Rhy ba Ee ota ey % Tah! cane hameas | a br AS eee 4 Syst ia Sep een a4 4, beitout dt uM Aa ag! t eee ia hi oo ee asl yagan doa im pd? ip ohan YT ee: wet 2 + Niiaiaadia i 4 f ait CHAM ety ot st Ni cet: 4 a oe: \ Rp ite ernie a pine ay dist By bats * a! JQ MP : bs av UT 4 att Pat Need 4) fi aetna i! ef ae Hes oe J 9,853) ene iat siti ia} ye vi 4 a id iit iM fi NEA AE van ! a ae ths a hat want My rie as nae “ee 4A PEALE 1 Pe th ; ms ite Arc hi weeds isi ty \e utes M i ipiten aa : f Hin aR ee Lie wart Y i a y iach lh t eee LAU det ay ee erin 4 ae {3 uh, ius ee By as ie nn tes) iA iis Pash cen yada) a V4 Nia th " He act ye Wy 544 8] 8) iow eon 4s mY it? wat ei, ceded kee ve eva “ c Me Da sk eo TSM Hal “ft au A Lits 33) heittet i 1 a M aS at gas Wee eisai: HVA Hig Very) SU LL fi iy ier Ay Ant edt iy Wn 1H { ene Ae sf } t LE sane t bit a * an f s aml i ae . SS ee Pe i Hyde a @revdinits Hu Vi Hegtig hi SHAT (haa i) Sid a in EAM AR ET? apy AT Be vy iy +04 ty wn butpriblts ay) Mi iia yi saat HY, ‘ at MSHS Me i ae ay BS reg ea Mea) yaitey se Oh 18 Bo tag. ‘Ag hays \ ainsi ryrate brett ay ia We hy 4 Heya Lg HVAC ET UAL a af Me a atiteethe Sen Ste] Af +4 a Gai tate TAT eas 4 i {yaevamesziis Wy aes Ts BNR LGTRN tebe t ts Teter Rtg ee ty a} fy ve. rai hab tl hed i 4a “6 bt Nit at Pee 7 4d ROU re ee wa 4 iy wey Wy ’ Paaek aon daA deta teh Ay Os vids dace yaaa gig We tes 04 Hye ty AG Re ae ‘aa it waa: sy tiara VAN TES WE haay i ote Mh Nes SAN RR SSE NE VR ED a pat ¥ AT REED a ; Y NER man i” re s. ati “ wary 0 a i age PU LUS uae rth sa a Viana ks ae ly ig ce <> Pap ari eh ha Laas sa “eit eye is.) babs ms a hop fae iy hiitit ty Pere ese ty as lie Ite An) 1 [x un Vs nh ga rats waiek eh es | i, SW AR tay yy, th Rg vik, a Peat aie 4) E iar tN Qaieels Bp yrreys ; Poe Veh WR *n Pee eae Love gw 5 tye nie Vy RUA ue Al) 14 tes cade et fet earaides yPhs ea Ha 19. ne erie teas art wary ys Se ten te debe hte yu na, cane n ni: Hons fet So haeeagetet eye ed yee PLS RLS SNM aETE SRR ae ah OH fay Piette tiated Ae Chee Nee sat wt bet iH eee va ie a gy Pi tl 46) ry 44 it ry AF 5 We ve f en eva Aten BPs Ve a Hye ow “4 VE oe eth PCr PR TE Raped by oigh fee Ail He Uh vans i ain a Haya nei Walks % ¢ KY 1s eal ab be Me aie fii Mi ar a ; : ae bianeaneousieT Us Leen bea eerie 42 fits want tat tah m1 is it i ‘ a wh ‘ ‘ Ie PtaQeibe Wt yes bee AH ints Tid eh gien! aed % ae A tale i ‘ at Nai ety g Hitatis iy SES ANN Adah pyaar a OE Me Ut ahha ut i ‘at tens ch mr Ay ) me 4 Say Werte me sis ie idea PEO ap Ae! Et jaa ware va weeysi Hens Ath ipAMe tgs ae ba ie Ph gas a Yd BY ASh A in Wain Gisit bn} WNT: res ta AN: aT eee ba dhyl 4 Craig che t & jante By brakes Seeds yh thio pages Heh yA ak ai 4s at espera gate +4 PAH Ee Aol rach poke VQ Pema adh eegah sa AN atau Se hk SP te Hepa YP S249 votive Ndi Vac He Gt ay sy By 9 A past omnes Pa MUTE TUS fer Pe PU SU Tne Le | he aries ua nt eae Asay aoe) a HAs ay Got qa giret Gl a en eee oo shail Ay ER th a ta ore ee babs Fy3h 4) Carts 19) ete: a op rat tana # B Reg wine pen acess pantie ay LRN E Oe Os Set Cee ea it % Ori 2 tae Y eats 4 aint igr ay 1 4 Heh) Lied Pea yt htt he BA had oy dary Birt ee Bag sy) ceybih an Bie fa Fae ory t site 2M hod tates ite 4 beam at Bote ATE i PO tel sa. Vai asa Miley, ae tang wa. A BV 4225 .W34 1926 Webb, Aquilla, b. 1870. LOO bo TLUuSBtrarions (Lon pulpit and platform Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2022 with funding from Princeton Theological Seminary Library https ://archive.org/details/1001 illustrationOOwebb 1001 ILLUSTRATIONS FOR PULPIT AND PLATFORM REV. AQUILLA WEBB, p.p., LL.p. 1001 ILLUSTRATIONS BOR PULPID AND «01 PLATFORM ;<3*“" aie ya gs ‘ “ED wt x sow Wes BY COGICAL SERS ERY EAQULIEPA (WEBB. pipinip.. With Introduction by JOHN F. CARSON NEW ba YORK GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY COPYRIGHT, 1926, BY GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY 1001 ILLUSTRATIONS FOR PULPIT AND PLATFORM ee Py PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA TO THE MEMORY OF THE REV. J. WILBUR CHAPMAN, D.D., WHO SUGGESTED THE FIRST “ONE THOUSAND” THIS “SECOND THOUSAND” IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED. el ” Mine , we a hey Ye . 4 ily A be ‘e > ; , y : Fag Pas : 7 ih . 4) Oy i ead ar yi 7 uy ? ay KY A hay is is %. ae Ta ‘ « ia ; Er La a bs s a one ae Lid i are P s a b 1. hs) hi. \ " i y -7 % a) - PAGS amity We eA foe REP RO Be ' — tt ABA pe ; ; fa mf Heb ies wer i Sl ear ery eg 1 epi | ‘ wet Aw: | : eee bs Wyle i 7 Aah faci Ol oa RUA Re Tal eae ae Ty haok te.) a) et Th) AN Oe ea Ok hee Te) YG Pyare, 4 et a INTRODUCTION The introduction of Doctor Webb to his many friends would be but an empty tribute to conventional formality. Another notable achieve- ment by him, however, merits recognition and deserves an appreciation that will be welcomed by these same friends. When Doctor Webb issued his first Book of Illustrations he ren- dered to his fellow ministers a service of great value. He had been long enough in the ministry to feel the burden that rests upon the minister of the Gospel who, in addition to his pastoral work, must pre- pare new addresses for each succeeding week of his ministry. He had learned, as all of us must do, that spiritual truth may be the more impressed upon the hearer by some clear illustration that helps to make its meaning plain. Our Lord followed such method of teaching, and no loftier example of teaching is conceivable. Doctor Webb, in gathering together so many beautiful illustrations of truth, expended time and labor that could be justified only by the realization of the ideal that inspired him. The fact that the other book found ready and almost immediate circulation must have suggested to the author that his work had not been done in vain and must have convinced him, too, that another volume of like kind would be equally valued by his fellow workers. The new volume that now comes from his pen has for its highest commendation the unquestioned success of the other. The book is no mere repetition of the former work, but is one that has the added value acquired by the experience in the preparation of the first. Doctor Webb, richly endowed as an evangelistic preacher, has sought with earnestness for gems of thought that would make his own ministry more effective and has shown a fine discrimination in the selection chosen for this volume. No mere human mind would be able to elaborate such parables of exquisite beauty as Jesus used to. illustrate His thought; and no human experience is broad enough to enable a man, however close and sym- pathetic his relation may be to his fellow man, to derive from such experience the vital and interesting facts that serve to illumine spir- itual truth. We are all, therefore, bound to draw from the varied treasures that have been accumulated by others. From such storehouse of spiritual wisdom Doctor Webb has drawn the illustrations in this book, and he sends it forth with desire and hope that his brethren, concerned as he also is for the conversion of sinners, may find in it some suggestive thought that may help to lead their hearers to the faith of Christ. Joun F. Carson. ; =e ry he Es Wh .' % ha) 4 aie nat : ; he Vit RRA Ra at i ¥ q * ig i FOREWORD After printing the “One Thousand Evangelistic Illustrations,” letters of appreciation came from ministers all over the country, and almost without exception they expressed the hope that I would prepare an- other thousand. Such illustrations cannot be gathered in a few weeks or a few months. They come naturally in the search for material in the prepara- tion for my own evangelistic services. It has taken more than four years to gather together the illustrations set forth in this volume. In this labor a number of brother ministers have given helpful suggestions, chief of whom is the Rey. Carlisle L. Hubbard, D.D., a most successful evangelistic pastor. Illustrations are of great value when they really illustrate. One would not want to live in a house without windows, neither are ser- mons able to flood the average hearer with light without timely illus- trations. Especially in an appeal for an open decision for Christ, a timely illustration is most effective. Go into any evangelistic service, whether conducted by a professional evangelist or by a minister in his own church, and the preaching is as different as personalities differ. But all have one thing in common—effective illustrations in driving home the truth for an immediate open decision. In after meetings, when experiences are given, it is quite common to hear some convert recite some illustration in the sermon conclude, “I just had to give my heart to Christ.” Perhaps a word of caution should be given in the use of illustra- tions. In the beginning of my ministry an old minister was a member of my congregation. He finally became too ill to attend services and I then went to his home and read my sermons to him. He was always helpful in his suggestions. One day he asked me which I admired most—a woman with a great many cheap rings on her fingers or a lady with one or two beautiful solitaires. The point was well taken and I pass it on to my brethren. My prayer is that these illustrations may be a blessing to all the brethren in the ministry who are endeavoring to lead souls to an open decision for Christ. AQUILLA WEBB. SUBJECT INDEX ATONEMENT MTONRMENT-—ACCEPTED 056 be a a er ATONEMENT A CLEANSING FOUNTAIN..........ccccecce PE PUNEMENT——“LESPIGING. siete ob bt Ye a eee ae PecUPANOH es OSTH AND .L OUND) city Nieoiste shies Mace. Ebtie oe ee MISE CCC UITES Sie LIDS ga. ais ea ne ee cen ep hee SEW iG) Unie OF ICY = Rn ER ate a As ORCA IDOE: Urea ls a biota LS Doe gc ERG a ter Ea OA ARR al AD OOM BRUNE Bo SLs SUR A RM FUN (Sour T—— WARREN LIASTINGS 2) De ue ae ek kre Be merc At oer TS TPT 11 ESCM Wo aceite RR ta DEAE Ree rhe ey) fo aterer te TACTIC TNT S irene haus UO ay at as smn WY rh Ed We eweCeeee BOPERA LANGE TY ee tote, Fol oy Es bias a hie bytes Vey foe tye VORTING) RESENCE sic Milels soled tai ey hed a edna 2 BIBLE ESET SAD CA oo gore erp esc yi iy es OD aN Re Py PORTAL) WO ree ROR ARMM eM a eT te iad ae PRPrAt eis AIST etIOT AO wo AT alt eet a heed Sia lale.o ote wage totes RES eAMTY ry eT EC Ee Ect Cr eee Aik Sac ole Liu'd + win, o leeuentorats PELE Perit Ut NICs SEES fee lla Ula cieteic bias bleu Bratt AMELIE IN aa re eo a al ae Pa RN Seee MOEN UT YET CO) frre re eit hk, Naty s a’ dippatea CRTaRL xii SUBJECT INDEX PAGE BIBLE tDiRrICuirei7s BRiO Che Peder hie une lon Oe eae 48 BIBLE DIPRICULEIESI Ley segiiter tut mini, Galo’, "cle on 48 BIBLES SUTRST No eee ene Mea eee ae hil tae eke ea, Gn, a 48 BiBvEe+~—FPOLLOWINGITMEGinis tected stoceae wee Baie tes ick we ee ae 48 Bripnn-—PORSAKING THE ald yao oo Ok idee cytes aie pid) a loeias 49 BIBLE -SHALPUE READING Ey a halt elubae che sales oie ately ieee 49 BIBLE HOLDING FO: THEM ater coke pidiaeaie tes a/b alt) oak aden ena 49 BIBLE -INDRESPRUCTIBLE Motch waa e Lana ets cere alee ae 50 BIBLE LTsi ON WATNESSE ewe kh aie corte etal alanete ale Svinte ae 50 BiBte SEAR y POGAR SA ni ish Bsuie Clee eh atoms fereeaael: Crane 51 BIBLE LTGH DION yk orto tity tole al eit adec CoRR OMNI a) eek eaten 51 BIBLE--LOVING ‘THE: AUTHOR) OF iy ob2 PONS ee ae 51 BIBER ANIODERN 2050.00. Guaalslete hee bok tena are keel rare 51 BIBLE VRBADING Sil hate iv oer oe COE cee cla a aie Naan or Ait Re BIBLE READING DATE Ye Vig 2) Cae ake aie a een cz BIBLE HA HE YE ERSONAL Ok a ocuilyweuae Sitti 4 oC ata en 52 BIBLE SWAY OR LIFE Mia. ave ie ile athe o)) aes Reena 53 BIBLE WISDOM OBA hidse Giak mrnh bates eee ene Toten ene 53 BIBiE WORD, OF LIBRE N Puc Sih ls Wm ie ei ant ee eae 53 DOANGER OBER ING 1) Li tul Un ea seis 4c Rene Ae Deen nee e eae aae 53 SOD SWORD POWRRRUDG © y miwu dy) iG lee vag, (on 5 st eee 54 LAMB'S; BOOK OR LIFEIR Ge oer nO, Clee 54. DA W—-PERER CT ii Uo 20: qe emt SR cle ty need aaa ieee a ae ee 54 LTE OTGN OR S's tal drala een) ere Brean grea OamMl en 54 SWORD GR) THE WORD 2) Vth et ht TUN vei eran cao aaats ane 55 BROTHERHOOD BROTH BOA LEBIY averse Wane tanita tie ies Css rie ee aa 55 BROTHER-—HELBING A \WEAK 11/75/00 st smn finial epee eden 55 DROTHER-—TLELPING ‘BLIND usc h oe tvs ie eine ae 55 BROTHERHOOD 0! ibe e's cis tule mpi be keg a 56 DEEDS, AND (CREEDS oo Wo Gaiters tne Cnty a ca 56 DEEDS--POWER -OF (GOOD Un on fee chee eee ee 56 COREEDSAND | DRED if bh) fone td Rl Ais eG ed Re 57 RELLOWSHIP A ARTHUY:.\0 oe ok ata ciara elt eae tale ak 57 ORTON D rok LAPT EU. a ates) eer aa eee a 57 ENE LUE NOE LESSED io dN poet eh eRiLt allel Tal Bilan iy a 58 MANS NALUB Gh ciel wh ate Cre lo wice BeBe wie at el eo tee oe 58 RETIGION SAP RACTICAD vi) Kad oe 1 Wintel dah eke la 58 RIGHTEOUSNESS “GARMENTS OF) 21.) 1) Gh\'elsis ls ik 5 cance 58 OYMPATH yes DARING 5.00 048 i We ae. Gls 59 WEARER EPING THES) i Mo. ae a a enn ye Gwe ee 59 CHILDREN CHARACTERS; BEAUTY (OR 412s cailaiam stern a ais eid aaa an eee 59 CHILD LEADING Ae By n's.s sate a ales eee eat ety eeu tater an 59 SUBJECT INDEX Xu PAGE Re eMD ee CATIAS! ORG fa yee0.s i's, 0 Ted a ee Ae baa cate we eae 60 SP OE ELIS VIEN eSNG Lia Saigo 45.4 ¢ soa: 4g nlaee oldie aati ol ee sinh, 60 RISE ESCA TEIN ile eS iwc wale oe tee ee 60 RPIAE a Riety | OTE AND hilo 5 og ooh. Sacale edie Aiden 61 PRA A EPRRIONG POOR ATO TG 50g oi fod oes cece cif AREAL Rte Dee 61 ON VERSA RION OF CRIT DREN Ula te Crt en 61 ORSENUER: UF THE DEEENCELBESS 3). 45:5 2.00 cob aa ew neek 61 ENTHUSIASM KILLED.......... Soa ciea ke nun Sky hae Tene a 62 Re LSE OM ES Tylon ec so py Gis eos adie ea ae 62 Meer reat Cll srs whales tcl fac a aN nha ae 62 DEERE -U NCONSOIOUS 12084 wie ee lade. Wie ee aa 63 PI ReperEGY AUN Uden Re tag aN e hie ee MN 63 Fekete AAS es 2 re WUOHA PRi SU) glace Hiden AMAL ie DO ne ne att 63 CAL UT One sr a yo tau Nieto uge: aki ay ESOL ROS EUSA GN peed 7 Ward gaia ae IRC oA LO WA a RR 64. EMEP OO LMR ERR ED Uke, cu ih ee Ming aN Sy) «Div H sate 64. DR el BRSISTON Tse tins paresis wkiity Ear ek ats ho a oat 64. AB EN 8g OFA SL Ing Any A SEAL OMT REL: URL Fo U'R0 1S, SHR ars I ra 64. SS RIBULATIONS~|OVEUL IN soy fe kb eta ke gee ore h a wet a es a4 65 PERE EARCTING: FORT) sk tui ehene rie tele slate hice Lowi 65 CHRIST IOC eA TEMS el dete ete MCW Le CL Rt rk vate a Nn) 65 Curist A MAGNET. ...... DE Sameer eeawi sen irae Wie ca ta UES 66 ERI et ONDESCENSIONOR a! Vou a hen Gok ee beta 66 eset PUR INIA Ta ee CO RON ge is uae es eee a 66 DPR tereneU TENG ye eee ce OOM, ho eb di mie 67 ARIS TILING Poorest home cb ioe bas yes 67 ied A CG ReOMVa Urn he uscd. mh ntl AG vee, atl 67 Soot ioe PRG ged Di BETES ALOR Daa Oe U noa ea do or 67 PEM oii We SU MG CMa erty Re uM Cw Onl eek HEA Oo hig s 68 Oe ERT EN ED, Mra fey atic ena RT ANA eY 9 U4 9 o's 68 PO GER AEN OR RT be a a a a 68 ese CIVE RUN A i emi es Wn ate RnR, LESS With Pe 69 eee ETRE ORO ON, ay Dat pe deetmeb yall tei. Sb, 9 (OSCE tL HTD) 4Y 8 RR ne at Os A aa SL I oe EL 2 Na aes 69 SE eT SERS TOUTE ate OREN Cy Calita Sui BBall » dle + ya aks 69 IRIE To NOH ANGING St Wot RIP Ee Pia eu ties we 4 70 IGRI At MAA TT eh pane Utes 70 CSR ELT Skee a HCPA we He ks ih oe ae eins wR aes 71 TEM yg Sa Wee aa fire 2 RS eR ORL PS Ze a OR 71 Breet eer Vy ATTEN BOR hh hi AON di aides da placa 6 lela whdleets 71 CRSA REACHIUOB YC BRAGEDY. uit nkd sis aie «ais exalted oe eee aT CROCS REORM LAROUGH oii wt iic dis: single sola © ba lbletelyts wiate 72 Rieter WORLD) IN MEDS THE ta Sc aig ka sck + gids Seuelndlp wipes 72, XIV SUBJECT INDEX PAGE HIOPE-— LHE “ONLY 49 08 Gy pees eat ooo fells ae ee 7 PSUS A PILOT 5 Ay eee digits WAS da fated vy SAPapd Wg eaten sea 73 JESUST- DIVINITY OF hey ek ck keh Oe tb vee See 73 ‘Jesus—-IN)} RUACE OR DNGas ia hy: sci Saute teeters 0 a 73 J HSUSTHKING MAO eC Uys ae eat Abas aan er 74. ‘Tesus; LOVER OR My BOUn SRA Oh) Ja) duck ae ss Fee 74. RESUS MISEAREN FOR CUM y kro vhs cats os ces an 74 JESUS IN AMEAORT} oyu datas uty is Aik Wore ass Ss 75 | HSUS-OEARCHING FORLGA Us s Vicve needs «0 see 75 JESUS WWATTING VT CUniy yo AVON uae x bidet Morals = el ee 75 JESUS eo WIALSENGEROR GP AE iio te uk ices oe fiiey, Pc a 76 PRSUSASWIORE GOEL Cs ital bus ee Eras sn een de olaee bene manne 76 TSING or BIN EE Bi Gy Av otis aias Ra lel ase Wedel eck ones pata a 76 LOVALIV=OPOWER ‘OF Sch sles ane Gea C Sige ee Sas i WEXSEERUAND PUPIL 2) 5s) ea nore ies sal ates be oe 77 NEED IB TOR Sod HE Wey clot a gy epee ce coiee 77 Mircsaru-TNCOMPLETEN) a0.) ova G ute Pu te) ee 78 PALOTE-OROPRPING (THe gen uy Tagan wee 2 4a 78 PROMISES, Ut site bale Ci yeiltcba we hate rented lcrtt tact! ciel een 79 RIGHTEOUSNESS——H UNGER FOR = 200.5. anu). sale we WACRIFICE—_HRIST-LIKE vei Mts, fal. Guiet vk nine besa pene ee 79 SAVIOR DISCOVERY. OBe lotta aie whee sk oy ces ae 79 DAVIOR- ORARCHING FOR AUG UR y iis leita h tale Ste Veen ee 79 SAVIOR Sr LW Odin te wie MR 27 yaa a kate gree at ae a 80 SAVIOUR AS GREAT eta ra nape: Oi. ese ty fone eal 80 SUPFERING: FOR CHRIST O00 ol Gieniiaalyias oi sip © ar ema 80 LEE DONG (OR AVE RATHI 21 Ll eee an fvae ana hed ae 81 WicTORY OVER MODDS 3). canis sate aes Beeps He a) fis eects SI CHRISTIANS RELIEVERS EP ADETY oie. uacuabid ois clastic ae 142 GHRISTIANTS TL GENUINE » yh Olatels wares ieee es he a 142 CHRISTIAN RURLOUGH 4. Graiom eis peiereeeeicleta nia et vac ee 142 CHRISTIAN--N ARROW, si\c-/acdeoureinn ttc Renu tan 5. oie 142 CHRISTIAN ="EROSTRATE.. Wb aiaaiensicu nite. Riant, =: 142 CGHRISTIAN-—-REJOICING 2 2 bat Dl eeu idee Glee de tls Ce 142 EQUALITY BEFORE Hint. iuini) Gets sages ns 143 SENTIMENT--CHRISTIAN) Livi. arias onde Galas ys). 143 CHRISTIAN! UNITY. Fae ith np wenn oie. ss 143 CHRISTIAN “WV HY) DEVA Uh 4 4 iis 4 bide ed ee 143 CHRISTIANITY s- CONCEALED Fic olin ie Oy ne sett a 144. CHRISTIANITY CHINECESSARY.. i). :01s,s0a) land iy «te ae 144 CHRISTIANITY se PRACTICAL tc of Nstereitigms (ne J eee et eee 144 CHRISTIANS+coNBSORBING o's 14 fs nsdn Sie ein date aot ae 144 CHRISTIANS 7 -AGGREOSIVE «iin t din)s ty alot ott 5 nuns eens aed 145 CHRISTIANS. URDEN iy! e's. «135119 1ey ala Gali ans Malaita shy gitar ia 145 SUBJECT INDEX XV PAGE CHRISTIANS—CONFORMING....... a ae ee Sete ge CA SUSIE TANS SRAY 5a" foe sist, too 5 4} tle SUE OES 145 RRRTEE LANG LRA ZY Ed oe SAV vA w S154 4 ol gg ea eet 145 ee INT TANG OIMARTHLY , oo a's 6. ova Scale Sa Cn 146 RSH RIBITANS OE RIENDILY Gi aids sac a )b.5- bl Uae eee vena 146 Lor IA NE ASRO WING Tl) t yore #4 sa leks \teek. Pam eeu ae 146 (SH eTIANseRLONHS Tees SOG Me Po! oo ee 146 RPI TIA NS —OLNO LUPE R IN TO 5. ogi :hn cove’ x! doe viata te ptane es 147 SiS ETA Rit EONAR J). ai les WAS hai o deel ea 147 Perare LN ereree GING Une LAN mile) ee. Vs ot ca Ne ae 147 RON CLAN MILLEN Ape ty. tite ye Se en 8 NL 148 Gere iaMe ra TRURGLINGH, sabia wee tr sa sins (dai nie eee 148 PEPER IOLA WSs CUNT Nini ete a Ly A Lok hei food cane on aie ae 148 Reet A NGL PMPEBING uae d a stedt pedo es wees 148 [aA RIs TANS 5-U WPROGRHSELYV Eo teil och Geiiet Wi ici a nce We ee 148 DORIS TIANG VV ORTHURGG.) ttn fet titeltis de Gil cae alien 149 Setrcag TULA eo OURO ey ia te hc ai. st Tat EMPRESA wi ou Said x 149 MULT PRIVATE A ie Mh. MGR AN ete Ber ia, MeO 149 BECOME RIMT HOUT SO) A Ss tire Chaney CN GIN ata gg ait SA i oi oe 149 RUB MIMG AL TUIRING Ji. d chule il nie be Chen ede Dh aae fale Luprelercie 150 Nn ag 404 Bip hag 9 A EN eae ia ES oe ARG esr | St DNR te 150 Sar ACCORDING) TUN, X Chars ys a Yoni ouae aie abn cna) arpier teeta’ I50 BOREL NCTE ree eke Ore ei Lac oal WRG diel AAC RG BOW ANT Bha Nd 150 Pu Re AND LIANE Ey Unt nF Aen ebay cok h CUI ait 150 PEEL ION —— HORMA LI WAY increta y Sa bbuns etertnat ted ess cosh a shear ote ISI PaO NO AULT vores) Shu ir atiulitin Ca Me Cah MR gill 4b) abel Seals weesaNY 151 Ph aD hott eg yc DAS flag at Da AE ing SRA aE ee DN Re Et 151 PEAT TLONG LU WARDS iihelet Clete yc Gurbickaladel bic tele ®, wads Sous 152 RIGHTEOUSNESS—APPETITE FOR........0c0ecceeeeees ee 2 Senray CAT MSP A NUN! Sy Sly ihe \y tala = o>oys has ited ee RO 152 Gaal As CL INEMETIMTCIN CBMs baer sed ise e eee wie a atlivtas sd © ibe Aca 9 152 rer em LOW VATE ease rh Mets a Marea Liu. die Pye eta 152 Retr ee BAI VISION ROR tar tee can via cv eg kVecate woh) ooe'e ps a RE AMES HSTORATIONLOS ot idk sala vie wile ee ee ees 153 POPE YT ATION 0 Sch A Galas Orne ie # olen einen 169 CONSCIENCE TINB ALIBI fio ck iswidtite oie /atieie i aeteaii aes 169 CONSCIENCE-“DEARED cit cicte'n's GL eile de gs hls Grew Eien wane 169 CONSCIENGET THEVA WARKENED «2. "v\ips bisa p ealeie sible Ril 169 ConscIENCE, THE GUIDE....... OTA eel uta ase eater «. 170 SUBJECT INDEX XVil PAGE UENO TI LIB UL) 2d oe ge OMN ua tieak 170 tuys Tee bt 9 ig ge Oe) RR a) 4 ¢) AU SD WR 170 CONSECRATION Pa SEA SAO Ua A BURN a BAY Se Yet LE A 171 ONSECRATION-—COMPLETE py) a ee ok bao Saio ae ait nee ete 17I CONSECRATION—DEVELOPMENT OF..............00eeeee 17I DB ONRAORATION AUN TIRE ri) cd sss s/s Valve o-byebbal dhs e Mele wadas 172 POAC RATION ORV LAUENTO Mogi s.b ob d Wiisid el Sse anaes 172 CONSECRATION-— W HITEFICLD Siu visi stew yb Slee Wve baie 172 EOEIVOTION——LGNORANT 74 ui iis evi o ik oids Maple os! Psa hg eek 172 Cie Sd Ee: BES Voy en ae Sede Pee RE Oe aa GO ER Oe 9 A 173 RAG HING--SACRIPICIAD Use vei tied vid cieysl sofisid a ¥ gain Ha 173 em Ore MEE LCA TION DRESS Hh iy te taniy ehhae ode lahat. acres ae oa 174 RUB IGHMIMGH =< HOLIY) OR) 2's diel kale chete eam Gard «ica Sleigh 174 MUIR rr DACHIBIOIAT V0 0) biclris Ni. RUA mae ss es hl tees 174 SURRUNUER—AVOMPEETO ts iii oui otha Whe pl napalenelne aiid, 174 WPONGUB-—-UNCONSECRATED 3). (Pie Sed titan Maa clcle Ole « 174 MINE LUINE LIVING uit SN ak kewl ee ta eM vaca dG atone 175 By nse HORSARING >. Uuirwer i Vie ea tine. cianmet AaEE Nhe dy 175 PA rerks OW AIRTED 40) Za. Wich a hlilel wit bonAeie Ms 6! yr atedet de 9 fa 175 Pore Memes OITA ETE DN (78. Stans ba a dav Mauenal Bhat Whale: Wel uy slices 175 CONVERSION Te SEAT ME FESO IRR TO OT A a en 176 ONVERSION AND DANCTIFICATION) 6.) So) UNA ghee th. 176 PHY ERENT Ay LIOOTOR Sa La icky ae OOM Sere 176 DAUD 2 TESTED S Gowelg Whol By £8 18 out UN REA al eo LA) eae EAN 177 CONVERSION—CHARLOTTE ELLIOT’S... 0.0.0.0. 00 ceecee 177 AN VIR ONIN G > LUA RU Yigis uh ted sh dccuetin sss bd vee tctty eae ahd 177 PIV ER GION —ERUTT: OE, f3yiais Lak kos Ps koe ay Senta aD we eee 177 MR SIONA-CTRA DUA T cnence tiie Raa niicie alae ole salieal y ths mas 178 ER ETON TLINDRANCEH TOs. hC% Wades ee iedd aoa Veabeia ae d 178 CONVERSION—JOHN WANAMAKER’S..........0 00000 eeeee 178 AMEN WE ANTHEET iris Mind's. ee wna abe Cvdiale eee 179 COON VERE OMe UNEXPECTED ch Ci cileen GL ie fe ae gwleag 179 COMA REI PAUN ELBE Sinha Miiilicte te slabs cece hic W Malad reg 180 CONV EREIONOM AN ENEFOR LO. pte te wu Wie ou col elh sia co de 180 ESCM Ve Me CER IMA NOS lty nin Wy Saker Chad aoe ccs, Aste ais 180 CONVERTED—COMPANIONS OF THE... 2... e ee eee eee 180 EMSC TET) TN VER GSPN aU Wee cio ks etek beck. > testis ea Wh 181 TPO TIONSEJOUTRINED On ite ave t es Sola: fig gain, oiee ki slbnaleelg’t 181 Tempeey-—(CONVIR TINGS, ANE toni cade elie bone shaleya 0 oo! sietqaeiale 181 SAMA PHOT CHARACTER 150 yialtie Cech ike ko ete okeie Ao cmb eee 182 Rees OR IOS ORI 115 ie Sabir Cutie wx al ood leak Wasnt Ueto 182 brea ated rol SYA TALY NGS tt teh hited ah oo a om thal ple ohh + RO 182 XVlli SUBJECT INDEX DEATH PAGE BEAUTY—TEMPORAL AND ETERNAL...........02000ee00: 183 CHRISTUS CONSOLATOR....... RU Ce Me aia Srey late teks yi a 183 JOBATH A RELEASED DUAN S Heinen Cle ce stb aos ttn Sauls 183 DORATH (A DLEBB cei A sc iihoisin iiss abetis date he th io ee a 184 TOBA TH DEA U TIRE ii atedie ol alle see tere te teldia's: TRADEAST 1%), 1). Uta a NOM sen 199 TE ME LINE CUES Srl Ge fame man Pues CAL LY oh chek 200 FAITH BRAN Gr VW tA TT IS ee Rett con Ay NLU cde tht uy a8 200 (OES TET roti BG Ea Ite DA SNE A ake eC MCE Ag a a 200 PAE CEMDR NE aay ee Olea eels cen an Pa MM HN, Jails phabogl ys 201 PSMA TAN D SE REE DOM ae are wie Sle RR e ae Ma oot raat hae 201 REET EVAND LEI ODE rue lth iii dale tataa eae ee per urn acts tiny 202 ROAITHUAND WBE DIENGE occu abv teen Sean Gee Sle bc bald aby 202 BEAT PHMANEN VV QRS cl itt rapa yn oe eaintar Ruin Oy stand ws 202 POR ee AIL DOLCE WoL nT i ak Me he seubale bala, os a elore 203 PLM Bild ES Baar ea a kA EAL REA EL oe Bae ee 203 REPEAT A TINGE Ue Le ICS Seedy Re COUN adi bad dtcde pian ald bike Ble 203 SPREE CATNUTIONLON ce ih eileen Mes on, Aare ae aa hee Me 203 SOLVES lgpmedl FS SURI 42-0 UU BR RL a a 203 Beets -NOUNDATIONIOR fies oc ve het eee Oe Seabicdalps ve 204 PeMeeROUUTChON Tide FOND ce Meo Pre ny catiyelete cc dat pi eelere 204 PEEEMENEC SOT) aia hs ae Rte ee ee Ui LR MTG es 204 RITEMPRIR INCA Ties has p a oe em a Aa Lo US ty a8 205 Pelee CE LIPICATIONT BY) cue ors uli eae aeite elela wide eee 205 PO AD Citra tN ON ILEA Ret IN a, (a) acy a psitin ehh Mie ele bike Locate ee Sgtalece 206 FairH—NOTHING IMPOSSIBLE WITH. ...........020200005 206 ATV Oot REe MOTION cere ai Ustt icc a BY cats fas 206 DRT Horn Ryan CaN dae a 207 TER ATES aU Femmes oe el Se USS yl baiecg ite 207 PES EERE LTO UNES ON ee ey aha asa ce al She ocak sorted ata 207 PUR ET Hr LRT IREPEP CIT at tortie Men hah teins Goi ay nal igielnca cen ea 207 TRAITT UN WAVERING oC ee Wield nie y bid nlasdie ned Baha 208 Tem rret~- CL MWA RIB DL Canyaetilt Mitn yoo cba ye Ye are ae wae ann 208 BOAT SUV EATS (rates RSC CAAT ah ove nk pada ig eh} +4 UNO 209 xx SUBJECT INDEX PAGE Barra Without: HBBGING Woe Rote Peis On eee a nee 209 FaItH—WORKING BY....... HULL Sc Sete AM, SU PRY AL EN 03 ohn 210 JUSTIFICATION AND SANCTIFICATION. .........-200ee+e0> 210 PATIENCE>~PERFECT (WORKAOR Yili G cl ots ss en 210 THROVGBR! PATTAG Eon a eet ee Tene Co). it. tran ane 211 CRUST =-NECESSIDY: OFF (omit muni ta prt ds ells kisi 6, ale 211 TRUTH --PEREEGT. Wi Atlee eee cakes be oa oe 211 UNBELIBE-+REASON OF 0 0 Ui de oa ke 212 UNENOWN—-PERILS ORITHE 3) Ma ee a4 be lacie oe kee 212 “TPRIGTHOA WAKING ‘TO: 87 UE an phate saeco ae an 212 FATHER FATHERS DISCOVERING «! 2) ii’ ick tol. Sagactian were tiene 8I HATHER GMUNERGY. 000/05) 4 7 23, ARSE Oh, a cc ae ee 82 PATHE OVO Sy sha. oe ate Aci 2 en ee eee 82 HATHER'S OVE i. 5 ae olny cep ae aie a oe 82 (GUIDE MATHER AS. Uc.) RVers oe a 82 FORGIVENESS WHRIST'S (MEDIATORSHIP 2704460 ie beans tea ee ale nee ee 83 HORGIVEN ‘DEBTS: 51s Gila era et ee neha > oe oes 83 FORGIVENESS AND ‘PROGRESS cs ads.) eet eee 83 FORGIVENESS FRom: GOD} hon iis a. «eles cle ee 83 FORGIVENESS OF SNEMIES 1.4/0 2000. 02.0 Oe 83 (Gop's, FORGIVENESS ABSOLUTE) 3/).)4). 0/2 22 sen eee 84. NEW RELATIONSHIP, 01/5 Virdee llele eine en ek er 84 PRAISE7-OACRIFICE OF, oh iste tab wees aleole a ee 84. OUAEITY:, OF MERCY...a)) 05s aw ah ail 85 DAVED) OR UNSAVED cs Fo Dee as Cen 85 SINNER—LIFTING THE . J)2))2))5 Se. oa ee ee 85 ERANSGRESSION ‘HORGIVEN -h0 51) 4-4 2s eet 86 GOD ACCOUNTABILITY TO GOD....... oa id 6 ate wl adiat nie tig itera 86 APPEARING ‘BEFORE: GOD. 2/24/54 bee oe ee aie 86 CSOD SA NISHED 24 5,980 46/5 cas Ginter VEL ata a eae, ate ae ee 87 COR HARGUMBNT: BOR. Kuli minus lb a Woman tn en 2 ee 87 GOD—-HIGHTING AGAINST. 2. 0)5 52), se vats acs a 0 88 COIN DING 2's p5e'sin ie 8 Be agian ofla Shed hie alah) ae 88 CHO TEE AR Sib aia'g abe Sbcale aly mics seen $a sonia Ae lola 89 GOD UNSDRUGTING W073 jo Gls ac iviae ob blero a alnieelt ls 89 BEGINNING-(ZOD JIN /THE J), <2 21. 33. bw Fo, Fey 89 GOD IN THE/ DEGINNING 2400 buc spe nial» 4 cis) ele elas nn 89 GOD NBD OB a ite ig 5s alley Gin ls kaa ik Mia go (FOD——TROMBLING iste do shud sed bate aaa ee go Gon, UNDERSTANDS W)1550' wie ioe hla ke Ho a ee go GOD—sW.LTEOTIT fio 4p kis 40 nonin ee a in hn ne go SUBJECT INDEX xxi PAGE SOO SACOMMAND Sasa tlie: Ody so dade ds Weapon ees. +O RENE BH OCOMIMAIN 2s idl a ies 5) sleeve Re gI BrOD & WONCKADMENTS 5 a)e 54 cid w de sle ie ee ane gI Re CoE MUA IND RR VALUED 00.08 5i0 tube die SL a gI Gop’s GoopNEss WAITS FOR MEN..................... 92 [30D SUS INGDOM COMING. 2080 eed cil se Alea al eee 92 Ca rye ie OIE Pa ecb Ue A VT EEN cg 92 RYO NMI E PENS Bre tae oc 44 ca ke AVy acgod steno eRe 92 PaO ee POMISes RINE chs ys hy CIT o alesse ce WAMaCe tO 93 BOM AEN Crem USEION Sy kes iaty yg 4 ote Bialalduld now ala ty alee 93 URIINGIEOAOE Sh gy tye) yas ar ai bids Ste eA bids hc e dees sn ey ee 93 Reser ES Eke aN) o att Wid 6's 'adoteyal Gr oy Ad peat alley we Rote: bad AER 93 MMT ME heh Weise ee sh Weave. 1) cieaiaao NR UDG gla Ao Sea 94. MERCY-—LONG-DUFFERING (160 Fd Spy cies sh eo ea 94. BA ANY ST at CIGD): Noss cals Lie bly, ee are GIS Hust siete hela crore 94. BaP ARINC COVEY POM Gigieh es aud of bitie ona A LURNeLD he eels (gh cM eee 94 PEOMISE ek AIMING COD SW ce pliecela'e cbeha Rant desis s ls aie ete oat 94 SACRIFICE FOR GOD.......... VT Lt vein tare CaM or eh Ls Ce 95 ROU WELLEING? (AOU acts oh at ev ede rn REREAD laud ae are oh 9,2 95 GRACE CHAD IOOR OR CHOD Sy avin ead 3 eV gtetttere ciotepe y itie cetera 95 PPAR ASE OC) WING ING tect nt helvcoly sola leat Pare ache ws a's Sard 96 eRe RCT URC IE TEN Py ct endl oe mattress ry Peculbteat Aes Ay We 96 Pea oeiil ERA CTAD OI) .\, inl y Ghat aarp ea cen eta tra ep vinta bk 96 AGH ADA VER ES Vici ti aise twin ed Wace stla ic abettetels 2 snide of 96 Ae OR LING teeth Susie nists aca teigea te et ie we syece Aa Pe 96 ERAN SUPE ICLION Siu, ssh ergt el Arvid an ful tans Ae eweteiae nl shove atta 97 EPR SUL EICIEIN DCL AY Sheree. facie Peril Cee nit Ua 97 PURER ING SRACH en isles .cn af areealh ot atheen aint viele. pois 97 GRATITUDE STATA COU I rE ne eC A eid SORA Tile tal oat ots: « 97 cereeerntpEyitd AA RT Sac a ee UG lal we te a tier a4 97 (Fite tir DE —UNEXPRERGSED 1.1) piobisse vials cece disol es bisis wie eins 98 Tee eae EN GD DOCS ut Wee yale epee dein eo she 98 NV OCI oer LEAPING foc cs oisdera() § de ina S lwvaliaa ele sha sible! o; eo ese leh 99 HEART PEA ee PSU LW ENE eek ih aloha teat lay vk coliena vose'te sefenela ede 104 PATER ECT ESO RR MUTA VERT 0. Gu ic alan, n sa wick as beck spin e ala 4 Stk 104 BUTEA RTS SIME OO a soe a hig aha Apia hea Nesyh Ly 'oete’ ph asus) ae aE 105 SASCA RS Tro T A BIISEN ERIN: ACh scos Ach at sliada sl ocd aye) ob leein: 2: spel nto nl 105 OER TET oIN FOSEL) UVM a MIS WEE UN atisy os chy, ercbalisl ss. bie sim 00 eta al aty weneadnle 105 PRAT IN Wy ng is) AES ia alia pian Sale cova, Soe eta ie Ook eeabeate 105 PAAR ONE TEE oo 3 daca esac d Mico tnt hd cadens avenebalnronyt Madea is 106 XXli SUBJECT INDEX PAGE HEART—REFUSING THE...... Bena RS Teiion Baal cant enan Cae .. 106 HEART SEEING YS Ce eo Br Oe aa 106 HEAVEN IN THE HEART.......... Bias eles ete 107 HEAVEN BROTHER—COMING OF A........... CUO Bes Ge 99 GRAVES (ANDSSIMINNELS stale) Atk cera at ete bk ap elena oes ee 100 HEAVEN-—-ARRIVINGUN 6 pe Ue ike oe ao ne 100 HEAVEN-——AJOECULARY GKii i aie a nk ole IOI HBAVEN--AWAKING (IN 5 2 Oe Ree eva rg hs ae 101 HEAVEN CHALLENGED | 2 Ee Re pela ec ce ee IOI HEAVEN--CLEARER | VIEW*ORB ly Ned cite ce ee 101 HBAVEN--FOREGLEAMS OP su. Wut kis 102 HEAVEN—GATES OF ALWAYS OPEN.................005: 102 HEA VEN=-FIBAT OF 6 000.) Ci pip BI) aes pr 102 HEAVEN-~MOVED ‘TO. fo ane pe SOE Ot AMOR See Bs 102 HRAVEN-ANOTES OF .000 5 SE ee ee 102 HRAVEN—PROSPECT OF CaS ee a eee 103 HIEAVEN+— CREASURES (IN. 3)) Wasi mete eo tai a ee eee 103 DBAVEN--WATCHING (IN. 3/102 Wat, ive tie oil een en 103 Hope’ of HEAVEN IN: OLD AGE 2a Cyanide sic ete eee 104 LirE—BREVITY OF........ Se LAURIE ION SUN yc hoe nk ea 104 HELL HeLL—Bui.pine His Own......... RAP URAMOENTEL RAIS Po mua tg Lar, HELL--EXPLAINING | 4 ohccgue diva i ol Wakete WAY eee to tee 107 SPIRITUAL DEATH (0) iiss d tiiwa peekier es Ake ee 107 HOLY SPIRIT BAPTISM OF THE SPIRIT—FINNEY’S.........00ccceceeees 108 BIBLE— HOLY SPIRIT, IN| THE. OU 108 CLBANSING=-CONSTANT, (00/00) 750 on, ae on 109 ELOLY (GHOST POWER. OB) si\iislons peg necain date es eee a 109 HOLY SPIRIT CHARGED. BY). Muha sepia Wie ae ee 109 TLOLY) OPIRITSIN BED (OB. 40 0 tkgie tase any Eee eee ea 109 HOLY OPIRIT 5 POWER ioe oe Lene eee a IIo WIPRASTVING (BREATH 00 705 O02 oe Uae Mee eRe 0) oe a 110 LIre-—POWER OF ‘THE INNER. 000. 0) C22 EO eee 110 MIRACLES—--—DATEY ahi. ae Geb) Coe ob oe III SHOURITY—--DIALDY oie 'l gn Puke A ee III SPIRIT GA NOLE) OB oo asia le b's woe ck ais tae alee lool ae 112 SPIRIT--ERUITIOR a hin ok cis oh! eho eae a 112 SPIRIT--OUEBNCHING "THE 905). sacl oie ctiica aa 112 SPIRIT —— WiARNENGIOR hs at at oe 113 PIRI Tra WW PENEBS TOE VETLE 3 0) 010s, die pipe hi be a snre Pe ean 113 SUBJECT INDEX Xx HOME PAGE SAUTE LGN AL CHIE Hoo 6 citi) 6 2h dary a dw e Lp Lk es 114 RRMA ET SCE, est iva lg! oh wha! Sede an or oe Share N Wh! dy ee A re 114 POMEL BSR LHROUGH ETERNITY 4:4 .)....5°....06 Sela Rad 114 PRAM Bre tOWA REC Ala snr Sha! edt pet a et atethin! 6 At 5.0 beg eee NY Ii4 PROM RS er T LOMB ayy ello aay neal 4) 64k Ookg eae 11S TIGMBA WITHOUT CHRIST (AN Slit irc OC was eRe ne 11s PROM UE BMPORARY Slice h piss) dle s o's cde ate ae 116 PIGMEWARID DUUDIS che Vigan Sail oe ee ae a 116 BLO MIS ANY OME HIDCIN club. ty yiiatorey teh yia od oak be ee 116 PAA WEIONDMISULLDING Pik - caries yen s Aele kanes ee ea 116 PRINT EDU TSE rinse cee MAUR esd Finee tae tral erenn eee ee 116 DHE MII D-hASHIONED PARENTS {hii ge tee tii. vate te 8 gota 117 HYPOCRISY PAGE SLIDING lat RRICULLY OF os or sale ty eiltie | Give atolaea 226 RRC LUSH BOTA IMEUN wager etl ent N ah had Ars taapta lei yet, 227, SOON THRUUIT AON BISTIAN SE 05) 00) Ceol aM aga be Sielid a Wet 227 BeBe ts LEICA SON tai cite cme n yrds Via Nay SMS Ry arama oneaA | 227 BADE ed) INDIR IVETON ory te Veo AL iy le kegcee vor acc Pe bay 227 YS Aa ae Arie ane ait SUM Te Atta Mn eS OTN IE 228 HiypocRites—-CANNOT PREVENT... 3 0. oye eee ee ee 228 PUT POURITES--IBCEPTION OBS cue Atha ee a a ey 'sere NNN 228 PIB -UNTRUTHBUL cele cog otk fie ee ME a gh ln es kate 228 PALIGION =A COUNTER BEIT bi250 SUL cicok th, dedetia We a ielaza al ania e1 6. aes 229 PETTUS LACK MI Cn ty ct in dean mink Ti ntale eee LEAR ere Lt 229 RRR Dt MAN ties eT RU ONS walt Udo wh bk Sahay ate bal 229 INGRATITUDE CUSED ig) 990 2295) BEA oo RY Ao ey IE A 229 REPAY TDP RATIOS T oa Gitte iaicly foe aimed kiacges eas iia rd 230 POM TITUDE OF THE AWORLD AiG ities Yh waite ed edie as 230 INVITATION Rei TON ie GONAT Lb i Am 2 c0be ais Pines be alee bv 6 hm 230 Reem RO Nnry VAULASOMEE Y)5..51,) hic asin ed Gta gras: e argiena, algal she airs 2a RCT MORE MIUSEIDE Mia Wrens ae AC ee MR a WA TES AN 23 231 DirIt INEM STO M MONON FL Teg? Cee ORAM SM Reda Ut, gna ghee 231 JUDGMENT MSS RTCA E tart on MNT Ake a dche Series A ad ova: wthatat 232 TOA re ES OP adi eke LUE aT NAG bettie hee en fide ae ath 232 Te gto ued BEES EVD EA ACU NT HEL Na oO nna Ne my ar NE" 232 BU PUIRET OBE RIM ET EION Sor ile Cheuk MS aa ob wile a kad ae 232 PIVARTISREAKING GSEICHY Ao i chy dine Ph 4 gle edie ee pha 233 ETD Br EASTIBENG. AN 7 ie fais cchy <2) F4e aig 6! Saye al sla cel aie 233 TOGING-toUANGEBAIN than lad cia kok by Reade aah 233 IMEMTEITT AMID) WATERY Sess PCM NTs Aci y (hau, Wp baa lea 234 XXIV SUBJECT INDEX PAGE JUDGMENT BY | GENERAL JAIM lac Gedten | suck Wid oe Gees ea 234 TUDGMENT COMING WU tweed ues aig us tet Coed ee 234 TUDGMENT (DAV. Gi Ah aceite Bee Lived Aan hed oie oli ieee 235 JUDGMENT—GOD’S2)/04,.". |. SEG dG: Ge aid /o: +e 235 J UDGMENT—-INPALLIB ERG UE fe ti any Son. ais, bea el 235 JUDGMENT SEATON Plana Mabioh GMa, cw 4016) 235 MUSTICE AND PRIENDSHTBRM NIM coe ntl oe). ani 236 USTIER—— WINGSHOE i iam oy IE UL Lites waa) gee 236 PHYSICAL REGRIBUTION wor vare Wailea asic = Ce Ave 236 REFUGES HINSUPRIGIEND swt ai ie) tasisat elke Ave 6h ie ee 236 RESPONSIBILITY PH VADING 0h | ven ee hee orbit o Vian waren 237 REWARD AE RT VEAS TERUG Miku pK paliche litt) wily sa) de < pitas nae 227, EBA U DCM ENT ah ested y Citak, Ciibe Jk CUR ed Wk om, eee 237 WOW LN GID KARA PENG Agatti nae GUnte yia ages Wid a SAR ene 237 UNBEEDEDMVVARNINGS A/S 0: VERN gs on ciate aa ae nee 237 LOVE PBRETHREN LOVE VOB Ales 4s bapecie bee Abe ioliie SoUe Glee tte al aaaieed 238 POV ADB TO Liaison dA) Uustra AU Reine TU Toca a nee tg ea! 238 WOVE ARMS COR, Ui ALAMO Liem WhO ALL, Gane ae Ge Pea 238 LOVE MAS TR NINGGE hac Witt ketreay Usler aes hig Gk oe eae 239 DOVE CONQUEST: DRGH i) Gerla Gin erates shai cry aie Teac 239 LOVE NERLTTGENT Tul el a Nits Rak net to anes 239 WOVE NSA SURING? iit tates tae ht tn Dna i lala she eN Delayed 239 LOVE ANEVER MAILE TH Gf ro iietye eM saee tty a eileen Ae ele 240 LOVE AP ROTECTING Mniidu Bly wc iTih bau In ED a ea 240 DOVES DACRIPICIA DM un ines (ck aalinn Miele) Uintah iaceety Re eee 241 LOVE--OHOWING \CHRISTIS ve. uch Wer Acta ce neu ta nce 241 LOVE 1 BLEGRAMI OR? 5.0 SOUR C arc Chea tre os et ee 241 TOV LEST SOR Ape Bois | edie Gk ek Siar cine se ono OSE ea ae ea 242 LOVES LD RANSBORMING (0 1.J1: eed nen Ne rena Tee 242 LOVE “UNBOUNDED 20.4. G cuits antennae von ae Lae ee lg. 243 ROY BV O1GB NOR tis. aki Wide Od adalat ee el eee a 243 OVE AV ENIVING oth abil cas hid oe NER Rei eld Ae alae loos 243 LOVE WINNING ‘POWER OR 050021 ah fy etsbe tis xa eee 244 LOVESAWIONDERPUL AL) 4s. cob eos ieu ena ame aca weenie ea 244 LOY SS MOURSTgici van dle's 2a Cielo Guat un antes ie ey eae ae 245 LOVES IDRR VICE Oe Oe ae ia aaa, 245 NER VIGEIOR OVE wi evs sf dv) ct) s4ncutea ya ¢ heey Gila a 245 MINISTERS MINISTBR=-EELBING ULE sic: ic pie/ei tele wieia cai 1a ee 260 MINISTER—-PRAYER FOR UNCONVERTED.............---. 260 MINISTERS DLANDERING Aj. uil SG, Uamile) Oates Lae 260 MINISTERS ASOD SAB ESE si: Adiantateaten deo bee meena eee 261 SUBJECT INDEX XXV MONEY PAGE CHARACTER—OSTERLING..... WEE PAV EPI ae eae 245 OPE Ces A! ed 5 A, tp a RD BS cod > Sd a 246 [CHART RV oMOURISTIAN 95/006 6 cy bo ile diss oss le RE ee Oa 246 COWARITY = LISPLAY OF}. Sous. dU. ao eee 246 CHRISTIANS —“LLOARDINGy to, esti ine sc de doh eee ea aie 247 CSOT RCTIONT TE AREA iii teeta ey coe wis sy ce mst Re aee 247 WORVEREIOND AND RESTITUTION Oo 084. ution ee eee ene Reed er Deeoeh CURE E, Oe sec PERR MeN LIE oi) a ici nip oun 4 fo. Let BER 247 Alay ree OPES LUINUS 2 0215 3.0) Le ever Path loyd, once ti as, woh og dodged ae 248 See eR TEN SAIC TS PN Ia ie (Vous ial 4% 8 se “a del araen a AP 248 Rees eI VA LMUAY IAS a eM Lola LM Aaah Gig yoy che ue 248 Ctra VV LPHEOLDING. | vane Mase mereted tes Pood sient yi. kc uuned 249 ed Py RUT ar GN ten ere ae oi vat (2h delet 249 Paivere | MRR KINDS lurk SC aa ti CLR genie 249 BPRMIMIST re Mee eC let a hip NEU ea chet Ree aie PNT ane fae Rte ae 249 DD IRE Ge TCH IGT A fi.) bse gitees cetal MUINOURINA Mi ots as ati a bi cuele 249 Dees ALONSTANT S404 15) Fe Us Mean aie eee Le ChLc e Dhelsl ahs ile 250 Cavite HORCEDY 1). Ah une itch hese emure enn eC el Pee al 250 UST Als [is al Bak RL ae a NB eet AEP Seat. Sali 2 SLE SN 250 RarviNte Ux Ur SOLAN fh) hata: icles ice teers tae ere uly ie hte 250 SOLVING INCE NGEL OR, 1 umm ver slay chs Mace hier ci Oty RUS 250 Riel LN rere OMS ANA of. usd, at € DAME has i ages PY aE 251 PSIV ING LUKEWARM . ci) t na oh MmuCCn cI Wn Fis SU abe eg 251 PSTV ING PEN TLANDED. © Gullit tunvaie's teats ale hucitaln ie cedehe re a FAM | REIVINGT AEWA RD OR is. samen ae alae acne wate Pe eatakst aN Wt dod 251 ELV ON late VAT eth ia) Lor ie eR meer, PU aoe eet adhe, 252 CUM ANS er KA CRTIICIA Th, 06 vghev arcs clabetarcte eae NG aches erate ott 252 PSIV INGE VOLUNTARY . 40, Gue nGte ae ue tie tie thie sl tetaty willie weate 252 PE NEEDS DO Vie Pen cl ete acta Oe ek gs Ue eine Ula es 252 Ree SUEY ET ED LAT EY RARER Ba EU TD iu Rack Sa 253 BREE RICATS CAD afta stk oe echo RC ce ORE Ce iMate elkinle aay 253 OEMS PEON et 00 1 2 Re ee OO SBR SF OE 253 eee MANOR ABOVE Shi, wii nutld udu se Chute eaten vei g 254 Ree CAT TOU ee sri ues Pane ieen Mil Lh its lek 254 VIDE OR Tied oh EN IO Dae hy 254 Reser SNe FLV ING | BOR Ss eee ei ik holy fale lela atu aey 255 PA SR Cue EMMOTT Clr Me Lyi iek Ye dita Wi cla IE vit boss wig, ote 255 FLOMMSTY (ENMELLISINESS “Cute uta. le WRUNG Cae 200 RIONGRAL WTARNIDN RDS Re wh One i taiice aed oy okt Lk e's 4 SOR 255 PNET ARCH emma i Siar mati) eg. hs ay 25 MA COPERO Se AU ELIS ETS Ceca Lach, eer LI fa otal lab Miata a Th MRS 256 NE Yo A ATE CHO eh re Cea te CS Re 256 er iLy (SOLD ae EEE Ee OU PLAY Ud ald ee 256 PORSRESIONG——OOVELOB cia tebe eden Aa: abe arse ebay erties 256 MECPCRSION: ANTE RACTICN ais Sah Duress cits old aie ees 256 PROSPERITY ete ANGER Oi chistes asa-aid wt suace aid ook Mika eee, 257 XXVi SUBJECT INDEX PAGE RESTITUTION 2 CLC eS hie LL RL icky ye a 257 RICHES IN: GLORY Aiea er an eat Ey peter at) | oe aie 257 RicHES--FAILUREVORS Hy ose Gunn Coy Giles aoe leh 257 RICHES--HOOL TANI VG Wintiiy dialy cele Wig S25. ils to het 257 RICHES---U NDRSE RED Meant cat a 258 RiCHES+-UNRRALIZRD Sere an ae oc te. st). a 258 DATAN, S CHUAUBE TY ania inei a Wi au Rae ie C6 a 258 DOUL-DESTROVING GREED Eli hui seu se. soe ok Se 258 STEWARD A CHOOD waleuye be pus teens Get la chika uta sane 258 TREASURE SALOSTIIN NOG UL co etl la) en 259 ‘TREASURY<7 LESUS)DEHOLDING: \ a0 dol A ee. tg a eee 259 WORD A) CURE NRG eate oie hii va ey ly Ok Gd te a 259 AV ORSHIPS ERO Min wR Lub ANU) COC eneny Le ae 260 MOTHER AUNTOTARR S HORGIVEM ESS iets 6's’ Wills gave a lee ae Oho nen 262 PACH Sa EOL Yi Mis hue ities wk aoe ke oes bak ete Ge ee 262 HVE CDH Erk LONORING 0). yeas (oie wale & le ely pea le aetna 262 INTO ED Rd COW EDTOR cod hss Wak ic ak RW asd NN ng 262 NIOTHERS-REUNION WITH 2 fees caches a ae 263 MOTHER IW AITING S.C UCU Lie awh ae Keehn 263 MoTHER—JOHN QuINCY ADAMS’............0.0.0 0000-0200: 263 MOTHER-——MICHAEL’ ANGELO'S. 000 0) 0e co 200 bee 263 MoTHER— THOMAS EDISON'S. 0'5 5 e's ela Peed eek ek 263 MOTHER-—LINCOEN'S nus ie oie doh a elnk Sole ee 263 MorTHER-—-LORD /MAGAULAY'S.0'V 1) 2220 Se ee 263 MOTHER-—-MOODY'S.1.. 0.0.20, cine wind bm Bihan nop ee 264 MOTHER -~NAPOLBON'SS§ si. s bd vy) ae elo od oe ee 264 MoTHER—-BENJAMIN "WEST 1Si.\0) se: lel iole dis yen 264 MOTHER'S WOUTY Ge Ly a a kn 264 MOTHER'S PAITHFULNESS 220200 UE viaity a ee 264 Moriurr’s HANDSsa yee a i ee 264 MOTHERISS LOVE. .5 4) Go rete ie & eee MD Geach Ree a 265 MOTHER, S\PRAVERS 005) 0) cGy ee Do, a 26 MOTHERS PRAYERS 000 es hy rar Us eo 266 MOTHER SEV RIDE Uae i Doh a aon Wen OS 7 eh 266 MOTRER/S OACRTRICH nails Ut sane Wath ae 267 MOTHERS SSA CRIBTICE iC linMnnl fiat k 6s yh 267 MOREBRISNOHAME OCU ll Oe ses Siar ee 268 MOTHERIS) SUFFERING 2.75) ) 00) 2a biel slat heels deel oer 268 MOTHER SISURPRISE ILS UAL Sih a ea 268 MOTHER/SNHU ROUBLE ul 230 nap ye dak ee Hole cate hentes legen mena 268 MOTHERISNVOICE DMO Uk Ue Rs ae eee 269 MOTHER DY MOPLRIT avert ab sn bis: bce bbe Ok A a 269 THE (MEMORY OF JA MOTHER 20°.) ho, thie ale ye to THE MOTHBR ROOD WLDBAL. | iis uiua whites bake tai tele Ae 270 TWO FR UTGTOMB Ae aiatorg ory eta) ala Kate hone ne ere 270 SUBJECT INDEX XXVii PARDON PAGE PORTO MIAME ee eral anita) o's Sah, retedlants Avidiee Pun alent 270 BARDON-*ELUMILITY OBTAINS. 2. oe ls La eek 271 REE Dire SILOS foe he sin, oa nds < ocolt cy ee RR ent chats 271 WOMEN AA et Er De shake Miho! aly y igth ocs.s die Lestat SRI e eS tao s 271 PRED RMGLGH Se GLOOD oy hoy seco. oleh yes Mee eRe a REDEMPTION—UNDERSTANDING. .. 0.0... ccc ee eee ee eee 272 PERSONAL WORK BEGGARS—CHRISTIAN...... Reset vet Th Ae eee ne 117 PATTI VAN CPU ie ole oie viele yeaa eile s ava cca wl aoe ere 117 Wa eI ETS oH 8 8D Yoh CROMMER Uae ONE ED Te a EE TSR SR 2) 118 CME SATIAITE VV OREMERSY WAR TEED aie herutey si ase lleiels ene bedtdce are) ated 118 ere NID AL IED et, Upou cael ave MU Hoye PY Oth Wines'y cesarean 118 DUT Sets VA DING gh ys clse coer saa rire 0 a a 118 MITOT EVV AVICRINGE TINO Ce anes Ae est chet el oN Lh aa 118 MERU UNAS CECUS Houiny WYMEE AES Gat bulee nde CRIM ae ist nes aie vom, aura 119 DURES is rers RECON (tui aa hill Oto Miter on yeas, al oa ort 120 RAE ee ELECT BD Aa Wc ie Bere enna dul Mihai: Mire tan erent Tea 120 RARE OR arr ei ios Ny WE RAY BOP RT PULL GL aah ae Ot: He Neh Fl 120 REIL AN DGS hee a pele AN Vee Weare OM She as oO 121 LMP ORB LM NOTHING ( sk De Val eee G Wien ube tte piaa 121 eee PLOW CEO. CHIN OR Mute VeAnc ik Su dua sure ck tin toe et 121 PHA HIS LING wie sa VERON y hie seu ioe Atopic Wp Uk: Shey 121 PC ORESGEL OCHETHER, Cy aea et talk We lin moive nT tin ity se eee ie 121 Peete aris MIOMING LM sel UNI Lata fd pie tetera ed A tial a baits j eke: Re TER OM a ceri i tansisrntaeuss ato Une? fa.) 5 AN eae 122 Paige Tee A REIN CEN Us pote yc ibace Pune apa iuiuhe (hese sat und Sid tiya as weil Frag SFE OM ICING | THIEN Peach POEs wedi cars wing ee en 123 RUE MINEY eb REL ISns yim eaten toe intel doit alts ig love Stans 123 OLEATE TENG Wait acs te Rte EEC Linke mate! Aen ame ag GA 123 BOPEREIOVA LAN NV ONE Hues Fede cued Wi vate Bruty erg Ut AL lett ter uaa 123 MERSONAL A VV OG B+ ERRIOUUD gin te year bea a Rule vie es 124 PERSONAL, WORK—-HEAR ING Oia ke ee kee eee ede 124 PeReONATAW ORE-—PERSISTENT. (cht cselr sick peice ed abae ee 124 RICE AMD DONC AAU te nsociv tela Mle Weer ote MLL petty tytn 125 Sper OOM y LN? GORD AUB OS Sh gl See a 125 en reICOR TCA Ah CLA Mike yo eh oe Sy is 125 I EEA UNDIAN CUS Sitio iitg, Okie tick. Buy cbos a hig kal ota a lesa 125 SSW PET UR IOTES hy vac MTR eIe Jew Cask ew Give wie dasote 126 SIPREY 1G PPO OW Fa Paste MbayaN a ee Ss Umea tho oe REL 126 RST Chem OPrETCraLa DS Wn Wives eG DL ts daha eae g ea Sa 126 MVC eri A RO mons Miwon Malek tM Cle 2 stag bal pie ere ae 126 SELON AUT pad LOT EEL Ga 89 NEC Sb Gh i NED hk ea E27 BER VICI AT RMA DNESS OPT a oul oie Sb OUU Rae 127 PROC Hiren (OL bine SUP ae aon moe ky) Oka ACs INS ean 127 SERVICE I NTPC EIGHIP RG oor ye ECS 5 he'd ooa Sis be whe Siege att ete bate 127 XXVill SUBJECT INDEX PAGE HR VICE-—UNSELFISHA2). Urs Pau ined mecee Tes S1c. 5 Seams BPW OH SORVICE—-“UNSBEPISH 200) WN ae eye ney Mata , 128 MORRO W+—DANCTIBIED | L VEN c ea Oh ietene ek bik a eee 128 SOULS-+HAND-PICKED Weis Eee Gs oa ce sols ese ee 129 S¥MPATHY—- WISH uci au ua OA eg cos) 129 TIME REDEEM THEI 2 4/0 Cube chs leas teen a in Reinge's 6a eae! eee 129 Warartidip, You Wo nye Fea ey ean Oe 2 0a\ ss be 130 W-ANDERER--OREKING (THEY oih vils ieeisetele osu nee a» eae 130 WINNING} DOULS isto serena Ns a Lith, to ci)» ols lars ee 130 WORK-—PLENTY OFF aah eee L cee oe oo 2 aa 131 PRAYER GUIDANGE==DIVINE i: id!.coo Seen nei eh bal ol 05 aaa 131 INSPIRATION GIVEN hc} ii yen cies enc. 100 ean eee 131 PRACTICE PE RAVER “20 Liha We vies Mn eran okie nek 2 ak eee 131 PRAvo= lia Ge AUS ito tie yt Cea ee eae ted o> ata ae 131 BRA WY old) d ss Arce Lars Re a a Reg ee 132 IPRA ER AND. (EAV SS 0 ye SAR aR eon ee md hE tat nea ean 132 PRAVERGAIND (PRACTICW wo sun pecs eee eats a, Dee 132 TAR AG ER ANDRA TSE ME NK: Oe et mre ee atone mm Tur et te ae 133 PRAYER AND AREVIVALS (00 002 eo oe ne eh er asad 2 ee 133 PRAVERVAUK EY ora: POT UBL Aes MenrktP Sev kine ee Gee Mein er 134 PRAVERCANSWERED Vili ci mns ake Wie feria ha Sr 134 PRAYER DTATION: £0 /.50104,\05 toe Mao arene vena et tn 134 PRAVER—-AI ‘CONSTANT (PRIVILEGE Muli. on oes Ane a 134 IPRA VER-SCHILD'S 0) ater) 0 Sere er aN hata rst ne (eee 134 PRAVER— CHTUD So Vale iit Oho Wann ie aes aa biel Cet ey PRAVER+- CHILD SOA VINGINw. Gly ye Aa nets Onlslg gue eee 135 PRAYER—COMMUNION IN....... SUR ale ahd ee POA STR RR OES aa at ae 135 PRAYER COUNTERMANDING U4) siiueiione Gaile ine, eee 136 PRAYERS TOATTHUING G72 0s lta ta ene, ott een eee On ae aa 136 PRAYER PEAR OR och 0" SCN a een ttt ar 136 PRAYER—FORGIVING....... shen Py % ope bold Seagal oe AN als Se 136 PRAVYER=AZOD SiPOWER IN y 15 tte pmeen ieee ait ear te 137 PRAY RR -“LINCOLN'S 201.130 se. ee een nae ae) ee 137 DRA VaR CIVLOTHER'S 21.75 \ 1) we 5) ye ae Met ANTS ok ahs oa te 137 PRAVERIORAMNEIDE LY 7. shy ey iataia shy arate Ri ale anda a aeaeae 137 PRAM RT REVENGE SIN, yc Gitta: hese iy ote rn LS «aoe ne 138 PRAYER Re HO WER! OR, |... oh unm ai ee eh ball Ce ier . 138 PRAY Re REV ATLING ©2105 Wale ole es rabince got ane Gititty ee ee 138 PRAYER OR CURIDY EIN «ler \ bal ielanler sai See ee ale ee 139 PRAYERO- UNANSWERED. \j2ia lb ahiely a td dine ol neuiaa re) ene 130 PRAVER-UNGBASING)) 17 Sy. dsc > pp pedis wo (on lan ee 139 PRAVER=-=WARMTHAOR Yoel c gat sndnca waa cnet op cet ah ae .- 140 PRAVERS-y-HATHER Bc F foley et ebeomaaeecs tise Ate 140 PRAVERS—INSINGERE 24/99 syians o'e okelewie twee beeaet ie ee . 140 PRAYERS, REGISTBRED IN FIEAVEN |), in). 9 eis a'd niagara ae ee 296 SATAN ANTI-CHRISTS-DICTURE OF. lec) 00 0) Una nema 296 PROSTATEG Aree ream Stal st sty Gh a b's di aioel dea ein an Na 296 SUBJECT INDEX MRM MEOR LIS AYIOTISUINATICS 2575), bios die o ehdvecbn Waa eee REE aera CTeONT Es LAR ee kik oie 4 soko Be BREE UA aS UTTA TITRE TO 5 is ol Ye ho a ble oh GOO OA PE LeA CMI OPUTHE 2 ci As eh kdl bale ok Dae ee SELF CONSULTING THE) ARCHITROT Ss. boys ne boise iy des te Ak a 5p Og URS CORTE ig hai ee Aa et BLP PRET Teas fac nets Le Mi vec Am SIN TU SUPP CTR aa Gen ace tive ate th aby Ny Ss Tg patent = O50 TUL ASS PN co ahs OR Re XXXII SUBJECT INDEX PAGE SINMIN ‘CONTROG Uno relnnuo en irr a ed hea, tabi a 309 Sin Not FoRSAKEN........ RPE APOE GOR Cn Ee 309 SIN, OF COVETOUSNESS. Woman tia ivy ee i.e ahe cc i alot ee 309 DIN. REVEALED (dite th ts etree sy ate otk 309 Sin- AGE NoiCoRE FORT Ga Fae nee ie ius. ab a ene 309 DIN-—DANISHING) . hee) arya Al hyae nso. oe 310 DIN— BONDS LORY SUI Se vaio ieiared 5 sista ena 310 DIN--BREAKINGUW ITH Gh fal yn Cau, Ut 4/2 eas tas 6 310 DIN-7TBURDENIOR YAY ea menu fetid) 10) 5). Cae 310 SIN OAL INO Rau fe tinene gue file ei atau ane MLE ae ene 311 DINA CLASSTEVENG pabh ave annie petal aes Ls oily 2 «6 ee a 311 DINGS AGONBESSING! OTHERS (20 V/uin Myson i fed a hie ne 311 SEN CONE ESSION OREN rE Lie MONE Ay delay Geena te bean Epa DINe MOO MER ED oii Aiatiy Ou ON PEE Goi Bal eo 2s ee Oe ae GIN- -WOVERED So to bay, Sore Gn Onn ai gy ee 312 EN SERTLEMIEN TOR. co. Gi ah siti a eaten Lae hace Or 313 PN LO EMINITION ORG Vit uit chs asm ere etnp te ramiess eth, Sie ate ee 313 PEM OE LU SIONS: OF Ueistity nite it ets tide omy ety aetna 2 ae 313 veh ret W220 Sa) Rd Wi br a a ch eR RS NR PI 352 SIN LJ HOPRUCTION (ORS cgay Suk oie ae) oie ee alana 314 SINS LWESTRUCTIVE sti oash att Was Aci the enDnegts el hes, eee 314 DINE NTANGLEMENTS/OPL but.) alt Merritt oi. at 4 ok cou DENTE REEDOM MEROM Wena e any Ab UiNaa kame otter ata sh 315 SIN--GRIP* ORR Maar ee tatea a) Alte aay UN yo 315 DIN——KILLING CAUSE JOR Nee A view siiiatn pins. nie te au ee 316 SINT LURE OR ie iri ane ego COLE MUM Ti. 6. a Or 316 SENS DUAYVING VY ITH MOU Ch CF WN Un uly pet 316 DING POISON LOR UNG (HM a citi atin terol ey, Wal tegen aap, er NS) 317 DINE RRIZE lOR Mires ie Miah Lent ara Cy het aa sae 0 ae Bay | DIN ORE VEALED a) Bid, t hot tten Oke he ets ieee Ne ng see 317 BINT -REVEALED ai) 2 iin We a ills SAL gl ane 318 DIN HR EVELATION/ OR bt. rh Ae aha chee Oko ee ce 318 DOIN -DEGORET wlieM ett. cuties AR ee nb bes a 318 SLI eC ORG yet Uitte iat oN Zale e, Aare Ot UL 319 BINS SLAVERY CORY cr tattyciic ld alee a apes ee airs eer 319 BOER eR TING LORS gre) Lay Ben OY AO ae oth 319 SIN POMBO ORs Co oh Hct UN Reg te ae ee a 320 SINT RAGED Y MOM GUA ci cum i UCU Were bys 7) 320 DIN WAGRSIOR ME OTe an Sek oe ec 320 PINT IVAGES ORY. il) Meola) Mas bit 320 DUN ar WAGES! OBI ito teats etsy so aly 0 ua cue's 2 6c Sak rr 321 DINFUL ARENT Som Aare i Lo lhe iG ee 321 SINBUDIOILENCE vel re Pe ld i ed ae aa te 322 SENN ER LA GK AINA ins /i!y 0 5 in bn on lobe kt ete a 322 DINNER OR ayAgN ie cute 00.0. aa te. Oy ne a2" SUBJECT INDEX eS TS CSS SE CE VO Ve EO Pe OEP ele ees & Se » Kt A ee Be ee ee ee ee, ee ee a ee ee a Pg ST en Ff | SE 8 FF eS SO CLE Oe SE CMEC Ae 8 See Be es eee eee 9S Eee ke Eee & SS OE De WO, Oh BAe ee Oe Oe ee) er eee en SINS—FORGOTTEN eRe eT LISINIEN a Aa Sty OF has oe vg te bin 8 eae dc pe ee Ont i LTTE rite tede ti ee UE et Ae ee CAT TEI Ae Mie cS oe Le er SOS CM) Be) & SP else ew C8) 6 6 P'S STE oh SVE Te ae a wee hele eee sk Re RAT PU ve ee Tt ey et a ee a ee er ee ee i ee A eT ee ee Os vk po we ae ee ee Se. Cee & LOO Om a 6, el ce a) ed. 6 he 36 © +068) © eS, et la eth Las SOUL—ITS VALUE LIFE’s JOURNEY—PREPARING FOR...........eeceeceees ba ANS OR CN ai) Uc URE Aa Ee eeto 2 bie .a a lla, J) See a eR ITS STIS Hats ee a ets ke he PR SC eae tk Oa A LIL OA UNG oes. Ritts L Gieige gate hak eek ie, PUL VV COE T HCE hs oe eh Te Le niaae Pare ee trae lat tah Pa OPPORTUMITIES-—LAZINESS“AND © 2 uo eR Oe el ee. SON Leh af Ros MORE ORAM fami BOR Tee BRE SNL oP ane RN ee SS Delt ea ganar nt a a Bea Bo Role © CR Senet PRI Us Errors NG TIC PETIOR tee fe a int hare Tae Wig CS MLM a the tetas tile Deemer AEA TING AY te sebd Mri a iy Sah) ae eI at 18g Ot Ge LGNORANCELOR «oli scat coh hs eat GN ET eh IS SouL—PuRCHASED Pee eS Ce Se Oe wees 16 6 ew PSPS LO Er Or 6 Ore" Si 8 @ 8. 1S TEMPTATION Pil 1 JRLIVERANOT ECROM yw ce wc evs «eld Cdiele eek Piet Cyt LID wet UAT gE ee oe Oe a XXXIV SUBJECT INDEX PAGE ‘TEMPTATION*—HSCAPHD HO ROM wily ls aonb ss cul. cee cent 213 (DEMPTATION—~Y TELDINGWTOs eins ou ee orale Beet ee 214 LEMPTATIONS—-REMOVING cyte. UuitPolds woke uae co ae 214 WATCHFULNESS—DUTY OF......... PV RR Bee} wf VISION ATTENTION—-CONGENTRATED go. aie stiaolas cc. vie 214 (Ross LIGHT OREN Gi ues irene 215 HDUCATIONSAMARKS OF SUM iin yee Se 215 JESUSA+LOORINGUTO TREE eon ualh tcl) ile 209 oa 215 (PRSUG OM Orono vat Cec ueim avn alr ihe A cali is y e 215 COU rs Naas aA PML Tir NS PLEA Bebo 216 ROL ir to LEBEING Onis mie fun Weta OM A) ioe eee 216 DiGHPINAUARICOW ORED Syl eid Ube nO CEM MES hen 217 PAOGICTINGNCL acy ce Wome nd oY OCGA ty cn ni VY er 217 PEEING MOA RICL isk vucd iis FL wei Jie ivernals RUnmiN Caos A Sa 217 DLGH Der LIVIN Ray Seer lr wane sin usu ee Runs CIPI hee ae ae Be DIVE ROOMUNGHH Une tr Ui site's Recwile Ui Iie Ra un) WORE lea a eee WHSTON: TINDER BD ava em ein hie) Mi) oe Seen Rae 219 MESTON/ OR THE KCIN GION: aati yale da iia ehsiorw: geil ete 219 WITNESSES CANNIBAL TONGUESH iene wu Sey clas) ae 219 CHURCH MEMBERS IDEAL fos by oe hep ree 219 RUINGUS REBUGEHS a iy. agu huts taistouis ocelot aa 219 OARS OR ALLONOR oud Misnny duly Palau a). uid Side en 220 BILENGE CRIMINAL ued hie oa tu crnlle pte 220 SIMPLICITY SWHINS besa) i kaingis tiiiae ce Cau lee eee 221 SPEECH DLOM OR Mal chutney play Law ace (hs a 221 (DESTIMONY “BEST Vsti haere uk nnn foie 2 eee 221 LESTIMONY HP REOTIVE ue cu a, cid does ee ee 222 DESTIMONY: FP BARLBSS cif) cide Aik 1 At ee ee 222 MBB TIMONY LOST yl) MY A ena eae ae 223 IDE STIMONW LAIN @ 1s Jyh aca abe Okc See ata gn 223 PESTIMONY, REPEATED 04 vat sieht ee ne Bo ek Oe a 223 Sie PUMON Ye VALUE OF m2 wiih ig ame aah Male ike Sey 223 VIGOR AUSAVING fd cil yi cr etre ha uk Ne Cui o0 a 224 WITT NESS AMCOOD AGU hla fede see ecr PM ea 225 WIPES Sse ui MUL MLNS eet moe Lt TR Co cr 225 WTI NESSRSSSNATHHRUE) O.Abe ld iw byw ov) ct ce 225 WITNESSES TANDING (iia bin oe sales Stile A 225 WITNESSES RUNLETTERED 4.7), 400005 (hd ee 226 1001 ILLUSTRATIONS FOR PULPIT AND PLATFORM 1001 ILLUSTRATIONS FOR PULPIT AND PLATFORM ATONEMENT Atonement—Accepted There is a legend that on that night of the Exodus a young Jewish maiden—the ffirst-born of the family—was so troubled on her sick- bed that she could not sleep. “Father,” she anxiously inquired, “are you sure that the blood is there?” He replied that he had ordered it to be sprinkled on the lintel. The restless girl will not be satisfied until her father has taken her up and carried her to the door to see for herself; and lo! the blood is not there! neglected, and before midnight the father makes haste to put on his door the sacred token of protection. The legend may be false; but it teaches a very weighty and solemn admonition to every sinful soul who may be near eternity and is not yet sheltered under the Atonement of Jesus Christ—Cuyler. I. Atonement a Cleansing Foun- tain The fact that there is no water in Argentina with which wool can be washed clean has tended to in- crease trade with the United States, which is sending to the Argentine huge quantities of yarns made from dirty wool shipped to the United States. There is some property in the water in the Argentine Republic which prevents the cleansing of wool, all of which must be shipped 2. The order had been: 37 to England or North America. This entails the payment of an export tax on the wool and an import tax on the yarns. Chemists say there is only one river in Argentina whose waters could be used to wash wool clean enough for manufacture into cloth. This river is a small stream in the north, too far from transpor- tation facilities to be of use. When I read this interesting news dispatch from Buenos Aires I thought of Wil- liam Cowper’s famous hymn: “There is a fountain filled with blood, Drawn from Immanuel’s veins; And sinners plunged beneath that flood, Lose all their guilty stains.” And I thank God with rejoicing that I can make the third verse my own: “E’er since, by faith, I saw the stream Thy flowing wounds supply, Redeeming love has been my theme, And shall be, till I die.” 3. Atonement—Despising A brilliant lawyer in New York City sometime ago spoke to a promi- nent minister of that city asking him if he really believed that Christ rose from the dead. The minister replied that he did, and asked the privilege of presenting the proof to the lawyer. The lawyer took the material offered in proof away and 38 ATONEMENT studied it. He returned to the min- ister and said, “I am convinced that Jesus really did rise from the dead. But—”’ he then added, “I am no nearer being a Christian than I was before. I thought the difficulty was with my head. I find that it is really with my heart.” The sin that rejects Jesus when we are con- vinced that He is ali He claimed to be is the sin for which there is no forgiveness. No atonement has been made for the man who despises the atonement that has _ been wrought out at so great a cost. 4. Atonement Necessary We are reminded by Rev. Dr. Charles R. Brown that the minister who ignores the atonement loses his message and his ministry ceases to be fruitful. When Lady Macbeth walked the floor at midnight, her eyes wide open but her senses shut, she suf- fered from a deep sense of guilt. She washes her hands as though frantic to remove a stain and in anguish cries, “Out damned spot! Out I say! Will these hands never more be clean! They smell of blood still.” And her husband sharing her guilt cries to his physician: “Canst thou not minister to a mind diseased ; Pluck from my memory a rooted sorrow ; Cleanse the stuffed bosom of that perilous stuff Which weights upon the heart?” To this the wise doctor replies: “Therein the patient must minister to himself.” More needs he the divine, than the physician. The great dramatist drew this pic- ture with a steady hand. Some plan, super-human, was needed to lift such a burden from a human soul. The soul of man, conscious of guilt, cries out for REDEMPTION. It cannot be satisfied with anything less. 5. Atoning Love What is the atonement? That Christ gave God the right to be compassionate? That he came down to this world, and made a bar- gain, and agreed that he would suffer so much if God afterwards would exercise compassion and leniency towards men? Away with your shop logic! Away with your commercial theories! Go down among the moles and bats, and grope with such detestable notions of truth as that by agreement Christ came among men to suffer and give God a chance to be gracious! Over all these heresies of hell I lift up the glorious words, “God so loved the world that he gave his Son.” Love before Christ came was the bow which sent that silver arrow into the world.