The Abbeville press and banner. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, December 06, 1893, Image 7
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1 REV. DR. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN' DIVINE'S SUNDAY
SERMON.
Subject: "Tlie'Ifs' of the Bible."
I
* Text : "If Thou wilt forpine their sin?
and if not, blot me, I pray Thee, out of Thy
book.'?Exodus xxxii., 32.
There is in our English language a small
conjunction which, I propose, by God's help,
to haul out of its present' insignificancy and
?et upon the throne whero it belongs, and
that is the conjunction "if." Though made
of only two letters, it is the pivot on which
everything turns. All time and all eternity
are at its disposal. We slur it in our utterance,
we ignore it iD our appreciation, and
none of us recognize it as the most tremendous
word in all the' vocabulary outside of
those words which describe deity.
WKv thn* WDPfi wn talis as a traiEO
amontr words, now appearing here, now appearing
there, but having no valtt9 of its
own. when it really has a millionairedom of
r, worlds, and in Its" train walk all planetary,
stellar, lunar, so'.ar destinies. If the boat of
leaves made watertight, in which the infant
, Moses sailed the Nile, had sunk who would
hav? led Israel out of Egypt? If the Red
Sea had not parted for the escape of one
ho3t and then come together for the submergence
of another, would the book of
Exodus ever have been written? .If the ship
on which Columbas sailed for America had
gone down in an Atlantic cyclone, how much
longer would it have taken for the discov- .
^ ery of this continent?
B It Grouchy had come up with reinforcep
ments in time to give the French the victory
r at Waterloo, what would have been the fate
) of Europe? If the Spanish Armada had- not
been wrecked off the coast, how different
would have been many chapters in English
history! If the battle of Hastings or the
Vot-tlo nf T>iilfr?tr-n or f-hn h?ttla of VaJmv. or I
the battle of Mataurus, or the battle of Arbela,
or the battle of Chalons, each one of
which turned the world's destiny, h?d been
decided the other way!
If Shakespeare had never been born for
the drama, or Handel had never been born
for music, or Titian had never been born for
painting, or Tborwaldsen had never been
born for sculpture, or Edmund Burke had
never been bom for eloquence, or Soorates
had never been born for philosophy, or
Blackstone had never been born for the law,
or Copernicus bad nt,ver been born for astronomy.
or Luther had never been born for
the reformation!
Ob, that conjunction "if!" How muoh has
depended on it! The height of it, the depth
of It, the kngth of it, the breadth of it, the
immensity of it, the infinity of it?who can
measure?" It would swamp anything but
p omnipotence. But I must confine myself to*
day to the "ifs" of the Bible, and in doing so
I shall speak of the "if of overpowering
earnestness, the "if" of Incredulity, the "it"
of threat, the "if' of argumentation, tlje 'MP'
of eternal significance, or so many of these
"Us" as I can compass in the time that may
be reasonably allotted to pulpit disoourse.
First, the "if of overpowering earnestness.
My text gives it. The Israelites have
? been worshiping an idol, notwithstanding
all that God had done for them, and now
Moses offers the most vehement prayer of all
history, and It turns upon an "if." "If
Thou wilt forgive their sins?and if not, blot
me, I pray Thee, out of Thy book." Oh,
what an overwhelming "if!" It was as
much as to say. "If Thou wilt not pardon
. them, do not pardon me. If Thou wilt not
bring them to the promised land, let me
. never see the promised land. If they must
perish, let me perish with them. In that
book when* Thou recordest their doom reoord
my doom. If they are shut out of
heaven, let me be shut out of heaven. If
they go down into darkness, let me go down
Into darkness." What vehemenoe and holy
reoklessness of prayer!
Yet there artj those here who, I have no
1???? ?ll aK?A*Mn<? fA
uuuu; J uavc, iu lucu Oil auoviumg kv
have others saved, risked the same prayer,
for it is a risk. You most not makeit unless .
yon are willing to balance your eternal salvation
on such an '"if." Yet there have been
oases where a mother has been so anxious
(or the recovery of a wayward son that hef
prayer has swung and trembled and poised
on au "If' like that of the text. "It not,
blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book. Write
his name in the Lamb's Book of Life, or turn
to the page where my name was written ten
or twenty or forty or sixty years ago, and
witn the biack ink of everlasting midnight
erase my first name, and my last name, and
ali my name. If he is to go into shipwreck,
let me be tossed amid the same breakers. If
be cannot be a partner in my bliss,let me be a
par.nerin his woe. I have for many years loved
Thee. O God, and it has been my expecta(
ticn to sit with Christ and all the redeemed
at the banquet of the skies but I now give
up my promised place at the feast, and my
promised robe, and my promised orown, and
my promised throne unless John, unless
George, unless Henry, unless my darling son
can share them with me. Heaven will be no
heaven without him. O God, save my boy,
or count me among the lost!"
That is a terrific prayer, and yet there is a
voua2 man sitting in the pew on the main
floor, or in the lower gallery, or in the top
gallery, who has already crushed such a
prayer from his mother's heart. He hardly
ever writes home, or. living at home, what
does he care how rtfuoh trouble he gives her;
Her tears are no more to him than the rain
that drops from the eaves on a dark night.
The fact that she does not sleep because oT
watching for his return late at night does not
choke his laughter or hasten his step forward.
She has tried coaxing and kindness and
self sacrifice and all the ordinary prayers thai
mothers make for their children, and all have
failed. She is coming toward the vivid and
venturesome and terrific prayer of my text.
She is going to lift her own eternity and S9t
it upon that one ''If,'4 by which she expects
to decide whether you will go up with her or
she down with you. She may be this moment
looking heavenward and saying' '0 Lord
reclaim him by thy grace," ana then adding
that heart-rendering "If of my text "it not,
blot me, I pray Thee, out of Thy book.\
i After three years of absence a son wrote
his mother in one of the New England
whaling villages that he was coming home
in a certain ship. MotherUke, she stood
watching, and the ship was in the offing, but
a fearful storm struck it and dashed the ship
on tho rocks that night. All thai night the
mother prayed for the safety of the son. and
just nt dawn there was a knock at the cottage
door, and the son entered, crying out,
"Mother, I knew you would pray me home!"'
If I would ask all those in this assemblage
who have been prayed home to God by pious
mothers to stand up, there would be scores
that would stand, and if I should ask them
to give testimony it would be the testimony
of that New England son coming ashore
from the split timbers of the whaling ship,
"My mother prayed me home !'"
Another Bible "IP" Is the "If" ct incredulity.
Satan used it when Christ's vitality
was depressed by forty days' abstinence trom
food, and the tempter pointed to some stones,
In color and shape like loaves of brea I, and
said, "If thou oe tho Son of. God, command
that these stones be made bread."
That was appropriate, for Satan is the father
of that "it" of Incredulity. Peter used the
same ''if" when, standing on the wet and
slippery aecK ot a nsnint* smaos on iiane
Galilee, he saw Christ walking on the sea as
though it were as solid as a pavement of
basalt from tho adjoining volcanic hills, and
Teter cried, "If It be Thou, let me come to
Thee on the water."
