The Lutheran visitor. (Columbia, S.C.) 1869-1904, October 25, 1872, Image 1
m
'
f«n»At
H-
nSfe
A*
m» is now
»rch eight
B thin way
church.
!• *1 00
..... 1 *5 .
■ * •*“ • 'ft €0
* oo
a so
2 75
It.. 3 00
.... 5 00 *
are re
at once,
cent, i*
Kilt
:cn per
rho her in
lFMAN,
nubia, 8 C
‘24—tf
-ly
—-
•ouectinj.-
ith Caro
also with
on Char-
Railroad,
Augusts
7 15 a m
9 05 a m
|. 10 40 p m
2 00 p in
3 50 p m
5 30-p in
7 in
9 30 a in
11 15a in
8 15 a in
2 30 p ni
4 20 pin
800pm
Hidge Di-
UP.
|re 7 15 pm
6 35 p in
re 5 50 p rii
re 4 50 p m
|r© 8 50pm
lin from
Abto-
Mtaysantl
between
'uesdays,
8*p't. '
Ag't.
Ltignsta
\Ojkc*
22, 1872.
I following
road ;
i No. 2.
8 20 p m
8 80 a nt
8 20 a m
lection to
West —
i checked
l)ER.
i tend* nt
>.VKV,
1872.
effect on
sit a
ff «kt
*jiW SERIES, VOL. 5 -NO.
• ;ri a,..,..., igia i —
7.
“ONE LORD, ONE FAITH, ONE BAFTISM"-EPHESIANS IV: 5.
J»W.—/frfr'ri* « Hmri 1 ^y;rrrr
. xsrt
COLUMBIA. S. C., FRIDAY, OCTOBER 25. 1872.
OLD SERIES, VOL. V.-NO. 215.
TM" 1 —
Commurdcatioua.
~w— -
For the Lutheran Visitor.
Jtj Impressions at Maryland Synod.
Hr. Editor: It was my pleasure
«»d privilege, as Correvspomlinfc Del
egate from Virginia Synod, to meet
tie brethren of Mary laud Synod re
cently at Hagerstown. Coining, as
r dM, from tbe South, am! recently
from ’sooth Carolina, and being a
stronger to nearly all the members
of that body and the large number
of visitiug brethreu from the Synods
farther North, I entertained misgiv
ings awl doubts as to the eordliiHty
of my reception by at feast ft few of
them. We beur so many things on
both sides that tend to prejudice oor
minds, that it is impossible to ascer
tain the troth id anything without
seeing for yonrsetf.
I went, was most cordialfy re
ceived, and never did I meet a more
sociable and friendly body’ of breth
ren any where. I They received me
with open arms and hearts, and at
mice I frit at home and free. I>r.
Boiler, Chaplain to Congress, and
badder of tbe Memoriat church in
Washington, gave my hand the
tightest grasp of any, and showed
me much kindness. I presented the
fraternal regards of my Synod, and
the resolutions of oar body in re-
sponse to kind resolves of the Mary
land Synod ft year ago, and the ven
erable Dr. Thoris responded in the
foHnees of his heart, “Good, goodF
and then some very friendly resolu
tions were passed and a eorresjiond
tog delegate was appointed. Dr.
Stroble was appointed the delegate
to Virginia Synod.
There are many very earnest and
tAment ministers in the Maryland
8ynod. It is the banner Synod in
the Old General Synod, and is fnlly
alive to tbe various enterprises of
the Church.
The great desire of ray life for fif
teen years had been to see and hear
Drs. Thoris, McCron, Seiie, and oth
ers of the Lutheran Church, and *
tefttlSi
I beard Dr. MfeCron. He reminds
me of the beautiful butterfly as It
dances on the air—yon look, and the
beautiful tints of gold upon its wings
sparkle in the sunshine, but in the
twinkle of an eye they disappear
and yon forget that yon saw them.'
His polished sentences float over you
like the chimes of silver bells, but
seem, in spite of your effort to re
tain them, t$> go out nt the door.
You forget the message he brings |a
yonr effort to watch the inag.
Dr. Seiss, one of the most perfect
specimens of the physical mau I
oversaw, commands your attention
and yonr admiration tbe moment he
rises in the pulpit. He is a model
preacher—piaffe, earnest, lucid, forci
ble, eloquent, grand.* His sermon
was such as | have often heard in
our protracted jafeetings; and if Dr.
