,,plain ,,words ,,for ,,christ1 ,,being ,a ,,series ,,of ,,readings ,,for ,,working ,,men4 ,,by ,,the ,,late ,,reginald ,g4 ,,dutton1 ,m4,a4 ,curate of ,st4 ,martin's1 in the ,fields4 ,lord1 as to ,thy dear cross we flee1 ,and hope to be forgiven-- ,so let ,thy life our pattern be1 ,and form our souls for heaven4 ,john ,hampden ,gurney4 ,,published ,,under ,,the ,,direction ,,of ,,the ,,tract ,,committee1 ,,london3 ,,society ,,for ,,promoting ,,christian ,,knowledge4 ,,northumberland ,,avenue1 ,,charing ,,cross1 ,w4,c42 #dc1 ,,queen ,,victoria ,,street1 ,e4,c42 ,,brighton3 #ace1 ,,north ,,street4 ,,new ,,york3 ,e4 ,j4 ,b4 ,,young ,,co4 #ahhj ,dedicated ,,to ,,the ,,working ,,men ,,of ,,england3 ,,amongst ,,whom ,i ,,can ,,number ,,many ,,firm ,,friends4 99,,preface499 ,as the following pages are addressed to working men1 ,i have touched only on those topics upon which ,i thought they were likely to need advice4 ,the language throughout is as simple as possible1 so that all may understand it2 and1 following the example of ,holy ,scripture1 ,i have1 wherever ,i have found it possible1 illustrated my meaning from the teachings of nature4 ,that the book has many imperfections ,i am well aware2 but ,i humbly trust that ,he1 ,whose guidance ,i have so often and so earnestly sought in writing the following pages1 will be pleased in ,his mercy to grant that the words here written for ,his cause1 and for ,his people1 may not return unto ,him void1 but may accomplish that which ,he shall please1 and may prosper in the thing whereto ,he sends it4 ,r4,g4,d4 ,,hinton ,,house1 #ahhj4 99,,contents499 ,life ,my ,birthday ,temptation ,drink ,idle ,words ,excuses ,poverty ,out of ,work ,discontent ,i want to better myself ,masters and ,men ,forgiveness of ,others ,hard ,work ,courtship ,marriage ,kindness ,our ,parents ,our ,children ,home ,heaven our ,home4 7,part ,i47 ,heaven our ,home4 7,part ,,ii47 ,sunday ,church ,holy ,communion4 7,part ,i47 ,holy ,communion4 7,part ,,ii47 ,the ,bible ,the ,holy ,spirit ,god's ,ministers ,prayer ,on being alone ,on ,setting a ,good ,example ,helping ,others ,our ,companions ,the ,books we ,read ,true ,manliness ,honesty ,bearing the ,cross ,humility ,martyrdom ,repentance ,faith ,the ,shortness of ,life ,the ,death of ,friends ,the ,fear of ,death ,sorrow and ,suffering ,death ,last ,words 99,,life499 ,he liveth long who liveth well6 ,all other life is short and vain2 ,he liveth longest who can tell ,of living most for heavenly gain4 ,bonar4 ,there are two distinct classes of people who enjoy ,god's gift of life1 and who look upon that gift from two utterly different points of view4 ,the worldly man looks upon life as a time in which to gratify his desire for pleasure1 or in which to pursue his business schemes4 ,the ,christian looks upon life as a preparation for death1 which shall lead him1 as it were1 through a gateway to the life to come4 ,nay1 more than this1 so nearly are these two connected1 life and death1 that the way in which men spend the former1 mainly depends on the view they take of the latter4 ,to the man who believes only in the things of time and sense1 there practically appears no life to come4 ,death is the end of all things2 he neither sees1 nor cares to see anything beyond it4 ,but how different is it with the ,christian man6 ,to him life is a growing-time--a time for growing in grace4 ,what the spring-time and early days of summer are to the corn1 what the ,april showers are to the tender shoots1 so is life to him6 ,he lives with a consciousness that death is hovering near1 and often nearer perhaps than even he may think2 but so far from making him wretched1 or discontented1 the thought of his departure rather causes him joy4 ,to him life is but a shadow1 a vapour1 a short1 passing1 wintry day2 death is but the dark valley--necessarily dark1 for he too is but mortal--but beyond this darkness there is light1 light unearthly1 light glorious1 which will lighten his eyes in death4 ,life has often been compared to a ship1 sailing over stormy seas1 but always pointed towards the haven of rest1 which is on the heavenly shore2 meeting with many disasters1 suffering many losses1 till at length1 with rent cordage and shattered deck1 she reaches the port of ,heaven4 ,there is a story told of an ancient ,greek teacher1 who was asked what kind of ship he considered the safest to weather a storm--if he thought one with a pointed keel1 or a flat-bottomed boat the best for resisting the violence of the waves8 ,the old man answered1 ,the only really safe ship ,i know of is the one which is drawn up upon the shore4 ,and oh6 reader1 is not this true of life8 ,have you never felt as you sailed across life's troubled sea1 and met with ships of all kinds crossing towards the same harbour1 have you never felt that none could really be called safe--safe amid the changes and chances of life--none safe until they were drawn up high and dry upon the heavenly shore8 ,the best ship ever built may be wrecked in a storm1 the most experienced pilot ever known may miss his way in a fog2 and the most ,god-fearing1 upright1 honest ,christian may be1 nay certainly is1 liable to faults1 mistakes1 and failings4 ,the only safe ship ,i know of is the one which is drawn up upon the shore6 ,there1 out of reach of the violence of the waves1 far from their stormy tides1 the ship rests safely4 ,it makes but little difference whether the ship be flat-bottomed or pointed as to its keel2 it makes no difference at all whether the man be rich or poor1 whether he be bond or free4 ,it is to the same harbour both are bound1 it is to the same ,master each will be accountable for deeds done in the body4 ,only be sure that you are living now the life that ,christ would have you live1 and that you can say with ,s4 ,paul1 the life that ,i now live in the flesh1 ,i live by the faith of the ,son of ,god1 ,who loved me1 and gave ,himself for me4 ,gal4 ii4 #bj4 99,,my ,,birthday499 ,my birthday6 ev'ry minute tells ,me time is passing by1 ,and bids me look to ,one ,who dwells ,beyond the starry sky2 ,a frowning past would seem to say3 ',what moments have been thrown away4' ,great ,god6 as birthdays come and go1 ,and mark each fleeting stage below1 ,be ,thou my hope1 be ,thou my aid-- ,the only strength which cannot fade-- ,and when the throbs of life have passed1 ,o take me to ,thyself at last4 ,john ,burbidge4 ,reader1 just think what a birthday is4 ,your birthday is the day on which you were born4 ,the day on which ,god sent you into this world1 giving you a free will to fight for ,him or against ,him4 ,and every year regularly since that day you have had a birthday4 ,you have been getting every year nearer and nearer to the grave1 nearer and nearer home4 ,and what is the home to which you have been drawing nearer1 ,god's or ,satan's8 ,has every fresh birthday found you growing in grace as well as in age8 ,can it be said of you1 as it was of our blessed ,lord1 ,he increased in wisdom and stature1 and in favour with ,god and man8 ,remember that such wisdom as that mentioned there is not to be got out of learned books4 ,it is the same kind of wisdom that ,solomon had1 the gift of ,almighty ,god4 ,learned men write learned books1 and we read their writings with delight4 ,but a queen even took a long1 a toilsome journey in person to hear the wisdom of ,solomon1 for he was the wisest man on earth4 ,just think for a moment how old you were last birthday4 ,how many of those years can you truthfully say have been spent in the service of ,christ8 ,jesus ,christ passed thirty years here on our earth1 thirty weary1 sorrowful years1 and ,he can truthfully say that every day of those thirty years was passed for you and for me6 ,yes1 reader1 every day and every hour6 ,he bore the mocking laughter of the ,jew1 and the idle scoffing of the ,gentile1 that ,he might know what ridicule meant1 and might help you to bear it too4 ,he worked in the carpenter's shop that ,he might know what labour was1 and understand what weariness means4 ,he saw that foxes had holes1 and the birds had their nests1 while ,he had no place in which to lay ,his head2 and all this ,he suffered1 that ,he might know the full bitterness of the cup of misery drunk by the houseless1 homeless poor4 ,and ,he knew too that each year1 each birthday1 brought ,him nearer to death1 and what a death it was6 ,oh6 have you ever thought of the pain of knowing all this beforehand8 ,perhaps now and then1 7but very rarely17 you sit down on your birthday to think of your death-day4 ,but ,god has mercifully hidden from your eyes the manner and circumstances of your death4 ,it wasn't so with ,christ4 ,whenever the thought of death came into ,his mind1 there would rise up before ,him a vision of three crosses of wood on a hill outside a city4 ,crowds of people would be standing round1 and ,roman soldiers keeping guard4 ,on two of the crosses would be nailed thieves2 on the centre one ,himself1 the ,lord of life and glory4 ,i remember seeing a picture a few years ago in ,london by a well-known artist4 ,he had painted a boy standing near a carpenter's bench in a village workshop4 ,he had been working hard1 and was now resting1 and in the act of stretching ,himself4 ,both arms were extended at full length1 and the head leant slightly on one side4 ,a woman1 kneeling on the floor behind ,him1 was looking at some treasures in a large chest4 ,the sun falling upon the figure of the boy1 cast a shadow upon the floor1 a shadow of a figure stretched as if it were ready for crucifixion1 and the artist had well named his picture ,the ,shadow of ,death4 ,reader1 you may be young1 as young as that boy in the picture2 but near you too may be standing the shadow of death4 ,the boy ,jesus1 in stretching ,his weary limbs1 strangely cast a shadow on the ground of the death of the man ,christ4 ,and though you know it not1 death may be standing quite as near to you as it was to ,him--or nearer4 ,oh then be up and doing1 working for the ,master ,christ1 ere the night cometh4 ,rather let each birthday as it comes find you nearer to your ,father in heaven1 and more prepared to meet ,him4 ,and then those beautiful lines shall be true of you1 and of your life3-- ,to ,thy saints1 while here below1 ,with new years new mercies come2 ,but the happiest year they know1 ,is their last which leads them ,home4 99,,temptation499 ,when wounded sore the stricken heart ,lies bleeding and unbound1 ,one only ,hand1 a pierced ,hand1 ,can salve the sinner's wound4 ,mrs4 ,alexander4 ,what is temptation8 ,a good man was once asked that question1 and he said--,the border-line between sin and holiness4 ,not sin itself1 but the surroundings1 the outer crust1 as it were1 of sin4 ,and that is the best answer ,i can give you4 ,well did the ,master know what temptation was2 and in ,his godly wisdom ,he has given us a special petition in ,his own ,prayer against it4 ,lead us not into temptation1 we continually pray1 and we often say those words thoughtlessly and carelessly enough1 but none of us ever know how many temptations these words keep us from4 ,god gives us trials1 and they are good for our faith2 but it has been well said1 that what is a trial in the hand of ,god becomes a temptation in the hand of ,satan4 ,you should always try and remember1 when tempted1 that ,jesus is near you and looking on--that no temptation can befall you1 save what ,he allows4 ,if you call to ,him for help1 ,he will hear you1 and answer3 not always to remove the temptation1 but to give you ,his grace and strength to withstand it4 ,there is a story told of a young workman in the ,black ,country1 who was converted to ,god1 and was in consequence subjected to great persecution from those who were employed with him in the forge4 ,one day they stripped him naked1 and placed him in front of the furnace fire1 while a number of men and lads stood by using filthy language4 ,they threatened to keep him there until he swore1 but he remained silent2 till at length one1 in whom there was more humanity than the rest1 freed him from his tormentors4 ,the clergyman happened to hear of it1 and sent for him1 and asked how he felt when in that fearful case4 ,sir1 was his simple answer1 ,i never felt before that ,jesus was so near me as then4 ,don't you think that ,christ had given that young man a large portion of ,his ,spirit8 ,don't you think that he was a martyr--a witness for ,christ8 ,it was the same1 you know1 with those three children thousands of years