What a preposterous "if!"' What human
. foot was ever so constructed as to walk on
water? In what part of the earth did law of
gravitation make exception to the rule that a
? man will sink to the elbows when ho touches
the wave oi river or iase ?au win siu*. ?ui
farther unless he can swim? But here Peter
looks out upon the form in tho shape of a
man defying the mightiest law of the universe,
the law of gravitation, and standing
erect on the top of the liquid. Yet the incredulous
Peter cries out to the Lord. "If
Jt be Thou." Ala?. forthatincredulous "If!"
It is workinc as powerfully in the latter part
of this nineteenth Christian century as it did
in the early part of the first Christian century.
Though a small conjunction, it Is tho biggest
block to-day in the way of the eospel
chariot. "If!" "If We have tbeolojrical
seminaries which spend most of their time
and employ their learning and their genius
in the manufacturing of "ifs." With that
weaponry are assailed the Pentateuch, and
the miracles, and the divinity of Jesu3 Christ.
ATmost everybody is chewinsr on an "if."
When many a man hows for prayer, he puts
his knee on an "if." The door through which
people pass into infidelity and atheism and
all immoralities has two doorposts, and the
one is made of the letter "i" and the other
of the letter
There are only iour stena b3tween strong
faith and complete unbelief: First, surrender '
the Idea of the verbal Inspiration of the
Scriptures and adopt the Idea that they were ]
all generally supervised by the Lord. Sec- '
ond, surrender the idea that they were all '
generally supervised by the Lord and adopt |
the theory that thev were not all, but partly. I
supervised by the Lord. Third, believe that 1
they are the gradual evolution of the ages,
and men wrote a^eordlnz to the wisdom of
the times in which they Ilred. Fourth, believe
that the Bible is a bud book and not
only unworthy of credenoe, but pernicious
and debasing and oruel.
Only four steps from the stout faith In
which the martyrs died to the blatant caricature
of Christianity as the greatest sham
of the centuries. But the door to all that
precipitation and horror is made out of an
"if The mother of unrests in the minds of
cmrrsnnri'people ana to tnose vrno regard j
sacred things is the ''if' of incredulity. In j
1879. in Scotland, I saw a letter which had
been written many years ago by Thomas
Carlyle to ThomasChalmers. Carlyle at the j
time of writing the letter was a young man.
The letter was not to he published until after
the death of Carlyle. His death having taken j
place, the letter ought to be published.
It was a letter in which Thomas Carlyle t
expresses the tortures of his own mind while ,
relaxing his faith in Christianity, while at t
the same time expresses his admiration for ^
Dr. Chalmers, and in which Carlyle wishes r
that he had the same faith that the great *
Scotch minister evidently exeroised. Nothing g
that Thomas Carlyle ever wrote in "Sartor a
Resarus," or the "French Revolution," or .
his "Life of Cromwell," or his immortal ?
"Essays." had in it more wondrous power v
than that letter which bewailed his own (
aouots ana extouea tne strong raittt or
another. B
I made an exact copy of that letter, with ?,
the understanding that it should not be pub- e
lished until after the death of Thomas a
Carlyle, but returning to my hotel in Edin- i
burgh I felt uneasy lest somehow that letter p
should get out of my possession and be pub- c
Jisnea Deiore 113 ume. 00 x iuut 11 u?u>. iu
the person by whose permission I had 5
copied it. All reasons for its privacy having j
Vanished, I wish it might be published. c
Perhaps this sermon, finding its way into
a Scottish home, may suggest its printing, j:
for that letter shows more mightily than any- fe
thinsr I have ever read the difference between 0
the "I know" of Paul, and the "I know" of E
Job, and the "I know" of Thomas Chalmers, v
and the "I know" of all those who hold with 8
a firm grip the gospel, on the one hand, and <j
the unmooring, bestorming and torturing a
"if' of incredulitv on the other. I like the |.
positive faith or that sailor boy that Captai* t
Judkins of the steamship Scotia picked up i n ~
a hurricane. "Go aloft," said Captain Jud- f
kir* to his mate, "and look out for wrecks." ?
Before the mate had gone far up the rat- f
lines he shouted: "A wreok! A wreck!" I
"Where away!" said Captain Judkins. "Off
the port bow," was the answer. Lifeboats 7
were lowered, and forty men volunteered to p
put out across the angry sea for the wreck. r
They came back, with a dozen shipwrecked, h
and among them a boy of twelve years. c
'Who are you?" said Captain Judkins. i
The answer was - "I am a Scotch boy. My
father and mother are dead, and I am on my t
wav to America." "What have you here?' 8
saia uapiain juuum ua uo upcucu mo wj o
jacket and took bold of a rope around the s
boy's body. "It Is a rope," said the boy.
''But what is that tied by this rope under
your arm?" "That, sir, is my mother's
Blblq. She told me never to I039 that."
"Could you not have saved something else?"
"Not and saved that." "Did you expect to
go down?" "Yes. sir, but I meant to take
my mother's Bible down with me." "Bravo!"
said Captain Judkins. "I will take care of
you."
That boy demonstrated a certainty and a
confidence that I like. Just in proportion 8
as you have few "ifs" of incredulity In yoar a
religion will you find it a comfortable religion.
My full and unquestioned faith in it _
is founded on the fact th3t It sooths and sus- t
tains in time of trouble. I do not believe .
that any man who ever lived had more blessings
and prosperity than I have received
from God and the world. But I have had ,
trouble enough to allow me opportunity 'or t
finding out whether our religion is of any
use in such exigency. I have had fourteen
great bereavements, to say nothing of lesser v
bereavements, for I was the younger of a ^
large family. I have had as mooh persecu- I
tion as comes to most people. I have had j
all kin da of trial, except severe ana prolonged
sickness, and I would have been dead .
long ago bat for the consolatory power ot
our religion.
Any religion will do in time ot prosperity. ,,
Buddhism will do. Confucianism will do. u
Theosophy will do. No religion at all will
do. But when the world gets after you and l
defames your best deeds, when bankruptcy
takes the place of large dividends, when yoa t]
fold for the kst sleep, the still hands over
the still heart of your old father, who has b
been planning for your welfare all these
years, or you close the eyes of your mother,
who has lived in your life ever since before
you were born, removing her spectacles because
she will have clear vision In the home a
to whioh she has gone, or you give the last f,
kiss to the child reclining amid the flowers t.
that pile the casket and looking as natural &
and lifelike as she ever did reclining in the p
cradle, then the only religion worth anything I
is the old fashion religion ot the gospel of a
Jesus Christ. , t
I would give more in such a crisis for one *
of the promises expressed in half a verse of <j
the old book than for a whole library con- b
taining all the productions of all the other t<
religions of all the ages. The otherreligions
are a sort ot cocaine to benumb and deaden
the soul while bereavement and misfortune
do their work, but our religion is inspiration,
illumination, imparadisation. It is a
mlontii of Oiinlinhf ?ml hallnluinh. Do not
lUUlUiD VI Uuuiigut WMV* ^ ?
adulterate it with one drop of the tincture of
incredulity.
