to thee an evil age, but as it was to Abraham, a good old age (Gen. xxv. 28). Do not put off God with fair promises and large pretences, till your last sands are running, and the days of dotage have overtaken you. — Brooks

Perfection of Action

As virtue is the perfection of human life, so is action the perfection of virtue; and zeal is that perfection of action which I require in a saint of God. Such an one was Moses, "mighty in word and deed," as well as "learned in all the ways of the Egyptians." Such an one was St. Stephen, as full of a divine ardour and irresistible fervency of spirit as of an irresistible wisdom; and such an one was the irresistible Cornelius, a devout man, one that had transfused and derived the fear of God from his own bosom, throughout his family, and relations, and friends too—one that gave much alms, and prayed to God always. What need I multiply instances? This is that which distinguishes the perfect man from all others—the victories of faith, the labours of charity, the constancy and patience of hope, and the ardours of devotion.—Lucas

Examples

Bishop Latimer was not such a deeply-read scholar as Cranmer or Ridley. He could not quote Fathers from memory as they did. He refused to be drawn into arguments about antiquity. He stuck to his Bible. Yet it is not too much to say that no English reformer made such a lasting impression on the nation as old Latimer did. And what was the reason? His simple zeal.

Baxter, the Puritan, was not equal to some of his contemporaries in intellectual gifts. It is no disparagement to say that he does not stand on a level with Manton or Owen. Yet few men probably exercised so wide an influence on the generation in which he lived. And what was the reason? His burning zeal.

Whitefield, and Wesley, and Berridge, and Venn were inferior in mental attainments to Bishops Butler and Watson. But they produced effects which fifty Butlers and Watsons would probably never have produced. And what was one secret of their power? Their zeal—Ryle.

The Bible Alive--The Church Dead

"Revelation is a vast field of every description of moral and spiritual truth that can touch the sensibilities of the soul; and reading through a Scripture history, prophecy, gospel, or epistle, is like perambulating the famed gardens of Hesperides, wandering through the vales of Tempe, or climbing the heights of Parnassus, Tabor, Pisgah, Sinai, Olivet, or Lebanon.

"Doubtless Palestine was chosen as the Fatherland of the Prophets, that men whose minds were nursed in the midst of the loveliest and grandest natural scenery might be able, from their earliest associations, to clothe divine truth in all the beauty and majesty of earth and heaven. Hence there is nothing dull or lifeless in the Scriptures. Even its genealogies have a biographical and poetic charm. There is, in fact, freshness and verdure everywhere, from Moses to John the Divine. And yet we shall not err if we say that not one of ten thousand in the Christian world is alive to these enchanting beauties.

"We have contrived by Sectarianism, Dissection, and System, to destroy life and loveliness. You cannot play the anatomist and preserve the vitality of your subject. Death and dissection generally go together. A collection of dry bones, of withered muscles and nerves, would be but a sorry representation of Adam and Eve in their original beauty and dignity. Our bodies of Divinity and Systematic Theology are very much of this character. They are mere skeletons, and stink of the sepulchre. Graves, in more senses than one, are associated with churches and chapels. Too often you have as many dead above as below the turf. You have corpses in gowns and bands as well as in coffins, and the surplice may not be a bad emblem of the winding-sheet. The president, tutor, and preacher, are sometimes dead while they live, and stiff and cold, by way of anticipating dissolution. All is dark, and damp, and chilling. You have not only skeletons of sermons, but skeleton-sermons, and the sanctuary is made a mental and spiritual charnel-house. The priest is dead, the hearers are dead, for the divinity is dead."

