POETRY AND PROSE 
 
 PS 3537 
 .P72 P6 
 1912 
 Copy 1 
 
 J^^ 
 
 -^J 
 
 •••»«.«.' 
 
 J. H. SANKEY 
 
Class 
 Book. 
 
 Coipght)J°. 
 
 
 COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT 
 
POETRY AND PROSE 
 
POETRY & PROSE 
 
 REV. J. H. SANKEY 
 
 RICHARD G. BADGER 
 
 THE GORHAM PRESS 
 
 BOSTON 
 
Copyright, 1912^ by Rev. J. H. Sankey 
 
 All Rights Rtoserved 
 
 The Gorham Press, Boston, U. S. A 
 
 ©CI.A3281S6 
 
To the love and devotion of 
 A Father and A Mother 
 these lines are dedicated 
 
POETRY AND PROSE 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 Page 
 
 The Power of Touch 9 
 
 The Man Who Stood Still 13 
 
 A Little Child Shall Lead Them 17 
 
 The Star of Hope 20 
 
 The Price 25 
 
 The Comprehensiveness of Christ 30 
 
 Our Personal Influence 32 
 
 Loneliness 36 
 
 Easter '. 37 
 
 The Christian a Witness for Christ 40 
 
 My Father's House 45 
 
 The New Things of Christianity 47 
 
 Songs in the Night 49 
 
THE POWER OF TOUCH 
 
 In the silence of his studio sat 
 An artist. For months he had 
 I'oiled with the picture. Upon 
 The canvas had been transferred 
 The best of his thought and 
 Genius. Still there seemed to 
 Lack that without which the 
 Subject could never speak to 
 The emotions of men. For into 
 The painter's life there had 
 Never come any of those transforming 
 Influences, which so soften and 
 Temper our natures, and make 
 The possessor a moving power for 
 Good in the world, like the sympathy 
 Of the human heart as it goes 
 Out to those who need it most. 
 While how often in human 
 Experience has some touch 
 Been either the means of redeeming 
 A soul or the impulse that has 
 Put new life into some warrior 
 On life's great battle-field. 
 Not so much by mighty acts 
 Are lives fashioned and moulded, 
 As by the little touches, which 
 Give the silver lining to many 
 A darkened cloud and new hope 
 To the almost despairing soul. 
 It was the cry of such a one 
 That arrested the Master's 
 Attention, and to whose eyes He 
 Gave that touch which dispelled 
 
 9 
 
THE POWER OF TOUCH 
 
 For him the physical darkness in 
 Which he walked. 
 Nor has one got to possess the 
 Almighty power of the Son of 
 God, in order that his life 
 May be a touch-stone to some 
 Human heart, from whom the latter 
 Will gain that blessed impulse. 
 Leading them to toil and wait 
 Till Jesus comes and calls them 
 Home. 
 
 In the turmoil and struggle of 
 This world, where men are seeking 
 For fame and renow^n and others 
 Are immersing their lives in the 
 Busy whirl of pleasure, a life 
 Was found toiling for the good 
 Of others. 
 
 The world stood ready to applaud 
 If victory perched upon his banner, 
 While just as quickly would it 
 Point the finger of scorn should 
 The slightest weakness be shown. 
 The moment was one which called 
 For a courage that was ready to 
 Die but never to yield, while 
 The soul which was ready to spend 
 And be spent for others, was 
 Longing for that sympathy which 
 None seemed to understand or 
 Know how to give. 
 Yet a night, into whose darkness 
 
 10 
 
THE POWER OF TOUCH 
 
 The individual was called upon 
 To go on a mission of love and 
 Mercy, was made brighter by the 
 Touch of a loving hand and the 
 Kindly thought of one who tried 
 To understand. 
 It is such things as these, little 
 Though they seem which keep 
 Many a soul from giving up in 
 Despair. More than that, whether 
 It be the physical pressure of 
 The human hand, or that which 
 Is more potent still, the seed 
 Of thought dropped in the plastic 
 Chamber of the young and tender 
 Mind ; yet, it may give to those 
 For whom Christ died, that 
 Leading tendency w^hich may lead 
 Their feet to Calvary. 
 
 A touch, what a little thing; 
 Yet, if we could but measure 
 What lasting influences it may 
 Have on those to whom it is given. 
 How much more care would we take 
 As to its tendency. 
 By it the vouth mav be led to 
 Seek the Master, Who said, "Suffer 
 Them to come and forbid them 
 Not, for of such is the kingdom 
 Of heaven." 
 
 By it the pathway of some may 
 Be made brighter and happier. 
 
 II 
 
THE POWER OF TOUCH 
 
 By it, the wanderer may be led 
 To Him, Who came to seek and to 
 Save that which was lost. 
 
 By it, we may add to our crown 
 
 Over yonder gems that shall shine 
 
 Through the ages yet to come. 
 
 Remember this, dear reader, for 
 
 By the following out of its 
 
 Teaching you may give to the 
 
 Picture of your life that touch 
 
 Which the artist's picture seemed 
 
 To lack, and which shall cause 
 
 It to hang in the gallery of 
 
 Some soul you have helped long 
 
 After you have ceased to tabernacle 
 
 In this world. 
 
 While who can tell, but that in 
 
 The Home not made with hands, it 
 
 May be thought of by Him, Who said: 
 
 ''I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat; 
 
 I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; 
 
 I was a stranger, and ye took me in; 
 
 Naked, and ye clothed me; 
 
 I was sick, and ye visited me ; 
 
 I was in prison, and ye came unto me." 
 
 12 
 
THE MAN WHO STOOD STILL 
 
 Advancement seems to be the 
 Watchword of the times. As this 
 Bugal-note is echoed along the 
 Line, one knows that it will be 
 But a few short years, till 
 Another aspiring youth shall 
 Have written his name among the 
 Illustrious of the world. 
 Along the road to the goal of 
 His ambition has been met many 
 Difficulties and obstacles of 
 Every kind, and before which 
 Some who have toiled manfully 
 At his side, have gone down in 
 Defeat and despair. 
 While sad as such a thought may 
 Be, still darker seems the picture, 
 When its contemplation brings to 
 View "the man who stood still," 
 Or that character who never seemed 
 To have any aim in life. 
 Life's opportunities are like 
 Doors, which swing upon willing 
 Hinges to the touch of the 
 Ambitious and progressive soul, 
 But which never yield to the 
 Indolent and idle. 
 And though circumstances, over 
 Which he has no control, hinders 
 Many an ambitious one from winning 
 The laurel wreath of this world's 
 Applause and praise ; still within 
 The grasp of any willing hand 
 
 13 
 
THE MAN WHO STOOD STILL 
 
 Hangs the reward of a single talent 
 Blessing. 
 