Another Bible "if" is the "if o^ ^rnw
significance. Solomon gives us that "it" i
twice in one sentence when he says, "If thou
be wise, thou shalt '00 wise for thyself, but if
thou scornest thou alone shalt bear it."* i
Christ gives us that "if' when he says, "If
thou hadst known in this thv day the things
which belong unto thy peace, but now they <
are hidden from thine eyes." Paul gives us
that "if when he says, "If they shall enter (
into my rest." All these "ifs" and a score
more that I might recall put the whole responsibility
of our salvation on ourselves. ,
Christ's willingness to pardon?no "if about 1
that. Realms of glory awaiting the right- J
eoas?no "if" about that.
The only '"ir in all the case worth a moment's
consideration is the "it" that attaches
Itself to the question as to whether we will <
accept, whether we will repent, whether we
will believe, whether we will rise forever. Is <
it not time that wb take our eternal future 1
off that swivel',' Is it not time that we ex- 3
tirpate that <:if," that miserable "if," that |
hazardous "if'.'" We would not allow this
uncertain "if to stay long in anything else
of importance. Let some one say in regard 1
to a railroad bridge, "I have reasons for ask- (
leg if that bridge is safe," and you would not
?rr>?a tt T ot tump one saw "I have reasons
to ask if that steamer is trustworthy," and
you would not take passage on it.
Let some one suggest in regard to a prop- j
ertv that you are about to purchase, "I have
reason to ask if they can give a good title,";
and you would not pay a dollar down until 1
you had some skillful real estate lawyer ex- '
amine tne title. Bat I allowed for years ot
my lifetime, and some of you have allowed
for years ot your lifetime, an 'if' to Btand 1
tossing up and down questions of eternal (
destiny. Oh, decide! Perhaps your arrival j
bereto.day may decide. Stranger things
than that have put to flight forever the "if* 1
of uncertainty.
A few Sabbath night3 ago in this church a .
man passing at the foot of the pulpit said to '
me, "I am a miner from England,!' and then i
he pushed back his coat sleeve and said, "Do (
you see that sc3r on my arm?" I said, "Yes ; ,
you must have had an awful wound them
some time*" He said: "Yes ; it nearly cost (
me my life. I was in a mine in England 000
feet underground and three miles from the
bhaft of the mine, and a rock fell on me, and ;
my fellow laborer pried off the rock, and I
was bleeding to death, and he took a news- ;
paper from around his luncheon and bound,
it around my wound and then helped me over ,
the three miles underground to the shaft,
where I was lifted to the top, and irhen the
nowunnnop txtuq nfT mv temirwl T rPftfl
on it something that saved my bouI. and it '
was one or your sermons. Uooa night," he (
said as he passed on. leaving me transfixed ;
with grateful emotion. .
And who knows but the words I now speak,
blessed of God, may reach some wounded '
soul deep down in the black mine of sin, and 1
that these words inay be blessed to the stanching
of the wound and the eternal life of the
soul? Settle thi3 matter instantly, positively 1
and forever. Slay the last "if." Bury deep
the last'*if." How to do it? Fling body, ;
mind and soul in a prayer as earnest as that
of Moses in the text. Can you doubt the
earnestness of this prayer of the text? It is
so heavy with emotion that it breaks down
in the middle. It was ?o earnest that the
rrnnoriMtrrs in cno modern. COp.es OT ZD0 JHTDle !
were obliged to put a mark, a straight lino,
% dash, for an omissloh that will never be
filled up. 8uch nn abrupt pause.sueh a sudien
snapping off ot the sentence!
You cannot parse my text. It is an offense
of grammatical construction. But
ihatdash put in by the typesetters is mightily
suggestive. "If thou wilt forgive their sin
;then comes the dash)?''and if not, blot
iie, I pray Thee, out of Thy book.'' Some
>f the most earnest nravers ever uttered
:ould not be parsed and were poor specimens
of language. They halted, they broke
lown, they passed Into sobs or groans or
silences. God cares nothing for the syntax
>f prayers, nothing for the rhetoric of
jrayers. Oh, the worldless prayers ! If they
vere piled up, they would reaoh to tae rain>owtnat
arches the throne of Go4. A deen
ngn may mean more man a wnole liturgy.
Dut of the 116,000 words of the English
language there may not be a word enough
expressive for the soul.
The most effective prayers I have heard
lave been prayers that broke down with
5motion?the young man for the first time
rising in a prayer meeting and saying, "Oh,
Lord Jesus!" and then sitting down, buryng
his face in the handkerohief, the percent
in the inquiry room kneeling and sayng.
"God help me," and getting no further ;
be broken prayer that started a great re
1 4 n , ?> DUjl^AlnK<n A
'ivai ju mj uuuiuu m ^ luiaucipuia, a
>rayer may have in style the gracefulness of
in Addison, and the sublimity of a Milton
ind the epigrammatio force of an Emerson,
nd yet be a failure, having a horizontal
>ower but no perpendicular power, horlontnl
power reachms the ear of man. but
10 perpendicular power reaching the ear ot
Jod.
Between the first and the last sentences of
ay text there was a paroxysm of earnestness
oo mighty for words. It will take half of an
ternity to tell of ^11 the answers of earnest
nd faithful prayer. In his vvst journal
)avid Livingstone, in Africa, records the
irayer so soon to be answered: "19 Marchay
birthday. My Jesus, my God, my life,
ay all, I again dedicate my whole self to'hee.
Accept me, and grant. O gracious
tether, that ere this year is gone I may finish
ay task. In Jesus' name I ask it. Amen."
When the du3ky servant looked into LivQgstone's
tent and found him dead on his
mees, he saw that the prayer had been anwered.
But notwithstanding the earnestiess
of the prayer of Moses In the text, it ,
ras a defeated prayer and was not anwered.
I think the two "ifs" in the grayer
lefeated it, and one "if' is enough to defeat
ny prayer, whatever other good characterjtics
it may have. "If Thou wilt forgive
heir sins?and if not, blot me, I pray Thee,
ut of Thy book." God did neither. As the
ollowing verses show, He punished their
ins. but I am sure did not blot out one let- '
er of the name of Moses from the Book of '
jife.