The Fear of Having an Over-Educated Ministry

With those who are afraid of over education, we have no sympathy. We never saw, the world has never seen, an over-educated minister. A man who uses words as long as his finger, whose discourses are so refined and obscure that he is only fit to address hair-splitting mystics, is not, in the proper sense of the word, an educated person. Tuition and study can rise no higher than to teach students to think clearly and speak plainly. True refinement is not at the antipodes of good old Saxon phraseology. Deep thought, profound theology, and consecutive logic are not above the capabilities of our mother tongue, nor the capacities and apprehension of the masses. Perhaps we never had a finer specimen of sound divinity, logical accuracy, and plain English, than Robert Hall; and yet the housemaids, the mill boys, and the farm labourers could follow him from the beginning to the end of his sermous. One of his biographers has said, that he seemed to proceed to the utmost verge of the region of truth which it is possible for human thought to tread, and yet he never puzzled his audience, although he carried them along with him, whether they were clowns or philosophers. Here then was no surface man, no spiritual driveller, who was afraid to look at a great thing, lest it should make his own head swim; nor afraid to say a great thing, lest he might bewilder his hearers.

We may lay it down as an axiom in ministerial scholarship, that all uninteresting preachers are badly educated men. Their English is a kind of learned gibberish, a sort of literary patois, a home-spun jargon, which their native language repudiates. It is only a truism to say a man who cannot speak his mother tongue, so as to be understood by all plain-spoken Englishmen and Englishwomen, is only half educated. And to give diplomas to these literary mystics, and call them refined and intellectual, is a monstrous mistake. Intellectual thinking is clear transparent thinking, and we need not add that he who thinks clearly, however deep he goes, or high he soars, can always speak distinctly. A turbid fountain sends forth a muddy stream, and so in like manner, obscure thinkers, whether they descend into the depths, or rise to the heights of science, always carry their own mists with them, and cast an awful shade and darkness on everything they approach; and as a consequence, their speech is more like the muttering of the necromancer than the clear articulation and elocution of the disciple of wisdom. Truth is a transparent river, clear as crystal, and never has, and never can, send forth a turbid stream; and therefore, when the draught presented to you is polluted, you may depend upon it the vessel from which it has been poured was unclean. No small part of what has gone by the name of scholarship has consisted in putting coloured glasses on the eyes of the disciples, so that to them the sun is dark, the rose is blue, and the whitest lily, purple. But then, as we have said before, it is an abuse of language to call such obscurations of the intellect, profound thought or over-much, education.--Anon

Poor Yet Rich

A gentleman was walking across a meadow a few days ago, when he overtook a beggar bending under the weight of three score years and ten, carrying a bundle of sticks on his back. "Well, my friend," said the gentleman, "where do you think you will be in twenty years?"

"In heaven, I hope, sir," cheerfully replied the poor old man. On further conversation, the gentleman found that this poor man was rich in faith, and rejoiced even in poverty, having a trust in Christ.

Surprised at the clear scriptural views of salvation expressed by the poor man, the gentleman inquired where he had got all his knowledge. "I will tell you," said he. "About nine or ten years ago, I was begging at one of the houses in the Royal Crescent at Brighton. After waiting for some time, as no one gave me anything, I turned and walked away; a servant then came after me, and said that a lady had sent me a penny and a little tract, which she desired I would read, It was that little book, sir, which taught me about faith and about being born again."

Paternal Duty

The father who plunges into business so deeply that he has no leisure for domestic duties and pleasures, and whose only intercourse with his children consists in a brief word of authority, or a surly lamentation over their intolerable expensiveness, is equally to be pitied and to be blamed. What right has he to devote to other pursuits the time which God has allotted to his children? Nor is it any excuse to sny that he cannot support his family in their present style of living without this effort. I ask, by what right can his family demand to live in a manner which requires him to neglect his most solemn and important duties? Nor is it an excuse to say that he wishes to leave them a competence. Is he under obligation to leave them that competence which he desires? Is it an advantage to them to be relieved from the necessity of labour? Besides, is money the only desirable bequest which a father can leave to his children? Surely, well-cultivated intellects, —hearts sensible to domestic affection,—the love of parents, and brethren, and sisters,—a taste for home pleasures,—habits of order, and regularity, and industry,—hatred of vice and vicious men,—and a lively sensibility to their excellence of virtue, are as valuable a legacy as an inheritance of property,—simple property purchased by the loss of every habit which could render that property a blessing.--R. Wayland