Seiss bad preached in his style hnn-
dwds of sermons I have heard in
the Lutheran Ohtfrch in South Caro
lina* they would hare been powerftil
sttmons. j [ < • » »•
Without intending to make any
invidious distinctions, I am con
strained to say that the best sermon
I heard was by that hmnble, lovely,
•flatly-looking brother, I)r. Valen
tine, of Gettysburg. There was no
show, no effort at display or elo-
qaenoe, but there was in it food for
tbe hungry soul, there was the truth
spoken in love, there was the earnest
pleading of the Gospel, and there
was the conviction of truth. The
nmo disappeared behind the banner
°f the Gospel, and his words fell
_like the gentle clew upon the mown
grass. - j‘
Hr. Btroble related to me incidents
of his early history in Sonth Caro
lina. He remembers, as if it were
but yesterday, any little incident of
bin early life, and has an inexhausti-
e stock of information which he
takes great delight in retailing for
tie l^nefit of wis younger breth
ren. : |
f met ami enjoyed the fellowship
®®v. ,T. B. Anthony ami Rev.
to fulfill the great mission of the
Lutheran Church iu America, we must
lay aside oar prejudices and petty
disputes, unite iu one grand army
and then march to tho conquest.
The time for shell a union is not yet,
bnt we are to labor with a view
to that time, and pray that it may
come. *
l am sorry to learn that the Gene
ral Synod* Book of Worship is not
generally used in the Maryland Syn
od.
There Is much opposit ion to Luth
eran custom, and there is a want
of Lutheran distinctiveness and of
church pride In too many of their
congregations. Even fa the cities
there is opposition to altar Service.
I did not hear the gloria patri or the
gloria in ejvein# in either one of tho
Lutheran churches in Hagerstown.
I)r. Diehl has a little opening ser
vice, but he repeats the gloria patri
himself, it is not song by the choir.
And yet those brethreu of Maryland
who have been with me say ours
is the most beautiful service they
over saw. Theirs is very similar to
ours, but they don’t use it
,One good lady was much exer
cised when she heard Dr. Seiss was
to preach. She thought he would
have on his goten, and she said if so
she would hide to leave the church,
and yet she felt that she must do it
Fortunately the Doctor did not bring
his gown with him, aud tbe lady sat
and heard him.
The only thing that wounded iny
feelings and marred the beanty and
pleasure of tbe whole sessiou was,
that after Dr. Seiss was received as
delegate from Pennsylvania Synod,
aud preitched ami shook the hands
of the brethren with apparent broth
erly lote, hr did not commune Kith
them at the LorcTs table. f
J. Hawkins.
of
Stork, whom 1 had known
^T* a go. I made the acquaintance
°[ above fifty Lutheran ministers,
* 1 of wh °iu received me kindly, and
w ill say fer the benefit of my breth-
^ who are impressed by what they
*** tn the papers, that I mingled free-
y with all these ministers for four
*ys and nights, an d I never heard
an incidental remark in regard
urch connections, or sectional
VTsioog, or political differences, to
9nnd the most sensitive ear. The
th \ 0p “ , ^ wi * heard expressed, and
“»t was general,, wits, that to pros-
» ftttd to labor harmoniously, and
Selections.
grr.LjMiipaaj...-/stT.."::". - ... ■::
False Sign Alt.
We read of the railroad accidents
bite, with very different feelings
when we have friends on board the
train. Then with what frantic haste
we scan the columns containing the
list of killed and wounded. Tlow
warm onr indignation toward the
"unfaithful switchman, or the Hag-
man who gave the wrong signal, or
tho engineer who took his glass of
strong drink before starting. We
frel theu the vast importance of
having every man, down to the
lowest official, ft responsible man.
We wonder that any can neglect a
duty, Ik* it ever So small, when so
mnch depends upon it—when men’s
preeidns lives are at stake.