There is only one kind of prayer in which (
ou need to put the "if," and that is the 1
irayer for temporal blessiiyjs. Pray for i
ishes, and they may engulf us; or for fame,. <
nd 'it may bewitch us; or for worldly sue- 1
ess, and it may destroy us. Better say, "If i
t be best," "If I can make proper use of it," 1
'If Thou seest I need it" A wife praying for j
he recovery of her husband from illness,
tamped her foot and said with frightful 1
mphasis : "I will not have him die. God
hall not take him." Her prayer was anwered.
but in a few years after the comma- i
ilty was shocked bj the fact that he had in a
nomant of anger slain her. i
A mother, praying for a son's recover from <
llness, told the Lord he had no right to take i
dm, and the boy recovered, but plunged ino
all abominations and died a renegade. 1 i
Setter in all such prayers and all prayers i
ertainlngto our temporal welfare to put an i
'if," saying, "If It be Thy will. "But in pray- ]
ng for spiritual good and the salvation of <
>ur soul we need never insert an "if." Our i
rviplhial nratfn*a 4a onf a Ka tha Kocf
^UilUUl TVVJ*AU>kVJ U JIUV IV WW 4V/4 IUU ISMJly j
nd away with-the ''lis.1'
Abraham's prayer for the rescue of Sodom i
ras a grand prayer la some respects, bat
here were six ' its" In it, or "peradveaares,"
which mean the same thing. "Perd
venture there may be fifty righteoas in the
ity, peradventure forty-five, peradventure j
orty, peradventure thirty, - peradventure
wenty, peradventure ten." Those six per.dventures,
those si c ' 'ifa" killed the prayer,
na Boaom went down and went under.
r?arly all the prayers that were answered
pd no "Ifs"'in them?the prayer of Elijah ,
kat changed dry weather to wet weather,
le prayer that changed Hezekiah from a
Ick'man to a well man, the prayer that |
alted sun and moon without shaking the
nlverse to pieces.
Oh, rally your soul for a prayer with ao
ifs" in it! Say in substance: "Lord, Thou
ast promised pardon, and I take it. Here
re my wouuds; heal them. Here is my
lindness ; irradiate it. Here are my chains
f bondaee; bv the kosdbI hammer strike
bem off." I am fleeing to the City of Refuge,
nd I am sure this is the right way. Thanks
e to God, I am free ?"
Oijcc. by the law, my hopes were slain.
Bat now. In Christ, I lire m'n.
tritn rne aiosat? earnestness or my tesrt
nd without its Mosaic "ifs," let us cry out
or God. Aye, if words fall us, let us take
he suggestion of that printer's dash of the
ext, and with a wordless silence implore
ardon and comfort and life and heaven,
'or this assemblage, all of whom I shall
aeet in the Ipst judgment, I dare not offer
he prayer of n<y text, and so I change it and
ay, "Lord God, forgive our sins and write
ur names In the book of Thy loving rememrance,
from which they shall never be blotsd
our."
CURIOUS FACTS.
Soap is a legal tender in Braeretaro,
Mexico.
The population of Japan is about
tO,000,000.
Bohemia his nearly 140,000 separate
manufactories.
A Maine man recently ate thirty raw
;ggs in five minutes.
There are carnivorous plants which
japture and eats insects.
The fashionable cat at the National
show in London this year is blue and
long-haired.
At Indianapolis, Ind., recently a
3rayman had his jaw fractured by the
jxplosion of a barrel of catsup.
A bear, the hide of which measures
ten feet wide and twelve feet long, was
recently killed in the Big Horn
[Wyoming) Basin.
The name "Brazil" means "red
ivood" or "land of the red wood." The
original discoverer called it "the land
?f the holy cross."
The most destructive epidemic that
iae ever been was the "black death,"
which appeared in the fourteenth cen'.nrv
ami in said to have destroyed
TO, 000,000 people.
Samuel and Simms Gammei, of
Hickory Flats, Simpson County, Ky.,
ire probably the largest twin brothers
in the United States. Their combined
weight is 542 pounds.
E. N. Hubbard, of Middletown?
Uonn., has the finest collection of liv*
ing birds in New England. It includes
ipecies from almost every country in
the world and is worth thousands of
dollars.
The mosaic copies in the Vatican at
Rome of large pictures by Raphael,
Domenichino and others occupied
Pr Am tcilva t.n t.wAntv-fivfl veara to
cxccute and required from 15,000 to
20,000 different shades of color.
A ben laid an egg on the brickwork
of a boiler in High Point, N. C., recently.
One day a little chicken was
noticed on the boiler, and it is claimed
an examination showed that the
chicken had been hatched by the heat
of the boiler.
Sponges are being propagated in a
cheap way just now. About three
years ago a 'cute German divided a few
Imalfhtr onooimprm nf Hvft Htionces into
"J
a goodly number of parts and placed
them in deep water, with the result
that he now has a crop of 4000 at an
initial expenditure of $20.
FIERCE BRITISH SEAS.
THE COAST SWEPT FROM JOHN
O'GEOATS TO LAND'S END,
British Shores Lashed by One of the
Worst of Storms ? Wreckage
Strewn on Every Beach?Many
Lives Lost?Over 300 Seamen
Drowned at Calais.
One of the worst storms ever known in
Great Britain raged for three days and nights
and played havoc with the shipping as well
ns destroyed scores of seaman. Stories of
wreck and disaster poured in from all parts
of the coast wliere wires remained standing.
It was only with the greatest difficulty tha*
communication was maintained with the
American cable station on the Irish and
Welsh coasts.
The people of the Orkney Islands, off the
north coast of Scotland, have suffered terribly.
Many houses were unroofed, wnlls
and barns were leveled, and .haystacks were
lifted from the fields and blown out to sea.
Six vessels were ashore nt>ar Holyhead, off
the Welch coast. Four of them were breaking
up. Six other vessels were making signals
of distress.
The Yorkshire coast is strewn thick with
wreckage. Near Whitby three vessels went
ashore in the night and were going to
pieces at noon. The crews were saved. The
excursion steamers Tern and Swan,
which were at anchor in Windermere
Lake, Lancaster, when the storm began,
were torn loose before daylight, and
both went to the bottom. Off Winterton,
county of Norfolk, East England, a
schooner foundered shortly before noon, and
five of the crew were drowned. Trawlers,
fishing smacks and small craft of other sorts
nave ueen reported Dy tue score aa missiwj
from every important point on the coast.
The loss of life bos been great.
At several points on the coast the thermometer
has fallen rapidly and the high
winds have piled up enormous snow drifts.
Two soldiers were found frozen to death in
a drift near Portsmouth.
The British steamship Hampshire, 1593
tons, went down off Gurnard's Head, on the
coast of Cornwall. All the crew took to the
boats. One boat reached shore, but the other
went down, and the twenty-three men which'
It carried were lost.
Reports of minor wrecks multiplied rapidly.
The Norwegian schooner Arne sank
off Filey, on the Yorkshire coast. Only one
of the nine men aboard of her was saved. A
trawler went ashore near Beay, on the Caithness
coast, and seven of the eight in her
crew were lost. The British steamshiD Princess.
1370 tons, plying between Sunderland
and Bilbao, went to the bottom near Flamborough.
Yorkshire, with all on board- A
Scotch trawler capsized off Scarborough,
Yorkshire, and eight men aboard her were
lost.
