,,food ,,for ,,the ,,lambs2 ,,or1 ,,helps ,,for ,,young ,,christians4 ,,by ,,chas4 ,e4 ,,orr1 ,author of ,christian ,conduct1 ,the ,gospel ,day1 etc4 99 99 99 99 99 ,feed my lambs4--,bible4 99 99 99 99 99 ,reprinted #aihj ,,preface4 ,there is much more ,i should like to write1 but ,i do not think a large book is accepted by the general reader as readily as a smaller one4 ,so lest this grows to too great a size1 ,i have concluded to close it with what ,i now have written4 ,the selections ,i have made from other writers are ,spiritual ,declension1 ,seek ,first the ,kingdom of ,god1 ,stirring the ,eagle's ,nest1 ,the ,little ,foxes1 ,on ,dress1 ,victory1 and the poems ,the ,solitary ,way1 ,sometime1 and the closing4 ,i pray that the sayings of this little volume will animate many a soul to a higher1 nobler1 holier life4 ,although it is written to young ,christians1 it may do some good to older saints4 ,i hope it will4 ,i commit it to the public with no other motive than to do good4 ,,chas4 ,e4 ,,orr4 ,federalsburg1 ,md41 ,sept4 #ae1 #aijd4 ,,contents ,introduction ,mortality ,feeding the ,lambs ,who ,are ,christ's ,lambs ,food for the ,lambs ,on ,fruit ,bearing ,a ,gazing-,stock ,the ,will ,god ,our ,guide ,the ,word ,our ,guide ,the ,spirit's ,impressions ,god's ,providences ,fragrance ,seek ,first the ,kingdom ,prayer ,meditation ,reverie 7,poem7 ,a ,theater ,rest of the ,soul ,happiness of ,life 7,poem7 ,the ,hidden ,life ,consciousness of ,god's ,presence ,reflection ,becoming ,love of ,home ,victory ,the ,first ,love ,the ,little ,foxes ,spiritual ,declension ,diligence ,lowliness ,on ,dress ,the ,elixir of ,life ,rules for ,every-,day ,life ,a ,holy ,life ,a ,solitary ,way 7,poem7 ,stirring the ,eagle's ,nest ,some ,things ,you ,should ,not ,do ,purity ,means for ,growth ,lay ,hold of ,eternal ,life ,crucifixion of ,self ,love ,not the ,world ,have a ,care 7,poem7 ,affinities ,the ,guardian ,angel ,fledging the ,wings ,some ,time 7,poem7 ,the ,precious ,ointment ,the ,tree of ,life ,eternity ,nearer to ,thee 7,poem7 ,conclusion ,closing ,exhortation ,,introduction4 ,out upon the sea of human life sails many a bark4 ,but1 alas6 how few are sailing tranquil waters4 ,ascend with me to some solitary height and let us take a view of the innumerable human crafts as they sail out upon life's broad ocean4 ,many are being tossed to and fro upon the angry billows4 ,hope is almost gone4 ,as they look forward into the distance all is dark and uncertain4 ,in the early days of their voyage all was peaceful4 ,they looked out over the broad expanse and saw only calm1 contented waters1 and hope beamed bright4 ,they fancied themselves anchoring1 in a ripe old age1 in a beautiful haven of rest somewhere behind the setting sun4 ,but they sailed only in the strength of human art4 ,storms unexpected arose1 and winds adverse beat upon them4 ,the high1 wild1 angry billows threaten their destruction1 and they despair of ever entering their fancied golden port4 ,above the blackness of the raging storm there is extended a delivering hand1 but they see it not4 ,their eyes are not upward2 they are upon the turbulent waves4 ,oh1 how sad6 ,how pellucid would have been the waters and how serene in glory their voyage1 if they had embarked in the strength of ,him who at their request would have said to the angry waves1 ,peace1 be still1 and all would have been at rest4 ,yonder in the distance we see gay1 glittering crafts sailing about in a state of unrest4 ,some are sailing out upon the sea of worldly pleasure in search of happiness4 ,see them rush wildly about4 ,yonder they seem to see bright1 golden waters and hope that true pleasures are to be found there4 ,but1 alas6 just beneath the surface all is dark and murky and bitter4 ,some are sailing out upon the highways of worldly fame and honor1 others upon the wild stream of worldly riches1 all searching for rest and finding none4 ,see the surging1 tossing mass of human barks and hear their wail of disappointment as the sweet1 golden waters turn to bitter wormwood and gall4 ,the rainbow-colored bubbles1 from their hoped-for fountain of joy1 burst upon the air1 leaving them empty-handed and restless-hearted4 ,above the wild din of their clamor speaks a soft1 tender voice1 saying1 ,come unto me1 all ye that labor and are heavy-laden1 and ,i will give you rest4 ,but their ears are not turned to catch sounds from above2 they hear only the siren song of an enchanting goddess--the world4 ,down toward the setting sun we see many shattered vessels going down in a wild vortex4 ,the waters are closing over them4 ,they found that human strength was inadequate to life's voyage4 ,they1 having weathered many a storm1 hoped to gain the peaceful harbor4 ,but1 alas6 they are overcome at last1 and1 lamenting the day they ever set sail1 they go down without hope4 ,from the ethereal heights of inspiration ,i hear a chiding voice saying1 ,o had ye hearkened unto me1 then had your peace been as a river1 and your righteousness as the waves of the sea4 ,you1 my dear young ,christian reader1 have just embarked upon life's untried ocean4 ,you have laid hold upon ,one who is mighty to save and strong to deliver4 ,underneath you are the everlasting arms4 ,push out1 then1 boldly into the broad expanse1 fearing nothing4 ,you can escape the perils of the deep1 only by making ,god your refuge4 ,anchor your faith in him and see to it that your faith never breaks anchor4 ,the billows may threaten1 the storms may rage2 but by faith you can beat them back1 and sail out on unruffled seas4 ,god pity the one who attempts life's voyage without the aid1 cheer1 and comfort that ,heaven gives4 ,make the ,word of ,god your compass1 and obedience the rudder that steers your little bark in all the ways ,god's commandments point you2 and make faith the mighty cable1 and you will be towed safely past the dangerous rocks and reefs and threatening billows into the peaceful haven of eternal rest4 ,across the deep and wide unknown ,the bark of life sails on3 ,who thinks to trust to human art ,shall perish mid the storm4 ,the other shore far distant lies1 ,wild billows intervene1 ,and dangers little known arise ,to try the strength of men4 ,man lays his purpose and his plan1 ,he fixes sail to-day2 ,but winds adverse sweep o'er the main ,and turn him from his way4 ,man's wisdom can not know the end1 ,nor future courses see3 ,whoever sails in human strength ,sails mid uncertainty4 ,man has a strong inveterate foe1 ,so subtle in his art2 ,he tries the strength of human craft ,and finds the weakest part4 ,by human strength man can not sail ,o'er ocean's troubled breast3 ,god's hand alone can e'er prevail ,and bring him into rest4 ,,mortality4 ,in plant1 animal1 and spiritual life mortality is greatest in infancy4 ,the plant in the first few days of its existence is very tender and delicate4 ,it will succumb to the winds if they be slightly too cool1 or to the sun's rays if they be too warm4 ,the smallest insect feeding upon one of its tiny roots will cause it to die4 ,after it has formed more roots and they have gone deeper into the earth and the plant becomes stronger and coarser it is far less liable to destruction4 ,the chilly winds may blow or the sun's rays may pour upon it2 it now has the power of resistance1 and so lives on4 ,the same is true of animal life4 ,mortality is far greatest among children in the first few hours of life1 and lessens as they grow older4 ,only a slight current of cold air upon the newly born infant is likely to cause its death4 ,the new life is not yet able to resist opposing elements1 so it must be carefully guarded4 ,as it grows stronger and becomes capable of adapting itself to the elements of the outside world it can with comparative safety be brought into contact with them4 ,what is true in the plant and the animal world is also true in the spiritual world4 ,you who have but recently been born of the ,spirit are not as able to resist the cold winds of persecution or the heat of fiery trials as those who have been deepening and widening in the grace of ,god4 ,guard carefully the new-born life of ,christ in your soul4 ,seek an establishing grace in sanctification1 and you will be strong in the ,lord and fully able to cope with the dark powers of sin1 ,satan1 and the world1 and triumph over all in ,jesus' name4 ,in the days of your infancy we offer you our help in this little volume1 and assure you a frequent remembrance in fervent prayer4 ,,feeding ,,the ,,lambs4 ,some years ago when attending to the work to which the ,lord had called me in one of the sunny ,southern ,states it was my happy privilege to enjoy for a few days the kind hospitality of a generous ,christian farmer4 ,one balmy afternoon while walking over the pleasant fields of his large farm1 with my heart in sweet communion with ,god1 ,i came upon the most beautiful flock of sheep it had ever been my privilege to behold4 ,they were quietly grazing in a rich green pasture1 near by which silently flowed a deep1 broad river4 ,to me it was a fair reminder of the still waters the ,good ,shepherd gave promise to lead his sheep beside1 and the green pastures he promised to make them to lie down in4 ,from beholding this beautiful fleecy flock ,i learned a lesson which ,i hope never to forget4 ,the principal cause of their well-developed frame and handsome appearance was1 they were well cared for when they were lambs4 ,since then ,i have often remembered1 and felt the import of1 the command the ,savior so tenderly gave his shepherds--,feed my lambs4 ,over and over has it in all its strength and beauty been breathed anew by the ,spirit in my soul1 animating me to greater assiduity in caring for the precious lambs of his fold4 ,and1 thus1 ,i shall prove my love to him by doing all ,i can in caring for his lambs4 ,lambs need something more than feed2 they must be sheltered from the cold wind and cruel storm4 ,feed them ever so well1 but if you expose them to the wintry storm1 they will die4 ,in ,john #ba3ae the word feed is translated from the same ,greek term as is the word feed in the #agth verse2 but in the #afth verse the word feed is translated from an entirely different ,greek term4 ,in this verse the ,greek does not mean simply to feed1 but to protect1 to shelter1 to tend4 ,the shepherd's duty is not only to feed the lambs1 but also to guard them from the wolves that are seeking to devour them4 ,,who ,,are ,,christ',s ,,lambs4 ,it is those who are young in ,christian experience whom the ,savior calls lambs4 ,the shepherds that are to feed them are his ministers4 ,a lamb is one of the most meek1 tender1 and tractable of all the young animals1 and very fittingly represents one who has received the meek and tender spirit of ,christ4 ,christianity in its nature is meek and mild4 ,it converts the wolf into a lamb and the leopard into a kid4 ,young ,christians are1 therefore1 beautifully spoken of as lambs1 whose nature is mild and gentle4 ,christ's lambs are those who have received into their hearts his lamb-like spirit4 ,they are those whose hearts and souls have been touched and thrilled with the mildness and tenderness of divine life2 those in whom the hidden man of the heart is robed in righteousness and adorned with a meek and quiet spirit1 which is precious before ,god4 ,you might robe a wolf with a lamb's skin1 but it would still be a wolf4 ,a person may profess to be a ,christian3 but unless he has a change of heart and affection2 unless he has been made meek and gentle by the ,spirit of the ,lord coming into his heart1 he is only a wolf1 after all1 and not of the ,savior's fold4 ,jesus speaks of some who put on sheep's clothing1 but inwardly they are ravening wolves4 ,by wolves he means men and women with wicked hearts4 ,they profess to be ,christians2 but in their hearts are envy1 pride1 hatred1 jealousy1 love of self1 and love of the world4 ,they may appear quite lamb-like in public life1 but in their hearts no change has been wrought by the transforming power of ,god's grace4 ,to be ,jesus' little lamb is not only to have a profession of ,christianity1 but to have the heart cleansed by the blood of ,jesus from envy1 pride1 malice1 love of the world1 etc41 and filled with meekness1 gentleness1 and love4 ,a good old prophet in olden time1 looking forward to when ,jesus should come to save people from their sins and speak peace to troubled hearts1 said1 ,he shall feed his flock like a shepherd3 he shall gather the lambs with his arm1 and carry them in his bosom4 ,when you were wandering in the deserts and mountains of sin1 ,jesus1 the true shepherd1 came seeking for you1 and now that you have given yourself to his loving care1 always confide in him and yield to his guidance4 ,ever keep your hand in his and follow where he leads1 and your life will be full of joy and terminate at last where there will be pleasures forevermore4 ,,food ,,for ,,the ,,lambs4 ,of course1 it is very important to know what foods are most conducive to the growth of lambs4 ,the apostle to whom ,jesus gave the command ,feed my lambs has said to those lambs1 ,as new-born babes desire the sincere milk of the ,word that they may grow thereby4 #a ,pet4 #b3b4 ,milk is the aliment which the nature of the newly born infant demands4 ,the infant instinctively receives it with a readiness4 ,it is the natural and most proper food4 ,it is the food above all others for the sustaining of life and the promotion of growth4 ,so the glorious doctrines of the gospel are the natural and most proper food for the ,christian4 ,the newly created life in the regenerated soul instinctively turns to the word of ,god for nourishment4 ,it is the natural food for the new life4 ,nothing else can be substituted for it and growth go on unhindered4 ,without this food the ,christian will die4 ,man shall not live by bread alone1 says the ,great ,shepherd1 but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of ,god4 ,illustration3 ,he shall gather the lambs with his arms and carry them in his bosom4 ,the ,christian has a twofold life3 he has both physical life and spiritual life4 ,as bread sustains physical life1 so the word of ,god sustains spiritual life4 ,i beseech you most earnestly1 my dear young ,christian reader1 to ever remember that you can no more live a spiritual life independently of the word of ,god than you can live a physical life independently of bread4 ,if growth in grace is worth anything to you1 and eternal blessedness in the sweet fields of heaven of any value1 keep this ever in mind and act accordingly4 ,as with the physical being1 so it is with the spiritual4 ,there must be appetite1 eating1 digestion1 and assimilation1 that the word of ,god may impart life4 ,remember1 it is the sincere milk of the ,word that you need that you may grow thereby4 ,sincere is from the ,latin sincerus1 which is derived from sine1 meaning without1 and cera1 meaning wax2 honey separated from the wax4 ,milk to which has been added chalked water may yet have much the appearance of milk1 but it has lost its nourishment4 ,so the word of ,god with the slightest adulteration will not meet the demands for spiritual growth4 ,the word of ,god1 without modification or exaggeration1 without taking from or adding to1 is the only wholesome food for your soul1 and may you eat in plenty and grow up as calves of the stall4 ,,on ,,fruit ,,bearing4 ,the following beautiful language is found in ,isa4 #ea3c3 ,for the ,lord shall comfort ,zion3 he will comfort all her waste places2 and he will make her wilderness like ,eden1 and her desert like the garden of the ,lord2 joy and gladness shall he found therein1 thanksgiving1 and the voice of melody4 ,zion is a metaphor signifying the church of ,god4 ,it is1 therefore1 the church which the ,lord will comfort and whose wilderness will be made an ,eden4 ,but what is the church of ,god8 ,this is a very important question2 one which all people should fully understand1 and one which is very easily answered4 ,you will learn at once by reading ,eph4 #a3bb1bc and ,col4 #a3ah1bd that the church is the body of ,christ1 and in #a ,cor4 #ab3bg we are plainly told that ,christians are the body of ,christ2 they are1 therefore1 the church of ,god4 ,dear reader1 if you are a ,christian1 you have been born of the ,spirit2 you have passed from death unto life2 you have been translated from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light2 you have been created anew2 you are1 therefore1 a member of the body of ,christ1 and all such members make up the church of ,god4 ,the children of ,israel were the church of ,god in the old dispensation1 and he dwelt in a tabernacle or temple they built for him4 ,in this more glorious gospel dispensation those who have been born of the ,spirit and made pure in heart are the church of ,god4 ,in this ,holy-,spirit dispensation we do not build temples for the ,lord to dwell in2 for know ye not that ye are the temple of ,god1 and that the ,spirit of ,god dwelleth in you8 #a ,cor4 #c3af4 ,what8 know ye not that your body is the temple of the ,holy ,ghost which is in you1 which ye have of ,god1 and ye are not your own8 #a ,cor4 #f3ai4 ,in this blessed gospel day ,christians are the habitation of ,god through the ,spirit4 ,if you are a ,christian1 ,god dwells in your heart2 your body is his glorious temple4 ,this is a most stupendous thought1 but it is true4 ,in your soul is the sweet heavenly manna1 the budding rod1 and the ark of the covenant overshadowed by the cherubim of glory4 ,when ,god created man ,he placed him in a garden which ,he had planted eastward in ,eden4 ,in this garden ,god made to grow every tree that was pleasant to the sight and good for food2 also1 the tree of life and the tree of knowledge of good and evil were in this garden1 and a river to water it4 ,it is said that ,god walked in the garden in the cool of the day4 ,that was in the day of literal things4 ,we are now in the day of spiritual things1 when our bodies have become the temple of ,god through the ,spirit1 and our hearts his lovely garden4 ,it is in this garden he dwells2 it is there he walks4 ,see #b ,cor4 #f3af4 ,when the south winds blow and the spices flow out he comes into his garden to eat his pleasant fruits2 he gathers the myrrh and the spices1 he eats honey and drinks wine and milk4 ,see ,cant4 #d3af and #e3a4 ,this is sweet language1 and is expressive of the purity of the ,christian heart1 where ,god dwells1 and where he walks in the gentleness of his ,spirit1 delighting himself in the tender ,christian graces that are budding and blooming all along the peaceful avenues of the soul4 ,like as the gentle south wind blows upon the flowers of the garden and scatters the fragrance2 so the ,spirit of ,god fans the heavenly graces implanted in the heart1 and a fragrance flows out of the ,christian life1 awaking admiration in the minds of all who come into its presence4 ,the trees that were pleasant to the sight and good for food in the literal garden of ,eden symbolize the graces of the regenerated heart1 which are lovely to behold1 which feed the souls of those who look upon your noble ,christian walk1 and which become a tree of life to the desert hearts of men4 ,in the garden of the ,lord blooms the rose of ,sharon and the lily-of-the-valley4 ,these are beautiful emblems of the ,christ-life in the ,christian soul4 ,the river which flowed through ,eden's literal garden represents the deep1 broad river of peace which flows in the heart which has tasted of redeeming love4 ,a young heart filled with the mild1 meek spirit of ,christ1 and a young life laden in rich profusion with kind words1 generous deeds1 and gentle1 modest ways1 is the most beautiful object that ever graced this mundane sphere4 ,angels look down and marvel1 and throughout all heaven is awakened songs of joy and praise4 ,it is your privilege to be filled with ,jesus now2 to be clothed in white and walk in purity4 ,it is also your privilege as you journey down life's way to grow more kindly2 to be more and more like ,jesus2 for the sweet graces of heaven to bloom more beautifully in your heart and life2 and the beauty of your young ,christian life to give way to more beauteous ripened age4 ,if you attend to all ,christian duties and live in prayer and devotion to ,god1 your soul will become more and more weighted down with the riches of heaven1 and1 looking out through the casement1 your soul will hail with joy the convoy that has come to bear it to its home of eternal rest4 ,the ,savior in speaking of himself said1 ,i am the