Dot are we as faithful at our posts
of duty ?■ Do we never give a false
signal, or set np a wrqng light ? Ah,
what teacher of ns all is as faithful
as are ipost of those laborers in our
public Works ? Who of ns Show such
sleepless vigilance at every hour and
moment ? One hundred and twenty
trains pass over the road in sight of
my window every day. I often mar
vel at the vigilance which averts
danger and prevents accident in
such a complicated system. Only the
most exact care and skilful manage
ment enables them all to know their
appointed times and glide on smooth
ly and prosperously.
Is not more at stake in our work,
fellow-teacher ? Are not souls worth
more than these mountains of coal,
though they leed ten thousand fur
nace fires ; are they not worth more
than even the bodies of men ? Yet
a little false doctrine, tanght from a
carelessly studied lesson, a false in
ference drawn from your example;
practice that undoes all yonr pre
cepts, are all false sigual lights,
which lure poor trusting sonls down
to death.
The teacher who offered his boys
the prize of a merachanm pipe, was
certainly turning the switch the*
wrong way, and starting the train
on a traek that has wrecked its tens
of thousands, body aud soul.
The teacher who decks himself in
all the follies of fashion, to go before
her class and teach them religion
that enjoins humility, selfdenial,
modest apparel and demeanour, will
not lead their thoughts heavenward j
sh« will help to kindle a false fire in
their yonng hearts that may con
sume them.
There was a certain actor who
called forth tbe derision of his com
panions by repeating the.words, “O
Heaven!” while he pointed towards
tli6 earth.
Alas! that so much of our teach
ing should resemble his error.—8. 8.
Timer
Something Banting.
How Many are looking for some
thing they do not flud! Not only
out there In the world, where the
feverish multitudes are rushing to
tneatres, operas, seaside, mountain-
top, parks, and foreign lands, seek
ing wh»t they never grasp, but in
the palaces of Zion, and in the vine
yard where Kseho! grapes are looked
tor, are there many who are not sat
isfied.
Something is looked for in sermons
that often is not found.
“How do yon like our new pas
tor r
“Well, he is a capital preacher;
teamed, critical, logical, witty, aud
quits wnitHt too—on the whole, 1
don’t see bow we could have doue
better iu selecting a pastor. Our
congregations are good; and, when
the weatfher becomes cooler, I think
the house will be crowded. And yet
then/ is something tacking in our
pasthr’s preaching. 1 can hardly
tell what. I suppose the fault is in
myself*
“What do you think ails our
church! We have a good edifice,
large congregations, a good preacher,
who is also an active pastor; our
fiuauoes are in a good condition, the
social meetings are well attended,
and quite a number have receotly
professed conversion ; and yet there
seems to be something wonting. 1
don’t feel right ; and I judge, from
the expression V see on many coun
tenance*, that many others have a
like expectance.”
Ah ! that something “that is lack-
iug” iu ao many churches, aud is
missing in so many tenuous, is a
very subtle something, and yet very
important.
1 have seeu {tainted fire that look-
as hot at real fire} bnt it wasn’t.
I have seen painted fruit that was
rather more beautiful than real fruit;
but it did not taste as well.
I bare seeu a loaf of bread that
looked to be as £ood as tbe beat; but
it was sow;.
QPMiMa otMM’ • i»t* ffia-fis irtiamf *m sfcsaaa
W. wawkT Mr twStiw?
thing: the spirit is another.
A correct theology is iin|iorlaut;
the unction of the Holy Ghost is
mnch more important.
Some dishes were meant ty bo
served up hot. lint few relish a
So profound is my conviction on
this point, that I do not hesitate to
proclaim it as the £rue, infallible way
to success. G ranted a subject for
our experiment, not mentally halt, or
blind, in the pofteasiou of merely
common mental tfccultie*, and a lib
eral education, yrqtecutod under the
auspioes of lHirt^ high principles,
shall make him every whit a man,
fit for a profession or vocation to
which society calls tier intelligent,
cultivated sons.