How to Put Off the Old Man

Pass your hand over Deacon M's. head, and about an inch and a half above, and a little forward of the ears, you find a protuberance which phrenologists called the organ of acquisitiveness. By nature the deacon loved Mammon; by grace he loved God. Between them there was continued war. Both fought—one like Michael, the other like the Devil. As there was long war between the house of David and the house of Saul, so there was long war in the earthly house of the deacon. As with Gad, so with the deacon; a troop overcame him, but he overcame at the last, as appears by the following circumstance:— In the same church with Deacon M. was a poor brother. This poor man had the misfortune to lose his cow. She died. To get him another, the good deacon headed a subscription with five dollars, and paid it. This act disquieted Mammon. Mammon with true Iscairiot zeal, began to rant and rave: "Why this waste? Charity begins at home; the more you give the more you may; let people learn to take care of themselves." The deacon was a Baptist; but he found that the baptismal water did neither drown, wash away, or wash clean the old man. The tempter backed Mammon, and putting a glass to the deacon's eye, showed him not the kingdoms and glories of this world, but the poorhouse, wretchedness, poverty, rags, and said, "All these things will your master give you in your old age as a reward of your charity." To still these clamours, Deacon M„ went to the destitute man, and told him he must give back the five dollars. The poor man returned it. This last act roused the New Man, and now nature and grace stood face to face. "To give or not to give, that was the question." There stood the deacon poising and balancing, and halting between two opinions. The deacon spoke—"My brother, some men are troubled with their old women; I am troubled with my old man. I must put off my old man, as the Jews put off their new man—'crucify him, crucify him.' Then unstrapping his pocket book, he took out a ten dollar bill and gave it to the poor man. "There," said the deacon, "my old man, say another word and I'll give him twenty dollars."—Christian (American) Secretary.

A Poor Sermon

It is a poor sermon that does not lead the sinner to Christ, and the believer to lean more on him.--Anon

Mental Prayer, Vocal Prayer

Mental Prayer, when our spirits wander, is like a watch standing still, because the spring is down; wind it up again, and it goes on regularly; but in vocal prayer, if the words run on, and the spirit wanders, the clock strikes false, the hand points not to the right hour, because something is in disorder, and the striking is nothing but noise.--Jeremy Taylor

Transubstantiation

The absurdity of this doctrine once appeared, in a curious manner, on the public examination of a Chinese convert by a Roman missionary.

"How many Gods are there?" said the Catholic priest.

"None, sir," said the humble disciple.

"None! None!" exclaimed the astonished priest, "why, have I not told you there was one? "

"Yes, sir," replied the new convert, "but you know I ate him yesterday."

On the Influence of Character on Destiny

You are immortal and accountable beings. Believe it, you cannot too soon enter upon the one business of life, the preparation to meet the Living God: and that every seductive companion who would blind your eyes to this awful fact, is but the active minister of Satan, in the work of deceiving souls. Every day gives its complexion to the day that follows it—every year to the succeeding year—every stage of life to that which follows it. Life itself is often wholly determined by youth, and life determines eternity. If this be so, the feelings, the resolves of this week, this day, this hour, may yet make themselves felt through endless ages; the firm purpose to learn the faith and love of a Christian, that rises in any one heart here, at this instant, may be the germ of heavenly and immortal glory.

A Step from the Altar to the Grave

A young man of handsome person and pleasing address was married on Thursday evening to a sweet and beautiful girl, and on the Sabbath following was a lifeless corpse, and the same minister that met him at the altar, followed him to the grave. His funeral solemnities were performed in the same apartment in which his nuptial rites were celebrated. The same persons were present; but how changed the scene! The voice of mirth was changed into the voice of lamentation. The light-hearted and gay ones that danced on the festive evening, were now the mourners around the dead. She who wore the bridal attire on the wedding evening, was now, in three brief days, muffled in the gloomy habiliments of mourning. The faces that but yesterday were wreathed in smiles, were now wet with tears. What a change; and how sudden! but a step between the altar and the grave. We are always within the reach of death. There is no condition of life that furnishes an indemnity against his summons. Wealth, honour, pleasure, worldly engagements, nothing can turn aside his shaft, or relax his grasp when he claims his victim. Reader, live hourly in a state of preparation for death; for thou knowest not when the Master will call thee.