A Norweigan barx foundered off Malin
Bead, county Donegal, Ireland, and the
irew of eight were lost. ' The steamer Mayo,
which plies between Dublin and Liverpool,
arrived t-t the latter port. Forty head of
Battle were killed tnd" thrown overboard
during the voyage.
Reports received from Havre and Calais
jay that the storm along the Normandy
coast is the worst experienced In the last
fifty years. Wrecks are reported from every
point along the coast. Innumerable ema'.l
craft vanished from the waters along the
coast. Vessels were dragged from their
moorings and sank with all on board.
The Channel steamer Foam had the greatest
difficulty in entering Calais harbor.
Her officers counted twenty-nine wrecks,
principally fishing boats, in the twelvemile
interval between Gravelines and
Calais. They found the east pierhead
at Calais and the lighthouse in Calais
harbor swept away. More than 600
feet of the pier bad been swept away
In the night. Tremendous seas were still
piling up on the water front. The harborlooked
as if it had been shaken byan earthquake.
More than 300 persons weredrowned
between noon and noon at Calais and in the
immediate neighborhood. Fifty bodies were
recovered.
A forty-ton crane, used in completing the
harbor at lynemoutb. was blown down and
the harbor works were damaged to the extent
of 50.000.
A despatch from St. Ives, onthenorthooast
-???l' thnf* fh? srnamnr filnfcra is
UI UUlUnoiij oujg huuw ?Mv . _
ashoreat that place. Four persons onboard
were taken off with ft breeche.s buoy by the
Gt. Ives lifeboat crew. Eleven others were
drowned. ,
The American bark A. C. Bean, from Newcastle,
New Brunswick, for Bowling, was
blown ashore and totally wrecked near
Donegal, Ireland. All of the crew, excepting
two, were drowned.
At Darlington, forty-flve miles from York,
the Springfield Steel Works were blown
down, causing heavy loss. Despatches from
various points to the north of England report
extensive havoc. Hundreds upon hundres
of trees were uprooted, fences and outhouses
blown down, and residences damaged.
At Betwick-on-Tweed the roof of the
North British Railway station was blown off.
Many boats in the harbor were swamped.
Liieboats and tugs everywhere along the
coast were kept busy and effected many rescues.
Countless small craft have been
portcd stranded. Piers, landings and ghora
structures of all kinds have been greatly
damaged. Many vessels were damaged by
dragging thoir anchors and colliding with
*\? K/m> fnuealu '
UlUvi
BURNED IN A HOTEL.
The Fire said to Have Been or Incendiary
Origin.
A hotel at Merrill Station, near Beaver,
Penn., burned a few nights ago. It was
84x40 feet, tbrao stories high Each of its
twenty-five sleeping rooms was occupied.
The flr^ spread so quickly that escape was
almost impossible. Many jumped from windows
and were badly hurt. The following
wnru burned to death :
James Hughes. of Chartiers, Penn., engineer,
ag?d thirty-three.
John Kelly, of Woods Run, Penn., laborer,
aged forty.
Robert Htaniey, of i?ew Brighton, Penn.,
engineer. aged tbirty-ftve.
Barney Wilkes, of Allegheny, Penn., stonemason,
aged sixty.
D;in. Wrenn, of Pittsburg, stonemason,
aged twenly-foar.
Jerry Wrenn, of Pittsburg. boss stonemason.
ai?ed sixty; father of Dan.
It is said the Are was of incendiary origin.
Cnmw nf Mia mpn ImrnPil nnrl initir?.l li.aH
been discharged on account of the near approach
of winter and were staying at tlu>
hotel, waiting for their money. They had
been working on the Government dam.
According to the statement of men who
were aroused in time to escape, it was only
forty minutes from the time the alarm was
Kiven until the building collapse'. Then
were thirty-five men sleeping on the Second
and third floors. Jerry Wrenn. one of the
victims, had escaped iu safely from the
building, but being reminded that his sou
Dan was still in the building, returned to
And him and was lost.
Night Watchman G:ifllck says he went up
to the second floor and awoke one of the
men to go to work. The man came down in
about five minutes. From twelve to twenty
minutes later the fire was discovered by the
colored porter and the alarm was siren.
Jl::G:?ftlck says the lire was then beyond control.
the whole lower story bein< ablaz?
and all chance 01" eseaiio by the stairway cut
on".
Frank J. Bra ('ley nnd Robert Keon?y, ol
PitlSjurg, W(?r-> proprietors of ths hotel,
FRIGHTFUL DEATH.
Andrew Carman and Son Drive In
Front of a Train.
Andrew Cartnnn, of Valley Stream, andhi*
sixteen-year-old son, William, were klUed
by the Sag Harbor (N. Y.) express which
reaches Rockville Centre at 5.20 p. m. Carman
was driving toward Valley Stroarn.
Tliern is a fl.tu: station at Itockville Centre.
Flagman Jesso Brotherton, who was on
duty, shouted to Carman and waved his fla?
to warn him that the train was approaching,
but to no purpose.
Carman drove across tho rails immediately
bofore the flying train. Both he and his
son wore carried more than one hundred
yards. The horsowas cut to pieces, and tho
neavy spring wagon was crushed into
splinters.^
;:%
LATER NEWS, :
I Tlaafirrnnrl TarL- 'Mottt VrtrL- TMrAofnm
tho king of trotting stallions, won the $5000
match race from A.lis, making the last of the
three heats in 2.09.
The Chamber of Commerce of New York
City held its one hundred ani twenty-fifth
annual dinner. Speeches were made by Secretary
of the Trensury Carlisle, ex-llinistei
to Germany William Walter Phelp3, Representative
Outhwaito of Ohio. St. Clair Mo
Kelway and President Patton, of Princeton
College.
The Nicthoroy, tho Brazilian dynamite
cruiser, sailed southward from New York
under sealed orders.
Lewis Ghee* Steven-sox, son of TiceFresident
Stevanson, married at Bioomlngton,
111., Helen Louis9 Davis, daughter ot
a prominent Republican editor.
Joseph M. Ebaft, a New Albftny (Ind.)
merchant, shot and killed a man who was
attempting to kidnap his twalve-year-old
daughter for ransom.
L. A. Thoestox, Hawaiian Minister af
Washington, issued a statement in reply to
Commissioner Blount's report.
Air explosive enclosed in a copper cylindei
was exploded in Valencia, Spain, doing considerable
damage. The continuance ot such
outrages has caused dismay among the populace
of Valencia.
Ax epidemic of influenza is reported la
England and in Germany. It has assumed a
severe form in the latter country, where it
has caused a number of deaths.
The greatest destitution prevails among
tho Indians all over Canada, and from Labrador
to British Columbia come continuous
tales of iuftering. . More than 400 have already
perished of hunger in tho Province oJ
Quebea
The American Casualty Insuranco and S?turity
Company, of New York City, decided
to close np its business and apply for a receiver.