ago at ,babylon4 ,the great ,king of ,babylon had taken them captive2 and he commanded them to fall down and worship a golden image which he had set up4 ,there they were in ,babylon--far from the temple1 where they used to worship ,god1 far from their friends and relatives4 ,they were only three young men among thousands of strangers4 ,and after all1 would it have been so very wrong1 just for once1 to fall down and worship1 as the king commanded8 ,yes1 it would have been wrong1 very wrong2 and ,shadrach1 ,meshach1 and ,abed-nego knew it would have been wrong2 and so they refused4 ,and what was the consequence8 ,why1 the names of those three heroes1 for heroes they certainly were1 have been recorded in the ,bible1 and translated into every language under heaven1 and to this day we hold them up as examples for our sons to follow4 ,reader1 if you and ,i resist the devil1 and overcome temptation1 there is no likelihood of our names being written in the ,bible4 ,no children yet unborn will read the records of our history2 no scholar will translate the story into other tongues4 ,but our names1 and the account of the temptation1 and how we resisted it1 will all be written down in the ,lamb's great ,book of ,life4 ,and is it not worth striving against any temptation in order to obtain such honour8 ,is it not worth while bearing witness for ,jesus1 if in return we wear the martyr's crown8 ,but ,i would have you look higher than this4 ,jesus ,christ died to save us2 and should we not be grateful to ,him for that8 ,it is very little we can do for ,him ,who has done all for us4 ,but we can do this4 ,the weakest1 and the poorest1 and the most sinful among us can1 when the temptation comes1 put up a prayer to ,jesus to ask ,his gracious help4 ,and ,i know of none shorter1 and certainly of none better1 than the words ,he ,himself has taught us--,lead us not into temptation1 but deliver us from evil4 ,amen4 ,s4 ,matt4 vi4 #ac4 99,,drink499 ,when you see a drunken sot ,from out the tavern reel1 ,be thankful for a better lot1 ,and turn not on your heel4 ,go warn him of the dreadful glass1 ,and save him1 if you can2 ,but never scorn him as you pass-- ,remember he's a man4 ,john ,burbidge4 ,drink6 ,why is it that when we speak that word we instinctively tremble8 ,is it not because we feel that it is the great enemy of our country and our race8 ,is it not because we call to mind strong men and women reeling under its influences8 ,neglected homes1 ragged children1 and general wants rise up before our eyes at the first mention of that word1 ,drink6 ,have you ever been in any of our large towns late on a ,saturday night1 and watched a woman waiting patiently outside a public house for the drunken husband1 who is spending his time and his wages within8 ,perhaps there is a babe at her breast1 and a ragged child crying at her side4 ,crying6 yes1 crying1 because it knows that this means no supper1 no comfort1 no peace4 ,it is an awful sight4 ,i don't know any sight more sad2 no not even a weeping mother mourning her only son4 ,look into the newspapers again1 week after week filled with cases of drunkenness4 ,a horrible murder is committed2 and if it should be peculiarly brutal in its details1 we are almost certain to find that the murderer was drunk4 ,yes1 it is drink that fills our prisons to overflowing2 it is drink that fills the mad-houses of the country2 and it is drink which indirectly taxes every single member of the society in which we live4 ,then1 again1 drunkenness leads to the commission of countless other sins4 ,apart from sins committed under the influence of drink1 there are many sins to which drink leads4 ,i have known a case in which a woman1 who began life with high motives and honest intentions1 being afflicted with a great and deep sorrow1 was advised by her friends to seek consolation in drink4 ,the glass which she then took led to another1 and that one to another1 and so on1 until to-day that woman is pronounced by those very friends to be a hopeless and confirmed drunkard4 ,as ,i said1 before she took to drink her character was good2 now it is far otherwise4 ,and ,i am told that so great are her thefts1 that everything in that house has to be kept under lock and key4 ,oh1 don't you think that is a terrible picture of the influence of drink8 ,don't you think that at the ,day of ,judgment ,god will blame the friends1 however kindly they may have meant it1 who first advised her to drown her grief in drink8 ,reader1 that is a true story4 ,it is no made-up tale4 ,that poor woman is well known to me2 and so far as ,i can see1 the few years more she may have to live1 and they cannot be many1 must be passed in sorrow1 in suffering1 and in pain4 ,and1 unhappily1 this curse of our nation does not end in our own land4 ,wherever the ,english tongue is spoken1 wherever the ,english foot treads1 there the curse follows4 ,from the swarthy ,african1 who knows the white man's fire-water1 which maddens his brain and dulls his senses1 to the red ,indian warrior who changes the skins of wild beasts for ,english gold and ,english spirits on the shores of ,lake ,ontario1 all men know of the ,englishman's curse3 and knowing1 learn to dread it4 ,it is drink which destroys our navy and our army alike4 ,it is drunkenness which saps the strength of many of our greatest minds before they have left the university4 ,and what can ,i say of our country villages1--of our young men1 who year by year are growing up and beginning for themselves the labour of life2 of the boys who1 almost as soon as they leave school1 learn1 in many cases1 to follow the example of their elders1 and find the public house a convenient meeting-place8 ,it is for the young men of ,england to redeem their country's honour4 ,it is for every individual soul to do battle with this mighty foe4 ,let the work be begun in our villages1 in our homes1 in ourselves4 ,let us be moderate in our living1 in eating and in drinking2 and then1 by example rather than by precept1 by deed rather than by word1 we shall have done what we could2 and when we lie down in death1 it will be our comfort to reflect that little as it was we did1 and poor and weak as were the efforts of our heart1 we did it to the ,lord and not unto men4 99,,idle ,,words499 ,o1 never say a careless word ,hath not the power to pain1 ,the shaft may ope some hidden wound ,that closes not again4 ,weigh well those light-winged messengers2 ,god marked thy needless word1 ,and with it1 too1 the falling tear1 ,the heart-pang that it stirred4 ,anna ,shipton4 ,our ,lord1 in ,s4 ,matthew's ,gospel1 tells us that every idle word that men shall speak1 they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment4 ,now there are so many forms of speech which may be called idle words1 that ,i think it would be best to consider each separately4 ,and so we will divide them under three heads4 #a4 ,needless words4 #b4 ,impure words4 #c4 ,careless words4 ,s4 ,matt4 xii4 #cf4 #a4 ,now all idle words are needless4 ,you may be sure of this1 that if ,god had made1 as ,he has made1 many expressions necessary to our ordinary conversation or adapted to our daily wants1 such could never be idle words4 ,i do not mean to say1 nor would ,i have you think by this1 that any expressions of joy or merriment1 that any of the amusing stories we hear1 or any of the ordinary conversation of life1 comes under the head of idle words4 ,but what ,i do mean by idle words and needless words is all that we commonly call gossip4 ,now gossip is quite needless4 ,it is generally taken up with talk about our neighbours2 rarely1 very rarely1 is any thing said in their favour--most often are their characters blackened4 ,now you know it is so easy often to say an unkind thing of a person1 and so hard to say a kind one1 that men prefer the easier method1 and the character suffers thereby4 ,but would this be so1 think you1 if we always remembered that for these and such like idle words ,god would bring us into judgment8 #b4 ,then again there are impure words and swearing4 ,now ,i daresay when you swear you don't think of what it means4 ,when you turn round upon a fellow man and curse him1 it does not occur to you that you have solemnly called upon ,god to give his soul over to everlasting damnation4 ,god ,almighty alone can tell what effect that curse1 so carelessly spoken1 may have4 ,i cannot and do not believe that it will affect the soul of him against whom it is launched4 ,but ,i do believe1 for ,god has told us so1 that that word1 however carelessly and thoughtlessly spoken1 will one day be brought up against the speaker1 and for that and any other idle words he may have spoken1 he shall give an account in the day of judgment4 ,and the same is true of impure words4 ,they may be said thoughtlessly1 but they may yet for all that do as much harm as if you had thought over them before speaking4 ,suppose you throw a stone into a pond1 the stone sinks and you see it no more1 and all you can see is a widening circle spreading ever farther and farther until it ripples at your feet upon the shore4 ,and this is true of life4 ,you speak an impure word1 or you tell an impure tale to some of your friends1 and you go away and forget it4 ,but the word or the story may have been heard by a little child perhaps1 and that word or story may be the first step on the road to its ruin4 ,for every idle word that men shall speak1 they shall give an account in the day of judgment4 #c4 ,and what shall ,i say of careless words1 for they are words so often spoken even by the very best among us8 ,we speak the words1 and often we regret them as soon as spoken4 ,but we are too proud to recall them4 ,it may be that a word which we have carelessly spoken may be remembered years after1 when we ourselves have passed away4 ,besides which1 careless words1 needless words1 and impure words pass upwards before ,god1 and ,he hears them and notes them down against that day when men shall give an account of every idle word4 ,by ,god's eternal dwelling-place1 ,those words went floating by1 ,and still the echo wanders on ,throughout eternity4 ,and whispering yet within thy heart1 ',the still small voice' is heard1 ,and thou shall cry1 ',o ,god6 forgive ,my needless bitter word6' ,yes1 reader1 ,god may forgive the words1 and will do so1 as ,he has promised2 but1 as that verse says1 the echo wanders on throughout eternity4 ,and the consequences wander on too4 ,and though ,god may have forgiven the utterance of the word1 yet since it was idly spoken1 you will have to give an account thereof at the day of judgment4 ,it has been said1 that the words spoken here wander on through eternity1 and that we shall one day confront again the words which we have spoken in the flesh4 ,how careful then ought we to be of every idle word6 ,how particular that none escape us6 ,for think of the torment it will be to the purified soul to meet in the everlasting city with the echoes--even though they be but the last dying echoes--of the idle words which the lips have spoken on earth4 99,,excuses499 ,make not vain excuses2 ,god gives strength to all1 ,sets ,his guardian angels ,round us1 lest we fall4 ,in the hour of trial ,call upon thy ,lord1 ,fight thy battle bravely1 ,think upon ,his ,word1 ',i will never leave thee1 ,i am ever near1 ,in ,my strength go forward1 ,cast away all fear4' ,e4,c4,o4 ,how natural it seems to make excuses4 ,if we are found fault with1 we have an excuse ready to our tongue4 ,if we have to confess that we have been in the wrong1 we do so with an excuse4 ,ever since the day when ,adam and ,eve fled from their ,maker's ,presence in the ,garden of ,eden1 ever since ,adam spoke those first words of excuse1 ,the woman whom ,thou gavest to be with me1 she gave me of the tree1 and ,i did eat1 ever since then man has made one excuse after another1 until excuses come so readily that it is difficult to speak without making one4 ,we are all of us very fond of trying to shift the blame from our own shoulders on to those of others4 ,if a railway accident takes place1 it is most difficult to find out who is to blame for it4 ,if an army is cut to pieces in battle1 the blame is generally laid upon the dead4 ,but if a praiseworthy action is done1 and men talk about it1 and it gets reported in the newspapers1 there are always plenty of people quite ready to come forward and lay claim to having done the brave deed4 ,and what is true of our earthly life1 the life of the body1 is true also of the life of the