Faith
At a prayer
neighboring citi
in one of our
me time ago, a
tall, good-looking, stranger entered
aud took a seat with tbe audience.
licbne the ex
and said that he
few remarks re!
swer to prayer,
up iu New Uam
of one uf the woi
Ucyr humble wag
widow, eighty
iShe is a chrisl
been for many y
iu tho power aud
She has a sou w
ly hope in her i
who at oue time
she had known
source of great
heart. About
son, a young i
1 closed, he arose
1 to make a
g to special an
q said t “Away
ire, at the foot
there Uvea iu
an old lady , a
years of age.
woman, aud has
a‘ firm believer
>y of pray er,
is the only earth
Jniug years, but
t have been, if
whole truth, a
and sadness of
nitie years ago that
ia4 went to seek his
western cities,
uteri with some
toil.
fortune iu oue of |iu*
He became acqfeUu
gay and wiliKyofifeg men, and sooo
forgot ail the fswlfeg admonitions of
his mother to kelp good company
aud not forget to |vay. He was led
on from bad to fern* until he had
pluoged into all tha excesses of reck
lessness and sin, tf^d became a prof
ligate of the most abandoned type.
The Children of this World Wiser then
the Children of Light.
TWO 8CEXK8.
It was Saturday when I arrived in
th© city of C , a total stanger.
I was soou enough rested from the
fatigue of my journey to wander
forth into the business street, aud I
stepped into a business house. An
elderly man approached me very
politely, aud even offered me his
hand, and asked roe if he could do
anything for me. 1 told himjg^U^m
wm oerty tasking arotmd
He spoke of the city and of business
and pleasure, inquired when I had
come to tbe city and how long I
would remain, aud seemed deter
mined to make himself agreeable.
After half an hour of very pleasant
conversation, my new friend cordial
ly invited me to come in and make
myself at home in his office, aud I left
him feeling that he was a very
agreeable ami sociable mau.
I entered two other {daces and
met with the same warm reception,
and finally I returned to my hotel
very much pleased with the affable
manner in which these strangers had
treated me. The next day was the
ftabbath, and I concluded to stroll
around to tbe church. 1 was a little
early and 1 stood waiting at the
door. My friend of yesterday, Air.
A , Approached me and re
membering the cordial reeeptiou of
yesterday at the business place, I
I trail ken ness,
bttiicherv of
his constant
able coorsf of
guilty ofal
logne of crimo
At length
Its attendant rie
description, was
seemingly agree
nntil he was
thing in thecata-
>ting ronrdet.
•ought ont by
■embers of
the Young Men’s Christian Associa
tion, and induced
prayer-meeting*.
fell from his eye*,
result of the course of life which ho
had now for a long time been puma-
cold buckwheat cuke. A cold religion ‘ u fi» ««d it was said of him, ‘Beboki,
is no totter.
Wbeu you go iuto a cold church,
you feel much as you do w hen you
go to the register of a cold morning,
and find a current of cold air coming
up from the tireless furnace below.
Yon leave that place without much
ceremony.
Kindle the fire of perfect love in
the pnlpit, aud it will radiate its
heat throughout tho whole church.
Leaven the pulpit with this animat
ing, cheery, unctuous doctrine, and
to pm\ rtb.’ By the grace of God
to became converted. He then com-
ranaicated the joyfnl intelligence to
his mother, and it was not long be
fore be received a letter in sntotance
as follow s:
“ *My Dear 3on : I have never
doubted for a moment but yon woald
become a Christian. There is not a
room in the old house but its walls
have echoed many times the earnest
prayers ottered iu your behalf; and
in tbe room where my morning und
soon the whole lump will be leaven- eveuing petitions have been sent np
ed. Then 'many a {>oor soul will
say:
“Now rest, my long divided lieart.’’
[Methodist Home Journal.
’ Christian Principle.
1 lav iug deliberately adopted a right
iwiuciple of action, reverence ami
obey it; make it the law of yonr life,
from which no temptation, or in
terest, or uccideut shall ever induce
you to swerve. It is an emanation
frqm the Divine W isdom fallen upon
you, as a lamp for your feet. It is
the sum und highest expression of
all geniul philosophies. Come what
will—ruat cerium, though heaven aud
earth pass away—resolve that no jot
or tittle of this law shall be marred
or dishonored or shorn of its author
ity. It shall be your charmed talis
man, before which evil spirits shall
cry ont in despair, or be smitten
dumb with terror. It shall be your
passport to excellence, aud reputa
tion, aud power, and honest tame,
at the presentation of which barred
gates will open before yon to all
choice and precious things.