vine1 and in speaking of ,christians he said1 ,ye are the branches1 and speaking of ,god he said1 ,my ,father is the husbandman4 ,this very clearly and strikingly illustrates the duty of a ,christian1 and the position he occupies4 ,christians sustain the same relation to ,christ that the branches do to the vine4 ,as the branch receives life through the vine and bears fruit1 so the ,christian receives life through ,christ and bears fruit4 ,the object of fruit bearing is the glory of ,god4 ,you should be desirous of bearing as great an abundance of fruit as possible1 and do all you can to increase your fruitfulness1 since herein is ,god glorified1 that you bear much fruit4 ,the apostle ,paul in speaking of ,christians said1 ,ye are ,god's husbandry1 #a ,cor4 #c3i4 ,if you will examine the ,greek text you will find that a more proper rendering would be1 ,ye are ,god's field4 ,greek scholars tell us that the ,greet term from which husbandry is translated in our common version signifies a cultivated field4 ,it answers to the ,hebrew word sadeh1 which means a field sown and under cultivation4 ,from this you will be enabled to yet more fully understand the true position you occupy under ,god4 ,you are his fertile field1 where he has under cultivation the precious fruits of the kingdom of heaven4 ,the ,husbandman has rooted up every plant that he has not planted1 and sown there the seeds of righteousness4 ,not only are your hearts the garden of the ,lord where blooms the rose of ,sharon and the lily-of-the-valley in all the sweetness of their fragrance and beauty1 but they are also the ,lord's fertile field1 where the amiable ,christian graces are to bud1 bloom1 and bear fruit4 ,your duty as a ,christian is to bear fruit for ,god1 that he may be glorified4 ,every fruit-bearing branch1 therefore1 he purges1 that it may bring forth more fruit4 ,the successful farmer carefully removes all the foreign growth out of his field1 and then cultivates his plants1 that he may reap the greatest possible harvest4 ,delicious fruits are brought from the tropical clime to this land of ours1 and they awaken in our hearts an admiration for that delightsome country4 ,we long to travel through those sunny lands4 ,you are ,god's fertile field4 ,in your life has been placed the beautiful fruits of the heavenly land4 ,as this world looks upon your life and beholds these fruits admiration will be awakened in their hearts for the fruitful fields of heaven4 ,they will be influenced by your life to seek the kingdom of ,god and its riches1 that they may taste of its fruits now and forever4 ,if you will walk with ,god and live devoted to him1 those precious fruits of the ,spirit will become more plentiful and beautiful in your life as you journey down the way1 making you a greater blessing to the hearts of others4 ,to this end you must live4 ,a ,,gazing-,,stock4 ,in ,heb4 #aj3cc it is said that ,christians are a gazing-stock4 ,the world is looking upon your life4 ,you have taken upon you the profession of ,christianity4 ,if you live a pure and holy life1 ,god will be honored2 others gazing at you will see that ,christ lives in you1 and many will give to ,god the glory4 ,you must be willing to be gazed at by the world4 ,you must let your light shine4 ,your holy life will be a savor of life or a savor of death unto those before whom you live4 ,so do not think you are living to no purpose4 ,some one is looking on every day1 and if you will walk uprightly1 it will tell for ,god4 ,what a privilege you have of living a life that ,god will use to the salvation of some and to the condemnation of others6 ,you must be interested in living a pure1 clean life1 and live your very best each day1 so that you will not be ashamed before ,god to be a gazing-stock for the world4 ,,the ,,will4 ,among the different faculties which ,god gave to man in his creation is one called the will4 ,it is because you have this faculty that you become a responsible being4 ,before the first man and woman in the garden of ,eden ,god placed two laws--one was the law of obedience1 and the other1 the law of disobedience4 ,these were subject to their choice4 ,they could will to obey ,god and live forever1 or will to disobey and die4 ,before all men are placed two ways--one is called the way of life1 and the other1 the way of death4 ,these are subject to their choice4 ,therefore1 the will is called that faculty of the soul by which we choose or refuse things4 ,the will is capable of cultivation4 ,by the exercise of your will you can refuse to do wrong things1 and thus strengthen your will-power4 ,men have attained extraordinary heights of morality by the exercise of the will in right-doing and refusing to do wrong4 ,this is noble and beautiful1 but there is something more noble still and more beautiful4 ,the moral man wills to do right because it is right1 while the ,christian wills to do right because it is the will of ,god and pleases him4 ,although man can not by the exercise of his will-power in right-doing evolve into a ,christian1 the will plays an important part in the formation of ,christian character4 ,it is true1 the will is most usually led by the affections of the heart2 therefore the writer of ,proverbs said1 ,out of the heart are the issues of life4 ,the heart must1 however1 get consent of the will before its desires are fulfilled4 ,here is a truth of vast importance to the ,christian4 ,many people's wills have become so in bondage to the impure affections and desires of their depraved hearts that they have no will to do right and shun the wrong4 ,the desires of the heart sway their scepter of power over the will1 and it acts to the granting the heart its wishes4 ,this is a sad picture4 ,a human being created to be free1 but now a wretched slave4 ,when he wills to do good evil is present with him2 the good he would do1 he does not do2 and the evil he would not do1 that is what he does4 ,o miserable man6 ,a person who has rejected the mercy of ,god and has yielded to the inclinations of an unholy heart until he has no power to accept the offers of mercy and shun the ways of sin1 is an object of the greatest pity4 ,to him there is no hope of escaping the damnation of hell4 ,there is a time in the life of every rational young man and woman when they can accept the blessed offers of salvation which ,god extends through his ,son1 if they will4 ,god gives the ,holy ,spirit to operate upon the depraved heart1 making it to feel something of the realities of a ,savior's love and goodness1 and something of the awfulness of sin4 ,the ,holy ,spirit does not take hold upon the will and compel it to serve ,god1 or force it into right action4 ,he just takes hold upon the heart1 suppressing its love for sin1 and awakening desires for a better life1 thus removing the unrighteous scepter the heart swayed over the will1 giving the will freedom and power to accept or reject the mercies of ,god4 ,while the impure affections and unholy desires of a depraved heart are being restrained by the power of the ,holy ,spirit1 before the will is set the way of life and the way of death1 each subject to choice4 ,now is the time for whosoever will to come and drink of the water of life freely1 and whosoever will now call upon the name of the ,lord shall be saved4 ,not only does the will act an important part in securing the salvation of the soul through the offered mercies of ,god1 but it is the purpose of ,god that the will act an important part all along the ,christian way4 ,after the ,christian enters through the strait gate and steps out upon the narrow way that leads to eternal golden glories1 he is not carried forward in a chariot of fire through the journey of life and crowned at the end with eternal blessedness irrespective of his will4 ,often it is true that the soul is carried blessedly onward in the way of life on the wings of joy1 without any apparent exercise of the will2 but how often ,good seems to have deserted or forsaken us1 ,joy has hid her smiling face1 and ,good ,feelings have departed1 and we are left to serve ,god and attend to our ,christian duties from choice of will4 ,god wants our life service to be a willing service4 ,it is necessary1 therefore1 that he apparently forsake us and permit dark powers to engage us4 ,it is that our wills may be exercised4 ,the ,psalmist says1 ,i will go the way of thy commandment2 ,i will keep thy testimonies1 and let us all say amen4 ,the blessings and joys the ,lord bestows upon us are the rewards of willing service1 for which things you should be very thankful2 but never let them influence you in your conduct toward ,god4 ,there have been those1 who1 in the hour of seeming desertion1 refusing to use their will-power1 have turned back to the world4 ,this is faint-heartedness and cowardice1 ignobleness and unmanliness4 ,every faculty of the body or soul that is unused or unexercised will weaken and die4 ,the muscles if unused will grow weak1 the mind if unused will weaken1 and the will if unexercised will lose its power4 ,should ,god always keep us soaring aloft on the wings of peace and joy and blessings1 without the exercise of the will1 this important faculty would degenerate into weakness and slavery4 ,o may my young readers arise in the strength of their manhood and womanhood and use1 in choosing and doing the right1 the will ,god has given them4 ,the tempter may come1 yea1 will come1 and endeavor to get some of the affections of the heart set upon the world2 but you must reject all such temptations1 and by the force of your will set your affections on things above4 ,god does never will for us1 but he gives us power to will if we will but use the power he gives us4 ,you are exhorted by the ,scriptures to work out your own salvation with fear and trembling4 ,the crown of life lies at the end of the ,christian race4 ,when we step over the boundary between time and eternity our salvation is then eternally secured4 ,praises be to ,god6 ,it is for this crown of amaranthine glory1 or blessed eternal salvation1 that we are to watch and labor with fear and trembling4 ,o may you be very careful6 ,be watchful1 lest something should hinder you in your ,christian race1 and you miss at last the blessedness of heaven4 ,guard the affections of your heart with the strictest vigilance4 ,i said above that ,god would always give us power to will1 if we would but make use of that power4 ,for proof of this ,i shall refer you to ,phil4 #b3ac1 which in our common version is rendered thus3 ,for it is ,god which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure4 ,the meaning of this text is not so readily comprehended by this version as it is by some others4 ,by ,conybeare and ,howson it is translated in these words3 ,it is ,god who works in you both will and deed4 ,upon examination of the different translations we find the meaning of this text to be this3 ,it is ,god that gives us power to will and to do his good pleasure4 ,in the verse preceding this one the apostle tells us to work out our salvation with fear and trembling1 and then he adds for our encouragement1 ,god will work in you the power to will and to do that which will secure your eternal salvation4 ,never say1 ,i can't4 ,here is something which will prove very valuable to you in your ,christian life if you can only get to fully comprehend it3 ,you can do nothing2 your will is powerless without ,god and his grace1 and ,god can do nothing in you without the consent of your will4 ,god does everything1 and we do everything3 we are to purify our hearts1 and yet it is ,god who purifies our hearts2 we are to make us a new heart1 and yet it is ,god who gives us a new heart2 we are commanded to work out our salvation1 and ,god gives us power to do it4 ,god furnishes the power2 we are to do4 ,do not think that ,god will act for you4 ,he will give you power to act1 but he will not do the act for you4 ,do not1 therefore1 say1 ,i can't4 ,you can do all things through ,christ1 who strengthens you4 ,you can serve ,god in a way acceptable to him2 you can keep your mind stayed on him2 you can pray2 you can resist the devil and temptation and be an overcomer2 you can endure unto the end--you can do all things by the grace and power of ,god1 and he will always give you power to do his pleasure4 ,do not serve and praise ,god only when he gives you blessings and joy1 but serve him and praise him when the way is dark4 ,have a fixed decision of the will to serve ,god no matter what the feelings may be4 ,be thankful to ,god for the will-power he has given you1 and use it manfully1 nobly in his service4 ,do not cower and tremble before temptation4 ,you are to fear and tremble before ,god1 but never before trials1 temptations1 sin1 nor the devil4 ,god will cause you to triumph by giving you power to will4 ,be steadfast1 be faithful1 fix your will unswervingly to serve ,god1 and in due season you shall reap if you faint not4 ,,god ,,our ,,guide4 ,this is a dark world of sin1 error1 and uncertainties4 ,it is weak and transitory4 ,man1 ,god's chief and highest work in the things of creation1 is weak1 ignorant1 and can of himself do absolutely nothing4 ,though he may have a most scholarly mind1 he can not peer with any degree of certainty one hour into the future4 ,who knows what the morrow may have in store8 ,life may run about the same as to-day1 or fortune may come1 or misfortune4 ,man may plan for the future1 but the plan may never be carried into effect4 ,it is not in man to direct his way4 ,there is one1 however1 that knows all future things and shapes the destiny of man4 ,we are invited to commit our way unto him4 ,he has promised to guide us with his eye4 ,life lies before us like an unknown sea1 none know how many days' journey it is across1 nor how much sunshine and shadow there may be on the way4 ,with the unknown expanse before me1 and ,i1 in my ignorant finiteness1 not knowing which way to take1 rejoice exceedingly in my heart to be permitted to commit my way unto ,him who makes the clouds his chariots1 and rides upon the wings of the wind1 and stills the wave4 ,he knows the best way and will direct in tender care my every step4 ,he guides me with his eye1 and leads me by his own right hand beside the still waters and into green pastures4 ,why are there so many anxious hearts1 so much unrest1 so many discontentments and fears8 ,it is because man is attempting to direct his own way4 ,he feels his weakness1 and fears2 he knows his ignorance1 and becomes anxious4 ,how blessed to walk out upon life's way trusting in ,god and casting every care upon him6 ,the waves may sometimes dash around our feet1 but we are looking up unto ,him who shall guide us continually4 ,the secret of a happy and successful life is to let ,god lead us4 ,when we get in a hurry and pass on ahead of the ,lord1 devising1 contriving1 planning over our work and way1 then come fears and failures4 ,many ,christians find it difficult to know the will of ,god and understand his leadings4 ,many hearts are longing to know ,god's will and way4 ,you may always know4 ,do not hurry1 only wait1 pray and trust1 and ,god will plainly and unmistakably teach you his way and give you a sweet consciousness in your soul of his guidance4 ,sometimes it may require long waiting4 ,i have for months been almost daily praying and sometimes rising a great while before day to seek ,god beneath the stars to know his will in a certain matter4 ,sometimes it seems ,i must act1 but ,god whispers in sweet stillness1 ,only wait4 ,the ,word ,our ,guide4 ,in many affairs of life we need no guidance other than the ,word of ,god4 ,thy ,word is a lamp unto my feet1 and a light unto my path4 ,psa4 #aai3aje4 ,much reading of the ,scripture will impart wisdom and knowledge1 and be a help to us in directing the affairs of life4 ,you may have a difficult matter to settle with your neighbor4 ,open your ,bible and read3 ,whatsoever ye would that men should do to you1 do ye even so to them4 ,quite likely this will enable you to settle the matter in perfect satisfaction to all4 ,some one may have done you much harm1 now what must you do8 ,open your book of guidance and read3 ,dearly beloved1 avenge not yourselves 444 vengeance is mine2 ,i will repay1 saith the ,lord4 ,thus1 much of life's duties and affairs can be determined and decided by the ,word of ,god4 ,the ,spirit's ,impressions4 ,the ,holy ,spirit is given us for a guide4 ,with respect to our conduct and our duty1 we often feel the impressions of the ,spirit4 ,the ,word of ,god tells us to give of our goods as the ,lord has prospered us1 but the ,spirit may often impress us as to where to give4 ,we feel impressed by the ,spirit to give1 we feel impressed to go to a certain place1 we feel impressed to pray for such a one1 we feel impressed to fast and pray1 etc4 ,many a precious soul that once was full of joy and fatness is to-day in unrest and leanness because these impressions have been resisted4 ,but are there not impressions given by an evil spirit8 ,most certainly1 and these impressions have led many an honest soul into the wildest of fanaticism4 ,thank ,god1 by living very humble1 with all our motives very pure1 and by acquaintance with the ,word of ,god1 we may know the voice of the ,spirit of ,god and that of the evil spirit ,i have known people to receive and obey impressions to fast and pray that were given by ,satan4 ,god's ,word and ,god's ,spirit favor fasting and praying1 but both are bounded by sound judgment2 and in such matters we should not follow a spirit beyond what common sense would approve4 ,it is blessed and beautiful to be led by the ,spirit of ,god4 ,if its impressions are not resisted1 but encouraged by cheerful obedience1 they will lead us into a blessed felicity with ,god and a deep acquaintance with him4 ,an evil spirit's whisperings can be very easily detected by one who has much communion with the ,lord4 ,recently while standing on a steamer's deck it was whispered to me that the steamer was an ill-fated vessel1 and that ,i never should see home again4 ,at first ,i did not know but that it was the voice of ,god1 but soon ,i felt attempts being made to cast over me a tormenting fear2 this aroused my suspicion that it was not ,god speaking1 and to be convinced ,i allowed the spirit to talk on4 ,for a while it tried to torment me with fears that ,i should never see the dear ones at home again1 and then said1 ,you may as well cast yourself overboard into the deep4 ,ah6 now ,i knew the ,satanic spirit and ,i rebuked it in ,jesus' name4 ,i reached my home in safety4 ,praise the ,lord6 ,try the spirits by the ,word2 ,satan will soon expose himself4 ,god's ,providences4 ,in the sure guidance of ,god we have his ,word and his ,spirit and also his providences4 ,again1 we would say1 oh1 how blessed to await the providences of ,god6 ,his providences are always in favor of the righteous4 ,all things work together for good to them that love ,god4 ,how many can look back through their lives and see how the providences of ,god have directed their ways4 ,they may have planned1 but ,god's providence overthrew and brought better things to pass4 ,trust in the providences of ,god1 commit your way unto him1 patiently wait1 and he will guide you into the way that is best4 ,never get in a hurry1 but wait on the ,lord1 and he will always make the way plain before you4 ,i have learned never to take a step until ,i know it is ordered of ,god4 ,in the providence of ,god1 ,joseph was sold to a company of ,ishmaelites and cast into prison and thus brought to be ruler over all ,egypt4 ,in the providences of ,god1 ,kish's asses went astray and ,saul being sent in search of them was led to the prophet ,samuel1 who anointed him king over ,israel4 ,you may meet with losses1 all things may seem decidedly against you2 but be patient1 trust in the providence of ,god1 and in time you will see his kind favor4 ,if you value your happiness and success in life1 wait on ,god4 ,if you do not know which way to go or what thing to do1 wait until you do know4 ,god will surely guide you2 he will open the way clear and plain before you4 ,when he has given you full assurance1 then go forward in all security4 ,mountains may rise before you1 but he will pluck them up and cast them into the sea4 ,rivers and seas may lie across your path1 but he will divide the waters and let you pass through4 ,live humbly and only for the glory of ,god4 ,trust in him with all the strength of your soul4 ,see that all motives are as pure as heaven4 ,prayerfully seek a knowledge of ,god's will1 