The Chapel Clock

One Sabbath morning, the Rev. Richard Watson, the eminent Conference Minister, was preaching in Wakefield, and he had not proceeded far in his discourse, when he observed an individual in a pew just before him rise from his seat, and turn round to look at the clock in front of the gallery, as if the service were a weariness to him. This unseemly act called forth the following rebuke:— "A remarkable change," said the speaker, "has taken place among the people of this country in regard to the public service of religion. Our forefathers put their clocks on the outside of their places of worship, that they might not be too late in their attendance. We have transferred them to the inside of the house of God, lest we should stay too long in the service. A sad and an ominous change!"

Not an Enthusiast

The energy of manner of the late Rowland Hill, and the power of his voice, are said to have been at times overwhelming. While once preaching at Wootton-under-Edge, his country residence, he was carried away by his feelings, and raising himself to his full height, exclaimed, "Beware, I am in earnest; men call me an enthusiast, but I am not; mine are the words of truth and soberness. When I first came into this part of the country, I was walking on yonder hill; I saw a gravel-pit fall in and bury three human beings alive. I lifted up my voice so loud, that I was heard to the town below, a distance of a mile. Help came and rescued two of the poor sufferers. No one called me an enthusiast then,—and when I see eternal destruction ready to fall upon poor sinners, and about to entomb them irrevocably in an eternal mass of woe, and call on them to escape by repenting and fleeing to Christ, shall I be called an enthusiast? No, sinner, I am not an enthusiast in so doing."

Fight the Good Fight

My brethren, against the whole dreadful power of evil, it is onr vocation to be engaged in the war. It were in vain to wish to escape from the condition of our place in the universe of God. Amidst the darkness that veils from us the state of that vast empire, we would willingly be persuaded that this our world may be the only region, excepting that of penal justice, where the cause of evil is permitted to maintain a contest. Here, perhaps, may be almost its last encampment, where its prolonged power of hostility may be suffered, in order to give a protracted display of the manner of its destruction. Here our lot is cast, on a ground so awfully pre-occupied; a calamitous distinction, but yet a sublime one, if thus we may render to the Eternal King a service in which better tribes of his creatures may not share; and if thus we may be trained, through devotion and conformity to the Celestial Chief, in this warfare, to the final attainment of what he has promised, in so many illustrious forms, to him that overcometh. We shall soon leave the region where so much is in rebellion against our God. We shall go where all that pass from our world must present themselves as from battle, or be denied to mingle in the eternal joys and triumphs of the conquerors.—John Foster

The Mother of a Devil!

A pious young man, passing along a street in a country town, observed a woman coming hastily out of an entry, and calling angrily to a little boy who was playing at a short distance, "Come here, you young devil!"

A person passing, stopped on hearing her, and inquired, "Is that your son?"

"Yes," was the reply.

"Dear me," said the other, "what a dreadful thing to be the mother of a devil!"

The look that mother gave on hearing this can never be forgotten. Out of her own mouth was this ungodly mother condemned. Mothers, is it even thus with you? Do you ever condemn yourselves? In a moment of irritation, have you ever uttered unholy language to recoil upon yourselves? Oh! breathe forth to God the earnest prayer, "Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth : keep the door of my lips."--A. C.