—H. W. Beecher. 6. Blood—Purchased by In the reign of the Emperor Yang Lo a great bell tower was built in Peking. The Emperor ordered the mandarin Kuan Yu to cast a bell to be hung in the tower to remind the people daily of their loyalty to him. With great care the mandarin gathered the materials and made a casting, but it proved to be a failure. The second attempt ended likewise. Then the Emperor in wrath com- manded Yang Lo to make another trial under penalty of death if he failed. Ko-ai, the beautiful daughter of the mandarin, asked an astrologer by what means the suc- cess of the casting could be assured. “Only by mingling the blood of a maiden with the molten metal,” was his reply. Ko-ai was present at the casting. And when the fiery stream was turned into the mould she ran forward, and crying, “For my father,” leaped into the stream. The casting this time was successful. ATONEMENT 39 The bell was perfect. She had pur- chased it with her blood. When the great Church Bell of the ages was cast, Jesus mingled his person in its composition and thus “purchased it with his blood.” 7. Christ—Necessity of The Sailors’ Home, in Liverpool, was once on fire in the dead of the night, and a great cry of “Fire!” was raised. When the people as- sembled they saw in the upper stories some men crying for help. The fire escape did not nearly reach where the men were. A long ladder was brought and put against the burning building; but it was too short. A British sailor in the crowd, seeing the state of affairs, is said to have rushed up the ladder, balanced him- self on the uppermost round with his foot, and seized the window- sill with his hands, saying: “Quick, men, scramble over my body, on the ladder, and down you go.” One by one the men came down until all were saved, and then the sailor came down, his face burnt, his hair singed, and his fingers blistered; but he had saved the men. That ladder went a long way; but before the men could be saved it needed the length of a man. Your franchise, your land reform, your temperance reform, go a long way, but for the uplifting of men, to give men that peace of mind that passeth knowledge, they need the length of a man—the man Christ Jesus whom we _ preach.—Charles Leach. 8. Christ Our Substitute After the victory of Areole the indefatigable Bonaparte passed through the camp during the night. He had found a sentinel who had fallen asleep; raising his gun gently and without waking the soldier he took the duty, till about the time the watch would be relieved. At last the soldier woke. Imagine his alarm when he saw his general performing his duty. He cried out, “Bonaparte! I am a lost man.” Bonaparte answered “Be at peace; the secret is mine; and it is excusable when a brave soldier like thyself, after so much fatigue, should fall asleep; only another time choose a more fit- ting moment.”—C. Lacretelle’s His- toire de la Revolution Francaise. 9. Cross a Refuge Sir A. Conan Doyle, in his history of the Boer War, tells us how on one occasion a comparatively small detachment of the British atmy was surprised by a force of the enemy twice its own strength. The Brit- ish were driven back upon their camp, and the Boers occupied a com- manding position from which they were enabled to pour volley after volley into the English lines. The British wounded in the earlier part of the acticn found themselves in a terrible position, laid out in the open under a withering fire. One of this number, a corporal in the Ceylon Mounted Infantry, tells the story himself: “We must get up a red flag or we shall be blown from the face of the earth.” He says, “We had a pillow but no red paint. Then we saw what to do instead. So they made an upright with my blood and the horizontal with Paul’s.” This grim flag, the blood red cross upon the white background, was respected by the Boers. Those lying beneath it were safe. Even so—beneath the blood stained Cross of Christ we find our sure refuge. ro. Crucified with Christ On July ist, 1555, John Bradford was burned to death. He was chap- lain to King Edward Sixth of Eng- land, and was one of the most popu- lar preachers of his day. But he was a martyr to his faith, As he was being driven out to Newgate to be burned, permission was given him to speak, and from the wagon in which he rode to his death the entire way 40 ATONEMENT out from West London to Newgate he shouted: “Christ, Christ, none but Christ!” John Bradford was feel- ing very much as Paul must have. felt. Only with Paul, it was not the outburst of a spasmodic elation, but the expression of a life habit. “I am crucified with Christ; neverthe- less I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me, and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”’— James I. Vance. iz. Redeemed by Christ Christ hath “redeemed” us from the curse. Redeemed! We know the meaning of the word, to ransom or buy back again. You are in straitened financial circumstances, let us say, and must have a certain sum of money at once. The pawnshop is your only hope. And yet you have nothing to hypothecate except some- thing which in a sense is not yours —a precious ring, an heirloom which must be handed down to another generation. But you have a friend who understands your circumstances and sympathizes in your distress. He enters the pawnshop at the moment and places upon the counter the sum which has been given you for the ring. He redeems, he buys it back again. Now there is not one of us who has not pawned his soul to Satan, or sin, as you may choose to have it. It was not ours to pawn, but pawned it we have for all that. But there is “a Friend who sticketh closer than a brother,” who knows all about our circumstances, and sympathizes with us in our distress. At the critical moment He has appeared and laid down the price of our redemption. It is not cor- ruptible things such as: silver and gold He has paid, but His own precious blood “as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Peter 1: 18, 19).—James M. Gray. I2. Sacrifice Appreciated An armless soldier was walking along one of the streets in Dublin, when an old lady espied him. See- ing his armiess sleeve, and noting his head was bandaged, she went up to him, and wiih tears in her eyes, she said, “Thank you for being wounded for me.” ‘The soldier im- mediately saluted and _ replied, “Thank you, madam, for your appreciation.” The words of the appreciating lady remind us of our Lord, who was “wounded for our transgres- sion” (Isa. 53: 5). The word “wounded” means to bore, to tor- ment (margin), and to slay. He was bored to his soul, and torn in his spirit, as he was slain for our sins. The sufferings of his body were but the outward expression of the sufferings of his soul. The sufferings of his soul were the soul of his sufferings. No one can tell how much he suffered. His un- known sufferings are beyond human ken. He died for me, he tasted death, Its woe and all its hell; How much he suffered when he died No human voice can tell. As the soldier appreciated the ap- preciation of the one who thanked him, so our Lord appreciates our thanksgiving and praise. He died for me, for me he died, Oh, let me say it more; For me he died, he died for me, My soul doth him adore. r3. Salvation by Sacrifice In the early days of the French in Canada, those living at Quebec heard that the Iroquois were coming down the St. Lawrence, twelve hundred strong. If they reached the settle- ments they would burn the houses, and destroy the crops even if those who gained the Fort were secure. They must not reach Quebec. So BELIEVER’S SECURITY 41 Daulac with sixteen followers volun- teered to go up the river and meet them, and turn them back. On the way they were joined by forty-four Hurons and coming to the foot of a rapid which the Iroquois must descend, they built a little fort of stakes and stones and awaited the foe. And he came twelve hundred strong and hurled attack after attack against the little citadel. But those behind were fighting off the enemy for country and for life. They beat off the enemy for days and days. But the water was exhausted and their parched throats refused to swallow the dry corn. But there was no thought of surrender and so the fight went on. But the task was too unequal even for men such as they and they were at last slain. But the Iroquois had learned to fear Frenchmen so that they never went on to Quebec. The seventeen brave Frenchmen had saved their country- men’s lives by laying down their own. 14. Substitution Some years ago a war raged in India between the English and a native monarch, Tippoo Saib. On one occasion several English officers were taken prisoners, among them one named Baird. One day a native officer brought in fetters to be put on each of the prisoners, the wounded not excepted. Baird had been severely wounded, and was suf- fering from pain and weakness. A grey-haired officer said to the native official, “You do not think of put- ting chains upon that wounded young man?” “There are just as many pairs of fetters as there are captives,” was the answer, “and every pair must be worn.” “Then,” said the officer, “put two pairs on me; I will wear his as well as my own.” Baird lived to regain his freedom, lived to take that very city, but the generous friend died in prison.—Gray. BELIEVER’S SECURITY I5. Appearances—Deceptive It is written in one of the East- ern legends that somewhere in the deserts of Arabia there stood a mass of jagged rock, the surface of which was seamed and scarred by the ele- ments; but whenever any one came to the rock in the right way he saw a door shape itself in the sides of the barren stone, through which he could enter in and find a store of rich and precious treasures which he could carry away with him. There are some things in God’s universe that seem as barren and unattractive as bare and fissured rocks, but which contain an inwardness of warmth and sweetness inconceivable. The inner holies of God are fast con- cealed from those who will not come aright, with a heart of love and trust, but open to all who are willing to see and to hear.—Christian Age. 16. Assurance—God’s I remember, many years ago, a little boy on a trundle bed, having just retired for the night. Before going to sleep, he turned in the direc- tion of the large bed on which his father lay, and said, “Father, are you there?” and the answer came back, “Yes, my son.” I remember that that boy turned over and went to sleep without a thought of harm. Tonight that little boy is an old man of seventy, and every night before going to sleep he looks up into the face of his Heavenly Father, and says, “Father, are you there?” and the answer comes back, “Yes, my son.” And then he asks in childish faith, “Will you take care of me to- night?” and the answer comes back, clear and strong, “Yes, my _ son.” Whom need we fear, if God our Father be with us?—Henry Clay Trumbull. 17. Assurance—Ground of When Antigonus was ready to en- 42 BELIEVER’S SECURITY gage in a sea-fight with Ptolemy's armada, the pilot cried out, “How many they are more than we!” “’Tis true,” said the courageous king, “if you count their numbers, they sur- pass us; but for how many do you value me?” And so the ground of our assurance rests not in ourselves, or anything that is ours—if it did it would be presumption—it rests in Christ and what He has done.—B. 18. Assurance, Lost and Found The Bishop of Exeter in -the course of a conversation mentioned that, many years since, while walk- ing by a river he lost his watch and chain, which he supposed had been pulled from his pocket by the bough of a tree. Some time afterwards, when staying in the same neighbor- hood, he took a stroll by the side of the river and came to the secluded spot where he had lost his valuables, and there, to his surprise and delight, he found them. So with Christians who have lost their first love. They have only to retrace their steps like Bunyan’s pilgrim when he had slept in the bowers of ease. Assurance comes again, as it came at first by prayer, and penitence, by diligent and conscientious search for it Godward and Christward.—B. 19. Bolted to the Rudder As our ship crossed the Indian Ocean I often wondered as to the use of a large steel fin which was lashed to the after-deck. When we reached Suez and headed into the canal, my curiosity was satisfied. Just before the channel narrowed the ship stopped, a boat was lowered and floated under the stern while the sailors on deck lowered the fin by means of block and tackle. In a few minutes it was in place and securely bolted to the rudder. As the ship proceeded its use became clear. The Suez Canal averages about a hundred yards in width. Because of the danger of undermining the banks by the wash of the propellers, the engines are slowed down to about five knots an hour. With the ordinary rudder a large ship cannot be managed at so slow a speed in such narrow quarters. However, with the rudder enlarged to several times its normal size, this becomes possible. Some Christians wonder why they are not more clearly guided. God is doing the best he can at the speed they are making. The slower they move the more difficul: the guidance. A rudder is useless when a ship stands still. 20. Burden-Bearer God is near, is present, in helpful- ness, for those who try to serve and trust him. Do you remember the story of that tiny motherless girl, born without sight, and left soon after birth, to the care of a sturdy young father? The war came, and the young man enlisted. He found a home in which the little girl could be placed, packed up her poor possessions in a bundle, and made ready to take her to the selected place. A rainy day, with a stormy wind blowing, the two walk hand-in-hand down the hall of their own humble home to the doorway. Then out into the street. The arms of the father reach down and lift the tiny girl, the bundle is placed in her hands, and he says through his sobs: “It’s a bad day, dear. You carry this, and I'll carry you!” 2r. Care—God’s “Do you suppose,” said Johnny, as his little cousin laid away her largest rosiest apple for a sick girl, “that God cares about such little things as we do? He is too busy taking care of the big folks to notice wu. much.” Winnie shook her head and pointed to mamma, who had just lifted the baby from the crib. “Do BELIEVER’S SECURITY 43 you think,’ said Winnie, ‘that mamma is so busy with the big folks that she forgets the baby? She thinks of the baby first, ‘cause he’s the littlest. Surely God knows how to love as well as mother.’— Selected. 22. Comfort—Warren Hastings’ It is related that Warren Hastings, Viceroy of India, when on. trial before Parliament, for High Crimes and Misdemeanors and Malfeasance in office, passed through that har- rowing and momentous experience without any visible mental perturb- ance or unrest, notwithstanding the tremendous issues at stake, and the torrents of denunciation poured from the eloquent lips of his great antagonist. When a _ sympathizing friend came to him to commiserate with him, and expressed his sur- prise at the amazing equanimity with which he endured it all, Mr. Hast- ings calmly pressed a secret spring in a massive gold ring he wore. It flew open, and the friend read engraven there, “And this, too, must Have an send.) “That,”..said, Mr. Hastings, “is the panacea for all my woes, the consciousness that all things earthly have an end.” It is true, trials and triumphs, sorrows and rejoicings, all have a common fate and find here an end. Why fret? 23. Enemy—Kept From Bishop Gobat, while laboring among the wild tribes of the Druses, was one day invited by the chief to visit him. Now he long had desired to gain some influence over this man, and was eager to accept the invita- tion. But he was ill when the invi- tation came, and was obliged to decline. When the invitation was repeated he was again unable to accept. A third came, and he set out with a guide to go to the home of the chief. But the guide first lost his way, and soon after he had found it a hyena crossed his path and the superstitious man would go no farther. Thus hindered, the bishop was obliged to forego the visit, for the next day he sailed for Malta. Some time later he learned that by these means he had been hindered from falling into the hands of enemies who purposed murder- ing him. The treacherous chief him- self acknowledged, “That man must be the servant of God; for though I sent messenger after messenger to bring him, he was always hindered.” —Selected. 24. Fear—Lacking Cesar was absolutely fearless. At seventeen, flying from Sylla, he was captured by pirates. They fixed his ransom at twenty talents. “It is too little, you shall have fifty, but once free, I will crucify every one of you,” he said. And he did. At Rome, when he heard of plots to assassi- nate him, he proudly dismissed his guards and walked the streets alone and unarmed. 25. Fear Removed A little boy was detained in a country home one stormy night by some fascinating stories that were being ‘told. Finally he went to the door to start home, but it was so dark he was afraid to go. He asked his associates to go with him, but they too were afraid of the storm. It grew later and he cried, saying, “Oh, I wish I were home!” Pres- ently he brushed back his tears and opened the door as if he would brave the storm, but a flash of blinding lightning and a deafening roar of thunder frightened him back. In a few minutes he went to the window and, looking toward home, his tears dried away and he turned with a smile and said, “Now, I ain’t afraid to go home.” His friends said, “But it is dark out and still raining.” To this he replied, “I ain’t afraid of the dark now an’ I AA BELIEVER’S SECURITY ain’t afraid of the thunder an’ the rain, ’cause I see a lantern comin’ an’ it’s my big brother comin’ after me. I ain’t afraid o’ no storm when he holds my hand an’ carries a light, for he knows the way home an’ nothin’ can hurt me when my big brother walks with me.” With glad- ness of heart he joined his elder brother, who held his little hand and he was soon safe home, where a prepared supper and anxious loved ones awaited his coming—O. A. Newlin. 26. God’s Comforting Presence When Dr. David Livingstone re- turned to Scotland after an absence of sixteen years in Africa, the Uni- versity of Glasgow desired to honor him by conferring on him the degree of Doctor of Laws. On such occa- sions candidates for honorary degrees usually expect an embarrass- ing reception at the hands of the young collegians who are present in full force, bubbling over with boyish fun. But when Dr. Livingstone ap- peared on the platform they received him with silent respect and rever- ence. He was gaunt and weary from exposure to sixteen years of African sun and twenty-seven attacks of African fever; one arm, having been rendered useless by the bite of a lion, hung helpless by his side. There stood a real hero who had fought many a battle for humanity, and his presence inspired a feeling of awe in the minds of all present. He told them that he was going back to Africa, partly to open new fields for British commerce, partly to suppress the African slave trade, and partly to open the way for the preaching of the gospel. But the sentiment which stirred all hearts most was this: “Shall I tell you what supported me through all these years of exile among a people whose lan- guage I could not understand, and whose attitude toward me _ was always uncertain and often hostile? It was this, ‘Lo, I am with you always even unto the end of the | world.’ ” 27. God’s Protection My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions’ mouths, and they have not hurt me. Dan. 6: 22. A young man was out in the Maine woods taking photographs of attractive bits of scenery. He came upon the mouth of a little cavern be- tween the rocks, and he thought, “I will see what sort of a picture I can get out of that cave,” and as it was a little late in the day, he decided to take a “time exposure” instead of a “snapshot.” Steadying the camera upon his knee as well as he could at the edge of the cave, he gave the sensitive plate a long, de- liberate look at the semi-darkness within, then continued on his way through the woods, and, after many hours, returned to his home. Several weeks afterward, on developing his picture, in the very center of the cavern, with arched back and bristly fur, and within springing distance of the spot where he had laboriously balanced his camera, was a huge Canadian lynx, that might have easily torn his eyes out and have destroyed his life. And yet, he came and went and saw no signs of danger. We walk in the midst of physical perils every day of our lives. We walk in the midst of moral perils more dangerous yet. How splendid the promise, “He that keepeth thee will neither slumber nor sleep.”— The Lutheran. 28. Our Assurance Were you ever at sea in a storm, when the ship reeled to and fro like a drunken man, and struggling, as for life in the arms of death, now rose to the top of the billow, and now plunged into the trough of the sea? Partially infected with others’ terror, did you ever leave shrieking BELIEVER’S SECURITY 45 women and pale men below, to seek the deck and look your danger bravely in the face? In such cir- cumstances I know nothing so reas- suring as . . . the calm con- fidence that sits on the brow of that weather-beaten man who with iron strength leans upon the wheel and steers our ship through the roaring billows. Such, only much higher, is the confidence we draw from the confidence of God, as expressed in the words, “I have spoken, and I will do it.’—Guthrie. 29. Secure Foundation There used to be a huge old bridge, one of the covered kind, over the Connecticut River at Northamp- ton. Boys used it often. When they went for a tramp to Hadley, they crossed it; when they started for a swim, they slid down its embattle- ments and dove into the darkness beneath its floor; when the floods of spring came roaring down the valley and all the world went wild, they poked their heads out from its slits of windows and watched the logs go dancing down. Well, one day there came on a frightful storm, the lightning flashed, the thunder roared, and the wind howled, blustered, threatened: the whole huddle rushed to cover under the roof of the bridge. They had been fishing along the bank. In the middle of the storm, as the old structure creaked and_ rocked beneath the fury of the hurricane, one of the boys piped up, “Say, fel- lows, suppose the old bridge goes down!” They all edged along to- ward the entrance, might have scrambled clean out; but one young lad piped up in a high, shrill voice, “Huh, I guess I’ve trusted this old bridge too often to get skeered now. It won’t go down.” Here am I, a proof that it didn’t. It is so with God. We test him “in the darkness” as Moses did. In sorrow, in doubt, in temptation, we test him—when the call comes for us to pass into the great darkness, we pass and are not afraid. We know whom we have believed and are per- suaded that he is able to walk clear through the Valley of the Shadow with us and we with him—Peter Zaleski. jo. Security of Believers There is no more signal interposi- tion of the hand of God, than that which is seen in the destruction of the Spanish Invincible Armada. Philip II, Emperor of Spain, a bigoted, cruel, intolerant Catholic, had determined upon the destruction of Protestant England. She was selected for signal revenge. Ships of war of an uncommon size were built, naval store collected, provi- sions amassed, armies levied and plans laid for the fitting out of such a fleet as had never before been seen in Europe. So certain were they of success, that they designated the fleet, The Invincible Armada. All preparations being made, and the time drawing near for actual invasion, every hope was raised that proud England would be abased and Protestantism utterly annihilated. But never was it so patent that the “lot is cast into the lap; and the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord.” In the first place disappoint- ments began to arrive, in the fact that their great admiral was seized with fever, and died. The same fate overtook the vice-admiral, when a less skillful and experienced officer was appointed. Eventually the fleet sailed, and the very next day a vio- lent tempest scattered the ships, when some were sunk and others compelled to put into port. Again the ships are soon ready, and on them are placed the implements of torture, thumb screws, fetters, battle- axes and boarding pikes, by which the stern heretics of England were to pay the price of their defection from Rome. 46 BIBLE Just right here, however, God interposed. It is true that the Eng- lish were calm, firm, courageous, and | did not fear to meet their foes, but the God of the elements took a hand in the battle. The “stars fought in their courses” for a righteous cause. The fire, wind and tempest were so many angels of death to the boasted invincibility of the Spaniard. Dismay and disaster overtook Philip and his armies, and a thrill of joy and thanksgiving pervaded all Protestantism. “His right hand and his holy arm hath gotten him the vic- tory.” 31. Security of Believers Luther and Melancthon once wanted to cross the Elbe at Torgau during a terrific storm. Timid Melancthon tried to dissuade Luther from making the dangerous crossing and said: “Martin, do not cross over, the stars are against us!” Luther answered: “We are the Lord’s, con- sequently we are lords over the stars.” What a rich fullness of com- fort and trust lie in the words: “We belong to the Lord.” There is no danger greater than he, no sin, not even death is greater. And what a call to us to be faithful, wakeful of our duty in these same words! They ennoble us and enrich our life. And that is the goal of salvation to be his and to serve him. 32. Trust—Perfect Bishop Bashford, in one of his Episcopal tours in China, was one night compelled to sleep outdoors, under the trees, the hotel keeper warning him about marauders. Be- ing watchful and wakeful awhile, he thought of these words of the Psalmist, and then said to the Lord, “There is no use both of us being awake,” so he slept the sleep of the just. In the morning he saw a watcher standing guard under a tree; the heathen man was helping God guard his own. BIBLE 33. Bible—A Living I think of a missionary doctor on a lonely village station, a very able doctor, but even more effective as a Christian and a leader in evangeliza- tion. Not long ago a convert was being baptized—a rare event in that difficult area—and he was answering questions to test his very simple faith. One answer he began safely enough. “I believe in God Almighty, and in the Lord Jesus,” but then his training gave way to his experience, and turning to the doctor he burst out, “and, sahib, I believe in you.”— Frank Lenwood. 34. Bible a Power “No greater moral change ever passed over a nation than passed over England during the years which parted the middle of the reign of Elizabeth from the meeting of the Long Parliament. England became the people of a book, and that book was the Bible.” Its literary effects were great, “but far greater was the effect of the Bible on the char- acter of the people at large.” “One dominant influence told on human action.” “The whole temper of the nation felt the change.” “A new conception of life, a new moral and religious pulse spread through every class.’”—J. R. Green. 35. Bible and Business A country boy entered a city and _ applied for a position as clerk in a store. There were many applicants, but he obtained an interview with the proprietor, and was asked to show his recommendation papers. He opened his grip and in looking for a letter from an_ influential friend, a small Bible dropped out on the floor. “What have you there?” asked the merchant sharply. “The Bible my mother gave me upon leav- ing home for the city,” he calmly replied. “You do not mean to prac- BIBLE 47 tice the precepts of that Book here in the city, do you?” was the further query. The young man, standing erect, said, “That is the promise I made my mother, sir, and I will keep that promise or return home to her.” Absolute sincerity showed in his face and it was impossible to doubt him. “Young man,” said the merchant, “vou have different credentials than the applicant just preceding you, who drew from his pocket with his letter of introduction two or three cards of a much used deck. I myself am not a Christian, but I appreciate the principles of that Book, and upon your pledge to practice those prin- ciples you need no further recom- mendation; the position is yours.”— O. A. Newlin. 36. Bible and Science William Hanna Thompson 1n an article in November Everybody’s Magazine on germ enemies, says: At my first sitting as a member of the Bellevue Hospital Medical Board, the late Dr. H. B. Sands introduced a resolution, which was unanimously passed, that thereafter no major surgical operation should be undertaken at Bellevue. The reason given was that he and others of his colleagues lost at Bellevue all their cases of amputation, while at the newly constructed New York and Roosevelt Hospitals the same surgeons were uniformly successful. The supposition, therefore, was that the plastering and floors of old hospital building had somehow be- come infected with so much going on in them, but just how no one could guess. This resolution seemed like going back to the wisdom of the ancients, as reflected in a pas- sage in Leviticus, which directs that the plaster of the house of a leper be taken down and burned because the plaster itself had leprosy, a fact which modern science proves to be literally true. The same thing is true also of that first cousin of leprosy, the Bacillus of tuberculosis, which is quite fond of abiding on a shaded plaster wall. But at present the most serious surgical operations are performed at Bellevue with as good a record of success as in any other hospital, simply because the days of antiseptic surgery have come. 37. Bible—Burning the A society of men of education and polished manners, but who were infidels, used to assemble at each other’s houses for the purpose of ridiculing the Scriptures, and of hardening one another in their un- belief. At last they unanimously formed a resolution solemnly to burn the Bible. The day fixed upon arrived; a large fire was prepared, a Bible was laid on the table, and a flowing bowl ready to drink its dirge. For the execution of their plan they fixed upon a young man of high birth, brilliant vivacity, and elegant manners. He undertook the task; and after a few enlivening glasses, amidst the applause of his jovial compeers, he approached the table, took up the Bible, and was walking leisurely forward to put it into the fire; but he was seized with trembling, paleness overspread his countenance, and he seemed con- vulsed. He returned to the table; and, laying down the Bible, said with a strong asseveration: “We will not burn that Book till we can get a better.” Soon after, this same gay and lively young man died, but before he died he was led to repent- ance, and derived hopes of forgive- ness and of future blessedness from that Book which he was once about to burn.—The Friend. 38. Bible—Comfort in They were leading the bishop of Rochester to the scaffold. As the cruel framework loomed grimly on his sight, he bowed his head and prayed, “Now, O Lord direct me to 48 BIBLE some passage which may support me through the awful scenes.” He forthwith opened his Testament and his eye lighted on the words, “This is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent” (John 17: 3). Closing the Book, he said, “Praised be the Lord, this is suff- cient for time and for eternity.” 39. Bible—Comfort of After the battle before Richmond had been over several days a man was found dead with his hand on the open Bible. The summer insects had taken the flesh from the hand, and there was nothing but the skele- ton fingers lay on the open page, and on this passage—‘Yea, though I walk through the valley of the sha- dow of death, I will fear no evil; Thy rod and Thy staff they com- fort me.” Well, the time will come when all the fine novels we have on our bedroom shelf will not interest us, and all the good histories and all the exquisite essays will do us no good. There will be one Book, per- haps its cover worn out and its leaf yellow with age, under whose flash we shall behold the opening gates of heaven.—Talmage. go. Bible Difficulties An infidel stood in the center of an admiring group of passengers on a trans-Atlantic liner, entertaining them by his insolent ridicule of the Scriptures. “The Bible is full of contradictions,” he explained. “For instance in one place, we are told that Judas went and hanged himself, and in another that he bought a field and fell headlong in the midst and his bowels gushed out. Now, how in the name of common sense could both those statements be true?” The crowd laughed, but an old Quaker, who was standing near at the time, cried out: “Easy enough—the rope broke.” v 41. Bible Difficulties The story is told of a young theo- logical student who one day came to Mr. Spurgeon, telling him that the Bible contained some verses which he could not understand, and about which he was very much worried. To this the great man of God re- plied: “Young man, allow me to give you this word of advice: You must expect to let God know some things which you do not understand.” The student took the words of wisdom to heart—From the Record of Christian Work. 42. Bible First Physiology shows us how inevit- ably the food on which one subsists determines the texture of his flesh. Can the daily newspaper, the light romance, and the secular magazine, build up the fiber and tissue of a true spiritual character? We are not put- ting any surly prohibition on these things; but when we think of the place which they hold in modern society, and with how many Chris- tians they constitute the larger share of the daily reading, there is sug- gested a very serious theme for reflection. As the solemn necessity is laid upon the sinner of choosing between Christ and the world, so is the choice pressed upon the Chris- tian between the Bible and litera- ture—that is, the choice as to which shall hold the supreme place—A. J. Gordon. 43. Bible—Following the Twenty-five years ago much of northern Michigan was entirely new country, covered with dense forests. The best woodsman was liable to lose his way unless he carried a pocket compass. A settler of those days tells this story: “One day I had been walking in the woods, when, though I could not see the sun or sky, I knew by the settling dark- ness that night was coming on, and started, as I thought, for home. I BIBLE 49 was so certain of my direction that for some time I did not look at my compass. On doing so, however, I was greatly surprised to find that, whereas I thought I was going east, in reality I was bound due west. Not only was I surprised, but I was so sure of my own judg- ment and so disgusted with my com- pass that I raised my arm to throw it away. Then pausing, I thought, “You have never lied to me yet, and ll trust you once more.” I fol- lowed it and came out all right. The Bible is a compass that has guided millions to heaven. Some would throw it away, but those who follow it always come out safely.—Selected. 44. Bible—Forsaking the A story is told of a minister who taught an old man in his parish to read. He proved a proficient scholar. After the teaching had come to an end the minister was not able to call at the cottage for some time, and when he did he only found the wife at home. ‘“How’s John?” said he. “He’s canny, sir,” said the wife. “How does he get on with his reading?” “Nicely, sir.” “Ah! I suppose he will read his Bible very comfortably now.” “Bible, — sir! Bless you! he was out of the Bible and into the newspaper long ago.” There are many other persons who, like this old man, have long been out of the Bible and into the news- paper. They have forsaken the fountain of Living Waters, and have gone about among muddy pools and stagnant morasses to seek something which might slake their thirst.— Clerical Library. 45. Half Reading A certain wayward young man ran away from home and was not heard of for years. In some way, hearing that his father had just died, he returned home and was kindly received by his mother. The day came for the reading of the will; the family were all gathered together, and the lawyer commenced to read the document. To the great surprise of all present the will told in detail of the way- ward career of the run-away son. The boy in anger arose, stamped out of the room, left the house, and was not heard of for three years. When eventually he was found he was in- formed that the will, after telling of his waywardness, had gone on to bequeath to him $15,000. How much of sorrow he would have been saved, if he had only heard the reading through. Thus many people only half read the Bible and turn from it dissatis- fied. The old Book says: “The wages of sin is death,” yea, verily, but it says more, it says, “but the gift of God is Eternal Life.”—Evans. 46. Bible—Holding to the A friend in England, a charming mimic, told me the following story about the late Doctor Parker many years ago. And Oh! how I wish I could tell it with the look and voice and tone with which it was told to me. | “IT have been found fault with,” said the Doctor from his pulpit one day, “for not treating questions scientifically. People say, ‘you are always quoting the Bible; why don’t you appeal to Science and tell us what it has got to say about things?’ “Well, I am going to appeal to Science this morning. There is a poor widow here who has lost her only son, and she wishes to know if she will ever see him again. And I am going to ask Science for an answer to her question. So we will put away the Bible.” (Here the Doctor lifted the Bible off the pulpit desk and put it on the seat behind him.) “Will this poor woman ever see her son again? That is the question Science is to answer. What has become of him? Where is he? 50 BIBLE Does death end all? What does Science say to these questions?” (Here followed a long pause, Doc- tor Parker staring straight before him and saying nothing.) “We are treating this question, you see, scientifically. We have put away the Bible, and we want to know what light Science throws on this poor woman’s difficulty. What has become of her boy?” (Another long pause, and dead silence. ) “The time is getting on, and she is waiting for an answer. Surely she is entitled to one? A most prac- tical question; and if Science can throw real light on anything, surely it must have something to say in a case like this? Science, will this poor woman ever see her son again?” (Another very long pause, and dead silence as before.) “Science, we are waiting! We have put away the Bible, and we wish to treat this question in a purely scientific way. Will this poor woman ever see her son again?” “We don’t seem to be getting on! The poor woman’s heart is likely to break, and she is waiting for an answer. What am I to say to her? What answer does Science give?” “What? What? What? Has Science nothing to say? nothing to say to a practical question like that? Nothing to say to the most practical of all questions?” “Ah! Then, we must just go back to the Old Book after all!” (Here Doctor Parker turned round, lifted the Bible off the seat, and replaced it, with great deliberation ; then opened it and read: “I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.” “The dead men shall live, together, with my dead body shall they arise.” his “Tl am the resurrection and the life.” “Ror this cor- ruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on im- mortality. ©O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy vic- tory?” “And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God.” -) , «°° “And: so. shall? wetever ne with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” Then closing the Bible, and patting it affectionately, Doctor Parker ended by saying: “No; we'll stick to the Old Book; we’ll stick to the Old Book.’—The Morning Watch. 47. Bible Indestructible More than a hundred years ago Voltaire declared that there would not be a copy of the Bible on earth in a hundred years. Voltaire is dead, and one may barely recall the date of his death. The Geneva Bible Society is using the very printing press on which his infidel prophecy was issued. To-day four hundred million copies of the sacred Scrip- tures, in fully three hundred tongues, are in circulation, like leaves of the forests, for the healing of the nations. The Bible societies of America and Europe pledge them- selves to furnish every family in the land with a Bible without money and without price where no copy is found. 48. Bible Its Own Witness Conspicuous in John Randolph’s library was a Family Bible. Sur- rounding it were many books, some for and others against its truthful- ness as an inspired revelation. One day Mr. Randolph had a clergyman as his guest, and the Family Bible became a topic of conversation. The eccentric orator said, “I was raised by a pious mother (God bless her memory!), who taught me _ the Christian religion in all its require- ments. But, alas! I grew up an infidel—if not an infidel complete, yet a decided deist. But when I be- came a man, in this as well as in political and all other matters, I resolved to examine for myself, and BIBLE 51 never to pin my faith to any other man’s sleeve. So I bought that Bible; I pored over it; I examined it carefully. I sought and procured those books for and against it; and when my labors were ended I came to this irresistible conclusion: The Bible is true. It would have been as easy for a mole to have written Sir Isaac Newton’s treatise on Optics as for uninspired men to have written the Bible.”—Christian Age. 49. Bible—Leaf by Leaf Oh the victory of the cross !— we know what it can do in individual lives. They called him Ted the Snag in Australia, for he was so vile. For nine years he had never slept in a bed. Such a miserable object was he that a decent man would not speak to him. He told me with his own lips that he was lying in the gutter one Sunday morning almost insensible from drink, when an Anglican clergyman came along, and as he passed said some word that was not kind. Ted raised himself on his elbow and said, “See here, sir, you go and tell your people that you said a mean thing to Ted the Snag.” He was so vile that nobody would have anything to do with him except his wife, and one night he struck her, and she left him. When he knew the house was vacant he went back, but found nothing there except a Bible. He was so angry that he tore up the blessed book leaf by leaf and burned it, and as he burned it the Spirit of God came to him and said, “You burn it leaf by leaf, and you will study it leaf by leaf;” and, said Ted, “I knew it would come true.” One night during the mission Ted the Snag staggered in. The Missioner said, “Anybody who wants to be saved raise a hand.” Ted says, “I put up one hand, then the other, then one foot, and I would have put up both feet if I could have done it, I was so anxious to be saved.” That man is to-day going up and down Australia, proclaiming the evangel of the cross with a power that can hardly be equalled. 50. Bible—Light on When President Hitchcock of Amherst College assembled a science class in a new recitation room with sky windows, the introduction to his lecture was, “Young men, all the light we have here comes from above.” How can we hope to under- stand the Bible without that clarify- ing light “from above,” for “The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God; they are fool- ishness unto him; neither can he know them, because they are spir- itually discerned.”—O. A. Newlin. 51. Bible—Loving the Author of A young lady asked to explain devotional reading of the Bible, answered: “Yesterday morning I received a letter from one to whom I have given my heart and devoted my life. I freely confess to you that I have read that letter five times, not because I did not understand it at the first reading, nor because I ex- pected to commend myself to the author by frequent reading of his epistle. It was not with me a ques- tion of duty, but simply one of pleasure. I read it because I am devoted to him who wrote it. To read the Bible with that motive is to read it devotionally, and to one who reads it in that spirit it is indeed a love letter.” This young Christian’s explanation is beautifully clear. The heart has not a little to do in interpreting God’s word. 52. Bible—Modern An intelligent young Chinaman came to Doctor Dean, the mission- ary, and brought back the Bible that had been given to him to examine. He pointed to some chapters he had found in it, and said: “You told me your book was very old, but look 52 at that; you have written that your- self since you came here. It is all about Chinamen!” 53. Bible Reading A great many have a superstitious feeling about reading the Bible. Men carry texts as Indians carry amulets, with the superstitious idea that God will bless them to their good. The mere reading of the Bible, or carry- ing of texts, will not do you any good. A man may own a farm, and yet go to the poorhouse. His-land must be cultivated, or it will do him no good.—H. W. Beecher. 54. Bible Reading—Daily Some years ago a lady went to consult a famous physician about her health. She was a woman of nervous temperament. She gave the doctor a list of her symptoms, and answered his questions only to be astonished at his brief prescription at the end: “Go home and read your Bible an hour a day, then come back to me a month from to-day.” And he bowed her out before she could protest. At first she was inclined to be angry; then she reflected that at least the prescription was not an expensive one. She went home determined to read conscientiously her negiected Bible. In one month she went back to the doctor’s office a different person, and asked him how he knew that was just what she needed. For answer the physician turned to his desk. There worn and marked lay an open Bible. “Madam,” he said, “if I were to omit my daily read- ing of this Book, I would lose my greatest force of strength and skill.” 55. Bible—The Personal I was once called to visit a dying lady, in the city of Philadelphia, of an English family. She and her hus- band were in a boarding house there. I spent much time with her, knelt BIBLE often in prayer with her, and with great delight. Her husband was an Atheist, an English Atheist—a cold- hearted English Atheist. There is no such being beside him on the face of the globe. That was her husband. On the day in which that sweet Christian woman died she put her hand under the pillow and pulled out a little beautiful well-worn English Bible. She brought out that sweet little Bible, worn and thumbed and moistened with tears. She called her husband, and he came; and she said, “Do you know this little book ?” and he answered, “It is your Bible.” Replied she, “It is my Bible; it has been everything to me. It has con- verted, strengthened, cheered, and saved me. Now I am going to Him that gave it to me, and I shall want it no more; open your hands’—and she put it in between his hands and pressed his two hands together. “My dear husband, do you know what I am doing?” “Yes, dear; you are giving me your Bible.” “No, darling, I am giving you your Bible, and God has sent me to give you this sweet book before I die. Put it in your hands; now put it in your bosom— will you keep it there? Will you read it for me?” “I will, my dear.” I placed this dear lady, dead, in the tomb behind my church. Per- haps three weeks afterward that big Englishman came to my study weep- ing profusely. “Oh, my friend,” said he, “my friend, I have found what she meant—I have found what she meant!—it is my Bible; oh! it is my Bible; every word in it was written for me. I read it over day by day; I read it over night by night; I bless God it is my Bible. Wiil you take me into your church where she was?” “With all my heart”—and that proud, worldly, hostile man, hating this blessed Bible, came, with no arguments, with no objection, with no difficulties sug- gested, with no questions to unravel, but binding it upon his heart of BIBLE 53 memory and love. It was God’s message of direct salvation to his soul, as if there were not another Bible in Philadelphia, and an angel from heaven had brought him this. —Tyng. 56. Bible—Way of Life A young miller in Sweden, named John Svenson, was. converted by reading the Bible. As he had become a new creature, he refused to con- tinue the old life of sin, which angered his comrade, Andrew Peter- son, son of the mill-owner. One day when John had gone out, Andrew found his Bible and decided to destroy it, as it was the cause of the change in his friend. Before throw- ing it into the stream that turned the mill wheel, he opened the book at random and his eyes fell upon the words in Matt. 24: 41: “Two shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken and the other left.” - The look had been brief, but the words had flashed into the heart like lightning and he found himself read- ing them again and again. Instead of throwing the Book away, he placed it back in John’s room, and upon his return, asked his aid in finding the path of life. A young lady found her chamber- maid reading the Word and said to her: “You poor melancholic soul, how can you find pleasure in reading such a book!” Early next morning the maid found her mistress bathed in tears after a sleepless night, and upon inauiring the reason, the lady gave her this answer: “I saw one word in your book and that has robbed me of my rest, that awful word, eternity.” 57. Bible—Wisdom of The fact that the Standard Oil Company discovered oil and is operating wells in Egypt is generally known but the reason for its going to that ancient land to look for oil is probably not so well known. It is asserted that one of the directors of the company happened to read the second chapter of Exodus. The third verse caught his attention. It states that the ark of bulrushes which the mother of Moses made for her child was “daubed with slime and with pitch.” This gentleman rea- soned that where there was pitch there must be oil, and if there was oil in Moses’ time it is probably still there. So the company sent out Charles Whitshott, its geologist and oil expert, to make investigations, with the result that oil was dis- covered. Three wells are now in operation and others are to be opened.—Chicago Daily News. (The Am. Rev. margin gives “bitumen” for slime.) 58. Bible—Word of Life About the year 1855, Murata, a brave, trusty Japanese officer in the employ of the Baron of Hizen, whose business it was to see that no student, hungry for Western knowl- edge, should slip out of Japan by way of the English ships, while per- sonally inspecting the means of defense and guard along the coast, saw floating on the water a little book which in type, binding, and lan- guage was different from anything he had seen. After wary inquiries, he learned that the little book told about the Creator of the universe, Jesus, who taught his mind and truth. He thereupon started to find out about its message. Twelve years later, Murata and two others were baptized at Nagasaki by Verbeck— the first fruits of the gospel cast upon the water, literally, and used by the Providence of God. 59. Danger—Seeking “Some ministers who are always trying to find flaws in the Bible remind me of a boy I saw recently who persisted in walking on the rail- ing of a bridge in crossing the stream, though the whole of the pas- 54 BIBLE sageway was at his disposal. That some are intent on keeping as far away from safety as possible is a. strange fact.” 60. God’s Word Powerful A Jewess of wealth and position noticed an advertisement of some article which she fancied, that would accompany the purchase of a Bible. She sent an order for the sake of what she wanted, and tossed the unwelcome book aside; but in an idle hour, later, picked it up and turned its pages. The New Testament was unfamiliar and she glanced at it curiously, becoming interested before she knew. She fought against belief, but it gradually forced itself upon her, and she found herself in deep trouble. Confessing her faith meant the loss of property and home, the heart- break of father and mother, even separation from her husband, but she could not remain silent. All that she feared was threatened in those awful days, but because they loved her, and to prove her error, her family also read the despised Gospel. Earth’s unending miracle was repeated; they found what she had found, and looked wondering into each other’s faces, a Christian household.—Forward. 61. Lamb’s Book of Life Some time ago three children—ten, seven, and four years old—arrived in St. Louis, having traveled all the way from Germany, without any escort or protection beyond a New Testament and their own innocence and helplessness. Their parents, who had emigrated from the Father- land and settled in Missouri, left them in charge of an aunt, to whom they forwarded money sufficient to pay the expenses of the little ones to their new home across. the Atlantic. As the children could not speak any other language than Ger- man, it is doubtful whether they would ever have reached their desti- nation had not their aunt provided them with a passport, addressed not so much to an earthly authority as to Christian mankind generally. She gave the elder girl a New Testament, instructing her to show it to every person who might accost her, and especially to call their attention to the first leaf of the book. Upon that leaf were written the names of the three children, their birthplace and several ages, and this simple state-— ment :—“Their father and mother in America are anxiously awaiting their arrival at Sedalia, Missouri.” This was followed by the _ irresistible appeal—their guide, safeguard, and interpreter throughout a journey of more than four thousand miles— “Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” Many were the acts of kindness shown to the little travelers, many the hands held out to smooth their journey, until they reached their parents in perfect safety. 62. Law—Perfect After ten years of patient work, experts in London have finished what is said to be the most perfect yard stick in the world. It is made of platinum and iridium, and was ‘designed to be used as the standard of the British government. Every year for ten years it will be examined and if it varies by a millionth of an inch it will be rejected. The Bible is the Christian’s stand- ard for his rule of conduct. Its principles never change. “The law of the Lord is perfect.” 63. Life—Sign of A Hindu fakir, with matted hair and ash-besmeared body, was. sit- ting under a tree in deep meditation. His eyes fell on the leaves of a torn book which some one had tossed BROTHERHOOD 55 away. It was part of the New Testament. He smoothed out the crumpled pages and read words which brought strange thoughts to his hungry soul—they seemed to take him by the hand and lead him straight to the Father. Then he set out to seek for some one who obeyed the book. He found an Englishman who confessed that he obeyed it. The fakir, delighted, noticed that the Englishman wore a black band on his arm, and concluded that this was the distinctive sign of a Christian. So he put a black band on his own arm, and when people asked who he was, he pointed to the band and told them. Some time later the fakir wandered for the first time into a church and listened to a Christian preacher. At the close he announced that he, too, was a follower of this way, and pointed to the band as a proof. They explained that it was an English sign of the death of some loved one. The fakir mused for a moment; then he answered, “But I read in the book that my Loved One has died, so I shall wear it in memory of him.” Betore long, however, he grasped the Gospel of the resurrection, and when he real- ized that his Loved One was alive for evermore, a great joy filled his heart. He took off the band from his arm, and the light of the resur- rection shone in his face—and that became the sign. 64. Sword of the Word We are told that the grey heron has a very singular mode of defense. When attacked by the eagle or falcon it simply stands quiet and firm, using its bill as a sword, allowing the enemy to pierce himself through by his own force. The Christian’s method of defense is very similar. We have the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. When attacked by the enemy, without or within, stand firm and display the Word, hold it forth. The more fiercely the foe attacks the more surely shall they pierce themselves with it. His Word is a fire, all that cross it shall be burned. “Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth” (Eph. 6: 14).