patiently wait on him1 cheerfully and promptly obey when his will is known1 and he will lead you in the path of security1 strewing the way with blessings and glory1 and make your life one golden gleam of light across this dark world to lead others to the ,lamb4 ,,fragrance4 ,every saintly life on earth1 is a sweet fragrance unto ,god1 and every sinful life is a stench in his nostrils4 ,as the rose scents the evening air1 so a pure life scatters a sweet ,christian influence and a knowledge of ,god throughout the world4 ,the literal translation of #b ,cor4 #b3ad reads thus3 ,but thanks be to ,god1 who leads me on from place to place in the train of his triumph1 to celebrate his victory over the enemies of ,christ1 and by me sends forth the knowledge of him1 a stream of fragrant incense1 throughout the world4 ,a saintly life diffuses a sweet1 heavenly fragrance throughout the world1 and brings a knowledge of ,god and the nature of his salvation to the minds of men4 ,let me exhort you1 therefore1 to a pure life1 a life full of devotion and reverence to ,god4 ,you can make your life1 by ,god's grace1 a constant1 flowing stream of fragrant incense1 whose sweetness will linger long on the air after you have passed to higher realms4 ,so may it be4 ,,seek ,,first ,,the ,,kingdom4 ,but seek ye first the kingdom of ,god1 and his righteousness2 and all these things shall be added unto you4 ,mat4 #f3cc4 ,an injunction of much importance is here given4 ,verses #bd to #cd of this chapter show how beautifully it is in the plan of ,god to care for his own4 ,we are taught to have our trust in ,god for what we eat1 for what we drink1 for what we wear--for all the necessities of this life4 ,we are referred to the fowls of the air and the lilies of the field1 which take no thought for their life1 but live in their happy1 independent way1 without care or trouble4 ,these ,god cares for and says we are of more value than they4 ,what a valuable lesson we are to learn from this6 ,but is it really true that we are to have the same degree of freedom from care or anxiety that the fowls or the lilies have8 ,we shall also ask1 ,is it really possible8 ,this lesson surely teaches that we are to have such a trust in our ,maker1 and therefore it must be possible4 ,the apostle ,paul instructs us in ,phil4 #d3f1 ,be careful for nothing2 but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto ,god4 ,and in another place1 ,i would have you without carefulness4 ,our lives are to be free from worry or anxiety about anything and everything4 ,this feature alone of the divine life1 or this principle alone in the economy of ,god's gracious plan1 ought to represent salvation as a thing greatly to be desired4 ,but in the face of this people fail to see anything desirable in it1 because by their unbelief they hold such a life to be impracticable4 ,by this kind of unbelief the enemy of souls deprives many of their privileges in ,christ and hinders the world from seeing the real nature of the salvation experience4 ,how the world is estranged from the principles of righteousness6 ,how it holds light to be darkness and darkness to be light6 ,instead of accounting that there is any reasonableness in such trust in ,god as is shown in this lesson they would fain be selfishly taking upon themselves the responsibility of maintaining their own existence1 and thus every one seek for his own gain4 ,thinking that they thus have an excuse for not devoting their time to ,god's service and their spiritual welfare1 the things of the ,lord are forgotten and neglected1 and their souls consequently are lost4 ,when will individuals learn that they have a spiritual as well as a physical existence1 and that the spiritual is the more important of the two8 ,seek first the kingdom4 ,but the fact that we wish to bring out most prominently is that many ,christian professors1 who are supposed to be examples of the ,christian life1 do not comprehend the import of the test ,seek ye first the kingdom of ,god4 ,the mistake is made on the word first4 ,they think to obey this scripture by first gaining the profession of salvation1 presuming then that the blessings of the kingdom will follow1 while they live as selfishly as before and dig deep into the things concerning the unrighteous mammon4 ,in so doing they fail to experience the blessings of the kingdom1 and also misrepresent the kingdom to the world4 ,the word first means not only first in time1 but first in importance2 and this idea of importance must ever be held before us1 not only when we enter the kingdom1 but throughout our whole ,christian life4 ,we are to hold the kingdom of righteousness first in all our lives4 ,if we hold ,god first in everything and consider what will be to his glory before we consider our own1 we give ,god a chance to fulfil his word1 and his own good pleasure in us will be accomplished4 ,we then place ourselves in the order of his plan where it will be possible for him to do as he has promised4 ,the salvation life means an unselfish life4 ,we are not to seek selfish glory in anything1 but seek the glory of ,god first--above everything else4 ,it has been remarked concerning certain ones who were struggling for an earthly existence1 that if they would only get saved all these things 7all earthly necessities7 would be added unto them4 ,but it is not those who merely get saved that can claim this promise2 it is those who keep saved and carry out the principles of the plan of righteousness4 ,seek first the kingdom of ,god and his righteousness in everything4 ,lose your own individuality in ,god1 consign your all to him1 live for his glory in all your life1 then all these things shall be added unto you4 ,,prayer4 ,upon this subject and the one following ,i have written in other works very similarly to this2 but since these subjects are so well adapted to a work of this nature ,i can hardly feel willing to leave them out4 ,if you have read very similar words to these in other productions of mine1 ,i hope the rereading of the subjects will not be time spent to no profit4 ,the value of prayer can hardly be estimated4 ,unless you are willing to take up a life of prayer and keep it until the close1 you had just as well not take up the ,christian profession4 ,without prayer you will die4 ,some one has expressed it thus3 ,prayer is our life1 our soul's triumphant wings1 ,the arm that holds the shield and hand that takes the crown2 ,along the line on which a thousand faithful prayers ascend1 ,surely ,god doth send ten thousand blessings down4 ,what an honor it is to have audience with the ,king of glory6 ,he extends the golden scepter to us1 and we come hopefully1 confidingly1 into his presence and tell him all that is in our hearts4 ,it is only because we comprehend something of his great love to us that we venture to come into his presence4 ,who would not consider it a great honor and blessed privilege to be admitted into the courts of the lords and the kings of earth8 ,the greatest honor bestowed upon man is the privilege of coming into the presence of ,god and conversing with him4 ,alas6 how few appreciate the privilege of prayer6 ,how few can properly estimate its true worth6 ,jesus by his example has taught us something of the worth of prayer4 ,his rising a great while before it was day to hold communion with the ,father1 and his spending all night in prayer to him1 teach us something of its importance4 ,if it was necessary for ,jesus to spend so much time in prayer1 how much more necessary for us4 ,prayer is the energy and life of the soul4 ,it is the invincible armor which shields the devoted ,christian from the poisoned missles shot forth from the batteries of hell4 ,it is the mighty weapon in his hand with which he fights life's battles unto victory4 ,he who lives in prayer reigns triumphant4 ,his soul is filled with the peace of heaven4 ,power is given him over sin and the world4 ,by prayer all storm-clouds are driven away1 mountains of discouragement are cast into the sea1 chasms of difficulties are bridged1 hope is given wings1 faith increases1 and joys abound4 ,hell may rage and threaten1 but he who is frequent and fervent in prayer experiences no alarm4 ,by prayer the windows of heaven are opened1 and showers of refreshing dews are rained upon the soul4 ,it is as a watered garden1 a fertile spot where blooms the unfading rose of ,sharon and the lily-of-the-valley2 where spread the undecaying1 unwithering branches of the tree of life4 ,by prayer the soul is nourished and strengthened by the divine life4 ,do you long for deeper joys8 for a greater sense of the divine fulness8 for a sweeter balm of hope to be shed upon your soul8 for a closer walk with ,god8 then live much in prayer4 ,do you desire to feel the holy flame of love burning in all its intensity in your soul8 then enkindle it often at the golden altar of prayer4 ,without prayer1 the inner being will weaken1 famish1 and die2 the fountain of love dry up2 the spring of joy cease to flow2 the dews will fail to descend2 and your heart will become a parched and dreary desert waste4 ,look upon the character of ,jesus4 ,behold his lowliness1 his meekness1 gentleness1 and tender compassion4 ,have they any beauty8 and would you love to have them grace your own soul8 then draw them down from the skies in all their glorious fulness by the fervent prayer of faith4 ,as through the process of assimilation food is transformed into an active1 living being2 so through the medium of prayer the character of ,jesus in all its transcendent beauty and glory becomes the character of man4 ,if you desire victory during the day1 begin it with prayer4 ,not a few hurried words1 but minutes of deep1 intimate communion with ,god4 ,linger at the sacred altar of prayer until you feel particles of glory drop in richness into your soul1 scattering sweetness throughout the whole and relating you to the world above4 ,in the early morning hour1 when the still1 balmy breath of nature plays around1 let your soul fly away on the wings of prayer with its message of love and praise to its ,maker4 ,jesus went out a great while before day to hold communion with ,god4 ,there is no time better suited for prayer4 ,the world is hushed in slumber4 ,there is less sin being committed1 and if the world ever is innocent1 it is in the early morning time4 ,we thus get an advantage of the devil and have sweet converse with ,god before the devil is aware4 ,if you desire to be more deeply and sincerely pious1 seek it in prayer4 ,if you desire heights in ,god's love1 depths in his grace1 fulness in his joy1 richness in his glory1 seek it in prayer4 ,did you say you had not time for prayer8 ,what a pity6 ,your happiness and usefulness in life depend upon it2 your eternal welfare depends upon it--then1 oh1 what a pity you have no time for it6 ,but you must find time4 ,you can not afford to listen to ,satan2 there is too much at stake4 ,this is an excuse that many allow ,satan to make for them4 ,time for rest1 time for eating1 time for sleeping1 time for friends1 time for books2 but no time for prayer4 ,this is a device of ,satan to rob souls of the love of ,god4 ,you must not give him such an advantage of you4 ,in love for your spiritual welfare ,i beseech you in ,jesus' name1 live much in prayer4 ,go often into your closet1 and then1 with the loins of your mind girded up1 in all earnestness of soul pray until the love of ,god and the light of heaven fills your being4 ,satan will try to make you listless and indifferent2 he will try to make your thoughts to wander2 he will tell you of many other things that need to be done that very moment2 and many other things will he tell you to deprive you of the blessings of prayer4 ,but you must resist him and go the more earnestly in prayer2 and continue to pray until a rapture from the skies sweeps over your soul1 making the place of prayer the dearest spot on earth to you4 ,when the shades of night come softly stealing1 ,softly stealing o'er the window sill2 ,when the busy day is slowly ending1 ,slowly ending peacefully and still1-- ,christian1 with thy heart adoring ,heaven1 ,sweetest glories falling from above1 ,go to ,god in secret1 silent pleading1 ,tell to him the wondrous tale of love4 ,when the morning light is gently dawning1 ,gently dawning in the eastern sky2 ,when the darkness fast away is fleeing1 ,duties of the day are drawing nigh1-- ,down before the sacred1 hallowed altar1 ,christian1 bow before thy ,god in fervent prayer1 ,giving thanks to him for life's sweet blessings1 ,for the day imploring his kind care4 ,to be overcome to-day makes to-morrow's battles harder4 ,if you would be a better ,christian to-morrow1 live your very best to-day4 ,like as the warming rays of the autumn's sun melt the early frost1 so the warmth of ,christian love in our hearts will melt the coldness in the hearts of sinful men4 ,begin the day with prayer3 it will fortify you against the tempter's power4 ,the result of neglecting prayer is to be tossed furiously about upon the billows of temptation4 ,time is of too great worth to waste one precious moment4 ,an hour lost is that much of life lost4 ,for all the time spent in idleness1 you had just as well not have lived at all4 ,by rightly using each moment you will build up a character that will stand a monument upon the tomb of the dead past4 ,moments misspent are life and character gone1 and no imprint is left on the hearts of men to tell that we have lived4 ,how many golden moments are flying away into eternity unladen with any fruit from your life8 ,learn to value time4 ,redeem it because these days are evil4 ,seize upon each passing moment1 and send it up to the glorious ,author of time laden with golden deeds4 ,,meditation4 ,the ,scriptures invite ,christians on to greater depths in the love of ,god and greater heights in his joy as they journey on through life4 ,it is the will of ,god that you grow in grace and become more spiritual each day of your life4 ,that meditation does affect one's spirituality is an undeniable fact4 ,meditating upon ,god and his law is an excellent means of increasing spiritual life in the soul4 ,vagrant thoughts dull the finer sensibilities of the spiritual being1 thereby rendering it less capable of impression by the ,holy ,ghost4 ,keeping in touch with ,god is an expression much used in these days by people professing holiness1 but what does it imply8 ,we are all at sea when not in touch with him4 ,to be so kept is to have everything in us fully alive to ,god4 ,every ,christian grace must be in a perfect state of health and vigorous growth4 ,if there be any dwarfed condition of the spiritual being in any part1 it will be less sensible to ,god's touch4 ,the blind have been known to cultivate the sense of touch in the physical being to the amazing acuteness of being able to distinguish between colors4 ,the sense of touch in the soul can by careful1 earnest cultivation be refined to such a degree as to make it susceptible to the slightest impressions of the ,spirit of ,god4 ,by an electric cable ,america is brought in touch with ,europe4 ,were this to become divided1 communication would cease4 ,sin divided the life-giving cable from the presence of ,god to the souls of men4 ,in ,jesus the divided cable is taken up and united1 and man brought into communion with ,god4 ,so cultured may become the sensibilities of the inner being1 and so thoroughly impregnated by ,god's enlivening power1 that one empty thought causing the slightest ebbing of life's current flow is keenly felt4 ,to keep in perfect touch with ,god is to live where there is a soul-consciousness that he is pleased with every act of your life1 and where there is a clear1 definite witnessing of the ,spirit to your inmost soul that the words of your mouth and the meditations of your heart are acceptable unto him4 ,useless thought makes the soul coarse1 and difficult of impression by good influences4 ,pure and holy meditations are an excellent means for the refinement of your moral being4 ,praying to ,god is talking to him1 telling him the desires of the heart2 whereas meditating upon ,god is contemplating his goodness1 love1 mercy1 greatness1 and wonderful works4 ,meditation prepares the heart for that deeper communion with ,god called prayer4 ,whoever gives attention to his meditations1 and has learned to fix his mind upon ,god2 to whom day unto day uttereth speech1 and night unto night showeth knowledge2 to whom the heavens declare the glory of ,god1 and who hears ,god's voice in nature and sees the goodness of his hand in all creation1--finds no difficulty in drawing to ,god in prayer4 ,if you allow your mind to wander vaguely about upon the vanities of the world1 you will find prayer a difficult and rather an unpleasant task4 ,learn1 therefore1 ,i beseech you1 to stay your mind upon the ,lord1 and great will be the peace and quietness of your soul4 ,precious moments spent in idle chit-chat with your companions or indulging vagrant thoughts are time worse than wasted4 ,as your mind acts once1 so it is disposed to act again4 ,the mind forms habits of thinking4 ,then1 how careful you should be to direct it in proper and useful channels4 ,illustration3 ,,thinking ,,of ,,the ,,life ,,beyond4 ,some people have found it difficult to prevent their thoughts from wandering while they were reading the ,bible or in secret prayer4 ,the wonderful works of ,god hardly awaken any admiration within them2 they can not elevate the soul into a profound awe before his awful presence1 and there is but little conscious depths of inner reverence and devotion to his name4 ,there is a blessed and sure remedy for this serious trouble4 ,carefully watch your meditations4 ,call the oftener upon ,god in some silent1 secret place4 ,select some secluded1 hallowed place1 where nature is most inspiring for meditation4 ,isaac1 the son of ,abraham1 went into the field at eventide to meditate4 ,the evening is a time well suited to draw the soul out into deep1 intimate communion with ,god4 ,the the setting of the sun is a reminder of life's setting sun4 ,you will be brought face to face with the fact that you must some day stand before ,him who created all things4 ,your meditations will become serious4 ,oh1 may you adore the ,creator1 and learn to admire his wondrous works6 ,go forth in the starry evening1 when ,nature is most inviting1 and through her let your soul adore the ,almighty1 and let all within you be awed to solemn stillness at his footfall4 ,idle1 careless thoughts generate a stupidity that will rob you of joy4 ,the sensibilities of your inner nature will become deadened1 and you can no more hear the solemn footsteps of the ,lord1 nor the whispers of his voice4 ,meditating upon pure and holy things and seeing ,god in all1 will elevate the soul to a plane all radiant with light and love1 and put a meekness and modesty in your life and a sweet gentleness in every expression that will seem to make you akin to angels4 ,are you concerned about the peace of your soul8 ,is a happy life worth anything to you8 ,do you have any desire to become more like ,jesus8 ,do you want to do all you can for him8 ,do you want to dwell in heaven with him forever8 ,then let your meditation be upon him1 and your soul sipping at the fountain of ,heaven's love as the flower drinks up the dew4 ,i can not be too earnest in my exhortation to you in this matter4 ,i know how important it is4 ,i want to see you prosper and your soul increase in ,god2 therefore ,i exhort you to meditate upon his law day and night4 ,,reverie4 ,down beside the rippling river ',neath-the weeping willow-tree1 ,viewing nature sweet and lovely1 ,wond'ring what must heaven be4 ,list'ning to the merry songsters ,in the near-by leafy world2 ,such sweet music seems to bear me ,nearer to the gates of gold4 ,breezes murm'ring through the branches1 ,waters rippling o'er the stone1 ,what1 oh1 what must be the anthem ,ringing round the great white throne8 ,songs of birds and streamlet rippling1 ,meadow1 flowers1 and leafy tree1 ,make of earth a land of beauty-- ,what indeed must heaven be8 ,if you love scenes of great grandeur1 ,and to hear sweet music ring1 ,come1 oh6 come with me to heaven1 ,to the land where ,christ is king4 ,a ,,theater4 ,a theater is a place where plays are performed before spectators4 ,people go to such a place to witness the acts of men4 ,the apostle ,paul says1 ,we are made a spectacle unto the world4 #a ,cor4 #d3i4 ,in the margin it reads theater instead of spectacle4 ,in ,conybeare and ,howson's translation