soul4 ,when we fall into sin1 when we come on our knees to confess the sin to ,almighty ,god1 how very often the confession is spoilt by excuses4 ,just as ,adam laid the blame on ,eve1 and ,eve in her turn blamed the ,serpent1 so we lay the blame on somebody else1 and expect ,god will accept our excuses4 ,now there are so many excuses that the devil teaches men1 that it would be quite impossible for me to deal with nearly all of them2 but there are one or two of the commonest1 against which ,i can put you on your guard4 ,one of the excuses most frequently made for not coming to ,christ is1 ,i am not good enough4 ,reader1 which of us would be good enough for ,christ1 if ,he required us to be perfect8 ,but ,he wants us to come just as we are1 to come with our sins1 and lay them upon ,him1 ,who bore them long ago in ,his own body on the tree4 ,i have read of an artist who wanted to paint a picture of the ,prodigal ,son4 ,he searched through the mad-houses1 and work-houses1 and prisons1 to find a man wretched enough to represent the ,prodigal1 but he could not find one4 ,one day he was walking down the street and he met a beggar2 he thought the man would do1 and he told him he would pay him well1 if he would come to his room1 and sit for his picture4 ,the day came1 and the man appeared at the artist's door1 and reminded him of his appointment with him4 ,but the artist looked at him and said1 ,no1 ,i have never seen you before4 ,i made an appointment with a ragged beggar1 not with you4 ,but the man persisted1 and named the place where they had first met2 so the artist asked him what he had been doing4 ,well1 answered the beggar1 ,i thought ,i would dress myself up a bit before ,i got painted4 ,then1 said the artist1 ,i do not want you2 ,i wanted you as you were1 not as you are now4 ,and1 reader1 ,christ wants you as you are1 when ,he first meets you4 ,without excuses1 poor1 sinful1 and miserable2 a broken and a contrite heart ,he will not despise4 ,i came to ,jesus as ,i was1 ,weary1 and worn1 and sad2 ,i found in ,him a resting-place1 ,and ,he has made me glad4 ,another very common excuse is1 ,there is no hurry4 ,men1 and especially young men1 think1 ,oh6 ,i've got life before me1 why shouldn't ,i amuse myself a bit now8 and then1 when ,i'm old1 too old for amusement1 ,i'll give the days of my life to ,god4 ,i have heard a story1 that on one occasion ,satan gathered his wicked spirits together1 and they took counsel as to how they could best ruin mankind4 ,and some said one thing and some another4 ,one1 for instance1 stood up and said1 ,i'll go and tell them that there's no ,god4 ,but ,satan said1 ,no1 that won't do2 it's too old a story2 it has been tried and failed4 ,and another rose up and said1 ,i'll go and persuade them that the ,bible is not true4 ,and ,satan replied again1 ,no1 that won't do either2 you might persuade a few1 but you would not convince many4 ,but1 he added1 ,i'll tell you what to do1 go and tell them that there's no hurry1 they'll all believe that4 ,and from that day to this ,satan has been telling us that there's no hurry1 and we all do believe that4 ,yes1 the very best of us and the very wisest1 as well as the worst and most ignorant1 still think that there's no hurry4 ,morning after morning the sun rises1 and every evening he sinks beyond the distant hills4 ,year by year1 spring follows winter1 and summer follows spring4 ,every year we gather in a new harvest1 and then the winter evenings are with us once more2 and because these things come so regularly and so naturally1 we are apt to think that there's no hurry4 ,reader1 if you are still persuading yourself that there's no hurry for you1 make the excuse no longer4 ,jesus invites you1 saying1 ,come unto ,me1 all ye that labour and are heavy-laden1 and ,i will give you rest4 ,god's ministers invite you1 preaching the ,gospel of the ,blessed ,god4 ,the open church and the pealing bells invite you1 the gay green earth and the open sky1 the birds and beasts1 all these invite you to look at them1 in and beyond them1 to their ,maker's love4 ,i wish ,i had time to say more about these excuses4 ,they are as numerous as the grains of sand on the seashore4 ,but ,i suppose if ,i did exhaust them all1 ,satan would be quite ready to give you fresh ones4 ,god willeth not the death of a sinner1 but rather that he should turn from his wickedness and live4 ,oh6 think of that joyful life1 immortal1 everlasting1 around the throne of ,christ4 ,think of your dear friends who have gone before2 think1 it may be1 of the pious mother1 who first taught your infant lips to say ,our ,father1 which art in heaven4 ,and she1 too1 is there6 ,and then1 reader1 think of the punishment of sin2 there's no escape from that6 ,our ,lord ,himself has told us what that will be--,cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness2 there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth4 ,s4 ,matt4 xxv4 #cj4 99,,poverty499 ,god sends us poverty or wealth1 ,whichever ,he thinks best2 ,the best for earthly warfare here-- ,the best for heavenly rest4 ,if ,god has sent you wealth1 it is ,not yours1 but only lent4 ,if ,he has sent you poverty1 ,then learn to be content4 ,r4,d4 ,one of the questions1 which men have wasted many weary hours in trying to answer1 is the question of the uneven division of wealth in the world4 ,great men and clever men have tried1 and all alike have failed2 nay1 some have gone further1 and have declared that since an unseen ,being has divided wealth so unevenly1 it is for them to redistribute it4 ,and these1 too1 have failed4 ,and ,i suppose as long as the world lasts we shall never have an answer to the question--,how is it that one man in this world is so rich that he really does not know what to do with his money3 he buys horses and carriages1 and stocks his house with lovely and costly treasures1 and with wrought silver and gold8 ,and how is it1 on the other hand1 that a man1 living perhaps at the rich man's very gates1 a man as religious1 as honest1 as straightforward as he1 how is it that he must needs rise early and go late to rest to gain his daily bread8 ,how is it that sometimes even with all his daily toil he feels an anxiety quite unknown to the other1 as to where the next meal is to come from8 ,can you answer that question8 ,i think not6 ,and1 reader1 you are not alone in your ignorance2 for ,i have never heard of anybody yet who could give any cause for this uneven division of wealth4 ,no1 of all ,god's gifts to men1 none are so unevenly distributed2 and none cause so much bitterness between men1 as ,his gift of riches4 ,the great thing then to remember is1 first1 that both poverty and wealth come from ,almighty ,god4 ,if we have riches1 ,god has given them1 not to use them selfishly for our own purposes1 but in order to benefit other people4 ,while1 if we are poor in this world's goods1 we may be rich in heavenly treasure1 and still look upon our poverty as the gift of ,god4 ,but1 you may say1 it is all very well for you1 with everything you can want1 to talk to us about poverty being a blessed state1 and a gift of ,god1 but you can't know anything of the troubles of poverty4 ,now1 there may be and there are certain troubles which a poor man necessarily feels1 and which a rich man does not1 and these of course ,i don't pretend to know4 ,there may be moments in your life1 in which you feel that ,god has forgotten you1 that starvation must be very near6 ,but do remember that ,god never forgets ,his people4 ,he never fails to help and govern those ,he has brought up in ,his steadfast fear and love4 ,the same kind providence watches the poor man's humble cottage and the royal throne4 ,the same ,god will mark what is done amiss in both cases1 and will most surely punish it4 ,our ,lord and ,his ,apostles were poor working men4 ,he had made all men1 and had only to speak the word1 and the kings of the earth would gladly have flocked in eager to be ,his disciples2 but no1 ,he passes over all these1 and ,he goes down to the seashore1 and ,he finds some plain fishermen mending their nets1 ,he bids them follow ,him2 and1 just as if it was the most natural thing in the world1 they get up1 and leave behind them their few earthly possessions 7probably little else than fishing-tackle71 and they follow ,him without delay4 ,they know well that they are going after a poor man1 but they never think of the poverty4 ,they know that theirs will be no bed of down1 when the toils of day are over1 for ,he whom they follow has not where to lay ,his head4 ,they know that the man they are following has no earthly home1 and that when they leave their father and the ship1 they leave all that they have and all they will ever have on earth4 ,i wonder1 reader1 if you have ever thought of these ,apostles of ,jesus leaving all to follow ,him1 and of their reason for doing so4 ,and what was the reason--was it hope of worldly honour8 ,i think not2 if so they would very soon have been bitterly deceived4 ,or was it1 think you1 to have their names and history written down in the ,bible1 that all men might read of their self-denial8 ,i hardly think that likely1 for when they started to follow ,jesus1 they knew but little of ,him1 and nothing at all of a ,bible1 in which their names should appear4 ,no1 what these ,apostles had is what we want so much1 rich and poor alike4 ,god's great gift of faith4 ,faith to believe ,god1 as ,abraham believed ,him4 ,faith to take ,christ at ,his word1 as the ,apostles did4 ,faith here1 which shall guide us through this world of sin1 and land us1 whether rich or poor1 on the eternal shore beyond it4 ,to us1 then1 poverty or wealth alike would come as ,god's gifts1 and we should thankfully accept them as such1 and we should no longer complain of our hard lot and our little grievances1 but should think more of ,christ1 and less of ourselves--more of ,his riches1 and less of our poverty4 ,s4 ,matt4 viii4 #bj4 99,,out ,,of ,,work499 ,be it good or ill1 ,be it what you will1 ,it must help me on my road1 ,my rugged way to ,heaven1 please ,god4 ,c4 ,rossetti4 ,as this book is written specially for working men1 it could hardly be complete without a few words on the above heading4 ,now ,i am not going to enter into the question of why it is that so many people are constantly out of work4 ,in some cases1 it may be the fault of the master3 in some cases1 that of the men4 ,there may be1 again1 hard times in which it is difficult to get work1 and for some perhaps quite impossible4 ,but what ,i want to do is to offer a few kindly words of advice to such as may be out of work4 ,and1 first of all1 if you have ever been so1 you must have felt1 and ,i hope have felt keenly1 the blessing of practising habits of saving4 ,we all know what is meant by putting aside something against a rainy day2 and those of us to whom the rainy day of wanting work has come1 have probably had cause to regret a good deal of wasted money1 spent in the public house1 before that evil day came4 ,we have felt that if we had kept the money we had wasted in this way1 it would have greatly helped in keeping the wolf away from the door4 ,but the great point for ,christian men to remember is that whether they are out of work or not in a worldly sense1 they are always1 or ought always to be hard at work in a heavenly sense4 ,if we are out of work1 it may be our master's fault1 or it may be our own4 ,but if we are out of work for ,christ it is never ,his fault1 and so it must always be ours4 ,our work for ,jesus begins as soon as we enter this world1 and ceases not till we leave it4 ,if you were to go to a far-off country1 where there was no other human being near you1 you would still have to be working for ,jesus4 ,there is always the battle with self1 the daily self-denials1 the oft-repeated doubts to be silenced2 and this we shall find quite enough work for us to do4 ,each ,christian has his own separate work to do for ,god2 and we may be quite sure of this1 that ,god will not take us out of this world until that work be done4 ,some time ago1 in an ,english dockyard1 a great ship was to be launched4 ,an immense multitude of people came to see it glide down the slides that were to carry it into the water4 ,the blocks and wedges were knocked away2 but the massive hull did not stir4 ,just then a little boy ran forward1 and began to push the ship with all his might4 ,the crowd broke out into a laugh of ridicule2 but it so happened that the vessel was just ready to move2 