— James Smith. BROTHERHOOD 65. Brother—Called Turgenieff in one of his parables tells of meeting a beggar, who held out his greasy hands for alms. Tur- genieff searched all his pockets, but had no money, no food, nothing whatever to give the man. He said to him, “I am sorry brother, that I have nothing for thee.” The beg- gar’s face brightened and he said, “That is enough. Thank you.” To be called “brother” was better than any alms would have been. We may not give money to the mendicant on the street, but we may show him kindness, the spirit of brotherhood, and that will be worth more to him than the largest alms. It will glad- den and cheer his heart, and bring to him a little warmth of the love of Christ. 66. Brother—Helping a Weak Professor Dager often took his large dog with him on his walks in the mountains. The dog liked to cross the mountain streams by jump- ing from rock to rock. One day, the large dog did not cross the stream as usual, but went a long way up the valley to a small bridge. Why? Because the little dog could not jump as he could and in trying, would have fallen into the stream. He therefore went the roundabout way for the sake of his weak com- panion. This dog acted better than many Christians do. But for us to act as he did, is to fulfill the law of Christ. 67. Brother-—Helping Blind An interesting story of brotherly 56 love and courageous work under the affliction of total blindness was recently unveiled at McGill Univer- sity, Montreal, Can. Thomas S. Stewart nine years ago injured one | of his eyes with a knife. A special- ist decided that it should be removed to save the other. When the opera- tion was over and he recovered from the anzesthetic, it was discovered that the operator had blundered by re- moving the sound eye, so making the young man totally blind. Notwith- standing this he undertook to pursue his studies in law at McGill. He was able to do this by the aid of his brother, William Stewart, who read to him and accompanied him through all the different phases of college life. The blind brother came out at the head of his class, while the other came second. The latter practically making himself a seeing medium for his blind brother. 68. Brotherhood The two greatest missionary docu- ments known to history are the Lord’s Prayer and the parable of the Prodigal Son. If you have ever read the parable of the Prodigal Son as the agony of a _ bereaved father’s heart you will find that mis- sions are placed in the very heart of our God and Father, whose name we bear. And if you have ever said, “Our Father,” you have felt the call and passion of brotherhood that runs through the whole of the missionary movement. It is there that Jesus laid the foundation of all this mis- sionary enterprise. Luther said: “My coat of arms shall be a heart that has the color of human flesh upon it, warm with human love, and in it shall be planted the cross, the black cross, that shows the sacredness of sacrificial suffer- ing, and that shall be set in a rose of the purest white—the purity and strength of character that God can give to those that suffer—and back of it all shall be that ground of blue BROTHERHOOD that brings heaven nearer to earth, and around it shall be the golden ring of perfectedness and eternity as a symbol of what Jesus Christ has done for men.”—Professor O. E. Brown. 69. Deeds and Creeds A housegirl once sought member- ship in Mr. Spurgeon’s Metropolitan Tabernacle. She was refused at first, when Mr. Spurgeon called her back and asked for further evidence of her change of heart. Replying, the domestic said: “I have none except that now I sweep under the mats and rugs in the house where I am employed.” “It is enough,” said Mr. Spurgeon, “we will receive you into our fellowship.” “A sweep- ing’ action which George Herbert says is “fine.” 70. Deeds—Power of Good The example of a kindness 1s never lost. A newsboy took the Sixth avenue elevated railroad car in New York, and sliding into one of the cross seats fell asleep. At Grand street two young women got on, and took seats opposite the lad. His feet were bare and his hat had fallen off. Presently one young girl leaned over and placed her muff under the little fellow’s dirty cheek. An old gentleman in the next seat smiled at the act, and without say- ing anything, held out a quarter, with a nod toward the boy. The next man just as silently offered a dime; and a woman across the aisle, held out some pennies, and, before she knew it, the girl with flaming cheeks had taken money from every passenger in that end of the car. She quietly slid the amount into the sleeping lad’s pocket, removed her muff gently from under his head without rousing him, got off at Twenty-third street, nodding to all the passengers in a _ pretty little inclination of the head that seemed full of thanks and a common secret. — Jee yee ee a eee eee EL ee ee BROTHERHOOD 57 This rebukes Ingersoll’s sneer that if he had been God he would have had good things catching. They are catching and God made them so. 71. Creed and Deed One day, Cicero tells the story in his treatise “On Old Age,” an aged Athenian came into the theater, but not one of his fellow-citizens in that immense crowd would incommode himself to make room for him. As, however, he approached the ambas- sadors from Lacedzemon, who had their own special seat, they all rose to receive him into their midst. The whole assembly burst into applause. Whereupon somebody said, ‘The Athenians know what is good, but they will not practice it.”—Christian Family. 72. Fellowship—Earthly Said a gentleman recently: “I went to the city of N , and the first thing I did was to present my church letter. After being formally received by the pastor, I passed down the aisle to my seat. I noticed in one of the pews a fine-looking man. Many members came to me at the close of the service and wel- comed me, but this man passed out without as much as noticing me. The next week I entered the lodge. The day after, a gentleman came running across the street through the mud to meet me. Introducing himself, he said, ‘I saw you at lodge last night. I want to welcome you.’ It was the same man whom I had noticed in the church, of which he was a prominent member. He never thought of giving me a welcome as a member of the church, but as a member of the lodge he was prompt and profuse in his recognition.” 73. Friend—A Faithful Picture to yourself a man lying upon a bed in a rough shanty in the Rocky Mountains. He has a bullet in his chest, and he has sent for his great friend, the doctor. Some months before he had been amazed by the change which had taken place in the doctor’s life, and, when he asked his friend what was the cause of it, the doctor had given him his own New Testament, and had said: “Read the Gospels in this.” Mexico had done so, and as he read, his heart went out to the wonderful Man who went about doing good, and whose courage and love and power filled him with amazement. But when he came to the end and saw Jesus go to the Cross without effort to save himself, he could not under- stand how that mighty Man could let his enemies kill him. And now, as he lay on his bed, the same won- dering question filled his mind. At last, by the evening train the doctor came. When the message came, he, too, was lying upon his bed in great pain, but at the summons he rose up and went to save his friend. When Mexico saw the doctor’s face, white and drawn with pain, he cried out, “Doctor, you shouldn’t have come; you’re worse than me.” “All right,” said the doctor, “I had to come. One can’t go back on one’s friend.” Mexico looked at him steadily, and then suddenly a light came into his eyes, and, with quiver- ing lips, he cried: “Doctor, I know now why he let them kill him.” “Why?” said the doctor. “Because he couldn’t go back on his friends.” That was it. In the self-sacrifice of his friend, the rough backwoods- man saw the meaning of the Cross of Christ. “He couldn’t go back on his friends.” The bullet was extracted, and the wound bound up. The doctor spent a restless night of pain in the ad- joining room, and then, as the time drew near for him to catch the morn- ing train back to the hospital, he went in to visit his patient once more. When he had attended to the wound, he leant over the sick man to say good-bye. “Doctor,” said the 58 BROTHERHOOD man, “I can’t tell you what I feel. My heart is too full, but—you make me think of him.” 74. Influence—Blessed When Bishop William Burt re- tired from active service because he had reached the age limit, there was presented to him a bound volume containing autographic tributes from all those who had served with him on the Deaconess Board of the Methodist Episcopal Church. The following letter is a most tender tribute to friendship: “Dear Bishop Burt: “Your years have passed like sun- light. They were beautiful, and filled with service in the old world and the new. God has been with you, and you have been with God. “Would you might live a hundred years to bless mankind, but wherever you are, in earth or heaven, you will like the place. You make it good to live where you are around. “You have blessed my life, and I want to live with you forever in the skies. “Your brother everywhere, “William A. Quayle.” 75. Man’s Value Street Car Driver: “Me and that off-horse has been working for the company for twelve years now.” Passenger: “That so? The com- pany must think a great deal of you and the nag.” Street Car Driver: “Well, I dunno; last week the two of us was taken sick and they got a doctor for the horse and docked me. Gid-dap there, now Betsy.” 76. Religion—Practical Peter is in ecstasy amid these sur- roundings. He desires to remain on the Mount. He says in rapture, “Tt is good for us to be here.” He would rather remain there for ever, than go down from the mountain and engage in the practical duties of life. But his request is denied him. Sometimes, in revival meetings, you have felt in the same way. There - are duties outside of the revival. Longfellow, in one of his poems, pictures a youth, who, in winter, seizes a banner and begins the ascent of a mountain. He gradually leaves behind him the fields, the stores, the workshops, the dwellings, and the neighbors. As he rises higher and higher he shouts, “Excelsior.” His voice grows fainter and fainter, until heard no more. He has gone so high, that the atmosphere in which he moves has become too thin to sustain life, and he dies. So it is no uncommon thing to see professed Christians taking the banner of the Cross and crying, “Hallelujah,” “Amen,” rise higher and _ higher, emotionally, until they leave behind them this practical world. They lose sight of the duties of every-day life. They are too high to give much attention to such matters as speaking the truth, keeping their temper, restraining their tongue from slander, and paying their debts. They have become too religious to give much concern to these things. But these persons soon reach an altitude where the atmosphere is too thin for them to live, and they die. It is one thing to be religious on the Mount of Transfiguration, and another thing not to deny our Lord in the world below. Instead of this gushing religion, let us have one that touches the ground—lIrving A. Searles. 77. Righteousness—Garments of The Rev. Mark Guy Pearse has always figured prominently in the work of saving and helping men. Dr. Wilbur F. Crafts tells this inci- dent of the London Methodist preacher. One bitter winter night he had taken a cab from a London suburb, and on reaching home bade the driver come in and get some- CHILDREN 59 thing warm and comfortable, but non-intoxicating. He noticed that the “cabby” had no overcoat and inquired how it was he was so in- sufficiently clad. The man explained his poverty, and Mr. Pearse said, “Well now I have a coat upstairs that would suit you, but before I give it to you, I’m bound to tell you there is something peculiar about it, and it is right I should explain it to you before you put it on.” “What's that, sir?” said cabby, con- siderably mystified and not know- ing whether he might not find it wise to decline the offer of the mysterious garment. Said Mr. Pearse, “That coat never had a glass of beer or spirits inside of it from the day it was made until now. I want you to promise me that as long as you wear that coat you will let the drink alone.” “All right, sir,” holding out his right hand, “all right, sir; I don’t upset the coat by putting any drink inside of it.” Many months after- wards Mr. Pearse met the man again and learned that he had kept his bargain. 78. Sympathy—Daring Some rude children in Madagascar were one day calling out, “A leper! A leper!” to a poor woman who had lost all her fingers and toes by the dread disease. A missionary lady who was nearby put her hand on the woman’s shoulder and asked her to sit down on the grass by her. The woman fell sobbing, overcome by emotion, and cried out, “A human hand has touched me.” The mission- ary says that in that moment it flashed across her mind why it is recorded in the Gospels that Jesus touched the leper. That is just what others would not do. It was the touch of sympathy as well as of healing power. 79. Weak—Helping the A nurseryman about to plant a number of young saplings, some straight and some crooked, thus rea- sioned with himself—“These straight saplings will no doubt grow up to be fine trees without much attention on my part; but I will see if, by proper training, I cannot make something of the crooked ones also. There will be more trouble with them, no doubt, than with the others; but for that very reason I shall be the better satisfied should I succeed.”—New Cyclopedia of Anecdotes. CHILDREN 80. Character—Beauty of A good many years ago there was born in Russia a boy who thought himself so ugly that he felt there was no happiness for such as he. He had a wide nose, thick lips, small grey eyes, and big hands and feet. When he grew to be a man he became a famous writer. In one of his books he tells that he was so anxious about this ugliness that he besought God to work a miracle, to turn him into a beauty. If God would do this the boy promised that he would give God all he then possessed, or would possess in the future. That Russian boy was the great Count Tolstoi. Happily as he grew older he discovered that the beauty for which he sighed was not the only beauty, nor the best beauty. He learned to value more the beauty of a character strong and great and good in God’s sight—James Has- tings. 81. Child Leading The other night a friend of mine witnessed a drunken brawl. There was a man there who continued in the brawl, and his wife came out of the crowd and said: “I will go and fetch baby to him; that will bring him out of it if anything will.” Ah! she was a philosopher, though she didn’t know it. She wanted to get 60 CHILDREN to the deepest part of the man’s nature. She did not talk of police- man and prison; she wanted to bring the innocent one before him, as much as to say, “Will you make a thorny couch for this little one to lie upon? Will you forge a dagger with which to pierce this little one’s heart?” The gospel comes to make us hate sin by showing that another suffered and died for us.—C. Vince. 82. Child—Saving a In a remote district of Wales a baby boy lay dangerously ill. The widowed mother walked five miles in the night through drenching rain to get a doctor. The doctor hesitated about making the unpleasant trip. Would it pay? he questioned. He would receive no money for his services, and, besides, if the child’s life were saved, he would no doubt become only a poor laborer. But love for humanity and professional duty conquered, and the little life was saved. Years after, when this same child—Lloyd George—became Chancellor of the Exchequer, the doctor said, “I never dreamed that in saving the life of that child on the farm hearth I was saving the life of the leader of England.” This is a good Children’s Day lesson. In working for the litle ones we never know how much we are doing.—H. 83. Children—Claims of Socrates once said, “Could I climb to the highest place in Athens, I would lift my voice and proclaim —Fellow-citizens, why do ye turn and scrape every stone to gather wealth, and take so little care of your children to whom one day you must relinquish it all?”’—Family Circle. 84. Child—Finding From the Contagious Disease Hos- pital of New York City last October, according to the New York Times, - about two came a telephone message to a mother on Madison Avenue. “Did you leave an _ eighteen-months-old baby here, stricken with paralysis, months ago?” she was asked. “Ves,” said the mother. “Ts it here yet?” came over the phone. “Our baby died two weeks ago and was buried from the hospital. Why do you ask?” said the mother, bursting into tears. “Because some mistake has been made,” came the answer over the wire. “Can you come to the hospital at once?” It didn’t take that mother long to reach the hospital. A nurse brought her child to her, living and well; and there was an indescribably joyous meeting as the little one’s arms clung round the mother’s neck. A mistake had been made as to the identity of a baby who had indeed died two weeks before; this mother had been notified of the death of her child; and on account of the dread disease the little body had only been seen at a distance by the supposed parents. Easter must have a new meaning in that house. The newspaper headlines describing this glad restoration read: “Finds a Child Alive She Thought Buried.”— C. G. Trumbull. 85. Children—Heathen “Is your baby better?” one mother asks of another whose little one has been sick. “We have thrown it away,” is the stolid answer. “Well, it is gone, and you cannot get it back. Just forget it as soon as you can. There is nothing else to do.” Such is the hopeless outlook and such the comfort which heathenism brings to aching hearts in China when death invades the home and the little ones are taken. But oh, the change that comes when our blessed gospel enters those hearts and homes! CHILDREN 61 86. Children—Jesus and Mr. Robert E. Speer has said that he would be almost willing to stake the entire defense of Christian- ity on what it has done for the child as compared with the attitude of non-Christian religions toward chil- dren. Infanticide, especially of girls, is common in almost every non- Christian country. In India the pre- dominance of boys over girls bears abundant testimony to the practice of killing girl babies. In one of the villages of China, a missionary tells of his having found, on his first arrival, a pond which was called “Babies’ Pond.” Into this pond were cast the children that heartless parents wished to get rid of, and in those early days of mis- sionary work, this missionary states, the bodies of several babies could always be seen floating on the slimy green surface of the pond. The entrance of the Gospel into this place, has not only done away with this practice, but has made sacred the life of the child—The Bible Teacher. 87. Children—Lost The following tender appeal ap- peared in the pages of the Chicago Tribune recently: “Dear Helen—We miss you so and want you so. It doesn’t matter where you have been or what has happened, our arms and hearts are waiting for you. Won’t you come back to us, or let us know where we can find you? Don’t feel afraid of us. We are ready to forgive every- thing. Only come. “Your wondering, family.” heart-aching Your Saviour, my lost friend, has been making an appeal even more tender than that for you. Only come! He will receive you. 88. Conversation of Children Many persons are afraid of chil- dren’s conversion. As though the conversion of a child that is free from the cares and burdens which you carry like a hump on your back was not more likely to be genuine than yours, if you give it fair play! When little children think they are converted people say, “What, con- verted so small? Christians so young? Let us be careful. We will not take them into the church yet. It will not do to bring them along too fast. If they hold out we will receive them.” Suppose, a child being born, the doctor should say, “My dear father and mother, it is uncertain whether or not this child will live, and I advise you to put it out on the front doorsteps and leave it over night. If it lives in the open air in January you may be sure that it has a good constitution, and you will be war- ranted in bringing it in and taking care of it.’ Thus you do a devilish work, and hope that God will do a good one. Those periods when chil- dren feel drawings towards higher things, and hear the call of God, are just the periods when you should take care of them. It is not hard to make a tree grow right if you begin to train it when it is young, but to make a tree grow right after you have allowed it to grow wrong till it is old is not an easy matter.— H. W. Beecher. 89. Defender of the Defenseless I read a story the other day of a boy who had a strange dream. He dreamt that the richest man in his little town came to him, that he was tired of his money and his houses and his lands, and he wanted the boy to take his place. Then the old doctor arrived, and he said that he was weary of going up and down the streets healing sick folk, and would the boy get ready to become the town physician. Then the judge came, and he also was tired of his work. He wanted someone to try his cases 62 CHILDREN and fill his place on the bench. Then the town drunkard, the shame of the village and its saddest sight, came on the scene, and he told the lad that he could not live much longer and he wanted somebody to be ready to take his place in the bars and on the streets. That was a strange dream, but it was in a sense a true one. Boys and girls, you are all getting ready to fill some place in the world. What are you getting ready for? Are you getting ready to throw away your life like that poor village drunkard? Or are you getting ready to be like Abraham, a defender of the defense- less, and a friend of God?—James Hastings. g0. Enthusiasm Killed Every American boy and girl likes a job but resents a task. Perhaps you did not know that there is a difference. Professor Puffer tells a story of a boy who burst into the diningroom where his father sat at breakfast and said, “What can I do to help you to-day, dad? I want to do something.” “Well, son,” was the reply, “do you see that pile of sand out there? You can wheel it up to the other end of the garden.” “All right,” said the boy, and with a whistle on his lips he went to work. But the job did not last long and he was soon back. “Job’s done, dad, what can I do to help you, now?” Now the father, like a great many other American fathers, thought only of keeping the boy employed. “Oh, just wheel it back where you found it,’ was his reply. The boy thrust his hands into his pockets and walked from the room. His whistling had ceased. He found that his father had given him not a job, but a task.—Illinois State Y. M. C. A. Notes. long ago in Ireland. 91. God’s Instrument An English drummer boy was made prisoner during a_ rebellion His captors wished him to play a tune on his drum. He refused. “We will kill you if you don’t,” said one. “I don’t care,” answered the boy. “Well, if you don’t play a tune on it, I will,” said one of the soldiers, stretching out his hand to take the drum. In an instant, with an angry flash of his eye, the lad leaped through the drum- head, breaking it to pieces, shouting, “The king’s drum shall never be beat by rebels”—and fell pierced through with the bayonets of the enemy. O youths, act the brave part of this little soldier. Never let your powers or your bodies, which are God’s, be used in the service of Satan. 92. Honor—Sense of They tell of Nelson, when he was a boy, that he and his brother were returning to school after the Christ- mas holidays. Their home was within riding distance of the school and it was their custom to return on horseback. Now it happened this Christmas that there had been a heavy snow-storm. And by and by the boys determined to turn back © rather than go on. Nelson’s brother William was not fond of school, so he welcomed any excuse. But when the boys got home and told their story, all their father said was, “If that be the case you certainly shall not go; but make another attempt and I shall leave it to your honor. If the road is dangerous you may return; but, remember boys, I leave it to your honor.” So the two boys started out again. They found the snow really deep, and once more William was for turning back, but Horatio said, “No, we must go on. We can manage it if we try harder. Father left it to our honor.”—James Hastings. CHILDREN 63 93. Influence—Unconscious Josiah Wedgwood, the famous potter, invented the beautiful Wedg- wood ware that is so much admired. Josiah lived about a hundred years ago, and besides being a celebrated potter he was a thoroughly good man and a splendid Christian. One day a nobleman came to the factory, and Mr. Wedgwood asked a lad of fifteen to take the visitor over the works and explain how things were done. Now the nobleman was smart and clever, but he was not a God-fear- ing man. As he went on his round he began to use bad language and to make light of sacred things. At first the boy was shocked, but by and by he began to laugh at the smart remarks. Mr. Wedgwood, who was following, was hotly indignant. When the nobleman returned to the office the potter picked out a vase of rare workmanship and began to point out its beauties and to de- scribe how carefully and wonderfully it had been made. The nobleman was charmed and held out his hand to receive the vase, but as Mr. Wedgwood was handing it to the visitor he let it fall, and it lay shat- tered in a hundred pieces. The nobleman was very angry. He reproached his host for having destroyed the beautiful vase which he had so much wished to possess, but the potter replied, “My lord, there are things more precious than any vase—things which once ruined can never be restored. I can make another vase like this for you, but you can never give back to the boy who has just left us the pure heart which you have destroyed by making light of sacred things, and by using impure words.”—James Hastings. 94. Law—Evading Some Christians have the same idea of these commandments as a little boy who was playing with his sister. A most unpleasant woman who lived near had been finding fault with them, and the boy said, “I just hate her.” His little sister, greatly shocked, said, “Oh, no! The Bible says we must love every one.” “Oh, well,” he remarked, “old Mrs. Blank wasn’t born when that was written.” Isn’t that the idea some of us have about the requirements of God’s Word? 95. Moral Rights A man’s success in life does not depend upon his stature, but upon his spirit. The best man, after all, is the biggest man. It is moral stamina which gives distinction to humanity, whether it be young or — old, high or low in the social scale. A small office boy named Robert was chaffed about his size until he could stand it no longer. “Small as I am,” said he, “I can do something no man can do in this office.” “What is that, Bobby?” they all shouted. “Keep from swearing,” Robert re- plied. The office boy has his moral rights in modern industrialism, and his business superiors should remem- ber that God, their Master and his, will hold them to strict account for the example they set before the boy and the attitude they assume toward his moral training. 96. Obedience—Value of Years ago a famous children’s specialist said to me: “When it comes to a serious illness, the child who has been taught to obey stands four times the chance of recovery that the spoiled and undisciplined child does.” Those words made a lasting impression upon me. Up to that time I had been taught that one of the Ten Commandments was for children to obey their parents. Never had it entered my mind that a question of obedience might mean the saving or losing of a child’s life—From the Sunday School Chronicle. J. A. Clark. 64 CHILDREN 97- Sacrifice—Joy of He was only a mite of a boy, dirty and ragged; and he had stopped for a little while in one of the city’s free playgrounds to watch a game of ball between boys of his own and a rival neighborhood. ‘Tatters and grime were painfully in evidence on every side; but the little fellow at- tracted the attention of a group of visitors, and one of them, reaching over the child’s shoulder as he sat on the ground, gave him a luscious golden pear. The boy’s” eyes sparkled; but the eyes were the only thanks as he looked back to see from whence the gift had come and then Aurned his face away too shy or too much astonished to speak. But from that time on his atten- tion was divided between the game and his new treasure. He patted the pear; he looked at it; and, at last, as if to assure himself that it was as delicious as it appeared, he lifted it to his lips and cautiously bit out a tiny piece near the stem. Then, with a long sigh of satisfaction and assur- ance, he tucked the prize safely inside his blouse. “Why don’t you eat it, Tony?” de- manded a watchful acquaintance. “Rat it? All meself? Ain’t I savin’ it for mother?” The tone, with its mingling of re- sentment and loyalty, made further speech unnecessary. Whatever Tony lacked—and it seemed to be nearly everything—he had learned human- ity’s loftiest lesson. He had another dearer than self, and knew the joy of sacrifice. 98. Sainthood Deferred “Too many people,” said the clergyman, “regard their religion as did the little boy in the jam closet. His mother pounced on him sud- denly. He stood on tiptoe, lading jam with both hands from the jam pot to his mouth. “‘Oh, Jacky!’ his mother cried, ‘And only last night you prayed to be made a saint!’ “His face, an expressionless mask of jam, turned toward her. ‘Yes, but not till after I’m dead,’ he ex- plained.” 99. Seeker—Persistent It was in the dead of night, and a cold night at that. Mr. Smith was away, and Peterson Smith, aged six, was getting over the measles. “Mother, may I have a drink of real cold water?” he asked, waking Mrs. Smith from a_ refreshing slumber. “Turn right over and go to sleep!” commanded Mrs. Smith. “You are a naughty boy to wake mother up when she put a pitcher of water on your table the very last thing before you went to bed.” Ten minutes later the small voice piped up again: ‘Mother, I want a drink of water.” “Peterson,” said Mrs. Smith sternly, “if you say that again I shall get up and spank you!” There was five minutes’ silence, and again Peterson spoke: “Mother,” he said, cheerfully, “when you get up to spank me, may I have a drink of water ?”—Youth’s Companion. roo. Thankfulness There was once a good king in Spain called Alfonso XII. Now it came to the ears of this king that the pages at his court forgot to ask God’s blessing on their daily meals, and he determined to rebuke them. He invited them to a banquet which they all attended. The table was spread with every kind of good thing, and the boys ate with evident relish; but not one of them remem- bered to ask God’s blessing on the food. During the feast a beggar entered, dirty and ill-clad. He seated himself at the royal table and ate and drank CHRIST 65 to his heart’s content. At first the pages were amazed, and they ex- pected that the king would order him away. But Alfonso said never a word. When the beggar had finished he rose and left without a word of thanks. Then the boys could keep silence no longer. “What a despic- ably mean fellow!” they cried. But the king silenced them, and in clear, calm tones he said, “Boys, bolder and more audacious than this beggar have you all been. Every day you sit down to a table supplied by the bounty of your Heavenly Father, yet you ask not His blessing nor express to Him your gratitude.”—James Hastings. ror. Tribulation—Joyful in In Lausanne, Switzerland, Adele Kamm was born on October 1, 1885. When she was eight years old she had her first severe attack of illness. For a time the physicians thought they could restore her to health. After a few years, however, they realized that all they could do was to prolong her life. She was suffer- ing from tuberculosis, and the end seemed near. The invalid heard the truth, but she did not allow herself to give way to gloom. “I will smile when I feel ill,’ she resolved. “Her life was gracious and radiant,’ wrote Paul Seippel in telling her story in “Huguenot Saint of the Twentieth Century,” a book which passed through three editions in French before it was translated into Eng- lish. For a time she was in a hospi- tal where she found joy in min- istering to other patients. ears When she was taken to her own home she missed what she called “the sacred joy of helping them.” ... She wrote a booklet called “Joy- ful in Tribulation.” It rang with a message of joy from beginning to end. Before long her joy be- came even greater, because, with another invalid, she conceived the idea of the “Society of Ladybirds.” zo2, Truth—Searching for One day little Maxine Mudgett was playing in the barnyard of her father’s ranch near Mariposa, Cali- fornia. There had been a big rain and the water had come surging through the barnyard, washing away considerable soil and bringing to light a number of new stones that she had not seen before. One of them attracted her childish attention and interest and she carried it with her to the house. Her father found it to be a nugget of solid gold weigh- ing twenty-eight ounces and worth five hundred and ten dollars. Ten thousand children in ten thousand barnyards in a score of other states might have searched a day or a year and not found a single nugget, but this little girl was hunting in a nugget country. Many people search for peace and truth about God and man and never find it. But people who search in the childlike spirit in that greatest of all gold fields, the Bible, will not fail to find golden nuggets of priceless value. CHRIST 103. Christ—A biding The beautiful hymn, “Abide, With Me,” was written in 1847, by Rev. Henry Francis Lyte, when he was in the final stage of disease. His life was one of disappointments. His ambitions were crossed, his affec- tions were betrayed, his health failed. Though of gentle birth and high scholarship, he was placed in what he himself called “a dreary Irish curacy.” But he was not permitted to linger even there; failing health compelled him to relinquish his charge in an attempt to prolong his life in the soothing climate of Italy. Before leaving for the South he gathered his strength for the ad- 66 ministration of a last communion servvice, although, as he _ wrote, “scarcely able to crawl.” Then he gave his farewell to the members of his flock and retired to his chamber. As the evening of the Sabbath day gathered its shadows, he came forth wearily, and laid in the hand of one of his relatives this hymn of eight stanzas. Thus was this prayer in hymn born in an hour of deepest darkness and bitterest disappoint- ment. 104. Christ a Magnet Recently a Western iron manufac- turing concern in experimenting with powerful magnetic cranes found that one of the magnets on being passed over the ground on their premises, recovered thousands of pounds of iron that had lain buried for years. Huge pieces of iron fairly leapt through their earthen mantle to meet the mighty magnetic force and not a few mysterious disappearances of parts reported “missing” were ac- counted for on this day of reckon- ing. What a picture of the power of the Spirit of God when he moves over a community. Often the Spirit might pass over the earth to-day and attract with his irresistible power the “steeled hearts” of those sunken in the sins and cares of worldliness. “If I be lifted up from the earth I will draw all men unto me.” 105. Christ—Condescension of A Colorado mine-owner erected houses for his employees, and built a school for the exclusive use of their children. One day a ranchman in the neighborhood visited the mine- owner, and told him that he had five children who were growing up in ignorance because there was not a good school within reach of his ranch. He begged for permission to send them to the mining school, and offered to pay liberally for the CHRIST privilege. The mine-owner said, however, that it could not be done. He had been obliged to make it an inflexible rule that no _ children should be admitted but those of the employees in the mine. The ranch- man pleaded, but without avail. Finally, he offered himself as a miner, and being a strong, stalwart man, he was accepted. He is now working in the mine for daily wages, in order that his children may be eligible for admission to the school. He doubtless finds the work hard and uncongenial, but his children will profit by his doing it, and that fact is a consolation to him. We admire a love like this that leads to self-sacrifice, but we too often for- get that the whole human race owes its opportunity of attaining eternal life to such love. 106. Christ—Explaining We call Christmas the birthday of Jesus Christ, but who he was, what he was in the depths of his nature, the world, after two thousand years of investigation and reflection, has not been able to tell exhaustively. If any one shall say that it is too — much of a mystery to believe in such a birth, such a life, such a resurrec- tion, a sufficient reply is that the uni- — verse is crowded with mystery. We cannot explain creation, or existence, or matter, or mind, or life—nothing, indeed, ultimately. We cannot prove © by reason who we are ourselves, what we are, whence we came, whither we go. What is the mean- ing of the worlds and the totality of things, who can say? Even the flower in the crannied wall defies all of our systems of thought. We cannot understand Jesus fully and fundamentally, nor explain him. as we explain others. He does not ask us to do it nor make our salva- tion depend on our doing it. Christ- mas is not time for losing ourselves in the depths of an abstract and metaphysical theology. Jesus says ater = % | CHRIST 67 not “Explain Me,” but “Follow Me.” His religion is conduct—a practical program and not merely philo- sophical disquisition. Its path into truth is by way of obedience. He that is willing to do the will of God and honestly makes the attempt shail somehow comprehend the teaching of the Prophet of Nazareth—Western Christian Advocate. zo7. Christ’s Friends A Russian soldier, one very cold, piercing night, kept duty between one sentry-box and another. A poor working man, moved with pity, took off his coat and lent it to the soldier to keep him warm, adding that he should soon reach home, while the soldier would be exposed out of doors for the night. The cold was so intense that the soldier was found dead in the morning. Some time afterwards the poor man was laid on his deathbed, and in a dream saw Jesus appear to him. ‘You have got my coat on,” said the man. “Yes; it is the coat you lent to me that cold night when I was on duty, and you passed by. I was naked, and you clothed me.”—Christian Age. z08. Christ—Holding Up A young lieutenant, fresh from a Christian home, arrived at his camp in France to find that the officers’ mess was not conducted in a seemly way. The men not only talked in an objectionable way but they had put on the walls of the mess room pic- tures that were far from decorous. The lieutenant was young and un- familiar with army life; though his whole soul revolted, he hardly dared to protest. Then one afternoon, when he was going through his lug- gage, he found in his valise a small but beautiful picture. It was the head of Christ by that master of masters, Leonardo da Vinci, a copy of that head which he had sketched again and again before painting it on the canvas of his great picture, the Last Supper. It gave the young man his inspiration. Creeping into the mess room late that night, he hung the picture on the wall. There it was, a point of goodness and beauty and inspiration amid the tawdry, evil stuff that hung there. The young officer was not the only one to creep into that room when no one was watching. Within twenty-four hours, picture after pic- ture mysteriously disappeared from those walls until only the picture of the head of the Saviour remained. Before those pure and tender eyes sin fled away. The simple uplifting of Christ was enough to drive evil away in headlong flight. Evil must be overcome by good.—Youth’s Companion. 109. Christ—Image of Scipio Africanus had a son, who had nothing of the father but the name—a coward—a dissolute, sorry rake—the son of one of the great- est generals in the world! This son wore a ring upon his finger, wherein was his father’s picture. His life and character were so opposite to those of his father, and so unworthy, that, by an act of the senate, he was commanded to forbear wearing that ring. They judged it unfit that he should have the honor to wear the picture of his father, who would not himself bear the resemblance of his father’s excellency. The divine com- mand is, “Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.”—Whitecross. rio. Christ in the Heart A soldier of Napoleon’s great army was wounded one day by a bullet which entered his breast above his heart; he was carried to the “rear, and the surgeon was probing the wound with his knife, when at length the guardsman exclaimed, “An inch deeper, and you will find the emperor.” And the Christian soldier, even when most sorely 68 pressed and pierced by his foes, is conscious that were his heart laid open by their wounds, it would only discover the name of his great Cap- tain deeply engraven there—lInde- pendent. zzz. Christ-Like When the funeral procession of Lord Shaftesbury, the Christian philanthropist, reached Trafalgar Square forty thousand factory hands, seamstresses, flower girls, and laborers from the East End were found there assembled; then came a mile through such crowds as London has scarcely ever seen, and on either side of the street delega- tions from Sunday schools, shelters, the homes and the training schools, supported almost wholly by this great philanthropist. When the hearse approached the costermongers, a leader lifted a banner with these words, “I was a stranger, and ye took me in.” The boys from the ragged schools lifted this banner: “I was sick, and ye visited me.” Upon a silken flag the leader of the working girls had _ inscribed these words: “Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of the least of these, ye did it unto me.” This was a beautiful tribute of gratitude to one who was worthy. And the whole nobility and goodness of Shaftesbury’s life grew out of his desire to be like Christ, to whom he ever paid the homage of gratitude for ali that he was, or did. zzz. Christ Likeness The caterpillar of a moth, we are told, becomes like the color of the leaf upon which it feeds. Its color in this way indicates the character of the food it eats. If we would be like Christ we must feed on Him. Our moral character will always manifest the color of our mental food. Christ lived upon the Word of God His Father, and so main- CHRIST tained a life that was like God. If we would be His disciples we must come after Him in this matter. Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. “Eat, O friends” (S. of S. 5: 1).—James Smith. zz3. Christ Our Plea Some years ago, during the war, there was a judge who felt great interest in the welfare of the suffer- ing soldiers. He had a dear boy of his own in the army, and this made him feel the greatest sympathy for the soldiers. But one time he was very busy in studying out an impor- tant law case that was coming before him to be tried. And while he was thus engaged, he made up his mind not to be interrupted by any persons begging for help. One day, during this time, a poor soldier came into his office. His clothes were torn and thin, and his face showed that he was suffering much from sick- ness. The judge went on with his work, pretending not to notice him. The soldier was fumbling in his pockets for a good while, and then, seeing that he was not welcome, he said in a disappointed tone, “I did have a letter for you, sir.” The judge made no answer. Presently the soldier’s thin trembling hand pushed a little note along the desk. The judge looked up, and was going to say, “I am too busy now to at- tend to anything of this kind.” But just then his eye fell on the note, and he saw the handwriting of his own son. In a moment he picked it up and read thus—“Dear Father, The bearer of this note is one of our brave soldier boys. He has been dis- missed from the hospital, and is going home to die. Please help him, in any way you can, for Charlie’s — sake.” What a change those few lines made in that father’s feelings towards the poor soldier! “Come into the house, my friend,” he said. “You are welcome to anything we CHRIST 69 have.” Then a good meal was pre- pared for him. He was put to sleep in Charlie’s bed. He was dressed in some of Charlie’s clothes, and money was given him to take him home in comfort. All this was done “for Charlie’s sake.” And so when we ask anything for Jesus’ sake, God, our heavenly Father, will surely give it to us, if it be well for us to have it—Richard Newton. 114. Christ—Power in The dweller in Toronto wakes up in the morning and wants a light to dress by. He presses a little switch and his whole room is light as day, and it is Niagara which does it for him. He goes to his bath-room and wants to heat some water for wash- ing or sh ving; he presses another switch, and once again Niagara sup- plies his need. He wants to talk to someone in Montreal or Chicago, cities hundreds of miles away; he rings a bell, and Niagara carries his messages for him. He boards one of the trolley cars, and Niagara car- ries him quickly and safely to his ofice door. Niagara is an almost exhaustless source of power. There is another source of power we need if we are to get through life worthily, and that is moral power, and we have a Niagara of that kind of power in Christ. Look at what Paul says: “I can. do all things through Christ.”—J. D. Jones. 115. Christ—Spirit of Christian lands are blessed with countless lives that show the Christ- mas spirit every day of the year. Let me tell you of one. In a coun- try postoffice the postmistress was so ill she did not know when Christ- mas came and went. After she was better, she felt bitter against Provi- dence and gloomy towards every- body. But the day she returned to her humble duties, it occurred to her, Why not make to-day my lost Christ- mas? So she put the spirit of Christ into the whole day. She smiled at everyone that came or went. They wondered; but they were pleased and made happier. After the office was closed for the day, this Christmas impersonator gathered together a lot of small com- forts and took them out as presents to the poor of the neighborhood. Then she carried delicacies to the sick, At the close of the day she was the happiest woman in the com- munity; and she determined to live each day as if it were Christmas. The spirit of Christ with us and in us makes every day a feast day. We daily enjoy his bounty; and we may daily enjoy his presence. “Lo, I am with you always.” 116. Christ the Door There be some who teach us that the earthly Church, composed of hu- man beings, surrounded with human devices, human ordinances, human governments, human systems, is the Door. Never! Never! Christ is the Door. No organization can take his place. None can represent him, even. We may make use of the Church as we make use of a hotel when we are traveling home to see father and mother; but no landlord of any hotel shall tell me that he is my father, or my mother, or that his hotel is my home. Churches are God’s hotels, where travelers put up for the night, as it were, and then speed on their way home. Christ is the one Door. All that pass through that Door are of the one church, and belong to him.—H. W. Beecher. 117. Christ the Light There is a little church on a lonely hillside where they have neither gas nor lamps, and yet on darkest nights they hold Divine serv- ice. Each worshiper, coming a great distance from village or moorland home, brings with him a taper, and lights it from the one supplied and carried by the minister of the little 70 CHRIST church. The building is thronged, and the scene is said to be “most brilliant.” Let each one of our lives be but a little taper—lighted from the life of Christ, and carrying his flame—and we shall help to fill this great temple of human need and hu- man sin with the light of the knowl- edge of the glory of God. The life of Christ will be the new sunshine of the world. “Men shall be blessed in him; all nations shall call him blessed ;” universal man shall re- ceive “God’s Living Light.” z18. Christ—The Unchanging Humboldt, the famous naturalist and traveler, described his experience in a violent earthquake and attend- ant tornado. He was bewildered and terrified when he saw the waters re- ceding from the bay; his vessel heavily listing till it toppled over on the beach; trees of the forest up- rooted; huge rocks rent from the cliffs; the mountains rocking and the air dark with vapor and dust. Then looking up, he beheld the sun majestic, unmoved, unchanged, every moment becoming more distinct as the dust settled and the gloom was dispelled. Life in America and in the whole world was shaken and bewildered by the political, moral and religious overthrow and upheaval of the World War. It was inevitable that such a cataclysm should profoundly affect all the relationships of life. These changes focused attention upon the temporal and the material and loosened the grip upon the moral and the spiritual. That multi- tudes have become unsettled in the faith is a fact as obvious as it is painful. There is now, however, solid ground for optimism in the growing consciousness of an_ increasing number that in the midst of the over- throw and upheaval there is some- thing firm, unchanging, unmoved. They have taken the upward look 'IT9. and have discovered amidst the dust and din, the darkness and confusion, the Light of the World. Costly as this experiment has been for the world, there will be priceless com- pensation if the futility of trust in human expediency eventually cen- ters thought upon the basic and eternal in Christ Jesus our Lord. Christ—Union With When I was a little child I often stood near a forge and watched the blacksmith at work, admiring the strength and skill of the wonder- working man. He was wont to treat me kindly and bear with me pa- tiently, although I sometimes stood in his way. At one time he would benevolently answer my _ childish questions, and at another, instead of answering, would continue to handle his tools with his strong, bare arms, throwing glances of tenderness to- wards me from time to time out of his deep, intelligent eyes, only all in silence. When two pieces of iron, placed in the fire in order to be welded together, became red, I thought and said he should take them out and join them; but he left them lying still in the fire, without saying a word. They grew redder and hotter as they threw out angry sparks; now, thought I, he should certainly lay them together and strike; but the skillful man left them still lying in the fire, and mean-. time fanned it into a fiercer glow. Not till they were white and bend- ing with their own weight when lifted, like lilies on their stalks— not till they were at the point of be- coming liquid did he lay the two pieces alongside of each other, and by a few gentle strokes weld them into one. Had he laid them to- gether sooner, however vigorously he had beaten they would have fallen asunder in his hands. The Lord knows, as we know not, what prep- aration we need in order that we may be brought into union with CHRIST 71 Himself. He refuses, delays, dis- appoints—all in wise love, that He may bring the seeker’s heart up to such a glow of desire as will suffice to unite it permanently with His own.—Arnot. 120. Christ—Upheld by As one of our American liners was crossing the Atlantic, during a terrific gale, the cry was raised— “Man overboard!” It was impos- sible to put up the helm of the ship on account of the violence of the hurricane; but one of the crew instantly seized a rope having a loop at the end, and threw it over the stern, crying out, “Lay hold for your life!” Passengers and crew had crowded together at the stern, but the rolling waves and blinding spray prevented them from seeing the drowning sailor. The captain cried out, “Have you got hold of the rope?” and the reply came, “No, but the rope has got hold of me.” The sailor when he caught the rope had passed the loop over his shoulders and under his arms, and though too fatigued to hold on to the rope, the loop kept him from sinking.—W. R. Bradlaugh. z21. Christ Waiting A man once stopped a preacher in a street of London, and said, “I once heard you preach in Paris, and you said something which has, through God, been the means of my conversion.” “What was that?” said the preacher. “It was that the latch was on our side of the door. I had always thought that God: was a hard God, and that we must do some- thing to propitiate him. It was a new thought to me that Christ was waiting for me to open to him.”— The Standard. 122. Christ—Waiting for Rey. J. S. Harrison told this story in an address in Spurgeon’s Taber- nacle in London: When the Franco-Prussian War broke out a young lieutenant in the Prussian army told the girl he loved how he would return and take her to the home he would provide for her. When the war was over the victorious troops returned to Berlin, and entered the city in triumphant procession. Julie stood by the gate waiting for her lover, who was sleeping under the sod in a foreign land. But she said, “He must come, he said he would!” and for forty years, day after day, in all weathers, she was at that corner. Her brain was turned, and one day she fell ill at the spot and was taken to a hospital, where she died. “But thank God,” exclaimed the speaker, “Jesus is providing a home for us and will not disappoint.” 123. Cross Preached by Tragedy Dr. G. Campbell Morgan says that when holding meetings in a city of Nebraska he had a _ conversation with Commander Booth-Tucker, who had just lost his wife in a rail- road accident. Doctor Morgan says: “It was in the city of Omaha. I said to him: ‘Commander, the pass- ing of your beloved wife was one of the things that I freely confess I cannot understand.’ He said to me: ‘Dear man, do you not know that the Cross can only be preached by tragedy?’ Then he told me this incident: ‘When I and my wife were last in Chicago I was trying to lead a sceptic to Christ in a meeting. At last the sceptic said, with a cold, glittering eye and a sarcastic voice, “Tt is all very well. You mean well, but I lost my faith in God when my wife was taken out of my home. It is all very well; but if that beautiful woman at your side lay dead and cold by you, how would you believe in God?”’ Within one month she had been taken through the awful tragedy of a railway accident, and the Commander went back to Chicago, and in the hearing of a 72 CHRIST vast multitude said: ‘Here in the midst of the crowd, standing by the side of my dead wife as I take her to burial, I want to say that I still believe in God, and love him, and know him.’’”—S. S. Chronicle. x24. Cross—Reform Through Many are the schemes which have been formulated for the uplift of humanity and the bringing in of the kingdom of God. Most of them fail for the reason that they ignore the greatest power of all—the influ- ence of Christ in human hearts. In his letter of resignation, as pastor of Plymouth Church, Brooklyn, Dr. Lyman Abbott said, “I see that what I had once hoped might be done for my fellows through schemes of social reform and philanthropy can only be done by influence of Jesus Christ. There is no dynamo in reform save the Cross of Jesus Christ.” 125. Cross—World Needs the Doctor Chamberlain, one of the oldest missionaries in India, says that one day while he was preach- ing in Benares, among the devotees who came to bathe in the sacred stream by which he was standing, was a man who had journeyed wearily on his knees and elbows from a great distance with the pain of conviction at his heart. He hoped by washing in the Ganges to be re- lieved of his “looking for judgment.” Poor Soul! He dragged himself to the river’s edge, made his prayer to Gunga, and crept in. A moment later he emerged with the old pain still tugging at his heart. He lay prostrate on the bank in his despair and heard the voice of the mission- ary. He raised himself and crawled a little nearer. He listened to the simple story of the cross; he was hungry and thirsty for it. He rose upon his knees, then upon his feet, then clapped his hands and cried: “That’s what I want! That’s what I want!” That story of the cross is what the whole world wants. The world - wants Christ, for Christ has what the world needs. 