 For the condemnation of the Master 
 Was not called forth because of 
 Narrowed opportunity, but on 
 Account of the individual's 
 Anchorage in the pool of stagnation 
 And idleness, and so he had failed 
 To improve the opportunity that 
 Was within his grasp. 
 How many make failures of what 
 Might be a life-time of usefulness 
 And blessing to their fellow-men 
 Because they stand still. 
 How many lose, not that the 
 Ability to win has been denied 
 Them, but simply because they 
 Make no effort to gain. 
 
 Within the schools of learning 
 Many a scholar is successful, 
 Because the one goes forward ; 
 While the other stands still. 
 While in after-life, this failure 
 To realize all that God would 
 Have them be, casts them up as 
 Shipwrecked vessels upon the 
 Strands of time. 
 For they simply fail to take 
 Advantage of the outgoing tide. 
 Which if they did would carry 
 Their barks of life away from 
 The moorings of stagnation out 
 Into the ocean of opportunity 
 
 14 
 
THE MAN WHO STOOD STILL 
 
 And blessing to themselves and 
 
 Others. 
 
 God's call to men in ever}^ phase 
 
 Of life, is like it was to Israel 
 
 Of old. 
 
 '*Go forward" is the clarion he 
 
 Is sounding in our ears, and 
 
 Only as we obey that summons, 
 
 Heeding not the mountains of 
 
 Difficulty or the warring host 
 
 Arrayed against us, will the walls 
 
 Of difficulty part and give a 
 
 Pathway to the promised land of 
 
 Our hopes. 
 
 Stand not still, oh fellow-man. 
 
 Whoever you may be, for while 
 
 You do another may come in and gain 
 
 The prize. 
 
 The race of life is not always 
 
 To the swift, but to those who 
 
 Have perseverance and determination. 
 
 The reward will come. 
 
 Not only does this thought apply 
 
 Itself to the one who loses 
 
 Much by standing still, but think 
 
 Of the awful blunders men and 
 
 Women have made by halting between 
 
 Two opinions. 
 
 The wife of Pilate might plead 
 
 With him to have nothing to do 
 
 With that just Man, but the Roman 
 
 Governor stood still and let the 
 
 Man in whom he could find no 
 
 Fault be crucified. 
 
 15 
 
THE MAN WHO STOOD STILL 
 
 The tears of a broken-hearted 
 Peter were wrung from his soul, 
 When he realized his blunder in 
 Standing still around a fire of 
 Coals, when friendship and love 
 For the sufferer should have kept 
 Him close to his side. 
 By standing still, you may hide 
 Your talent in a napkin, and so 
 Receive the condemnation of the 
 Unprofitable servant. 
 By standing still, you may fail 
 To realize all that life has in 
 Store for you, and so miss the 
 Blessings that Heaven evidently 
 Intended should be yours. 
 By standing still, you may fail 
 To press a cup of cold water to 
 The lips of some weary pilgrim, 
 And so leave the world darker 
 For some toiler, and a heart sadder 
 For having met you. 
 By standing still, you will 
 Leave no monumental shaft of 
 Thought in the hearts of those 
 You might have blessed, and the 
 World itself will be no better 
 For you having lived in it. 
 By standing still, the only thing 
 That your life will cast is a 
 Shadow, which is neither a blessing 
 To yourself nor a comfort to others. 
 
 i6 
 
A LITTLE CHILD SHALL LEAD THEM 
 
 No picture elicits from mankind such 
 Universal admiration as that 
 In which the Man of Galilee welcomes 
 The helpless children into his 
 Presence and affectionately 
 Embracing them in his arms, says 
 "Of such is the Kingdom of heaven." 
 What artist has not had that in 
 His mind when at some time he 
 Sought to win the praise of his 
 Fellowman with the product of 
 His silent brush? 
 What comfort the thought of the 
 Master's care of them has brought 
 To many a mother's or a father's 
 Heart, as they have gazed with 
 Tear-dimmed eyes into the narrow 
 House, which for a time Is to be 
 The earthly bed for their little 
 One till its blood-washed spirit 
 Is reunited with its earthly 
 Tabernacle In the better land. 
 How the thought of that heavenly 
 Reunion has cheered them in the 
 Trials and hardships of this earthly 
 Pilgrimage and led them to look 
 Forward to a happy meeting in 
 That land of heavenly bliss. 
 Yes, a little child shall lead 
 Them. 
 
 It may be away from the sins 
 And corruptions of an evil world, 
 To a better and a purer life; 
 
 17 
 
A LITTLE CHILD SHALL LEAD THEM 
 
 It may be away from that which 
 
 Has found its chief center in 
 
 Self, to the helpless ones of 
 
 Earth, who need their aid and 
 
 Guidance. 
 
 For where is the soul so lost 
 
 To all tender emotions that will 
 
 Not respond to the touch of 
 
 Children's little hands? 
 
 And when used of God, from what 
 
 Abyss of despair they have 
 
 Often directed the wa5rward to 
 
 Where help and mercy can be found. 
 
 A little child, by its teachable 
 
 Disposition, may lead to a seat 
 
 At the Master's feet. 
 
 A little child, by its purity 
 
 Of thought and innocency of action. 
 
 May lead one to live more in the 
 
 Light of divine truth, and by 
 
 The searching of the same, the 
 
 Inquirer may find for himself 
 
 Eternal life. 
 
 Have you, my reader, that thought 
 
 For the little ones of earth 
 
 That will lead you to devote a 
 
 Portion of j^our time to their 
 
 Education and profit? 
 
 While have we ever thought, as 
 
 Much as we should, of the care 
 
 That should be exercised not to 
 
 Offend one of Christ's little 
 
 Ones ? 
 
 i8 
 
A LITTLE CHILD SHALL LEAD THEM 
 
 If from the garden of this world 
 We miss, as many do, some olive 
 Plant that was given to us, let 
 Us not rebel against a providence 
 That now we cannot understand, 
 Remembering if the flower of God's 
 Planting was taken from our 
 Earthly garden, the Master has 
 It in that home not made with 
 Hands, eternal in the heavens. 
 While by it He may be seeking 
 To lead our thought away from 
 The things of time to that eternal 
 World. 
 
 19 
 
THE STAR OF HOPE 
 
 Ambition has been said to be 
 The watchword of our times. 
 Yet back of this there will 
 Always be found the hand of 
 Some beckoning angel, leading 
 The ambitious soul forward to 
 The goal upon which he has set 
 His heart, and which to the 
 Individual is nothing more or 
 Less than the star of hope upon 
 Which he has fixed his gaze. 
 It is this that has enabled so 
 Many in the past to overcome 
 The difficulties and hardships 
 They were called upon to 
 Encounter, till at last their 
 Eyes were gladdened with the 
 Sight of that upon which they 
 Had set their hearts. 
 Following it, some have become 
 Footsore and weary, as the 
 Children of Israel were in their 
 Desert march. 
 To a few, like Abraham of 
 Old, the very road of obedience 
 May seem to shut its glory from 
 Their sight forever, but happy 
 Are they, who like him in such 
 An hour, are faithful to the One 
 Who had promised, for in due 
 Season they shall reap if they 
 Faint not. 
 