Its losses during the three years ot
Its life amounted to $1,700,000, which is
$200,000 more than its enliro capitaL
Fibe In Springfield, Mass., destroyed seven
blocks, Including the Hotol Glendower.
Mhs. Ledecky, aged sixty-seven, and her
daughter Fanny, agod thirty-five, comcittcd
suicide together in New York City. The
cause is unknown.
C. M. Overman, formerly President of the
Citizens' National Bank, Hillsboro, Ohio,
which he wrecked, has been sentenced to ten
years in the Penitentiary.
Newberxe, Tenn., was visited by Are, resulting
in the death of throe persons and the
injury of five others. Four buildings were
destroyed.
William T. Coleman, of San Francisco,
head of the famous California vigilance committee
of 1856, is dead. He was born at
Cynthiana, Ky.. February 29, the additional
uay 01 me leap year 01 iom, ani was iu-us
able to celebrate his birthday only once in
four years.
The President has removed rostmaatcr
Thomas, of Topcka, Kan,, for violating the
Civil-Service law.
No further business will be transactor by
the State Department with Minister Tliurston,
representing the provisional Government
of Hawaii.'
The arched stone roof of St. Pierre Chapel,
recently erected in Coarpu.ro, near Clermont-Ferrand,*
Puy-de-Dome Department;
France, fell while many Sisters of Mercy
were at prayers. Several Sisters were killed,
and others were injured severely.
A nisrATCH dated at Rio de Janeiro, Uracil.
says Tliero is heavy artillery Are daily.
Many shots struck Villegagnon and Fort
Laage, which wore much damaged. Ar*
officer and seventeen men were killed in tho
latter by the bursting of a shell. The flrs
from machino guns now makes part of tha
city dangerous M;?y casualties occur la
the street.
CHICAGO'S NEW MAYOR.
Alderman Swift the Successor of th?
T.ufn i lapfir Harrison.
1 1?
george b. swift,
Alderman George B. Swift is tho Actinq
Mayor of Chicago, succeeding the late Carter
Harrison. Mayor Swift is a Republican, and
was chosen after a sharp struggle between
contending factions in the Board of Aldermen
He will act as Mayor until a new official
is selected by popular election,
SWALLOWED A CITY.
An Earthquake Destroys the Town
of Kuchan, in Persia.
A special despatch from Meshed brings
further details of the earthquake that o?
curred at Kuclian. in the northern part o:
tho province of Khorassan, Persia. The
town was completely destroyed, and the los?
of life was immense.
Great crevasses were opened in the earth
through which-* water flowed in torrents
causing tho Atrok River to overflow its banks.
The fertile region around the city was inuu
dated, and the largo gardens and extensive
vineyards w?t? sweot out of existence.
The people of Kuchan had no chance to
save anything. The shock was so severe that
tho largest houses in the town, includinsr the
residence of the Governor, were almost instantly
toppled over, crushing hundreds ol
poople to death.
The town had a population of between 20,000
ami 25.000 persons, and it Is thought that
at least 1000 porished. Many persons were
carried away by the flood that flowed down
the valley.
A short time after the disturbance the enfire
water supply of the town disappeared.
The people who were not injured fled pauiostrlcken
to tin Ala Dash Mountains, leaving
the injured t> care for themselves as best
they could. The district in which Kuchan
situated is very populous, and it is feared
that it has everywhere suffered from the
earthquake and the flood.
A Pin in Her Kye.
Mrs. .\nna Swinarton, of Chicago, has sa
onred a verdict of $10,000 damages in the
New York Court of Common Pleas before
Judge Giegerich and a jury against Georgo
Le Boutillier, dry goods merchant. Sirs.
Swinarton went into the storo on March 12,
1889. and was waiting for somo change after
having made some purchases. ?She had her
little boy with her. She declared that some
one of the cash boys in the store throw a pin
which struck her in the eye, injuring it so
that it was removed to save the other eye.
CI ^ ffcftn Af\1 Iti rr%o riaU
1 Olic SUxJU I'J ivvWTCVr OUUiUVV uwiua^vij,
^ ^ - ~ 7;^
; * v j. " '* , j '.*
RELIGIOUS READING.
8EKDINO* POBTIOS8.
%T-u- :..i. M: *. u ~
TYllfLL rtUUttUlllill WiVJ gUlUllJX IU?5
of a grateful people, ami stillingtheir grief aa
they mourned over their neglect and-sin, he
said to them, "Go your way, eat the fat, and
drink the sweet, and send portions unto them
for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is
holy unto our Lord, neither be ye 9orry. for
the joy of your Lord is your strength." Neh.
viii. 10,
The sailor in the meeting said, "Pass the
contribution box; I never get shouting happy
till after I have given something." When
Nehemiah sought to inspire rejoicing and
banish sorrow from the hearts of his people,
he bade them not only to be joyful themselves,
but also to send joy into other homes.
They were to enjoy the abundance of good
things which God had bestowed upon them,
and than they were to send portions to those
for whom nothing was prepared.
This is in accordance with thespirit both of
the law and of the gospfcl: for the law of
Moses was not only the embodiment of justice,
but also the embodiment of love and mercy.
It was that law which said what no other law
' ever said, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as
thyself." Hence they were bidden to deal
their bread to the hungry, to comfort those
that mourn, to relieve the fatherless and the
widow; and so, while gladdening other
hearts, bring joy to their own.
Among the precious words which the Lord
Jesus spoke we are to remember these. "It is
more blessed to give than to receiveand if
we have not learned this fact, our Christian
education is decidedly defective. It is not
enough that we give a trifle to some impour
tunatc begger. The most needy do not beg
or parade their wants before us. It is our
business to seek them out, and with a wise
discretion to help them in time of need, or
even before the need presses them t^ost sorely.
Many times a little timely heip would
save from the extremity of poverty and distress,
and a little sending portions to those
for whom nothing is prepared, would cause
sad hearts to sing for joy. and save much losp
and sorrow which comes when help is delayed
too-long.
Send portions; it will do you good to send
them; it will do others good to carry them.
Let your children, your servants, or your
friends go to the homes oi the poor as the
bearers of your bounty, and share with you
the joy that comes to those who do good and
relieve distress. "With what measure ye
mete, it shall be measured to you again," and
into your own bosom men shall measure the
good gifts of God. "pressed down, shaken
together,and running over."?[The Christian.
OKLY Alt EEL.
All the trolley care in the annexed district
were stopped the other night, and the thousands
of people who depended upon them for
means of transport were delayed or put to
inconvenience.
The cars stopped because the electric current
had failed, and the electric curreut failed
because the water supply had in some way
been cut off from the big boilerein the power
house where the electricity was generated.
There was plenty of water in tne reservoir,
and the taps were turned on: but the water
did not reach the boilers, and without water
it was impossible to make steam to drive the
engines.
What was the matter? Only an eel in the
supply pipe, they said.
It was a line illustration of the power of
apparently insignificant things for good or
for evil.