the little push the boy gave it was all that was needed to start it1 and away it went into the water4 ,now we have each of us got some work to do for the ,master4 ,it may be great1 or it may be small2 but if we will but look for it1 there it is4 ,it may be our business to speak a word to a friend who is living in sin1 or it may be we may have to speak to multitudes4 ,it is certain that we all have to set a good example1 and to live a ,christian life4 ,yes1 even when we are out of work1 we can show that we are working for the ,master4 ,we can try and be content with our hard lot1 and ,god only knows how very hard that lot sometimes is4 ,we can refrain from speaking against our employer1 or saying anything unjust or untrue of him4 ,you know it is always easier to say an unkind word1 or to think a hard thought of one who has done us harm1 than to speak or think kindly of him2 and because it is easier we generally do so4 ,you may say this is but natural4 ,so it is4 ,but there are a great many things which come quite naturally to us1 which are wrong1 and forbidden in the ,bible2 and if we would go to heaven1 nay more1 if we would please ,god1 we must deny ourselves in some of these very things which come so naturally to us4 ,and do remember1 reader1 that though masters may be1 and certainly often are unkind to their servants1 and unfaithful to their trust1 it is not for us to judge them4 ,god has told us that vengeance is ,his1 and ,he will repay4 ,masters and men alike have hard times3 and though the masters may have more money1 they have more calls upon their purse and heavier expenses than the poor4 ,for failing crops do make hard times for the farmers1 and loss of wealth means hard times for the merchant1 just as hard in its own way as any the poor have to suffer when they are out of work4 99,,discontent499 ,some murmur if their sky is clear ,and wholly bright to view1 ,if one small speck of dark appear ,in their bright ,heaven of blue2 ,and some1 with deepest love are filled ,if but one ray of light1 ,one star of ,god's good mercy gild ,the blackness of their night4 ,trench4 ,discontent in any form1 and among any class of people1 is indeed a disagreeable1 and a wicked thing4 ,it is disagreeable1 because it makes one's neighbours uncomfortable4 ,it is wicked1 because it is a sin against ,god4 ,it is bad enough and wrong enough when we find it amongst the poor4 ,it is worse than wrong when we meet with it among the rich4 ,godliness with contentment is great gain2 and so often do these two go hand in hand1 that they have come to be looked upon as almost inseparable4 ,a discontented man is always an unhappy one1 and we may say1 too1 generally manages to render those about him unhappy4 ,we have given us in the ,bible1 for our warning1 an example of discontent in the person of ,jonah4 ,jonah1 as you will remember1 was sent to a city called ,nineveh1 to warn its sinful inhabitants of the wrath of ,god4 ,so he went1 and preached throughout her streets that after forty days the city should be overthrown4 ,but1 contrary to the expectation of ,jonah1 the ,king of ,nineveh and his people humbled themselves before ,god1 and repented of their evil ways4 ,and ,almighty ,god1 with that forbearing love which ,he is wont to show to ,his repentant children1 heard the prayer of the people of ,nineveh1 and they and their city were saved4 ,but1 strange as it may seem to us1 this forbearance displeased ,jonah exceedingly1 and he was very angry4 ,he was angry because ,nineveh was saved1 and because it seemed to him that his was now a false position4 ,and so this discontented man went out of the city1 and there he made himself a booth1 or tent1 to keep off the hot rays of the noonday sun1 and he wished that he might die4 ,and then ,almighty ,god taught ,jonah a lesson--such a lesson as it would be well for each one of us to learn4 ,he caused a gourd to grow1 to ward off the heat from ,jonah2 and when ,jonah began to be glad because of this tree1 ,god sent a worm to its roots1 and one after another the leaves fell off1 and the tree died2 and discontent again prevailed in ,jonah's heart4 ,then ,god called him1 and said1 ,thou hast had pity on the gourd for the which thou hast not laboured1 neither madest it grow2 and should not ,i spare ,nineveh1 wherein are more than six score thousand persons1 that cannot discern between their right hand and their left8 ,how many houses there are in ,england1 which would be happy ones were it not for this demon form of discontent4 ,how many families have been made wretched1 and homes broken up1 all through discontent4 ,there are people1 who enjoy the best of health1 the fruits of the earth in their season1 and many other gifts of ,god ,almighty's providence1 and who yet amongst it all lack ,his great gift of contentment4 ,and there are others who lie upon beds of sickness1 or beds of pain1 in our crowded hospitals1 or in loathsome dens in the back streets of our great cities1 and these have that gift of contentment which the world never gave them1 and can never take away4 ,there are little children1 who play happily and contentedly in our great thoroughfares1 who have never seen a country lane1 a cornfield1 or wild flower4 ,and there are many grown-up people1 to whom these are sights of every day1 and who fail to recognise the hand of the great ,giver4 #a ,tim4 vi4 #f4 ,jonah iv4 #a4 ,jonah iv4 #aa4 ,the dew of heaven only falls on those parts of the earth which most need it--gardens1 grasslands1 and cornfields4 ,little1 if any1 is wasted on the barren rocks1 or on the unthankful sea4 ,so1 too1 is it with contentment4 ,god does not lavish it where it will not be gratefully and thankfully received2 but where few of ,his good things come1 in hospitals1 in orphanages1 and very often among the poorest of the poor1 there ,he rains down ,his great gift in rich abundance1 that all men who see it may wonder1 and thank the great ,giver of all4 99,i ,,want ,,to ,,better ,,myself499 ,we've no abiding city here3 ,this may distress the worldling's mind1 ,but should not cost the saint a tear1 ,who hopes a better rest to find4 ,kelly4 ,i want to better myself6 ,how often we hear those words4 ,a man has a very comfortable place1 he has a kind master1 a good home1 pleasant companions1 and yet he throws up everything and makes a fresh start in a new place1 and all because he says he wants to better himself4 ,now ,i am not going to say one word against a man's trying to better himself4 ,not only is there no harm in it1 but it is everybody's duty to try and do so as far as he can4 ,but ,i hope to shew you1 before you put down this book1 that there is more than one way of bettering yourself2 that it is quite possible to change your place1 and to get more money by the change1 and yet not to better yourself at all4 ,do try1 first of all1 to get out of your head the idea that money is the great thing4 ,it is not4 ,it is1 of course1 necessary to have money1 but it is not good for any body to have too much4 ,you generally find that an increase of wages means fresh disappointment1 while if a man has just enough to live on he learns to be content4 ,oh6 ,i know it is the same with all classes4 ,the rich are quite as bad as the poor2 nobody ever has enough4 ,now undoubtedly the first thing we ought to look out for1 though very few do so1 when trying to better ourselves1 is a greater opportunity of practising our religion4 ,ask yourself the question1 ,in changing my village1 am ,i likely to be any nearer to my ,god8 ,shall ,i read my ,bible more often8 ,shall ,i get more time for prayer8 ,be sure that the time thus spent in the service and worship of ,almighty ,god will not be wasted1 for ,he will make it good4 ,again1 another question to ask is1 ,shall ,i find as comfortable a home1 and as nice companions1 as ,i have here8 ,for1 ,i trust1 we all know the influence companions have upon each other4 ,man was never made to be alone always1 and therefore it is most necessary that his companions should be good and pleasant men4 ,and who can rightly estimate the value of a good home4 ,a place to which a man can go at night1 instead of the public-house4 ,a place to which the angels love to come1 and bring down stores of happiness from the presence of ,god4 ,and then there is one way more in which a man may better himself2 and that is what most people put first instead of last on the list2 ,i mean1 by money4 ,your wages may not be sufficiently high1 and you may know of a place where they are higher4 ,but don't be deceived by the pay given for work being higher1 for other things may be higher too4 ,for instance1 in some country places the wages are twelve shillings a week1 while in ,london they may be one pound4 ,but in ,london1 clothes are dearer1 and you would want more of them4 ,lodgings are dearer and harder to get1 and1 reader1 people are harder too6 ,but perhaps you will say1 ,how is it that so many men leave their work in a place to better themselves1 and return without having bettered themselves at all8 ,the answer to that question is plain and simple enough4 ,they thought it was only a question of money1 and they looked no further1 and so failed4 ,but if you really wish to better yourself1 ask yourself the questions ,i have asked above1 and don't be satisfied until you get an answer4 ,ask ,god to help you to better yourself1 and ,he certainly will help you to do so4 ,if ,he sees it would be good for you1 ,he will allow you to better yourself in this world2 and if not1 then ,he will take you away1 in ,his own good time1 that you may better yourself in the world to come4 99,,masters ,,and ,,men499 ,god has given each his station1 ,some have riches and high place1 ,some have lowly homes and labour1 ,all may have ,his precious grace4 ,and ,god loveth all ,his children1 ,rich and poor1 and high and low1 ,and they all shall meet in heaven1 ,who have served ,him here below4 ,mrs4 ,alexander4 ,now ,i want to say a few plain words about the relations of masters and men to each other4 ,in these days of unhappy differences between them1 days of constant strikes and lock-outs1 it is surely not out of place to say a few words in the interests of peace4 ,there have no doubt been faults on the side of the masters1 and no doubt faults too on that of the men4 ,all alike are human1 and as such are open to make mistakes1 and very often the mistakes they make are difficult to correct4 ,there is no doubt that the old spirit of familiar intercourse between masters and men has passed away4 ,days when the master was indeed a father to his people1 and when all his workmen loved him1 and honoured him as such4 ,those days and that spirit have gone from amongst us4 ,in the country among the farmers we have a different class of men altogether4 ,in towns the employers of labour are different too4 ,the labouring class have changed and are changing still4 ,working men in the country change their work much oftener than they used to4 ,but there are certain golden rules which1 if carefully followed in spite of all changes1 may still be of use to masters and men4 ,and1 first1 there is the grand old rule of give and take 7the bear and forbear of scripture72 without this no society can hold together1 no two classes can live together in unity4 ,masters must always give their men the benefit of a doubt in all cases1 and the men on their part must always be ready to acknowledge that their master wishes to act justly and fairly towards them4 ,another golden rule is always to be ready to receive and gratefully acknowledge kindness4 ,and this too applies quite as much to the master as to his men4 ,the man who1 passing by his master's hayfield1 finds that cattle have got in and drives them out1 does his master service4 ,and the master who knowing of it does not acknowledge the service1 deserves most richly to lose his crop4 ,and the man who in time of sickness receives from his master wine or other necessaries1 and does not gratefully thank him for the same1 deserves to lose his place for his ingratitude4 ,i have spoken in another chapter of civil speaking4 ,nowhere is it more needful than in the dealings of masters and men4 ,if a master speaks uncivilly1 or harshly1 or unkindly to his men1 how dare he expect that they will care to speak civilly in return8 ,and if the men do not speak civilly to their master1 it is certain he won't care to hold much conversation with them4 ,but1 above all1 if you would know the right and proper relations between masters