 Upon it, at one time and another, 
 
 20 
 
THE STAR OF HOPE 
 
 Has been fastened the eye of 
 
 Every prophet of the past, as 
 
 They sought to foretell events 
 
 Connected with the advent of the 
 
 Son of Man. 
 
 It was this hope burning in the 
 
 Hearts of the wise men, 
 
 Which lead them to follow the star in 
 
 The East, till it guided them 
 
 To Him Who had to yield His life 
 
 Upon the cross of Calvary before 
 
 The hopes of all the world could 
 
 Be met. 
 
 Oh, the mountains of difficulty 
 Over which the feet of men have 
 Gone to possess it, and through 
 What seas of blood they have 
 Steered their crafts of life in 
 Order to drop their anchor in 
 The haven over which it has 
 Shone ! 
 
 Yet, even when we thus seemingly 
 Stop to count the cost, who is 
 There who would not spend and 
 Be spent, in gaining the goal. 
 To the student dreary indeed 
 Would be the hours spent in 
 Toiling over the problems which lie 
 Before him, and colder still 
 Would be the lifeless canvas upon 
 Which the artist seeks to display 
 His genius were it not for the 
 
 21 
 
\ 
 
 THE STAR OF HOPE 
 
 Star of hope which beckons them 
 
 Onward. 
 
 While all the sacrifice which 
 
 Has been made of time, talents, 
 
 And money seem to men as nothing 
 
 When they think of the hope 
 
 Within their hearts of one day 
 
 Reaping the vision of their 
 
 Dreams. 
 
 With It In mind, the youth gives 
 
 The best of his life to study; 
 
 For It the father or the mother 
 
 Toils and labors In the preparation 
 
 Of that which others shall afterwards 
 
 Enjoy; the united energy of nations 
 
 Has been given to Its accomplishment; 
 
 And all mankind looks forward 
 
 In expectancy to a millennial day 
 
 When the hopes of the world will 
 
 Be fulfilled. 
 
 Weak oftentimes may seem to be 
 
 The part we take in the struggle , 
 
 While time after time the curtain 
 
 Of a day has run down with the 
 
 Tasks on the stage of life 
 
 Seemingly unfulfilled. 
 
 Yet to many the star of hope. 
 
 Which at some time In their 
 
 Existence they have seen on 
 
 The horizon of their vision, 
 
 Has been like the beacon light 
 
 To the sailor, beckoning them 
 
 Upward and onward. 
 
 22 
 
THE STAR OF HOPE 
 
 While as life is full of 
 Vicissitudes and changes, even 
 This is not without its shadows, 
 No matter how hopeful the racer 
 On life's course may be. 
 For there are those who in 
 Childhood's happy hours have 
 Indulged in what some are pleased 
 To call the dreams of youth, and 
 Who in after years have tasted 
 Only of the sorrow which comes 
 To one as he sits in the 
 Sackcloth and ashes of disappointed 
 Hopes. 
 
 The critic may question of what 
 Benefit it has been to them, still 
 I think they are better, purer, 
 And nobler for having thus 
 Indulged themselves in high hopes 
 And aspirations, than if their 
 Ambition had never led them 
 Thus to think. 
 
 For as thought will mould and 
 Fashion character, so if our 
 Thoughts are forming dreams for 
 The good of others, though the 
 Dream itself may never be 
 Realized, still the influence of 
 It may be like the aroma of the 
 Rose, whose fragrance is experienced 
 Even while we cannot see the 
 Flower itself. 
 If our star of hope is as 
 
 23 
 
THE STAR OF HOPE 
 
 Unselfish in the giving of its 
 Light, as the thought of Stanley- 
 Was when he sought to open up the 
 Closed doors of a darkened 
 Heathen world to the glorious 
 Light of Gospel blessing; or as 
 Self-sacrificing as Grace Darling 
 Was when she risked her life to 
 Save a crew of perishing seamen; 
 Though in the struggle, like the 
 One we pass from the world 
 Of time and sense; or like the 
 Other, be little thought of by 
 The majority of mankind, still 
 The world cannot help but be 
 Better for our having lived in 
 It. 
 
 24 
 
THE PRICE 
 
 In the commercial world to-day 
 There is no word men are so 
 Accustomed to hearing and using 
 As the price. 
 
 It is in the mind of him who 
 Seeks to become possessor of 
 The article in question, as well 
 As uppermost in the thought of 
 Him who seeks to sell the same. 
 While if many a one was as 
 Careful, when they seek to 
 Answer the Master's question, 
 "What shall a man give in exchange 
 For his soul?" fewer would be 
 Selling theirs as Judas did his 
 For thirty pieces of silver. 
 But it is not alone in the 
 Weightier matters that the 
 Price plays a part, but its 
 Influence is felt in the happiness 
 Or misery of every man or woman, 
 From the moment of their entrance 
 Upon the active duties of life, 
 Till the hour when the evening 
 Bell shall call them from 
 The school house of earth to 
 The last examination at the bar 
 Of God. 
 
 The thought is not what we pay, 
 But does what we get in return 
 Reward us for the energy, talent, 
 Or affection invested ? 
 Such a searching question covers 
 
 25 
 
THE PRICE 
 
 A might}^ scope of territory and 
 May reach the most tender of human 
 Emotions, but it is the only 
 Way of reaching the ever recurring 
 Query, "Does it pay?" 
 The youth, standing before the 
 Devil's bargain counter, only 
 To awaken some day in the 
 Field of disappointed hopes, and 
 With a realization in his own heart 
 That all is not gold that glitters; 
 The dreamer, to whose company 
 At some time in life, we all 
 Belong, and who hopes to come 
 Into possession of his ideal and 
 So gives a lifetime of energy 
 To his effort; the man of 
 Maturer years, backed by experiences 
 Through which he has passed, in 
 Seeking to bring the enterprise 
 He has on foot to completion, 
 Each must pay the price. 
 
 While at whatever avenue in life 
 
 We stand, we find the same is 
 
 True. 
 
 For no home has ever yet been 
 
 Reared at whose altar the price 
 
 Has not been paid. 
 
 It may be a father's or a mother's 
 
 Self-sacrifice and devotion from 
 
 Which the children are reaping 
 
 The benefit. 
 
 26 
 
THE PRICE 
 
 It may be the maiden's untried 
 Affection laid at the door of 
 Him who she trusts and loves; 
 Or it may be the stalwart heart 
 Of him who dreams of a realm 
 Of trust and confidence we call 
 Home, and for the sake of 
 Establishing the same he toils 
 And labors. 
 