There is an abundant supply of "living
water" in the divine reservoir, and it is free
to all comers, but how often an eel gets intothe
supply pipe! How often our prayers
which form the pipe or channel of communication
between our souls and the "fountain
of living waters" are blocked oy invoious, selfish
or angry thoughts, or by sinful anxiety and
worry!
We are God's generators. Our business in
this world is to drink deep of the water of
life and then convert the spiritual energy
which we derive from it into spiritual electricity
by which dead souls can be galvanized
into newness of life.
We are called to be fellow-workers with
Christ in saving men, but all our efforts to
that end will be in vain; all the trolley cars
which we might set in motion, carrying passengers
to glory, will bo stopped if we allow
a single eel to get into our supply pipes because
it is only by living in constaut connection
with the water supply that we can continue
to generate the electrical current of
divine love.?Sab. Reading.
EARLY PIETY?HOICK.
One of the great advantages of borne for
the inculcation of religion, is, that its instru<rtions
begin early. Long before the
teacher or minister can gain access, the parent
is in daily contact with God's immortal
gift. A great deal can be done by early
training to secure spiritual blessings. The
promises of God, like the angels who welcomed
the infant Redeemer, are a heavenly
host, bright-shining and glorious witnesess
of the fullllment of the covenant
"* * *- ? ? ? ? 4?-J iUrt Mnnwa mUVi fko and '
LrOU Him CUIIIIUUIUU wo aicoii^ wnuvuu vuu.
While the blessing is with His Spirit, the
agency is with the people. That agency primarily
consists in home nurture, early and
piously at work, resting upon, divine promises,
and therefore industrious ia elaborating
the comprehensive and mysterious means.
"I will be a God to thee, and to thy seed
after thee." ''Train up a child in the way he
should go. and when ho is old he will not depart
from it." The raising of the seed is
God's stipulation in the covenant, and the
promise of tho man is in the training of the
child. The early nurture of home i3 of unspeakable
advantage in maturing the true
ends of education. Tho mysterious power of
a right beginning is never more clearly exemplified
than in the great work of training
the human 90ul for "glory, honor andimmortality."?Presbyterian
Magazine.
BELIGIOCS ENTHUSIASM.
In the light of the larger and truer estimate
of human facilities and powers that marks
the thinking of today,the contempt of enthusiasm
whica was once regarded as tho note
of superior intel'igence. Is seen to be the
fruit of ignorance and conceit. Genuine enthusiasm
does not wax strong in the obscuration
of reason and conscience; rather it is
found just where the highest intelligence and
the clearest mora! sense are being converted
into action. As thought rises to loftier levels
it passes into passionate conviction and
seeks to express itself in universal forms, in
poetry and song, in cries of wonder aud rapturous
outbursts of love. As the call of duty
becomes more imperious it lays its demands
upon the whole man, his feelings and affections,
his desires and imagination, till the
very soul kindles into flame.
A thought takes permanent hold on men
till it is proclaimed with something of prophetic
zeal that owns a divine necessity?
' Woo is me Jf I preach not the Gospel."
"No virtue is safe that is not enthusiastic."
There is, of course, such a thing as irrational
and debasing enthusiasm; but it is the counterfeit
of the trenuine article, the shadow of
the real. Now. if thi9' is true, then it will
follow that wherever the moral dynamite of
enthusiasm is found, it ought to be put to the
most immediate and wisest use. The impulse
should not end with the crowded assembly
and the "great occasion;" it ought to go out
in widening circles, to revive the drooping
courage of lonely workers, to warm the
hearts of those grown cold and indifferent,
to stir the listless to action, and reinvigorate
the whole body of the churchAll
the peace and fa\or of the world can not
calm a troubled heart ; but where the peace is
which Christ gives, all the trouble and disquiet
of the world connot disturb it. All outward
distress to such a mind is but as the rattling
of the hail upon the tiles to him thatsits
within tho house at a sumptuous banquet.?
Archbishop Leighton.
A O'lianxe of I'rosr;unme.
At E\'ff Harbor. N. J., a week ai?o a bride,
surrounded by her friends, stood waiting lor
fhe man she was to marry. A telegram came
flaying that ho had been called to Philadelphia
ou businoss, but would return in time
forthe ueromouy, which had been set forhiirh
noon. At uoon the bride t'.irued to the best
mau. an ol>i lover. and it was quickly arranijoJ
that they should wed. Just as the
ceremony was concluded the disappointed
man rusncd in ; his train had been late. The
bride tainted in hur 'mwlmnd's arms.
a rowvi'iUi .uiuiuig i'ress.
A new hydraulic press for makin? medals
has bean erected at the Philadelphia Mint at
a cost of S7000. It can exert a pressure of
4000 pounds to the squ ire inch ana will take
1 the piace of tho old press.
\ . "... ?** v.\
T
v\* v '/ : ' "*'V ':\v& r?' / < .
SABBATH SCHOOL '1
\ -J
"
INTERNATIONAL LESSON FOBS
DECEMBER 10.
Lesson Text: "The Heavenly In*
herlbincft." 1 Peter i.. 1-12?
Golden Text: Col. I., 12? ,
Commentary.
' isja
1. "Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, t<*>
the strangers scattered throughout Pontus,
Galatia. Cappadoela, Asia and Bithynia.
The writers of the epistles know but on?
master?they are either servants or apotfles
of Jesus Christ?and being controlled by the
Spirit they glorify Him (Math, xxiii., 8*
Johnxvl., 14). Their aim is to help their
fellow strangers to be holy in their live* and
full of good works that God may be glorified.
(chapter iiM 11, 12.
2. "Elect aoeording to the foreknowledge'
of God the Father, through ^notification of
the spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of
the blood of Jesus Christ. Grace unto you
and peace be multiplied," Scriptural eieo
tion is the choosing of some to bless others, \ "j
these chosen ones being taken out from th?
rest that they may be specially qualified for / iSl?
special service ftp a L, 4;' Bom. viii., 29).
The exceeding abundance of His grace and
peace is given to such that through them it
maybe multiplied to others. If you have
received Him, you are one Oi His elect. If : -M
you have not receive Him, you may do so
at once (John vi.. 8l*.iil, 13: Bev. xxil.,
3 'Blessed be the God and Father of our fl
Lord Jesus Christ, which according to Hi? , ;M
abundant mercy hath begotten us again onto
a lively hope by the resurreotion of Jesus
Christ from the dead." The significance ot . M
the resurrection is fully stated Jn I Cor. xv.? .