A conscientious, early, aud abso
lute surrender of tbe life to the
gaidauce of duty, brings into the
mind a power more valuable than
would bo the acquisition of new
faculties; it quadruples the efficiency
of the old ; it is better than genius
oreloqueucc, aud isoiteu substituted
for them; it simplifies all the move
ments; it cuts short a thousand
struggles with temptation and pas
sion. It is a thread of gold in the
hand ot inexperienced youth aud
careworn mauhood, to conduct the
williug and obedient through the
dark, pathless labyrinth of this
world. Ordinary* capacity trained
aud operating under this influence,
in the end, outshines and outstrips
the best parts without It
to the good Father, tbe carpet has
been wet many a time with the tears
of your dear old mother. 1 knew
Clod would not tarn me away un
heard and unanswered.”
“Now my Christian friends,” eon-
tinned the yonng mau, “I am that
prodigal son, and that old lady is
my mother. I am now on my way
home to see her and do what 1 can
to cheer and comfort her in her old
age. I was rescued os a brand from
the burning, aud 1 believe in auswer
to the prayers of a Christian mother.”
His story was told with so much
earnestness and sincerity there was
scarcely a person in tho audience
but was moved to tears. Is it not
another verification of God’s promise,
to answer prayer ! Let every mother
be encouraged to look to him whose
arm is able to save when all humau
effort seems unavailing.
“Sweet hour of prayer! Sweet hour of
prayer!
Thy wing* ahull my petition bear,
To Him whose truth and faithfulness,
Engage the waiting soul to bless.”
f Religious Herald.
was just preparing myself to receive
a like cordial one when with a rather
formal bow of the head he passed
hit© the church. A few moments
after Mr. B , tuy second friend
of yesterday, came in and passed me
m nearly the same manner. The
third eame to me, evidently recog
nized me, and bowing said, “good
morning, sir,” aud passed in. I did
not know that they were members
and 1 was ready to frame an excuse
for them. “Perhaps they are not
members of (his church themselves
and for this reason show so little
ia tore* w at rangers-” ft waited a
little while longer, bnt (fid not frel
to go into their a* much at home as on Saturday,
Here the scale* and then asked tto sexton to pleswe
and he saw tin* show me a seat.
The congregation was large and
tto minister eloquent and earnest.
It was n communion Sabbath aud
had au opportunity to determine the
relat ion of my friends of Saturday to
tbe church. When the collection
was takeu up, two of them assisted
iu it, thus proclaiming themselves
deacons in the church, while the
other, my first friend of the day
before, assisted at the communion,
and I thereby knew he was an elder.
1 could not help drawring a contrast.
These men who were so glad to sec
me and to make me so welcome in
their daily places of business, why
do they seem so careless about cul
tivating my acquaintance in the
sanctuary. Are the children of this
world wiser than the children of
light?—Memphis Presbyterian.
With All the Heart.
1 hat was a striking thing, said oue
of the kings belonging to the He
brew royalty, aud ivheu the work
aud results of his successful reign
wen* beiug summed up. “He did it
with all his heart, and prospered.”
This doing thiugs with a hearty
euthusiasui is often what makes the
doer a marked person, aud his deeds
effective. It is so everywhere. The
most ordinary service is dignified
when it is performed in that spirit
for trim to put heart Into’ the
He soon picks ont those, whose
that gentle messenger of rest—the
{lower that lies in simple, bumble,
earnest continued, believing prayer.
—Dr. Hanna.
“My Shepherd.’
If the first figure in a sum to
wrong, the total is wrong. If the
first verse in the 23d Psalm is not
yours, none of it is yours. You are
not in green pastures, not beside the
still waters, not fearless of death,
not with a full cup, not
employer wants those who gofidneoa and mercy, not to
the house of the Lord forever.
Believe me, poor sinner, it you
have never said, “My Shepherd, *»y
Saviour,” you have not yet knowu
what it is to lie down in a single grecu
pasture; you have never knows
what it is to rest beside tto stiff
waters. Tto waters of sin »ay seem
calm. They lie without storms now.
The mire and dirt are hidden for tto
present beneath the deceitfol sur
souls are in their service, and gives
them evidences of his appreciation.
They do not need constant w atching.
He can trust them in bis absence.
The places of honor and profit natu
rally fall to them. They are the rising
members of the toiling brotherhood.