 And none count the price too 
 Dear for the realization of 
 Their hopes. 
 
 While as every coast has its 
 Wrecks and storm-driven vessels, 
 So sad it is when along the 
 Strands of time we meet with 
 The discouraged and broken- 
 Hearted, whose efforts have only 
 Met with non-appreciation and 
 At whose feet no rose-bud has 
 Ever fallen from the hands of 
 Those for whom they have worked 
 And toiled. 
 
 The price, it is true, has been 
 Paid, but only He who knows man's 
 Inmost thought, can ever tell 
 What the price has been. 
 For the dreamer may at last 
 Wear a crown of thorns, when he 
 Awakens to find things are 
 Not what they seemed to be, and 
 So drink the gall and bitterness 
 Of disappointed hopes and ambitions. 
 
 27 
 
THE PRICE 
 
 Yet for all this let none count 
 The price too dear, for upon life's 
 Stage we all have our part 
 To play, and it may be that He 
 Who is the prompter of life's 
 Mighty drama is by a Gethsemane 
 Of sorrow fitting the individual 
 For a land of joy and glory. 
 
 The woods of old New England 
 Rang with the shouts of those 
 Who longed for religious freedom, 
 But not till the price of hardihood 
 And bravery, which led those 
 Pilgrims to face a wintry sea. 
 Had been paid. 
 
 The shackles of slavery fell from 
 The hands of the bondman and the 
 Union was saved, but not till 
 The price of blood told the story 
 Of war and carnage and upon the 
 Altar of his country had been 
 Given one of the noblest hearts 
 That ever beat. 
 
 As the past has been so will the 
 Future be. 
 
 No one has aver seen the beauty 
 Of the rose or inhaled its perfume, 
 Till the flower has bloomed but 
 To die. 
 
 While no life can ever win from 
 The world anything that is worthy 
 The keeping or give to mankind 
 
 28 
 
THE PRICE 
 
 The sweetness of love and devotion, 
 
 Till it has paid, or is willing to pay. 
 
 The price. 
 
 What lead the shepherds to the 
 
 Manger cradle? 
 
 What caused those fishermen of 
 
 Galilee to follow a man who had 
 
 Not where to lay his head? 
 
 What caused Him, who had power 
 
 To summon angels to his protection, 
 
 To stand speechless before Pilate's 
 
 Judgment bar? 
 
 They saw in Him one who was willing 
 
 To pay the price, and He 
 
 Knew that in the doing of the 
 
 Same he would not only fulfill 
 
 The Father's will, but that He 
 
 Would meet the indebtedness of 
 
 Those He loved with the price 
 
 Of His precious blood; 
 
 And so make possible the transformation 
 
 Of a race of sinners lost into 
 
 Bond-slaves of the sweetest 
 
 Master. 
 
 29 
 
THE COMPREHENSIVENESS OF CHRIST 
 
 No character, in human history, is found so 
 comprehensive as that of Christ. No man meets our 
 human needs, with such abundant sufficiency, as the 
 Man of Galilee. And no more beautiful examples 
 of this can be found, than some of those simple pen 
 pictures, which those men inspired of God, have 
 left upon the sacred page. 
 
 To what heights of divine glory they seem to take 
 us. Into what depths of human sorrow the thought- 
 ful mind is necessarily lead, as in meditation he 
 ponders upon the Sacred Word, or sees the same 
 revealed by the skillful brush of some master artist. 
 
 We admire the beautiful, and sometimes try to 
 avoid the sad and sorrowful; and yet, how much 
 these souls of ours would have missed, had not the 
 Son of Man realized that both were needed, and 
 with His all sufficiency come to meet that need. 
 
 It is Hoffman, who has given to the world that 
 idea of Christ among the doctors of the law; "both 
 hearing them and asking them questions." And 
 who can help but admire the candor which shines 
 from His countenance; nor fail to detect the more 
 than human comprehensiveness, which was able to 
 pierce beneath their cloak of hypocrisy, till they 
 "were astonished at His understanding;" and 
 which in His reply to His mother, showed He re- 
 alized that His mission to this world was His 
 "Father's business," about which He was constantly 
 engaged. While again, thinking upon the Mission 
 of the Nazarene, he has made the night in Geth- 
 semane forever memorable In the minds of all 
 lovers of art, as they gaze upon the kneeling Fig- 
 ure of the Man of Sorrows, till almost they can 
 
 30 
 
The comprehensiveness of christ 
 
 hear the agony of that prayer, "Father if it be pos- 
 sible, let this cup pass from Me." 
 
 And yet, in these two portraits of the Divine One, 
 methinks, I can see the comprehensive mind of 
 Christ working, which must to some extent have 
 been understood by the master of the brush. 
 
 For to our joys He is as ready to respond as He 
 was to the marriage in Cana of Galilee; our dark- 
 ened understandings He is as willing to lead into 
 Divine truth as He was to teach the ruler of the 
 Jews, who came seeking Him by night; while the 
 latch-string to an abode of sorrow. He is as will- 
 ing to lift, and by His entrance give that which 
 this w^orld can neither give nor take away, as He 
 was to enter that home at Bethany. And when, in 
 the mystery of human life, our feet are lead from the 
 path of rectitude and duty, into ways of sin and 
 wretchedness, we see an agonizing Saviour treading 
 the wine press of His Father's wrath alone, in order 
 to rescue the wandering soul from darkness and 
 despair. 
 
 Oh! blessed portraits of a Character, Who is all 
 sufficient for our needs, both now and hereafter; 
 and Who, if we will but trust Him, meets them 
 with an Arm that is not shortened that it cannot 
 save, and Whose ear is not heavy that it will not 
 hear. 
 
 31 
 
OUR PERSONAL INFLUENCE 
 
 There is no greater tendency abroad in the world 
 to-day to fashion and mold the lives of men and 
 women, than that of influence. Its enriching and 
 ennobling effects or lowering and degrading ten- 
 dencies are felt in all the walks of life. By it the 
 individual is made the truer, braver, and nobler; or 
 lead into the pathway of falsehood, cowardice and 
 treachery. While as it has been allowed its God- 
 given mission, men and nations have trembled in 
 the balance. What a change in the life of a man 
 a woman's prayer might have made if they had 
 been listened to by Pilate ; while into how many paths 
 of debauchery and crime some silver tongued De- 
 lilah may have lead even the monarch upon his 
 throne. 
 
 Toward no power with which he has to contend 
 should man have a more critical eye, before its ac- 
 ceptance. For when once taken into the heart and 
 life of an individual it may mean his destiny, if 
 allowed free rein in his life, for heaven or hell. 
 While what gives it the subtle power that it pos- 
 sesses is the fact that the one upon whom it is 
 exerting its power is often unconscious of its pres- 
 ence till its awful grasp may have carried them 
 beyond their depths . 
 