and men1 you can't find it better put than in the ,bible4 ,there1 either in the dealings of ,christ with ,his ,apostles1 or in the epistles of ,st4 ,paul and ,st4 ,james 7notably in the sixth chapter of ,ephesians71 you will find a fit example for you to copy in your daily life4 ,st4 ,paul warns the ,ephesians against eye service4 ,and is there any more necessary caution than that in these days4 ,men are so apt--we are all so apt--to slur over our work1 to do it carelessly1 that we need to be cautioned that all work is hallowed1 and is done to the ,lord4 ,and the masters too will find a word for them4 ,they are warned against threatening their servants1 or speaking harshly to them1 for they too have a ,master in heaven1 ,who will one day be their ,judge4 ,if you are a master1 an employer of labour1 then remember that poor folks have their troubles4 ,they may not be your troubles1 and you may not understand them2 but oh1 do speak kindly and1 if you can1 feelingly4 ,there are some poor fellows working on our ,english farms and in our large warehouses who have never known what a kind word meant2 whose earliest recollections carry them back to an ill-tempered mother1 or a drunken father1 and to them a kind word would be a comfort indeed4 ,and if you have to toil1 reader1 in the sweat of your brow for your daily bread1 remember that your master has his troubles too4 ,failing crops or losses in business tell upon his purse1 and sometimes on his temper1 and then perhaps he may speak harshly4 ,but it will soon be over2 all the work1 all the angry words1 all the sorrow1 and the great ,master ,himself shall enter the harvest-field1 and the golden sheaves shall bow before ,him1 as they did in ,joseph's dream1 for that harvest is the end of the world1 and the reapers are the angels4 99,,forgiveness ,,of ,,others499 ,oh6 never bear malice1 'twill poison the breast1 ,the storm is all over1 then1 there let it rest4 ,the hot word of rage has been truly unkind1 ,but the sting of deep sorrow may linger behind4 ',twere better to yield than for ever be foes1 ,one look of compassion strikes harder than blows2 ',tis human to injure--to wound--or to threat1 ,but oh6 'tis divine to forgive and forget4 ,j4 ,burbidge4 ,in that beautiful prayer which our blessed ,lord left to ,his disciples1 we have amongst other petitions1 one especially directed to the forgiveness of sin4 ,we ask ,god to forgive us what we have done amiss against ,him1 and call ,him to witness that we forgive our brother who has sinned against us4 ,forgive us our trespasses1 as we forgive them that trespass against us4 ,you see it is as much as saying to ,god1 that we don't want ,him to forgive us1 unless ,he sees that we have freely forgiven any who may have sinned against us4 ,now it is very much easier1 is it not1 to speak an angry word1 or to think an unkind thought of anyone who has offended us8 ,it may be they have not even sinned against us4 ,perhaps they have said something about us which in our hearts we know to be quite true1 only we don't want the neighbours to know it1 and so we pretend it is false2 and we pretend to think we have been injured1 and that we have something to forgive4 ,and many of us ,i fear go farther still and refuse to bestow forgiveness at all4 ,i have known forgiveness withheld from people for the smallest reasons4 ,a family have not received the pew in church they wanted1 or their name has been omitted by mistake from a dinner list1 or they were forgotten in a ,christmas charity1 or something of the kind4 ,and for such trifles as these they blame the clergyman generally1 forgetting that his parish work may have taken up his time1 and so the mistake may have arisen4 ,and yet these people are nothing loth to kneel before their ,father in ,heaven1 and with this unforgiven trespass on their hearts they pray1 ,forgive us our trespasses1 as we forgive them that trespass against us4 ,perhaps you may say1 ,i don't see that it matters much to people whether ,i forgive them or not4 ,i am but a poor man1 and my love or my hatred can't make much difference to them4 ,but reader1 ,i answer1 whether your friend be rich or poor1 if he be a true friend1 it will always make the greatest difference to him1 if he have done you hurt1 whether he have your forgiveness or no4 ,and more than this1 it matters very much indeed to ,him who has said1 ,if ye forgive not men their trespasses1 neither will your heavenly ,father forgive you your trespasses4 ,and just think what an awful feeling it would be for you1 if you heard that a person with whom you had a quarrel1 had died suddenly1 and carried the sense of his unforgiven trespass into the world to come4 ,a short time ago in the ,south of ,england there lived two friends4 ,they were always together2 they loved each other1 and could not bear to be apart4 ,for a long while1 the greater part of a lifetime1 this friendship continued1 and as they were both religious men1 their friendship was blessed and strengthened by ,almighty ,god4 ,but after a while it pleased ,god to try their love for each other1 and like the dead fly in the ointment1 or the worm at the root of ,jonah's gourd1 he sent a slight cause of disagreement between them4 ,so slight a matter was it that it was difficult to say which of the two was to blame1 but it was sufficient to come between them4 ,and so little by little a coldness arose1 each being too proud to say he was in the wrong1 until the coldness ripened into anger1 and so they separated4 ,for some years they lived apart1 hearing nothing of each other1 until one morning when one of them was reading the newspaper1 he found the report of his friend's death4 ,so sudden and unexpected was it that it took him quite by surprise1 and he never recovered the shock4 ,night and day he kept thinking of years gone by1 when they were firm friends1 and then he would remember the evil day when their disagreement took place1 and then came death6 ,reader1 if you have been living1 or are living in enmity with anyone1 go at once and ask their pardon1 or if necessary grant it4 ,so shall you pray with some hope of acceptance the oft-repeated words1 and show not only with your lips1 but in your life1 that you really mean what you say when you pray1 ,forgive us our trespasses1 as we forgive them that trespass against us4 ,then forgive and forget6--'tis a rule of such worth1 ,that 'twould scatter rich blessings all over the earth2 ,turn deserts to gardens of beauty and peace1 ,and bid half the storms of contention to cease4 ,as we act to ourselves1 we should act to another1 ,and look on each man that we meet as a brother1 ,in hope that when nature lays claim to her debt1 ,our ,god will in mercy forgive and forget4 99,,hard ,,work499 ,work is sweet1 for ,god hath blest ,honest work with quiet rest-- ,rest below1 and rest above1 ,in the mansions of ,his love1 ,when the work of life is done1 ,when the battle's fought and won4 ,working ere the day is gone1 ,working till your work is done3 ,not the work that pain imparts1 ,but the work of honest hearts2 ,working till your spirits rest ,with the spirits of the blest4 ,anon4 ,i have spoken so often in these passages already on the subject of work1 that but little remains to be said4 ,and yet there are so many kinds of work1 and hard work too1 that we can do on earth1 that it seems as though we could never get to the end of them4 ,there are1 for instance1 home work1 warfare work1 praying work1 and a great many other kinds of work1 of which it would take too long to speak now4 ,of some of these ,i have spoken already in this book1 but ,i want to say a few words about warfare work in this chapter4 ,warfare work is perhaps the hardest kind of work of all1 because it is work of the spirit4 ,it is a work that must be always going on1 while we live here2 so long as ,satan lives to tempt man to sin1 man must war against it4 ,in the sixth chapter of ,s4 ,john we read in the #bhth verse1 ,jesus said unto them1 this is the work of ,god that ye believe on ,him1 whom ,he hath sent4 ,it is no easy thing to believe2 nay1 it is very hard to believe simply in ,jesus ,christ2 and yet in the above passage ,he ,himself speaks of it as the work of all others1 which is to be done for ,god4 ,when our hearts get crusted over with sin and selfishness1 it is no easy matter to take again the heart of a little child and simply believe our ,father's word2 and yet this is needful work for ,his children4 ,but besides this inner struggle1 there is another that affects more our outward life4 ,all have a besetting sin to fight against--drunkenness1 lust1 or such like4 ,very different1 however1 are the ways in which this warfare is waged4 ,some struggle because they can't help it1 and are like the dumb driven cattle2 others are so feeble that they soon ,by the roadside fall and perish1 ,weary with the march of life4 ,others try to conceal1 even from themselves1 that they have a conflict to maintain4 ,it is the ,christian only1 who going forth in the strength of ,another1 can hope to work joyfully and successfully4 ,and now having said thus much about warfare work1 let me add a few words about everyday labour1 by giving a few hints to those who may be doing hard work4 ,first1 then1 be punctual4 ,time is a gift from ,god4 ,and if we choose to mislay our own portion1 we have no right to take that of those around us4 ,just look1 for instance1 at a case which happens almost daily4 ,a man starts to go on a long journey4 ,say1 if you will1 he is going to ,manchester4 ,his train is so timed1 that he reckons it will arrive in ,london half-an-hour before the departure of the ,manchester train4 ,in that half-hour1 he will have to collect his luggage1 and cross ,london4 ,the train arrives in ,london ten minutes late1 the man misses the train for ,manchester by five minutes4 ,it may make a difference to him1 all through his life1 that he missed that train4 ,and so you see the need of punctuality4 ,secondly1 be thorough4 ,whatsoever thine hand findeth to do1 do it with thy might4 ,do not try and do more than you are able2 but what you do1 do well4 ,it is better to do one thing well1 than half-a-dozen badly4 ,there is nothing too small to be done thoroughly--no work so unimportant1 that you can say1 ,it doesn't matter how ,i do it4 ,and this thorough spirit1 you will find1 will prevent your delaying doing your work4 ,you won't wish to put off till to-morrow what can be done to-day4 ,thirdly1 be straightforward2 never mind anybody seeing how you work4 ,never do evil that good may come4 ,the devil has so much power over the mind of man that he will readily suggest the evil1 but he will keep back the good which might follow4 ,the ,christian's road is the straight road1 where none can lose their way4 ,any duty that has to be done secretly is not duty at all1 but a sham6 ,the truths that must be made pleasant by worldly methods will lose their truthfulness1 and fail of their effect4 ,fourthly1 be patient2 ,god doesn't care about your success1 ,he looks upon the unwearied arm1 the patient heart4 ,if you measure your work by that of others you will grow impatient1 for in many cases they may seem to do much more1 and to succeed much better than you4 ,be patient when your employer speaks sharply to you4 ,it may not be deserved2 it may be he blames you where he should blame someone else2 never mind1 be patient4 ,if ye do good to them which do good to you1 what thank have ye8 for sinners also do even the same4 ,but love ye your enemies1 and do good1 and lend1 hoping for nothing again2 and your reward shall be great1 and ye shall be the children of the ,highest1 for ,he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil4 ,s4 ,luke vi4 #ce4 ,lastly1 reader1 be spiritually minded4 ,never let work of any kind interfere with the worship of ,god4 ,remember1 ,he is your ,father and your ,friend1 as well as the great ,work-master4 ,if we are to work hard in our earthly business1 it must1 if it is to prosper1 be softened and mingled with our heavenly work2 that so passing through things temporal we finally lose not the things eternal4 ,and then after work comes rest6 ,the body1 so worn with sickness1 so faint with toil1 so weary with fatigue1 will enjoy its rest4 ,nor will it rest merely in the green sleeping-place1 which has been beautifully called ,god's acre1 beside the quiet river1 or by the ancient church2 but it shall rise to take an active part in the great hereafter of the sons of ,god4 ,and who shall dare