126. Everybody Somebody to Jesus Down the High Street of Edin- burgh there came rushing a carriage and some horses, the horses having taken. fright. A road was instantly cleared for them. At the bottom of the hill was a little child in the center of the street, who was stand-. ing quite unconscious of the certain death rushing down upon it. The people stood aghast; no one rushed to save the child, and still the horses dashed on. A Scotchwoman walk- ing along suddenly saw the danger- ous position that the child was in; she sprang like lightning, caught the child in her arms, and rescued it from the imminent danger in which it was placed. Some came instantly to the woman and said, “Ma’am, is that child yours?” “No,” she said, “it is not mine, I do not know whose it is, but it is somebody’s bairn.”— Guthrie. z27. Hope—The Only Here is a remarkable bit of reminiscence by Gipsy Smith. “In 1918,” he says, “the government sent me to America to do propaganda work. I spent three months there, came home and was sent out again. Just before I went the second time I was at a luncheon at which the late Lord Moulton, the Allies’ expert for high explosives, was one of the chief guests. I heard him say, ‘In the midst of this world’s havoc and devastation and heart-break, my only hope is the preaching of Jesus.’ When I got on the boat I sat beside Professor Simpson, grand-nephew of the discoverer of chloroform and himself an expert on Russian affairs. CHRIST 73 ‘Gipsy,’ he said, ‘militarism fails, politics fail, educationalists fail, social reformers fail, Jesus has never failed.’ On the same boat the presi- dent of the Board of Education for China was returning from consulta- tions with the Allies in London. He asked for an interview and _ his secretary plied me with questions. This Chinese educationalist said, ‘Sir, the only hope I have for my country is Jesus.’” 128. Jesus a Pilot A few years ago, I was sent for to see a man who was dying. Fol- lowing the little granddaughter, who came for me, I soon found myself in a rear basement with an old pilot of the Hudson River Line, seventy years of age, who was in the dire grip of pneumonia, with that labored breathing which showed that death was but a few moments ahead. Overwhelmed with a sense of re- sponsibility that was upon me, I stepped up to the old man’s bedside and began to talk to him as tenderly and sweetly as I knew how about the love of Jesus and his power to save, but evidently to no effect. Growing desperate, I seemed to hear the Spirit saying to me, “Present Jesus to him as the pilot’s pilot and you will reach him.” Seizing the hint, I looked him straight in the eye, took hold of his calloused hand, already clammy and cold with the touch of death, and said: “How many times, my friend, when the fog was on the river and the current against you, the only thing that kept your boat off the rocks was your clear eye and your steady nerve. Now you are in the strait of death, the tide is against you and the mist hangs heavy over all. What you need is a pilot and Jesus is the pilot’s pilot. Won’t you take him on board?” Gathering up what proved to be his dying strength he answered promptly and with feeling, “I will,” and you could almost see Christ step upon the bark of his soul—John Balcom Shaw. 129. Jesus—Divinity of A man said to an _ evangelical clergyman, “If the doctrine of Christ’s deity were true, [ am sure so important a doctrine must have been revealed with a clearness no one could have mistaken.” “Well,” said the clergyman, “what language would you have chosen?” “I would have called him the true God,” was the reply. “That’s right,” said the old preacher; “and that’s just what John did call him, ‘even his Son Jesus Christ; this is the true God,’” 1 John 5: 20. The Jews tried to stone Jesus to death one day, and when he said, “What is this for?” they said, “Be- cause you, being a man, claim to be equal to God and so make yourself to be God, and you are a blasphemer and you ought to die.” Matt. 26: 63, 6431273433: Luke. 22: 70,71; John 19: 7; 5: 18; 10: 33.—His enemies so understood his claim. 130. Jesus—In Place of In the orphanage of John Falk at Weimar, they were having supper in the dining hall and the teacher gave thanks in the ordinary way before the children began their meal, say- ing, “Come, Lord Jesus, and be our guest to-night, and bless the mercies which thou hast provided.” One little boy looked up and _= said, “Teacher, you always ask the Lord Jesus to come, but he never comes. Will he ever come?” “Oh, yes; if you will hold on in faith he will be sure to come.” “Very well,” said the little boy, “I will set a chair for him beside me here to-night to be ready when he comes.” And so the meal proceeded. By and by there came a rap at the door, and there was ushered in a poor, half-frozen apprentice. He was taken to the fire and his hands warmed. ‘Then he V4 CHRIST was asked to partake of the meal, and where should he go but to the chair which the little boy had pro- vided? As he sat down there the little boy looked up with a light in his eye, and said, “Teacher, I see it now! The Lord Jesus was not able to come himself, and he this poor man in his place. sn’t that it?” y m31. Jesus—King At a missionary meeting on the island of Raratonga, in the Pacific Ocean, an old man, who wished to join the Church, rose and said, “I have lived during the reign of four kings. In the first we were con- tinually at war, and a fearful sea- son it was watching and hiding with fear. During the reign of the second we were overtaken with a severe famine, and all expected to perish; then we ate rats and grass and this wood and that wood. Dur- ing the third we were conquered, and became the peck and prey of the two other settlements of the island; then if a man went to fish he rarely ever returned, or if a woman went far away to fetch food she was rarely ever seen again. But during the reign of this third king we were visited by another King, a great King, a good King, a peaceful King, a King of love, Jesus, the Lord from heaven. He has gained the victory. He has conquered our hearts; there- fore we now have peace and plenty in this world, and hope soon to dwell with Him in heaven.”—R. Brewin. 132. Jesus, Lover of My Soul There used to live a man in Brook- lyn, N. Y., without any arms. Pos- sibly he is living there yet. This was his story: When the Civil War broke out he felt it his duty to volunteer. He was engaged to be married, and while in the army letters passed frequently between him and his intended wife. After the battle of the Wilderness the young lady waited anxiously day aiter day to receive the longed-for letter from him. At last a letter came ina strange hand. She opened it with trembling fingers and fore- boding heart, and read these words: “It has been a terrible battle. I have been wounded so awfully that I shall never be able to support you. A friend writes this for me. I love you more tenderly than ever, but I re- lease you from your promise. I will not ask you to join your life with a maimed life like mine.” That letter was never answered. The next train that left for the South carried that young lady with it. She went to the hospital; she found out the number of his cot and went down the aisle, between the long rows of wounded men. At last she saw the number. She threw her arms around his neck and said, “Ill not desert you. T'll take care of you.” He did not resist her love. They were married, and for many years they lived very happily together. O my brother, you cannot save yourself. Your sins have maimed and marred you, and you are helpless unless some divine and glorious being shall come to your rescue. But Jesus Christ comes and says: “I was wounded for your transgressions, I was bruised for your iniquities, I bore your sins in mine own body on the cross, and I have gained the right to care for you, and if you will but yield yourself to me, I will care for you through all eternity.” That young man could have spurned that noble woman’s love; he could, but he did not. So you can, if you will, refuse Jesus Christ, spurn his love, and reject his offered mercy; but I do not believe you will do that. Give him your heart and your confession here and now.—Louis Albert Banks. 133. Jesus—WMistaken for A friendless lad, who had known nothing but unkindness and want CHRIST 75 throughout his life, lay ill with fever in the hospital. He was visited by a gentleman who brought him medi- cine and food and fruit. The child was silent for a time as he watched the visitor move around the room, then he asked: “Sir, are you Jesus?” That poor lad’s question may sound ignorant to you and me, but what a beautiful thing to be asked! And, .after all, it was the spirit of Jesus that was working through that gentleman. Dear friend, could any- one mistake you for Jesus? Are you so kind, so gentle, so loving that you bear the likeness of Him who “went about doing good”? 134. Jesus—Name of When Sir James Mackintosh was lying upon his deathbed, whenever a verse of Scripture was read to him he always showed by some sign that he heard it. “And,” says his daughter, “I especially observed that at every mention of the name of Jesus Christ, if his eyes were closed, he always opened them and looked at the person who had _ spoken. Once, after a long silence, he said, ‘I believe > We said, in a voice of inquiry, ‘In God?’: He answered, ‘In Jesus.’ He spoke but once after this. Upon our inquiring how he felt, he said he was ‘Happy.’” It would seem as if other names in the memories of the saints are like those cut deeply into the poet’s fabled rock of ice, which gradually, as the sun came round day by day melting the ice, became less and less plain, till at length they melted away altogether. But it is not so with the name of Jesus. The Psalm- ist says, “His name shall be con- tinued as long as the sun, and men shall be blessed in Him: all nations shall call Him blessed.”—R. Brewin. 135. Jesus—Searching for “Behold Wise-Men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews?” Mait."2: yi a: Some years ago a missionary in Africa became deeply interested in a young native African who had be- come a very earnest Christian. Day after day the boy would come to her to learn more about Jesus and his teachings. At last his teacher laugh- ingly said, “Sammy, if you want to know any more, you must go to (naming a very prominent Christian worker) in New York.” The boy asked where he lived and she told him that New York was away across the great water. The boy asked many more questions about it, and in a few days he dis- appeared. He walked to the coast, © where he found a ship that was going to New York. At first they refused to allow him to go with them, but after much pleading, he was finally allowed to “work his pas- sage” to New York, where he soon found the man for whom he was searching. To him he at once said, “T have come to learn more about Jesus.” This man became so im- pressed with the boy’s earnestness that he had him educated. The earnest student died while in the university where he was preparing himself that he might go as a mis- sionary to his own people. When he died, several of his classmates, who had been impressed with his remark- able Christian life, volunteered to go as missionaries to Africa in his place. Thousands are coming to our shores every day inquiring, “Where is he that is born King of the Jews?” This incident was told by a brother of one of Sammy’s classmates.— Lino. ark, 136. Jesus Waiting A busy woman entered her room hastily as twilight shades were fall- ing, went directly to her desk, turned on the gas, and began to write. Page after page she wrote, five minutes she worked, ten, half an hour, the 76 CHRIST solitude became oppressive. She wheeled in her chair around, and, with a shock of joyful surprise, looked squarely into the smiling face of her dearest friend, lying on the: lounge by her side. “Why, I didn’t know you were here!” she cried. “Why didn’t you speak to me?” “Because you were so busy. You didn’t speak to me.” So with Jesus. He is here all the time. 137. Jesus—Waiting for A. skilled nurse in the Dufferin Hospital in India was seated on the veranda reading, when a high class Hindu woman came up the steps. She rose to speak to her. A copy of Holman Hunt’s picture of Christ standing outside the closed door fell out of her book to the ground. The woman picked it up and looked arity “Tell me about this,” she said. “What does it mean?” Miss Henderson told her, and the woman went away. Summer passed into autumn, and autumn into winter, and there was snow on the mountains, and the air was chill, and Miss Henderson went to call upon this woman. As she came near the house she saw the door standing wide open. She entered and—the physical need of the woman foremost in her mind, for she was a trained nurse—at once said: “You should not have your front door open so. The moun- tains are covered with snow, and it is cold.” Then the woman, with a half shy reserve, said: “T know it. I have seen the snow, and I have felt the cold, but I thought that perhaps your Jesus might pass by, and I wanted him to find the door wide open.” 138. Jesus—Work of “The work of Jesus in the world is two-fold. It is a work accom- plished for us, destined to effect re- conciliation between God and man; it is a work accomplished in us, with the object of effecting our sanctifi- cation. By the one, a right relation is established between God and us; by the other is the fruit of the re- established order. By the former the condemned sinner is received into the state of grace; by the latter the pardoned sinner is associated with the life of God. . . . How many express themselves as if when forgiveness, with the peace which it procures has been once obtained, ali is finished, and the work of sal- vation consists in the health of the soul, and that the health of the soul consists in holiness. Forgiveness is not the re-establishment of health, it is but the crisis of convalescence. If God thinks fit to declare the sinner righteous, it is in order that He may by that means restore him to holi- ness.” —Godet. 139. King—A New One of the most influential of all the Chinese who have accepted Christ in recent years is a man who has held high office in the educa- tional life of China, and who is a recognized authority upon Chinese education. He had magnificent pros- pects before him. Position, influ- ence, opportunity, all were his. The study of the New Testament brought to him the conviction that Christ was the Saviour of men, and his Saviour. After a period of struggle, and of counting the cost, he determined on his confession before men. His dearest friend pleaded with him earnestly, agonizingly. He pleaded in vain. Then he urged him to secret discipleship. “Bow to the tablet of Confucius; it is only an empty form, and you can believe what you like in your heart.” It was a struggle, with friendship also wavering in the balance. But he replied: “A few days ago One came CHRIST 77 to dwell within my heart; He has changed all life for me forever. I dare not bow to any other, lest He depart.” He had found a new King, one Jesus. 140. Loyalty—Power of In the battle of Sadowa, after the Prussians had gained the victory over the Austrians, a young Austrian officer was found mortally wounded in a wet ditch, When the Prus- sian ambulance officers tried to re- move him he besought them with such terrible earnestness to let him lie where he was and die in peace, that at last, seeing he had but a few hours to live, they yielded to his entreaties; and there, in that wet ditch, he died. When they moved the body they discovered the reason of his earnestness to be left where he lay. Underneath the body were found hidden the colors of his regi- ment. Rather than they should fall into the hands of the enemy he had covered them with his dying body. The noble foe forebore to touch them. They wound them round the young hero’s body, and buried him in that shroud with military honors.— Ellice Hopkins. Master and Pupil A young pianist was giving con- certs in the provinces of Germany, and, to add to her renown, she an- nounced herself as a pupil of the celebrated Liszt. Arriving at a small provincial town, she advertised a concert in the usual way; but what was her astonishment and terror to see in the list of new arrivals at the hotel the name of “M. L’Abbe Liszt!” What was she to do? Her deception would be discovered, and she could never dare to give another concert. In her despair she adopted the wisest course, and went direct to the Abbe himself. Pale, trem- bling, and deeply agitated, she entered the presence of the great 141. maestro to confess her fraud, and to implore his forgiveness. She threw herself at his feet, her face bathed in tears, and related to him the his- tory of her life. Left an orphan when very young, and _ possessing nothing but her musical gifts, she had ventured to shelter herself under the protection of his great name, and thus to overcome the many obstacles which opposed her. Without that she would have been nothing—no- body. But could he ever forgive her? “Come, come,” said the great artist, helping her to rise, “we shall see what we can do. Here is a piano. Let me hear a piece intended for the concert to-morrow.” She obeyed, and played, at first timidly then with all the enthusiasm of re- viving hope. The maestro stood near her, gave her some advice, sug- gested some improvements, and when she had finished her piece, said most kindly—‘‘Now, my child, I have given you a music lesson. You are a pupil of Liszt.” Before she could recover herself sufficiently to utter a word of acknowledgment, he added, “Are the programmes printed?” “Not yet, sir.” “Then let them add to your programme that you will be assisted by your master, and that the last piece will be played by the Abbe Liszt.” Could any reproof be keener than such forgiving kindness —such noble generosity as this? The illustrious musician would no doubt have been questioned, and it would have been impossible for him to speak anything but the truth. But charity is ingenious in covering “a multitude of sins.” —Christian Chronicle. 142. Mediator—The During one of the journeys of Queen Victoria a little boy was de- sirous of seeing her. He determined to go direct to the castle where she was residing, and ask to see her. He was stopped at the gate by the sentry, who demanded what he 78 CHRIST wanted. “I want to see the Queen,” he replied. The soldier laughed at the boy, and with the butt-end of his musket pushed him away, and told him to be off immediately, or he would shoot him. The boy turned to go away, and gave vent to his tears. He had not gone far when he was met by the Prince of Wales, who inquired why he was crying. “T want to see the Queen,” replied the boy, “and that soldier won’t let me.” “Won’t he?” said the Prince; “then come along with me, and I'll take you to the Queen.” He accord- ingly took him by the hand and led him towards the castle. On passing the sentinel he, as usual, presented arms to the Prince, and the boy be- came terrified, and ran away, fear- ing that the soldier was going to shoot him. The Prince soon quieted his fears, and led him past the gates into the presence of Her Majesty. The Queen, with surprise, inquired of her son whom he had there; and upon being informed of what had happened, she laughed heartily, spoke kindly to her little visitor, and, to his great delight, dismissed him with a piece of money. As the Prince presented the boy to the Queen, so Christ presents us to His Father.—Biblical Treasury. 143. Message—Incomplete An old verger used to display to visitors the glories of Winchester Cathedral in the South of England. He was enthusiastic about its his- tory, its beauty, its memories; but best of all he loved to stand upon the cathedral roof and tell the story of the way in which news of Well- ington’s victory at Waterloo was brought to England. It came by sailing ship, he said, to the south coast and by semaphore was wig- wagged overland toward London. In due course the semaphore on the roof of Winchester Cathedral began to spell the message off—W-e-l-l- i-n-g-t-o-n — d-e-f-e-a-t-e-d—a n d then the fog closed in, the sema- phore no longer could be seen, and the sad news of the incomplete mes- sage went on toward London, plung- “ing the country into gloom—“‘Well- ington defeated!” But, when the fog lifted at last, the semaphore upon the top of Winchester Cathedral began to work again—W-e-I-l-i-n-g- t-o-n — d-e-f-e-a-t-e-d — t-h-e — e-n-e-m-y—and, all the more glori- ous for the preceding gloom, the wonderful news sped across the land and lifted up the spirits of the peo- ple into grateful joy—“Wellington defeated the enemy!” So was the dreadful gloom of Cal- vary for the despairing disciples dis- pelled by the glorious victory of Easter Day! So what had seemed defeat was changed to triumph! From the wonder of that victory the Christian Church arose in power ; the good news of that victory is the deathless message of the Christian people; and when Christ _ shall have come to his own in the hearts of all men, the prophecy of that glad Easter Day shall be fulfilled. 144. Pilot—Dropping the When the Emperor of Germany dismissed his great counselor Bis- marck, Punch had a cartoon by Ten- niel representing a great liner. Bis- marck was just leaving the vessel, while the Emperor was watching the departing guide with haughty self- satisfaction. The cartoon was en- titled, “Dropping the Pilot.” And the cartoon represents experiences in my own life; but instead of a fall- ible statesman, I have dismissed the infallible God. I have dropped the Eternal Pilot. I have called it self- dependence, and with a great show of courtesy I have bowed my Lord out of the boat. And then I have taken the helm into my own hands, and steered by my own counsels. And the end has been sorrow and loss.—J. H. Jowett. CHRIST 79 145. Promises On every package sent out by a certain printer in a large city is an impressive trade-mark. It is simply a circle within which is his name and the words, “I never disappoint.” Every promise of the Lord ever made to his people might have borne that legend. 146. Righteousness—Hunger for With All Your Heart. Do you know what that means? Let me tell you. A soldier who had been long in Southern prisons, called at my home after the war. I had met him first while we were prisoners in Charleston jail. Afterward we were together in the jail at Columbia. He had gone to Belle Island. Three years passed; and now, as we met once more, I asked him of his later prison experiences. “I don’t remem- ber much about it, Chaplain,” he said, “only that I wanted bread. I know it was twenty-three months after my capture before I was re- leased. But after I left Columbia it is all confused in my mind. I know I was at Belle Island awhile, and a long time at Andersonville. “How hungry I was at Anderson- ville! For a while I used to want to hear from home. Then I grew so hungry that I didn’t think of home. For awhile I wanted to escape. hungry to care for that. I only wanted bread, bread, bread. Oh, how hungry I was, and how I longed for bread!” That, my friends, was longing for bread “with all the heart”—one su- preme, Overmastering desire. Home and friends, and liberty and life, lost sight of, unthought of, in the cease- less craving for needful food! Blessed are they who do thus hunger after the Bread of Life in Jesus Christ, “for they shall be filled” (Matt. 5: 6).—Trumbull. But by and by I was too . 147. Sacrifice—Christ-Like The most wonderful event in all the world’s history was the Son of God becoming man. This happened when he was born as a babe in Bethlehem. He came into the world that he might get nearer to the peo- ple, and tell them of God’s love. A story is told of a Moravian mission- ary who went to the West Indies to preach to the slaves. But they were toiling all the day in the fields, and he could not get near to them. So he had himself sold as a slave and went among the other slaves, toiling with them in the fields, that he might tell the story of God’s love. This illustrates in a way what Christ did.—J. R. Miller. . 148. Saviour—Discovery of It is related of the great Scotch surgeon, Sir James Simpson, that he was once approached by a young man who wished to compliment him by asking what he regarded his greatest discovery, and the simple reply of this eminent scientist was, “My greatest discovery is that I am a great sinner and that Jesus is a great Saviour.” 149. Saviour—Searching for Tolstoi has told of a shoemaker who one night had a vision of the Saviour, who said to him, “Martin, look for me to-morrow on the street. I shall meet you there!” Although the shoemaker did not place much faith in his dream, still on the next day he could not help watching everyone he met. But nothing happened, save two or three trifling incidents. Seeing an old street-sweeper, Martin called him in, gave him refreshment, and warmed him by his fire. A little later he noticed a poor woman with a child, shivering with cold as she begged from the passers-by. He gave her an old cloak and a few pennies to buy food for herself and her baby. 80 CHRIST Just before night he made peace be- tween an apple-woman. and a boy who had stolen one of her apples; got the urchin to restore the fruit, and taught him to ask forgiveness, and her to forgive. They walked off together good friends, the boy carry- ing the basket. Nothing else hap- pened. A very disappointing day! But that night the Saviour stood again by the shoemaker’s bedside, and said gently, “Martin, Martin, did you not recognize me?” And when Martin awoke, his soul was rejoiced; for his New Testament was open, and his eyes fell upon these words, “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” z50. Saviours—Two A ship had stranded and when the boats had been let down it was seen that there was not room in them for all. Lots were cast, and among those who had to remain behind was a young and very wicked sailor. He was very pale and those standing near heard him mutter, “Lost, lost eternally!” But he was picked up and thrown into one of the boats. The man who had done that called to him: “You cannot yet die, but I can and am willing to die for you. But mind that I see you in heaven!” An old sailor who often had told him of Jesus and asked him to receive the Saviour thus died in his stead. Ever after the young man, who really accepted Christ, was wont to testify in these words: “For me two have died!” rs1. Saviour—A Great Dr. S. L. Baldwin, the missionary secretary who went home to heaven a few years ago, was for a genera- tion a great Chinese missionary. I have heard him tell how there came one day into his congregation a very wicked man. During the sermon the preacher said: “Why, ’ Cafl Jesus Christ is such a great Saviour that he can take away all your sins.” The Chinaman referred to, when he heard that sentence, repeated, “God take away all your sins.” “Why,” he said to himself, “I have never heard of any such Saviour as that in China before, who can take away all my sins,” and he waited till the service was over. Then he came up and said to the missionary, “Did I understand you to say that this Jesus about whom you have been preaching can take away all my sins?” “Yes, that is just what I did.” He said, “I think you said too much. He might help a fellow, but he could never take away all my sins.” “Oh, yes,” the missionary said, “he can take away all your sins.” “Oh, but,” he said, “you do not know me. You do not know what a sinner I am. Why, do you know I am an impure man? Can he take away my sin?” “Yes.” “Well, do you know that I am a liar, I am an opium smoker, and have been an opium smoker for nineteen years? Why, you know perfectly well that no man that has smoked opium for nineteen years can ever be cured. Now, do you sup- pose that he can take away my sin?” “Yes, sir, he can take away your sin.” “Well,” said he, “he is a won- derful Saviour;’ and he could not get the thought out of his mind: “This Saviour can take away all my sin.’ He could not believe it. He came and talked with the missionary over and over and over again about it, until at last the beautiful truths of the Bible found their way into his soul, drop by drop; and one morning some weeks after he came running along into the mission premises. “Oh, yes,” he exclaimed, “T know it. I have found it; I have found it. He has taken away my sin.” 152. Suffering for Christ Newell Dwight Hillis has a little FATHER 81 book with the title, “The Misfor- tune of a World Without Pain.” In the catalogue of a certain dealer the title is, “The Misfortune of a World With Pain.” The last title fits the thought of many better than the first title. A great scientist said once upon a time that the existence of a single human ache was an imputa- tion upon the existence of a God of love. How Peter had learned of his Master when he said that it was pos- sible to suffer as a Christian. And Paul’s commission was, “I will show him how many things he must suffer for my name’s sake.” 153. The Song of a Heathen (Sojourning in Galilee, a. pb. 32) If Jesus Christ is a man,— And only .a man,—I say That of all mankind I cleave to him, And to him will I cleave alway. If Jesus Christ is a God,— And the only God,—I swear I will follow Him through heaven and hell, The earth, the sea, and the air! —Richard Watson Gilder. 154. Victory Over Odds Private Wilson, of the Highland Light Infantry, charged a Maxim gun of the Germans that was play- ing on the British position and mowing down his comrades. “Mon, I’m angry with yon gun, an’ I’m gaun to stop it,” he said to a private of the King’s Royal Rifles. The rifleman followed him, but soon fell. Wilson dodged among hay- stacks until he got into position, and with a deadly shot brought down the German gunner. Another took his place at the gun, and Wilson fetched him down. A third, fourth, fifth and sixth man fell in the same way. When he had silenced the en- tire crew, and rushed forward and bayoneted an officer who fired at and missed him, he slewed the gun around and mowed down a company of German reinforcements. He went back unscathed, fell in a faint, only to awaken and ask whether the gun had been brought in. Told it had not, he staggered back and returned with it on his shoulder, Then he went back again after his wounded comrade. “Thank God, you got the gun!” were the dying fellow’s last words to Wilson. But the gun was only a trophy; the real victory was the triumph of courage against odds. So the real victory of Christ was the cross and the resurrection, but his healings advertised him as One with a divine mission.—John F, Cowan. FATHER 155. Father—Discovering The other day I read a story of how a little girl discovered her father. She was the daughter of a famous French painter. Though she had lived with her father all her life she had never really seen him, for she had lost her sight when she was a baby. But she loved him very dearly, and he was her constant com- panion, for her mother was dead. One day a clever doctor saw the child and said that he could cure her blindness by performing an opera- tion. How happy and excited the little girl was at the thought of being able to see! And what made her happiest was the thought that at last she would look upon her father. When the operation was successfully over and the bandages were re- moved from her eyes, she ran to him and looked up trembling in his face. Then she shut her eyes and felt his face all over with her little fingers to make sure it was that of her loved companion. Then she opened her eyes again and gazed and gazed, and then, holding him 82 FATHER tightly by the hand, she cried, “Only to think I had this splendid father so many years, and never knew him !”— James Hastings. 156. Father’s Energy In the coal mines of Lancashire, a coal pit shelved in. The crowds gathered around clearing the mass of earth to get at the men at work beneath. In the midst of their toil a stalwart gray-bearded old man strode up to them and said, “Get out of the road.” He seized a pick and began working with the strength of ten men. The sweat was soon streaming down his brawny face and somebody said, “Let me have the pick.” “Get out of the way,” he cried, “I have two boys down there.” —Louis Albert Banks. 157. Father—Joy of As the Rev. Joseph Davis, an. excellent Baptist minister in Lon- don, was walking along one of the crowded streets of that city his at- tention was arrested by the circum- stance that a carriage with several horses was just about to pass over a little girl who was slowly crossing the road. He strongly felt the danger of the child, and forgetting his own, he ran, snatched her up in his arms, and hastened with her to the side-path, when the thought struck him—how would the parents of this dear child have felt had she been killed! At this moment he looked in the face of the little girl, which had been concealed from his view by her bonnet, and imagine, if you can, what his feelings were when he discovered that she was his daughter !—Arvine. 158. Father’s Love A friend once told me this story of his boyhood: “There were two brothers of us. Our father was a fine old gentleman, upright, straight- forwarl, but he was very undemon- strative. He could not gush over anybody. If he told mother once in ten years that he loved her he thought that was quite sufficient. He would make any sacrifice for her in ‘reason, or out of it, but he would not express any affection for her. One day, when we were lads of about ten and twelve years of age, a fellow came into our house, who was slightly intoxicated, and he dared to insult mother right in the pres- ence of father. Well, the thing that happened, happened so quickly that we hardly knew what had happened. When it was over as soon as I could catch my breath, I turned to my brother, and said, ‘Did you know that father thought that much of mother?’ He replied, ‘Why, yes; of course, father thinks that much of mother all the time, only he don’t make a show of it like that every day.’ 3? 159. Guide—Father as I sometimes think of it as of a child sitting in a boat. The child does not know the coast, and it very little understands how to row. If the child were left to itself, pulling upon the oars, its right hand being a little stronger than the other, it would be all the time veering the boat to the right, and the boat would be constantly turning round and round. The child would, perhaps, make its way out of the harbor and into the ocean, and it would be carried away and lost, if there were no guiding power in the boat except its own. But there in the stern sits the father. The uneven strokes of the child would carry the boat this way or that way out of its course; but the steady hand of the father overcomes those uneven strokes; and all the mistakes with the oars are rectified by the rudder, and the boat keeps the right course. So that the force exerted by the child, though misdirected, all works for good when the father guides.— Beecher. FORGIVENESS 83 FORGIVENESS 160. Christ’s Mediatorship In foreign courts we have min- isters and ambassadors to intercede for us. They are mediators; they are intercessors. There is an unac- quaintance, a strangeness, in foreign courts, of the affairs of another people, either from attending to their own business, or some other cause, and hence the necessity of our sending ambassadors to them. But it cannot be supposed that there is any such ignorance of our affairs in the mind of God. You must drop all such ideas of the intercessor- ship of Christ as that he is one to convey information, to adjust facts, or to make things clearer in the divine mind than they were already. His mediatorship affects us, not God. —H. W. Beecher. 161. Forgiven Debts Not long ago there died a benevo- lent doctor, and it had been his custom as he went through his books and saw this debt and that debt, one after the other, and realized that it was not paid because the patient could not pay it, it was his way to put a red pen-mark through the debt, and to write by the side of it, “For- given; unable to pay.” That man died, and after his death his wife looked through his books, and she came upon these marks. “My hus- band has forgiven people a lot of money. I could do with that money very well now,” and she took it into the county court, and there sued every one of those debtors for the money. The judge said to her, “How do you know the money is owed?” “Tl have it in my husband’s book,” and she put the book up and showed it to him. “Oh, yes; is this your husband’s writing?” he asked. “Yes.” “Then,” he said, “no court in the world will give you a verdict against those people when your hus- band, with his own pen, has written, ‘Forgiven; unable to pay.’’’—Life of Faith. z62. Forgiveness and Progress I visited a farmer whose ground was upon the bank of a creek just a quarter of a mile from the river. There had once been a navigable channel up to the landing in his meadow ; but a scow had sunk in the channel and a bar had formed. His ground produced bountifully, but he had no communication with a market. As spring approached he said to his sons: “Boys, there is one thing that must be done if we purpose to make this farm a success. We must go to work and remove that old wreck from the channel.” It was three weeks of hard work, but the channel was cleared and a market made accessible that doubled the value of his truck. Many lives are isolated from God and their fel- lows by old wrecks in the channel— feuds, unforgiven sins, unpaid debts, broken promises. Clear the channel and the usefulness and peace and price of your life will be doubled. 163. Forgiveness From God Doctor Scudder, on his return from his missions in India, with his son heard a man using profane lan- guage. “See, friend,” said the doctor, ac- costing the swearer, “this boy, my son, was born and brought up in a heathen country and a land of pagan idolatry; but in all his life he has never heard a man blaspheme his Maker until now.” The man colored, seemed to be ashamed of himself, and blurted out an apology. “Do not forget that God heard you,” said the missionary. “You need his forgiveness more _ than mine.” 164. Forgiveness of Enemies An English officer riding over the battlefield with his servant, noticed a 84 wounded enemy soldier. “Give the poor fellow a drink from the water- bottle,’ he said. As the servant stooped down the soldier fired, and missed. Stepping back, he said: “What shall I do now, sir?” “Give him the water all the same,” was the noble officer’s reply. God forgives— not once, but countless times. Through all our disobedience and waywardness, he never tires, but loves us to the end, until at last we return in penitence to him—From the Sunday Circle. 165. God’s Forgiveness Absolute Paul, in describing the forgive- ness of God wrought through Jesus Christ, uses this remarkable figure: “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us.” It is like taking an indictment in court, and tearing it up and throwing it away. It is like taking a title-deed of a man’s possession, a paper on which is written evidence that 1s fatal to his claim, and blotting it, or burning it. It is like taking away proof against a man which may lead to his injury—H. W. Beecher. 166. New Relationship A child may have been wilful and petulant until its mother’s anger has been roused, but when the little arms are clasped in a sobbing con- fidence round the mother’s neck, the trust confessed in the clinging pres- sure banishes all alienation. The man who has erred in his word or deed, and wronged us to our wound- ing, comes to us trusting in our magnanimity and kindness, and his trust brings him at once into a new relationship. In a similar manner when a human soul, hitherto cherish- ing base thoughts of God and rebel- lious in will against His demands, turns to trust in God, he enters into a new relationship. In that new relationship he is forgiven. His sins are not imputed to him, and his faith FORGIVENESS is counted to him as righteousness.— W. M. Clow. 167. Praise—Sacrifice of When we were on the Pacific coast, thirty men, red-eyed and disheveled, lined up before a judge of a San Francisco Police Court. It was the regular morning company of drunks and disorderlies. Some were old and hardened; others hung their heads in shame. Just as the momen- tary disorder attending the bringing in of the prisoners quieted down, a strange thing happened. A strong, clear voice from below began sing- ing: Last nig’t I lay sleeping There came a dream so fair. Last night? It had been for them all a nightmare or a drunken stupor. The song was such a con- trast to the horrible fact that no one could avoid the sudden shock at the thought the song suggested. I stood in old Jerusalem, Beside the temple there. The song went on. The judge had paused. He made a quiet inquiry. A former member of a famous opera company was waiting trial for forgery. It was he who was singing in his cell. Meanwhile the song went on. Every man in the line showed emo- tion. One boy at the end of the line, after desperate effort at self- control, leaned against the wall, buried his face in his folded arms and sobbed: “Oh mother, mother !” The sobs cutting the weary hearts of the men who heard, and the song, still welling its way through the court room blended in the hush. At length one man protested: “Judge,” he said, “have we got to submit to this? We're here to take our punishment, but this—.” He, too, began to sob. It was impossible to proceed with the business of the court, yet the FORGIVENESS 85 judge gave no order to stop the sing- ing. The police sergeant, after a sur- prised effort to keep the men in line, stepped back and waited with the rest. The song moved to its climax: Jerusalem, Jerusalem! Sing, for the night is o’er! Hosanna in the highest, Hosanna for evermore. In an ecstasy of melody the last words rang out and then there was silence. The judge looked into the faces of the men before him. There was not one who was not touched by the song; not one in whom some better impulse was not stirred. He did not call the cases singly—a kind word of advice, and he dismissed them all. No man was fined nor sentenced to the workhouse that morning. The song had done more good than pun- ishment could have accomplished. -168. Quality of Mercy Mayor Gaynor, of New York, had befriended a poor “down-and-outer,” and for this a lawyer took him to task. “The fellow’s no good,” the lawyer said. “He has only got what was coming to him. With his yellow streak, the duffer deserved—” But Mayor Gaynor interrupted the harsh lawyer with a smile. “Did you ever hear of the mother,” he said, “who visited Napoleon on behalf of a son condemned to death? The Emperor said the young man had twice committed the same offense, and justice demanded the forfeit of his life. “But, sire,’ cried the mother, ‘I don’t plea for justice, but for mercy.’ “He does not deserve mercy,’ said the Emperor. ““Ah, no; he does not, indeed,’ the mother admitted, ‘but it would not be mercy, sire, if he deserved it.’ “Well then,’ said Napoleon quietly, ‘I will have mercy.’ ” 169. Saved or Unsaved One does not look for the teach- ing of absolute righteousness in an arithmetic textbook. But in the arithmetic which my little girl brought home from school I saw a note to the teacher, saying, “Im- press upon the pupil the necessity of absolutely correct solutions. There is no such thing as an answer nearly right. The answer is right or wrong.” 170. Sinner—Lifting the The power to forgive sins lies in Jesus as the Son of God. That fact makes his gospel attractive to a sin laden world. This power of Jesus to save and uplift fallen man is shown by Doctor Shelden in the fol- lowing manner. He says: “A heavy mogul engine, one of the heaviest patterns of that type, through a land- slide beneath the rails, fell over and rolled down the embankment into the river. It was not damaged to any extent, and the railroad wished to recover its property. It brought up the road what it thought was a proper apparatus for dragging the engine up the slope and putting it on the track, but when the power was applied it was found insufficient. Chains, tackling of various kinds, and the engines for the motive power itself proved to be so weak that first one part and then another broke down under the strain, and the entire outfit was sent back to the shops and an entirely new engine with hoisting derrick, sent to the embankment in its place. The minute this new engine appeared, all the men who had been at work in a vain endeavor to lift the ponderous engine out of its position at the bottom of the river, exclaimed, “That is something like. Now we have it.” The first attempt proved successful. The ponderous weight of several tons was lifted out of the water and up the bank as easily as a child would lift a toy. 86 GOD No one has any reason to antici- pate weakness in the case of Christ confronting broken down humanity. “He came to seek and to save that which is lost.” “Who can forgive sins but God only?” 171. Transgression Forgiven The colonel of the regiment, seated with his fellow-officers in court-martial, looked at the prisoner before him with a troubled frown upon his kindly old face. They were upon an Indian station and life was not altogether easy for the men under his care. The man _ before him, however, seemed absolutely in- corrigible. “What to do with you I do not know,” said the colonel. “You have been charged again and again with drunkenness. You have had punish- ment after punishment and yet here you are again!” The prisoner was indeed a sorry spectacle. Repeated excess in a hot climate had made him almost a wreck. If any case would be termed hopeless here it was. The colonel looked round at his brother officers in despair. “What is to be done?” he asked. “We have tried every- thing.” “May I examine the record, sir?” inquired a bright young cap- tain. “I believe I have something to suggest.” The colonel, interested and relieved, passed him the man’s record. “I thought so, sir,” cried the captain eagerly. “There is one thing that has never been done to this man.” ‘What, pray, is that?” asked the colonel. “Sir,” replied the cap- tain solemnly, “this man Has Never been Forgiven.” The statement fell like a thunderclap on the little com- pany of hard-bitten military men and a hush fell upon them that bespoke conviction. Turning to the prisoner the colonel said, “You have been pun- ished many times and are no better, indeed, you are worse. See, this time, I wipe the thing off the charge- sheet. given.” With a sort of surprised relief You are free—you are for- ‘the man flung his face into his hands and with heaving shoulders left the court. From that day he was a dif- ferent man. He cut the drink right out and became after a few years one of the most trusted men of the regiment, rising steadily in rank. GOD 172. Accountability to God It is related of Daniel Webster, the regality of whose moral endow- ments no one disputes, that when once asked what was the greatest thought that had ever occupied his mind, he replied, “The fact of my personal accountability to God.”—T. T. Munger. 173. Appearing Before God Ii, to-day, there should come fly- ing hither a messenger who should say, “One hundred members of this congregation, now assembled, are to die this year,” no. matter whether any designation of persons was made, no matter in what month, or in what part of the year it should take place, every man would say, “It may be I.” There are some of you that will unquestionably go before the end of the year. No man can tell who. To learn suddenly, when we are engaged in a sultry summer day, that some great and honored personage is, without warn- ing, about to come to our dwelling —what haste! what change of gar- ments! what hurried preparation of the household! But when it is no man, however honored, but God, into whose presence we are soon to go, how natural that we should look at the habiliments of the soul, and at everything within us and without us, aS we never would at any other time—as perhaps we never could at any other time! What new meas- GOD 87 ures and tests should we apply to ourselves !—H. W. Beecher. 174. God Banished “Sire,” announced the servant to the King, “the saint Narottam never deigns to step into your royal temple. He is singing God’s praise under the trees by the open road. The temple is empty of all worshipers. They flock round him like bees round the fragrant white lotus, leaving the golden jar of honey unheeded.” The King, vexed at heart, went to the spot where Narottam sat on the grass. He asked him, “Father, why leave my temple of the golden dome, and sit on the dust outside to preach God’s love?” “Because God is not there in your temple,” said Narottam. . The King frowned and said, “Do you know twenty millions of gold have been spent on that marvel of art, and the temple was duly con- secrated to God with costly rites?” “Yes, I know,” answered Narot- tam. “It was the dread year when thousands of your people lost their homes in fire and stood at your door for help in vain. And God said, ‘The poor creature who can give no shelter to his brothers would aspire to build my house!’ Thus he took his place with the shelterless under the trees by the road. And that golden bubble is empty of all but hot vapor of pride.” The King cried in anger, “Leave my land!” Calmly said the saint, “Yes, ban- ish me where you have banished my God.”—Literary Digest. 175. God—Argument for The old landlady sat in her back- parlor in conversation with a lady and gentleman, her lodgers. They had been with her two months and were about to take their leave. Dur- ing that time they had grown quite fond of the quiet woman with the silvered hair upon whose face showed such a look of contentment. Some- how the conversation drifted nat- urally, as it often seemed to do in this woman’s presence, to religion. The man avowed himself as an un- believer in religion. “Do you not believe in God?” asked the land- lady with a startled look. “No,” re- plied the man. “I see no reason for believing in a God—at least in one who is personal or has regard for us poor humans.” A look almost of pity flashed over the woman’s face. “Let me tell you something,” she said, “that con- cerns your own self. You remember that two months ago you came to this house seeking lodgings? When your knock came at the door my daughter and I were upon our knees beseeching God to send us the means of livelihood. We were utterly with- out a penny and we were just plac- ing the matter before God. Then came your knock and I quoted to my daughter the words ‘Before ye ask I will answer.’ You told me that you were in poor health and needed a long rest and could not afford hotel prices, would I take you? And even when I said ‘Yes’ I was won- dering how to provide you with your first meal. I had no money for food and being a stranger to the town no hope of credit at the shops. Swiftly, as the difficulty occurred to me, I lifted my heart to God in supplica- tion. Perhaps you recall that just as you got to the garden gate some- thing occurred to your mind and you returned to me saying, ‘Had I not better leave you a pound as a deposit?’ With that pound I bought the first meals you and your good wife had in this house. Do you wonder, when I tell you that my life contains many experiences like that, that I feel I know there is a God and One who cares, too?” The man sat quiet a moment and then said, “Madam, I thank you. What you have said is a stronger argument for God than many others 88 GOD I have heard. It must certainly be a great strength to anyone to be- lieve as you do. I shall never for- get either you or your words.”—A. D. Belden. 176. God—Fighting Against Various systems and movements which cause us anxiety sometimes present the appearance of progress when there is no reality of progress, for they are contrary to the great tides of God’s purpose and opera- tion. When Parry (the British Arctic explorer) attempted to reach the North Pole, he discovered that the ice floes on which he was journeying drifted southward faster than he and his companions walked north; so at the end of a long day’s march they found themselves four miles farther from their destination than they were in the morning. It is sometimes thus with systems, insti- tutions, and movements of an equiv- ocal character, which appear to ad- vance when in reality they do noth- ing of the sort. It is an illusion; they move in the wrong direction, the tide is against them; they are mak- ing northward to the realms of dark- ness and barrenness, whilst the river of God sets southward to the lands of the sun and summer. Systems of scepticism like Voltairianism, of superstition like Mohammedanism, of corrupt ecclesiasticism like Ro- manism, may seem now and again to advance, but the prevailing currents are against them, and in a century it becomes evident that they are farther from their goal than at the commencement. If our face is to the south, if we strive for light, righteousness, purity, and peace, for the bringing in of the kingdom of God, the mighty tide is with us, and, notwithstanding the agitations and eddies of the moment, we draw nearer the golden shore. Boundless as ocean’s tide, Rolling in fullest pride, Through the earth far and wide, the Divine Spirit urges forward the Ark of God to the heaven of that new earth for which we sigh and pray—W. L. Watkinson. 177. God—Finding An infant child was to have been baptized on Sunday morning. Word came Saturday evening that she was dying, with the urgent request that I hurry to the house and baptize her. Almost opposite my church—the Bushwick Avenue Congregational— a man stopped me to inquire the way to another minister’s house. I told him, but perceiving that I was a min- ister, as I wore my clerical vest, he said abruptly: “You'll do.” Think- ing it must be some ministerial func- tion that belonged legitimately to the other man, I suggested that he had better go to him. But grasping the sleeve of my coat, he said I would do just as well—he might miss the other man—he must see a min- — ister at once. “Well,” said I, “what is it, as I am in a great hurry?” “I’m looking for God,” he replied earnestly, ‘and I want you to help me find him. I have plenty of money, but that is more of a hin- drance than a help. Some time ago I promised my wife I would never drink again, but to-day I fell in with some old friends, and before I real- ized it, had taken several drinks. I want to quit, but know I cannot with- out the help of God, and you must help me find him. I am not going home to-night until I have found God, and also take a signed pledge to my wife that I will not drink again.” As he was slightly under the influence of drink, the Holy Spirit seemed to say to me, “Take him with you.” I did so, and on the way told him how I had buried little “Tootsie,” the older child, only ten days before, and now the only remaining child was dying. “I need help,” said I, “so you go as my friend and extend your sympathy to the heart-broken parents.” He did GOD 89 so. Even before the little service began, he was weeping with the rest. In my prayer I asked God to bless the kind friend who had come with his sympathy and love, and to reveal himself to him. When we reached the street, he grasped my arm, and with quivering voice, and the tears still running down his face, said: “You needn’t talk to me now about finding God—I found him up there in that little room.” A later visit to his wife and children, and his faithfulness at church and prayer meeting, proved that he told the truth. 178. God Hears A friend of mine said to a life- saver at Newport, R. I.: “How can you tell when anyone is in need of help when there are thousands of bathers on the beach and in the water making a perfect hub-bub of noises?” To which he answered: “No matter how great the noise and confusion, there has never been a single time when I could not dis- tinguish the cry of distress above them all. I can always tell it.” And that is exactly like God. In the midst of the babel and confusion he never fails to hear the soul that cries out to him for help amid the breakers and storms of life. 179. God—Instructing “T need oil,” said a monk and planted an olive tree. “Lord,” he prayed, “it needs rain that its roots may drink, and spread out; send a shower.” And the Lord did so. “Lord,” he continued, “my tree needs sunshine,” and the sun shone, gild- ing the dripping clouds. “Now frost, Lord, that its wood may get hardened,” and behold, soon the little tree stood glittering with hoar-frost. But at the hour of the Angelus the tree died. Then the monk went to the cell of another to whom he told his strange experience. The latter said: “I also have planted a tree and it is doing very well. But I gave over my tree into the care of God. He, who made it, knows better than I what it needs. I prayed: ‘Lord, send what it needs, storm, sunshine, wind, rain or frost. You made it and can best take care Getta 180. Beginning—God in the There was a famous professor once who was giving a lantern lec- ture to children about plants and flowers. He explained how the seeds became plants, how the plants be- came leaves and flowers, how the flowers developed seeds again. Then he went on to tell how all the dif- ferent parts of a plant were built up of tiny cells, and how all these cells were filled with a wonderful substance called protoplasm, a sub- stance which is contained in all liv- ing bodies and which makes them live and grow. Finally he said that no one knew what gave to proto- plasm its power of living and grow- ing. That was a closed door, and behind the door was unfathomable mystery. Then one of the children asked a question—‘‘Please, sir, does God live behind the door ?”