 For like the subtle current of the whirl-pool, si- 
 lently but in ever narrowing circles it drags its 
 victim within its power. And not till his agonizing 
 cry goes up for help, when it is forever too late, 
 does he realize he is beyond the danger line. While 
 what is still more potent for us to bear in mind, 
 is that each and every life in itself has this power- 
 ful energy, which is making men better or worse, as 
 
 32 
 
OUR PERSONAL INFLUENCE 
 
 the influence acts upon human lives. For as the 
 aroma of the rose has no power to hide its per- 
 fume, neither can the aroma of influence which sur- 
 rounds one and all be hid in its effects upon the 
 lives of our fellowmen. 
 
 What care should be used by those who in any- 
 way occupy positions where they mold the lives of 
 others. How careful should they be to see that 
 their own lives are in tune with the Infinite, lest 
 by a false note someone else might take up the dis- 
 cord which will echo round the world. Because 
 of its seeming insignificance one must not despise 
 its effects. For from the little acorn mighty oaks 
 grow, so from the insignificant acts there may ger- 
 minate an influence that only the mind on high can 
 penetrate and fathom. 
 
 Oh! trainers of our youth, remember that it 
 was the influence of a teacher that acted upon a 
 young and tender mind and made of him a better 
 and a truer man ; and as from thy life there may 
 go out some molding tendency such as this, guard 
 not only the lives in thy charge, but the power thou 
 hast over them; so that in after years they may be 
 ready to say that the world is better for you hav- 
 ing lived in it. On the other hand, hold in check 
 all those things the evil one is so prone to lay hold 
 of in you that might excite or entice the minds of 
 the young from the grand and the noble. 
 
 A pupil once said to her teacher. Why do you 
 dwell so much upon that theme? but the experience 
 of after years fully convinced her of the instructor's 
 wisdom. For in them she saw that influence was 
 one of the most potent factors of our human ex- 
 
 33 
 
OUR PERSONAL INFLUENCE 
 
 istence. 
 
 The good and the bad we are bound to meet, 
 while the wisdom of the Master Teacher has lead 
 us to believe that we are here for the purpose of 
 upholding the one and battling with the other, and 
 not till that purpose is fulfilled will we be re- 
 moved. 
 
 For He prayed that His disciples might not be 
 taken from the world, but that they should be kept 
 from the evil that was in the world; and the Al- 
 mighty's hand is never so busily engaged as when 
 shielding us from the influences of evil which are 
 found so numerous and various on every side, and 
 which at times may find a starting point in one's 
 mind and heart. 
 
 Oh ! that one did but realize the power he has 
 over another life, and to w^hat awful limits that 
 power may carry him ! To darken the pathway of 
 one or to put out the light he has, seems a cruel and 
 unbecoming sport; but how unspeakably more 
 wretched is the one whose moral sight has been 
 darkened and whose feet have been lead in the 
 slippery paths of sin by an influence that was not 
 good. 
 
 "Let your light shine," said Christ; but see to 
 it, my brother and my sister, that your light ema- 
 nates from Calvary, and not from yourself. Else 
 the influence of your light may be only to destroy, 
 rather than build up; only to strew the coast line 
 of this world with souls going down to despair, be- 
 cause of your evil influence upon them, just as the 
 wreckers used to strew our seacoast with stranded 
 vessels which their false lights lured to destruction. 
 
 34 
 
OUR PERSONAL INFLUENCED 
 
 And remember you may be directing human souls to 
 their eternal destiny as the tendency of your influ- 
 ence has been upon their lives. 
 
 ''Come see a man who has told me all things 
 ever I did," said the sin-darkened soul who had 
 talked with the stranger at Jacob's well; but the 
 influence of her life lead others to find the Messiah. 
 Narrow and circumscribed her field of labor was, 
 but her effort was blessed and accepted of by Christ. 
 
 Favored indeed was Judas in being among the 
 twelve of Christ's disciples, but covetousness had 
 gained such a hold upon his heart that he darkened 
 the annals of crime with the blackest sin yet known 
 to man. Oh! give to us, blessed Master, the influ- 
 ence that we need, and what is better still, the 
 wisdom to direct that influence aright, else it may 
 prove a curse rather than a blessing to its posses- 
 sor. 
 
 35 
 
LONELINESS 
 
 There is no malady, which afflicts the human 
 heart, so universal as that of loneliness. None, per- 
 haps, that has so often turned upon the sufEerer the 
 cynical sneer; which come from the lips of either 
 an uncaring or uncomprehending world, when some 
 wanderer or sorrow stricken soul gives vent to their 
 feelings in articulate speech. 
 
 If though, the curtain was once allowed to be 
 lifted, which hides the human heart, what awful 
 tragedies we would find enacted on every side. When 
 in front of the foot-lights of ones true self, mankind 
 would come to understand the truth of that poetic 
 sentiment, ''all is not gold that glitters," and have 
 presented to it for the first time, this 'Via dolorosa" 
 which every human soul must travel at times. 
 
 It may come to one in younger years, when the 
 playthings have lost their charm, and the play- 
 mates have either deserted or forgotten you; or 
 as is more often the case, when one is face to face 
 with some awful struggle, in which the individual 
 realizes he is giving way inch by inch, and as the 
 darkening cloud of defeat thickens above his head, 
 he remembers the refuge of home — which now is 
 far away — and to whose inmates he cannot go for 
 solace and comfort. While in after life, from the 
 moment in which the soul steps out upon the plane 
 of public recognition by the world, till the race of 
 life is run and the goal is found in death — through 
 whose portals all at last must pass — no blacker form 
 can it ever take, than in moments through which 
 its victims must pass, when they are misjudged by 
 those who ought to know them best and love them 
 most. 
 
 St. Helena was desolate and barren as a home 
 
 36 
 
LONELINESS 
 
 and refuge for an ambitious character; but not half 
 as much as the soul that dwelt within the man, and 
 whose motives had been misjudged by the people he 
 loved so well. Sunny France may well give to this 
 greatest of modern generals, a resting place upon 
 the banks of her Seine; yet what compensation is 
 this to him, who needed a friendly hand in his hour 
 of greatest loneliness, but the cry of whose soul was 
 only answered by the waves of the Mediterranean, 
 as their sound broke upon the exile's ear. 
 
 You may cover the casket of your dead with the 
 costliest flowers plucked from southern gardens; 
 you may listen to their praises lauded to the very 
 heavens, by silver-tongued orators, who with you 
 gaze for the last time into their irresponsive faces. 
 What to them is the wasted perfume of those roses 
 and the eloquence of that matchless rhetoric, in 
 comparison with v/hat your sympathy and interest 
 might have been, had it been given while they moved 
 and mingled w^th you in the world ! 
 