this text reads thus3 ,to be gazed at in a theater by the world4 ,you as a ,christian are here in this world on exhibition for ,god4 ,he is the character you are to represent in life's great play4 ,you must live in such a way as to do justice to his name4 ,this world is looking on4 ,god has written the entire play in his book4 ,you have a life-time to play it in4 ,if you will live in humble obedience to all the ,word of ,god1 you will act your part well and faithfully represent his true character4 ,,rest ,,of ,,the ,,soul4 ,come unto me1 all ye that labor and are heavy-laden1 and ,i will give you rest4 ,take my yoke upon you1 and learn of me2 for ,i am meek and lowly in heart3 and ye shall find rest unto your souls4 ,mat4 #aa3bh1bi4 ,wonderful words of love and hope6 ,never did a sweeter nor richer invitation than this reach mortal ears4 ,a whole world of humankind groaning under a burden1 tossing in unrest1 laboring under pain1 sighing with sorrow1 roaming in discontent1 filled with fear1 sinking in despair4 ,but ,one appears upon the scene and says1 ,come unto me1 and ,i will give you rest4 ,oh1 may the humble followers of the lowly ,nazarene echo and reecho this invitation of love among the haunts of men as long as time shall last6 ,amid a world of sin and trouble1 a soul at rest2 how blessed6 ,you remember the day you came to him4 ,your sins with all the burden of guilt were taken away and you found rest4 ,later you dedicated yourself fully and forever to the ,lord and entered into the fulness of his rest4 ,canaan's fair land is the soul's sweet home of rest4 ,what heaven will be we can not know now4 ,doubtless scenes and experiences will arise of such a nature as to greatly enhance the felicity of our hearts2 but the revelation of heaven upon a sanctified soul and ,the enjoyment of heavenly bliss ,e'en in a world like this can never be told4 ,storms will arise and threaten you2 but if the cable of faith remains unbroken and the anchor of hope unshaken1 your little bark can sail on sweetly at rest4 ,doubts are very destructive to soul-rest2 therefore they must be dispelled at their first approach4 ,by faith your soul can be kept in the precious realization of heavenly enjoyments2 you can have sweet walks with ,god and tastes of his love all along your journey of life4 ,by living in the vale of humble submission to ,god1 fully and freely yielded to his control1 upon your soul the sweets of heaven's graces will be distilled like the gentle siftings of the evening dew upon the flower1 transporting you to wondrous felicity in ,god all along your pilgrim way4 ,behold the fowls of the air3 ,they sow not1 neither do they reap2 ,yet kings have not more healthful fare1 ,nor rest in calmer1 sweeter sleep4 ,they have no barns nor hoarded grain1 ,yet all day long a soft1 sweet strain ,they warble forth from forest tree2 ,ever happy and ever free1 ,teaching a lesson dear to me4 ,so free from care1 ,o sylvan band2 ,fed by a heavenly ,father's hand4 ,your freedom1 ,o ye fowls of heaven1 ,new courage to my soul hath given2 ,i no more can doubt or sorrow3 ,god will care for me to-morrow4 ,behold the lilies how they grow3 ,they toil not neither do they spin2 ,yet kings in all their pomp and show ,are not arrayed like one of them2 ,smiling and free in breezes sway1 ,yet clothed by heavenly hand are they4 ,meek lilies of the quiet fields1 ,your growth instruction to me yields4 ,the ,one who clothes the lily fair ,and gives it tender1 earnest care-- ,will he not hear my fervent prayer8 ,the ,one who notes the sparrow's fall-- ,does he not love his creatures all8 ,if he so clothes each tuft and tree ,and gives the birds such liberty1 ,will he not clothe and care for me8 ,i no more can doubt or sorrow3 ,god will care for me to-morrow4 ,a merry heart is a continual feast4 ,it is the will of ,god that you be always happy4 ,if you are not contented with such things as you have1 you would not be contented had you ever so much4 ,those who are always contented and happy are a most gracious contribution from ,god to a discontented world4 ,this sin-darkened world is dotted here and there by beautiful ,christian lives1 which are to the world's weary wastes what the oasis is to the parched desert4 ,the ,christian has the blessed privilege of proving to a covetous1 discontented world that man can by the grace of ,god he contented under the most adverse circumstances4 ,oftentimes people conclude that they would be happy if their surrounding circumstances were different4 ,true happiness consists not so much in the environments1 as in the dispositions of the heart4 ,after a day of labor1 what a pleasure it is to meet at home the warmth of hearts we love6 ,after a life of toil1 what will be the pleasure of meeting all the loved in heaven8 ,i am told that the language of the ,algonquin ,indians of ,north ,america contained no word from which to translate the word love4 ,when the ,english missionaries translated the ,bible into that language they were obliged to coin a word for love4 ,what must be a language without love8 and what must be the heart6 ,the ,christian out upon life's sea can1 by faith1 hope1 and love1 weather the wildest storm that ever the winds of adversity blew4 ,hope is the anchor fastened to the eternal word of ,god2 faith is the cable attached to the anchor hope4 ,illustration3 ,my pathway of life is now paved with peace1 ,the flowers e'er bloom bright and gay2 ,a halo of light is shed around me ,as ,i walk the beautiful way4 ,,happiness ,,of ,,life4 ,down1 down in the depths of infinite love1 ,filled with all the fulness of ,god1 ,joy's cup ev'ry moment filled from above1 ,as adown life's pathway ,i trod4 ,no sin sways its scepter over my soul1 ,god's righteousness fills ev'ry part1 ,his fulness of glory keeping the whole1 ,and ,i love him with all my heart4 ,sing not to me of the pleasures of earth1 ,i have found a much happier way2 ,the joys of the ,lord1 of far greater worth1 ,are filling my life ev'ry day4 ,sorrow and sighing have flown away1 ,from trouble and care ,i am free1 ,the peace of ,god over my heart holds sway2 ,i am as happy as ,i can be4 ,you are tempted1 you say1 and sorely tried2 ,of that ,i have nothing to say1 ,the victory is mine whate'er may betide2 ,i'm happy each hour of the day4 ,my pathway of life is now paved with peace1 ,the flow'rs ever bloom bright and gay2 ,a halo of light is shed around me ,as ,i walk the beautiful way4 ,,the ,,hidden ,,life4 ,you have experienced a resurrection4 ,you once were dead in sin2 now you are alive unto ,god4 ,you have been translated from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light4 ,you are a new creation2 you have a new life4 ,though you have existence in this world1 yet the world does not discover your true life4 ,with ,christ it is hid in ,god4 ,the world knows nothing of you except as they see you in the life you live in the flesh4 ,you have a higher life to which they are as insensible as the inanimate stone is to the life of the bird4 ,you are one of ,god's hidden ones1 and a stranger on the earth1 because you are unknown4 ,you are not found in the halls of worldly pleasure1 but instead are to be found by the bedside of the sick1 reading the ,bible1 praying1 or speaking words of cheer and comfort1 and the world wonders how you can enjoy yourself in such a way4 ,you have a joy that is unknown to them1 because you have a life that is hidden from them4 ,that life of yours which is hid with ,christ in ,god finds no enjoyment in the pleasures of the world4 ,when adversity comes the world does not understand how it is that you can rejoice2 and when circumstances are very unfavorable1 how you can be happy is a mystery to them4 ,it is because you do not live in the things of the world1 but in a much higher realm4 ,if your life is hid with ,christ in ,god1 your heart's longings will be for the things above2 all your affections will be on things above4 ,those who live upon earth are seeking the things of earth2 but those who live above in ,god seek the things which are above4 ,nothing of earth has any charms for them4 ,christ has won their hearts4 ,they love him intensely4 ,they live in him4 ,they are sojourning here upon earth for a time1 but their hearts are with ,christ in heaven4 ,their home1 their love1 their treasures1 their hopes1 their thoughts1 their life1--all are there1 and they are seeking with eagerness for more of that sweet1 precious life which is from above4 ,they walk here almost like one in a dream1 as concerning this world2 they know but little of earth1 but much of heaven4 ,this earth is not my home1 ,i live above1 ,where peace and joys abound-- ,sweet land of love4 ,my life is hid in ,god ,with ,christ the ,son1 ,though here on earth ,i am ,by earth unknown4 ,i dwell in worlds above1 ,by thought and prayer-- ,oh1 blest eternal home6 ,my heart is there4 ,,consciousness ,,of ,,god',s ,,presence4 ,happy and blessed is the soul that is conscious of ,god's sweet indwelling presence4 ,being conscious of ,god's presence is what the ,psalmist meant when he said1 ,o taste and see that the ,lord is good4 ,tasting ,god is an expression incomprehensible to the unregenerate4 ,those who have tasted him comprehend the meaning of this expression better than they can tell it4 ,when a bit of sugar is placed upon the tongue there is experienced a sweetness in the sense of taste4 ,when the soul tastes of ,god there is experienced a sweetness in the spiritual being4 ,the sweetness of ,god's presence in the soul is as much more glorious than the sweetness of sugar to the taste as spiritual and heavenly things are above literal and earthly things4 ,god and his word are inseparable1 or the word is ,god2 therefore when the ,psalmist says1 ,how sweet are thy words unto my taste6 yea1 sweeter than honey to my mouth1 it is in reality tasting the sweetness of ,god4 ,the awakened soul thirsts for this sweetness of the divine presence4 ,nothing else can satisfy it4 ,the wealth and pleasure of the world do not contain a sweetness sufficient to satisfy the heart of man4 ,it is only ,god that can fill the hungry soul with goodness4 ,the divine life sheds peace and light and rest in the soul4 ,man receives the divine presence into his spiritual being when he is quickened by the ,spirit4 ,in the ,word of ,god it is termed passing from death unto life1 and being born again4 ,in sanctification when a revolution is effected in the nature of man and he becomes a partaker of the divine nature1 it is then he is conscious of the fulness of the divine presence and is at rest4 ,glory be to ,god6 ,to possess the divine presence in its fulness is not the end of the ,christian race4 ,there are certain conditions for man to meet in order to possess this glorious inheritance1 and there are certain conditions for him to meet in order to retain it4 ,not only is man able1 in the economy of grace1 to retain the sweet consciousness of the divine presence in the soul1 but in his hands are placed instruments that enable him to cultivate and deepen this consciousness and thus add glory to glory and cause his way to shine more and more unto the perfect day4 ,oh1 how many ,christians would enjoy more of heaven's glory in their souls1 if by careful cultivation they would increase the sense of the divine presence6 ,dear pilgrim1 have you reached the land of eternal weights of glory or the regions where joy is unspeakable8 ,to cultivate or deepen the sense of the divine presence requires an almost constant effort4 ,right at this point is where perhaps more ,christians have failed to do what was required of them than at any other2 and consequently experience less joy and power than formerly4 ,there are many things employed by ,satan to weaken this consciousness of ,god4 ,looseness of thought1 moments of idleness1 or yieldings to self1 serve to weaken the reverential feeling in our hearts toward him4 ,a little attention to the world1 a little thought for the morrow1 a little anxiety1 a little too much talking1--these things destroy the consciousness of the divine presence in the soul1 and rob us of spiritual power and rest4 ,living before ,god in prayer1 holy and pure thoughts1 the entertaining of right feelings toward ,god and man1 acts of benevolence and self-sacrifice for the benefit of others1 develop and fashion the soul more and more into the beauty of the divine life4 ,it is the privilege of the saint so to walk in the presence of ,god and live in holy communion with him as to draw ,god's glory and life into his own1 and give him a feature very distinguishing for ordinary natural man4 ,if we wish to be like ,jesus and enjoy the sweet consciousness of his presence1 we must live with him in prayer4 ,as we improve the health and strength of our physical being by proper food and exercise1 so we improve the strength and beauty of our spiritual being by proper meditation and prayer4 ,,reflection4 ,how often when walking down the country lane in the twilight of a summer's evening you have looked upon the round1 full moon and exclaimed1 ,what a tender1 beautiful light6 how soft and mellow is the glow6 ,but you must remember the light is not its own4 ,of itself it is a cold1 dark body4 ,the great luminary that so recently sank behind the western hills is the real light4 ,it pours its brilliant rays upon the moon and the moon reflects the sun's light upon your pathway4 ,the moon1 therefore1 is only a reflector4 ,you stand before a mirror and behold your face and form imaged in the glass4 ,the glass acts as a reflector1 reproducing the objects that are placed before it and shine upon it4 ,the unregenerate heart is dark and reflects no light2 but ,god can take it and cleanse1 purge1 and polish it1 and make it capable of reflecting the virtues of heaven's grace4 #a ,cor4 #ac3ab is rendered thus by ,conybeare and ,howson3 ,so now we see darkly1 by a mirror2 but then face to face4 ,while here in this life we can not see the real and true glories of the eternal world2 but we can see some of its beauties and glories mirrored in the face of nature and the ,bible4 ,the starry worlds above us1 the verdant hills1 the swaying forests1 the waving grain1 the fleeting cloud1 the blooming flower1 dimly shadow forth the glory that awaits our expectant souls in that bright world where angels dwell4 ,the ,greek text of #b ,cor4 #c3ah is beautifully rendered in these words by the above mentioned translators3 ,with face unveiled we behold in a mirror the brightness of our ,lord's glory1 are ourselves transformed into the same likeness2 and the glory which shines upon us is reflected by us1 even as it proceeds from the ,lord1 the ,spirit4 ,these words are full of grandeur to my soul4 ,their wondrous beauty and sublimity can not fail to awaken admiration in every ,spirit-quickened and purity-loving heart4 ,you will see1 ,christian reader1 the position you occupy as a follower of the ,lamb of ,god4 ,you are a reflector2 you have no light of yourself4 ,god shines his glory upon you and you reflect it to the world1 and thus you become the light of the world4 ,in one translation character is used instead of glory4 ,god's character is shined into your soul1 and you are to reflect it to the world4 ,there is another clause in the above quotation too full of riches and too well adapted to this work to pass by unnoticed4 ,it is this3 ,we behold in a mirror the brightness of our ,lord's glory1 are ourselves transformed into the same likeness4 ,we do not grow into salvation1 neither do we grow into sanctification2 but after we receive this glorious experience there is still a continual transforming into a more perfect likeness of ,christ4 ,while in the ,museum of ,art in one of our large cities last spring ,i saw an artist reproducing on canvas a painting which hung upon the wall4 ,i looked upon the painting on the wall and upon the reproduction before the artist4 ,so far as ,i could see the reproduction was in exact imitation of the original2 but the eye of the artist could see farther than mine4 ,he kept on applying the brush1 giving a slight touch here and a slight touch there1 and soon ,i discovered that the features stood out in more perfect imitation4 ,so let us stand before the original and let the ,holy ,spirit work in us that which is pleasing to ,god1 and we shall be continually transformed into a more perfect likeness of ,god4 ,this must be your daily life4 ,attend strictly to every ,christian duty1 be obedient to the ,word and ,spirit of ,god1 and you will become more and more like him and your soul will be rich in grace4 ,,becoming4 ,one translation has rendered ,phil4 #a3bg in these beautiful words3 ,let your manner of life be becoming the gospel of ,christ4 ,we speak of anything being becoming when it gives a good appearance4 ,an article of clothing becomes you when it gives you a better or less awkward appearance4 ,so your life is to be becoming to the gospel of ,christ4 ,you are to live so that your life will make the gospel of ,christ more beautiful to the hearts of men4 ,you can do this only by living just as the ,bible reads4 ,all the precious truths of the ,bible are to read in your life just as they do in the ,bible1 and thus your life will give a better appearance to ,god's ,word and make it more real and interesting to the unsaved4 ,,love ,,of ,,home4 ,illustration3 ,a ,,happy ,,home4 ,there are but few sweeter words in the ,english language than the word home4 ,i have thought the three sweetest words are mother1 home1 and heaven4 ,home is the dearest place in all the world to the ,christian heart4 ,to have a fond love for home is not at all injurious to ,christian character4 ,those who have but little love for home will never succeed well in the ,christian life4 ,it may sometimes occur that some of the home members are so disagreeable that the ,christian for peace' sake will quit the home roof2 but he still loves home4 ,sometimes young people think that to enjoy life they must get out from under parental rule and roof4 ,we have an instance of this nature recorded in the ,bible4 ,how soon we learn of the prodigal's longing for the comforts of home4 ,how often he thought of his father's house1 that place so dear to him now4 ,the love of home is a high mark of integrity4 ,show me one who has no love for home1 and ,i will show you one who has but little true manhood or womanhood4 ,the ,bible command to young ,christians is to be chaste1 keepers at home4 ,when our duty and service to ,god demand our absence from home we submit and go in the strength of his grace1 but lose not our love for home1 and return in joy at ,father's will4 ,you can nowhere find more of heaven upon earth than in a ,christian home4 ,look at the picture3 ,a father with the ,holy ,bible1 the mother and children listening in reverence to the heavenly message4 ,where1 ,i say1 can you find more of heaven8 ,such a scene is most sweet and sacred4 ,methinks the angels bend low to catch the chants of praise that arise from those devoted hearts to the gates of heaven4 ,such a picture1 you may say1 is very beautiful and inspiring to look upon1 but where is the reality8 ,thank ,god1 such a home can be real in life1 and it is your duty as a ,christian to help make it so4 ,god is pleased with such a home4 ,it is much to his praise4 ,since such homes are so rare they are all the more glorifying to ,god1 and we should strive the more earnestly to have them real4 ,in your home is the place to shine for ,god4 ,it is the place to shed forth the radiant beams of ,christian light from your grace-ladened soul4 ,if you hope to prosper in the divine life1 be your best at home4 ,do not think you can be careless at home and then shine in the splendor of ,christian virtue when before the public4 ,your life at home leaves its mark upon you4 ,shine in ,christian beauty at home1 and you will shine in beauty in public2 but attempt away from home to be more than you are at home1 and you will miserably fail4 ,a few years ago while in one of our large ,eastern cities laboring for ,jesus and souls for whom he died ,i wrote a few lines to the dear ones at home1 which perhaps will not be out of place to insert here4 ,when the light of day is dying ,and the shades of night steal on1 ,voices to my mem'ry whisper ,of the dear loved ones at home4 ,ere the chandelier is lighted1 ,ere the day's last ray is gone1 ,o'er me comes a fond remembrance ,of the dear loved ones at home4 ,far above in arch of heaven ,lamps are lighted one by one1 ,but ,i only see the bright eyes ,of the dear loved ones