They grew. They succeed.' They
are honored. They are in demand.
They rebuke iudifteieiice, aud inspire
fidelity in others, by their example.
They pros{KT, for they work in bar-
mouy with the law which God has
established and maintains iu the
world.
In the sphere of religion this heart
iness iu service is especially needful
aud vital. What is not doue heartily
here, is hardly done at all, as God
estimates it. He wants sincerity,
resolution, {lersi&teucc, enthusiasm—
not merely the consenting word, aud
forma! act. A service that begins
nnd ends with the letter is never
acceptable service with Him. The
Pharisee’s tithes of mint and anise
and cummin are often an offence.
The publican’s penitent cry, and the
jsKir womau’s gift of two mites, were
a right royal glory iu Iiis eyes, be
cause he sees the whole-souled de-
votiou that lies behind them.—Morn
ing Star.
Thoughts.—AU thoughts have
their germs. To kill a sin the surest
way Is to kill it in the egg. At the
very moment a wricked thought is
born is th© right time to strangle it.
These Uttle snakes soon become the
anacondas that strangle conscience
and destroy character. How im
portant, too, is the nursing into
active life and strength of every
good and holy suggestion and aspi£
ration ! A noble career depends on
the treatment given to the infant
ideas that are born in tbe soul. The
best of these are the direct product
of the Holy Spirit. To quench a
good thought is to “quench the
Spirit;” and the everlasting damna
tion of millions has been the result
of this very sin against the infiuite
love—Evangelist.
- Stingy Churches.
Gratuitous preaching makes selfish,
ignorant, and indolent churches. A
congregation Votes its own destruc
tion when it decides to “get along”
wUb a preacher who costs them little
or nothing, and earns pist as little
as be gets. A cheap minister is bad
eoonomy; churches which adopt this
policy are invariably in tho back
ground in all their operations. Tho
congregations are small, and struggle
along late to worship, the singing is
miserable, the prayer-meetings thin
and dull, the Sabbath-schools, if they
have any, are of little account, un
less conducted by outsiders, tho
houses of worship are badly warmed
aud half lighted, the communion
vessels arc bottles and common
tumblers, they do nothing for mis
sions, take but few religious papers,
are without books or musical instrn-
ipents in their families, their chil
dren run wild iu sin and folly, and
general disregard of religion pre
vails. In one thiog such churches
excel—that is, in quarrels. They are
usually split into factions, and
abound in committees, councils, dis
cipline, and exclusions. They fight
each other when they ought to be
working to save souls, exclude mem
bers when they ought to be gather
ing them in, destroy churches when
tbey might build them up. Hun
dreds of such churches can be found
all over the country, while hundreds
have already become extinct, died of
ignorance in the pulpit and stingi
ness in the pews.
In the
death.
midst
of Bfe
we are iu
The Prayers of Jesos.
As Jesus stepped forth after th©
baptism on the banks of tto river,
fie stood severed from the past, eon
nected with a new future; Nazareth,
its quiet home, its happy days, its
{H*aceful occupations, lay behind;
trials and toils aud suffering and
death lay before him. He would not
have been the Son of mau had he
not felt the significance and solemnity
of the hour; he would not have been
the full partaker of our human na
tnre, had the weight of his new posi
tion, new duties, new trials, not
pressed heavily upon his heart. He
turns in the pure, true instinct of his
sinless humanity, to seek support
aud strength in God, to throw him
self and all his future tapon his
Father in prayer.
But who may tell how he felt aud
what he prayed? What desires,
what hopes, what solicitudes, went
up from the heart at least, if not
from the lips, of this extraordinary
suppliant Never before had the
throne of the heavenly grace been
thus approached, and uever before
was such ausw.er given. The prayer
ascends direct from earth to heaven
and brings the immediate answer
down. It is as he prays that the
Spirit conics, bringing light aud
strength and comfort to the Saviour,
sustaining him under that conscious
ness of his sonship to God, which
uow fills, expands, exalts his weak
humanity. And docs not onr great
Head aud Keprcscutative stand be
fore us here a type and pattern of
every true believer in the Lord, as to
the duty, the privilege, the power of
prayer ? Of him, and of him ouly,
of the sons of men, might it be said,
that he prayed without ceasing; that
his life was oue of constant and sus
tained communion with his Father.