describe to us the rest of the troubled spirit in the ,father's house8 ,who shall tell us of its wanderings1 its joys1 its occupations8 ,it is enough for us to know that there remaineth a rest to the people of ,god4 ,a rest we cannot understand1 we must not seek to know1 until that day1 when we shall find ourselves in that heavenly presence1 where the wicked cease from troubling1 and the weary are at rest4 ,heb4 iv4 #i4 ,job iii4 #ag4 99,,courtship499 ,still in the pure espousal ,of ,christian man and maid3 ,the ,holy ,three are with us1 ,the threefold grace is said4 ,for dower of blessed children1 ,for love and faith's sweet sake1 ,for high mysterious union1 ,which nought on earth may break4 ,keble4 ,as this book is intended especially for young men1 it would manifestly be incomplete if ,i were to avoid any subjects upon which young men were likely to need assistance4 ,and so now ,i propose to say a few plain words upon courtship4 ,i know that this is what is called a delicate subject1 and ,i know too that any words from a stranger upon this subject must be both carefully and thoughtfully spoken1 if they are to find acceptance4 ,now courtship1 like almost everything else1 is open to abuse2 and1 like very nearly everything else too1 it very often is abused4 ,it is often made a pretext for impure conversation and indecent liberties4 ,have you any right to expect that any marriage1 however suitable the match may be in other ways1 if it follows such a courtship as this1 will be blessed by the ,almighty1 and happy in the end8 ,courtship is almost as old as the world4 ,it is the same in all countries1 wherever man is found there courtship exists1 in some form or other4 ,but though courtship is a necessary step to married life1 yet it is by no means necessary that it should be made an excuse for indulging in impure and filthy conversation4 ,young men and young women should remember that wherever they are1 and whatever they may be doing1 whether it be work or amusement1 they have a duty to perform as ,christians which must come before all other duties whatsoever4 ,i know it is hard for young men1 living in country villages1 and continually indulging in what is called free talk1 to keep such guard over their lips1 as to prevent anything passing but what is strictly pure and right4 ,but it must be done2 for1 as ,i said just now1 if the marriage is to have ,god's blessing1 7and what marriage can be really happy without it87 then the courtship must be free from sin4 ,many young men1 again1 think it no harm to keep company with a young woman--to walk with her1 as they say--without ever having any serious thoughts of marrying her at all4 ,now1 this again1 is wrong--all wrong4 ,it is one of the links in the devil's chain1 with which he seeks to bind the souls for whom ,christ died4 ,it is one of the many ways by which he tries to draw souls into his net by teaching them to do wrong1 all the while pretending that there is no harm4 ,therefore1 my advice is1 don't keep company with any young woman you do not mean to marry in the end4 ,and now one word upon the choice of a wife1 for this is most important4 ,i do not think a man can be too careful in this respect if he wishes to have a happy home4 ,and this is one of the great benefits of courtship--it enables a man to get an insight into the character of her whom he intends to make his wife4 ,now1 of course1 there are always many things which must be left to the man to choose for himself2 and different people will choose very differently4 ,but there are1 ,i think1 certain qualities which1 if they were to be found oftener in wives1 would completely change the tone of many of our ,english homes4 ,such qualities are good-temper1 cleanliness1 cheerfulness1 patience1 contentment1 and love4 ,i might name many more1 but ,i have no time to speak of them now4 ,but though at first sight it may seem strange1 the qualities which ,i have named above are those we most rarely meet with4 ,but1 above all things1 it is essential that a man should have a godly wife1 first for his own sake1 then for his children's4 ,one who will look upon prosperity as the gift of a kind ,father1 ,who thinks of the happiness of ,his children2 and upon adversity1 if it come1 as part of a necessary discipline1 sent by the same loving ,friend4 ,then the man may confidently and hopefully take such an one to be his wedded wife1 to love her1 comfort her1 honour1 and keep her in sickness and in health2 and1 forsaking all other1 keep himself only unto her1 so long as both shall live4 ,and then when the weary days of sickness1 or the solemn hour of dying shall come to him1 the wife will be there to nurse the sick1 or close the dying eyes1 and to whisper words of comfort to the departing soul4 ,marriage ,service4 99,,marriage499 ,husband dear1 'twas your loving hand ,showed the way to that better land1 ,oh6 how often you cheered me then2 ',things will be better1 dear wife1 again4' ,hand in hand1 when life was ,may1 ,hand in hand now our hair is grey1 ,shadow and sun for every one1 ,as the years roll on4 ,hand in hand1 when the long night-tide ,gently covers us1 side by side1 ,we will trust1 though we know not when1 ,god will be with us for ever then6 ,before entering on this great and solemn step in life1 every man should read through the service in the ,prayer ,book for the solemnization of matrimony4 ,therein you will see with what awe and reverence it is spoken of1 as a thing not to be undertaken lightly1 but reverently1 discreetly1 advisedly1 soberly1 and in the fear of ,god4 ,marriage ,service4 ,you will find that it was ordained for the mutual society1 help1 and comfort of the man and woman1 that they ought each to receive from each other both in prosperity and adversity4 ,each man and woman is solemnly reminded of the dreadful day of judgment1 when the secrets of all hearts will be disclosed4 ,could any words be more solemn1 or full of warning8 ,and yet how many enter upon marriage with but little thought of the solemn vow they then take before ,god4 ,and this1 ,i think1 is quite sufficient to account for the unhappy results of so many marriages2 for the bitterness and quarrels between husband and wife1 and the frequent applications for divorce4 ,i have already spoken of how careful you ought to be in making choice of a wife during the days of courtship4 ,many men are taken with a pretty face1 or a fine dress1 or a bright1 cheery manner2 but unless there is a good1 honest1 ,god-fearing heart underneath1 you may be sure you will not be happy with her when trials and troubles come1 as come they surely must into the lives of each of us4 ,marriage ,service4 ,now let me earnestly beg of you to think of what you are going to promise in the ,marriage ,service4 ,you take each other1 as those words so beautifully express it1 for better1 for worse1 for richer1 for poorer1 in sickness and in health1 to love and to cherish1 until death parts you4 ,remember this--marriage is not merely a passing engagement you can enter into for a short time and give up when you like4 ,it is not like courtship4 ,no1 it is lifelong4 ,some1 alas6 do not look upon it as binding4 ,but never allow yourself to forget how ,god looks upon such a sin2 and the ,bible tells us that the most terrible judgment awaits those who have broken their marriage vow4 ,god's laws are written in the ,bible1 and no ,act of ,parliament can change them4 ,the ,bible must be the ,christian's rule of life1 and its precepts he must follow4 ,let yours1 then1 be a ,christian marriage--one on which you may trust ,god's blessing will rest4 ,try throughout your life to fulfil what you then promise1 and to make your wife a good1 true1 and loving husband4 ,be good-tempered and forbearing with her4 ,when troubles come1 try and share them bravely together2 so that she who has helped to bear your burden1 when the troubles are past1 may also be a helper of your joy4 ,your wife has often much to put up with--home cares1 troubles with the little ones1 delicate health1 a hard struggle1 perhaps1 to make both ends meet2 therefore1 when you come home after your day's work1 always have a kind word ready for her4 ,do not keep an undue share of your wages for yourself1 for amusement1 or for drink1 but share it with her1 giving her enough to make her home and the children comfortable4 ,in short1 learn to take your rule of life straight from ,god's ,holy ,word1 where it is written1 ,bear ye one another's burdens1 and so fulfil the law of ,christ4 ,gal4 vi4 #b4 ,but1 above all1 try and help each other on the way to ,heaven1 and to live not for yourselves1 but for ,god and for others4 ,then1 indeed1 you will be1 as the ,marriage ,service says1 heirs together of the grace of life2 not merely of the few short years spent together in this life present1 but of that blessed life beyond the grave1 where there is neither marrying1 nor giving in marriage1 but they are as the angels of ,god4 ,s4 ,matt4 xxiv4 #ch4 99,,kindness499 ,i ask ,thee for a thoughtful love1 ,through constant watching wise1 ,to meet the glad with joyful smiles1 ,and to wipe the weeping eyes3 ,and a heart at leisure from itself1 ,to soothe and sympathise4 ,a4 ,l4 ,waring4 ,a little kindness goes a long way6 ,there are many people in the world1 nay about our own homes1 whom respectable people have given up1 as being hopelessly bad2 and who have become what they are because they have never known what kindness meant4 ,if you were to go through our prisons1 you would find that there is a vast number of criminals in them who can trace their first step on the road to ruin to the want of a word kindly spoken4 ,they have never known1 what you and ,i1 reader1 have enjoyed perhaps from our childhood up1 a mother's tender love4 ,the word home suggests to their minds thoughts of a drunken father1 more a beast than a man2 and of a mother who was so taken up with the cares of this world1 that she had no love to give to her children4 ,yes1 ,i have often heard of cases1 in which a word of kindness1 spoken at the right moment1 might have gladdened the whole afterlife4 ,i have known some cases in which even murder might have been prevented1 if only a kind word had taken the place of an angry one4 ,reader1 a kind word costs very little1 and goes a very long way4 ,even a kind look will do something4 ,i once knew a deaf and dumb man1 whose look was so kind that little children would run up to him in the street1 though he was quite powerless to speak kindly to them4 ,i have spoken of forgiveness of others--kindness and forgiveness are very nearly connected4 ,a really kind man is always a forgiving man2 and he who knows how to forgive is always a kind-hearted person4 ,kindness shows itself in all the relations of life4 ,a kind man is kind to his wife1 kind to his children1 and kind to his friends4 ,but nowhere does real kindness show itself more strongly in a man1 than when he is kind to animals4 ,they quickly understand and are thankful for kindness2 and in their way repay it4 ,for instance1 everybody who has had anything to do with horses knows how far a little kindness will go with them4 ,very often a horse's temper is upset for a whole day1 because he was unkindly treated at starting4 ,then there are numbers of horses whose tempers have been completely ruined by their having been ill-treated when they were young4 ,oh6 yes1 a little kindness goes a long way2 and it amply repays the bestower to see how gladly and how thankfully it is received4 ,we have1 many of us1 heard the story of the soldier who was killed in battle1 and whose dog1 unknown to him1 had followed him1 until he fell2 and how when night descended on the battlefield1 the faithful creature1 mindful of his dead master's kindness to him1 refused to quit the corpse1 but stayed there to protect it4 ,we have heard1 many of us1 the story of the poor beggar1 with no friend on earth but one little dog1 who1 in return for his kindness in giving it food1 followed him in his weary walks1 until at last1 on the cold and snowy high road1 when the poor man lay down to die1 it was his only companion4 ,when in the morning a party of travellers passed along the road1 they found them lying dead together1 with a shroud of pure white snow covering them both4 ,then again you may have1 seen ,landseer's beautiful picture of ,the ,shepherd's chief mourner4 ,the room is deserted1 and the coffin is alone in the middle1 with the shepherd's plaid thrown over it2 alone1 yet not alone1 for there1 with his