at home4 ,far away beyond the region ,where ,i see those shining stars1 ,somewhere in the land of angels1 ,dwells a little boy of ours4 ,years ago one wintry evening ,heaven's gate was opened wide1 ,and an angel swift descended1 ,with a sickle at his side4 ,paused he at our boy's low trundle ,in the evening twilight hour1 ,caught away his happy spirit ,to its home beyond the stars4 ,how my heart adores the ,giver ,of all good o'er land and sea1 ,but ,i praise him more than ever ,for the dear ones left to me4 ,as ,i think of her he gave me ,in my happy youthful time1 ,how he bound our hearts together ,at love's pure and sacred shrine2 ,as ,i think of her this moment1 ,given me by love divine1 ,seems ,i almost feel the pressure ,of her gentle hand in mine4 ,in the arms of night ,i'm folded1 ,soon in dreamland ,i shall roam2 ,then ,i'll go and see the dear ones-- ,see the dear loved ones at home4 ,,victory4 ,when you are forgotten or neglected1 or purposely set at naught1 and you smile inwardly1 glorying in the insult or the oversight1 because thereby counted worthy to suffer with ,christ--that is victory4 ,when your good is evil spoken of1 when your wishes are crossed1 your taste offended1 your advice disregarded1 your opinions ridiculed1 and you take it all in patient1 loving silence--that is victory4 ,when you are content with any food1 any raiment1 any climate1 any society1 any solitude1 any interruption by the will of ,god--that is victory4 ,when you can lovingly and patiently bear with any disorder1 any irregularity1 any unpunctuality1 or any annoyance--that is victory4 ,when you can stand face to face with waste1 folly1 extravagance1 spiritual insensibility1 and endure it all as ,jesus endured it--that is victory4 ,when you never care to refer to yourself in conversation or to record your own good works1 or to itch after commendation1 when you can truly love to be unknown--that is victory4 ,when1 like ,paul1 you can throw all your suffering on ,jesus1 thus converting it into a means of knowing his overcoming grace1 and can say from a surrendered heart1 ,most gladly1 therefore1 do ,i take pleasure in infirmities1 in reproaches1 in necessities1 in persecutions1 in distresses1 for ,christ's sake--that is victory4 #b ,cor4 #ab3g-aa4 ,when death and life are both alike to you through ,christ1 and to do his perfect will1 you delight not more in one than the other--that is victory1 for1 through him1 you may become able to say1 ,christ shall be magnified in my body1 whether it be by life or by death4 ,phil4 #a3bj4 ,death is swallowed up in victory4 #a ,cor4 #ae3ed4 ,the perfect victory is to put on the ,lord ,jesus ,christ and thus to triumph over one's self4 ,rom4 #ac3ad4 ,in all things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us4 ,rom4 #h3cg4 ,,the ,,first ,,love4 ,you may wonder why we write so much about love4 ,it is for the very best reason in the world4 ,nothing is so great as love1 and no way so excellent4 ,it is difficult to bind people together where love is lacking4 ,a religious people may resolve to live in peace and confidence with one another2 but this they will find to be very difficult if there is a deficiency of love4 ,love solves the problem2 it removes every difficulty1 and is the perfect bond of union4 ,nothing can separate hearts that are full of love4 ,love must be suppressed before division can be admitted4 ,the most earnest exhortations and entreaties and the strongest reprovings fail to get men to attend to every ,christian duty where love is wanting2 but it is not difficult to persuade men to obey ,god and do all they can to glorify him when they love him with all their hearts4 ,there was much in the life of the angel of the church at ,ephesus that was praiseworthy2 but something was lacking4 ,he had left his first love4 ,but1 what is the first love8 ,there is no difference between first love and last love if it be love4 ,pure1 genuine love is the same always--first1 last1 and all the time4 ,the overseers of this church1 and doubtless the church in general1 had lost the ardor of the love which they had at the first4 ,oh1 the warmth1 the sweetness1 of first love6 ,do you not remember it1 dear reader8 ,when you were so clearly and wonderfully born of the ,spirit of ,god1 how ardent was the love in your heart6 ,it thrilled you with delight4 ,there was a delicious1 sweet taste all through your soul4 ,how gladly you would have taken wings and have flown away to the arms of ,him whom your heart loved4 ,the word of ,god was to your soul like honeyed dew upon your lips4 ,how delightful it was to labor for ,jesus6 ,how preciously sweet to make the greatest sacrifices for his sake6 and to go away into some secret place and pray was dearer to you than can ever be told4 ,you found the greatest pleasure in attending to every ,christian duty4 ,i should be glad if ,i could describe to you just what that first love was in your heart4 ,i can not do this1 neither can you2 but you know how it felt1 and how joyful was your soul4 ,oh1 blessed happy day1 when your sins were washed away1 and love sang its sweetest lay within your soul6 ,now1 if you do not have the same ardor2 the same warmth2 the same sweet relish for prayer1 for the word of ,god1 for a meeting2 the same thrilling sense of sweetness in your soul2 that same precious drawing toward ,god and toward the brethren2 that same delight in laboring for ,jesus2 that same joy and happiness in making sacrifices for him and for your fellow man3 if you do not feel those symptoms of love as deeply and as delightfully1 and if they are not in you as actively as they were at the first1--you are like the church at ,ephesus--you have left your first love4 ,in ,wilson's excellent translation this text reads1 ,thou hast relaxed thy first love4 ,they had lost the intensity of their first love4 ,it had relaxed1 or lost tension1 and had become languid4 ,it does not matter to what you testify1 or who you are1 if you have not the same ardor and deep intensity of love that you had at the first1 you have relaxed love4 ,do not deceive yourself4 ,do not make any excuses4 ,there is no necessity of losing this fervency of love4 ,the leaping1 thrilling1 bounding love can be kept in the full blaze of its intensity in your soul as long as you live4 ,i can never encourage a cessation of love4 ,no matter what the circumstances1 we can increase and abound more and more in love4 ,you may have works1 you may have labor1 you may have patience2 so did the church at ,ephesus2 but they had relaxed their first love4 ,see to it1 ,o beloved1 that you do not lose the deep fervency of love4 ,keep it burning in all its brightness and warmth2 and the works and labor and patience are sure to follow4 ,but do not let your works1 and labor1 and patience deceive you4 ,see that there is an underlying principle of love in all you do4 ,if your works and labor and patience be devoid of love1 there will be a secret desire in your heart to attract attention1 and a longing for a bit of praise4 ,but if all is done in purest sincere godly love1 the joy you will find in doing is a full and sufficient reward4 ,and1 may the ,lord give you understanding4 ,,the ,,little ,,foxes4 ,one little fox is1 ,some other time4 ,if you track him up1 you come to his hole--never4 ,another little fox is1 ,i can't4 ,just set on him a plucky little ,i can1 and he will kill him for you4 ,another bad little fox is1 ,just a little pride1 self-will1 worldly conformity1 etc4 ,that little mischief will strip the whole vine if left go4 ,another malignant little fox is ,i haven't faith4 ,he slips into the vineyard through a knot-hole called self4 ,you can shut him out by removing the self-plank and filling up with ,jesus only4 ,another bad little fox is1 ,i haven't power4 ,be sure and catch him4 ,if you will take the pains to dig him up1 you will find his nest some where beyond the end of your present consecration4 ,it will pay you to take him1 if you have to dig deep and work hard4 ,another devouring little fox is1 ,my church4 ,salt and fire is the sure and only antidote for such nasty vermin4 ,we will point out one more little fox1 and he is able to devour all the fruit of the vineyard and kill the very vines4 ,his species is ,fear4 ,one good dose of perfect love will kill him stone-dead4 ,and a constant application of the blood of ,christ will prevent this1 with all other little or big foxes1 yea1 and all other animals1 ever coming to life again4 ,,spiritual ,,declension4 ,a want of interest in the duties of secret devotion is a mark of religious declension4 ,it is well said that prayer is the ,christian's vital breath4 ,a devout spirit is truly the life and soul of godliness4 ,the soul can not but delight in communion with what it loves with warm affection4 ,the disciple1 when his graces are in exercise1 does not enter into his closet and shut the door1 that he may pray to his ,father who is in secret1 merely because it is a duty which must be done1 but because it is a service which he delights to render1 a pleasure which he is unwilling to forego4 ,he goes to the mercy-seat as the thirsty hart goes to the refreshing brook4 ,the springs of his strength are there4 ,there he has blessed glimpses of his ,savior's face1 and unnumbered proofs of his affection4 ,but sometimes the professing ,christian comes to regard the place of secret intercourse with ,god with very different feelings4 ,he loses1 perhaps by a process so gradual that he is scarcely conscious of it for a time1 the tenderness of heart1 and the elevation and fervor of devout affection that he had been used to feel in meeting ,god4 ,there is less and less of spirit and more and more of form in his religious exercises4 ,he retires at the accustomed time rather from force of habit than because inclination draws him4 ,he is enclined to curtail his seasons of retirement or to neglect it altogether if a plausible pretext can be found4 ,he reproaches himself1 perhaps1 but hopes that the evil will cure itself at length4 ,and so he goes on from day to day1 and week to week4 ,prayer--if his heartless service deserves the name--affords him no pleasure and adds nothing to his strength4 ,where such a state of things exists it is evident that the pulses of spiritual life are ebbing fast4 ,if the case is yours1 dear reader1 it ought to fill you with alarm4 ,satan is gaining an advantage of you and seducing you from ,god4 ,a second sign of spiritual declension is indifference to the usual means of grace4 ,the spiritual life1 not less than the natural life1 requires appropriate and continual nourishment4 ,for this want ,god has made ample provision in his ,word4 ,to the faithful-disciple the ,scriptures are rich in interest and profit4 ,o how love ,i thy law6 it is my meditation all the day4 ,to such a soul the preaching of the gospel is a joyful sound2 and the place where kindred spirits mingle in social praise and worship is far more attractive than the scenes of worldly pleasure4 ,but1 alas6 from time to time it happens that some who bear the ,christian name and who have rejoiced in ,christian hopes1 insensibly lose their relish for the ,scriptures4 ,if they continue to read them daily1 it is no longer with such appreciation of their power and beauty as makes them the bread of life1 refreshing and invigorating the soul4 ,their minds are occupied no small portion of the time with thoughts of earthly things4 ,they find it easy to excuse themselves from frequenting the place of social prayer1 and even content themselves1 perhaps1 with an occasional half-day attendance on the more public service of the sanctuary4 ,and when they are in the place of worship they feel listless1 destitute of spiritual affection1 disposed to notice others or to attend to only mere words and forms4 ,they want1 in a great measure1 that preparation of the heart1 without which the means of grace are powerless and lacking in pleasure or profit to the soul4 ,such indifference is conclusive proof that the soul has departed from ,god2 has grieved the ,holy ,spirit and lost the vital power of godliness4 ,if you1 reader1 are conscious of this indifference1 see in it an infallible sign of your backsliding4 ,it declares you have departed from the fountain of living waters and are a wanderer from your ,god4 ,a third indication of declension in the ,christian life is a devotion to the world4 ,love not the world1 neither the things that are in the world4 ,covetousness is idolatry4 ,christians are solemnly enjoined to set their affections on things above1 and to lay up treasures in heaven4 ,but look at yonder professed disciple4 ,see how inordinately anxious he is about gain4 ,he is giving all his thoughts and time to business4 ,he enlarges his plans and extends his views4 ,he suffers the hours of worldly business to encroach upon the time which should be spent in secret or in family worship or in the social prayer4 ,he forgets that he has no right to do this1 and that he can not1 without sin1 permit the claims of earth to crowd out the claims of ,god and his own immortal nature4 ,look1 too1 at his compliance with the tastes and maxims of worldly people4 ,he appears to feel it is not best to be strict in his adhesion to his principles4 ,he doubts if there is any harm in this or that or the other worldly indulgence4 ,he does not see the need of being so strenuous about little things4 ,he is anxious to please everybody and can not bear to thwart the wishes of the worldly-minded4 ,if the world dislikes any of the doctrines or the duties of religion he would have little said about them4 ,in a word1 he is all things to all men1 in a very different sense from what ,paul meant4 ,in his sentiments1 his associations1 his pleasures1 his mode of doing business1 his conversation1 his whole character1 there is far too little that evinces strength of holy principle and godliness4 ,o reader1 has your case been described8 ,you are then a backslider from the ,god whom you covenanted to serve4 ,a fourth sign of a state of declension in spirituality is an unwillingness to receive ,christian counsel or reproof4 ,the ,spirit of ,christ is a tender1 gentle1 docile ,spirit4 ,when the heart of the disciple is full of holy affection he feels that he is frail and insufficient4 ,he seeks wisdom and strength from above and is thankful for the kind suggestions of those whose experience and opportunities have been greater than his own4 ,if he errs and is admonished by some faithful ,christian brother1 he receives it meekly and with a thankful spirit4 ,let the righteous smite me2 it shall be a kindness1 is the language of his heart4 ,even though reproof in itself be painful1 he would not that it should be omitted when he has been in fault1 for he dreads nothing so much as doing wrong--as sinning against ,god and his own soul4 ,but the spirit that departs from ,god and duty is a self-willed spirit4 ,it is impatient of restraint4 ,it is irritable and captious instead of meek and willing to be taught4 ,it can not brook any crossing of its views1 but esteems advice impertinent and meets admonition with resentment4 ,when he exhibits such a temper of mind2 when he disregards the opinions and feelings of fellow ,christians2 when he affects independence and prides himself on doing as he pleases2 when he keeps out of the reach of ,christian counsel1 and justifies himself when affectionately reproved2 when he comes to regard the watchfulness of others over him as an unwelcome and irksome thing2 when he charges you with having a spirit of faultfinding1 of having no charity1 but that you only discourage and press him down when you try to show him his lack of spiritual life1--it is clear that he exhibits no more the fruits of the ,holy ,spirit's influence on his soul4 ,his piety has declined2 he no longer lives in intimacy with ,god and in the atmosphere of heaven4 ,his light is dim4 ,his glory has departed4 ,the last indication of religious declension that we shall now speak of is a careless indifference to the danger arising from temptation4 ,a ,christian whose piety is warm and vigorous has great tenderness of conscience4 ,he dreads the least approach of evil4 ,even the suggestions of sin to the mind are painful4 ,he therefore prays earnestly and daily1 ,lead me not into temptation1 and carefully avoids placing himself in dangerous circumstances4 ,sometimes1 however1 you will see professing ,christians who seem to want this instinctive sense of danger4 ,they often place themselves in circumstances when they might easily have foreseen their strength of principle would be liable to be put to the severest test4 ,they keep company in which it is nearly impossible that their moral feelings should not be defiled4 ,they allow themselves to assort with the idle1 the frivolous1 with those who are given to foolish talking and jesting2 they indulge idle thoughts1 repeat amusing stories1 read hooks and papers that do not gender to piety1 etc4 ,but he who is willing to go as far toward evil as he can with safety1 has lost one of the greatest safe-guards of virtue4 ,he who is ready to tamper with temptation is on dangerous ground and in a sad state of declension4 ,o reader1 turn ye about1 shake loose from the world1 draw nigh to ,god1 let the deep breathings waft your soul upward and upward to greater heights in ,god's joy and love1 and this world will only be a dim specter in the distance4 ,,diligence4 ,o for a closer walk with ,god6 ,this is the inward pleading of many a precious blood-washed soul4 ,i beg leave to tell you that that fulness of ,god1 that deep and perfect satisfaction of soul1 that sweet feeling of deep reverence1 that hushed and sacred feeling of awe1 that close walk with ,god1 is obtained and retained only by the utmost diligence4 ,slothfulness in the ,christian life is a sure source of degeneration4 ,too frequently when saints reach fair ,canaan's happy land they think they have nothing now to do but to sing and shout and praise ,god and go to heaven on flowery beds of ease4 ,to every newly arrived ,christian in ,canaan is given the command1 ,go forward and possess the land4 ,to do this battles must be fought1 giant foes must be defeated1 and the greatest diligence must be practised4 ,god promised ancient ,israel to drive out all the nations of ,canaan from before them1 and that every place whereon the soles of their feet should tread should be theirs1 if they would diligently keep all the commandments that the ,lord commanded them1 to love the ,lord1 to walk in his ways1 and to cleave unto him4 ,see ,deut4 #aa3bb-bd4 ,if we will diligently obey ,god and go forward at his command he will lead us where the milk and honey flow1 and where the pastures are green4 ,our walk with him will be sweet and our souls perfectly satisfied4 ,since the term diligence is so frequently used in ,scripture and such emphasis placed upon it1 it is well worth our time to learn its meaning4 ,we often1 among the saints1 hear testimonies like these3 ,i am living up to all the ,word of ,god2 or1 ,all the ,bible requires of me1 ,i am doing2 ,i love ,god and find delight in doing all his will1 etc4 ,such expressions are very full of meaning and may sometimes mean more than the witness comprehends4 ,let me ask you1 ,are you as diligent in every respect as the ,bible commands you to be8 ,diligence implies an earnest and constant effort to accomplish a desired end--a carefulness1 a heedfulness1 an industry1 a close and fixed attention4 ,many a heart has been robbed of the love of ,god because it was not kept by diligence4 ,many a beloved saint can look back to a few years ago when his soul was more fully satisfied and his heart abounded more in the love of ,god1 and all because diligence was not given to keep the heart4 ,in ,josh4 #bb3e the commandment is to take diligent heed to love ,god1 to walk in his ways1 to keep his commandments1 to cleave unto him1 and to serve him with all the heart and with all the soul4 ,may the ,lord help the reader to comprehend the strength of this commandment4 ,o how precious6 ,to take diligent heed to love ,god1 implies a careful avoidance of everything that would have a tendency to suppress his love in our hearts and to eagerly seek all possible means of increasing that love4 ,all company whose spirit and conversation have a tendency to destroy love is avoided as far as possible without violating the command1 ,be courteous4 ,reading amusing stories2 telling amusing1 worldly incidents1 the happenings of bygone days2 fondness for the general news of the day2 gossiping2 