Contentment

Contentment abides with truth. And you will generally suffer for wishing to appear other than what you are; whether it be richer, or greater, or more learned. The mask soon becomes an instrument of torture.--Anon

Hearing Sermons

A fire in a picture may afford amusement to the beholder, but it will not warm; so hearing sermons may amuse the hearer, but cannot warm the heart, or do any good to the soul, unless the blessing of God attends it; this surely shows the necessity of prayer, for if I go to a place of worship without imploring a blessing, it is but reasonable to expect that I should be sent empty away.--Anon

Appeals to Conscience

If men could but be convinced that all their actions, are, as it were, photographed in God's book of remembrance, and will sooner or later be produced as unerring evidence against them, how guarded would be their conduct. Try for a moment and depict what has occurred to you during the last month, and say, if you would like all the circumstances that have happened to you held up to the gaze of the world? No, you would shrink at the bare idea of the thing; then, my dear reader, pause, and become circumspect and watchful; think well before you act, and consider how if you yield to certain temptations, they would bear examination if minutely represented as a picture.

Hints to Promote Harmony in a Family

1. We may be quite sure that our will is likely to be crossed in the day, so prepare for it.

2. Everybody in the house has an evil nature as well as ourselves, and therefore we are not to expect too much.

3. To learn the different temper of each individual.

4. To look upon each member of the family as one for whose soul we are bound to watch, as those that must give account.

5. When any good happens to any one, to rejoice at it.

6. When inclined to give an angry answer, to lift up the heart in prayer.

7. If from sickness, pain, or infirmity, we feel irritable, to keep a very strict watch over ourselves.

8. To observe when others are so suffering, and drop a word of kindness and sympathy suited to them.

9. To watch for little opportunities of pleasing, and to put little annoyances out of the way.

10. To take a cheerful view of every thing, and encourage hope.

11. To speak kindly to the servants, and praise them for little things when you can.

12. In all little pleasures which may occur, to put self last.

13. To try for "the soft answer that turneth away wrath."

14. When we have been pained by an unkind word or deed, to ask ourselves, "Have I not often done the same, and been forgiven?

15. In conversation not to exalt ourselves, but bring others forward.

16. To be very gentle with the younger ones, and treat them with respect.

17. Never to judge one another, but attribute a good motive when we can.

A Religion of Mere Taste

There is a class of minds that contemplate religion chiefly as a matter of taste Poetical and imaginative, they see every thing through the golden haze of fancy. They talk much of the religious sentiment, and appeal to the feeling of moral beauty as the persuasive to virtue. We confess the charm of their writings, and linger over the pages. But, after all, what do we find in their brilliant rhapsodies? It is the spirit of poetry which silvers the world with moonlight,—beautiful, but cold. Such reveries may fascinate the mind in its dreamy moods; but they cannot conquer the stormy passions, nor subdue the terrific depravity of a human soul. It is astonishing how little practical power a religion has, which depends on art, on painting, and music, and cathedrals. Sentiments of beauty have their place in the worship of God. They may attract to the porch of the temple; but when we enter, and become really interested, these light emotions give place to deeper feelings. Then we are not merely creatures of taste, but guilty and wretched beings, coming to God for mercy and salvation. No preaching can be really powerful, which does not touch these mighty chords of the human soul. No man ever preached with great effect, who did not feel that religion was something more than beautiful, and that life was more than a theatre for acting, or for the display of sensibility. No man can preach with power, who does not feel that existence is unutterably solemn; that it is a probation for eternity; and that he and his hearers are passing together to the tribunal of God. Nothing keeps the faculties of man strung to such intense action, as the conviction that he must give a stern and strict account to his God,—a feeling such as is expressed in that sublime hymn of Wesley—

"A charge to keep I have,
A God to glorify,
A never-dying soul to save,
And fit it for the sky."

Love and Faith

In the soft gleam of prosperity we can love God, but in the glow of affliction we learn to believe in him.--Anon

Suffering

Suffering's a little chamber—where the soul is alone with the Lord.--Anon

Our Calling

"Say not that this calling, this sphere of action, which God has assigned to you, is too limited and unimportant. God's will is the best calling, and to be faithful is the highest. God frequently attaches great blessings to little things. If even your proud heart is taught humility and resignation, could your lowly service bring you a higher reward?"