 No sadder words has the human tongue ever 
 voiced than "It might have been." Yet how often 
 might these be written for an epitaph, where some 
 lonely one lies sleeping, as the truest expression 
 of your heart; which realizes when it is forever 
 too late, that their pathway was made the sadder 
 because of your lack of sympathy with them and 
 their hopes. What a gulf of difference lies at this 
 juncture between ourselves and the Master, in His 
 dealings with those whom He loved. 
 
 John might misunderstand Him; yet in the mysti- 
 fying cup that Jesus pressed to his beloved dis- 
 ciple's lips, the dregs of loneliness were lacking as 
 he rested upon the Master's bosom. 
 
 37 
 
LONELINESS 
 
 Peter might sin and weep bitter tears over the 
 same; but in the garden of Gethsemane he was not 
 allowed to remain, while he ever had the com- 
 panionship of Him whose commission he was ful- 
 filling, as he fed His sheep. 
 
 Zaccheus, as a publican, might have felt his 
 isolation from the ranks of men, and so sought a 
 place where he would not intrude upon the multi- 
 tude as they followed Jesus; but the Master chose 
 that lonely man to be His host that night. 
 
 The heart of a Magdalene might weep, while the 
 soul of a trembling sinner might fear the stones of 
 a mob who had remembered the mote, but had for- 
 gotten a beam, in their anxiety to fulfill the Mosaic 
 law. Yes, more than this, like many have felt that 
 such as they had no place in the thought of Him 
 who was heralded by angels and sought for by kings. 
 Yet the loneliness of the one was relieved, as in 
 obedience she bore the message of Him, she had 
 taken for the gardener; and the other had poured 
 into her broken heart that ointment which is so 
 universally needed, and which is just as willingly 
 bestowed by Plim who came to seek and to save that 
 which was lost, when He said : ^'Neither do I 
 condemn thee: go, and sin no more." 
 
 While what joy should fill every heart, as they 
 come to know that He, who is the same yesterday, 
 to-day, and forever, longs to meet with such as 
 these; and that in the meeting will give the assur- 
 ance of a friendship, which knows of no misun- 
 derstandings, and a companionship into which no 
 lonely hours need ever come, for His promise is, 
 "Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of 
 the world." 
 
 38 
 
EASTER 
 
 What a transforming power the thought of The 
 Resurrection should have upon mankind. When 
 fully understood it ought to effect our every 
 thought and action. 
 
 Giving hope and certainty not only with reference 
 to the departed, but calling us to a new life and 
 better service of the Master. 
 
 For with reference to our loved ones, who have 
 answered the Master's summons and gone Home, 
 we "sorrow not as those who have no hope." 
 
 While who is there to whom the empty tomb 
 does not speak as the angel spoke to the women, 
 saying: "Why seek ye the living among the 
 dead?" 
 
 Let us arise from the Past into the Present, 
 where we can if we will, spend and be spent for 
 our fellow men. 
 
 Let us arise from our Doubts and Unbelief into 
 the clearer vision that Faith always gives one. 
 
 Let us arise from Lukewarmness and Indifference 
 into a life of active service for Him Whose we are 
 and Whom we claim to serve. 
 
 And thus may your life and mine be a blessing 
 to all with whom we come in contact. 
 
 39 
 
THE CHRISTIAN AWITNESS FOR CHRIST 
 
 There are many interrogatives that puzzle and 
 perplex the most thoughtful mind. For after all 
 the paths the mental foot of man has traveled; 
 science still has her mysteries; logic holds her prob- 
 lems; and religion abounds in truths; too high and 
 too deep, for the weary thinker of this world to un- 
 ravel and explain. 
 
 Yet in each and every one of these intellectual 
 gardens, fruit has been found, which has not been 
 forbidden to the human thought; while partaking 
 of the same, mankind has been strengthened and 
 helped thereby; and also been made to spiritually 
 rejoice. For in the religious realm, one finds there 
 has been committed to his hands the highest and 
 noblest mission in which he can be enlisted ; namely, 
 the telling of the old, old story that Jesus died for 
 sinful men, from the rising of the sun till the go- 
 ing down of the same. For Christ has left the fame 
 and renown of that grandest, and at the same 
 time, most awful picture of realistic suffering the 
 human eye has ever gazed upon, in man's hands. 
 For since His ascension, no voice has ever wit- 
 nessed concerning Him ; but that of His faithful and 
 devoted followers; while to their custody has been 
 committed the written word, and in obedience to 
 their Leader's parting and farewell command, that 
 word has been circulated and expounded to earth's 
 remotest end. 
 
 While when one comes to realize that the cross 
 upon which Christ suflfered, could by His almighty 
 power, have been turned into indestructible marble, 
 and forever upon Mount Calvary, stood as a wit- 
 ness for Him, as easily as he turned Lot's wife into 
 
 40 
 
THE CHRISTIAN AWITNESS FOR CHRIST 
 
 a pillar of salt; or that He might have written 
 the wondrous story of His mercy and love, in char- 
 acters as marvelous and convincing, as He wrote 
 upon the walls of Belshazzar's palace; greater still 
 should be the reader's reverent anxiety to know 
 why God has chosen the "weak things" of this 
 world, to witness to what He has done, and is still 
 doing. Here I think the Christian has the right 
 to claim a greater knowledge, concerning the work- 
 ing of the Father of us all, than any other living 
 creature, and though it is not the intention of the 
 writer to slight the theoretical side of the subject, 
 yet, I do wish to lay especial emphasis upon the prac- 
 tical and experimental side of the Christian life. 
 For between these two mountain tops of vision, 
 there lies a fathomless gulf; and not until the 
 former has passed over the bridge of Christian ex- 
 perience, can he taste the sweets of the latter's in- 
 heritance, which comes to one by faith alone. "With- 
 out money and without price." 
 
 It is true; angels who have never fallen, could 
 tell the world of God's majesty and goodness; the 
 devils in hell might cry aloud of His wrath and 
 justice; while all men, if they only would, could 
 speak of His wisdom. But none but a child of 
 God, purchased with the Blood of Christ, can 
 add to all these, that without which the world 
 would be a desolate and barren waste. For they, 
 and they alone, know by experimental teaching, of 
 that wondrous story of His thoughtfulness and 
 mercy; that miracle of the ages, of His forgiving 
 love, by which they, and all who will, may find ac- 
 ceptance on High and cleansing in His blood. Not 
 
 41 
 
THE CHRISTIAN AWITNESS FOR CHRIST 
 
 only though, has the Christian been taught in a 
 school which none ever enter till they consent to 
 recline at the Feet of the Great Teacher; but no 
 greater privilege ever comes to His disciples than 
 when they are allowed to tell to their fellowmen, 
 what Christ has done for their souls. While when 
 this thought is fully appreciated by you, dear read- 
 er, you cannot help but realize the awful mistake 
 so many make, when they act before the world, as 
 though their being a witness for Jesus Christ com- 
 pelled them to wear the longest and the saddest faces 
 one meets with here on earth. But in the light of 
 what the Master taught, away with all such hypoc- 
 risy; and remember that He Who was heralded 
 by the songs of angels, never meant or taught that 
 the witnesses' faces should be clouded when their 
 hearts were bursting with the joyful message, which 
 they longed to tell to sinful men. While no greater 
 joy can come to the truly Christian heart than in 
 being a sign-board pointing unto Heaven, some 
 brother or sister who has fallen. 
 