admiration for the pomp and show of the world2 careless1 idle thoughts2 fondness for society1--all serve to extinguish the love of ,god in our hearts4 ,talking with others about ,god and his works1 reading his ,word1 meditating upon him1 praying1 attending meetings1 doing good to all men1 giving of our means to advance his cause1--all these increase the love in our hearts toward him4 ,to be diligent1 to serve the ,lord with all the heart and with all the soul1 is to be industrious in doing all we can for him2 seeking opportunities of doing good1 carefulness in obeying all his commands1 testifying to the works of ,god1 and showing forth his praises continually4 ,your soul may long for a closer walk with ,god1 and well that it does2 but if you do not keep your heart with all diligence from the world1 you will never enjoy the blessed experience4 ,but by giving diligence you can have such a walk with ,god as to fully satisfy your soul4 ,,lowliness4 ,but few traits of ,christian character are more lovely than lowliness4 ,humility1 meekness1 and lowliness are terms nearly synonymous1 but not wholly so4 ,it is somewhat difficult for the mind to grasp the shades of difference in their meaning4 ,it appears1 however1 that lowliness is the deepest depth of humility and meekness4 ,meekness is the opposite of impatience1 harshness1 or irritability1 and has for its fruit gentleness and kindness4 ,humility is the opposite of pride1 and has for its fruits modesty1 unforwardness1 etc4 ,lowliness is simply the opposite of highness in self in any respect1 and has for its fruits meekness and humility with their fruits4 ,to us this command is given3 ',walk worthy of your vocation with all lowliness4' ,if you have the experience of all lowliness1 you will go on in your vocation without discouragement and disappointment1 though you are unnoticed and wholly ignored4 ,and though ,god promotes others and honors them and they are loved and praised by men1 you are glad for them and rejoice4 ,if you have the experience of all lowliness in your soul1 you will not have the least disposition to lift up self4 ,all you do and say will be in godly sincerity4 ,now look closely4 ,if ,god heals some one through your prayers1 be careful when you tell of the healing that it is to lift up the ,lord only4 ,if you have composed a song1 and sing it to a company who do not know that it is your song1 then you tell them the ,lord gave you the song1 what is your motive8 ,do you want them to know how good and great the ,lord is1 and nothing more8 or do you want them to know that you are the author8 ,i say1 look closely into your motive4 ,if1 from the lowliness of your heart1 you desire in all you do and say1 only to exalt the ,lord1 it will be felt in the depth of your speech1 and ,god will be honored2 but if there is the least inclination or feeling to exalt self1 it will be felt in the gracelessness of your speech1 and ,god will be dishonored4 ,go humbly on in life attending to the work ,god has assigned to you1 doing it well and in all lowliness of heart before him1 and be content4 ,,on ,,dress4 ,if you could be as humble when you choose rich apparel 7which ,i flatly deny71 yet you could not be as beneficent1 as plenteous in good works4 ,therefore every shilling that you needlessly spend on your apparel is in effect stolen from the poor6 ,for what end do you want these ornaments8 ,to please ,god8 ,no6--but to please your own fancy or to gain the admiration and applause of those who are no wiser than yourself4 ,if so1 what you wear you are in effect tearing from the back of the naked2 and the costly and delicate food you eat1 you are snatching from the mouth of the hungry4 ,for mercy1 for pity1 for ,christ's sake1 for the honor of his gospel1 stay your hand6 ,do not throw this money away4 ,do not lay out on nothing1 yea worse than nothing1 what may clothe your poor1 naked1 shivering fellow creatures4 ,many years ago1 when ,i was at ,oxford1 on a cold winter's day1 a young maid 7one of those we keep at school7 called on me4 ,i said1 ,you seem half starved4 ,have you nothing to cover you but that thin gown8 ,she said1 ,sir1 this is all ,i have4 ,i put my hand in my pocket1 but found no money left1 having just paid away all that ,i had4 ,it struck me1 ,will thy ,master say1 ',well done1 good and faithful steward4 ,thou hast adorned thy wall with the money which might have screened this poor creature from the cold'8 ,o justice6 ,o mercy6 ,are not these pictures the blood of the poor maid8 ,see thy expensive apparel in the same light2 thy gown1 hat1 head-dress6 ,everything about thee which costs more than ,christian duty required thee to lay on1 is the blood of the poor6 ,oh1 be wise for the time to come6 ,be more merciful2 more faithful to ,god and man2 more abundantly clad 7like men and women professing godliness7 with good works4 ,it is stark1 staring nonsense to say1 ,oh1 ,i can afford this or that6 ,if you have regard to common sense1 let that silly word never come into your mouth4 ,no man living can afford to throw away any part of that food or raiment into the sea which was lodged with him on purpose to feed the hungry and clothe the naked4 ,and it is far worse than waste to spend any part of it in gay and costly apparel4 ,for this is no less than to turn wholesome food into deadly poison4 ,it is giving so much money to poison both yourself and others as far as your example spreads1 with pride1 vanity1 anger1 lust1 love of the world1 and a thousand foolish and hurtful desires which tend to pierce them through with many sorrows4 ,o ,god1 arise and maintain thy own cause6 ,let not men and devils any longer put out our eyes and lead as blindfolded into the pit of destruction4 ,god demands of his people that they dress modestly as becomes people who profess holiness4 ,the putting on of apparel for adornment and the wearing of jewelry are not consistent with ,christian modesty4 ,the nude and lewd art of dressing which is becoming so prevalent among professors of ,christ is an abomination in the sight of ,god1 and a practise which no virtuous man or woman can countenance4 ,if professors would stop and consider the character of women who invent popular fashions of the age they might well blush with shame at their eager attempts to follow the modern styles of dress invented by the wicked leaders of fashion in ,london and ,paris1 whence the latest styles of this country generally emanate4 ,it is indeed sad to behold the young of to-day making themselves unfit to fulfil the sacred functions of wife and mother by the use of the modern corset1 as well as laying a foundation for years of misery1 dragged out in this life by diseases brought upon them by catering to the creed of millions who worship at the shrine of ,fashion4 ,the pride of their hearts1 pampered and fed by the foolish practises of the age1 blinds them to their obligations to ,god as a ,creator and ,savior2 and amid the whirl of earthly vanity they hasten to the awful doom that awaits all who fail to obey the gospel of ,christ4 ,the ,word of ,god gives plain directions to ,christians as to how they should dress4 ,in olden times ,god permitted his people to wear some jewelry2 that is1 there was no law against it2 but there came a time when he promised that he would cleanse the hearts of his people from all pride and vanity1 and they should find no pleasure in putting on ornamental dress and jewelry1 and costly array4 ,in ,isa4 #c3af-bc we have a clear prophecy of the gospel age1 and how ,god was going to have his people dress modestly in accordance with their profession4 ,we shall quote from the ,,lxx3 ,thus saith the ,lord1 because the daughters of ,sion are haughty1 and have walked with an outstretched neck1 and with winking of the eyes1 and motion of the feet3 444 therefore the ,lord will humble the chief daughters of ,sion1 and the ,lord will expose their form in that day2 and the ,lord will take away the glory of their raiment1 the curls and the fringes1 and the crescents1 and the chains1 and the ornaments of their faces1 and the array of glorious ornaments1 and the armlets1 and the bracelets1 and the wreathed work1 and the finger-rings1 and the ornaments for the right hand1 and the earrings1 and the garments with scarlet borders1 and the garments with purple grounds1 and the shawls to be worn in the house1 and the ,spartan transparent dresses1 and those made of fine linen1 and the purple ones1 and the scarlet ones1 and the fine linen1 interwoven with gold and purple1 and the light coverings for couches4 ,we shall now quote from the ,new ,testament3 ,in like manner also1 that women adorn themselves in modest apparel1 with shamefacedness and sobriety2 not with broided hair1 or gold1 or pearls1 or costly array2 but 7which becometh women professing godliness7 with good works4 #a ,tim4 #b3i1aj4 ,likewise1 ye wives1 be in subjection to your own husbands2 that1 if any obey not the word1 they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives2 while they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear1 whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair1 and of wearing of gold1 or of putting on of apparel2 but let it be the hidden man of the heart1 in that which is not corruptible1 even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit1 which is in the sight of ,god of great price4 #a ,pet4 #c3a-d4 ,the wearing of feathers1 artificial flowers1 frills1 flounces1 unnecessary tucks and trimmings1 is not in harmony with the gospel standard of modest apparel4 ,queer-shaped hats1 such as we see worn by the people who follow the fashions of the world1 should be avoided by the saints as they would every other thing unbecoming to a ,christian2 not fashioning themselves according to their former lusts in their ignorance4 ,but as he which hath called you is holy1 so he ye holy in all manner of conversation4 #a ,pet4 #a3ae4 ,the all-wise ,god who gave these commands knows what is for the good of his people1 and if we love him1 we will obey4 ,when the heart is cleansed from all pride there will be no difficulty in measuring up to the gospel on the matter of modest apparel4 ,we trust all who read this may realize it is truth4 ,,the ,,elixir ,,of ,,life4 ,i have seen patent medicines bearing the above title4 ,by the word elixir is meant length of days and happiness4 ,the medical man by labeling his cordial with this title offers to give to all who will take it a long life of happiness4 ,such things have their sad failures2 but ,i will offer to you a prescription1 which1 if you will carefully follow1 will prove an unfailing elixir of life4 ,for he that will love life1 and see good days1 let him refrain his tongue from evil1 and his lips that they speak no guile3 let him eschew evil1 and do good2 let him seek peace1 and ensue it4 #a ,pet4 #c3aj1aa4 ,if the reader will follow these directions strictly1 making them practical in every-day life1 we can upon the authority ,god has given insure him a long and happy life4 ,,rules ,,for ,,every-,,day ,,life4 ,let your speech be alway with grace1 seasoned with salt4 ,col4 #d3f4 ,withhold not good from them to whom it is due1 when it is in the power of thine hand to do it4 ,prov4 #c3bg4 ,walk in wisdom toward them that are without4 ,col4 #d3e4 ,do all things without murmurings and disputings4 ,phil4 #b3ad4 ,let another man praise thee1 and not thine own mouth4 ,prov4 #bg3b4 ,be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks4 ,prov4 #bg3bc4 ,eat so much as is sufficient for thee4 ,prov4 #be3af4 ,be not wise in your own conceits4 ,rom4 #ab3af ,abstain from all appearance of evil4 #a ,thes4 #e3bb4 ,see that none render evil for evil unto any man4 #a ,thes4 #e3ae4 ,be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love4 ,rom4 #ab3aj4 ,be not overcome of evil1 but overcome evil with good4 ,rom4 #ab3ba4 ,be content with such things as ye have4 ,heb4 #ac3e4 ,whatsoever thy hand findeth to do1 do it with thy might4 ,eccl4 #i3aj4 ,let all things be done with charity4 #a ,cor4 #af3ad4 ,count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations4 ,jas4 #a3b4 ,keep thyself pure4 #a ,tim4 #e3bb4 ,in everything give thanks4 ,i ,thes4 #e3ah4 ,keep yourselves in the love of ,god4 ,jude #ba4 ,praying always with all prayer and supplication in the ,spirit1 and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints4 ,eph4 #f3ah4 ,a ,,holy ,,life4 ,what1 in its true sense1 is a holy life8 ,it is the life of ,jesus4 ,his whole manner of life was truly holy4 ,his life is the ideal life4 ,if we would live holy1 we must live as he lived4 ,we must walk as he walked4 ,the artist has his ideal before him1 and with touches of the brush here and there upon his drawing he forms a picture in an exact image of the ideal4 ,the life of ,jesus is what we are to imitate4 ,he sets the example of holy living and calls us to the same holy life4 ,as he which hath called you is holy1 so be ye holy in all manner of conversation4 #a ,pet4 #a3ae4 ,this text has a better rendering in the ,revised ,version3 ,like as he which called you is holy1 be ye yourselves also holy in all manner of living4 ,we1 as ,christians1 are ,god's offspring and as such are like him4 ,holiness in the life of ,jesus is found not only in the greater miracles which he performed1 but also in the lesser happenings of his life4 ,the restoring of life to the dead is no more beautifully holy than the laying of his hands upon the heads of children and blessing them4 ,his memorable ,sermon on the ,mount no more portrays the loveliness of his character than the conversation with the woman by the wayside well4 ,it is the little things in every-day life1 if attended to and kept in the meekness and solemnity of the ,spirit of ,christ1 that make life truly beautiful and holy4 ,it is not the eloquent sermon that makes a life so sublime2 but it is the tender smile1 the kind word1 the gentle look1 that is given to all4 ,it is the patient manner in which all the little trying and provoking things of life are met4 ,you may preach or write ever so forcibly and eloquently1 and bring out the sublime truths of the ,bible in great beauty2 but if1 in the privacy of your own home1 there are little frettings1 a little peevishness1 a little crossness1 a little levity1 a little selfishness1 a little distrust1 your life is not as truly holy as it should be4 ,if you desire ,god's holy image to be stamped upon your soul1 your countenance1 and your life1 carefully avoid the little sprigs of lightness1 the little bits of sloth and indolence1 touches of forwardness1 rudeness1 coarseness1 and crossness1 and acts of selfishness1 etc4 ,pure words belong to a holy life4 ,you should use the very choicest words4 ,words that are wholly free from vulgarity1 slang1 and the spirit of the world4 ,untidiness1 uncleanness1 carelessness1 and shabbiness are not at all beautiful ornaments in a holy life4 ,but quietness1 modesty1 and reticence are gems which sparkle in a holy life like diamond sets in a band of gold4 ,give attention to your words1 your thoughts1 your tone of voice1 your feelings1 the practise of self-denial1 of little acts of benevolence1 of promptness1 of method and order4 ,these are auxiliaries to holy living4 ,are there not many little things in your home life that you can improve upon8 ,seek ,god for help and be truly holy4 ,a ,,solitary ,,way4 ,there is a mystery in human hearts1 ,and though we be encircled by a host ,of those who love us well1 and are beloved1 ,to ev'ry one of us1 from time to time1 ,there comes a sense of utter loneliness4 ,our dearest friend is stranger to our joy1 ,and can not realize our bitterness4 ,there is not one who really understands1 ,not one to enter into all ,i feel1 ,such is the cry of each of us in turn4 ,we wander in a solitary way1 ,no matter what or where our lot may be2 ,each heart1 mysterious even to itself1 ,must live its inner life in solitude4 ,and would you know the reason why this is8 ,it is because the ,lord desires our love4 ,in ev'ry heart he wishes to be first1 ,he therefore keeps the secret key himself1 ,to open all its chambers1 and to bless ,with perfect sympathy and holy peace ,each solitary soul which comes to him4 ,so when we feel this loneliness it is ,the voice of ,jesus saying1 ,come to me2 ,and ev'ry time we are not understood1 ,it is a call to us to come again3 ,for ,christ alone can satisfy the soul4 ,and those who walk with him from day to day ,can never have a solitary way4 ,and when beneath some heavy cross you faint ,and say1 ,i can not bear this load alone1 ,you say the truth4 ,christ made it purposely ,so heavy that you must return to him4 ,the bitter grief1 which no one understands1 ,conveys a secret message from the ,king1 ,entreating you to come to him again4 ,the ,man of sorrows understands it well1 ,in all points tempted1 he can feel with you2 ,you can not come too often1 or too near4 ,the ,son of ,god is infinite in grace1 ,his presence satisfies the longing soul2 ,and those who walk with him from day to day ,can never have a solitary way4 ,,stirring ,,the ,,eagle',s ,,nest4 ,as an eagle stirreth up her nest1 that fluttereth over her young1 he spread abroad his wings1 he took them1 he bare them on his pinions4 ,that picture is full of poetry1 full of life and truth and beauty4 ,mark it4 ,have you ever seen an eagle stir up her nest8 ,you know what happens4 ,there in the nest1 right upon the rocky heights1 are the eaglets4 ,the mother eagle comes and1 taking hold of them1 flings them out of the nest4 ,they were so comfortable there1 but she flings them right out of the nest1 high above the earth4 ,they begin to fall straightway4 ,they never have been in air before2 they have always been in the nest4 ,is not that mother bird cruel8 ,why does she disturb the eaglets8 ,watch her and you will understand4 ,as long as you look upon the struggling eaglets in the air you miss the point4 ,watch the eagle4 ,having stirred up her nest1 she spreadeth abroad her pinions1 the pinions that beat the air behind her as she rises superior to it4 ,where are the eaglets8 ,struggling1 falling2 she is superior2 they are falling4 ,then what does she do8 ,she beareth them on her pinions4 ,she swoops beneath them1 catches them on her wings1 and bears them up4 ,what is she doing8 ,teaching them to fly4 ,she drops them again1 and again they struggle in the air1 but this time not so helplessly4 ,they are finding out what she means4 ,she spreads her pinions to show them how to fly1 and as they fall again1 she catches them again4 ,that is how ,god deals with you and me4 ,has he been stirring up your nest8 ,has he flung you out until you feel lost in an element that is new and strange8 ,look at him4 ,he is not lost in that element4 ,he spreads out the wings of omnipotence to teach us how to soar4 ,what then8 ,he comes beneath us and catches us on his wings4 ,we thought when he flung us out of the nest it was unkind4 ,no2 he was teaching us to fly that we might enter into the spirit of the promise1 ,they shall mount up with wings as eagles4 ,he would teach us how to use the gifts which he has bestowed on us1 and which we can not use as long as we are in the nest4 ,fancy keeping eaglets in the nest6 ,it is contrary to their nature1 contrary to the purposes for which they are framed and fitted4 ,there is a purpose in the eagle4 ,what is it6 ,flight upward4 ,there is a purpose in your life1 new-born child of ,god6 ,what is it8 ,flight ,godward1 sunward1 heavenward4 ,if you stop in the nest you will never get there4 ,god comes into your life and disturbs you1 breaks up your plans1 and extinguishes your hopes1 the lights that have lured you on4 ,he spoils everything2 what for8 ,that he may get you on his wings and teach you the secret forces of your own life1 and lead you to the higher development and higher purposes4 ,the government of ,god is a disturbing element1 but1 praise his name6 it is a progressive element4 ,,some ,,things ,,you ,,should ,,not ,,do4 ,do not forget to pray4 ,do not waste any moments in idleness4 ,do not use slang words in your conversation4 ,do not build air-castles4 ,do not think evil nor speak evil of any one4 ,do not lack showing courtesy to all men4 ,do not be rude in manners4 ,do not think yourself to be something more than you are4 ,do not try to make others think you are better than you really are4 ,do not tell the faults of a friend to others4 ,do not wear what the ,bible condemns4 ,do not dress slovenly4 ,do not work too much4 ,do not work too little4 ,do not talk too much4 ,do