head resting on his master's coffin1 sits the shepherd's chief mourner1 the sheep-dog1 who had followed him in life1 and will not leave him1 even after death4 ,and if kindness1 heaven-born kindness1 goes so far with the lower animals1 it has an equal1 may ,i not say even a greater influence upon mankind4 ,which of us has not felt sometimes the benefit of kindness8 ,it may have been in a time of sickness1 or sorrow1 it may have been a kindly word spoken as we passed away from a new-made grave4 ,but whatever may have been the circumstances under which it was spoken1 there can be but few whom a kind word has failed to reach4 ,and if this is so2 if we have derived joy and happiness from a kind word1 why not speak a kind word to others1 after the example of our ,god1 for ,he is kind1 to the unthankful and the evil4 ,s4 ,luke vi4 #ce4 ,strive1 then1 to practise the golden rule of kindness1 in whatever station ,god has placed you4 ,be genial1 be kind1 be civil to all1 following the ,apostolic rule1 ,be ye kind one to another1 tender-hearted1 forgiving one another3 even as ,god1 for ,christ's sake1 hath forgiven you4 ,ephesians iv4 #cb4 99,,our ,,parents499 ,who sat and watched my infant head1 ,when sleeping on my cradle bed8 ,and tears of sweet affection shed8 ,my ,mother6 ,who taught my infant lips to pray1 ,and love ,god's holy ,book1 and ,day1 ,and walk in wisdom's pleasant way8 ,my ,mother6 ,and ,god1 ,who lives above the skies1 ,would look with anger in ,his eyes1 ,if ,i should ever dare despise ,my ,mother6 ,our earliest recollections are of our father and mother6 ,all through our childhood they were near us1 joining in our play1 nursing us in sickness1 comforting in pain or trouble4 ,all that made us happy1 or that made the world seem bright to us1 they gave us4 ,they were always ready to reward us when we were good2 they were always grieved when we did wrong4 ,we never can repay our parents for all their kindness to us in our infancy4 ,all the labour which supplied the bread we ate and the bed we slept on2 and shall not we do what we can for them in their old age8 ,if your parents1 reader1 were religious people1 they prayed for you besides1 and you will never know on this side the grave how many early temptations those prayers may have kept off4 ,you can understand now why it was that your parents sometimes punished you for doing wrong1 though you might not have seen the wisdom of it then4 ,and the day will come1 believe me1 when you will learn--it may be only through much tribulation--the wisdom of the punishments inflicted by our ,father in heaven4 ,for now we see through a glass darkly2 but then face to face3 now ,i know in part1 but then shall ,i know even as also ,i am known4 ,and now1 in all humility1 do let me say a word to those parents into whose hands this book may chance to fall4 ,i have spoken of influence and its wonderful power in the other parts of this book4 ,i have repeatedly dwelt on the necessity of setting a good example2 let me do so once again here4 ,i cannot put what ,i wish to say into better1 or shorter1 or simpler language than it has been put by a recent writer1 who speaks as follows--,old friends1 he says1 fathers1 mothers1 whose heads are filled with the snows of age1 whose brows are furrowed deep with the traces of life's cares and burthens1 perhaps with the thorns of its crown1 we look to you to teach us all that ,god means by death2 all the blessings with which the angel who guides our pilgrimage comes laden1 when he advances to clasp our hand1 to be to us a rod and a staff through the glooms that hang about the threshold of the ever-lasting home4 ,we look to see you with something of the brightness of the heavenly home upon you now2 a gleam in the eyes1 a tone in the look and bearing1 which have been caught from long communion with the things and beings1 whose full glory awaits you there4 ,no complaints1 no sadness1 no sorrowful looking back to the world which you are leaving1 and where your place1 to which you thought yourself all-important1 is already filled4 ,lastly1 let me return for a moment to those to whom this book is specially addressed4 ,young men1 it is your duty and your privilege alike to take care of your parents1 and to provide for their wants when they are too old or infirm to do so for themselves4 ,be laying by a little store of money now against that day1 if it be only a few pence a week that you can save out of your wages1 you can't think what a help it may be hereafter4 ,you wouldn't like your children to leave you to die in the workhouse2 you wouldn't like1 when old age comes1 to feel that you and your wife1 who had lived happily together for years1 were now to be taken to live within high walls in a pauper's dress1 and not be free to go in and out as you pleased4 ,you wouldn't like to find that you were suffering all this want1 while your son1 who was quite able to keep you out of it1 was drinking away his wages in the nearest public-house4 ,and if you wouldn't like this yourself1 why should you treat your parents so8 ,this1 as you know1 is not a made-up case2 it is happening every day in almost every village in the country4 ,god gave us parents1 first1 that they might take care of us2 and then1 if need be1 that we should take care of them4 ,the earthly parent should be in every way a pattern of the heavenly1 for ,he is good1 even to the unthankful and the evil1 to the just and to the unjust alike4 ,reader1 if you have not been doing your duty to your parents hitherto1 go and begin at once4 ,try and make the old folks comfortable4 ,let them feel that their son is indeed a comfort to them1 and a stay in their old age4 ,and then1 when old age comes upon you1 ,god will repay you4 ,in the hour of sickness ,he will be with you1 comforting and blessing you3 until the time come when you too have to lean on your staff for very age1 while the shadows grow darker and darker round you4 99,,our ,,children499 ,oh6 there are times when to our sight1 ,e'en on this side the grave1 is given ,a glimpse revealing in full light ,the triumphs gained on earth by heaven4 ,in ,him our little ones are great1 ,in ,him our feeble folk are strong2 ,and childhood sits in high estate ,amid the martyrs' noble throng4 ,r4 ,tomlins4 ,god has committed no more solemn charge to our care than that of our children4 ,over and over again in the ,gospels do we find that ,jesus called attention to little children4 ,on one occasion you will remember that strife having arisen among the disciples1 as to which of them should be greatest in the kingdom of heaven1 ,jesus1 perceiving it1 took a little child1 and set him by ,his side2 and from this simple circumstance ,he taught ,his disciples that in order to enter into that kingdom1 they must receive ,his message with the same simple1 trustful faith1 as would a little child4 ,and once again1 we read that the parents brought their little ones to ,him that ,he might bless them2 and when ,his disciples1 being vexed that their ,master's time should be taken up with what they doubtless considered a trifling matter1 ,jesus1 we read1 rebuked them1 and said1 ,suffer the little children to come unto ,me1 and forbid them not2 for of such is the kingdom of ,god4 ,s4 ,mark x4 #ac4 ,reader1 the times have not changed so much1 since ,jesus walked upon our earth1 that we can afford to disregard ,his words4 ,do remember that if you use bad language1 or tell an impure story1 or even speak an unkind word1 you may be putting a stumbling-block in the children's way1 and keeping them from ,christ4 ,and now let me say a word concerning ,baptism4 ,i do not believe1 and our ,church nowhere teaches her children to believe1 that a child who dies unbaptised is in danger of eternal damnation4 ,but she does tell us that the parents who keep their children back from that sacred ordinance1 are in danger of punishment4 ,she goes straight to the ,bible1 as her authority1 and points out the blame which our ,lord attached to the disciples1 who would have kept the children from ,him1 teaching us thereby that the same kind of blame belongs to those parents who keep their children from holy ,baptism now4 ,and when your children are baptised the great thing to remember is example4 ,parents1 set a good example to your children at home4 ,children very quickly notice anything that is wrong1 and as quickly copy it4 ,and then they go out1 and teach it to other children1 and so by your bad example at home1 you may have destroyed the happiness of many lives4 ,teach your children rather that they may have an interest beyond the grave1 that for them there is laid up a rich reward in our ,father's kingdom4 ,i pity1 says a recent writer1 the son1 who has never had an interest beyond the grave2 but ,i pity far more the mother1 who has never told him of the rest that remaineth for the people of ,god4 ,there were once two fathers1 both of whom ,god had blessed with children4 ,one lived on the river ,mississippi1 in ,america4 ,he was a man of great wealth4 ,yet he would have freely given it all to have brought back his son from an early grave4 ,one day that boy had been borne home unconscious4 ,they did everything that they could to restore him1 but in vain4 ,he will die1 said the doctor4 ,but doctor1 cried the poor father1 can you do nothing to bring him to consciousness1 even for a moment8 ,that may be1 said the doctor1 but he can't live4 ,time passed1 and after awhile the father's wish was gratified4 ,my son1 he whispered1 the doctor tells me you are dying4 ,well1 said the boy1 you never prayed for me1 father1 won't you pray for my lost soul now8 ,the father wept4 ,it was too true he had never prayed4 ,he was a stranger to ,god4 ,and in a little while that soul1 unprayed for1 passed into eternity4 ,young man1 the day will come1 when you perhaps will be a father too4 ,if your boy was dying1 and called on you to pray1 could you lift your burdened heart to ,heaven8 ,have you learned this sweetest lesson of heaven or earth1 to know and hold communion with your ,god8 ,and before this evil world shall have marked your dearest treasures for its prey1 oh learn to lead your little ones to a children's ,christ4 ,but what a contrast was the other father6 ,he too had a lovely boy1 and one day he came home to find him at the gates of death4 ,a great change has come over our boy1 said the weeping mother2 he has only been ill a little while1 but it seems now as if he were dying fast4 ,the father went into the room1 and put his hand on his son's forehead4 ,he could see the boy was dying4 ,he could feel the cold damp of death4 ,my son1 do you know you are dying8 he asked4 ,no1 father1 am ,i8 said the boy4 ,yes1 my boy1 you can't live till the evening4 ,well1 then1 ,i shall be with ,jesus to-night1 shan't ,i1 father8 ,yes1 my son1 you will spend to-night with the ,saviour4 ,as he turned away1 the little fellow saw tears trickling down his father's cheeks4 ,don't weep for me1 he said2 when ,i get to heaven1 ,i shall go straight to ,jesus1 and tell ,him that ever since ,i can remember1 you have tried to lead me to ,him4 ,reader1 if ,god should give you a son1 and should see fit to take him again to ,himself1 would you not rather he should carry such testimony as that to your ,master1 than have all the wealth of the world rolled at your son's feet8 ,once more1 then1 let me earnestly pray you to set a good example4 ,young man1 set a good example to the boys who work with you on the farm or elsewhere4 ,they will be ready to pick up anything good or bad from you4 ,and if they once learn it1 it will be very hard to unlearn it again4 ,and to all who read this book1 whether their work lie in the farm1 in the counting-house1 in the barracks1 or on board ship1 my last words are the same2 the great secret of example is purity of heart and life4 ,never do anything or say anything that you would be ashamed for ,god to hear4 ,and if you yourself have never thought how little it would profit you to gain the whole world1 and lose your own soul1 ,i beseech you not to let another sun go down before you think out that great question4 99,,home499 ,friend1--when in trial and suffering1 ,where dost thou find thy home8 ,where in thy pain canst thou seek relief1 ,where in thy sorrows come8 ,where from the world's rude conflict ,canst thou find a calm retreat8 ,where learn afresh with courage ,thy trials and sorrows to meet8 ,where is thy shield from adversity's dart8 ,friend1 thy home is a loved one's heart4 ,man1--when