—James Hastings. z8z. God in the Beginning John Newton had a valued friend who ignored the Bible and said that all things came by chance. They were both great students of astronomy, and so Newton devised a plan to make his friend feel ashamed of his “by chance” theory of crea- tion. He had made for him an astronomical globe by one of the best artists of London under his specific direction, and had it placed in his library, where his friend was to meet him on a certain day to talk over astronomical facts. The globe arrested his attention at once, as a wonderful production of intellect and art, and he exclaimed: “Why, Newton, where in the world 90 GOD did you get that magical work of art and star knowledge?” “Oh,” said Newton, “I came into my library yesterday and here it was. It came entirely by chance, just to convince me of the truth of your theory of creation.” His friend saw the point at once —how impossible it was, and if so, how impossible that the heavens which declare the glory of God could have come by chance, if this human picture of them could only come by the design of a scholar and the expert work of the artist who made it. Asa result he became an earnest Christian. 182. God—Need of Bishop Edwin H. Hughes, in a sermon I was privileged to hear, re- lated an incident in his early experi- ence as a pastor, when he had been led to make a special study of the needs of his own people in the way of comfort. He found only two families in which there was not re- vealed some deep sorrow. He pre- pared a sermon with a message of comfort. After the service the first one to meet him and thank him was a man who said that the sermon must have been meant for him, as there was a grief in his family of which he had never told. Then an- other man met him and said prac- tically the same thing. The singular circumstance was that these two men were the heads of the two families supposed to be exempt from any deep sorrow.—D. H. Strong. 183. God—Troubling Dr. Adam Clarke, the great com- mentator, was a slow worker, and he could only produce his wealth of literary treasures by long and patient toil. He therefore made it his custom to rise early every morning. A young preacher, anxious to emu- late the distinguished doctor, asked him one day how he managed’ it. “Do you pray about it?” he inquired. “No,” the doctor quietly answered, “T get up.” Mr. Moody used to tell how once he came upon a group of wealthy American Christians pray- ing for the removal of a debt of five hundred dollars on their church building. “Gentlemen,” said Mr. Moody in his incisive way, “I don't think if I were you, I should trouble the Lord in this matter.” 184. God Understands When I saw your “sky-scrapers” in New York for the first time, I was interested not in the beauty of them, but in their construction, for I learned that each part is tested to a hair’s breadth that it may properly bear its burden. That is the way our Father deals with us. He will make the burden no greater than it ought to be. “He knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust.” 185. God—Without Upon a sundial in Tunbridge Wells are these words: “You can waste me, but you cannot stop me.” “Time is slowly Dut surely hurrying us all to eternity.” Men are drifting on, on, on, blind-folded, walking in their sleep to a never-ending eternity, whilst God is calling, “Turn ye, turn ye, why will ye die?” A young fel- low who had lived a very careless life lay dying. Some of his infidel companions stood around the bed. “Read me something out of the Bible,” said he. “Nonsense, Davie,” was the reply; “that’s an old woman’s book!” “Hold on, Davie lad, hold on.” “Ah,” cried the poor dying lad, “I’d be glad indeed to hold on, but I’ve got nothing to hold on Lod: 186. God’s Command Alexander McKenzie, of Cam- bridge, was for many years the honored and useful president of the Boston Seamen’s Friend Society. In one of his sermons he gave this bit GOD 91 of personal history: ““My father was a sailor. I was a boy when he came back from a three years’ voyage. The ship had been signaled from far away and a friendly officer of the customs let me go down in his boat to meet her. As we drew near the ship I stood in the bow and at length could see my father leaning over the side of the ship watching our boat. When we came near enough I waved my cap. He saw me and called out to one of the men, ‘Throw a rope to my boy.’ The sailor threw the rope and in a few moments the boy was in his father’s arms. It was a simple thing, but many a time since have I heard that voice, that command which had be- come entreaty, and it has become the voice of the Father in heaven watch- ing some child of his who needed to be brought near to him. I have heard the word and loved it and tried to make it God’s word to me and the inspiration of my life. ‘Throw a rope to my boy.’” 187. God’s Command Israel moved in safety because at God’s command; the Egyptians go- ing over the same ground, were de- stroyed because they were not with God. No place is so safe as the place of danger if we are there at God’s command. At the battle of Waterloo it is said that a rich Brus- sels merchant found his way to the headquarters of the Duke of Well- ington and asked him if he were not afraid of his life with all the shot and shell flying around him. “You may well be afraid,” replied the Duke, “for you have no business here; but I am doing my duty.”— From “The Secret of Power for Daily Living.” 188. God’s Concealments God taught Paul, and us by Paul, that you can have a high old time on a very low limit of expenditure. The old Latin word for travelers’ baggage, “impedimenta,’ has no hypocrisy about it and the more im- pediments you have about you the more is your apostolic advance im- peded. Then take the boon of traveling without a tent. This means that all night you are on your back with only the stars as nearest neighbors in the upper flat. God merely hides a world in order to unveil a uni- verse. This, then, is where the logic of your tentless travel lands you. Why draw the soul’s curtains and light up artificially when all the while God is calling you out and up among the stars. We talk a lot about considering matters and for- get that this very word merely means, in Latin, to look up at the stars (con, with sideris, with the stars). One of the red republicans boasted to a peasant of France that they were going to wipe God out of the coun. try. Said this 1793 fanatic, “We are going to pull down your steeples, and your churches, all that recalls the superstitions of past ages, all that reminds man of even the idea of God.” “Citizens,” replied the good old yokel, ‘then pull down the stars.” —Dan Crawford. 189. God’s Gift Undervalued Some years since the managers of a Young Men’s Christian Associa- tion missed a great opportunity by not knowing the value of a certain painting. A friend of the institu- tion had given a picture for the walls of the building, not having suitable room for it in his own home. One day he offered to sell it to them, ask- ing fifty dollars for it. When they declined the offer he said they might have it for twenty-five dollars; but they still declined to purchase it. Not long afterwards he died. In disposing of the estate his executors took the picture from the building and sent it to a picture-mart. There it was soon recognized as the work of a master, and finally identified. 92 GOD Thirty-five thousand dollars was offered for it, and later fifteen thou- sand more. picture once offered for twenty-five dollars ! How forcibly that illustrates the way men underestimate the value of religion. They think it is good for the low, the poor, the weak, the dying, not realizing that it is needful to live by, that it is the greatest need of man and the most valuable gift of God. God’s Goodness Waits for Men Because colliers live in the bowels of the earth and sometimes do not see the sun rise or set for weeks and months together, or because im- prisoned men in dungeons do not witness the changes of the seasons, does it follow that there is no rising of the sun, or that there is neither spring nor summer for the human family? If one avoids the light of the sun, shuts himself out from it, he may miss it, but it is waiting for him: so is God’s goodness.—H. W. Beecher. 190. 191. God’s Kingdom Coming “Let those who think Christianity is a spent force ponder the follow- ing: When Carey, the first Protes- tant missionary of the world, went to India, the whole of nominal Chris- tians in the world was about 200,- 000,000. Now there are about 500,- 000,000. When he, in the eighteenth century, went out from Christendom as a missionary to the dark world of heathendom, the population of the world was about one thousand millions. It is now supposed to be about fifteen hundred millions, which is only another way of saying that while the population of the world has increased during this period 50 per cent, Christianity has increased 150 per cent, and the ratio shows that the cause of Christ advanced more within the past 25 years than it did Fifty thousand for a. in the 75 years preceding. Our God is marching on.” 192. God’s Light Elihu Burritt tells the story of a drover in America who was one day taking a herd of cattle through a long dark wooden tunnel. Here and there the knots had dropped out of the timber and rays of light shot across the tunnel. Directly the ani- mals began to shy. They were filled with consternation; they began to leap the golden bars, and they leaped them in agony until they came out at the end of the tunnel all blood and foam. Is not that a picture of ourselves? We make a hurdle race of what ought to be a path of con- fidence and blessing. What is par- donable in the creature is unpardon- able in us, who know that God makes all things to work together for good to those who love him—J. A. Clark. 193. Ownership—God’s There is a story of a small boy who spent many hours making a toy boat. After it was finished, he used to play with it and float it down the stream, but one day it got away from him, and was carried down the river and far out of his sight. He grieved much over the loss of his precious boat. One day, however, in the window of a pawn shop in London, the boy saw the boat he had made long before. He went in and told the storekeeper that it was his boat he had there in the window. The man replied that it was now in his possession, and that if he wanted the boat, he would have to pay two dollars and seventy-five cents to re- deem it. So the boy worked hard for several days, and at last had the money to buy back his boat. He again went to the pawn shop keeper, and gave him the money, and this time came away with the beloved boat again in his possession. As he carried it away with him, he held it close to him, and said, “Little boat, GOD 93 you are twice mine. In the first place I made you, and in the second place I redeemed you.” 194. God’s Promises Precious “Does your son in America never send you any money?” was asked of a poverty-stricken old Swedish woman. “Never!” was the bitter answer. “He writes often and speaks of sending money, but never a bit have I seen from him. I am getting old and poor and soon I must die or go to the poorhouse. Yet he is rich and prosperous. Such is the ingratitude of children!” “Ts there never anything in the letters?” asked the persistent visitor. “Oh, yes, he always sends pic- tures; but I don’t need pictures; I need money.” “Have you saved those pictures?” “They are all pasted on the wall in my bedroom. Would you like to see them?” “Certainly,” answered the visitor. When she looked into the bare little room she saw pasted on the walls a small fortune in American paper money. The Bible is full of pictures of saints and beautiful poetry, but it has much more. To the believing child of God these are drafts on God’s bank to be honored in the time of need. Every promise is a “Pay bearer on demand” of real practical value if we have faith to present it at God’s bank. But like the peasant woman, we call it a picture gallery and inveigh upon God’s lack of care for us. 195. Providence—God’s A tiny girl was taking a long journey and in the course of the day her train was obliged to cross a number of rivers. The water seen in advance always awakened doubts and fears in the child. She did not understand how it could safely be crossed. As they drew near the river, however, a bridge appeared, and furnished the way over. Several times the same thing happened, and finally the child leaned back with a long breath of relief and confidence: “Somebody has put bridges for us all the way!” she said in trusting content. That is how we find it in life, God has built bridges for us all the way. Easter is the way across the dark river of death. Because Jesus lives we shall live also. 196. Writing—God’s A daring aviator has been start- ling Chicagoans by writing on the sky the name of a certain cigarette in smoke letters half a mile across. The entire city stopped and gazed gapingly heavenward. One little tot looking at the growing letters ex- claimed, “It’s God!” His compan- ion retorted: “Naw; if it was God he wouldn’t be advertising a ciga- rette.’—The Christian Advocate. 197. Gods—False At the grave of Nedzumi Kozo (a famous pickpocket) it is said that incense is always found burning. Who offers that incense? Why, all the pickpockets of the city of Tokyo burn incense there. He is the god of the pickpockets. When I was traveling in the southern part of the island of Kyushu one day I found in a certain temple a great many flags and banners flying. I asked the people of the place what kind of god was in this temple—‘I see such a lot of flags and banners flying, it certainly must be a very famous god.” The man told me, “It is the god of gamblers.” All these flags and banners were offered by the gamblers from all parts of the coun- try. And he said, moreover, “If you have faith in this god you will win in all games, whether in gam- bling or stock speculation, or even in wrestling and fighting.” And now, my friends, what do you think about these gods? Do you 94 think there are such gods as a god of thieves, a god of pickpockets, a god of gamblers? It is fearful even to think of such things. It would indeed be intolerable if such gods really existed in this world. No, no, there can never be such gods in this world.—From the Three-hour Ser- mon, by Kanamori. 198 Hymn My God, I love thee, not because I hope for heaven thereby; Nor because they who love thee not Must burn eternally. Thou, O my Jesus, thou didst me Upon the cross embrace; For me didst bear the nails and spear, And manifold disgrace; And griefs and torments number- less ; And sweat of agony; E’en death itself,—and all for one Who was thine enemy. Then why, O blessed Jesus Christ! Should I not love thee well; Not for the sake of winning heaven, Or of escaping hell: Not with the hope of gaining aught; Not seeking a reward; But as thyself hast loved me, Oh, ever-loving Lord! E’en so I love thee, and will love And in thy praise will sing; Solely because thou art my God, And my eternal King. —St. Francis Xavier, 1550. 199. Mercy—Long-Suffering When Robert Ingersoll was lectur- ing, he once took out his watch and said, “I will give God five minutes to strike me dead for the things I have said.” The minutes ticked off as he held the watch and waited. At about four and a half minutes some women began to faint, but nothing happened. When the five minutes were up, he shut his watch and put it GOD in his pocket. That story reached the ears of Doctor Parker. When the great preacher heard it, he said, “And did the gentleman think he could exhaust the patience of the Eternal God in five minutes?” 200. Peace With God “Being justified by faith, we have peace with God;—that is, we enter into the state of peace immediately. He is a rich man who has a thou- sand acres of corn in the ground, as well as he who has so much in his barn or the money in his purse. So Christians have rest and peace in the seed of it when they have it not in the fruit; they have it in the promise when they have it not in the posses- sion. All believers have the promise of rest and peace, and we know that the truth and faithfulness of God stand engaged to make good every line and word of the promise to them. So that though they have not a full and clear actual sense and feeling of rest, they are, neverthe- less, by faith come into the state of rest.” —Flavel. 20r. Praising God One of the first acts performed by George III, after his accession to the throne, was to issue an order prohibiting any of the clergy who should be called to preach before him from paying him any compli- ment in their discourses. His Majesty was led to this from the fulsome adulation which Dr. Thomas Wilson, prebendary of West- minster, thought proper to’ deliver in the Chapel-Royal, and for which, instead of thanks, he received from his royal auditor a pointed repri- mand, His Majesty observing “that he came to chapel to hear the praises of God, and not his own.”—Clerical Anecdotes. 202. Promise—-Claiming God’s On the banks of the Kuruman, in removed it GRACE the density of African heathenism, Robert and Mary Moffat toiled on for ten years without a single con- vert. Four hundred miles beyond the frontier of civilization, alone in the midst of savages, their faith never wavered. At a time when there was “no glimmer of dawn” a letter was received from a friend in far-off England, asking if there was anything of use which could be sent. The significant answer of Mary Moffat was: “Send us a communion service; we shall want it some day.” It came three years later, the day before the first converts were bap- tized —Josiah Strong in “The Next Great Awakening.” 203. Sacrifice for God When the French were invading Russia at the beginning of the last century, they arrived at a small village. All the inhabitants had fled save one peasant—a woodman, judging from the axe in his belt. The officer in command of the French troops ordered the man to be shot. The soldiers raised their muskets and prepared to fire, but the peasant coolly looked down the barrels of the guns, and never flinched. The officer was so struck with the man’s courage that he com- manded the firing party to lower their muskets and spare the prisoner’s life. “But,” said he, “we shall put a mark upon him.” They made a branding iron red hot and placed it on his hand. When they something was left there. “What is that?” asked the woodman. “That,” said the officer, “is an ‘N’ for Napoleon. You belong to him now.” The man _ turned, placed the branded hand on a solid place, took his axe from his belt, and with one stroke severed his hand from his arm. “There now,” cried he, “there is not one bit of me that does not belong to the Czar.” That man was truly loyal. He would rather lose his hand than be branded 95 a traitor. Are we as true to God?— Expository Times. 204. The Indwelling God Go not, my soul, in search of Him; Thou wilt not find Him there— Or in the depths of shadow dim, Or heights of upper air. For not in far-off realm of space The spirit hath its throne; In every heart it findeth place And waiteth to be known. Thought answereth alone to thought And soul with soul hath kin; For outward God he findeth not, Who finds not God within. And if the vision come to thee Revealed by inward sign, Earth will be full of Deity And with his glory shine! —Frederick Lucian Hosmer. GRACE 205. Grace—Door of God’s One warm summer afternoon, a bird flew through the open door into a chapel, where divine service was being conducted. Full of fear it flew backward and forward near the ceiling and against the windows, vainly seeking a way out into the sunshine. In one of the pews sat a lady, who observed the bird, while thinking how foolish it was, not to fly out through the open door into liberty. At last the bird’s strength being gone, it rested a moment on one of the rafters. Then seeing the open door, it flew out into the sun- shine, venting its joy in a song. Then the lady who had _ been watching the little bird thought to herself: “Am I not acting as fool- ish as I thought the bird was? How long have I been struggling under the burden of my sin in the vain endeavor to get free and all the while the door of God’s grace has been wide open?” Then and there the decision was formed to enter in. 96 “T am the Way,” says Jesus, “no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” 206. Grace—Growing In “Every time I receive notice from a certain insurance company that a premium is due a card is inclosed containing this inquiry: ‘Are you carrying all the insurance you should for the protection of your family?’ It reminds me to ask Chris- tians this question: ‘Are you increas- ing your interest in the Kingdom of Christ?’ ” 207. Grace—Growth in There is a Chinese fable about a man who, in order to make his gar- den produce faster, went over it and pulled his plants a little further through the ground. He was rejoic- ing in his foresight only to find that his plants were dead. It takes time to be holy. You can’t do it on toadstool principles. 208. Grace—Miracle of His power is proved every day. “Bowery Bums,” who have lost every sign of spiritual life, become living sons of God. Africans and Hindus who have practiced every form of vice become new men of pure life and engage in Christlike service. Africaner, the notorious Hottentot chief, was the terror of the whole country. He carried on a cruel and constant warfare with his neighbors, stealing cattle, burning kraals, cap- turing women and children and kill- ing his enemies. When Robert Moffat, as a messenger from the Prince of Life, started for Afri- caner’s kraal, friends warned him that the savage monster would make a drum-head of his skin and a drink- ing-cup of his skull; that no power could change such a savage. But Moffat went to the chief and spoke to him the word of life. It entered the heathen heart and Africaner GRACE lived. He left the environment of death, was loosened from the bands of the grave, and became a Chris- tian chief. When a Dutch farmer, whose uncle Africaner had killed, saw the converted Hottentot he ex- claimed: “OQ God, what cannot thy grace do! What a miracle of thy power !” 209. Grace—Saved by Some years after Hunt’s death an infidel English earl visited Fiji. He knew what it had been, he saw what it was, but he did not believe in God, who had changed it. He said to an old Fijian chief who looked very civilized and respectable: “You are a great chief, and it is a pity you have been so foolish as to — listen to the missionaries, who came only to get rich among you. No one, nowadays, believes in that old book which is called the Bible; neither do men listen to that story about Jesus Christ. that you are so foolish.” The old chief’s eyes flashed, and he answered: “Do you yonder? In that oven we roasted human bodies for our great feasts. If it had not been for these good missionaries, and for that old book, and for Jesus Christ, who changed us from savages into God’s children, you would be killed and roasted in yonder oven, and we would feed on your body in no time.”’—Tidings. 210. Grace—Saving A farmer came to a pastor, say- ing, “I have here a thank-offering to the Lord,’ and handed him a gold piece. “It is just two years since my son fell in the battle of St. Privat,” he added in explanation. “And for that you bring a thank- offering?” exclaimed the pastor. “Ves,” replied the man with tear- People know — better now and I am sorry for you © see that native oven © dimmed eyes, “for I know he died a saved man. In a letter he wrote Pry ES * GRATITUDE 97 us the night before the battle he assured us of his faith in Christ and of the forgiveness of his sins. Therefore I know that this our son is not lost to us, but that sometime we will go to him. Should I not be thankful for that?” 21zr. Grace—Suficient A man in Chicago was one day watering his lawn, a precious bit of grass plot six by ten feet. The grass had withered under the hot sun of the day, and with hose in hand he proceeded to quench its thirst. The hydrant was opened but the water refused to flow. What could be the matter—was there no water in the lake? Not that, for the water of the great lakes washes the shore at the city’s front. Was there no water in the main? Yes, there was a seven-foot main filled with a high pressure. Then why did he get no water? Just around the corner of the house his little boy at play had pulled down a heavy iron bar which was leaning against the house and it fell across the hose and cut off the flow. That is why he had no water. So it is with many a life. The fountains of living water are flowing free, but some sin has cut off the flow and it is like a barren desert—O. A. Newlin. 212. Grace—Suficient A great preacher was asked if he had grace enough to be a martyr; he replied, “No! What do I want with a martyr’s grace now? If I am ever called to be a martyr, then a martyr’s grace will be given me. What I need now is grace for my present circum- stances.” Even so. Whatever is brought forth in the way of trial will find God’s grace brought forth to meet it; but let us live on God’s strength moment by moment, so that “As our day is so shall our strength be.” And he has said, “My grace is sufficient for thee.” 213. Transforming Grace Chemistry has performed many wonderful feats of transformation. What is more black and dirty and unpromising than coal-tar, yet it has been changed into the most beautiful and useful colors? But the grace of God has wrought still more marvel- ous wonders. What could be more filthy and unpromising than a God- hating, blaspheming sinner, steeped as in a cesspool of iniquity, and pos- sessed by the spirit of the Devil? Yet the grace of God, as by a spir- itual chemistry, has transformed such depraved and hopeless char- acters into the most beautiful and useful lives. “By grace are ye saved” (Eph. 2: 5).—James Smith. GRATITUDE . 214. Gratitude There was a man in Boston (I know not whether he lives yet,—yes, he lives, but I know not whether he lives in this world) who, though not rich, was accustomed to go into the courts of justice every morning to give bail for culprits that had no friends; and it was his testimony that of all those for whom he gave bail, not one betrayed him,—not one left him in the lurch. And do you suppose that those creatures whom Christ has helped, and whom he has given a hope of eternal salvation, would turn against him, their best friend, and the one to whom they are indebted for their choicest bless- ings? Would that be human nature? Is there anything on God’s earth like gratitude to inspire a soul to act in the right direction?—H. W. Beecher. 215. Gratitude a Debt The “coat of arms” of the Fitz- gerald family of Ireland is the figure of : baboon carrying a baby, and underneath the Latin motto, “Non 38 GRATITUDE immemer beneficii.” The story con- nected with this strange device is interesting. Long ago one of the family was away at the wars, and © had left his household in charge of one or two old retainers and the women servants. Suddenly there came an alarm of the enemy, and all fled, forgetful of the little baby, the heir of the house. A pet baboon noticed the omission, ran to the cradle, caught up the child, and ran with him to the top of the abbey steeple, holding him out for the peo- ple to see. The servants were all in terror, but the baboon carried the child safely to the ground. When the child’s father returned, he felt that he owed a debt of gratitude to the dumb beast that had saved the heir of his house; and he was not ashamed to set the monkey in the center of his knightly shield, and place beneath the motto, “Not un- mindful of his kindness.” We should show that we recognize our debt of gratitude to the Giver of the divine benefits. 216. Gratitude—Unexpressed The Northwestern University at Evanston, Iil., had for many years a volunteer life-saving crew among its students which became famous. On September 8, 1860, the Lady Elgin, a crowded passenger steamer, foundered off the shore of Lake Michigan just above Evanston. One ‘of the students gathered on the shore, Edward W. Spencer, a stu- dent in Garrett Biblical Institute, saw a woman clinging to some wreckage far out in the breakers. He threw off his coat and swam out through the heavy waves, succeeding in get- ting her back to the land in safety. Sixteen times during that day did young Spencer brave those fierce waves, rescuing seventeen persons. Then he collapsed in a delirium of exhaustion. While tossing in. delirium that night he cried over and over to his brother, “Did I do my best? O, I am afraid I did not do my best!” When his brother tried to quiet him by saying, “You saved seventeen lives,” he would reply, “O, if I could only have saved one more!” Ned Spencer slowly recovered from the exposure and exertion of that day, but never completely. With broken health he lived quietly, unable to enter upon his chosen life- work of the ministry, but exempli- fying the teachings of Jesus Christ in his secluded life. He died last February in California, aged eighty- one. In a notice of his death one paper said that not one of these seventeen rescued persons ever came to thank him. He risked his life and gave up his life hopes for them without one word of appreciation being returned. This seemed such rank ingrati- tude that we wrote to Mrs. Spencer to ask if the paragraph were true. She replied: “The statement is true. Mr. Spencer never received any thanks from anybody he succeeded in saving, nor any recognition from any one of them.” She adds that the general confusion, the exhaustion of the rescued as well as of the rescuer, were probably responsible. “My husband always took this view of the situation and never manifested any feeling of resentment, and I am sure he felt none. He did his best with no thought of reward or appre- ciation.” When one recalls that his supreme effort meant a shattered life—at least physically and in plans—it seems that this attitude is more heroic than was the great exertion of his youth. 217. Moral Stumbling Blocks One of the most useful members of a certain church is a physician. He has been a member for only a few years. By his devotion he seems to be doing his best to make up for lost time. They were having a real revival in his town. And the town a a ee HEAVEN 99 had been in great need of it. The doctor was a moral man of most excellent habits. He had tried to be public-spirited. Like Horace Bush- nell, he was uneasy that he was not a positive force in the great cam- paign. He was interested in a great group of young men. It came to him that one of the excuses they made for their lack of decision for Christ was that so excellent a man as the physician did not call himself a Christian. He reviewed the situa- tion. Back of him was a long line of devoted and conscientious prin- ciples. What was he giving in re- turn? Nothing. And, more, he was a stumbling-block in the way of others doing their duty. The Spirit of Truth was leading him and he became obedient to the vision. He gave himself in a mighty consecra- tion, and his life is now an epistle known and read of all men. He is doing his best to pay his debt ef loving gratitude. 218. Wounds—Pleading The story is told of an old soldier down in Georgia who decided to become a candidate for the office of justice of the peace. Unaccustomed to political campaigning and being altogether deficient in the art of public speaking it soon became evi- dent that he was no match at all for a younger opponent who was both a politician and a glib talker. One evening just prior to the election the old soldier sat on the platform at a great mass meeting. Suddenly one of the speakers of the occasion who was presenting the claims of the old soldier for election, stepped over to his side and pointing to the sleeve- less arm and placing his hand upon a great scar that marked the veteran’s face, he exclaimed: “Ladies and gentlemen, behold! Pickett’s charge at Gettysburg!” Instantly the enthusiasm of the great crowd rose like a great tidal wave and with cheer on cheer they greeted and ap- plauded the old man whose wounds bore such eloquent tokens of his bravery and patriotism, and a few days later they sent him into office beneath an avalanche of votes. In- finitely eloquent of love, humiliation and sacrifice are the wounds of Jesus Christ. Truly he is worthy to re- ceive the homage of every heart and life. Five bleeding wounds he bears, Received on Calvary; They pour effectual prayers, They strongly plead for me: “Forgive him, O forgive,” they cry “Nor let that ransomed sinner die.” HEAVEN 219. Brother—Coming of a I remember when, nine years ago, in Boston, a great tabernacle, hold- ing 8,000 people, was built for Mr. Moody. He held a month’s servy- ices in it, during which the building was full; but at the last meeting it was so crowded that it was over- filled an hour before the service. Every door was shut, except the private door behind, by which only the workers had access. Many peo- ple crowded round pressing to get in, but were restrained by a chain of policemen. There were members of the State Council, ladies in their silks and jewels, and aldermen of the City Council; but to the entreaties of each and all the uniform reply was given that they could not be admitted. One gentleman came up, and the policeman said, “No, sir; you cannot come in.” He said, “I came here for half a day only; I have finished my business, and have come to hear Mr. Moody.” He gave his card— he was a governor of a New Eng- land State; but the policeman was unable to let him in, and said, “Even were you allowed to pass, there is no room for you inside; but my orders are strict.” Just then I saw an- 100 other man come up. He was a coun- tryman. Neither his hair nor beard had been trimmed by a city barber. His hands were callous with toil. He was a small man. Here, thought I, a governor has been refused, and he tries to get in. “I must come in,” he said. The policeman pushed him aside. “But,” he said, “would you go and tell my brother William that his brother George wants to come in?’ I went in; they were singing the hymn before the address when I told Mr. Moody. Quick as a flash he said, ‘“My brother George! Let him in at once. Make way there for my brother George.” And as there was no seat for him, Mr. Moody took him into the pulpit and placed him in his own seat. And so at the last great day, when the kings and great ones of the earth come there, but are not allowed to enter, when one of the least of God’s children comes up, he will just say, “Will you tell my Brother that one of His brethren is outside and wants to come in?” And then he is let in at once and seated on the throne— George F. Pentecost. 220. Graves and Tunnels When they buried the old Pharaohs in Egypt, they built tunnels into the pyramids, through which to take their mummied kings, but none on the other side of the mausoleum for their exit. The grave without Christ is an entrance into darkness and oblivion. With him it is an entrance into ever- lasting life. “To-day shalt thou be with me in paradise.” When the town burier took down the carcasses of those thieves who were crucified with Jesus, and pitched them into holes in the pot- ter’s field, he understood that there was only one opening into the hole. Mostly there isn’t another, to holes in the ground. Just the one that opens upward. But after Jesus spake those words to the thief at his side, HEAVEN his grave opened downwards. That’s the difference that Jesus’ resurrec- tion makes to the world. That’s what it means to us. We go out to the family plot in the cemetery, and see the grave that was opened yes- terday all closed and sodded over. “How am I ever going to behold my loved one again? He is shut off from me. She is hidden forever from my sight.” But you remember having read stories of old colonial houses that were provided with a secret exit for use in case of Indian attacks. Those inside, when pressed too hard, could flee by an underground passage to the sea or the river, and escape. The old Spanish mission in San Diego had such a passage which I have seen, leading to a well, by which all escaped. So the resurrection of Christ means that the grave on which you gaze so sadly is open at the bottom, and leads straight to the throne of God.—John F. Cowan. 22z. Heaven—Arriving In St. Pierre in one of his books tells of a French ship which had been beating about for months amid storms in the southern seas. One morning land was cried from the masthead. Passengers and crew gathered on deck, awaiting in sus- pense the unveiling of the coming shore. Vague outlines only were seen, so vague that the uncertainty almost broke the hearts of the watchers. Was it land? If so, what land? Could it be France? Was it indeed France? Or was it some strange country? Nearer and nearer they came. Clearer and more dis- tinct became the outlines. After some hours, hours that seemed days, the lookout cried, “France! France! It is France!” The joy of the ship’s company knew no bounds. They were indeed home after all their wanderings and all their dangers and fears. HEAVEN So will it be with us, when, through the mists of that sea which we call death, we approach the shores of eternal life. After the dimness of dying, our eyes shall open to behold the banks of the celestial land. Then the shout will be, not “France! It is France!” but “Heaven! Heaven! It is Heaven!” The storms will all be past. We shall be in glory. Then we shall have life in all its fullness. Then we shall be at home.—J. R. Miller. 222. Heaven—A Secular The priest had delivered an elo- quent sermon on the Judgment Day. At the close of the service a worthy Irishman in his congregation sought him out, much troubled in mind. “Father, do ye mane that every- body will be there on the Judgment Day?” ced SAN AE eed “Brian Boru and Oliver Crom- well?” “Ves,” “The Dublin men and the Orange- men ?” “Ves,” “And the A. O. H. and the A. P. A.’s 2” “Yes, they will all be there, ac- cording to my understanding.” “Well, Father,” -said the ques- tioner, “it’s my opinion that there'll be very little judgin’ done the first day.” 223. Heaven—Awaking in Bishop Quayle tells, says Rev. E. W. Caswell, of a little girl, Edith, who one evening wanted to sit up with the family while they were visiting with the bishop. The little one, becoming very sleepy, her mother begged her to retire to her room. But she pleaded to remain, so delighted was she with the bishop. Finally, she fell asleep in her mother’s arms and was gently car- ried up the stairs to her bed without awaking. She did not know she was 101 in the upper room till she opened her eyes in the morning. So Enoch visited with God one day and was not, for God took him, carried him away in everlasting arms. What a delightful way to refer to death! So we might say of our loved ones, carried by angels, or in the arms of Jesus, into the heavenly mansion. They fell asleep in Jesus and did not know they were in the upper room till they awoke in the morning. This is our resurrection hope. This is what Easter morning means. —H. 224. Heaven Challenged There was an infidel soldier of the Middle Ages who hated the Bible and all sacred things. He grew so fierce and mad in his defiance that he determined to test the power of the Christians’ God. So he went out into a field, armed as if for battle. He threw his glove down on the ground as a challenge. Then he looked up into the heavens and angrily cried: “God, if there be a God, I defy thee here and now to mortal combat. If thou indeed art, put forth thy power of which thy pretended priests make such a boast.” As he spoke he saw a piece of paper fluttering in the air just above his head. It fell at his feet. He took it up, and on it read these words: “God is love.” This was the mes- sage that came wafted down on the still air, in the angels’ song, that night when Christ was born—J. R. Miller. 225. Heaven—Clearer View of Was it not a pretty thought, that of the gay young Southern girl danc- ing with a sort of ecstasy among the falling leaves, whose brilliancy she had never seen in her sea-coast home? To one near her, saddening over their fall, she said, “Just think how much more room it gives you to see the beautiful blue sky be- 102 yond!” Is it not true that, as our little joys and pleasures and earth’s many lovely things fade and pass, they open spaces for us in which to see God’s heaven beyond ?—Christian Union. 226. Foregleams of Let us not forget that every day we are helping to make our own heaven. A few years ago it was our privilege to take a trip to Europe and the Orient. Among the pas- sengers on our cruise were a bride and groom. They had been married just before the vessel set sail and seemed exceedingly happy in their experiences. But this we noticed that at every port we entered, and in all the cities, they were buying things and sending them back to America—beautiful rugs, choice pieces of antique furniture, vases and ornaments, and useful articles, too. All these things they were sending over to help make their home when they should arrive. Do we realize it, that there is a sense in which we make our own heaven? There are a good many people who seem to think that heaven is to be a gift, ready-made, handed over to each of us complete, without any effort or price from us. No; a heaven into which we have put noth- ing cannot be a real heaven to us. We must send our treasures, loves, and thoughts forward into it. We must have learned its language, ac- quired its spirit, and gained some homestead rights there, if it is to be really a home. 227. Heaven—Gates of Always Open The Persian kings took state upon them, and enacted that none should come near to them uncalled, on pain of death. But oh! sirs, the gates of heaven are always open; you have liberty night and day of presenting your petition, in the name of Christ, HEAVEN to the King of the whole earth— Ralph Erskine. 228. Heaven—Heat of Professor Huxley tells us that in the soil of England there lie buried tropical seeds in bewildering variety. They have been brought by birds, by winds, by many agencies. There they lie deeply buried, these tropical potencies waiting for what? Hux- ley said that if for twelve months we could have in England tropical heat we should be amazed by the coming out of strange seeds, and our little gardens would bloom with tropical luxuriance. Oh! I think that powers we have never conceived lie buried in your life and mine (if we have Christ)—powers put there by God, and waiting for their proper atmos- phere! Our lives are too chill, and so the seeds are non-germinant. But if the heat of heaven would come, I think those powers would troop out of their graves, and we should be amazed to see how rich we were in Christ Jesus our Lord.—J. H. Jowett. 229. Heaven—Moved to Passing by a house a short time since I noticed the intimation, “This house to let.” “How is this? Is the former tenant dead?” I asked. “Oh no, sir,” said the caretaker; “he has removed to a larger house in a better situation.” Even thus, as we look upon the clay tenement in which some loved Christian friend has dwelt, we answer, “No, he is not dead, but removed into the enduring house in ‘the better country,’ where the ‘better resurrection’ is, and where eternal life is.’—Henry Varley. 230. Heaven—Notes of “When a king asked Ole Bull, the virtuoso of the violin, where he caught the rapturous tones which he brought out of his instrument, the artist replied: ‘I caught them, your Majesty, from the mountains of HEAVEN Norway.” He had climbed the mountains and listened to the storm; he had footed the lofty cliffs and heard the vespers of the pines at the time of the sunset breeze; he had heard the midnight litany of the cas- cades in the darkness. When inter- preting these voices of nature, he thrilled the world’s great heart. What gives some men power beyond others to move and thrill? It is be- cause they have ascended the moun- tains and gone down into the valleys of sorrow and there caught up the tones of tenderness and of sub- dued strength and_ confidence.’— George Douglas. 231. Heaven—Prospect of A clergyman was once summoned to a death-bed in one of the slums of South London. Flight after flight of stairs he mounted, till he came to the topmost flat, and found his way into a miserable room with hardly any furniture, where a poor half-starved old man lay dying in great pain. As he entered he could not help saying, “Oh, I am sorry for you!” “Sorry for me?” the old man replied. “Why, think of my pros- pects !” 2372. Heaven—Treasures in ~ Little Mary was sitting with her Uncle George one afternoon while he was going over some accounts. For an hour all was still, then Mary heard him say: “There! I have quite a nice little sum laid up against a time of need.” “What are you talking about, Uncle George?” asked Mary. “About my treasures, little girl, that I have laid up.” “Up in heaven?” asked little Mary, who had heard her father that morn- ing read about laying up treasures in heaven. “Oh, no, Mary! My treasures are all on earth, some in banks and some in other places,” answered Uncle George. 103 “But haven’t you any in heaven, too?” asked Mary. “Well, I don’t believe I have,” said Uncle George, thoughtfully. “But run away to your mother now, for I am going out.” Uncle George went out and was gone a good while, but all the time he was thinking that, after all, per- haps he was not so well off if he had no treasures laid up in heaven to be ready for him when he left this world and his money behind him. He was so impressed with the thought that he wisely determined to lay up treas- ures in heaven. Little Mary never knew until years afterwards that it was her childish question that started Uncle George on a generous, active, Christian life. 233. Heaven—Watching in Some time ago there was an engineer that run out of Baltimore, who had his home close by the rail- road, and as he would pass in his engine, his little girl would run out in the yard to see him go by. After a while he knocked off a picket or two from the fence, so she could see him better, and there she would put her little head through and watch and wave until he was out of sight. He never failed to be at the side of his engine to see her and she never failed to be at the fence looking for him. One day, however, he came back on his run and looking out he could not see her, so was immedi- ately alarmed as he knew something was wrong at home. He finished his run and hurried home and was met by his wife at the door, and with tear stained face she told her hus- band that their little gir! had been suddenly taken sick and the doctor said she could not get well. He dropped to the floor with a broken heart and asked if she was still alive. “Yes,” said the mother, “but very sick. She told me to give you a message in case she didn’t see you again.” ‘What is it?” he impatiently 104 asked. “She said, ‘Tell papa I am going to ask Jesus to take out the picket from his fence and I will watch for him until he comes.’” The little girl passed away and the father, who hadn’t been a Christian before, kept thinking of his little girl’s mes- sage and found the Saviour. He did not want her to watch in vain. 234. Hope of Heaven in Old Age How desolate must old age be to the man who has no heaven beyond; who stands trembling with infirmi- ties, declined in ear, and eye, and tongue; his hand palsied, his memory gone—looking back across’ the dreary stretch of life that he has just passed over, and forward with fear to the life of which he thought so little! How glorious for an old man to stand, as Moses stood, upon the top of the mount, looking across the Jordan into the promised land, and viewing the fair possessions that awaited him! Moses died, and did not go over; but the old man shall die, and go over, and shall find it in that day a land rich, beautiful, and glorious.—H. W. Beecher. 235. Life—Brevity of In the anecdote-books of our boy- hood we used to be told the story of an Indian faquir who entered an Eastern palace and spread his bed in one of its ante-chambers, pretend- ing that he had mistaken the build- ing for a caravanserai or inn. The prince, amused by the oddity of the circumstance, ordered—so ran the tale—the man to be brought before him, and asked him how he came to make such a mistake. “What is an inn?” the faquir asked. “A place,” was the reply, “where trav- elers rest a little while before pro- ceeding on their journey.” “Who dwelt here before you?” again asked the faquir. “My father,” was the prince’s reply. “And did he remain here?” “No,” was the answer; “he died and went away.” “And who HEART dwelt here before him?” “His ances- tors.” “‘And did they remain here?” “No; they also died and went away.” “Then,” rejoined the faquir, “I have made no mistake, for your palace is but an inn after all.” The faquir was right. Our houses are but inns, and the whole world a caravanserai. —Clerical Library. HEART 236. Heart—A Believing “With the heart a man believeth unto righteousness?” Oh, well do I remember how like a flash of light that verse illumined my soul one day when all was at its darkest for me. And then I saw what it all meant: that God did not ask me to believe with my intellect at all, but to trust Him with my heart. From that hour the world has brightened in me, for I know now that I have found God. Often and often now I cannot believe with the intellect, but I can with the heart. And so may you. Come, doubts and all, to the blessed Lord, and let your hearts go out to Him, and He shall give you rest unto your soul—W. J. Dawson. 237. Heart—Broken Clown They say the clown is a jester and has no soul or heart. I will tell you of an incident in my own life. I married after I came to this coun- try, and I[ had a little boy. All sum- mer I had to be away from him, but in the winters, when the show was in winter quarters and I went back to New York, I spent hours and hours with that little chap. One year the show opened early and it was still cold. We were play- ing in a small Wisconsin town. It was a one-night stand and the tent was full. I had an unusually funny act and brand new. In it I carried a baby around in my arms. I was supposed to be taking it away from HEART the nurse. After I had been on a little while I was told that I was wanted in the pad-room. When I got there some one gave me a tele- gram from my wife which said: “Frank is dying.’ That was my boy. He was in New York; I was hun- dreds of miles away and I could not get to him. Outside in the big tent the band was playing, whips were cracking in the rings, people were laughing and shouting—the whole circus fun was on. There I stood in my clown’s garb with the tears streaming down my white make-up. I heard a voice say merrily: “Come, Jules; we are waiting for you.” So I had to go out into that crowded arena with a_ breaking heart.—Saturday Evening Post. 238. Heart—Gift of A touching incident has been told of a sixteen-year-old girl who was a chronic invalid, and whose mother was a pleasure-loving woman who could not erdure the idea of being much with her shut-in daughter. While the mother was traveling abroad in Italy, she remembered the ‘coming birthday of her daughter, and sent her a rare and wonderful Italian vase. The trained nurse brought it to the girl, saying that her mother had sent it so carefully that it came right on her birthday. After looking at its beauty for a moment the girl turned to the nurse and said: “Take it away, take it away. O mother, mother, do not send me any- thing more; no books, no flowers, no vases, no pictures. Send me no more. I want you, you!” Don’t give Christ things—only things. He wants you. “Son, daughter, give me thy heart.” That daughter wanted her mother. She wanted her presence, her companion- ship, her love. Christ wants you. He wants you first of all. He wants your yielded heart, your confidence, your trust, your union with him. He 105 wants your love, prompting you to give the best possibilities you have. He says, “I want you, you.” Your heart fully given, he knows all else will follow. 239. Heart—Hardened When I was a soldier I, with others, was drawn out to go to such a place to besiege it; but when I was just ready to go one of the com- pany desired to go in my room, to which, when I had consented, he took my place, and coming to the siege, as he stood sentinel, he was shot in the head with a musket-bullet, and died. Here, as I said, were judgments and mercy, but neither of them did awaken my soul to right- eousness; wherefore I sinned still, I grew more and more rebellious against God, and careless of my own salvation —Bunyan. 240. Heart—WNeed of a New One evening the chief of the Dela- ware Indians was sitting by a fire- side with a friend. Both were silently looking into the fire. At last his friend broke the silence by say- ing: “T have been thinking of a rule delivered by the author of the Chris- tian religion which we call the Golden Rule.” “Stop,” said the chief. “Don’t praise it. Tell me what it is, and let me think for myself.” He was informed that the rule was for one man to “do to others as he would have others do to him.” “That is impossible; it cannot be done,” hastily replied the Indian. Silence followed. In about fifteen minutes the Indian said: “Brother, I have been thoughtful of what you told me. If the Great Spirit who made man would give him a new heart, he could do as you say, but not else.”—Exchange. 241. Heart—New A tourist was once staying at an 106 inn in a valley of northern Italy, where the floor was dirty. He had in mind to advise the landlady to scrub it, when he perceived that it was made of mud and the more she would scrub it the worse it would become. So is it with our heart; its corrupt nature will admit of no im- provement, it must be made new. 242. Hearts on Fire Zinzendorf said to a Moravian brother at Herrnhut, “Can you go as a missionary to Greenland?” “Yes.” “Can you go to-morrow?” “If the cobbler has finished my shoes I can go to-morrow.” That was a quick, willing-hearted response. Wesley said: “If I had three hundred men who feared nothing but God, hated nothing but sin, and were determined to know nothing among men but Jesus Christ, and him crucified, I would set the world on fire.” “Send us men,’ said a heathen convert, “with hot hearts.” It is a zeal like such Rally Day ought to kindle in us all. Ready. Enlisted. Fearless. Hothearted. Such people will set the world on fire. 243. Heart—Refusing the There is a story of a colored man who came to a watchmaker and gave him the hands of a clock, saying, “I want yer to fix up dese hands. Dey jes doan’ keep no mo’ kerrec’ time for mo’ den six monfs.” “Where is the clock?” answered the watch- maker. “Out at de house on Injun Creek.” “But I must have the clock.” ,“Didn’t I tell yer dar’s nuffin’ de matter wid the clock ’ceptin’ de han’s? And I done brought ’em to yer. You jes’ want the clock so you can tinker with it and charge me a big price. Give me back dem han’s.” Foolish as this man was, his catition is very like that of people who try to regulate their life without being made right on the inside. And their reason for HEART not putting themselves into the hands of the Lord is very similar to the reason the colored man gave. They are afraid the price will be too great. They say, “We only wish to avoid this or that habit.” But the Master Workman says, “I cannot regulate the hands unless I have the heart.” 244. Heart—Seeing “But do you see it in your own heart?” was the penetrating question of Mr. Haldane which led to Merle D’Aubigne’s conversion. He saw the doctrine of the new birth theo- logically and as contained in Scrip- ture; but as yet he had not known it experimentally, as written in the heart. And now, while at the Uni- versity in Geneva, he tells us that he sought and “experienced the joys of the new birth.” Being justified by faith he had peace with God; he knew himself forgiven and accepted. But still he lacked perfect joy and the peace of God keeping his heart and mind. Some years after his conversion, he and two intimate friends, Fred- erick Monod and Charles Rieu, were found at an inn at Kiel, where the chances of travel had detained them, searching the word of God together for its hidden riches. D’Aubigne thus tells the story of what there passed in his own soul :— “We were studying the Epistle to the Ephesians, and had got to the end of the third chapter, where we read the last two verses—Now unto him who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto him be glory, etc. This expression fell upon my soul as a revelation from God. ‘He can do by his power,’ I said to my- self, ‘above all that we ask, above all even that we think; nay, exceed- ing abundantly above all.’ A _ full trust in Christ for the work to be done within my poor heart now filled HELL my soul. We all three knelt down, and, although I had never fully con- fided my inward struggles to my friends, the prayer of Rieu was filled with such admirable faith as he would have uttered had he known all my wants. When I arose, in that inn room at Kiel, I felt as if my ‘wings were renewed as the wings of eagles.’ From that time forward I comprehended that all my own efforts were of no avail; that Christ was able to do all by his ‘power that worketh in us,’ and the habitual atti- tude of my soul was, to lie at the foot of the cross, crying to him ‘Here am I, bound hand and foot, unable to move, unable to do the least thing to get away from the enemy who oppresses me. Do all thyself. I know that thou wilt do it. Thou wilt even do exceeding abundantly above all that I ask.’ “T was not disappointed: all my doubts were removed, my anguish quelled; and the Lord ‘extended to me peace as a river.’ Then I could comprehend with all saints what is the breadth and length and depth and height, and know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge. Then I was able to say, ‘Return unto thy rest, O my soul! for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee.’ ”— A. J. Gordon. 245. Heaven in the Heart You might put a blind man in the Louvre of Paris, and he might walk among the acres and prairies of pic- ture there, and not be conscious that he had seen the stroke of one artist- hand. You might bring a deaf man within the sound of all the bands of heaven and of earth, and there would be no music to his conscious- ness. And if a man is not prepared to enjoy the felicities of heaven, those felicities will be nothing to him. Heaven is not heaven except to those who have the initiation of it in themselves. They carry it in their own heart first—H. W. Beecher. 107 HELL 246. Hell—Building His Own A wealthy contractor, who built the Tombs in New York, slept in it as a prisoner not long ago. In his prosperous days he did a business of a half-million a year, but when caught in hard circumstance he forged a note for $2,000 and was convicted and sentenced to imprison- ment. The building of the Tombs was his last large contract, and into it he stepped as a prisoner. “I never dreamed,” he said, “when I built this prison that I would be an inmate one day. But here I am. It is hard luck.” It is not hard luck, it is not luck at all, but it is the hard way in which the transgressor walks and which he builds for himself. Every man im- prisoned in sin has built his own prison. The retribution which wrongdoing brings is not an arbi- trary punishment inflicted by the revenge or caprice of an outside judge or fate, but it is just the nec- essary consequence of the wrong itself. Drunkenness shuts a man up in his own habits, as unyielding as stone walls and iron bars, and with his own fiery appetite, and what worse prison could he have? Yet he built it himself—Presbyterian Banner. 247. Hell—Explaining An old colored preacher of the South was asked by a Northerner why it was that the colored min- isters preached so much about hell. “Well, sah,” he replied, “I don’t knows jis why dat am, but I done be sposen dat de reason am cause we cullud folks haint got learnin’ enough to splanify de tex’ an’ extin- guish de Bible, like you white folks am.” We must admit that there is more truth than poetry in his state- ment—O. A. Newlin. 248. Spiritual Death A man is taken out of the water 108 into which he has fallen. It is feared that he is past recovery. He is brought in. nor speaks, nor sees, nor breathes, nor moves, nor shows any evidence of feeling. And you say, “He is dead.” Why is he said to be dead? Because he lacks sensibility. Now, take a man that is spiritually dead. Pinch his conscience; he does not start. Bring before him the law, and let it thunder in his ears; it makes no impression upon him. Pierce him with the sword of. the Spirit; he does not feel it; he is not susceptible to fear; he has no moral sensibility. And you say that that man is spiritually dead because he is not alive to Divine influences.—H. W. Beecher. HOLY SPIRIT 249. Baptism of the Spirit— Finney’s Finney was a Pauline preacher be- cause he had a Pauline experience— the peace of God and the power of God coming to him almost together. And giving all due consideration to his uncommon natural endowments, we are constrained to find the chief secret of his success in his remark- able spiritual history. Let us read this as he has written it for us. He had been converted after pass- ing through powerful spiritual exer- cises, and immediately after, on October 10th, 1821, while alone in his law office, he says :— “T then received a mighty bap- tism of the Holy Ghost. Without any expectation of it, without ever having the thought in my mind that there was such a thing for me, with- out any recollection that I had ever heard the thing mentioned by any person in the world, the Holy Spirit descended upon me in a manner that seemed to go through me, body and soul. I could feel the impression like a wave of electricity, going He no longer hears, ~ HOLY SPIRIT through and through me. Indeed, it seemed to come in waves of liquid love; for I could not express it in any other way. It seemed like the very breath of God. I can recollect distinctly that it seemed to fan me like immense wings. No words can express the wonderful love that was shed abroad in my heart. I wept aloud with joy and love; and I do not know but I should say, I literally bellowed out the unutterable gush- ings of my heart. These waves came over me, and over me, one after the other, until I recollect I cried out, ‘I shall die if these waves continue to pass over me.’ I said, ‘Lord, I cannot bear any more.’ Yet I had no fear of death. . . . Thus T continued till late at night. I re- ceived some sound repose. When I awoke in the morning the sun had risen, and was pouring a clear light into my room. Words cannot ex- press the impression that this sun- light made upon me. Instantly the baptism that I had received the night before returned upon me in the same manner. I arose upon my knees in the bed and wept aloud with joy, and remained for some time too much overwhelmed with the baptism of the Spirit to do anything but pour out my soul to God. It seemed as if this morning’s baptism was ac- companied with a gentle reproof, and the Spirit seemed to say to me, ‘Will you doubt? Will you doubt?’ I cried, ‘No! I will not doubt; I can- not doubt. He then cleared the sub- ject up so much to my mind that it was impossible for me to doubt that the Spirit of God had taken posses- sion of my soul.”—A. J. Gordon. 250. Bible—Holy Spirit in the In the diamond-fields of South Africa a diamond was found, cele- brated lately under the title of fly- stone; placed under a magnifying- glass, you see enclosed in all its bril- liancy a little fly, with body, wings, and eyes, in the most perfect state HOLY SPIRIT of preservation. How it came there no one knows, but no human skill can take it out. So in Holy Scrip- ture the Spirit of God is found in a place from which no power of man can remove it.—M’Ewan. 251. Cleansing—Constant Learn a lesson from the eye of the miner, who all day long is working amid the flying coal dust. When he emerges in the light of day his face may be grimy enough; but his eyes are clear and lustrous, because the fountain of tears in the lachrymal gland is ever pouring its gentle tides over the eye, cleansing away each speck of dust as soon as it alights. Is not this the miracle of cleansing which our spirits need in such a world as this? And this is what our blessed Lord is prepared to do for us if only we will trust him—F. B. Meyer. 252. Holy Ghost—Power of Rev. William Haslam, the well- known evangelist, in referring to that remarkable crisis in his min- istry when he gained the power of the Holy Ghost as he had never known it before, says :— “A book came into my hands which interested me greatly. This I read and re-read, and made an ab- stract of it. It was the ‘Life of Adelaide Newton.’ What struck me in it so much was to find that this lady was able to hold spiritual com- munion with God by means of a Bible only. Is it possible, I thought, to hold such close communion with the Lord apart from the church and her ministrations? I do not hesi- tate to say that this was the means under God of stripping off some re- mains of my grave clothes, and en- abling me to walk in spiritual liberty.”"—A. J. Gordon. 253. Holy Spirit—Charged by It is a common thing now to catch the voice of some speaker or 109 singer three thousand miles away, and those who sing in the broad- casting stations expect to be heard at least that far. If man has thus annihilated distance, how far can the Almighty hear? How far can he fling his messages out? But man cannot hear at all in radio if his batteries are down. His dry cell and his wet batteries must both have real life in them. A very wise Jew at one time wrote, “The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness unto him they are Spiritually discerned.” A man that is not charged with the spirit can- not hear God. A battery! What is a battery? It is a box. Inside are metal plates separated by wood or rubber and connected in circuit at the top. A liquid of acid and water completes it. But that battery, as described, will not ring a bell or make a spark. It is in vain till it is charged. No matter what the make nor how worthy the materials, there is no power till the connections have been made with some mighty power line and life absorbed from outside. The glory of the battery is that it has power to take in this life and to retain it. Every normal man and woman is a complete battery ready for a charg- ing of the Holy Spirit. 254. Holy Spirit—Need of What a power the Church would be if she moved in united strength against the enemy. She would be like the army of Themistocles, the famous Athenian general, during a naval battle. At sunrise all were ready to advance but no order was given. As hour after hour passed, the soldiers began to ask, “Is he going to fight at all?” “Is it possible he is afraid?” But Themistocles knew what he was doing. About nine o’clock each forenoon there was a land breeze in that region, and he 110 HOLY was waiting till it arose, so that in- stead of having one-half of his men at the oars, the wind would do the propelling, and he could have all his — men in arms. Oh, that the wind— the Spirit—would come upon the churches, so that instead of having divided interests they would march in solid strength all armed against opposing forces !—Evangelist Mickle. 255. Holy Spirit’s Power I stood some time ago beside Niagara Falls (said Dr. A. C. Dixon, of the Metropolitan Tabernacle, in a recent address), and looking down by the bank of the river I saw a great house which I was told was the power house. In that house was a great dynamo, and from thence went wires to Buffalo and to New York. They light Toronto by Niagara Falls, heat it by the Falls, cook their dinners by the Falls, run their tramcars by the Falls and at a sanatorium near Toronto the pa- tients get their electric baths by the Falls. And in New York State there is one gruesome place where the Falls also are at work. They electro- cute their criminals by the power that comes from Niagara Falls. When I went to the Falls again I saw the philosophy of it all. Lake Ontario is 169 feet below Lake Erie, and if you were to lift up Ontario to the level of Erie you would have no Falls and no power. “Tarry at Jerusalem until ye be endued with power from on high.” That is what we need—to get down, to get under, to humble ourselves before God, that the power from on high may come upon us. It is something to have power from be- hind, such as a church with prestige and a history; something to have power from before, such as the thrill and hope of coming achievement; something to have power round about us, such as organization, and culture, and wealth; but, somehow, the power behind and in front and SPIRIT round about us is all power on the level. What we need is the power from on high, the power borne along from the great dynamo of God. Along those lines comes the power which gives light to bring to the benighted. Along those lines comes the power which gives warmth, and sympathy and companionship. Along those lines comes the power for locomotion—the power to go about doing good. Along those lines comes pulsing health, quickening us spir- itually, a tonic, a refreshment. And along those lines comes also death. For, I remember, as I turn from that gruesome place where the power of Niagara Falls is used to rid the State of its criminals, that the power from on high can execute my sinful self; my selfishness, my carnality, every- thing that is displeasing to God can be put in the chair of judgment and the power can be turned on and they are gone, and I am free from the body of this death. 256. Life-Giving Breath In South America the wind from the marshes comes charged with the germs of intermittent fever, and often the most deadly cholera accom- panies stillness in the atmosphere. A storm is the best purifier of the air, and the inhabitants long eagerly for it. From the marshy places of our lower nature the fever of lust and unsanctified passion comes. The stillness of inactivity and donothing- ness is always favorable to the cholera of doubt and unbelief. The great preventive is the soul-stirring breath of the Holy Ghost. When He comes as a mighty, rushing wind, the whole atmosphere of the life is purified—James Smith. 257. Life—Power of the Inner On a winter’s day I have noticed a row of cottages with a deep load of snow on their several roofs; but as the day wore on large fragments HOLY began to tumble from the eaves of this one and that other, till, by-and- by, there was a simultaneous ava- lanche, and the whole heap slid over in powdery ruin on the pavement, and before the sun went down you saw each roof as clear and dry as on a summer’s eve. But here and there you would observe one with its snow-mantle unbroken and a ruff of stiff icicles around it. What made the difference? The difference was to be found within. Some of these huts were empty, or the lonely in- habitant cowered over a scanty fire; whilst the peopled hearth and the high-blazing faggots of the rest created such an inward warmth that grim winter melted and relaxed his grip, and the loosened mass folded off and tumbled over on the tram- pled street. It is possible by some outside process to push the main volume of snow from the frosty roof or chip off the icicles one by one. But they will form again, and it needs an inward heat to create a total thaw. And so, by sundry pro- cesses, you may clear off from a man’s conduct the dead weight of conspicuous sins; but it needs a hid- den heat, a vital warmth within, to produce such a separation between the soul and its besetting iniquities, that the whole wintry incubus, the entire body of sin, will come spon- taneously away. That vital warmth is the love of God abundantly shed abroad—the kindly glow which the Comforter diffuses in the soul which He makes His home. His genial inhabitation thaws that soul and its favorite sins asunder, and makes the indolence and self-indulgence and in- devotion fall off from their old rest- ing-place on that dissolving heart. The easiest form of self-mortifica- tion is a fervent spirit—James Hamilton. 258. Miracles—Daily Sometimes, in the great wheat fields, the grain will be ready for the SPIRIT 111 harvest, when a storm will sweep over the land, and the wheat will be as if a roller had passed over it. Millions of dollars can be lost in a storm of thirty minutes duration. The wheat, rolled to the ground, is too low for the harvester. Its loss will be a tragedy to the farmer. Then a miracle takes place. The sun shines and its warm rays begin to caress the broken wheat. A soft, drying wind stirs over the land and the wheat stalks bezin to lift up the heavy heads. Literally millions of pounds are lifted up by the soft influence of sun and wind. Within the third day the wheat’s glorious banner is again flung to the breeze. As the sun’s light lifts the broken wheat, so the miracle of God’s Spirit lifting broken lives is daily taking place. 259. Security—Daily One Sabbath evening recently the old Jerry McAuley Mission room in New York City was crowded. Song after song was sung as only an audience of men can sing. Testi- monies were called for. There was an eager response. It was inspiring to listen to them. One man, a giant physically as well as morally, with a sincerity that could not be doubted, thanked God for having kept him ’midst severest temptation for eigh- teen years. Another was grateful to his Heavenly Father for having thrown about him influences that had kept him from drink for five years. And interspersed with song the testimonies went on. But among those who spoke there was one man who, after all, struck the keynote of Christian living a little truer than all the others. He was extremely mnervous—a mere wreck of humanity. He deplored his weakness, expressed his determina- tion to continue the struggle against his enemy, begged the prayers of God’s people, and added, “I want to thank God for keeping me from 112 drink during the last twenty-four hours.” Is it not day by day our Father keeps us? are to ask for and expect? “Every day, every hour, let me feel thy cleansing power.” 260. Spirit—Candle of As Michael Angelo wore a lamp on his cap to prevent his own shadow from being thrown upon the picture which he was painting, so the Christian minister and servant needs to have the candle of the Spirit always burning in his heart, lest the reflection of self and self- glorying may fall upon his work to darken and defile it. To show how genuine a trait of holiness this self- repression is, we recall the words of Edward Payson touching the same point :— April 1, 1806. “Spiritual pride. By how many artifices does it contrive to show it- self! If at any time I am favored with clearer discoveries of my natural and acquired depravity and hatefulness in the sight of God, and am enabled to mourn over it, in comes spiritual pride with, Aye, this is something like. This is holy mourning for sin; this is true hu- reek a alae Ri gr What a proof that the heart is the natural soil of pride, when it thus contrives to gather strength from the very exercises which one would think must destroy it utterly.’-—A. J. Gordon. 261. Spirit—Fruit of One day a man saw workmen pushing wheelbarrows over a rough piece of ground. “What are they doing?” he asked his friend. “Making a garden,” was the reply. “But I thought a garden just grew,” exclaimed the man. “There could not be a greater mistake,” said his friend. “To make Is it not daily grace we HOLY SPIRIT a garden means weeks of back- breaking toil!” Many of us have fallen into the same shallow and foolish blunder regarding the making of character. We thought the graces of Christ’s gentlemanliness grew so easily. Now we know that they are achieved only by ceaseless vigilance and constant struggle. “No man becomes a saint in his sleep.” said Carlyle. We must be fully armed and sharply alert. We must wrestle and fight and pray. Yet thank God the issue does not depend entirely on our varying courage and easily ex- hausted enthusiasm. In this stren- uous and exhilarating adventure we are not lonely and isolated soldiers. Napoleon when patrolling a camp one night, found a young sentry asleep at his post. Napoleon quietly took the musket out of his hand, and marched up and down himself until in the dawn the soldier awoke to find his general keeping watch in his place. So, when the battle of life is hot and the situation critical, and we are in peril of base sur- render, Christ himself will re-en- force our weakness, heal our despair, and vanquish the hostile forces that are too much for us—Un- identified. 262. Spirit—Quenching the A man has lost his way in a dark and dreary mine. By the light of one candle, which he carries in his hand, he is groping for the road to sunshine and to home. ‘That light is essential to his safety. The mine has many winding passages, in which he may be hopelessly be- wildered. Here and there marks have been made on the rocks to point out the true path, but he can- not see them without that light. There are many deep pits into which, if unwary, he may suddenly fall, but he cannot avoid the danger with- out that. Should it go out he must soon stumble, fall, perish. Should HOLY it go out that mine will be his tomb. How carefully he carries it! How anxiously he shields it from sudden gusts of air, from water dropping on it, from everything that might quench it! The case described is our own. We are like that lonely wanderer in the mine. Does he diligently keep alight the candle on which his life depends? Much more earnestly should we give heed to the warning, “Quench not the Spirit.” Sin makes our road both dark and dangerous. If God gave us no light, we should never find the way to the soul’s sunny home of holiness and heaven. We must despair of ever reaching our Father’s house. We must perish in the darkness into which we have wandered. But He gives us His Spirit to enlighten, guide, and cheer us.—Newman Hall. 263. Spirit—Warning of The island of Ischia was a famous summer resort for the Italians. In 1883 the sinking of water in wells as well as mutterings and rumblings underground, distinctly foretold a coming earthquake; these signs were noted and understood, but through fear of frightening visitors, and so losing custom, hotel keepers and others refrained from making public these warnings. Ruin and death en- sued, involving those who knew and heeded not, and those who, through lack of warning, had unwittingly ex- posed themselves to peril. Many are failing to heed warnings more im- perative in the realm of the Spirit. 264. Spirit—Witness of the Nothing General Howard ever said impressed me more than that response of his, after he had ac- cepted Christ in the old barracks room at Tampa, kneeling before the table with his Bible on it, surrender- ing to Jesus. In the morning he met one of his officers who said, “Howard, I hear that you have be- SPIRIT 113 come a Christian.” “Yes,” Howard says, “I have, and I am not ashamed of it.” “Why,” he says, “I can show you a hundred inconsistencies in the Bible.” “Perhaps you can,” says Howard, “but you can’t show me that last night I did not surrender to the Lord Jesus Christ, and I have been so happy I couldn’t sleep. I can wait God’s time for the ex- planation of the inconsistencies.” 265. Union, in the Spirit When the tide is out you may have noticed, as you rambled among the rocks, little pools with little fishes in them. To the shrimp, in such a pool, his foot depth of salt water is all the ocean for the time being. He has no dealings with his neighbor shrimp in the adjacent pool, though it may be only a few inches of sand that divide them; but when the rising ocean begins to lip over the margin of the lurking-place, one pool joins another, their various tenants meet, and by-and-by, in place of their little patch of standing water, they have the ocean’s bound- less fields to roam in. When the tide is out—when religion is low— the faithful are to be found in- sulated, here a few and there a few, in the little standing pools that stud the beach, having no dealings with their neighbours of the adjoin- ing pools, calling them Samaritans, and fancying that their own little communion includes all that are precious in God’s sight. They for- get, for a time, that there is a vast and expansive ocean rising—every ripple brings it nearer,—a mightier communion, even the communion of saints, which is to engulf all minor considerations, and to enable the fishes of all pools—the Christians— the Christians of all denominations —to come together. When, like a flood, the Spirit flows into the Churches, Church will join to Church, and saint will join to saint, and all will rejoice to find that if 114 their little pools have perished, it is not by the scorching summer’s drought, nor the casting in of earthly rubbish, but by the influx of © that boundless sea whose glad waters touch eternity, and in whose ample depths the saints in heaven, as well as the saints on earth, have room enough to range-——Hamilton. HOME 266. Home—Eternal John Adams, in his extreme old age, was visited by Daniel Webster, who said, “How are you to-day, Mr. Adams?” The old man said, “1 am living in a tenement that is rapidly falling into ruins, and the landlord will not make any repairs.” This, of course, was not exactly true. If repairs had not been made in the failing body every day it would immediately cease to hold its living inmate; but it was true that God would not make any repairs for the body that would continue it as a suitable house for an immortal spirit. And when the tenant was removed, the house would quickly go to decay. But what matter about the earthly house, if the inmate has gone to inhabit another body which God will give him, fashioned like unto Christ’s glorious body? 267. Home—Eternal A godly man, who had built a new house had put over the door in golden letters the one word: “Linquenda,” “T must leave it.” Karl Gerock, the celebrated German poet, wrote about it as follows: ‘Write this word above everything you value. Write it upon your house, proprietor ; upon your bonds, capitalist; upon your jewelry, young lady; upon your stores, business man; write it, mother, in spirit upon the brow of your child; husband, note, it is written above the head of your wife, Man, see it is written above HOME this world, with all the beautiful and good things it contains! How much cause have we to cleave to One who has said: ‘I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee!’” 268. Homeless Through Eternity Picture the groups sitting around and watching and reviling the sut- fering Saviour. A party of gentle- men sitting upon the deck of a steamer coming up the Delaware River after dark looked with admira- tion upon the distant clouds illum- inated by a conflagration in the city of Philadelphia. When the landing was reached, one of them received the message, “Your factory has been entirely destroyed by fire.” He had been smiling at the blaze which made him almost penniless. Many sit down and indifferently read of a crucified Christ, little thinking that rejecting that Christ will render them homeless through all eternity. 269. Home—Sate Over in one of our eastern cities was an engineer who had been on the road for a good many years. He was one day addressing a crowd of men among whom were a good many railroad men. In closing his address he said, “Men, I can’t begin to tell you what Jesus has meant to me. Years ago on every night when I would finish my run I would pull open the whistle and let out a blast just as we came around the curve and I would look up to a small hill where stood a little white cottage and there would be a little old man and a little old woman standing in the door-way. I would lean out of the old cab window and we would wave at each other and as my en- gine would go shooting into a tun- nel the old couple would turn and go back inside and the little old woman would say to the little old man, ‘Thank God, father, Bennie is safe home to-night.’ “But at last the day came when we HOME took mother out and laid her away and then each night as I came around the curve and blew the whistle the little old man would be at the door and I would wave to him and he would wave to me and then as my train shot through the tunnel he would turn and go slowly back into the cottage and say, “Thank God, Bennie is safe home to-night.’ “But bye and bye the time came when we carried father out too and now when I finish my run although I pull open the whistle and let out a blast there are no dear ones to wel- come me home. But when my work on earth is done, when the last run has been made and I have pulled the throttle and the whistle for the last time, as I draw near to heaven’s gate I know I shall see that same little, old couple waiting there for me, and as I go sweeping through the gate I will see my dear old mother turn to my dear old father and hear her say, ‘Thank God, father, Bennie is safe home at last.’ ” —W. E. Biederwolf. 270. Home, Sweet Home On the tenth of April in 1852, be- neath the African sun, died an Amer- ican. He was laid to rest in a lonely cemetery in Tunis, Africa. Thirty- one years later, as an act of a grate- ful public, the United States dis- patched a man-of-war to the African coast, American hands opened that grave, placed the dust of his body on board the battleship, and turned again for his native land. Their ar- rival in the American harbor was welcomed by the firing of guns in the fort, and by a display of flags at halfmast. His remains were car- ried to the nation’s Capital City on a special train. There was a sus- pension of all business, an adjourn- ment of all departments of govern- ment, and as the funeral procession - passed down Pennsylvania Avenue, the President, Vice-President, mem- bers of the cabinet, congressmen, 115 judges of the supreme court, officers of the army and navy, and a mass of private citizens, rich and poor, stood with uncovered heads. To whom did they thus pay homage? To a man who expressed the longing of his heart rather than the happy experi- ence of his life; a man whose soul longed for the domestic tranquillity of a pious home, and he expressed that longing in the words of that sweet song, “Home, Sweet Home.” —QO. A. Newlin. 271. Homes Without Christ In a Brahmin family a mother was proud of her two children. She was even proud of her husband, although he was selfish and thoughtless. Sub- mission is a womanly virtue in In- dia and she never complained. Be- ing of the highest caste, the family enjoyed the rights and privileges ac- corded them. One day an accident befell the mother. Falling into the fire, she suffered from severe burns on her face and right hand. One month late, a third child was born. The mother still suffered from her in- jury. She was unable to do the housework for her husband. He de- termined to turn her out and take another wife. The new wife arrived and the old one had to take her departure. But she could not bear to leave her chil- dren. She made up her mind to hang around until she could deter- mine whether the new wife was kind to them. Her heart was filled with joy when she found out that it was so. Only then was she ready to think of herself. She had heard of the foreign doctor in the Mission hos- pital at Nasirabad. To him she de- cided to go. In her mind she had worked out a plan. If the Mission medicine cured her, she had great hopes of coming back to her hus- band. As a wife? No, she thought that she might be employed by him 116 in the home as a servant. Just to be near the children again she made the iong journey to Dr. McLaren. The good doctor’s wife said: “The sad- dest part of it all was that she made no complaint. It was all taken as a matter of course, and for her there was no redress, because of the in- efficiency of the laws and religion of the country.” Of course there are thousands of happy homes in India, and thousands of men far better than their laws and their religion; but still, every now and again, here and there, women are met who have been treated as this woman was, and who are suffering as she _ suffered.— Stanley A. Hunter. 27z. Home—Temporary A man in comfortable circum- stances was planning a new home for his family. He bought a tract of ground in the suburbs of the city. He laid out the ground and planted trees and shrubbery years before he was ready to build. Then the time came when the new house was actu- ally under construction. But the man never moved into the house. Illness fell upon him, and when the house of brick and mortar and lum- ber was taking shape his earthly tab- ernacle of clay was crumbling away. He made plans, but could not see their completion. 273. Homeward Bound That young, chivalrous and power- ful knight, Maltbie Babcock, pure and sweet as a summer’s morning, in one of his bright, manly, human songs sang this cheery strain: “Some day the bell will sound, Some day my heart will bound, As with a shout That school is out— And, lessons done, I homeward run.” 274. Home—Worship in A lady and her little daughter were HOME in a service in which the preacher spoke about how obedience toward God is revealed in the manner in which one attends to the small duties of every-day life. He described how many parents neglect their spiritual duties in the home; how they retire night after night without praying for God’s watchcare and how in the morning they fail to thank him for rest, protection and the new blessings of the new day. The little girl lis- tened attentively. Then turning to her mother, she whispered: “Mamma, is the minister talking about you?” The simple question pierced her heart. She said nothing, but that night she kneeled before her bed, confessed her sin and asked God’s help in carrying out her duties. 275. Mansions—Building There is a Hindoo legend of a king, who hired a master builder, and gave him a large sum of money and sent him to the Himalayas to build the most magnificent palace ever erected on this earth. When the builder arrived at the place, he found the people dying of starvation. He used all his own money, and the king’s too, for food, and saved hun- dreds of lives. The king was so angry when he heard of it that he said, “To-morrow the builder shall die.” That night the king dreamed he was in heaven and in the most beau- tiful palace he ever saw. He asked who owned it, and an angel said, “It is yours, built by the man you have condemned to death.” The next day the man received his pardon. 276. Parents—Duty of To a father who admitted in court that he did not know how his son, then under arrest, had been spend- ing his evenings or what he had been doing, the judge put some questions that other fathers might well ask themselves: “Do you keep a horse?” “Yes, Your Honor.” “Where is it PERSONAL WORK 117 now?” “In the barn.” “You know where it is every night, don’t you? You lock the barn door to keep the horse safe, and you feed it and care ene cie Aue Vout). ¥es, sir.” “Which do you think the most of, the horse or the boy?” “The boy, of course.” “Then see that you treat him as well as you treat the horse.” 277. The Old-Fashioned Parents The good old-fashioned mothers and the good old-fashioned dads, With their good old-fashioned las- sies and their good old-fashioned lads, Still walk the lanes of loving in their simple, tender ways, As they used to do back yonder in the good old-fashioned days. They dwell in every city and they live in every town, Contentedly and happy and not hun- gry for renown; On every street you'll find ’em in their simple garments clad, The good old-fashioned mother and the good old-fashioned dad. There are some who sigh for riches, there are some who yearn for fame, And a few misguided people who no longer blush at shame; But the world is full of mothers, and the world is full of dads, Who are making sacrifices for their little girls and lads. They are growing old together, arm in arm they walk along, And their hearts with love are beat- ing and their voices sweet with song; They still share their disappoint- ments and they share their pleas- ures, too, And whatever be their fortune, to each other they are true. They are watching at the bedside of a baby pale and white, And they kneel and pray together for the care of God at night; They are romping with their chil. dren in the fields of clover sweet, And devotedly they guard them from the perils of the street. They are here in countless numbers, just as they have always been, And their glory is untainted by the selfish and the mean. And I'd hate to still be living, it would dismal be and sad, If we'd no old-fashioned mother and we'd no old-fashioned dad. —Edgar A. Guest, PERSONAL WORK 278. Beggars—Christian An Arab beggar used to sit at the gate of a rich man’s house, on whose bounty he depended, and from whom he received daily alms. One day his patron wished to send a letter in a hurry, and, seeing the beggar, asked him to deliver it. The beggar drew himself up and said, “I solicit alms; I don’t run errands.” We have been soliciting alms from God all our lives, and yet how unwilling we are to convey his message of salvation or do any other service for him. 279. Best—Giving Our Helen Hunt Jackson wrote this, it is said, on the day before her death: If I can live to make some pale face brighter, and to give A second luster to some tear-dimmed eye, or e’en impart One throb of comfort to an aching heart, Or cheer some wayworn soul in pass- ing by; If I can lend a strong hand to the fallen, or defend The right against a single envious strain, My life, though bare, Perhaps, of much that seemeth dear and fair To us of earth, will not have been in vain. 118 The purest joy, most near to heaven, far from earth’s alloy, Is bidding cloud give way to sun and shine; and ’twill be well If one that day of days the angels tell Of me, She did her best for one of Thine. 280. Christian Activity There is a wide, shallow river in Arizona, the Ria Puerco, that has this peculiarity—its bed is nearly all quicksand on which you may travel with safety providing you keep moving, but the instant a halt is made the treacherous sands begin to engulf you. How like the world that is! God never intended that we should tarry in it since “the fall.” The Christian must keep moving or become submerged in its sands. 281. Christian Workers Wanted An advertisement in a newspaper reads as follows: “Partner Wanted For A _ Going Concern. “Capital not necessary. “Hundreds of thousands of un- filled orders and they’re all marked rush. You’re not asked to put up any money. But there’s something you have which will enable the manu- facturer to buy money. Lend it and we'll both be gainers.” Could anything better state the appeal that is constantly made for Christian workers, especially Chris- tian witnesses and_ soul-winners? Nations appealing for the Gospel “and they’re all marked rush!” You have the time and the potential power at your disposal. Will you become an active partner? 282. Creed and Deed A young and enthusiastic worker in God’s vineyard came to an older and more experienced Christian friend and told him the following experience: “Yesterday I spoke to old Peter M. about his soul’s salva- PERSONAL WORK tion. I had a good opportunity as we went a long way together. I spoke to him as fervently as possi- ‘ble about the love of God, but the old man seemed wholly unresponsive, and replied to my invitation to ac- cept Christ, ‘I am a poor old man and must stagger under the load of firewood I had so much trouble in collecting. I can feel nothing of the love of God.’ How terrible is such hard-heartedness !” The experi- enced Christian replied that he must acknowledge it quite natural that the old man did not respond to the invi- tation as he should have. ‘Natural?’ said the man, “what do you mean? I told him ail about Christ in a biblical way.” “My brother, had you borne his load of wood for him, he surely would have considered your words, as he would have not only heard about the love of God, but seen an illustration of it in you.” 283. Duty—Evading “I pray thee have me excused.” A general asked a certain soldier standing in the front rank: “Meier, what would you do if during the war yonder bridge had to be _ taken, although it lies under the mouth of the enemy’s cannon and, as only a few soldiers could advance at the same time, the order would be given: ‘Volunteers to the front!’?” “I would quickly jump to one side to let the volunteers pass,” he answered. How many of us have acted so when a piece of work requiring self-sacri- fice was expected of God’s children? Don’t duck. 284. Duty—Wavering in The deed is done so quietly—the little deed. It is so silent, so brief. It is merely a movement, a word; sometimes it is merely a glance. It is the scratch of a pen. The deed is done—done immediately and si- lently. There is no peal of thunder or avenging flash of lightning pierc- ing the trees, and finding out the PERSONAL WORK guilty soul. The deed is done. It was done and passed into the an- nexus of things without any sign and without any immediate result at all. You get up from it and you pass out. The sun shines, the birds are singing, the flowers bloom, the gentle scents of the summer are waited in the breeze. It is all the same, nothing has happened; and, after taking the forbidden fruit, you wipe your mouth and think it is past, it is done, it is forgotten. But it is not; it is there; it cannot be undone. Because the sentence is not executed immediately it is not for- gotten; it only waits its time. The Stoneycliff lighthouse on the Chan- nel has a revolving light, and one night, some time ago, the keeper of the lighthouse fell asleep at his watch, and the clockwork which re- volved the light came to a stand. Later the lighthouse keeper started up and saw what had happened and set the clockwork going again. Then he peered into the night to see if any ship were passing. He could see nothing. He hoped nothing had passed at that moment, and as there seemed to be nothing he did not enter the little slip into his logbook and he tried to sleep. The next day he tried to forget, and the next day nothing happened, and the weeks be- gan to pass and nothing happened, and all was forgotten. The little incident had passed out of his mind and his mind was at rest. But four months afterward the captain of a P. & O. liner was dining at Trinity House, and he said to the official who was close to him, “When did you make the Stoneycliff a fixed light?” “Tt is not a fixed light,’ said the oficial. “Well,” he _ said, “four months ago I was passing down the Channel at two o’clock and the light was fixed.” “That is impossible,” said the official; and the captain, eager to show that he was right, said, “I made note of it, and I can bring my first officer and others to show that 119 it was so,” and the official said, “Ah,” and the captain wished he could have withdrawn his words; he feared what might happen. But it was too late, and the next morning, by the first train, the inspector went down to dismiss the keeper of the lighthouse on the spot—Robert F. Horton. 285. Friend Wanted The late Bishop Dudley, of Ken- tucky, was once on a hunting expedi- tion near Louisville and happened to fall in with a local Nimrod whose unconcealed admiration of the city man’s marksmanship paved the way for further conversation. “What’s your name?” the country- man finally inquired. “Dudley,” was the reply. After some exchange of incident and experience, the bishop’s inter- locutor hazarded, “Say, Dudley, what business do you follow ?” “T’m a preacher.” “Oh, get out! What are you giv- ing me?” “But I am. day.” “Where?” “In Louisville.” “Well, well; I never would ha thought it. You ain’t stuck up a bit, like most of the preachers down this way.” An invitation to hear this new- made acquaintance preach was ac- complished by a scribbled card, and the next Sabbath saw the rustic in his “Sunday best” ushered into the bishop’s own pew, where he listened intently to both service and sermon. He was manifestly amazed after~ ward to have the orator of the morn- ing come down to greet him as cor- dially and familiarly as in the woods. He managed to stammer his thanks and added: “I ain’t much of a judge of this kind of thing, parson, but I riz with you and sot with you and saw the thing through the best I knew how, but all the same if my I preach every Sun- > 120 opinion’s wuth anything to you, the Lord meant you for a shooter !”— Chicago Tribune. 286. Happiness—Art of The art of being happy is the fin- est of the fine arts. So Dr. Charles E. Barker of Washington, D. C., said recently. As physical adviser at the White House he first tried his recipe on Presi- dent Taft, being the man who taught Taft how to decrease his weight. Recently he told his recipe for hap- piness in five rules: “Cultivate the habit of looking on the bright side of every experience, no matter what it is. “Accept cheerfully the place you find yourself in to-day. “Throw your whole soul into your work. “Do as many courtesies as possible for the people you are thrown with every day. “Adopt and maintain a childlike at- titude of trust in your God. _ “Everybody can tell how happy a life they are living by asking them- selves one simple question: How do you act back home at the breakfast table? “T used to believe that anyone could be happy with plenty of money and automobiles and yachts and so on. But my experience as a physi- cian has cured me of that. I have found the folks of that class usu- ally the most miserable in the world. “Nearly everybody lives one sort of double life; one on dress parade and one back in the home.” 287. Help—wNeglected Just a few hours after the awful Iroquois theater fire in Chicago, a lady who was returning from the city to her home at Oak Park, no- ticed in the seat opposite her in the street car, a young lady who seemed so pale and agitated that she finally ventured to engage her in conversa- PERSONAL WORK tion and ask the cause of her unu- sual excitement. With intense emo- tion, the young lady stated that she was one of the few who had escaped unhurt from the terrible disaster at the theater, she having been borne along with the fear maddened crowd, trampling upon the writhing forms of those who had fallen, never to rise again. When she had finished, the older lady said: “Certainly you ought to feel thankful that you es- caped such a frightful death.” Quickly, the now weeping girl, re- plied: “Yes, I know I ought to be thankful, but oh, I didn’t save any- one!” Hoping to comfort her, the lady soothingly said, “Yes, dear, but you were perfectly excusable in act- ing for yourself under such intense excitement.” Instead of taking com- fort from the words the trembling girl only bowed her head and sobbed aloud, “Yes, but I didn’t even try to help anyone.” That same cry will arise from the lips of many a Chris- tian some day when it is known that loved ones in the home died worse than physical deaths, and yet they hadn’t even tried to help save them. The burning shame of it all is that we do not try. 288. I Accept The Rev. John Van Ness, of the Narberth, Pa., Presbyterian Church, was recently telling his congregation how French women have been visit- ing the new-made soldier cemeteries near their villages, and how each one has been chalking over her signature on the rude wooden crosses the words, “I accept.” It meant that these good women would be responsi- ble for keeping green these graves of boys whose loved ones, who would otherwise perform this ministry, were far away in distant lands. The incident beautifully suggests to us, this pastor said, that the finished work of redemption is represented by a cross that stood near an open tomb, and upon which we must by faith PERSONAL WORK inscribe those words of eternal im- port, “I accept.”—The Sunday School Times. 289. Idle Hands When I was in the army before Port Hudson I remember that night after night, when our campfires were built, we boys used to sit around them and discuss various matters; and sometimes our discussions be- came very heated, and sometimes we lost our tempers, and sometimes we said angry words. But one night, right in the midst of a discussion, there broke upon us that awful, startling sound which, once heard is never forgotten. Away off, on the right of the line, it began; but it rolled in a thundering, awful echo, until it chilled our hearts. It was the long roll, and every man was on his feet, and every man _ shook hands with his comrade and said, “Forgive me. When we were idle we could afford to discuss; but now there is work to do, it finds us broth- ers.’—G. Hepworth. 290. Impossible—Nothing “Got any rivers they say are un- crossable? Got any mountains you can’t tunnel through? We specialize on the wholly impos- sible, Doing the thing that no one can do.” The impossible becomes possible when we walk with the Lord.—Sun- day School Times. 291. Jesus—How to Shine for Two plowshares were made from the same pig iron. One was sold to a farmer who used it constantly. The other remained on the shelf of the hardware store, unsold until it was covered with rust. The farmer brought his wornout share td get an- other like it. The rusty share was 121 brought out, and there was _ its brother shining like a silver mirror. “How is it,’ the rusty one asked, “that your life has been so wearing and yet has made you so beautiful? Once we were alike: I have grown ugly in spite of my easy life.” “That is it,” replied the shining share, “the beautiful life is the sacrificial life.” 292. Keep Chiseling A gentleman who was walking near an unoccupied building one day Saw a stonecutter chiseling patiently at a block of stone in front of him. The gentleman went up to him. “Still chiseling?” he remarked pleas- antly. “Yes, still chiseling,” replied the workman, going on with his work. “To what part of the building does this stone belong?” asked the gen- tleman. “I don’t know,” replied the stonecutter; “I haven’t seen the plans.” And then he went on chisel- ing, chiseling, chiseling. And that is what we should do. We have not seen the great plans of the Master Architect above, but each of us has his work to do, and we should chisel away until it is done.—Christian Her- ald. 2937. Laborers Together Phillips Brooks said: “The chisel cannot carve a noble statue—it is only cold, dead steel. Yet neither can the artist carve the statue without the chisel. When, however, the two are brought together, when the chisel lays itself in the hands of the sculptor, ready to be used by him, the beauti- ful work begins. We cannot do Christ’s work—our hands are too clumsy for anything so delicate, so sacred; but when we put ourselves into the hands of Christ, his wisdom, his skill, and his gentleness flow through us, and the work is done. Christ and we do it—not we alone, for we could not do it; yet not Christ alone, for he depends on us. That is the true rally spirit. God 122 and I. “We are laborers together with God.” 294. Life—Blooming The century plant had bloomed and after the flower faded the gardener began to cut it down, and then I ex- claimed: “Why are you cutting it down? Won't it revive again after it has had a little rest?” “No, the old plant's done for! Might have lived to be a hundred years old, though, if it hadn’t up and bloomed, but now it’s as dead as a door-nail!” “Does blooming always kill them?” was my amazed query. “Yes, ma’am; in this country, any- how, so far as I know,” was the emphatic rejoinder. “Then why did you not cut back and not let it bloom?” was my next query. The old gardener, looking me in the face as he leaned on the axe handle, said: “Now, honest, ma’am, wasn’t it bet- ter to let the thing die? Seein’ it bloomed, it’s given pleasure to hun- dreds of people this summer who never saw the like before.” Then, as the old philosopher again swung his axe, he added, between blows: “A blooming death, to my way o’ thinkin’, is a mighty sight better’n a no-account life!” I walked away thinking, not of the century plant, but of the gardener’s suggestive words: “A bloomin’ death is a mighty sight better’n a no-account life !”—Christian Intelligencer. 295. Life—Water of When I was in Egypt in 1917 I used to pass to and fro along the banks of the Suez Canal, and I no- ticed miles of deserted British camps from which the troops had moved on their leaving for Palestine but a few PERSONAL WORK The whole region had been alive. Now it was given back to the desert. But here and there traces of the old order, the old civilization remained. The shell of a hut, a length of pegs, a stand for wash basins, a set of goal posts mark- ing a football ground. What espe- cially caught my eye, however, and remained in my memory, was a tiny patch of green round the stem of an unsteady-looking derelict pump, by the side of which one could still read the legend: “Drinking Water.” The water was still there underneath, but it could get out, yet just enough found its way to the surface to show what the buried supplies, if drawn upon fully, might effect, even in the desert sand. The seeds of life were there, and a very little water had started them growing. And ever since the scene has remained with me as a parable of the world situation, and of the individual soul. Bring God into either, and the desert will re- cede before the spread of life, and disorder will yield to order again. But it is only, as we have seen, through individuals that the streams can go out and change the face of ai- fairs. In every one of us there is a divine spring. Are you drawing up- on it? Or is that old pump in the desert a picture of how it is with your spiritual life? months before. 296. Light-Giving A young man who had heard the gospel accepted Christ. A little while after this, a Christian teacher asked him: “What have you done for Christ since you believed?” He re- plied: “Oh, I’m a learner.” “Well,” said the questioner, “when you light a candle do you light it to make the candle more comfortable, or to have it give light?” He replied, “To give light.” “Do you expect it to give light after it is half burned, or when you first light it?” He replied, “As soon as I light it.” “Very well,” was the reply, “go thou and do likewise; PERSONAL WORK begin at once.” Shortly after there were fifty more Christians in town as a result of the man’s work. 297. Lost—Seeking the In Richard Whiteling’s book, “No. 5 John Street,” there is a young girl who struggled hard to bring refine- ment and beauty into her life, and at last burst out with the bitter cry, “Oh, why didn’t you ketch me when I was a kid?” Hundreds and thou- sands of people have felt as she did. The cry of the slum-girl about being “ketched” is just the slum way of saying that what she needed was to be “apprehended of Christ Jesus.” That is what Paul said of him- self. While on his mad career, on the way to Damascus, Jesus “appre- hended” him, or as the American Version says it, “laid hold of” him, or in our modern speech, arrested him. 298. Memory—Precious After the Civil War, Booker T. Washington, who had been a slave, remained on the old plantatio.. Nat- urally, the new owners were not in sympathy with the traditions of the old home. One day Booker was or- dered to dig up a crimson rambler rose bush. A few days later he was reminded that he had not done as he was commanded. The third time he was ordered to dig up the rose bush at once, or leave the place. With proper meekness, yet with emphasis, he replied: “Missus, I wants to do everything you tells me, but I can’t dig up dat rose bush. Old mistress held dat bush while I put the dirt around it, and she loved dat rose bush mighty well. She first learned me how to pray. She sleep out dar in de garden, waitin’ de morning of de resurrection. No, missus, I can’t dig up dat bush.” He could not forget the words and life of the one who had led him to Christ—J. W. Porter. 123 299. Moral Deserts James Tyson, a Bushman in Aus- tralia, died worth $25,000,000. “But,” he said, with a characteristic semi- exultant snap of the fingers, “the money is nothing, It was the lit- tle game that was the fun!” Be- ing asked once, “What was the lit- tle game?” he replied with energy: “Fighting the desert. That has been my work. I have been fighting the desert all my life, and I have won. I have put water where was no water. And beef where was no beef. I have put fences where there were no fences and roads where there were no roads. Nothing can undo what I have done, and millions will be happier for it after I am long dead and forgotten.” Fighting the moral deserts of the lives of people is the splendid task of every Christian worker. It is a sterner task than fighting the deserts of nature, important as this may be. 300. Personal Work In a recent address of Bishop Hughes, he spoke of a deacon in a certain Congregational church in Boston, who many years ago said to himself, “I cannot speak in prayer meeting. J cannot do many other things in Christian service, but I can put two extra plates on my dinner table every Sunday and in- vite two young men who are away from home to break bread with me.” He went along doing that for more than thirty years. He became ac- quainted with a great company of young men who were attending that church, and many of them became Christians through his personal in- fluence. When he died recently he was to be buried in Andover, thirty miles distant, and because he was a well-known merchant, a_ special train was chartered to convey the funeral party. It was made known that any of his friends among the young men who had become Chris- 124 tians through his influence would be welcomed in a special car set aside for them. And a hundred and fifty of them came and packed that car from end to end in honor of the memory of the man who _ had preached to them the gospel of the extra dinner plate. 301. Personal Work—Dificult “We have found the Messiah—He brought him unto Jesus.” John 1: 4l, 42. In a South Coast Town, some years ago, a business girl who was having a very hard time among her friends and suffering much perse- cution for her Christian testimony, came to a friend of mine who was holding a series of special Sunday evening services in a large theater. She told him she was afraid she must give it all up. He said to her, “Tell me, where do we put the lights?” She looked puzzled at his question, so he answered it, “We put the lights in a dark place,” he said. In a moment she saw his meaning, and realized God had put her in those difficult surroundings that she might shine for Jesus in the midst of the darkness. She went back de- termined to be more courageous than ever in her witness for Christ. A few weeks later, after the theater service, she came to him with a group of other girls, all radiant with joy. “Oh,” she said, “the thirteenth from our business house has decided for Christ to-night.” The story is told of a rather timid young member of the Brotherhood of St. Andrew, that he tried in vain to induce a young friend of his to come to the church services and Bible class. He used to call for him every Sunday, but it was of no use. Finally, however, he won him, and when asked how he did it, replied, “Well, I got tired of calling on him so often, so at last I decided to go and board at the same house with him.” PERSONAL WORK 302. Personal Work—Fear in I turned to a big business man whom I knew well and asked the privilege of using him as an illus- tration. He was a very prosperous man, on the board of directors of big corporations. He was also a de- voted Christian; loyal to his church; giving time and strength to the teach- ing of a men’s big Bible class. I said to him: “Mr. D., you are teacher of a big Bible class for men. Does it require any extra courage and superior consecration for you to teach that class?” “Oh, no!” he answered; “I delight to do it.” “If I asked you,’ I continued, “to go down to the Salvation Army Citadel some night and present the Gospel to the crowd that gathers there, would that challenge test your cour- age in a special way?” “Not at all,” he replied, “I would be glad to do it”? “Certainly,” I answered; “but what about the man who sits by your side in the board of directors of your corporation who you know is not a Christian? What about him?” Quickly he answered, “That is an- other story.” Then I said to him, simply as an illustration to all the rest of the business men present, “Mr. D., take somebody your size.” —Epworth Herald. 