And yet you find him, on all the
great occasions of his life, having re
course to separate, solitary, some
times to prolonged acts of devotion.
His baptism, his appointment of the
twelve apostle, his escape from the
attempt to make him a king, his
transfiguration, his agony in the gar
den, his death upon the cross, were
all hallowed by prayer. From the
lowest depths, from the highest eleva
tion of his ministry, ho poured out
his spirit in prayer. For* his mission
on earth, for all his heaviest trials,
he prepared himself by prayer. And
should we not prepare for our poor
earthly service, and fortify ourselves
against temptations and trials, by
following that great example ? The
heavens above us are not shut up
against us, the spirit who descended
like a dove has not taken wings and
flown away forever from the earth.
There is a power by which these
heavens can still be penetrated,
which can still bring down upon us
face. Yet have
you no rest, no
peace. “There is no peace, sallh my
God, to the wicked.”
Not that you are always wretch
©d. There is many a reckless, god
less man, who walks buoyantly along
tto way to hell; but it is because he
is ignorant, or doe* not see what ta
before him. And yet there will lie
times when it I* suggested to his
mind that God is uot for hint—that
he is at enmity with God. Tbe me
nacing finger of conscience trill some
times point to the blackening heavens
aud the coming storm. Yon have
Bever had the true still waters or the
true green pastures. Yon know
not this blessed book—the gTeen pas
tures of the Word You know not
the green {mature of prayer. You
know not fellowship with God’s be
lieving people—the green pasture of
love and joy in the truth. You know
not the still waters of the indwelling,
and sealing, and assurance, and all
the other works and ways, the conso
lations and comforts of his own
blessed Spirit You can know none
of these, unless yo«i kn ,
Sbmeftmes one sees oeoafi&I Tn-
stances of how these green pastures
and still waters have their scenes
laid in tto very valley of the shadow
of death. At Mentone, one whom I
knew was taken suddenly ill She
said to tor medical attendant, “How
long do you think I may live r “It
may to a week, or it may be only an
hour,” was his reply. She ejacula
ted, as if to herself, “How solemn F
Bnt faith being uppermost, she
sweetly added, “You need not be
afraid of telliug me. I am ready;”
adding the words, “Yea, though I
walk through the valley of the shad
ow of death, I will fear no evil: for
thou aft with me. Thy rod and thy
staff they comfort me. Sheep lie
down in green pastures, they Re down
by the still waters.” Said this child
of faith to her brother, who was with
her, “I shall leave you to-morrow ”
With the 23rd Psalm on her lips,
she composed herself for sleep. Her
brother looked upon her and thought
she was in a calm, sweet sleep. And
so she was; but it was immovable
sleep. She had departed in )>eaoe to
be with the Lord. Oh, it is easy for
people to say they are happy when
in the midst of services aud ordi
nances, but, believe me, uothing but
Christ himself will do.— Witness.
e- «*».»
A Joyful Thing.
It is a sweet, a joyful thing, to he
a sharer with Christ in anything.
All eiqoyments wherein be is uot are
bitter to the soul that loves him, and
all sufferings with him are Rwoet.
The worst things of Christ are more
truly delightful than the best things
of fthe world; his afflictions are
sweeter than their pleasures, his
approach more rich than treasures,
as Moses accounted them. Love de
lights in likeness and communion,
not only in things otherwise pleasant,
but in th© hardest and harshest
things, which have not anything in
them desirable bnt only that like
ness. So that this thought is very
sweet to a heart possessed with this
love. What does the world by its
hatred, and persecution, and revil-
ings for the sake of Christ, but make
me more like him, give me a greater
share with him in tiiat which be did
so willingly undergo for me ? “When
he was sought for to be made a
king,” as St Bernard remarks, “he
escaped; but when he was brought
to the cross, he freely yielded him
self.” And shall I shrink and keep
back from what he calls me to suffer
for his sake? Yea, all my other
troubles and sufferings I will desire
to have stamped thus with this con
formity to the sufferings of Christ,
in the humble, obedient, cheerful en
durance of them, and tbe giving up
Arcklmhop
my will to my Father’s.
Leighton.