Trials
"A great trial is ever like the Red Sea. The children of Israel pass through it dry-shod, although death looks into their hearts on all sides, as with great eyes, from the heaped-up waves. Nevertheless, no evil destroys them; they reach their Canaan. The children of the world, however, are lost in it; for their own will, not God's, has led the way."

Lowly Labour
 
To perform lowly labour is not a mean thing, but it is mean to consider it such.--Anon

Right and Necessary Affections

Reason acts slowly, and with so many views upon so many principles which it is necessary should be always present, that it is perpetually dropping asleep, and is lost for want of having all its principles to present to it. The affections do not act thus; they act instantaneously, and are always ready for action. It is necessary, therefore, to imbue our faith with feeling, otherwise it will be always vacillating. Pascatt

What a Day May Bring Forth

It has been observed with much significance, that every morning we enter upon a new day, carrying still an unknown future in its bosom. How pregnant and stirring the reflection! Thoughts may be born to-day which may never be extinguished. Hope may be excited to-day which may never expire. Acts may be performed today, the consequences of which may not be realized till eternity.--Anon

Firmness

A strong, bold, determined, energetic nature, must and does conquer events, and make life and all that surrounds it slaves to its own will. And when I hear men and women lament their fate, I often draw down their indignation by turning the balance, and showing them how, by their own want of nerve and muscle of character, they have made their misfortune heavier, or transformed, what in other hands had proved a blessing, by weakness into a curse. O, above all, would I inculcate upon people these words—make your decision firmly, act promptly, and never look back to regret impossibilities, and waste a life so valuable and precious in re-arranging the past, and in futile reveries over a now impossible condition.

The French Pedlar

There once lived in France an old pedlar. He used to travel about the country, mending clocks and umbrellas. This he had done for a great many years; and people used to expect him when his time came round. But he began to grow too old for work.

At last, one day he came to a place called Gap, and he went to the inn. When the landlord saw him, he said, "Well, my old friend, I'm glad to see you; my clocks are wanting you very much."

But the pedlar said, "Thank you for your kindness, sir. I've liked to serve you for many years, but I am afraid my work will soon be over. I think I shall die soon. You have been always very kind to me; and I am sure you will promise to do something for me before I die. This is all that belongs to me. Here is my pack; and here is my stick; here also are two letters.

"I have a nephew living in Paris; he has never cared much about me; but will you send him this letter as soon as I am gone? If he takes my goods, all good and well; but if he won't, then please to peruse this other letter, and it will tell you what is to be done with them."

The pedlar soon after died. The landlord sent the letter to his nephew in Paris; and an answer came back, that he would have nothing to do with his old uncle, or with any of his goods. He said he wanted no rubbish.

So then the landlord opened the other letter, which told him, that as the good-for-nothing nephew refused the things, he might have them for himself, as a return for all his kindness, and particularly he was to take off the top of the stick, and see what was inside it.

In the pack there was nothing but the old man's working tools, and a few clothes. But when the landlord proceeded to open the stick, presently live gold coins dropped out; and on searching further down, he took out bank-notes to the amount of ten thousand francs.

Thus was the kind man well rewarded; and the hard-hearted, proud nephew well served.

This story reminds one of other people, who, like the nephew, refuse things which God offers them. They think salvation a poor thing, or not worth having. They had much rather have money and worldly pleasures. But what a mistake it will be found to be at the end, when God comes to give people their reward. They will find, then, that it would have been far better to have been holy and good than to have despised salvation. For heaven and all its glories are for those who love and serve God in this life; and hell and all its miseries are for those that forget and despise Him.

In Some Cases to Doubt is to Be Certain
 
This day I disputed with myself, whether or no, I had said my prayers this morning, and I could not call to mind any remarkable passage, whence I could certainly conclude, that I had offered my prayers unto Thee. Frozen affections, which left no spark of remembrance behind them! Yet at last, I hardly recovered one token, whence I was assured that I had said my prayers. It seems I had said them, and only said them—rather by heart than with my heart.