303. Personal Work—Persistent “What else could I do?” So said a frail young girl of seventeen. The home of this young heroine, Miss Esther Fuller, is in Corpus Christi, Texas. The flood came in the fall of 1919, and she and her brother, a lad of eleven, found themselves in the water. The boy became unconscious, and for five hours before being rescued the girl swain about in the surging waters, supporting her little brother. Hap- pily her favorite sport had been swimming, according to the account in the newspapers. “T couldn’t leave him, could I?” PERSONAL WORK was the expression of the girl when her heroic conduct was being com- mended. What a motto for those who are seeking to win others for their Mas- ter’s service. Those who endeavor to “rescue the perishing” will find that the Lord will provide strength for their task. Pluckily and hopefully they may con- tinue their labor of love. Unfalter- ing faith in the saving Christ leads the Christian worker to exclaim, “I couldn’t leave him, could I?” Be- cause of such holy daring many have been reclaimed from the ways of sin. ——W. J. Hart. 304. Sacrifice and Song 2 Chron. 29: 27. “And when the burnt offering began, the song of the Lord began also.” Here is a guiding sentence from the Word of God, a good test for a sermon, “And when the burnt offer- ing began, the song of the Lord be- gan also.” The song began with the sacrifice. Joy is wedded to consecra- tion. When life becomes sacrificial, song is awakened in the soul. This is a part of the divine plan for the chil- dren of men. Song breaks out in service. There are motor cars fitted with electric light, but the light is conditioned upon movement. The car generates the power as it runs; a long stop and the light goes out. Joy dies out when we are idle. We generate it as we serve. We begin to sing the song of the Lord when we spend ourselves in the labor of his kingdom. Let us take up some bit of work—the personal care of somebody else, or some service in the city, or some kind of interest among needy people far away. Let us take up the yoke of the Lord Jesus and draw our share of the world’s burden, and so “enter into the joy of the Lord.” 305. Sanctification Two men were arguing about sanc- 125 tification. “Was it a crisis or a process?” asked one. The other man replied by asking a question. “How did you come from London to Keswick?” “I came by train,” his friend replied. “And did the train bring you by one sudden jump into Keswick?” “Oh, no! I came along more and more.” “Yes, I see. But first you got into the carriage, and how did you do that—was it more and more?” “No, I just stepped in.” “Exactly. That is the crisis; and you journeyed along more and more till you were at your destination; this was the process.”—Expository Times. 306. Serve—Free to “Free to serve!” These words were uttered by a thoughtful woman as she saw a great vessel loosed from its stays and plough its way into the ocean. In the water only could it find its native element. It was in bondage until it was launched. It found its freedom in its prepared- ness for service. A man is like that ship. He is not free when he is his own, with- held from God. His truest freedom comes by submission, his emancipa- tion by surrender; he has a man’s will only when he submits his will to God’s will. God’s will is the ocean to him, his native element. Once in that element, once fully yielded to God, he, like the ship in the ocean, is indeed free. He is “free to serve,” and in serving finds his highest liberty. 307. Service—Abundant The recent death of Dr. Robert Dawbarn, an eminent surgeon of New York, will be more notable among medical men than among others, but there is one interesting story told about him which is worth passing on. In sewing up a wound after an operation, one of his stu- dents observed that he always tied three knots where the custom was to 126 tie only two. Asked about it, Dr. Dawbarn replied, “The third is my sleeping knot; it may not be neces-. sary to tie it, but it makes the matter that much safer, and I find I sleep better for it.” That is only one more instance of the beauty of doing just a little more than any one could prop- erly demand, going the second mile, as our Lord put it. Most men are able to sleep better after such an experience. There is danger in let- ting other people determine what one shall do, and the danger is more seri- ous that it will lead to under-doing than to over-doing.—Continent. 308. Service—Continuous Men and women of kindly impulses are found everywhere, and it would be unjust to cast discredit on the friendly souls all over the world who lend a helping hand out of pure friendliness and human _ kindness. But a test of any good thing is its enduring quality. This, on no less authority than the judgment of Miss Jane Addams of Hull House, Chi- cago, is a characteristic peculiar to Christian workers. Here are her words, quoted not long ago in a newspaper account of an interview in which she was asked upon whom she relied for volunteer unsalaried workers, “creediess, altruists or church members.” Her answer is most significant. She replied: “They are all Christians from evangelical churches. I have had a good many ‘altruists’ try it, but I never knew any slum worker to stand the wear and tear of our work for over three weeks unless inspired by Christian Love.” 309. Service—Double “Set your candle before the look- ing-glass,” said a dear, quaint old lady. “Don’t you know you get al- most the light of two candles that way?” This thought was carried out by a poor sewing woman, who had few pleasures to brighten her dull, PERSONAL WORK gray life. But whenever she be- came the happy possessor of a flower she set it before her mirror, and thus her beauty-loving eyes had two flowers to enjoy. One woman, whose garden annually overflowed into all her neighbors’ houses, said: “It is give or die!” Share the lovely, fra- grant blossoms; let them carry their sweet messages into life’s desert, shadowed places, and your own gar- . den will smile in loveliness until frost comes to banish the outdoor beauty. Pleasures gratefully accepted from the Giver of all true pleasure, and pleasures shared with others, are pleasures doubled. Can we not al- ways set our candle before a looking- glass?—Southern Cross. gio. Service—Double “You are always working,” I ex- claimed, as I entered the office of a business friend. “How many hours do you work each day?” “Twenty- four,” he replied with a smile. Then more seriously, “I became interested in missions and determined to go to China, but my father died and his business was in such a state that no outsider could carry it on. My mother, sisters, and younger brother were dependent upon the profits of the house, so I was obliged to remain here. I then took the support of a native preacher in China as my sub- stitute. In that way I work twenty- four hours a day, for my representa- tive there is working while I sleep.” —Oriental Missionary. Standard. This man is like the angels in heaven, “serving day and night.” 311. Service—Fearless General Frederick Funston, who died quite recently, has been de- scribed by his superiors as abso- lutely fearless. Ever ready to plunge into danger, he cared little whether his force equaled that of his oppo- nent. One day, the story goes, when it appeared certain the Filipinos would destroy three companies under PERSONAL WORK Funston’s command, General Harri- son Gray Otis inquired of the col- onel how long he could hold his posi- tion. “Until I am mustered out,” Funston replied, and he made good. giz. Service—Forgotten A little fellow in the slum section of a large city was induced to attend a mission Sunday School, and by and by became a Christian. He seemed quite bright and settled in his new Christian faith and life, but some one, surely in a thoughtless mood, tried to test or shake his simple faith in God, asking him, “If God loves you, why doesn’t he take better care of you? Why doesn’t he tell some one to send you warm shoes and some coal and _ better food?” The little fellow thought a moment, then with tears starting in his eyes, said, “I guess he does tell somebody, but somebody forgets.’ Without knowing it, the boy touched the sore point in the church’s history. I wonder if it is the sore point with - you or me. 313. Service—Greatness of Two brothers, Ahmed and Omar, wished to do something to perpetu- ate their memory. Omar cut from the quarry a great obelisk, and lifted it up beside the highway, and carved his name upon it, with many other inscriptions. And there it stood for ages, a splendid monument, but of no use to the world. Ahmed digged a well beside the desert highway and planted palm trees beside it. And in the course of time the spot became a beautiful oasis where the weary traveler stopped to quench his thirst and to feed upon the fruit and to rest beneath the shade of the tall palms. And all who passed that way blessed the name of Ahmed the Good. The story illustrates two plans of life. One is to make for yourself a great name, as high as the obelisk of Omar, and as useless. The other is to make your life like an 127 oasis where the weary may find rest and comfort and refreshment. 314. Service—Humble A minister called one day and found the mother of a large family at the wash tub. “Excuse me,” he said, “I see you are doing the Lord’s work. I will not hinder you.” “I never do the Lord’s work. I leave that for fine folks with plenty of time and money. I never go to church.” “Church! I said nothing about go- ing to church. I said you were working for God.” “T’m not, I’m washing.” “Well, what is that but working for God? Whom are you washing for?” “My family.” “And don’t you call it working for God when you work for your family? © If your neighbor were ill and could not do her washing or have it done, and you did it for her, would you not feel you were doing a great Christian service?” Would it not take some of the weariness out of household drudgery if we felt we were as truly serving God in it as if we were doing what the fine folks with plenty of time and money are doing? 315. Service—Intelligent Rev. E. P. Hill in a recent address, speaking on the question, “What have you done that will stand the light of eternity?” said: “Think how many live like a sewing woman, sew- ing all day long, and then suddenly discovering that her needle is not threaded. How many like a man pushing from the shore at night, and after rowing till his hands were sore wonders why he has not reached the opposite shore, and as the morning comes and as night is lifted, to his amazement he discovers his boat is tied to a post. Life is like a bag full of holes, things are put in, but at last nothing is seen. ‘Wherefore be 128 steadfast, always abounding in the work of the Lord.” 316. Service—Jesus Demands A man said to me the other day, “I’m as good as most church-mem- bers.” And I nearly said, “Heavens, what do I care if you are! Good- ness counts for so little.’ And it does. The Gospel cry is for service. The Gospel goes far beyond the Sinaitic demand for righteousness, has but little patience with the naked “Thou-shalt-nots” of Moses. Look at Jesus. He was something far higher. The soul of Jesus craved service. Seeing the sin in the world he needs must die for it, beholding the woe in the world he needs must suffer with it. He was born to fight men’s battles. The Greeks pictured love as the most boyish of the gods, plump, pleasant, smiling. T hey were shallow-eyed. Love is the haggard virtue. Love’s eyes are bleared by watching; love’s face is wizened by self-abnegation; love can be trusted, because love always hungers for the cross, love serves. Christ asks of you not goodness but Love. 317. Service—Unselfish General Grant had been for sev- eral months in front of Petersburg, apparently accomplishing nothing, while General Sherman had captured Atlanta, and completed his grand “march to the sea.” Then arose a strong cry to promote Sherman to Grant’s position as lieutenant-general. Hearing of it, Sherman wrote to Grant, “I have written to John Sher- man (his brother) to stop it. I would rather have you in command than any one else. I should em- phatically decline any commission cal- culated to bring us into rivalry.” Grant replied, “No one would be more pleased with your advancement that I; and if you should be placed in my position, and I put subordinate, it would not change our relations in the least. I would make the same PERSONAL WORK exertion to support you that you have done to support me, and I would do all in my power to make your cause win.”—(O. S. Marden, “Archi- tects of Fate.”)—James Hastings. 318. Service—Unselfish Matt. 19: 27. “Peter said, What then shall we have?” One day when Jesus and the disciples were cross- ing a field covered with stones the Master said, “If each of you would carry away a stone it would give room for grass and trees to grow.” To please him they picked up as many stones as they could carry and journeyed on till the sweat rolled down their faces. Not so Peter: he could see no profit in this, so he car- ried a pebble about the size of an egg. John carried a huge boulder, so large that only his love for the Master enabled him to bear it. When they reached the other side of the field, John said, “Master, we are hun- gry and we have no bread.” Jesus said, “Those that work will always have bread.” He lifted his hands and blessed the stones and lo, they turned to bread. All had plenty ex- cept Peter. On the return journey they came to the same field. With- out waiting for a reminder they again took up stones, Peter bearing the largest of all. He toiled on in the hot sun, thinking of the feast he would have on the other side. On the far side flowed the Jordan. When they reached its bank Jesus said, “Tet none do good for the hope of reward; throw the stones into the river”? Thus did St. Peter fast a whole day and thereby learn a les- son: we should do good, not for the hope of reward, but because this is right. Righteousness is its own reward. 319. Sorrow—Sanctified Jolly Harry Lauder had a heart so filled with merriment that for years he has been setting all the world PERSONAL WORK a-laughing with his rollicking songs. But a great darkness fell upon Harry Lauder. As he left the theater one night he received a message that his only son had been killed at the front in France. It was a crushing blow, for the boy was the idol of his father’s heart. But the Scotch come- dian turned to God for comfort. A few weeks later he was canceling lucrative engagements and going to France with the Y. M. C. A. forces to sing gospel songs to the soldiers and to bear his witness for Jesus. Commenting on his own experience Lauder said: “When a great sorrow overtakes any man there are three things that he may do. He may sour on life, or he may try to drown his sorrow in drink, or he may turn to God. I have chosen the third path.” Would to God that all who pass through the night of sorrow might make the same choice, and find the same light dawning in their lives!— Selected. g20. Souls—Hand-Picked The princely Bishop Warren was led to an open confession, while a freshman at college, through a Sat- urday morning’s stroll with a junior. Bishop Bashford tells of a senior in Ohio Wesleyan convicted because of failure to do personal work. He made a list of sixteen students and began to work for them. All were converted and six entered the minis- try. A traveling man asked a busi- ness man for the privilege of put- ting him on a prayer list. He per- mitted it but laughingly scoffed. He was, however, converted and became the great Young Men’s Christian As- sociation worker, S. M. Sayford, who won C. K. Ober, who won John R. Mott. Dr. Chapman tells of his ignorant Irish janitor, who prayed for and claimed the Holy Spirit’s power and then in a few months led sixty men to Christ. Bishop Berry was led to Christ by two young friends who took him into his 129 father’s barn and held a prayer meet- ing.—Bishop McDowell. 321. Sympathy—Wise A little news item read thus: The doors which open from the sidewalk into the lobby of a big building are heavy ones and are very hard to open. Yesterday a little hunchback stepped out of an ele- vator on the first floor, followed by a great big man. The hunchback reached the doors first and threw himself against one. Although he pushed with all his might he couldn’t open it. Chagrined, he stepped back, and the big man stepped up. Noticing the look of humilia- tion on the face of the little fellow, the big man said: “T’ve got a sore wrist. Come on; let’s see if we both can’t open it.” The hunchback and the big man both pushed on the door, and of course it opened. The two went out smiling. As this man helped so a Greater sympathizes and helps. g22. Time—Redeem the According to a recent press dis- patch two men, William Bell and Jacob Rosenwasser, who are under sentence of death at Ossining, N. Y., feel that they would be deprived of an hour of life if they were electro- cuted on day light saving time, and so they have applied to the warden to have the clock in the death house returned to standard time. How precious even an hour may be under certain circumstances! It is said that when Queen Elizabeth of England was dying she exclaimed, “All my possession for a moment of time!” But time cannot be bribed even by a monarch. If the two men who are now plead- ing for an additional hour of life had always made a proper use of the time at their disposal the probability is that they would be little con- 130 cerned now about the additional hour to which they think they are en- titled. They would understand that “the less of earth the more of heaven.” g23. What Did You DoP Did you give ‘him a lift? Brother of Man And bearing about all the burden he _ can. “Did you give him a smile? downcast and blue, And the smile would have helped him to battle it through, Did you give him your hand? He was slipping down hill, And the world, so I fancied, was using him ill. Did you give him a word? Did you show him the road, Or did you just let him go on with his load? He’s a He was Did you help him along? He’s a sinner like you. But the grasp of your hand might .. have carried him through. Did you bid him good cheer? Just a word and a smile Were what he most needed that last weary mile. Did you know what he bore in that burden of cares That is every man’s load, and that sympathy shares? Did you try to find out what he needed from you, Or did you just leave him to battle it through? Do you know what it means to be losing the fight When a lift just in time might set everything right? Do you know what it means—just the clasp of a hand When a man’s borne about all a man ought to stand? Did you ask what it was, why the quivering lip And the glistening tears down the pale cheek that slip? PERSONAL WORK Were you Brother of his when the time came to be? Did you offer to help him, or didn’t you see? Don’t you know it’s the part of a Brother of Man To find what the grief is and help when you can? Did you stop when he asked you to give him a lift Or were you so busy you left him to shift? Oh, I know what you mean—what you say may be true, But the test of your manhood is, What Did You Do? Did you reach out a hand? Did you find him the road, Or did you just let him go by with his load?—James W. Foley. 324. Wanderer—Seeking the An American bishop, speaking of the personal love and earnestness which in Christian work prove, with God’s blessing, so successful, related that a youth belonged to a Bible- class, but at last the time came when he thought fit to discontinue his at- tendance, and to otherwise occupy his time. ‘The class assembled, but his place was empty, and the leader looked for the familiar face in vain. He could not be content to conduct the Bible-reading as usual, ignorant as to the condition and whereabouts of the missing one. “Friends,” he said, “read, sing, and pray; my work is to seek and find a stray sheep;” and he started off on the quest. “The stray sheep is before you,” said the bishop to his hearers. “My teacher found me, and I could not resist his pleading; I could not continue to wander and stray whilst I was sought so tenderly.’—The Quiver. 325. Winning Souls I remember speaking once with a. professor of the United Free Church, of Scotland—a man of sane and well balanced judgment—about PRAYER Henry Drummond and his remark- able work among the Edinburgh stu- dents. “Drummond,” he said, “sim- ply charmed men into the kingdom. When he spoke he cast such a spell about some that for a time they seemed half dazed; when they recov- ered it was to find themselves in the kingdom. But,” he added seriously, “there was no mistake about it; They Were There.”—George Jackson. 326. Work—Plenty of During one of the great battles of the Civil War a recruit, who had lost his company in the tumult of strife, approached General Sheridan and timidly asked where he should “step in.” “Step in?” roared Sheridan. “Step in anywhere; there’s fighting along the line.” PRAYER 327. Guidance—Divine When Lincoln was in sore straits as to what course to pursue during the Civil War, he went to God in prayer, and often remarked that he could not have succeeded in his great task without divine guidance. In the midst of President Wilson’s difficulties in the present interna- tional negotiations he, too, has felt the need of divine guidance. When Mr. Wilson arrived at a recent cab- inet meeting his face wore a solemn look. It was evident that serious af- fairs of the nation were on his mind. He said to the cabinet members: “I don’t know whether you men believe in prayer or not. I do. Let us pray and ask the help of God.” And the President of the United States fell upon his knees with the members of the cabinet, while the President of- fered a prayer to the Almighty for - help. 328. Inspiration Given When Haydn was composing the oratorio of the Creation he was seen 131 kneeling by the organ praying for inspiration. Among the grand chor- uses in the realm of music are The Heavens are Telling, and Let There be Light; and when he heard them for the last time as music is rarely rendered on this earth, he exclaimed in tears: “Not mine, not mine; it came from above.” Haydn was right. One voice has made the grandest of all music. The Voice that inspired Haydn to compose the Creation, and Handel the Hallelujah Chorus tuned Perronet’s heart to sing All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name. 329. Practice Prayer Fletcher of Madeley, a_ great teacher of a century and a half ago, used to lecture to the young theo- logical students. He was one of the fellow-workers with Wesley, and a man of most. saintly character. When he had lectured on one of the great topics of the Word of God, such as the Fullness of God’s Holy Spirit or on the power and blessing that He meant His people to have he would close the lecture, and say, “That is the theory; now will those who want the practice come along up to my room?” And again and again they closed their books and went away to his room, where the hour’s theory would be followed by one or two hours of prayer. (Hubert Brooke’s “One Faith and One Family.”)— James Hastings. 3370. Pray—Teach Us to Dean Brown of Yale University in his 1923 Gladden Lectures quotes the following historical incident: “When General Grant was slowly dying of cancer at Mt. McGregor, an old friend, General Howard, was visit- ing him. He was speaking to Grant of the distinguished service he had rendered the country, and how he would always be held in high esteem for his part in preserving the Union, but Grant waved all this aside; he was thinking of other and higher 132 things. He knew the piety of his old comrade, that it was as genuine as his valor. ‘Howard,’ he said, ‘tell me something more about prayer.” The greatest experience that can come to any of us is to talk with God in simple, unaffected prayer as a man talks with his friend. 331. Pray—Why I remember speaking in the Boston noonday meeting, in the old Brom- field Street M. E. Church on this subject one week. Perhaps I was speaking rather positively. And at the close of the meeting one day a keen, cultured Christian woman whom I knew came up for a word. She said, “I do not think we can pray like that”? And I said, “Why not?” She paused a moment, and her well- controlled agitation revealed in eye and lip told me how deeply her thoughts were stirred. Then she said quietly: “I have a brother. He is not a Christian. The theater, the wine, the club, the cards—that is his life. And he laughs at me. I would rather than anything else that my brother were a Christian. But,” she said, and here both her keenness and the training of her early teaching came in, “I do not think I can pray positively for his conversion, for he is a free agent, is he not? And God will not save a man against his will? 1’ ‘said! ito her: “Man is a free agent, to use the old phrase, so far as God is concerned; utterly, wholly free. And he is the most en- slaved agent on the earth, so far as sin and selfishness and prejudice are concerned. The purpose of our pray- ing is not to force or coerce his will; never that. It is to free his will of the warping influences that now twist it awry. It is to get the dust out of his eyes so that his sight shall be clear. And once he is free, able to see aright, to balance things without prejudice, the whole probability 1s in favor of his using his will to choose the only right.”—(S. D. Gor- PRAYER don’s “Quiet Talks on Prayer.” )— James Hastings. 332. Prayer and Play Ed. Garbisch, captain of the United States Military Academy football team which returned yesterday from its victory over the Naval Academy team, revealed the fact that the West Point cadets have prayed be- fore every game this season, and af- ter Saturday’s game each player snatched off his headgear and gave thanks to God. “We did not pray for victory,” said Garbisch, “but only that we might acquit ourselves like men. At the conclusion of Saturday’s game every man on the Army eleven tore off his headgear and thanked God fervently for the victory.” The cadets got back to West Point at 4:45 Pp. M. They were accorded the honors which other triumphant Army teams have received for the last twenty-five years. The cadet corps was waiting for them with a band and the venerable stage coach which has been the car of victory for generations of West Pointers. Into the vehicle the players were crammed, and then with a mighty heave the cadets, swarming at ropes, started the creaking anachronism up the hill. They trundled it about the “plains,” now covered with snow, while the band played inspiriting airs, and when they stopped Garbisch mounted the top of the coach and de- livered his valedictory as football captain. Henry R. Baxter, ’26, has been elected captain for next season. —Every Evening, Wilmington, Dela- ware, December I, 1024. 333. Prayer and Practice. The bride came down stairs the first morning after the return from the honeymoon, patted the silver, looked around, pushed the button calling the cook, and when that PRAYER worthy made her appearance said, “Fred—I beg your pardon, Mr. Thompson—will be down in a few minutes and we will have prayers. We want you to join us.” “But I’m not religious,” said the cook, “I ain’t been to church for five years. It’s all right for you to have prayers; I shouldn’t respect you if you didn’t; but I don’t want to come in.” “Well, come for a week anyway, won’t you?” said the young mistress, and the cook The head of the house came came. down, read a chapter—he was a beautiful reader—then they knelt while he prayed. It was a phono- graph prayer, one he had heard his father offer a hundred times. It had nothing original in it. The next morning he prayed for “the sick and afflicted.” After he was gone the cook asked, “Who’s sick?” “I don’t know as anybody is,’ replied her mistress. “Why do you ask?” “Why the master prayed for the sick; I wondered who it was; and, as this is my afternoon off, I thought I’d take a can of currant jelly round.” She never suspected, of course, that it was just a prayer and didn’t mean anything personal, only the sick in general. It was the day to pray for the sick. When Fred came home at noon, his wife said, “Who is sick?” “T don’t know; why?” was the re- ply. “Cook wanted to know whom you were praying for this morning. It is her afternoon off and she wants to go and take a can of currant jelly to the sick, whoever it is.” Mr. Thompson meditated, then said, “Come to think of it there is the car- penter down at the shop who broke his leg. They are talking of giving him a purse. If I’m going to main- tain my credit with the cook, I guess V’ll have to do something besides pray for the sick. I'll stop on my way back to business.” Jesus prayed that they might all be one. And friends, we have got to commence living up to that prayer or discredit the church of Jesus 133 Christ before the world—Rev. O. P. Griffin. 334. Prayer and Praise ‘A servant girl in great anxiety of soul sought the help of her clergyman. All his explanations of the gospel, and applications of it to her case, failed to bring peace. She said she had tried to pray, but dared not speak to God. “If you cannot pray,” said the clergyman, “perhaps you can praise.” He went on to show that it was God who had graciously begun to stir her soul, giving her concern about salvation, and some feeling of sorrow for her sins. He told her that she would greatly add: to her sins if she failed to thank him for this grace; but if she praised and blessed God for what he had done, she would soon find that he who had begun the good work would carry it on to the praise and glory of his grace. And to commence this exer- cise, he recommended her to go home singing the glorious 103d Psalm, “O thou, my soul, bless God the Lord.” She departed with a light heart, singing as she went; “and,” said the minister in telling the story, “she is singing still, prais- ing and praying and rejoicing with joy unspeakable, and full of glory.” 335. Prayer and Revivals The great revival in New York in 1858-9 began in answer to the ear- nest believing prayers of one man. After long waiting upon God, asking Him to show him what He would have him to do, and becoming more and more confident that God would show him the way through which hundreds might be influenced for their souls’ good, he at last began a noon-day prayer-meeting. The first half-hour no one came, and he prayed through it alone. At half- past twelve the step of a solitary individual was heard on the stairs; others came, until six made up the whole company. His record of that 134 meeting was, “The Lord was with us to bless us.” Of those six, one was a Presbyterian, one a Baptist, an- other a Congregationalist, and an- other a Reformed Dutch—The Power of Prayer. 336. Prayer a Key When Queen Victoria was open- ing the Town Hall of Sheffield she had put into her hand a little golden key, and she was told as she sat in her carriage that she only had to turn the golden key and in a moment the Town Hall gates of Sheffield would fly open. In obedience to the authority of experts who gave her the directions, she turned the golden key, and in a moment, by the action of electric wires, the Town Hall gates of Sheffield flew open. Exactly in the same way Jesus Christ must know one thing, if He knows anything, and that is, what opens heaven’s gates. He must know that; He must know what key it is which opens heaven’s gates; and in His teaching He reiterated over and over again, as if He thought that this was one of the things we should find it hard- est to believe, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find ; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” And I say that if we are justi- fied in believing in the Divinity of Christ, then we are justified in going a step further, and saying that His authority is good enough to make us believe that the golden key of prayer, if we use it, will open the gates of heaven. (Bishop Winning- ton Ingram’s “Banners of the Chris- tian Faith.”’)—James Hastings. 337. Prayer Answered Dan Crawford tells of an experi- ence he and his party had while re- turning to his African mission field after a furlough. A stream to be crossed was in flood, and there were no boats. Haste in getting back was important. The missionaries camped and prayed. After a time a tall tree PRAYER which had battled with the river for a century, perhaps, began to totter, and then fell—clear across the stream. “The Royal Engineers of Heaven,” Mr. Crawford said, “had laid a pontoon bridge for God’s ser- vants.’—Sent by the Rev. J. A. Clark. 338. Prayer Station In front of a store that I pass I have frequently noticed an electric automobile being “charged” from a convenient switch. Ever so often this fine piece of machinery and per- fected storage batteries must wait for the propelling power to make it ef- fective. It is a strikingly true picture of the Christian. Effective power to do the will of God can come only by tarrying each day until we be endued. —Merlin Fairfax. 339. Prayer—A Constant Privilege In the vestibule of St. Peter’s, at Rome, is a doorway which is walled up and marked with a cross. It is opened but four times in a century; on Christmas-eve, once in twenty- five years, the Pope approaches it in princely state, with the retinue of cardinals in attendance, and begins the demolition of the door by strik- ing it thrice with a silver hammer. When the passage is opened the mul- titude pass into the nave of the cathedral, and up to the altar by an avenue which the majority of them never entered thus before, and never will enter thus again. Imagine that the way to the throne of grace were like the Porta Santa, inaccessible save once in a quarter of a century, on the 2sth of December! With what solicitude we should wait for the coming of the holy day !—Clerical Library. 340. Prayer—Child’s “Some years ago, one of our great expresses was rushing through the night, and the engine-driver had to PRAYER get off his secure place to do some- thing to his engine, and missed his footing and fell. How he saved himself the never knew, but he caught hold of something on the en- gine and swung himself back again to a place of safety. When he reached home it was the early hours of the morning. He took off his boots and went quietly upstairs, not to awaken his sleeping children, and as he passed the room where his lit- tle daughter was sleeping the door was burst open, and out she rushed in her little nightdress, flung herself into his arms, put her arms round his neck and her cheek against his and said, ‘Oh! daddy, daddy, I am glad to see you. I had such an ugly dream. I dreamt you were killed on the railway, and I got out of bed, and I knelt down, and I asked God to take care of you. That strong man believes that God heard the prayer of that little child, and that to her he owes his life, and so do. I.” (Bishop G. H. S. Walpole.)—James Hastings. 341. Prayer—Child’s Proverbs 20: 11. “Even a child maketh himself known by his do- ings.’ A clerical friend was on a Pullman car a few months ago. He found himself with men who were returning from the races. Their language was shockingly irreverent. Their conversation showed _ that nearly all of them had been gambling. When the time came for retiring a little boy was made ready for his berth. The tiny fellow stood in the aisle of the sleeper, clad in his wee pajamas. Ere he climbed into his bed the child looked doubtfully about as if he were hesitating. Then he over- came his timidity, knelt at the side of his berth, folded his hands, and be- gan to pray in a childish treble, heard all over the car, “Now I lay me down to sleep!” You will all know that for a time profanity ceased; that all talks of bets won or lost died into silence! The eyes of 135 the hardened men were moist with tears. One rough fellow pointed to the kneeling child and said, “I would like to know what that little chap has that I have lost.”—Bishop Ed- win H. Hughes. 342. Prayer—Child’s Saving You never know where a prayer’s power will land—in a human heart that needs it, or with God who hears it. Norman Macleod tells of a boy’s cry to Heaven for the sake of a drunken man who used to come to see him as he lay sick and dying. When he had drink, he used to pass the door softly, ashamed to look the little one in the face. But one night he heard the thin voice beating at Heaven’s door with its cry, “Oh, Father! don’t let him be drunken any more, he is so good and kind, and I love him.” The strong man listened, caught at the heart, and when he entered he went down upon his knees beside the dying child, and said through big, bitter tears, “Were you praying for a waif like me?” “Yes,” said the boy, “I was praying for you. I aye do that. You’re no a waif?” —he didn’t know the word—“you’re a man.” Many a night as he drove his cab along the weary streets, out of the grave came that pinched face, lit by love, to his heart, and the haunting, “You’re no a waif, you’re a man,” made him at last stand firm, rooted in manhood through a child’s weak dying prayer, heard in a city stair by night. (L. Maclean Watt’s “God’s Altar Stairs.”)—James Has- tings. 343. Prayer—Communion in An English minister tells us how he went to see a dying man one day, a saint who had a clear and tena- cious mind; and as he entered the room where the man was, the man suddenly broke out in the words: “TI have one great sorrow. I enjoy communion with God, blessed and heavenly communion, but I don’t ask 136 for anything, I do not want any- thing; is that right?” He said in re- ply, “I have watched the children when it has been towards the gloam- ing, and I have noticed that often they dropped their toys and games, and went to the mother, who was sit- ting by the fire, and the mother dropped her work while the children nestled up to her and she put her arms around them and together they looked into the fire; and did not say anything, they were too near for words.” The man threw up ~his hands and said, “I know what you mean and I have got it.” And then he said with a wan smile, “You know you didn’t get nearest to your mother when you went to ask her for a shil- ling did you?” 344. Prayer—Countermanding It is often a blessing to us that God does not always answer our prayers, for some are offered with a wrong motive. Some are in igno- rance of what we really need, and others, if we knew all the circum- stances, we should be sorry indeed if our Father did grant. In Galt, Ontario, Dr. Knowles, the Presby- terian pastor, was marrying a couple in the Manse. During the prayer, Dr. Knowles fervently asked God to bless the couple with material pros- perity and to increase the business of the bridegroom. In filling out the blanks in the papers to be sent to the government, he, of course, asked the man’s business, when to the minister’s horror, he replied, “I keep a saloon.” In telling the story afterwards. Dr. Knowles said that as he wrote the occupation he whispered, “Lord, you needn’t answer that prayer.” 345. Prayer—Faith in It is said that a man once asked Alexander to give him some money to portion off a daughter. The King bade him go to his treasurer and demand what he pleased. He went PRAYER and demanded an enormous sum. The treasurer was startled, said he could not part with so much with- out an express order, and went to the King, and told him that he thought a small part of the money the man had named might serve for the occasion. “No,” replied Alexan- der; “let him have it all. I like that man; he does me honor; he treats me like a king, and proves, by what he asks, that he believes me to be both rich and generous.’ Let us go to the throne of grace, and put up such petitions as may show that we have honorable views of the riches and bounty of our King.—Newton. 346. Prayer—Fear of When Ethelred, the Saxon king of Northumberland, invaded Wales, and was about to give battle to the Britons, he noticed, near the enemy, a host of unarmed men. He in- quired who they were, and what they were doing. He was told that they were the monks of Bangor, praying for the success of their countrymen. “Then,” said the Saxon king, “they have begun the fight against us. At- tack them first.”—James Hastings. 347. Prayer—Forgiving When Dr. Joseph Parker was quite a young lad, he was accustomed to hold arguments with infidels outside the great iron works on Tyneside. One day an infidel challenged him upon this great passage, and said, “What did God do for Stephen?” insinuating that if there had been a God, He would have interposed to rescue him from the hands of his foes. Dr. Parker always said he be- lieved that it was given to him in the same hour what he should say, and he answered, “What did God do for him? He gave him the power to pray for the forgiveness of those who stoned him.” It was a great answer. (F. B. Meyer.)—James Hastings. PRAYER 348. Prayer—God’s Power in An engineer in Bolivia brought over the Cordilleras the first loco- motive ever seen in those latitudes. The native Indians came up from the Amazon basin to see this sight, and sat on their haunches discussing what this strange monster could be. One said: “It is made to go”; and another, “Let’s make it go”; and so they got their lassoes out, and las- soed the buffers, and then about thirty of them began to pull, and drew the locomotive some six yards. They exclaimed, “Ay-ay-ay-ay Tatai Ta- tito.” “The great and little father hath enabled us to do something wonderful!” The next day came the engineer, who got up steam in the locomotive and hitched a couple of cattle trucks on to it, and when the Indian gentle- men came, put them into the trucks and locked them in. Then he stood on the fire-plate of the locomotive, and opened the regulator, and let steam into the cylinder, and it began to move the piston, and the wheel of the locomotive; and the locomotive carried the Indians along, ten miles an hour! I don’t know what they didn’t say to their great and little father! But they learned this great lesson— that locomotives are not made to be moved along by outside human power, but by means of a power within, and so to carry human be- ings along. And we would have every believer understand that prayer is not a ma- chine, to be worked by human zeal, but by the power of God within. See to it that you learn the power of God. —A. T. Pierson. 349. Prayer—Lincoln’s Dr. Anderson, a former president of Chicago University, once told me this story: There was a nurse in our family who was employed in the Lincoln family during the illness of the President’s son. One morning, 137 having left the sick room for a few moments, she was just returning, when to her surprise she heard a voice in the room. Looking in she beheld Mr. Lincoln kneeling by the bedside engaged in prayer. “O God, thou knowest how the cares of state weigh and how because of it I have not been the father I should have been. O great Father, spare the boy and forgive me for the sin.” Coming into the hall and seeing the nurse he said, “You heard?” “Yes, Mr. President, I heard,” she replied. “It is all right,” he said and passed on.—M. P. Boynton. 350. Prayer—Mother’s Years ago a devout woman of Scotland prayed earnestly that her son might be called to the Gospel ministry. He grew up to be an ear- nest Christian man, and in the very morning of that manhood began to prepare for the high calling to which he seemed destined. But before his preparation was complete, he decided that he was not called of God to this work. He left school and entered a bank. He continued to the end of his days a financier. He died, suc- cessful and rich. The mother’s prayer was not granted. But when her son’s will was read, it was found that his large fortune had been left to the endowment of what is now the Kentucky Theolog- ical Seminary. By this not one, but many ministers are given in answer to the Scotch mother’s prayer. For that prayer, though not granted, was answered.—Southern Evangelist. g51. Prayer of Infidel Dr. Knox, Bishop of Manchester, preaching on the sands at Blackpool, told a story of a miner who called himself an infidel. One day in the mine some coal began to fall, and the man cried out, “Lord, save me.” Then a fellow-miner turned to him and said, “Ay, there’s nowt like cohs 138 0’ coal to knock th’ infidelity out 0’ a man.” Yes, men may try to keep down the instinct of prayer, but there are times in every life when it will be heard—James Hastings. (G. C. Leader’s “Wanted—a Boy.”) 352. Prayer—Revenge in Little Jack had been so persistently naughty that mother just had to give him a good spanking, and all that afternoon a desire for revenge rankled in his little breast. At length bedtime came, and kneeling down, he said his evening prayer, asking a blessing upon all the mem- bers of the family individually—ex- cept one. Then, rising, he turned to his mother with a triumphant look, saying as he climbed into bed, “I s’pose you noticed you wasn’t in it.” —The Christian Guardian. 353. Prayer—Power of It is said of that mighty spirit of the Middle Ages, S. Bernard of Clairvaux, that he found “on the days which he spent rapidly writing and was most persuasive, and his own schemes were widened or lost in the greater purposes of God; anxiety was allayed and the power of the Holy Spirit to which the had opened his heart was felt in every word he spake and in his very presence and look.” It was in the hours, ay, in the whole nights, passed in prayer in his church on a remote Cornish cliff that perhaps the greatest mission preacher of the century won that ex- traordinary power which enabled him “to bow the hearts of his hearers as the heart of one man.” It was in those jealously guarded times of communion with God, in the heart of busy London, and on the plains of China and North Africa, that Gen- eral Gordon gained the gift of in- spiring others with his own high en- thusiasm, and of casting a spell alike over civilized and savage, over Chris- tian and Mohammedan and heathen. “A gift,’ says Goethe, “shapes itself PRAYER in stillness, but a character in the tumult of the world.” And the gift of spiritual power is the child of sol- itude.—F. J. Chavasse. 354. Prayer—Prevailing It is enough to make every preacher to cushioned critics and listless fashionables turn his back on these Gospel-hardened, and “trek” for the wilds, to read of Nelson, that jewel in Black Rock, whom it was Craig’s joy to set in the Master’s crown, and to hear of the Gospel- hungry gathered round him. You remember how Nelson came to Craig after the Christmas Eve supper and sermon in the camp; “Mr. Craig, are you dead sure of this? Will it work?” He quoted the precious texts, “The Son of Man is come.” “Him that cometh.” Then came the terse utterance, “If it is no good, it’s hell for me,” and the preacher’s counter, “Tt it is no good, it is hell for all of us.” By and by old man Nelson was seen on his knees in the snow, with his hands spread upward to the stars. One night Graeme noticed a light in the stable. He heard the voice of one reading. Ina vacant stall, on straw, a number of men _ were grouped. Sandy was reading. Nel- son was kneeling in front of him and gazing into the gloom beyond; Bap- tiste lay upon his stomach, his chin in his hands and his upturned eyes fastened upon Sandy’s face; Lachlan Campbell sat with his hands clasped about his knees, and two other men sat near him. Sandy was reading the undying story of the prodigal, Nelson now and then stopping him to make a remark. “Dat young fel- ler,” said Baptiste, “wha’s hees nem, heh?” “He has no name. It is just a parable,” explained Sandy. “He’s got no nem? He’s just a parable? Das mean nothing?” Nelson ex- plained. “Dat young feller, his name Baptiste, heh? And de old Fadder, he’s le bon Dieu? Bon, das good story for me. How you go PRAYER back? You go to de pries’?” Nelson said the book mentioned no priest. “You go back in yourself, see?” “Non; das so, sure nuff. Ah’—as if a light broke in upon him—‘“you go in your own self! You make one leetle prayer. You say: ‘Le bon Fad- der, oh, I want come back! I so tire, so hungree, so sorree!’ He say: ‘Come right long.” Ah, das fuss- rate! Nelson, you make one leetle prayer for Sandy and me.” And Nelson lifted up his face and said: “Father, we’re all gone far away; we have spent all, we are poor, we are tired of it all; we want to come back. Jesus came to save us and He said if we came He wouldn’t cast us out, no matter how bad we were. Oh, Jesus Christ, we are a poor lot, and I’m the worst of the lot, and we're trying to find the way. Show us how to get back. Amen.” 355. Prayer—Security in The form of a little boy in the coffin surrounded by mourning friends. A mason came into the room and asked to look at the lovely face. “You wonder that I care so much,” he said, as the tears rolled down his cheeks, “but your boy was a messenger of God to me. One time I was coming down by a long ladder from a very high roof, and found your boy close beside me when I reached the ground. He looked up in my face with childish wonder and asked frankly, ‘Weren’t you afraid of falling when you were up so high?’ and before I had time to answer, he said: ‘Oh, I know why you were not afraid! You said your prayers this morning before you be- gan work.’ I had not prayed; but I never forgot to pray from that day to this, and by God’s blessing, I never will.”"—J. W. Porter. 356. Prayer—Unanswered General Gordon, of Atlanta, Ga., told me of how the Confederate troops prayed for victory before the 139 battle of Sharpsburg. The day be- fore the battle they prayed earnestly that they might be victorious, so earnestly that both officers and men felt that their prayers would be an- swered. General Gordon said that many felt satisfied that the Confed- erate forces would sweep the Union lines, and would be on their way to Washington within a week. But the next day the battle came off, and in results it was one of the most crush- ing blows that the Confederates re- ceived during the war. General Gor- don, who was shot five times, said that after the battle the men were discouraged. They felt that God was on the side of the largest legions. Some of the officers suggested that it would be better to spend less time in praying and more time in manu- facturing powder and bullets. The suggestion seemed to be a good one even to the General. But he told me years after that the prayers of the Confederates on the day before that battle were best answered by defeat; that if the Confederates had captured Washington and defeated the Union our nation would now be far down the scale among the weaker nations of the earth. -(R. H. Conwell’s “How to Live the Christ Life.”)—James Hastings. 357. Prayer—Unceasing “Stonewall Jackson,” says E. M. Bounds in “Purpose in Prayer,” “was. a man. of prayer.) Said he, ‘I have so fixed the habit of prayer in my mind that I never raise a glass of water to my lips without asking God’s blessing, never seal a letter without putting a word of prayer under the seal, never take a letter from the post without a brief sending of my thoughts heavenward, never change my classes in the lec- ture-room without a minute’s peti- tion for the cadets who go out and for those who come in.’” It is said of James Gilmour, the pioneer missionary to Mongolia. that 140 he never used a blotter in writing. He used the time to pray while the ink was drying on the page he had written. 358. Prayer—Warmth ot Mr. Spurgeon was one day show- ing some visitors through the Taber- nacle. After taking them to the main part of the building he said, “Come and I’ll show you the heating ap- paratus.” Not caring to see that they would have declined, but out of courtesy they consented. Imagine their surprise when he took them to a room where four hundred were gathered in a prayer meeting. His figure of speech was well chosen. The church with warmth of spirit must have the warmth-producing prayer meeting. 359: Prayers—Father’s Here is a story which was told one Sunday in an Arran pulpit by one who knew the persons it concerned. There lived in a quiet village a godly man. And he had a wife and three sons. His wife died, and the burden of bringing up these sons fell on him. He cried to God to help him. Now, it so happened that in that house there was a_ rush-bottomed chair, the only chair of that sort in the house, and it was at that chair this good man knelt when he prayed for his boys as well as at family prayer. And often when alone he spent long whiles on his knees pray- ing for their conversion. But he saw no change in his sons; they were hard, selfish, and worldly. At last one by one they all left him, and went into business in some great city of the land. They prospered in busi- ness, but not in religion. But busi- ness prosperity is not joy, and pros- perity was making them hard. The father prayed the more earnestly that they might gain their own souls, al- though they should lose the whole world. But at the end of his days PRAYER they were not saved. There was an old servant who lived in the house, and to her he said when he was dy- ing, “I will pray now that my death may be used by God to save them.” Then he died. The three young men came home to the funeral. And when all was past, they said: “What shall we do with the house and the old fur- niture?”’ One said: “Let them go to the old woman who has taken care of him.” But the eldest son said: “Well, I consent if only you will allow me to get the rush-bottomed chair. I never heard prayers like those I heard there. I hear those prayers still when I am at business. I think if I had the chance I would not live the prayerless life I am living now.” And the other two were softened. And with that the Spirit of the Lord came upon the eldest brother, and he said: “Let us kneel around it once more and pray.” And they did. And with great crying and tears they spent that afternoon together. And the end of all was that the two younger brothers gave up their busi- ness and offered themselves to the mission-field. And they are well known missionaries now. And the eldest brother is one of those whose praise is in all the churches. (Alex- ander Macleod’s “The Child Jesus.”) —James Hastings. 360. Prayers—Insincere Many prayers are not earnest. If they were there would be more an- swers. Many prayers are uttered only under pressure; where God’s great love is scouted under normal conditions and considered merely be- cause some great calamity threatens. The notorious murderer, Wanderer, who was hanged in Chicago in Sep- tember, murmured as he walked to the death-chamber, “God have mercy on my soul.” Yet the hours preced- ing his death were spent in playing cards instead of those heart-search- ings that would have indicated some sense of the need of God’s forgive- PRAYER ness. His last words were those of a senseless, popular song, “Old pal, why don’t you answer me—” And yet there are multitudes who do not die as murderers on the gal- lows whose prayers are just as insin- cere as those of Carl Wanderer, and their last days as senseless. Prayers, Registered in Heaven A charactertistic letter from Henry Ward Beecher is found in the ar- chives of the Grand Army of the Re- public. It was written in reply to a request for a copy of a prayer of his for publication: “Peekskill, July 11, 1878.—Gen. H. A. Barnum, Grand Marshal. You request me to send you my prayer made on Decoration Day evening. If you will send me the notes of the oriole that whistled from the top of my trees last June, or the iridescent globes that came in by millions on the last waves that rolled in on the beach yesterday, or a segment of the rainbow of last week, or the per- fume of the first violet that blos- somed last May, I will also send you the prayer that rose to my lips with the occasion and left me for ever. I hope it went heavenward and was registered; in which case the only record of it will be found in heaven. —Very truly yours, Henry Ward Beecher.” 361. 