13, 23. He who was dead is alive forevermore,
and at the right hand ot God are the $!
evidence of our justification and the assurance
of our continued life (Bev. L, 18, Bom. .. riv
25;vili., 34). To be identified" wtth m
risffn, living Christ, who has all power in
heaven and on earth, andto be commissioned
as His embassadors to proclaim His salvation
is surely the highest honor that mortal man
can enjoy on this earth (John xvli., IB; II
Cor. y.. 20)
4. "To an inheritance incorruptible and
undeflled and that fadeth not away, reserved
in heaven for you." All thing} here are
perishable, but the word of the Lord and the /
glory of the Lord endureth forever (verses
24. 25 I John U., 17 ;'#Heb. xiL, 28). ? Jesus
ui iuo tijs'ui nuuu ui iroa M not omy oar
righteousness and our life, but also the assurance
that our bodies shall yet bo just like '
His and that ire shall reign with Him (I Cor.
xv.. 23 ; Phil, lit., 21} Rsv. v., 9, 10).
5. ''Who are kept by th? power of God :-.y2jg
through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed
fn the lastrtime." Jesus does the savin?
and the keeping, and we do the trusting
and obeying. See how we/?re kept in Jade
1; Bom. xiv., 4, Isa- xii., 13. Salvation Is
ours now if we have received Christ. We are
also day by day working it out. and yet we
are waiting for it. tor it is every day nearer * V-'mj
than when we believed (II Tim. i? 9; PhO.
li., 12. IS: Jiom. xlii., 11). It is a threefold
salvation. We have eternal life, we are manifesting
that life, and we expect the glorified
body and the joys of the kingdom.
6. "Wherein .ye greatly rejoice, though.
now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness
through manifold temptation." We
will surely rejoice if we believe the facts, but
not otherwise, for joy and peace come only
by believing (Aom, xv., 13.) Jesus told us
that we must expect tribulation,, but that we
mar have peace fJohn xvi.. 38.) Paul teed
flea that it'Js possible to be ioylul, yea, even
exceeding joyful, in tribulation (Kohl v.. St gffl
ncor.vrf.,4.) : r$JS|
7. 4 'That the trial of your faith, being much
more precious than of gold that perisheth,
though it be tried with fire, might be^ajod
unto praise and honor and glory at thefc^^,
pearing of Jesus Christ." It isa most profit-V V,}*'
able study to meditate on the word "pre- i
clous" in these two epistles (I Pet. i., 7,19;
ii., 4, 7, II Pot. i., 4.) Faith tnat cannot
endure is very questionable faith. We must I
steadfastly believe and wait patiently till He
come (Jus. v , 7. 8,1 Cor. iv., 5.) Then we
shall see bow all our light afflictions have
been working out for us a far more exceeding
aad eternal weight of glory. (II Cor. ir.,
8 "Whom having not seen ye love, in
whom, though now ye see Him not, yet believing,
yt rejoice in the joy unspeakable .
and ful{ of glory " Some think that if they
could only see Him they would love Him, but
He said, -Blessed are they that have not
seen and yet have believed" (John xr.. 29).
To faith unseen things become very real and
may be enjoyed almo3t as a present possession.
The city which Abraham looked for,
and the recompense of the reward which sustained
Moses, and the glory to be revealed
wbloh iJaui saw, ware wonaroua:y ro<*i ?.>?
them and will be to us it we only believe
(Heb. xi., 10. 25, 26: Roin. viii., 18)
9. ''Receiving the end of your fitltb, even
the salvation of your soul?." Tilts Is not
very clear unless it refers to the Joy which
romts from the assurance of present salvation.
which is an earnest and a pledge of the
completed salvation at the revelation of
Christ. The now"' of the previous versa .
would'point that way. It is our privilege torejoice
that we are the children of God and
partakers of the glory to be revealed (II Tim.
I, 2; I Pet. v.. I; I John tfi.f 2).
16. Of which salvation the prophets hava
Inquired and searched diligently who prophesled
of the grace that should come unto.
vou.' See Dan. f., 2, 3 x.. 12, 21. To Search
diligently seeaja to be tne sense of John v.,
89, and not any careless reading or super*
ttcial study, rath jr a constant day ai^night /J
meditation as in Ps. i., 2?i prayerful and
persevering compariug oI Scripture with
Scripture in absolute dependence and reliance
upon the Holy Spirit.
11. "Searching what orwhat manner olttnw*
the Spirit of Christ which was in them-did
signify wQen it testinea oeioreuauu ue #mferings
of Christ and the glory that shooiu
follow." Here ia the fact stated that the
Spirit of Christ was in the prophets and may
.give some light upon chapter ILL, 18-20, for
the Spirit of Christ was in Noah. ."The te?timony
of Jesus is the spirit of prophesy"
(Rev. xix.. 10). Here is also the fact that
the burden of prophecy is the sufferings of
Christ and the glory yet to be revealed. 8e?
this illustrated fully In Ps. xxiL andlsa.
liil. as specimen chapters. By His suffering
we are now redeemed, but we wait for the
glory to be revealed.
12. "Unto whom it was revealed, that not
unto themselves, but unto us, they did minister
the things which are now reported unto
you by them that have preached the gospel'
unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down
from heaven, which things the angels desire
to look into." Here are prophets and apofrtle?,
in the power of the Holy^plrit, ministering
unto others. Angels ulSv\(iro ministering
spirits. Even the Son of Man aame
not to be ministered unto, but to minister
(Math. xx, 283, and if we are nnea wnn ai?
spirit it will be our delight to live to be channels
of blessing to others. Some things we,.
like the prophets, may have to pass on to
others without fully comprehending them,. .
the full understanding being only for millennial
or later days.?Leeson Helper.
Canada's Mineral Resources.
The report from the office of the geological
Purvey on mineral statistics and mines for
1891 has just been issued, says the Toronto
(Ont.) Globe. The returns, show that the
value of the mineral products of {.'anada for * A
the year was $20,500,000", ?n increase of t2,600,000
on that of the previous jear. The
exports of minerals and mineral products
manufactured in Canada amounted to $6,772,
693. The exports of products of the mine
aggregated 45,748,143, of which $4,600,809
I went to the United StAtes, 8851,75?* to jsnjjJand,
$141,692 to Newfoundland, and the remainder,
$189,857, was distributed 001005 a
dozen other countries.
The minerals whose product shows steady
and appreciitlilo increases in tbo last six
years are copper, nickel, coal, asnsstos and
petroleum. There was no production of
nickel ic 1830. The first year that it appears
amonpr the returns was in 1890, when the
value ot the product wjis $933,232. Nickel
production during 1X91 was very satisfactory.
Even in the previous year, wiien the production
or the metal was only 1,434,742 pounds,
Canada was the greatest producer of the
mAf.'il in thn world. The number of DOtindi
turned out in 1891 was4.G2G,6i!7. whluh quadruples
the aggregate production ?I all the
re-it of the worW.
?
Heavy Street Cur Trultlc.
Chicago street cars carried 94.000,000 persons
during the six months of t Lie existence
of the World's Fair. On October 9, Caicago
day, they carried 7G2.n00 people.
Gcrmuuy's nop Crop.
? Germany's hop crop has averagod over 53,?
I 000,000 pounds annually the last ten yean. N
1 This year it la lasa than 25,000,030.