 While what an awful mistake some are making in 
 this day, who uplift the finger of scorn at the mighty 
 missionary effort that is being made by many wit- 
 nesses of the Cross. And in what contrast do 
 their actions stand, to the words of Him, Who 
 said: "Go ye into all the world and preach My 
 Gospel to every creature." For Christ would leave 
 the world without excuse, because of its rejection 
 of Him; and so He chose His witnesses from the 
 ranks of His believing followers, in order that all 
 might know if they would, that Jesus died for sin- 
 ful men. 
 
 42 
 
THE CHRISTIAN AWITNESS FOR CHRIST 
 
 While from time to time He is sending the mes- 
 sage of Salvation to the islands far across the sea; 
 and raising up such men as the Christ-like Living- 
 ston to penetrate Africa's darkest jungles; or by 
 such devotion and fearlessness, as Paton exemplified, 
 have this message known to earth's remotest end. 
 While by the methods they adopt one can easily 
 tell w^hether they have been w^ith Christ and have 
 learned of Him. Here indeed, oh! witness of the 
 Cross, take heed. For your thoughts cannot be the 
 world's thoughts; and your ways cannot be the 
 world's ways. While the latter, whose salvation 
 many of you profess to desire, will quickly and 
 rightly judge, whether you have been with Christ 
 and have learned of Him. 
 
 Will then a parade of your public and private 
 devotions be the best methods for one to adopt, who 
 is a follower of Christ? Will your hair splitting 
 expositions of a creed concerning which many are 
 racking their brains, in the day in which we live? 
 Or the denouncing of some honest brother who may 
 differ from yourself, ever be the means of bringing 
 men to accept the Saviour, Whom you profess to 
 love and serve? No, a thousand times no. For 
 these are but the enemy's methods and plans, and 
 along which lines he carries on his work ; and when 
 one is found to be such an easy disciple of his 
 teaching, he has never much to fear from your cause. 
 But rather gird upon yourself the armor of Jesus 
 Christ, and with which you will be able to with- 
 stand the attacks of the evil one. Daily manifest 
 in your life, more heart loyalty to the Master. 
 Hourly feed upon His promises, and exhibit the con- 
 tentment which will be seen in the character of 
 
 43 
 
THE CHRISTIAN AWITNESS FOR CHRIST 
 
 one who is willing to take what his Father gives, 
 saying: ''Not my will but thine be done," and 
 have deep seated in your heart that anchor of hope 
 and trust, which will not let you drift in the face 
 of every wind that blows. And thus be always 
 ready to exemplify in your life the lines of the 
 poet, who said: 
 
 "I will go where you want me to go dear Lord 
 O'er mountain, and vale, and hill; 
 ril say, what you want me to say, dear Lord; 
 And I'll be, what you want me to be." 
 
 44 
 
MY FATHER'S HOUSE 
 
 There is something strikingly majestic, in the way 
 Christ taught His disciples. Coming to Him as 
 they did, with their trials and perplexites; they al- 
 ways found in Him a way out of trouble. A sin 
 cursed woman, taken in adultery and brought to 
 Him for condemnation, received the pardoning mes- 
 sage, ''neither do I condemn thee, go and sin no 
 more;" while a weeping sister was gently re- 
 minded that He was the Resurrection and the 
 Life. 
 
 Under the shadow of night there dawned upon 
 the troubled soul of a ruler of the Jews, the reve- 
 lation of the new birth; while His disciples, clam- 
 oring for position and rank, had set before them 
 the teachable disposition of a little child as a means 
 to such an end. 
 
 Near the close of the Master's earthly life He 
 spoke to His disciples of His contemplated depar- 
 ture from their midst; but seemingly unwilling to 
 let the sorrow of the parting moment rest too heav- 
 ily on their minds. He sought to cheer and comfort 
 their hearts with a prophetic picture of His Fath- 
 er's House, and which has made of heaven an attrac- 
 tive place ever since. It must have been this thought 
 in the mind of the saintly Rowland Taylor; for on 
 being asked, only a short time before his execution, 
 "how he did?" He quickly replied: ''never better, 
 for now I know I am almost Home," and looking 
 across the meadow to the place where soon he was 
 to be burned to the stake, continued : "Only two 
 more stiles to get over and then I am at my Fath- 
 er's House." 
 
 Or as the venerable Mede once said: "I am go- 
 
 45 
 
MY FATHER'S HOUSE 
 
 ing home as fast as I can, as every honest man 
 ought to do, when his clay's work is over; and I 
 bless God I have got a good home to go to." 
 
 This certainty with which the Christian world has 
 rested upon the teaching of the Master in regard to 
 Heaven, has been a comfort to many a pilgrim along 
 the wayside of life. 
 
 Believing Him to be the very incarnation of truth 
 and righteousness, why should it not be so? For as 
 another has so beautifully expressed it: 
 
 "If it had not been so. 
 He could have told them. 
 If it had not been so. 
 He should have told them. 
 If it had not been so. 
 He would have told them." 
 
 How often has the belief in the truth of these 
 words been the stay and support of the departing 
 saint. 
 
 At the bed-side of a dying minister stood his 
 devoted wife and faithful physician; and as into 
 their faces he looked for the last time on earth, he 
 inquired: "Doctor, is this another stroke?" And 
 knowing in Whom he had believed, and being per- 
 suaded that He was able to keep that which he had 
 committed unto Him, he weighed his anchor and 
 put out to sea, whose further boundary brought 
 his soul into the harbor of the Father's House. 
 
 46 
 
THE NEW THINGS OF CHRISTIANITY 
 
 How often has the Bible been likened to God's 
 picture gallery; In which the Divine Artist has 
 revealed His thought to the human race. 
 