362. Praying Aloud One day a little girl, about five years old, heard a ranting preacher praying most lustily, till the roof rang with the strength of his sup- plication. Turning to her mother, and beckoning the maternal ear down to a speaking-place, she whispered: “Mother, don’t you think that if he lived nearer to God he wouldn’t have to talk so loud?” 363. Secret of Strength There is an old story of mythology 141 about a giant named Antaeus, who was born by the earth. In order to keep alive this giant was obliged to touch the earth as often as once in five minutes, and every time he thus came in contact with the earth he became twice as strong as before. The Christian resembles Antaeus. In order to become and continue a truly-living Christian, the disciple of Christ must often approach his Father by prayer—Preacher’s Lan- tern. 364. The Fool’s Prayer The royal feast was done; the king Sought some new sport to banish care, And to his jester cried: “Sir Fool, Kneel now, and make a prayer!” The jester doffed his cap and bells, And stood the mocking court be- fore; They could not see the bitter smile Behind the painted grin he wore. He bowed his head, and bent his knee Upon the monarch’s silken stool; His pleading voice arose: “O Lord, Be merciful to me, a fool! “No pity, Lord, could change the heart From red with wrong, to white as wool; The rod must heal the sin; but, Lord, Be merciful to me, a fool! “°Tis not by guilt the onward sweep Of truth and right, O Lord, we stay ; ’Tis by our follies that so long We hold the earth from heaven away. “These clumsy feet, still in the mire, Go crushing blossoms without end ; These hard, well meaning hands we thrust Among friend. the heart-strings of a 142 “The ill-timed truth we might have kept— Who knows how sharp it pierced and stung! The word we had not sense to say— Who knows how gladly it had rung? “Our faults no tenderness should ask, The chastening stripes must cleanse them all; But for our blunders—oh, in shame Before the eyes of heaven we fall. “Earth bears no balm for our mis- takes ; Men crown the knave, and scourge the fool That did his will; but Thou, O Lord, Be merciful to me, a fool!” The room was hushed; in silence rose The King, and sought his gardens cool, And walked apart, low, “Be merciful to me, a fool!” —Edward Rowland Sill. and murmured CHRISTIANS 365. Believers—Faulty A proverb from India says: “A faulty diamond is more valuable than a perfect pebble.’ So in God’s esti- mation believers, in spite of their faults, are more valuable than unbe- lieving moralists. Though this, is true, let perfection be our ideal! 366. Christian—A Genuine Elder Knapp was once showing, in a sermon, the difference between a mere professor and a genuine Chris- tian. By the way of illustration he said that if you should turn the for-. mer out of the church he would act like a hog, that turns round and tries to root the pen down; but that the other would be like a lamb, that looks wistfully towards the fold, and longs to be within it again.—Christian Age. CHRISTIANS 367. Christian Furlough A professing Christian sold a bale of poor hay to a certain colonel, who rebuked him, and the church member whined, “I am a_ soldier, too.” “You! ejaculated the colonel in a tone of disgust. “What kind of a soldier are your” “I am a soldier of the cross,” said the skinflint, with a detestable flourish of the hand. “That may be,” said the colonel, “but you’ve been on a furlough ever since I knew you.” 368. Christian—Narrow Jenny Lind once went to hear Father Taylor preach in Boston; but the preacher, ignorant of her pres- ence, paid a glowing tribute te her powers of song. As the Swedish nightingale leaned forward with de- light, drinking in this unexpected praise, a tall man who sat on the pul- pit-stairs rose and wanted to know whether any one who had died at Miss Lind’s concerts would go to heaven. Father Taylor said, “Sir, a Christian will go to heaven wherever he dies; but a fool will be a fool, even though he be on the pulpit- stairs.’—Life of Father Taylor. 369. Christian—Prostrate I have a small mantel clock that refuses to run only when it is lying on its back. It just can’t operate while in a normal position. Some people in our town are mighty like that clock. The only time they are pious and teachable is when they’re ill or handicapped in some other way. “Before I was afflicted I went as- tray, but now have I kept Thy word.” 370. Christian—Rejoicing One of Paul’s practical injunctions is: “Rejoice with those that do re- joice.” An aged woman of Brook- lyn that Dr. Charles Parkhurst tells about surely caught the spirit of it. She lived in a tiny room on the north side of a tenement. One day CHRISTIANS a visitor said to her: “You never see the sunshine in this room, do you?” Quick and confident and sweet was her reply: “The sun never shines in here, but I can see it shin- ing upon my neighbor’s windows.” Who has not known a few choice souls like that? How they adorn the gospel they profess. The ability to see the things of others, and then to delight in them, who does not crave such a spirit? 371. Equality Before Him It is related of the Duke of Well- ington, that once, when he remained to take the sacrament at his parish church, a very poor old man went up the opposite aisle, and, reaching the communion table, knelt down close by the side of the Duke. Some one came and touched the poor man on the shoulder, and whispered to him to move farther away, or to rise and wait until the Duke had received the bread and wine. But the eagle eye and the quick ear of the great com- mander caught the meaning of that touch and that whisper. He clasped the old man’s hand and held him to prevent his rising; and in a rever- ential undertone, but most distinctly, said, “Do not move: all are equal here.”—The Biblical Museum. 372. Sentiment—Christian When the Vice-President and Mrs. Hobart signified to the Belgian Min- ister at Washington their desire to entertain Prince Albert, the Crown Prince of Belgium, they were in- formed that Sunday evening would be an agreeable date for their royal guest to attend the proposed dinner party proffered. To this proposal Mrs. Hobart returned a prompt re- fusal, giving even royalty to under- stand that on the Lord’s day Ameri- cans were engaged in something higher than giving dinners, a custom which she did not propose to infringe upon for any cause. When General Grant was in Paris 143 he was invited by the government to attend the races on Sunday. He courteously, but positively, declined the invitation, telling his French host that it was not the custom of his country to have such festivities on a day kept holy. One of the many blessings for which the American people have cause to be thankful is that their rulers have seldom failed to recog- nize the religious sentiment of the nation, and to give the weight of their high example to the observance of our Christian ordinances.—Lu- theran World. 373. Christian Unity When Anthony of Bourbon, dur- ing the French king’s minority, held the regency of France he informed the Danish ambassador that he hoped in a short time to procure a free passage for the gospel throughout France. The ambassador, a zeal- ous Lutheran, expressed his pleasure but hoped that Luther’s, not Calvin’s, doctrines would be taught. “Luther and Calvin,” replied the regent, “agree in forty points and differ but in one. Let those therefore that fol- low the tenets of those two unite their strength against the common enemy and at better leisure and in a more convenient season compound their own differences.” This was finely said, and denom- ationalists still need to ponder the advice. How often, when some door of opportunity opens, do we think of the fortunes of our little Israel rather than the wider interests of the king- dom of God. 374. Christian—Why Be a I have heard of a man who said he was going to decide the question of becoming a Christian in a reason- able way, and that he would write down on one piece of paper all the reasons why he ought to be a Chris- tian, and on another all the reasons why he ought not to be a Christian, 144 and then would weigh the matter in a rational way and decide like a reasonable man. And so be began. He wrote first the reasons why he ought to be a Christian, and his pen just flew down the paper and up on the other side until it was full of rea- sons; and then he began with the reasons why he ought not to be a Christian. He put down the figure one, and there his pen stopped. He could not think of one single reason why he ought not to be a Christian. And you can’t either. There are no such reasons. 375° Christianity—Concealed Concealed Christianity does not honor the Head of our church. But our life can be hidden without being concealed. “Are you a Christian?” asked Ralph Norton recently of a baggagemaster on a train. ‘Yes, sir,” was the reply; “I’m a trunk Baptist.” “What is that?” asked Nor- ton in surprise. “My wife and I are church-members. We moved to Savannah, and our letters are in our trunk,” said the trainman with entire frankness. A trunk is a dangerous place for our Christianity. It can get moth-eaten there. But when our life is really hidden in the right way, our Christianity will not be concealed in a trunk—as we remember that “ye died, and your life is hid with Christ ay God.) Col) 3::3- The rightly hid life will be sure to express itself in service and activity as a witnessing member of the church, the body of Christ. S. Times. 376. Christianity Necessary A young lawyer who was an infi- del, going West to settle for life, made his boast that he would locate in some place where there were no churches, Sunday Schools, nor Bi- bles. He found a place which sub- stantially met his conditions. Before the year was out he wrote to a for- mer classmate, a young minister, beg- ging him to come and bring plenty CHRISTIANS of Bibles, and Sunday School. preach, and start a “For,” said he, “I shave become convinced that a place without Christians and Sabbaths and churches and Bibles is too much like hell for any living man to stay in.” 277. Christianity—Practical A barber who practices his art in a large Yorkshire village, had a rival. Our hero is an earnest Christian and local preacher. He noticed, in a re- cent week, a great increase of cus- tomers, and on making inquiry learnt that the practitioner at the other end of the village was ill. At the end of the week the barber made a calcula- tion, and all he had taken above his average he took to his brother of the razor, with the warm expression 0 his Christian sympathy. Is Chris- tianity played out? Verily, no! 378. Christians—A bsorbing The other day I was down at 4 beautiful little place called Rhosilly down on the Gower peninsula, not far from my own present home, and I was looking about, as I always do in an old church, to see what inter- esting things | could find. In the belfry vestry I found a ship’s bell hanging, and I looked at it; I tapped it, and it was dead and dull, and I looked, and the whole of the bottom of the bell was plugged with a disc of wood right up; and then in the side of the bell they had cut a door, and there was a hinge and a padlock. They were using that old ship’s bell for a strong box. Very useful, but it was not what the bell was made for. There are many Christians here made by the Lord to be bells to sound out the notes of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, to tell of the love and the power of him, to witness of him, and what are they? They are just strong boxes, and you cannot get any sound out of them. They take all in, and they give nothing out, and they pride themselves on being saints or saved. CHRISTIANS 379. Christians—Aggressive When General Grant was in front of Richmond, and his army had been repulsed in the Wilderness, he called together his co-commanders and held a council, and asked them what they thought he had better do. There were General Sherman and General Howard, now leading generals, and all thought he had better retreat. He heard them through, and then broke up the council of war and sent them back to their headquarters; but before morning an orderly came round with a despatch from the General directing an advance in solid column on the enemy at daylight. That was what took Richmond and broke down the rebellion in our country. Christians, let us advance in solid column against the enemy; let us lift high the standard, and in the name of our God let us lift up our voice, and let us work together, shoulder to shoulder, and keep our eye single to the honor and glory of Christ—Moody. 380. Christian’s Burden On the lower deck of one of our river packets a little pile of pig-iron was carried on the trip up the river, and when the cargo was unloaded, the pig-iron was not removed, but was carried again on the trip down the river. When the reason was asked, the answer was given, “She travels steadier when she carries a weight.” And that is true of men and women. The world has little use for the young man or woman who has no furrow of thought, and no wrinkle of responsibility. And we are not kind to our own chil- dren when we seek continually to shield them from the hard things in life. We may wish to spare them some of our own hard experiences, but if they are to be strong and self- reliant they must reach it by putting themselves under the burden, and feeling the pressure of some of the 145 dificult things in life. You want your boy to be strong and manly; you must push him off the plank, that he may learn of himself to swim. “Every man shall bear his own bur- den.”—Pittsburgh Christian Advo- cate. 381. Christians—Conforming D. L. Moody, speaking in refer- ence to those people who claim to be on both sides of the question of sal- vation, said: “You detest a character of that kind. During our war there were, in the border States, some of those people. They kept two flags. When the Southern army came along they would run out the Confederate flag; then when the Northern army came along and they thought they were going to be in town some time, they would pull in the Southern flag and run out the Union flag, the Star Spangled Banner. Do you know that those people suffered more than any other people? The Southern army would strip them of everything they had, and if they hid anything from the Southern army and accu- mulated anything, when the Union army came along, it would strip them of everything. Both armies detested them. We like to have men one thing or the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. You cannot have two masters in this matter. ‘He that is not for me is against me.’” 382. Christians—Crazy The keeper of an insane asylum on being asked, “Are you not afraid that these insane people will unite some time and hurt you and the other attendants?” replied, “No. Crazy people never unite on any- thing.” 383. Christians—Crazy Two friends, one an army officer, met after an interval of ten years. They were much attached to each other, and shook hands cordially. After a little chat, the civilian, look- 146 ing at the other man with a curious air, observed: “By the way, Gen- eral, they tell me you have gone mad over religion. Is there really anything in the report?” “Well,” responded the general, “I’m not aware of being crazy; so far as l know I am in the enjoyment of my senses. But you know there is one comfort; if I am out of my head, I’ve got Jesus Christ for my keeper and heaven for my lunatic asylum, so I think I shan’t do badly after all.” 384. Christians—Earthly The wealthy owner of a large business concern in Sweden had been a poor boy in a country district tend- ing cattle. One day he wanted to be away, and asked his sister to tend the cattle for the day, promising to let her hold for the day a small coin, current there, worth less than two annas, to be returned at night. She consented. The very sight of money was a great rarity to her. So she spent a long, hard day tend- ing his cattle and holding the bright little coin, and returned it again at night, quite content with the day’s pay. Long years afterwards the brother was telling the story. He had grown very wealthy. He had allowed the love of money to crowd out the Christ passion to which he was not a stranger. He told the story to my friend with great glee, laughing at his sister’s childish simplicity. My friend said quietly: “That is all you get; you hold your wealth to the end of the day of your life, then you give it up and have as little as before, and the whole of your life is gone!” And the man’s startled face showed that he quite understood. 385. Christians—Friendly A clergyman had preached about recognition of our friends in heaven. One of his hearers remarked: “I wish the pastor would soon preach CHRISTIANS on recognizing our friends on earth. I’ve attended this church six years, but do not recollect having been greeted outside of the church by any of its members.” Is it not true that there is far too little real fellowship in our churches? People sit in the same pew on Sun- days, they commune at the Holy Table, they hope to spend eternity in Heaven, but in spite of these facts there seems to be a barrier between them here so that one is inclined to doubt whether their hope will be realized. 386. Christians—Growing There is a blessing in striving after a Christian character, even supposing we never attain to our ideal. The baby sat on his play-rug and cooed and gurgled with the joy of living. The admiring visitor laughed at his antics as he reached vainly for a bright tassel on a cur- tain cord just out of reach of his destructive fingers. “Of all the toys he has that tassel seems the most fascinating, probably because he can’t get it,” laughed the mother. “Wait until he walks, then he’ll pull it down,” said the visitor. “He reminds me of Browning’s, ‘Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, or what’s heaven for.’ Baby is like most of us—he tosses aside the attainable and reaches for things beyond.” “Yes,” said the mother, “and like us, too, he grows by reach- ing. If we were content to sit still, and amuse ourselves with our little, earthly playthings—just think what weak undeveloped souls we should have. It’s the reaching that makes us stronger, larger and better.” “I press toward the mark.” 387. Christians—Honest Christ makes a gracious difference in the soul that truly knows him; for where he is sin cannot be. “Rabbi” Duncan once told of a minister who visited one of his flock. She was a CHRISTIANS miller’s wife, and in those days millers had a character for roguery, especially in the way of short meas- ure After the old Scotch fashion he started “catechizing’ her. What did she remember of the sermon last Lord’s day? She could remember nothing, not even the text. Wherein, then, was she the better for going to church? “Well,” she replied, “when I came home I burned the bushel measure.”—David Smith. 388. Christians—Indifferent Not long since in an American city a mother suddenly died with no one in the house but two small chil- dren who were found playing about the dead body about as unconcerned as if nothing had happened. But something more tragic and pitiful than this is seen by the Saviour when he sees professing Christians coming into constant daily contact with those who are “worse than dead” through sin, and neglecting to seek to turn their hearts to Him— nay even content— “To dance, to call, to break No canon of the social code, The little laws that lackeys make, The feeble decalogue of mode: How many a soul for these things lives With pious passion, grave intent, While heaven, careless handed, gives The things that are more excel- lent.” 389. Christians—Lukewarm D. L. Moody met a stranger on the piazza of the hotel at Northfield, and said to him in his abrupt and eager way, “My friend, are you a Chris- tian?” The man, stiffening a little, re- plied: “What do you think?” “Not red hot!” exclaimed Mr. Moody, as he hastened on. You can tell a red hot Christian when you see him, or when you hear him either. And yet he does 147 not have to be boisterous to reveal it. The trouble with so many of us is that we are not “red hot.” The whole church is not “red hot.” The Christian press is not “red hot.” If we were “red hot,” sin would be burned out in our lives, and our neighbors would feel the warmth. How may we become “red hot’? There is responsibility resting upon us in the matter, for the Greek of our text might be rendered, “Stir into flame the gift of God which is in thee.” The gift is the Holy Spirit Himself. Is it possible we can have more of the fire of God if we desire it? D. L. Moody’s own ex- perience is an cffirmative answer to this. Let us therefore ask that we may receive, and seek that we may find, and knock that it may be opened unto us.—Gen. O. O. Howard. 390. Christians—Posing In London, England, there stands an equestrian statue of St. George. The horse is stationary with the forefoot lifted midway from the ground. He is just about to go somewhere, but he hasn’t started yet. You go back there two years from now and you will find him in the very same place and just about to start. The birds have built their nests in his ears. There is more than one congrega- tion where there are St. George’s statues—people who are just about to do right, but who never accom- plish anything worth while. They are just about to do something for missions, for temperance, or evan- gelism, but if you go back to them in two years, six years, or ten years, you will find them where you left them and still just about to start. It grates on the nerves of a sen- sitive person to look on this eques- trian statue in London. It makes one wish for a dynamite bomb to help it move on. A generous use of gospel dynamite 148 bombs is one remedy to aid eques- trian statues in a congregation to move forward. 391. Christians—Silent A Christian woman of Foochow, China, when in England visited a cathedral. Noticing the date upon the oldest part of the building, she exclaimed, “What? do you mean to say you were Christians all those years and you never told usr” Is it any wonder she asked the ques- tion? 392. Christians—Struggling I learned to swim in boyhood, but it was only this summer that I achieved complete mastery of myself in the water. For thirty years I had assumed that I must constantly put forth effort to keep from sinking. One day an expert swimmer watched me for a few minutes then cried: “Stop fighting the water and trust it to hold you up. Use your strength to get somewhere.” Under his direction a few mo- ments sufficed to convince me he was right. I lay flat in the water with- out moving hands or feet and to my delight it held me up. Then I struck out, using my strength to forge ahead. What a revelation. Why did not some one tell me that years ago? So many constantly struggle to be Christians when if they would only trust Christ they would be kept. How suggestive is that advice when applied to the Christian: “Stop struggling and trust God to keep you. Use your strength to get some- where.” 393. Christians—Sunshine I noticed a tree planted at the sunny end of a house, and there the blossoms were large and beautiful. It was a feast to the eyes, but some of the branches were trained round the corner, where they got so much less of the sun, and the difference CHRISTIANS was wonderful. The blossoms here were starved and sad, and there was the least promise of fruit; same root, same stem, but while one part of the tree was 1n the full glorious light, the other branches were in the shade. Ah, brethren, it is thus in character. —W. L. Watkinson. 394. Christians—Tempering A Christian blacksmith who had had a good deal of affliction was asked by an unbeliever to account for it. He said: “You know that I am a blacksmith. I often take a piece of iron and put it in the fire and bring it to a white heat. Then I put it on the anvil and strike it once or twice to see if it will take temper. If I think it will I plunge it into water, then heat it again, then plunge it into water again. This I repeat several times. Then I hammer it, bend it, rasp, file it, and then make some useful article out of it. “Now I believe my Heavenly Father wants to use me, so he is putting me through the fire and water of affliction; he let me experi- ence sorrow of suffering. I have had many hard blows, have been bent, rasped, filed. But I am glad of it all, if only I can be of service to him.”—Ram’s Horn. 395. Christians—Unprogressive One of our evangelists in the earlier days was accustomed to tell a story of an old farmer who, in the prayer meetings of his church, was wont, in describing his Christian ex- perience, to use the phrase, “Well, I’m not making much progress, but I am established.” One springtime when the farmer was getting out some logs his wagon sank in the mud in a soft place in the road and he could not get out. As he sat on top of the logs reviewing the situa- tion, a neighbor who had never ac- cepted the principle of the old man’s religious experience came along and CHRISTIANS greeted him: “Well, Brother Jones, I see you are not making much prog- ress, but you’re established.” To be stuck on the road is not a very satis- factory type of establishment, but it is not uncommon.—Robert E. Speer. 396. Christians—Worthless One thing the fruit-grower learns very early, and that is to keep the sprouts which are so apt to grow out at the top of the trunk of his trees cut off. He knows they take from the life of the tree and never bear any fruit. He has given these use- less sprouts a name we do not care to hear or think about—suckers— just because they sap the very life- blood and give nothing back. But take these same sprouts and graft them upon the limbs of an- other tree and in a little while you will find them loaded with the choic- est fruit. They simply were not in the right place. Wonderful, is it not, that simply to take those barren sprigs of wood and graft them some- where else will make them bear such beautiful, rosy-cheeked apples! There is a parable here. Where are those you love? Ah, well you know some who are where they never bring any fruit for the Master. You are sad when you think of it. So much strength wasted! And all because your dear ones are not grafted in the right place. Give them something to do. It may be they must be severed from many things they have counted dear. They may shrink from the service you give them to do and think they never can do it. Tell them it is “no more I that live, but Christ that liveth in me,” and in his strength they can do anything. So drawing life and strength from him it will not be long before you will see the richest fruit growing from these branches which seemed once so dead and useless. So God will be honored and the world blessed. 149 397. Christians—Young Among the skaters was a boy so small and so evidently a beginner that his frequent mishaps awakened the pity of a tenderhearted, if not wise spectator. “Why, sonny, you are getting all bumped up,” she said. “IT wouldn’t stay on the ice and keep falling down so. I’d just come oft and watch the others.” The tears of the last downfall were still rolling over the rosy cheeks but the child looked from his adviser to the shining steel on his feet and answered: “I didn’t get some new skates to give up with; I got ’em to learn how with.” 398. Conduct—Private The Duke of Wellington, observ- ing a British officer standing in a slack manner, asked: “Why do you stand in such an unbecoming atti- tuder”» Said he: “lame off ‘duty, sir.” But the Iron Duke replied: “A British officer is never off duty, so resume your military standing.” 399. God’s Instruments John Albert, the famous violin maker of Philadelphia, who has been called!) “The: Stradivarius * of America,” died the other day at the age of ninety years. His great suc- cess in making violins, that won him fame throughout the world, was as much due to the care with which he selected the woods from which they were made as to his skill as a work- man. So much depended on the proper woods that Albert sought them sometimes at the risk of his life. Once he lay for weeks be- tween life and death, the victim of an accident while he was on the hunt for a certain wood in an almost im- passable forest. Ole Bull, the great violinist, pronounced him one of the great violin makers of the world be- cause he possessed the greatest knowledge of the acoustic properties of woods of any man living at that 150 time. Surely if a violin maker must pay such great heed to the character of the wood out of which he con- structs a violin, in order that he may make it a perfect interpreter of musi- cal thought to human ears, we should not wonder at the care of God in seeking to so purify and cleanse our hearts that they shall be resonant, and responsive to the slightest touch of the Holy Spirit, and thus be able to interpret the melodies of heaven.—Louis Albert Banks. 400. Enemies—Capturing In the year 1818, Tamatoe, king of Huahine, one of the South Sea Islands, became a Christian. He dis- covered a plot among his fellow natives to seize him and other con- verts to burn them to death. He organized a band to attack the plotters, captured them unawares and then set a feast before them. This unexpected kindness surprised and dumfounded the savages, who burned their idols and became Chris- tians. Heathen Christians here and now might borrow a leaf from that book. 401. Formality There is a variety of apple called “Apple-John,” which is considered to be in perfection when it is shrivelled and withered. There are also those who believe in an apple-John religion, which to them is perfect only when it is thoroughly dried up of all spiritual power and utterly destitute of the sap of life and growth. The trees of the Lord are full of sap. —James Smith. 402. Gospel According to You There’s a sweet old story translated for man But writ in the long, long ago— The Gospel, according to Mark, Luke and John— Of Christ and his mission below. CHRISTIANS Men read and admire the Gospel of Christ, With its love so unfailing and true; But what do they say, and what do they think; Of the Gospel “according to you”? ’Tis a wonderful story, that Gospel of love, As it shines in the Christ life divine, And, O, that its truth might be told again In the story of your life and mine. Unselfishness mirrors in every scene, Love blossoms on every sod, And back from its vision the heart comes to tell The wonderful goodness of God. You are writing each day a letter to men, Take care that the writing is true, ’Tis the only Gospel that some men will read— That “Gospel according to you.” 403. Indolence The mischief of indolence is not that it neglects the use of powers and the improvement of the oppor- tunities of life, but that it breeds morbid conditions in every part of the soul. An indolent man is like an unoccupied dwelling. Scoundrels sometimes burrow in it. Thieves and evil. characters make it their haunt; or, if they do not, it is full of vermin. A house that is used does not breed moths half as fast as a house that, having the begin- nings of them, stands empty. Woe be to them who take an old house, and carry their goods into it! A lazy man is an old house full of moths in every part—H. W. Beecher. 404. Lifters and Leaners The following lines from some unknown poet, accurately describe CHRISTIANS the situation in many a church and community. “The two kinds of people on earth, Il ween, Are the people who lift and the people who lean, Wherever you go you will find the world’s masses Are always divided in just these two classes. And oddly enough, you will find, too, I ween, There is only one lifter to twenty who lean. In which class are you? easing the load Of overtaxed lifters who toil down the road? Or are you a leaner, who lets others bear Your portion of labor and worry and care?” Are you 405. Religion—Formal Said a Michigan business man to his pastor at the close of a Men and Religion Forward Movement cam- paign, “You know that in crossing the ocean they always label the baggage that goes into the hold, ‘Not wanted on the voyage. That’s been the way with my religion for a good many years, pastor, but in the future I’m going to use it, and I want you to count on me.” 406. Religion—True Men have different ideas of re- ligion. With some it is mainly feel- ing, with others it is largely form; with some it is mostly faith, with others it is generally talk! A converted cowboy gives this as his idea of what religion is: “Lots of folks that would really like to do right think that servin’ the Lord means. shoutin’ themselves hoarse praisin’ his name. Now, [ll tell you how I look at that. I’m working for Jim here. Now, if I'd sit around the house here tellin’ what a good fellow Jim is, and singin’ songs to him an’ gettin’ up 151 in the night to serenade him, I’d be doin’ just like what lots of Chris- tians do, but I wouldn’t suit Jim, and I’d get fired mighty quick. But when I buckle on my straps and hustle among ‘the hills and see that Jim’s herd is all right an’ not suf- ferin’ for water and feed, or bein’ off the range and branded by cow- thieves, then I’m serving Jim as he wants to be served.” This was the converted cowboy’s idea. Does it not sound a little like the voice of Him who, when his disciple said, “Lord, thou knowest all things, thou knowest that I love thee,” only answered, “Tend my sheep; Tend my lambs’? —Evangelical Messenger. 407. Religious “Butter” The “butter” is a biped with strong mental propensities. You meet the “butter” everywhere. He is always ready to “butt” every proposition. Butting is a disease and he has caught a bad case. Butting as a disease is worse than smallpox. Those who are unfortunate enough to contract smallpox either get well or die, but not so with the butter; he always lives and that to butt. In his list of prepositions, adverbs or conjunctions “but” is always placed first. You say to him, “Mr. A. is a fine fellow.” “Yes,” will come the labored reply, “but I don’t like the clothes he wears ;” or “he has too big a nose.” Should you in passing note the condition of the weather as, “Tt is a fine day,” “Yes,” the butter will reply, “but it’s too warm,” or “It’s too hot.” So you find those who are putting the “but” into every- thing they say. The butter is found in labor organizations, in societies, in lodges and in church. The worst form of him is found in church. The religious “butter” is the most dangerous bacillus. There is no remedy known to religious thera- peutics to counteract his influence. If the pastor attempts to treat him 152 he is apt to get a “butt” that will knock him out of the pulpit. li the church officials attempt to deal with him a split is apt to be caused in the fold and the “come-outers” turned into a faction of “butter.” About the only thing to do with the chronic “butter” is to let him “butt.” 408. Resolutions—Edwards’ Jonathan Edwards’ resolutions were these: Resolved, to live with all might while I co live; Resolved, never to lose one moment of time, but improve it in the most profitable way I possibly can ; Resolved, never to do anything which I should despise, or think meanly of in another ; Resolved, never to do anything out of revenge; Resolved, never to do anything which I should be afraid to do if it were the last hour of my life. 409. Righteousness—A ppetite for Charles M. Alexander, the Gospel singer, tells the story of an old colored man in Chicago, who always came into one of the missions with a bright and shining face, no matter what happened. One day he came with his thumb tied up. They asked him what was the matter, and he re- plied, “To-day I was fixing a box and I smashed my thumb, but praise the Lord, I have my thumb yet.” A few nights after he came in with his face as bright as ever. .Some- one inquired, “Well, uncle, what have you to praise the Lord for to- night?” “Oh,” said he, “I was com- ing down the street to-night with a big piece of beefsteak. 1 had spent all my money on that beefsteak, and I laid it down on the sidewalk to tie my shoe, and while I was tying my shoe, a big dog came along and took that beefsteak and carried it off. Praise the Lord!” A man said, “Took here, uncle, what are you CHRISTIANS praising the Lord for about that?” The colored man answered, “I’m praising the Lord because I’ve got “my appetite left.” There are a good many men who would give a good part of their fortune for an appetite, and the greatest thing of all to be thankful for is a spiritual appetite, for has not Jesus promised that, “Blessed are they who do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled”? 410. Sainthood—Attaining “Flow did you learn to skate?” a little boy was asked. “Oh,” was the innocent but signifi- cant answer, “by getting up every time I fell down.” 411. Saints—Communion of A gentleman on his death-bed was told by his friends of the glories of heaven, its golden streets, its river of life, its crowns and harps, and all the delights and joys of that wonder- ful life. “That is all very well,” he said, “and doubtless is perfectly true; but I would rather remain in a world where I am better ac- quainted.” What an argument for keeping intimate communion with Christ and His saints, with the thoughts and principles of heaven! —Phelps. 412. Saints—How Made When Gregory the Great was Bishop of Rome, a beggar once died of hunger in the streets of the Eter- nal City. Am I my brother’s keeper ? he asked himself. He felt he could not avoid the true answer. One of the sheep committed to his care had been starved to death; his charity was shocked; his vigilance had failed; his sense of responsibility was outraged; and he imposed a severe penance on himself, and for many days actually lay under his own sentence of excommunication, performing no priestly act. This is the man who won the title of Great; CHRISTIANS this is the man who attained to the brilliant company of the Saints— S. E. Cottam. 413. Saints—Provision for During the siege of Sebastopol, a Russian shell buried itself in the side of a hill without the city, and opened a spring. A little fountain bubbled forth where the cannon shot had fallen and during the remainder of the siege afforded to the thirsty troops who were stationed in that Vicinity, an abundant supply of pure, cold water. Thus the missile of death from an enemy, under the direction of an overruling Provi- dence, proved an almoner of mercy to the parched and weary soldiers of the allies. 414. Soul—Restoration of I remember meeting a man who, though a Christian, had fallen into sin. The church of which he had been a member had exercised dis- cipline in his case; and for twelve years he had been in this condition. In answer to my inquiry he replied, “I was a Christian once, but I fell.” “Well, but,” I rejoined, “have you ever been restored?” “No,” he re- plied; “I have been utterly miserable about it, and would give anything to be what I once was.” “Would you like to be restored at this moment?” I asked; “for as surely as God lives you may be.” He looked at me in amazement. To help his mind I said, “Suppose that you had a daughter who had sinned against you, and given you great sorrow; last night, however, she came and threw her arms about her mother’s neck, saying, ‘O mother, I am so ashamed of myself for having given you and dear father such anxiety and sorrow; do forgive me.’ can your daughter restore herself, or must her rectoration be your act?” “Mine,” he replied. “Now, how soon would you restore her— in twelve years?” “Surely no,” he I ask, 153 in twelve months?” “Well, in three?” “Then how soon would you restore her?” I asked. “Why, at once,” he rejoined. “What!” I said, “are you prepared at once to restore your child, and do you think that our Father in heaven is not prepared upon con- fession to Him to restore im- mediately?” Opening my Bible, he read the first clause of the third verse of the Twenty-third Psalm; “He restoreth amy soul.” “Notice,” I remarked, “that the word re- storeth is in the present tense.” I can never forget the joy with which, after prayer, my friend was filled. “Thank God,” he replied, “for this night. I see it clearly now. It is God that restores.’ — Henry Varley. added. “Well, “No,” he replied. “No,” he said. 415. Spiritual Asphyxiation The other day in Brooklyn, a coal merchant, while looking over his stock, fell from the platform into a bin of fine coal. Realizing the nature of such coal, which acts very much like quicksand, he shouted for help. Before those who heard him could come to his rescue he had dis- appeared from sight. A quickwitted man went down and opened the chute below, allowing the coal to pour out of the huge bin. It was not until the greater part of the coal had been drawn off that the unfortunate man, now unconscious, was brought to the door. He barely escaped with his life. How many business men who affect to stand master of their business, are like this man, almost spiritually asphyxiated by being submerged in the cares of this world! 416. Unfaithfulness of God’s Stewards What shocked men more than the stories that came up from the seat of war, of unworthy nurses and surgeons in that army, when the 154 North sent down cordials and wine and delicacies for the sick and wounded in the hospitals, and they never got to the soldiers, but were eaten and drunk by their guardians? With what indignation men heard such stories and revolted at them! But do not you take the wine and the bread that are given to you as God’s stewards? Do not you ap- propriate them all to yourself? You live to yourselves; you study for yourselves, you think for yourselves ; your pleasures are for yourselves, though you have the power to make others rich—H. W. Beecher. CHURCH 417. Be a Booster If you think your church the best, Tell ’em so! If you’d have it lead the rest, Help it grow! When there’s anything to do, Let them always count on you, You'll feel good when it is through Don’t you know? If you’re used to giving knocks, Change your style; Throw bouquets instead of rocks For awhile. Let the other fellow roast, Shun him as you would a ghost; Meet his banter with a boast And a smile. When a stranger from afar Comes along, Tell him who and what you are— Make it strong. Never flatter, never bluff, Tell the truth, for that’s enough. Be a booster, that’s the stuff, Don’t just belong. 418. Church—A Cold “One day, when I was serving my apprenticeship in a factory on the banks of the Merrimac River,” says the Hon. N. P. Banks, late Governor of Massachusetts, “a party of the CHURCH hands saw a man a quarter of a mile down the river struggling amongst the broken cakes of ice. -We could none of us for the moment determine his political complexion or bodily colour, but he proved, in the end, to be a negro in the water. Of course the first care was to rescue him; but twice the victim slipped from the plank that was thrown him. The third time it was evident to our inner hearts that it was the negro’s last chance, and so he evidently thought; ‘For the love of God, gentlemen, give me hold of the wooden end of the plank this time.’ We had been holding him the icy end.” How often do Christians make the same mistake! We turn the icy end of the plank to our fel- lows, and then wonder why they do not hold on, and why our efforts do not save them.—Preacher’s Lantern. 419. Church a Lighthouse Do you ask, “Why not do away with the Church, if its members make so many mistakes?” Would you take away the lighthouse be- cause careless mariners, through wrong observations, run their ships high and dry upon the _ shore? Would you put out the lamp in your house because moths and millers burn their wings in it? What would the children do?—Beecher. 420. Church—A Prayerless A worthy minister of the gospel, in North America, was pastor of a flourishing church. He was a pop- ular preacher, but gradually became less to his hearers, and his congrega- tion very much decreased. This was solely attributed to the minister; and matters continuing to get worse, some of his hearers resolved to speak to him on the subject. They did so; and when the good man had heard their complaints, he replied, “T am quite sensible of all you say, for I feel it to be true; and the reason of it is, that I have lost my CHURCH prayer-book.” They were astonished at hearing this, but he proceeded; “Once my preaching was acceptable, many were edified by it, and num- bers were added to the church, which was then in a _ prosperous state. But we were then a praying people. .’ They took the hint. Social prayer was again renewed and punctually attended. Exertions were made to induce those who were without to attend the preaching of the Word. And the result was, that the minister became as popular as ever, and in a short time the church was again as flourishing as ever. —Clerical Library. 421. Church—A Slumbering A father took his little child out into the field one Sabbath, and he lay down under a beautiful shady tree, it being a hot day. The little child ran about gathering wild flowers and little blades of grass, and coming to his father and _ saying, “Pretty! pretty!” At last the father fell asleep, and while he was sleep- ing the child wandered away. When he awoke, his first thought was “Where is my child?” He looked all around, but he could not see him. He shouted at the top of his voice, and all he heard was the echo of his own voice. Running to a little hill, he looked around and shouted again, but all he heard was the echo of his own voice. No response! Then going to a precipice at some distance, he looked down, and there upon the rocks and briers, he saw the mangled form of his loved child. He rushed to the spot, and took up the lifeless corpse, and hugged it to his bosom, and accused himself of being the murderer of his own child. While he was sleeping his child had wandered over the precipice. I thought as I heard that, what a picture of the Church of God! How many fathers and mothers, how many Christian men and women are sleeping while multi- 155 tudes are falling over a precipice into the bottomless pit !—Moody. 422. Church Attendance I was speaking to the young In- dians about regular attendance at church, After I came out, the chief said to me, “I’m glad, my lord, that you spoke to the young men about regularity of attendance at church. There have been some white men working at a big ditch,’—a canal— he said, “and they did not come to church on Sundays, and our young men think it is manly to follow the example of the white men. I remonstrated with one of the white men, and he gave me an excuse.” I said, “What did you say to him?” “That is where I got him,” he said. “The excuse that he gave was that he had not any good clothes to come to church in. I told him that I had read the Big Book from this cover to that cover, and I only found one verse about clothes and going to church, and the verse was, ‘Rend your hearts, and not your gar- ments.” I thought that was a splendid answer, coming from a pure Indian.— Archbishop of Rupert’s Land. 423. Church Becalmed Dr. John Goucher related the fol- lowing incident at one of the Lake George conferences: “One after- noon we were sailing on the ocean in a beautiful yacht when suddenly the wind died away completely. After remaining motionless for a long time it became evident that we would have to spend the night there. Just as we had resigned our- selves to the inevitable, we sighted a steam tug in the distance. When it drew near the captain threw us a line and in a few moments a thrill ran through the becalmed yacht and she followed in the wake of the powerful little tug.’ Christian, is your life or your church becalmed? Christ will throw you a line and take 156 you to your haven—not only the haven of heaven, but the haven of opportunity, usefulness and success. 424. Church Behavior A clergyman was annoyed by peo- ple talking and giggling in church. He paused, looked at the disturbers, and said: “I am always afraid to expose those who misbehave, for this reason: Some years ago, as I was preaching, a young man who sat be- fore me was laughing, talking and making uncouth grimaces. I paused and administered a severe rebuke. After the service a gentleman said to me, ‘Sir, you have made a great mis- take. That young man whom you reproved is an idiot” Since then I have been afraid to reprove those who misbehave themselves in church, lest I should repeat the mistake and reprove another idiot.” During the rest of the service there was good order. 425. Church—Disturbed A war office is supposed to exist for the purpose of keeping the country in fighting trim, There are some people, however, who imagine that it exists only to furnish fat jobs for peaceful politicians. Dur- ing the early part of the Spanish- American war Mr. Roosevelt en- countered such a personage. After much vain exertion to have certain matters carried out, the energetic Roosevelt at last secured an order giving the authority to make the re- quired dent on the obdurate peace- loving head officer of the depart- ment. “When I came up in triumph with the needed order,” writes the Ex-President in his Autobiography, “the worried office head, who bore me no animosity, but who did feel that fate had been very unkind, threw himself back in his chair and exclaimed with a sigh: ‘Oh, dear! I had this office running in such good shape—and then along came CHURCH the war and upset everything! His feeling was that war was an il- legitimate interruption to the work of the War Department.” How about that “War Depart- ment” in your church? Would its “established order” be disturbed if the Brotherhood took up that lan- guishing fight against liquor, or the rampant “red light,” or the greedy factory owner of the community? 426. Church—Drawing Gen. Robert E. Lee was stopping at a certain watering place over Sun- day. During the day it was an- nounced that a Methodist preacher was in the place, and would hold a preaching service at 3 o'clock, in the dancing-hall. Before the hour for service the general, himself a devout member of the Protestant Episcopal Church, passed around among the cottages and talked up a congregation, saying: “We are going to have divine service in the hall at three; will you not be kind enough to join us?” In most cases the simple invitation was accepted, and a large number were led to hear the gospel who would never have thought of such a thing but for the general’s call. We are accustomed to hold the ministry wholly responsible for the work of “drawing a congregation.” If pews are empty we blame him. If people remain unreached we say we must “have a change,” that we must secure a minister who will “draw.” How would it do to have a con- gregation that will draw? How would it do to place some of the responsibility upon the people in the pews? If we should invite in- different people to accompany us to church, and do it in a winsome way, would not some of the vacant spaces be filled? And if we were duly gracious in our greetings to strangers would we not do much to hold these recruits to the church? CHURCH If the congregation is “running down” let the minister bear his share of the responsibility. But let the pew also assume its responsibility. If the pulpit and the pew will both “draw” together, the people will come. 427. Church—Forgetting “The disciples went, and did even as Jesus appointed them.” Matt. 21 :6. A little fellow in the slum section of a large city was induced to attend a mission Sunday School, and by and by became a Christian. He seemed quite bright and settled in his new Christian faith and life, but some one, surely in a thoughtless mood, tried to test or shake his simple faith in God, asking him, “Tf God loves you, why doesn’t he take better care of you? Why doesn’t he tell some one to send you warm shoes and some coal and better food?” The little fellow thought a moment, then with tears Bette in his eyes, said, “I guess he es tell somebody, but somebody forgets.” Without knowing it, the boy touched the sore point in the church’s history. I wonder if it is the sore point with you or me. 428. Church—fFrozen On a hot, sultry night a small company were vainly trying to be comfortable, sitting on the front stoop of a dwelling in a certain city. Suddenly one of the party proposed that they all go to the prayer meet- ing “at the First Church.” “What on earth put that notion into your head?” queried one of the party. “O, it is so hot here, I can’t stand it any longer. I thought if we went down there we would get cooled off, it is the coldest place I know of.” This reminds us of what was once said by way of a report made at an association by a delegate from a certain church: “We are all united in our church.” said the delegate, and 157 sat down. As he took his seat he remarked in an undertone to a neighbor, “Frozen together.”—Words and Weapons. 429. Church Giving Two lads, one of eight and the other of six, were playing “store.” The father, upon being told what game was being played, decided to make a purchase and dropped a penny under the counter. The six-year- old lad then most indignantly de- clared their place was a store and not a church! 430. Church-Going A capable man of the world wrote to a certain professor a letter in which he said, “It has been proved in the colonies that a rapid social retrogression follows upon local in- ability to go to church. If the settler’s ‘grant’ be so remote that church is now an impossibility, he gradually ceases to miss it, aban- dons the weekly burnishing and out- side decorum, and the rest follows.” On the other hand Oliver Wen- dell Holmes wrote thus of church going, “I am a regular church-goer. I should go for various reasons, though I did not love it; but I am happy enough to find great pleasure in the midst of devout multitudes, whether I can accept their creeds or no.” He said there was in the corner of his heart a plant called reverence, which wanted to be watered about once a week. Church—Hindrance in Joining 431. In a certain town where two brothers are engaged in a flourish- ing retail coal business a series of revival meetings were held, and the elder brother of the firm was con- verted. For weeks after his conversion the brother who had lately “got re- 158 ligion” endeavored to persuade the other to join the church. One day, when the elder brother was making another effort, he asked: “Why can’t you, Richard, join the church as I did?” “It’s all right for you to be a member of the church,” replied Richard, “but if I join who’s going to weigh the coal?’—Ladies Home Journal. 432. Church—Judging the An American gentleman said to a friend, “I wish you would come down to my garden, and taste my apples.” He asked him about a dozen times but the friend did not come; and at last the fruitgrower said, “I suppose you think my apples are good for nothing, so you won’t come and try them.”—“Well, to tell the truth,” said the friend, “I have tasted them. As I went along the road, lI picked one up that fell over the wall, and I never tasted anything so sour in all my life; and I do not particularly wish to have any more of your fruit.’—‘“Oh,” said the owner of the garden, “I thought it must be so. Those apples around the outside are for the special benefit of the boys. I went fifty miles to select the sourest sorts to plant all round the orchard, so the boys might give them up as not worth stealing ; but, if you will come inside, you will find that we grow a very dif- ferent quality there, sweet as honey.” Those who judge the church by its worst members, those most like the world, make the same mistake. —Spurgeon. 433. Church Members—Faulty A preacher announced a men’s meeting in his church for the con- sideration of objections to Chris- tianity, proposing to give the men a chance to air their objections. Over 1200 were present. The first objector said: “Church ~ on CHURCH members are no better than others. Their lives are inconsistent,” and so “Yes,” said the preacher, “that’s too true. Church members are not what they ought to be. . . .” “The ministers are no good,” said another ; “they are not like they used to be.” “Unhappily that is true, too,” ad- mitted the preacher again, “we are a poor lot.” And so objections were mentioned one after another and the pastor wrote them down on paper: “Hyp- ocrites in the church,” “the church is a rich man’s club,” “Christians don’t believe the Bible any more,’— twenty-seven in all. They occupied about one hour. When they were through the pastor read off the whole list, then folded the paper and tossed it aside, saying: “Boys, you have objected to us pastors, to the church, to church members, to the Bible and other things, But You Have Not Said A Word Against My Master!” And in a few simple words he preached Christ to them as the fault- less One, and invited them to come to Him, and believe on Him. Forty- nine men responded. 434. Church Members—Frozen At the wreck of the Larchmont off the Rhode Island coast last win- ter a father and son managed to get in a boat together. Refusing to allow the boy to help in the rowing the father took the oars, and with the boy on the back seat the battle to reach shore began. Finally they touched land, but when the father attempted to help the boy out he found him frozen stiff. Had the son been permitted to help with the oars the activity would have saved his life. Many persons in the church to-day are dead “chilly propositions” be- cause they haven’t something to keep CHURCH them busy. A working church never has the name of being an ‘“ice-box.” 435. Church Members—Gloomy During the South African war this telegram came from Ladysmith: “A civilian has been sentenced by court- martial to a year’s imprisonment for causing despondency.” ‘The explana- tion given was that the man would go along the picket lines, saying dis- couraging words to the men on duty. He struck no blow for the enemy. He was not disloyal to the country. But he was simply a discourager. It was a critical time. The fortunes of the town and its brave garrison were trembling in the balance. In- stead of heartening the men on whom the defense depended and making them braver and stronger, he put faintness into their hearts and made them less courageous. The court-martial adjudged it a crime to speak disheartening words at such a time. And the court- martial was right. There are men in every com- munity who are doing the same thing. They go about everywhere as discouragers. Happy is the church which has not one or more such members. 436. Church Members—Untrue Not all compasses are trust- worthy. If the magnetic needle has lost its sensitiveness, or if other parts of the compass are not just what they should be, we have an unsafe instrument. A pastor wrote the following message for his people, in his church bulletin: “I have a pocket-knife designed for camp use. It has a number of things not found in the ordinary knife; one of these is a compass. One day I was turning it about, testing the com- pass, which was evidently untrue to the magnetic pole. The needle gyrated in a most unexpected way without any apparent cause.