not eat too much4 ,do not sleep too much4 ,do not neglect going to meetings4 ,do not neglect giving all you can to the cause of ,christ4 ,do not neglect reading the ,bible4 ,do not do to others what you would not like for them to do to you4 ,do not forget to practise much self-denial4 ,do not neglect to be zealously affected in a good cause4 ,do not neglect to admonish your brother4 ,do not seek the praise of men4 ,do not do anything through strife or vain glory4 ,do not be afraid of the devil4 ,do not think your trials are greater than those of others4 ,do not neglect to bear the burdens of others4 ,do not neglect to bear your own burdens4 ,do not fret1 worry1 nor murmur4 ,do not testify to something you do not live4 ,do not let your thoughts wander idly about4 ,do not neglect to show meekness and kindness to all men4 ,do not compromise with sin to the least degree4 ,do not neglect your salvation4 ,do not weary in well-doing1 knowing in due season you shall reap if you ,do not faint4 ,,purity4 ,there are but few words in the ,english language sweeter and more beautiful than the word purity4 ,what tender1 mellow light beams out from its depths through its crystal clearness6 what a halo of glory encircles it6 what a sweet melody is contained in the sound1 which1 as it falls upon the soul1 awakens all that is manly1 noble1 and godly there6 ,purity6 who can repeat this word and not feel and hear a sweet rythm reverberating through all the avenues of his spiritual being8 ,keep thyself pure4 ,is there a soul so deep in slumber1 so stupefied by the opiates of sin1 as to know no awakening by the sweet melodious chimes that ring out from this heavenly command6 ,dismal1 indeed1 must be the heart in which no aspirations for a pure1 devoted life are awakened by these glorious words4 ,listen1 ,o my soul1 to the sweet music1 ,keep thyself pure4 ,tuned by the ,spirit and sung by the voice of inspiration1 in the bright morning of this glorious gospel day1 it comes ringing down through the ages and is awakening desires and aspirations for the truest nobility of manhood1 the deepest piety1 and the highest plane of moral purity to which man can attain through the redeeming grace of ,god4 ,the command to you1 young man1 is1 ,keep thyself pure2 and to you1 young lady1 ,keep thyself pure2 and to all who are farther down the stream of life and hastening on to the boundless ocean of eternity1 ,keep thyself pure4 ,if you desire to comprehend something of the true meaning of purity1 think of heaven3 what purity is in heaven1 so it is on earth2 what it is in the life of ,christ1 so it is in the life of man4 ,here upon the shores of time we look away1 by an eye of faith1 and behold the purity of heaven and its inhabitants4 ,we behold the angels and the great white throne1 upon which sits the ,king of glory2 but who1 of all mankind1 will really be eye-witnesses of that fair scene8 ,the ,lamb1 who is the light over there1 makes answer1 ,blessed are the pure in heart3 for they shall see ,god4 ,from that golden throne of ,god and the ,lamb1 the beloved disciple1 from the land of visions1 saw flowing a pure river of water of life1 clear as crystal2 and he heard the ,lord of heaven and earth saying1 ,i will give unto him that is athirst of the water of life freely2 and the ,spirit and the bride repeat the invitation1 saying1 ,whosoever will1 let him come and take of the water of life freely4 ,but what is this pure river of water of life8 ,it is the wonderful river of ,god's saving grace1 issuing forth from out his throne and flowing throughout all his kingdom4 ,the ,son of ,god extended his ,father's kingdom to this earth and set the glorious stream of salvation flowing here4 ,this wonderful stream is just as pure and its waters just as sweet in their onward flowing here1 as they are when they come sparkling forth from out the throne4 ,if you will come and wash in this crystal stream2 if you will drink of its delicious waters1--they will make you as pure as the throne from which they flow4 ,if you will allow them to ripple over your soul1 they will cleanse you and make you pure1 so that purity in your heart will not be inferior to that purity which encircles the throne of ,god4 ,glory to his name6 ,the ,psalmist says1 ,purge me with hyssop1 and ,i shall be clean3 wash me1 and ,i shall be whiter than snow4 ,white is an emblem of purity4 ,when ,john beheld the multitude of all nations standing before the throne and the ,lamb1 clothed in white robes1 he asked whence they came4 ,these are they which came out of great tribulation1 and have washed their robes1 and made them white in the blood of the ,lamb4 ,rev4 #g3ad4 ,purity of soul and heart and mind and conscience and thought and life is an experience to be attained to and enjoyed in this life4 ,peter says1 ,seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth4 #a ,pet4 #a3bb4 ,jesus says1 ,blessed are the pure in heart4 ,mat4 #e3h4 ,paul says1 ,i thank ,god1 whom ,i serve from my forefathers with pure conscience4 #b ,tim4 #a3c4 ,peter says1 ,i stir up your pure minds4 #b ,pet4 #c3a4 ,paul says1 ,whatsoever things are pure1 444 think on these things4 ,see ,phil4 #d3h1i4 ,christ is the standard of purity4 ,and every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself1 even as he is pure4 #a ,john #c3c4 ,purity in all the affections1 in all the desires1 in all the motives1 and in all the thoughts4 ,the heart that is made pure in the light of ,god reveals nothing contrary to heaven4 ,nothing can be more noble and beautiful upon earth than a pure life4 ,oh1 how many unclean and impure thoughts and desires are filling the minds and hearts of men and women in these awful iniquitous days6 ,dear reader1 ,keep thyself pure4 ,,means ,,for ,,growth4 ,you have started out fairly upon the ,christian way4 ,you have been born again2 you have been immersed in water1 or buried with ,christ in baptism2 you have been baptized with the ,holy ,spirit and fire4 ,with such an experience you are admitted to the contest for the crown of life4 ,now since you are thus started out upon the ,christian way1 it is a fact that you must grow in grace4 ,there are certain means for you to use that will promote growth4 ,if you neglect these1 you will not1 you can not1 grow4 ,you must live much in prayer2 you must read the ,bible2 you must attend meetings that are ordered of ,god2 you must partake of the ,lord's ,supper as you have opportunity2 you must wash the saints' feet4 ,you will be blest with grace to your soul if you do these things as unto the ,lord4 ,you must give of your means to ,god's cause freely and cheerfully2 you must diligently follow every good work2 and you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge and grace of ,god4 ,,lay ,,hold ,,on ,,eternal ,,life4 ,the crown of life lies at the end of the race4 ,some run well for a time1 and then because of slight hindrances turn from the way4 ,you must endure unto the end4 ,you must follow the example of the zealous apostle who said1 ,i reach forth to the things that are before1 and1 ,i press toward the mark for the prize4 ,the prize was the crown of life4 ,he bends forward in the race with all the energy of his soul4 ,down at the end of the race he beholds the crown4 ,sin1 ,satan1 nor the world shall not hinder him in securing it4 ,you must be just as much in earnest4 ,you must strive1 and that lawfully1 lest some one take your crown4 ,some years ago a number of boatmen off the coast of ,new ,england raced for a prize in single boats4 ,as they were nearing the end of the race it was discovered by the spectators that a special favorite was a half-boat's length ahead of all its competitors4 ,his friends began to cheer him1 and he1 animated by their cheers1 gave a responsive cheer1 and1 in doing so1 lost a stroke of the oar2 a competitor seeing his opportunity bent to his oar with all energy1 shot past him and won the prize4 ,the apostle ,paul warns you against youthful lusts1 and tells you to flee from them2 to follow peace1 righteousness1 godliness2 to fight the good fight of faith2 and to lay hold upon eternal life4 ,we are in days when the love of many is waxing cold because iniquity abounds4 ,you must keep the ardor of love glowing in your heart4 ,allow not the world nor aught else to extinguish the tender flame4 ,everything that has a tendency to suppress love1 to cool its ardor1 to dilute its sweetness in your soul1 to lessen the yearnings of your heart for more of ,god1 to deprive you of the sweet realization of constantly leaning on his breast1--consider all such things your bitter foes and rout them at any cost4 ,run life's race with all the energy of your soul1 never relaxing effort until the prize is in full possession4 ,the dying testimony of the apostle ,paul may be yours4 ,when he had come down to the end of his journey he said as he stood1 as it were1 one foot upon time and the other in eternity1 ,the time of my departure is at hand4 ,then taking a last retrospective view of his life1 he said1 ,i have fought a good fight4 ,then taking a look at inward conditions1 he said1 ,i am ready to be offered up4 ,then looking out into the future's prospect1 he said1 ,henceforth there is a crown of righteousness laid up for me4 ,o beloved young saints1 run well your race4 ,keep your eyes upon the goal1 fight the good fight of faith1 be in earnest1 live every moment for ,god1 and you can have a dying testimony like the above4 ,,crucifixion ,,of ,,self4 ,it requires no little courage1 coupled with the grace of ,god1 to go to ,calvary4 ,there are many ,christians who will follow ,jesus so long as it is ,hosanna to the ,king of ,david1 who fail to follow him to ,calvary4 ,most persons love the sweets of grace1 and thus many follow the ,lord for the loaves and fishes2 but when it comes to following him for his own sake1 even unto judgment1 where our earthliness is revealed1 then too often we follow afar off4 ,many will serve for reward1 who refuse to serve for righteousness' sake4 ,satan understood this in the case of ,job2 so he said to the ,lord1 ,doth ,job serve ,god for naught8 ,job endured even unto the end1 and proved by actual test his devotion to ,god and not to ,his gifts4 ,saints are like soldiers--many there be who enlist1 but few who fearlessly face death4 ,all like life1 though it be a life out of harmony with ,god4 ,satan said of ,job1 ,all that a man hath will he give for his life4 ,so ,christians' last surrender is their own earthly life4 ,they love the earthly1 the dust2 and to die to all that is not divine is a price that few will pay4 ,many talk of crucifixion1 yea1 claim to be crucified1 who know hardly the first step away from self4 ,to let self1 the flesh1 and all evil within perish2 to draw the last drop of earthliness from our veins1--is a price but few will pay for all the life of ,god4 ,god through ,moses gave to the children of ,israel a heritage2 but never in their greatest conquest did they attain all of that heritage4 ,so with ,christians3 how few ever attain all of that ,god-life offered them through our ,lord ,jesus ,christ4 ,the ,israelites made a league with certain of the inhabitants of the land whom they should have destroyed4 ,how many ,christians spare those enemies within which should die4 ,they may force the death of many1 perhaps most of their earthliness2 but somewhere there is that with which they will not part4 ,of course1 the earthliness may not be manifest as before2 hewers of wood and drawers of water they become1 yet they are there and live there4 ,i will be found of them when they seek me with their whole heart4 ,wholehearted devotion to ,god is a rare quality1 and only the fewest of the few ever attain it4 ,an idol somewhere1 a desire1 a wish1 a preference1 a hope not born of ,god1 but of man or of the flesh1 is the separation line4 ,yea1 to cease from our labors as ,god did from his1 and thus reach true rest1 is a haven but few ever reach4 ,to literally cease1 that ,jehovah may be the beginning and the end1 means blood1 and thorns1 and nails in the hands4 ,yes1 it means ,calvary and the tomb4 ,this is too much for many who go part way with ,jesus4 ,how few realize that perhaps the most of our religious aspirations are born not of ,god1 but of blood1 or of the will of the flesh1 or of man2 and this is why our efforts are so barren1 futile1 and earthly4 ,yes1 to hide away so that every act1 every purpose1 every hope1 centers in ,god and points to him and away from man--what a rare spiritual attainment6 ,many who are said to be very spiritual and leaders in the work of ,god1 if robbed of this glory1 would cease4 ,to work for the eyes of ,god alone is not a sufficient reward for very many who have climbed well up the gospel ladder4 ,to know when we are dead in the highest light4 ,self-abnegation can not be discerned so long as we want to live4 ,if we never reach the point where we literally hate our own life1 we shall never know how much there is in us not divine4 ,the flesh is ever the veil that separates between the holy place and the holy of holies4 ,until we have reached that place where we have lost sight of all that is human1 and hunger and thirst for all the life of ,god1 ,christian perfection is an impossible attainment4 ,this little book has been written for your success in the divine life4 ,we have hoped and prayed for your well being in the grace of ,god2 but unless you are dead to self our prayers are but in vain4 ,oh1 the beauties and the blessings and the rich glories1 and happiness and usefulness for you in life1 if you are fully possessed with life of ,god6 ,be dead indeed to self1 and let ,god live in you to his praise4 ,,love ,,not ,,the ,,world4 ,if you value your success in the ,christian life1 keep a wide gulf between you and this world4 ,by the expression the world ,i mean its amusements1 its revelry1 its praise1 its fashions1 its society1 its spirit4 ,the present-day amusements or entertainments offered by secret orders and sects and by others are very destructive to spiritual life4 ,unless you are willing to walk alone with ,jesus and let the blessedness of his companionship suffice for you1 you had as well quit the race now4 ,mingle with worldly people1 only to tell them of ,god's love4 ,to love and enjoy the society of the world is to have a heart destitute of grace4 ,therefore keep away from the world4 ,beware of it4 ,it is a bitter foe to grace4 ,it is an enemy to ,god2 and if you befriend it1 you make yourself an enemy to ,god4 ,whosoever is a friend to the world is an enemy to ,god1 so says the ,bible4 ,to be a friend to the world is to help it along in any sense--to encourage its spirit2 to add to its pleasures1 to its levity1 its fashion1 its foolishness2 or to abet it in any way4 ,you go into the world1 only for the purpose of saving people from the world1 and thus you are the world's enemy2 and so you must continue to be1 or miss heaven4 ,,have ,a ,,care4 ,the world has many gaudy wings-- ,have a care6 ,she flits among the flow'rs and sings-- ,many a snare4 ,beware ,of the hidden poisonous stings4 ,earth's pleasures are a golden cup-- ,have a care6 ,she bids you take one little sup-- ,many a snare4 ,beware ,of the hidden sting in the cup4 ,earth's riches have a charm most rare-- ,have a care6 ,she bids you seek a goodly share-- ,many a snare4 ,beware-- ,she will sting with many a care4 ,vain worldly fame's a painted flow'r-- ,have a care6 ,she dwells in an enchanted bow'r-- ,many a snare4 ,beware-- ,she'll chide you in an evil hour4 ,the world is but an empty show-- ,have a care6 ,of true joys a dangerous foe-- ,many a snare4 ,beware-- ,her greatest gain's oft deepest woe4 ,,affinities4 ,by the term affinity ,i mean that enamored feeling which arises in the hearts of those of opposite sex for each other4 ,this ,satan may take advantage of2 and in this awful snare many a soul has gone down into the darkness2 many a heaven-born and happy soul has received its awful blight1 and gone down to an eternity of woe4 ,some one may ask1 ,is not marriage honorable8 and does not ,god join hearts together in love8 ,he certainly does2 but when he does and all is kept in ,god's order the parties in love will not suffer any loss of spirituality4 ,courtship can be carried on in the will and order of ,god1 and the parties engaged have a constant growth in grace4 ,but so many times they become silly-headed and allow their love for each other to carry them out of ,god's order1 and consequently they will soon be graceless-hearted4 ,now ,i speak the truth when ,i say that by far the greater number of saints who fall in love suffer spiritual loss4 ,this need not be so4 ,in the first place1 the love for each other must be genuine2 but1 though ,god is calling two together and the love which springs up is in the order of the ,lord1 this does not insure them against spiritual loss4 ,if they are not watchful they will lose their heads1 so to speak1 and step away beyond the bonds of propriety4 ,there is many a young man and young woman united in marriage these days1 even young saints1 whom wisdom has not directed4 ,such may succeed in getting through and escaping the damnation of hell1 but they will have trouble in the flesh4 ,now1 dear young saint1 if you desire to be successful in life and gain heaven1 if you will keep your senses you can keep clear from all the meshes of unholy affinities4 ,you desire to have a life companion if ,god selects you one4 ,i can not blame you for this1 neither does the ,bible condemn you2 but the utmost caution needs to be exercised4 ,be careful your desire for companionship does not turn your head and render you incapable of knowing or understanding the will of ,god4 ,whenever you find yourself losing love for ,god1 you had better beware4 ,whenever the object of your affection is getting so upon your heart and mind that you think less of ,god you are going beyond ,his ordering4 ,if your last thoughts in the evening and your earliest thoughts in the morning are of the loved one1 you are being estranged from ,god and losing spiritual life4 ,i feel like giving you warning and counsel you to move very cautiously and prayerfully in these matters1 lest you make a mistake and suffer a loss that neither time nor eternity will ever make up4 ,young saints must not keep company with the unsaved4 ,those who do1 lose spirituality4 ,if you love ,god and desire to live a spiritual life1 wait on ,god and let him select your life companion4 ,,the ,,guardian ,,angel4 ,when you entered the ,christian race ,god gave an angel to guard and guide you in the way4 ,you need have no fear of this world4 ,live in ,god's service and do his will1 and this guardian angel will keep you4 ,the angel of the ,lord encampeth round about them that fear ,him1 and delivereth them4 ,it was this angel that stood with ,daniel in the den of lions and with the three ,hebrew children in the fiery furnace4 ,it was this angel that led the weeping ,hagar to the well of water when her child was dying of thirst2 and that led the righteous ,lot out of the wicked city of ,sodom and saved him from its awful burning4 ,when ,elijah was hunted for his life and sat down to weep and to starve under the juniper-tree1 it was this guardian angel that brought him a cake and a cruse of water4 ,it was this good angel that unbolted the prison doors and set ,peter free4 ,when ,paul and ,silas were lying fast in the stocks singing praise to ,god at midnight1 it was the angel of the ,lord that shook the earth and opened the prison doors4 ,illustration3 ,,life4 ,you once were lost1 but the ,son of man came to save you4 ,now you are saved2 you have entered his fold2 you have become one of his little ones4 ,once lost1 but now saved4 ,jesus says to this cruel1 mocking world1 ,take heed that ye cause not one of these little ones to stumble2 for their angels do always behold the face of their ,father which is in heaven4 ,as you journey along the way of life1 ,christian reader1 there is an angel of mercy guarding you by day and night4 ,naught in all the world can harm you4 ',their angels do always behold the face of ,god4' ,by this we understand that your guardian angel has constant access into the presence of ,god to bear him an intelligence concerning his little one under his charge4 ,glory be to ,god6 ,if you will but live holy and confide in ,god1 he will guide you safely and triumphantly through this world and bring you in a ripe old age to an eternity of rest4 ,trust not in the world1 trust not in man1 trust not in yourself2 but give up all2 give up