 Yes, and It surpasses every other studio known 
 unto man. Its paintings have to do, not alone with 
 the past and the present; but through the prophetic 
 touch of the Inspired penman, beautiful glimpses 
 have been given of the future, and what one may 
 expect to find, as a product of God's appointed agen- 
 cies. No more productive power has been set in 
 motion than Christianity. Its presence In the world 
 is clearly seen in the blessings that it brings. It 
 has introduced a new creation, while the same has 
 had a mighty power In the world. Through its in- 
 fluence, cherished objects have become useless and 
 utterly obsolete; but the new are of Infinitely more 
 value than the old they have displaced. As these 
 changes take place civilization advances, and men 
 rise In the scale of manhood. It is this that ex- 
 plains the advancement of the races, from savagery 
 to a higher civilization; nor will the heart of man 
 be satisfied till it has become identified with the new 
 things of Christianity, and received the blessings 
 which they bring. In them will be seen a living 
 monument to the new commandment of the Master ; 
 where Charity and Justice find their crowning vir- 
 tue In Brotherly kindness; and only while they are 
 exemplified, can the Grand Exalted Ruler of Chris- 
 tianity pronounce us faithful In all things. 
 
 Let this command of Christ be kept, and what 
 shall follow? Men will love those who do not 
 love them; they shall love their fellowmen enough 
 to sacrifice their comfort, yes and their lives also 
 
 47 
 
THE NEW THINGS OF CHRISTIANITY 
 
 for their spiritual good. Then shall be seen not a 
 star in the Eastern sky to guide the wise of earth 
 to where a young child lay; but in the heart of 
 each and every one the star of Fidelity shall shine, 
 symbolical of the fidelity that is seen in each and 
 every life, to Him Whose they are and Whom 
 they serve; and to those who are near and dear to 
 them. 
 
 48 
 
SONGS IN THE NIGHT 
 
 There is no age in the history of our world when 
 music has not played a part in its drama. There 
 are no experiences through which the human heart 
 is called upon to pass when its inspiring or sooth- 
 ing strains do not find a responsive chord in the soul 
 of man. 
 
 If it is war that has devastated and laid waste the 
 fatherland ; by it her sons are led forth to battle. 
 
 If the human heart has found its mate, how often 
 is heard those strains that tell of the passion that 
 lies within. 
 
 While if it is sorrow, such as only those know 
 who have tasted and experienced the same ; from its 
 valley there will echo songs in the night, which seem 
 to voice the agony of human hearts at some period 
 of their earthly existence. 
 
 Looking as men do often from the human side 
 alone, they are tempted to repine and become skep- 
 tical, under the providential chastening of our Heav- 
 enly Father; forgetful of the fact that God has 
 not withdrawn Himself from them, but that cir- 
 cumstances In which they are placed, often cause 
 them to lose sight of the truth, that He Is ever 
 present to all who call upon Him. And many times 
 comes to their relief with songs In the night, which 
 at the time their ears may be too deaf to hear. 
 
 Ever since the keeper of Eden allowed sin to 
 disturb the communion and Intercourse, he once had 
 with his Maker, the world has been In darkness. 
 From whose depths there often arises the infantile 
 cry, voiced by a German philosopher for light. It 
 it heard from the rising of the sun till the going 
 down of the same. 
 
 49 
 
SONGS IN THE NIGHT 
 
 In the palace and by the wayside, in the hovel 
 and by the market-place. And not till the great 
 millennial day shall dawn will this darkness be done 
 away with forever. 
 
 Darker indeed seems the night of those who look 
 out through the poisonous mists of ignorance, super- 
 stition and prejudice; for they shut their ears to 
 the songs that otherwise they might hear. 
 
 Memory, had it not been for sin, would have 
 been a blessing; but now it adds to the present 
 troubles, those of the past; while imagination links 
 possible tortures to the future. The intellect which 
 has placed man on a pedestal above the brute crea- 
 tion, time and again has been baffled by the night 
 of ignorance; through which, as a lost child it 
 has sought to find its way. 
 
 And while groping in a night of spiritual dark- 
 ness how many souls have found the so-called sci- 
 ences and philosophies, but will-o-the-wisps, rather 
 than guiding angels of light. 
 
 And to the gloomy depths of a night of sorrow 
 each and every soul is doomed at some time in 
 life to come. 
 
 Like Israel of old, you may not have passed this 
 way before, but there is no hour that passes o'er 
 the dial that is not bringing you nearer to the time 
 when some loved one will weigh their anchor and 
 put out to sea, across whose depths no traveler ever 
 returns. 
 
 And you, dear reader, will be left like all who 
 have gone this way before you, to sit in sack-cloth 
 and ashes. 
 
 For around about you there will gather the 
 
 50 
 
SONGS IN THE NIGHT 
 
 shadows of a night, into which you have seen oth- 
 ers go, and in your feeble way may have tried to 
 comfort them as they went; but of whose reality, 
 though, one can never know till the cup has been 
 pressed to their own lips, and its dregs have been 
 drained to the bottom. 
 
 It is then, if the soul is in touch with the Infinite, 
 that he or she is taught to sing these songs in the 
 night; and the singer themselves is made better, 
 stronger, and braver for having sung them. Yes, 
 we may have them if we will but take them. Not 
 only songs, but songs given us by God. Whose 
 Son left His heavenly home and came to this earth 
 that we might have them. 
 
 Their melody can, and will dispel all care and 
 sorrow; for He Who tunes our hearts to sing them 
 maketh all our bed in our day of trouble, and 
 with a mother's care and thoughtfulness waits on 
 our every weakness. 
 
 While constantly He is fitting us for that land 
 where "there is no night" of bodily suffering, of 
 mental anguish, of spiritual darkness, or of human 
 sorrow. 
 
 Yes, there are songs in the night. Songs that 
 are God given and heaven sent. 
 
 Songs that He intended His children to learn to 
 sing. Songs that will dispel the darkness as we 
 blend our voices in that grand old hymn: 
 
 "Sun of my soul. Thou Saviour dear; 
 It is not night if Thou be near." 
 
 While ever amid the shadowy path of sorrow, 
 
 51 
 
SONGS IN THE NIGHT 
 
 when loved ones are snatched from our fond em- 
 brace. May we learn with Dr. Cornelius to say: 
 
 "Not now, but in the coming years, 
 It may be in the better land, 
 We'll read the meaning of our tears, 
 And there, sometime, we'll understand. 
 
 We'll know why clouds instead of sun 
 Were over many a cherished plan, 
 Why song has ceased when scarce begun ; 
 'Tis there, sometime, we'll understand. 
 
 Why what we long for most of all, 
 Eludes so oft our eager hand; 
 Why hopes are crushed and castles fall, 
 Up there, sometime, we'll understand. 
 
 God knows the way, He holds the key, 
 He guides us with unerring hand ; 
 Sometime with tearless eyes we'll see; 
 Yes, there, up there, we'll understand. 
 
 Then trust in God through all the days; 
 Fear not, for He doth hold thy hand ; 
 Though dark thy way, still sing and praise; 
 Sometime, sometime, we'll understand." 
 
 S2 
 
OCT 31 1912 
 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
 018 360 032 1 
 
 m 
 
 •i