your life to ,god and trust in him4 ,you are safe in his care2 nothing can harm you4 ,you need not have a fear4 ,what a blessed life to live6 how peaceful6 how secure6 how full of rest6 ,and when the last hour has come those guardian angels will be gathered round waiting for your spirit to come forth from the tomb of clay1 and they will waft it in rapture to the ,god who gave it4 ,,fledging ,,the ,,wings4 ,the inspired ,word of ,god abounds in evidences of the twofold nature of man's being4 ,man1 entire1 consists of an outer physical being and an inner spiritual being4 ,the one is for time1 the other for eternity4 ,the physical being is the transient home of the spiritual being1 and is1 therefore1 called an earthly house4 ,for we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved1 we have a building of ,god1 an house not made with hands1 eternal in the heavens4 #b ,cor4 #e3a4 ,when the earthly house in which the soul is tabernacled comes to dissolution1 we 7the spiritual beings7 pass to our eternal home1 a building not made with hands1 but builded by the ,lord of heaven4 ,the passport from the earthly house to the home in the heavens is spoken of by the ,psalmist as a flying away4 ,the days of our years are threescore years and ten2 and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years1 yet is their strength labor and sorrow2 for it is soon cut off1 and we fly away4 ,psa4 #ij3aj4 ,the physical being is cut down1 or comes to dissolution1 and we 7the souls7 fly away1 when redeemed by the blood1 to our eternal home of rest4 ,since it is spoken of as a flying away1 the idea of wings is suggested1 from which we derive our subject4 ,the inspired apostle said1 ,though our outward man perish1 yet the inward man is renewed day by day4 #b ,cor4 #d3af4 ,as the outward1 physical man1 day by day1 becomes more feeble1 the furrows on the brow grow deeper1 the locks more silvery1 the steps more tottering1 the voice weaker and more husky1 the cheeks more sunken1 the ear more deaf1 the eye more dim1 and the heart-beats more slow2 the inward man is gathering strength1 or fledging his wings1 ready for his upward flight to his beautiful mansion in the sky4 ,oh1 how often the redeemed soul1 full of life1 love1 and hope1 looks out through the fading windows of the crumbling house of clay1 to its fair home on the ,elysian shores eternal1 and longs to take its flight6 ,may you1 dear reader1 and ,i1 as we travel along life's swift journey1 so live in prayer and devotion to ,god1 walk in such purity1 so feed upon the divine life1 that we shall gather strength to our souls day by day and be ready for the hour of our departure4 ,amen4 ,,some ,,time ,some time1 when all life's lessons have been learned1 ,and sun and stars forevermore have set1 ,the things which our weak judgments here have spurned1 ,the things o'er which we grieved with lashes wet1 ,will flash before us out of life's dark night1 ,as stars shine most in deeper tints of blue2 ,and we shall see how all ,god's plans are right1 ,and how what seemed reproof was love most true4 ,and we shall see how1 while we frown and sigh1 ,god's plans go on as best for you and me2 ,how when we called1 he heeded not our cry1 ,because his wisdom to the end could see4 ,and e'en as prudent parents disallow ,too much of sweet to craving babyhood2 ,so ,god1 perhaps1 is keeping from us now ,life's sweetest things1 because it seemeth good4 ,and if1 sometimes1 commingled with life's wine1 ,we find the wormwood1 and rebel and shrink1 ,be sure a wiser hand than yours or mine ,pours out the potion for our lips to drink2 ,and if some friend we love is lying low1 ,where human kisses can not reach his face1 ,oh1 do not blame the loving ,father so1 ,but wear your sorrows with obedient grace4 ,and you shall shortly know that lengthened breath ,is not the sweetest gift ,god sends his friend1 ,and that1 sometimes1 the sable pall of death ,conceals the fairest boon his love can send4 ,if we could push ajar the gates of life1 ,and stand within and all ,god's workings see1 ,we could interpret all this doubt and strife1 ,and for each mystery could find a key4 ,but not to-day4 ,then be content1 poor heart2 ,god's plans like lilies pure and white unfold2 ,we must not tear the close-shut leaves apart1 ,time will unfold the calyces of gold4 ,and if1 through patient toil1 we reach the land ,where tired feet1 with sandals loosed1 may rest ,when we shall clearly know and understand1 ,i think that we shall say1 ,god knew the best6 ,,the ,,precious ,,ointment4 ,in the ,bible we learn of a woman who took a pound of ointment of spikenard1 very costly1 and anointed the feet of ,jesus4 ,this spikenard was very rich in perfume4 ,it was the very best gift she could bring to ,him whom she loved4 ,this is a very beautiful symbol of the life work of a ,christian4 ,we1 as ,christian1 are a sweet odor unto ,god in ,christ ,jesus4 ,everything you do for ,jesus scents the air around the throne of ,god with a sweet fragrance4 ,every prayer your offer in the ,spirit perfumes the corridors of heaven4 ,i read somewhere of a little girl who told her mamma that ,god bade all the angels in heaven keep quiet when she prayed2 then all the angels hushed their songs until she said amen4 ,amid all the songs and shouts and playing of harps in heaven ,god hears the prayers of his humble ones on earth4 ,the odor of prayer from the hearts of ,god's children on earth is as sweet to him as the songs of angels4 ,the things the saints at ,philippi sent to ,paul were an odor of a sweet smell to ,god4 ,cornelius' alms-giving and prayers were kept in heaven as a memorial4 ,so all your gifts and doings and prayers are a rich perfume1 which ,god keeps bottled up in heaven as a memorial of you4 ,your whole life1 dear young saint1 in all of its giving and doing1 its sacrifices and prayers1 its humble service and devotion1 is to be constantly sending forth a sweet smell to ,god4 ,this is spoken of in a beautiful figure in ,s4 of ,sol4 #a3ab3 ,while the king sitteth at his table1 my spikenard sendeth forth the smell thereof4 ,the king is ,jesus1 who sits at the table of our hearts2 the sweet spikenard is our ,christian lives4 ,in ,rev4 #c3bj ,jesus says1 ,i will come in to him1 and will sup with him1 and he with me4 ,the ,christian's heart is the dining-room2 there is a table spread with the graces of the ,spirit1 the fruits of the garden of the ,lord4 ,there ,christ and the ,christian sit down to dine together4 ,while the glory of the one lights up the room1 the holy life of the other perfumes it4 ,o ,god1 my soul doth magnify thee for the preciousness of these thoughts4 ,when ,christ was born wise men came and presented him frankincense and myrrh1 and in after-years ,mary came and poured upon his head the precious ointment of spikenard4 ,these things were literally done1 and now when we bring our very best gifts1 in the fulness of love1 to the ,lord1 we are breaking the alabaster box of sweet ointment and pouring it upon his head4 ,you owe ,christ the very best of your life2 yea1 you owe him your life4 ,he must have all the affections of your heart4 ,christ must have the very best of everything out of your life4 ,do not use the dollars for yourself and give him the pennies4 ,do not sip the honey from the flower and give him the leaves4 ,do not eat the fresh bread yourself and give him that which is stale4 ,do not give him the well-worn garment and keep the best robe for yourself4 ,but how can we now give to the ,lord6 ,as oft as ye do it unto the least of these ye do it unto me4 ,as you go about your life work as a ,christian always do what you do as to the ,lord4 ,when you pray in public talk to ,jesus the same as if he were there in person1 and not to be heard of men4 ,when you give money to the needy do it as if you were giving it to ,jesus himself1 for such it really is4 ,if ,christ should come to your door and ask for a drink1 how eagerly you would get it for him6 ,you must remember that to give a cup of water to one of his little ones is the same as giving it to him4 ,when you visit a sick-chamber and are invited to sing you should sing just as sweetly as if you were singing purposely for the ,savior1 and all your words should be spoken as tenderly as if you were talking to him4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,tree ,,of ,,life4 ,jesus has given you the purest love of heaven2 he has clothed you with the whitest robe2 he gives you the very best heaven affords2 and1 ,o beloved1 will you not give him the very best life8 ,live with all your soul for ,jesus2 serve him every moment4 ,bring the best of your life1 its love1 its service1 its perfume1 and pour them upon the head and feet of ,jesus4 ,,the ,,tree ,,of ,,life4 ,the fruit of the righteous is a tree of life1 says ,proverbs4 ,how wonderful6 how inspiring6 ,the fruit borne by a ,christian is a savor of life to many4 ,if you live a true ,christian life all the way through1 ,god will use the fruit you bear to bring another soul to life4 ,your ,christian life will not be lived in vain4 ,that beloved disciple said1 ,on either side of the river was there the tree of life1 which bare twelve manner of fruits1 and yielded her fruit every month4 ,your life is compared to a river2 and if you travel along down its course in the fulness of ,god's grace1 upon its banks will grow the tree of life1 of which others may eat and live forever4 ,such thoughts are almost too wonderful for me2 they overwhelm my soul4 ,jesus said1 ,i am the bread of life1 and1 ,he that eateth of this bread shall live forever4 ,this same ,jesus has come into your life4 ,you are dead1 but ,jesus lives4 ,he lives in you4 ,the fruit you bear will be eaten by others and be life to their souls4 ,o my young reader1 will you not be watchful and prayerful and let ,god live in you and bring forth fruit to his own glory8 ,cultivate the ,christian graces1 and see to it that there is never a withered leaf on your life's tree1 but be ever green and full of fruit1 scattering a holy influence everywhere4 ,may your life stand out upon the shores of time heavy laden with the fruits of the ,spirit1 of which others may eat long after you are gone to your reward4 ,you can make it so4 ,will you do it8 ,as for me1 from the fulness of my soul ,i answer1 ,i ,,will4 ,,eternity4 ,did you ever attempt to look to the end of eternity8 ,have you endeavored to comprehend its duration8 ,alas6 it is something beyond the conception of the finite mind4 ,look into it as far as you can and no less of it lies beyond the end of your vision4 ,eternity is something never begun and something that will never end4 ,it is a circle which has no end of beginning and no end of closing4 ,it goes on and on and on until millions upon millions of ages have passed away1 and then on and on to other millions upon millions of ages1 and then still on1 being no less in duration than before4 ,when you have been there ten million years you will be no nearer the end than when you first entered this boundless duration4 ,what a vast and awful thought6 ,eternity6 ,i stand upon the shore of ocean and looking out upon the broad expanse ,i see nothing but ocean2 ,i see no other shore4 ,i stand and look out upon the ocean of eternity1 and see nothing but eternity4 ,i can see out for millions and billions and trillions of years1 and yet it is eternity4 ,where shall ,i spend it8 ,my soul answers1 ,in heaven through the blood4 ,,nearer ,,to ,,thee4 ,nearer to thee1 ,o my ,savior1 ,nearer ,i would be each day4 ,as ,i cross life's stormy ocean ,never from thee let me stray4 ,nearer1 nearer1 ever nearer1 ,is the language of my soul ,as ,i journey down life's pathway1 ,as ,i near bright heaven's goal4 ,lead me through this world of sorrow1 ,let my hand in thine e'er be2 ,throw thy arms of love around me1 ,savior1 let me walk with thee4 ,when the storm-clouds round me gather ,in the clefted ,rock ,i hide2 ,when the surging billows threaten1 ,fold me closer to thy side4 ,there's a home for me in heaven1 ,by the crystal1 silvered sea2 ,some sweet morn the golden portals ,opened wide will be for me4 ,there in amaranthine glory ,i will sit at ,jesus' feet2 ,there ,i'll sing the sweet old story ,as ,i walk the golden street4 ,o my heart1 wait on in patience1 ,each day brings me nearer the goal2 ,in some blissful dewy dawning ,heaven will receive my soul4 ,,conclusion4 ,our introduction is upon the subject of ,life2 our conclusion is upon ,death4 ,to many people the word death is full of horror4 ,thank ,god1 it holds no horror to the pure in heart4 ,death has no sting for those whose souls are in fellowship with ,god4 ,those who love ,god hail with joy the hour in which they are to meet him4 ,death to a ,christian is only his removal from earth to the paradise of ,god4 ,if some man of wealth were to tell you he had a rich home prepared for you in a distant land1 where you could have all your heart could wish1 and be happy as long as you lived1 if you had confidence in the man1 you could say good-by and cheerfully go to your new home4 ,death is nothing more4 ,some may shudder at the thought of the pain in death4 ,how often we hear remarks like this3 ,this pain is almost like death1 or1 it's like taking one's life4 ,have you not stood beside the infant's crib and watched it go peacefully to sleep8 ,where was the pain8 ,death to a ,christian is only a going to sleep4 ,you have had far more pain in life than you will have in death4 ,there may be pain just prior to death1 but none in death4 ,death to a saint is as peaceful as going to sleep4 ,have you not often been in some solitary place and given yourself into the arms of ,muse8 ,you have fallen to thinking about heaven and the angels and the ,savior and your crown4 ,you seemed as your soul was wafted upward on the wings of meditation1 to lose consciousness of all on earth4 ,such will it be in death4 ,your soul will begin to see the glories of heaven2 you will hear the sweet strains of music2 you will begin to lose consciousness of earthly things and comprehend more of heaven4 ,then soon you will draw your last breath on the shore of time and sound your first note of praise on the shore of eternity4 ,this is all there is in death4 ,it is precious to fond parents to see their little children1 with folded hands1 go peacefully to sleep4 ,so to our ,father in heaven is the death of his saints precious4 ,in fancy ,i can see many of my young readers1 after a well-spent life1 gathered in ripe old age on the banks of old ,time's-river1 waiting in bright hope to be summoned over to their rich possessions in the verdant fields of heaven4 ,there is nothing more of death than this to a ,christian4 ,i pray that the life of many of you will end like this4 ,i believe it will be so4 ,amen4 ,a strange1 sweet vision fills my soul1 ,a glimpse of glory and of ,god2 ,am ,i not near life's final goal8 ,my feet scarce touch this mortal sod4 ,the zephyrs blow divinely sweet1 ,with fragrance fill the balmy air2 ,are heav'n and earth about to meet8 ,who can this vision bright declare8 ,i hear the notes of seraph song1 ,the rustle of an angel's wing2 ,do signs like these to earth belong8 ,do men and angels meet to sing8 ,life's journey seems about complete2 ,i con it well1 yet know not why4 ,my heart with longings is replete1 ,and yet ,i do not long to die4 ,a holy calm my bosom fills1 ,and silence like the hush of morn2 ,such joy through all my being thrills ,as swept men's hearts when ,christ was born4 ,amid the crowds ,i look around ,to see who bear love's fragrant flower2 ,i fain would walk on holy ground ,made sacred by the ,spirit's power4 ,god has the keeping of my ways1 ,his laws ,i rev'rence and obey2 ,my prayers seem almost turned to praise1 ,and yet ,i can not cease to pray4 ,if this is death1 ,i do not dread ,to lay me down in peace to die-- ,to be with all the sainted dead1 ,far1 far beyond the arching sky4 ,,closing ,,exhortation4 ,god has forgiven you all your sins2 he has sanctified you wholly4 ,you stand to-day in the way of life2 you are fully out upon the ,christian way4 ,you have on the whole armor of ,god4 ,you possess the power of ,god's ,spirit in your soul1 the love of ,god is in your heart as a burning flame4 ,you are tasting the sweet joys that flow from heaven's throne4 ,in your soul is imprinted the image of ,jesus4 ,your heart is a garden of opening buds1 which emit the sweet fragrance of heaven4 ,but1 notwithstanding all this blessedness of experience1 ,i want you to remember you are just starting on the pilgrim's way4 ,i thought of bringing this little work to a close with the preceding letter1 but it seems that ,i am loath to say the last word4 ,i wonder if there is one word more ,i can say to help you in your ,christian race4 ,it is impossible for me to express how my heart yearns in love and tenderness for you4 ,god wants to use your life on earth to his glory4 ,he wants you so to shine in the glory and splendor of his grace that you may light others in the way4 ,he wants the opening buds of grace in your soul to burst into full bloom4 ,he wants to lead you higher up the mountain of joy1 to the very fount of blessings4 ,he wants to lead you down into the lowly vale where there are greater riches than gold4 ,he wants his image in your heart to stand out in greater beauty and perfection2 the features are yet too dim4 ,while in this life your immortal soul is wrapped about with a veil of mortality2 but ,god wants to shine such a radiant light and amaranthine glory into your soul that the veil of mortality will not be able wholly to obscure it4 ,it will shine out through the material part and glow in transparent beauty upon the surface4 ,if you will follow where he leads1 he will lead you on from virtue to deeper1 truer virtue2 he will lead you on to fountains of sweeter joy4 ,it may be through the vale of sorrow2 but never fear nor distrust1 and you will find your joy rising higher in the cup4 ,if you will follow1 he will lead you from peace on to broader1 deeper rivers of peace4 ,it may be through angry billows and past rough rocks2 but if you trust him and follow on1 he will bring you to yet calmer and more peaceful waters4 ,if you will stay in his presence1 he will impart unto you his own lovely character1 and you will grow up into a holier life1 into sweeter fellowship with ,god1 into richer beauty and greater usefulness4 ,he will sometimes call you where the flowers are blooming and sweet fragrance fills the air1 where the birds sing sweetly and the zephyrs blow gently2 he will lead you along the rippling streams1 and delight your soul with the music of the wave2 he will lead you through the shady glens and leafy bowers1--until your soul will sing1 ,is not this the land of ,beulah8 ,but he may sometimes lead you through the desert1 or over the rugged mountain1 or across the stormy seas2 he may lead you away from all that is dear to your heart2 he may lead you into paths where the shadows lie deep1 and thorns spring up on every side4 ,he will lead you on to duties that may oftentimes seem too hard for you to do2 but this one thing ,i assure you in ,jesus' name3 he will never call you to a duty or a sacrifice but that will prove a blessing to your soul and enrich you in his grace4 ,you must follow on4 ,to get the sweetness out of your life1 he may sometimes bruise you4 ,there are flowers that emit but little fragrance until they are bruised4 ,many trials1 no doubt1 are awaiting you2 but do not live them until you get to them1 then his grace will be sufficient for you4 ,in closing1 ,i beseech you from the fulness of my heart to follow ,jesus all the way4 ,let nothing turn you back4 ,never mind the storms and cruel winds4 ,what if the thorns prick your feet8 they pierced his brow4 ,what if the duties do seem hard and the way seems weary8 ,follow on1 linger in his presence1 breathe in of his fulness1 live in humble submission1 never murmur but in every sorrow draw the closer to him1 never falter1 labor on1 and you will find joys in every sorrow1 blessings in every sacrifice1 and delights in every duty4 ,he will perfume your life with the odor of heaven and make you a blessing on earth to man4 ,he will make your life a well of water where many a weary traveler may drink and thirst no more2 he will make it a tree of life where they may eat and hunger no more4 ,and when life is done he will bring you with all your golden sheaves through the gates of glory into the haven of eternal rest1 where ,i hope to meet you4 ,with this1 ,i will say farewell4 ,illustration