thy heart is torn with grief1 ,when thy hopes are for ever gone1 ,when adversity's cloud hangs over thy head1 ,and earth's troubles weigh thee down1-- ,when those whom thou lovest have turned away1 ,and cruelly slighted thee1-- ,when thy heart is crushed1 and thy joys are gone1-- ,for shelter1 oh6 where canst thou flee8 ,man1 though from comfort on earth thou'rt driven1 ,thy home and thy joys are with ,god in ,heaven4 ,l4 ,jewitt4 ,home6 ,what a word that is4 ,is there any word like it8 ,any that brings so much joy1 or so much sorrow1 into the human breast8 ,the fisherman who has toiled all night and caught nothing1 looks anxiously for dawn1 because he knows that then he will return home to wife and children4 ,the sailor1 toiling over the endless sea1 rejoices as he thinks that each moment he is nearing home4 ,the labourer in the fields is glad when the hot sun sinks towards the west1 because it is nearly time to go home4 ,the boy at school longs for the holidays to come because it means home1 and to him home is everything4 ,the weary traveller1 well-nigh dead with fatigue1 who sees his distant home from the top of a neighbouring hill1 gathers fresh strength from the sight to continue his journey4 ,but the home can only be really home in the truest and best sense of the word1 when the people who live there make it home-like4 ,it need have no costly adornments1 but every member of the family should have the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit1 which is in the sight of ,god of great price4 ,there should be no display of angry tempers1 or of hard words4 ,kindness should reign there2 gentleness and love should be practised there4 ,in short1 that home can only be a happy one which is a copy of the home in heaven4 ,parents have a very solemn and important duty to perform here4 ,it is for them to make their homes not nurseries of vice and sin1 but homes of love and happiness1 where ,jesus and ,his angels will be glad to come4 ,how many men and women there are who can trace an evil1 misspent1 sinful life back to their early home4 ,it was1 may be1 from a father's lips they first learnt to swear2 perhaps from a mother's example they first learnt to lie4 ,and the children1 too1 have a solemn duty to perform with regard to home4 ,there are life lessons which must be learnt at home1 if we would learn them at all4 ,obedience1 purity1 love1 and piety1 all must be learnt at home2 and if these are indeed to be found there1 the home on earth is a fit type of the home in heaven4 ,reader1 are you doing your utmost to make your home on earth like the home beyond8 ,perhaps you have never thought much about it4 ,perhaps you have never considered that there was any connection between them4 ,but there is2 there should be4 ,they should be1 as it were1 the same home1 separated indeed by a narrow gulf1 but joined by a bridge over which all must pass1 even death itself4 ,some people look upon death quite wrongly1 for this reason4 ,if one of their children die1 they almost think that when the earth covers it they will never see it again2 but the ,bible does not teach that4 ,rather should we feel1 in the beautiful words of the hymn1 that our little ones are going home-- ,they are going--only going-- ,jesus called them long ago2 ,all the wintry time they're passing ,softly as the falling snow4 ,when the violets in the spring-time ,catch the azure of the sky1 ,they are carried out to slumber ,sweetly1 where the violets lie4 ,all along the mighty ages1 ,all adown the solemn time1 ,they have taken up their homeward ,march to a serener clime1 ,where the watching1 waiting angels ,lead them from the shadow dim1 ,to the brightness of ,his ,presence ,who has called them unto ,him4 ,yes1 it is even so1 they are going1 only going1 from the home on earth to the home in heaven4 ,going from pain and sorrow and sin to a better home1 where there is no bitter parting1 no more sorrow1 and no more death4 ,and looking at it in this light1 would you wish to keep them1 would you even seek to stay their departure for one short hour4 ,the home on earth is subject to sickness1 to sorrow1 and partings4 ,but the home in heaven knows none of these4 ,we cannot always stay at home on earth1 but must needs go out to work for our living among strangers4 ,but when we once reach the many mansions of our ,father's house1 we shall go no more out4 ,there will be no more sleepless nights1 or sunless days1 for the ,sun of righteousness shines on all alike1 and there is no night there4 ,strive then to dwell together in unity on earth2 doing your best to make home what home should be1 and ,god will do the rest4 99,,heaven ,,our ,,home4 ,,part ,i499 ,there is a blessed ,home ,beyond this land of woe1 ,where trials never come1 ,nor tears of sorrow flow4 ,there is a land of peace1 ,good angels know it well3 ,glad songs that never cease ,within its portals swell4 ,baker4 ,our thoughts1 as ,christians1 must needs often turn upon our heavenly home4 ,the labourer toiling in the hot harvest-field often thinks of his distant cottage4 ,the sailor upon the lonely sea is often thinking of those at home4 ,and the ,christian1 in the midst of his troubles and temptations here1 must often think of his home beyond4 ,heaven is the dwelling-place of ,god4 ,it matters little how far away it is4 ,god is there1 and that is enough4 ,we often feel sad when we think of our dear ones who have left us4 ,but if we could look beyond the veil into the eternal city1 we should see the ,good ,shepherd leading them by the green pastures1 and beside the still waters4 ,our friends1 who have died in the fear of ,god1 are not lost to us for ever1 only gone before4 ,they had a desire to depart and to be with ,christ1 which is far better--better than the suffering1 and the sorrow1 and the toil4 ,and ,christ has given them their wish4 ,and ,he has told us that if we would rejoin them one day1 and be with them for ever1 we must not lay up treasure on earth1 but in heaven4 ,earthly treasure1 gold1 silver1 land1 popularity1 and the praise of men1 these may be taken from us1 and given to others4 ,but heavenly treasure--purity of life1 love to ,god1 helping travellers on the road to heaven--these we may lay up now1 with the certainty that we shall never lose them1 either in this world or in that which is to come4 ,i read a story the other day of a rich man in ,america1 to whom a person went to try and interest him in mission work4 ,the rich man took him up to the top of his house1 and said to him1 ,look yonder over that beautiful rolling plain1 that is all mine as far as the eye can reach4 ,he took him round again to the other side1 and showed him thirty miles of pasture1 with horses and cattle feeding4 ,they are all mine1 he said1 ,i have made it all myself4 ,then he pointed proudly towards the town1 and showed him streets and warehouses1 and a great hall named after himself1 and said once more1 ,they are all mine2 ,i came into this country a poor man1 but my own industry has done it all4 ,the other listened patiently until he had done speaking1 and then pointing upward to the sky1 he asked1 ,and what have you got there8 ,where8 asked the rich man4 ,in heaven6 said the other4 ,i have got nothing there1 he answered bitterly4 ,alas1 he had lived his three-score years and ten1 and must soon enter eternity1 and yet he had no treasure in heaven6 ,reader1 where is your treasure8 ,where your treasure is there will your heart be also4 ,there is no harm whatever in your feeling pleasure in your cottage1 or your garden1 or your field4 ,but when these things shut out thoughts of ,god1 and thoughts of heaven1 from that moment they become sinful4 ,i'm but a stranger here2 ,heaven is my ,home4 ,earth is a desert drear2 ,heaven is my ,home4 ,danger and sorrow stand ,round me on every hand2 ,heaven is my ,father-land2 ,heaven is my ,home4 ,what though the tempest rage6 ,heaven is my ,home4 ,short is my pilgrimage2 ,heaven is my ,home4 ,and time's wild wintry blast ,soon will be overpast2 ,i shall reach ,home at last2 ,heaven is my ,home4 ,there at my ,saviour's side2 ,heaven is my ,home4 ,i shall be glorified2 ,heaven is my ,home4 ,then with the good and blest1 ,those on earth ,i love the best1 ,i shall for ever rest2 ,heaven is my ,home4 ,s4 ,matt4 vi4 #ba4 99,,heaven ,,our ,,home4 ,,part ,,ii499 ,while ,i do my duty1 ,pressing through the tide1 ,whisper ,thou of beauty ,on the other side4 ,tell who will the story ,of our now distress-- ,oh6 the future glory1 ,oh6 the loveliness4 ,j4 ,m4 ,neale4 ,i have thought it best in writing on so wide a subject as ,heaven our home1 to divide it into two parts2 so that in this chapter ,i shall finish with a few practical thoughts on the subject we entered upon in our last4 ,i there spoke about laying up treasure in ,heaven4 ,i gave you the advice our blessed ,lord gave when ,he was upon earth1 and pointed out how very much more valuable to the ,christian man would be a little treasure laid up in ,heaven1 than all the wealth this world could give rolled together at his feet4 ,you know how1 when you used to go to school1 prizes were sometimes given4 ,and you know1 if ever you brought home a prize1 how your brothers and sisters would come round you1 eager to get the first look4 ,well1 it is just the same in life6 ,this life is but a school-time1 a growing-time1 a running-time1 in which we all set out to win a prize1 and that prize is the home in ,heaven4 ,try and get the first prize1 reader1 in this life-school4 ,how to be most like ,christ1 that is the lesson given you to learn4 ,as for the prizes that ,god has ready1 ,i cannot tell you about them2 for they are more beautiful than anything you have ever seen1 or can fancy4 ,in that glorious country where our ,father's home is1 you will have such prizes as you never could have dreamt of4 ,when the time to receive the prize will come ,i cannot tell2 that will depend partly upon the way in which the lesson is learnt--though some there are1 alas6 who never learn it at all4 ,never trouble yourself about the time2 ,whenever it is time for you to go home1 our ,father will send for you4 ,i remember a noble boy who gave promise1 if he had lived1 to do something good and great2 he was sunshine in the house1 and made his parents' hearts like summer4 ,in the morning he was full of health and spirits1 ready to enjoy to the full all the games and sports of the holiday2 in the afternoon he was dying from an accident--not in pain1 but calm and quiet4 ,the next day1 when he had gone home to ,god1 his little sister came to their mother1 and said1 ,shall we crown him1 mother8 ,crown him6 yes1 by all means1 for he is a brave little soldier1 who has fought for ,christ4 ,he tried to be like ,jesus--obedient1 unselfish1 and loving1 and now he has gone back to his ,father's home1 where they will make a wreath for him of fadeless roses and lilies of light4 ,yes1 crown him with many crowns2 you can find none so beautiful as those which the angels have been weaving for him in ,heaven4 ,now ,i want you to look at ,heaven our home in two different ways3 #a4 as our reward1 #b4 as our rest4 ,first1 then1 as our reward3 ,god rarely gives man a command without giving him a promise also4 ,it was so1 you know1 with ,abraham4 ,in ,genesis xii4 #a1 we read1 ,the ,lord had said unto ,abram1 ,get thee out of thy country1 and from thy father's house1 unto a land that ,i will shew thee--that was the command4 ,and ,i will make of thee a great nation1 and ,i will bless thee1 and make thy name great2 and thou shalt be a blessing1 and that was the promise4 ,and ,i could name a number of ,god's saints in every age1 to whom ,he has given commands1 but seldom or never without a promise4 ,reader1 ,god has given you a command1 the command to follow ,him1 and work for ,him1 and love ,him2 and ,he has given you a promise1 that if you serve ,him faithfully here you shall reign with ,him eternally hereafter in ,heaven4 ,and1 oh6 think of the kindness of our ,heavenly ,father6 ,just compare the two--a few years of sickness1 sorrow1 and labour here1 and then an eternity of rest and perfect happiness there4 ,secondly1 look at ,heaven as our rest4 ,and perhaps there is no way of looking at it which gives us more thankfulness than this4 ,sorrow and labour we must have here1 but there we shall have rest1 and our rest shall be glorious4 ,everything round us here has a capacity for rest as well as action4 ,the stormy winds and restless waters can at times be calm and still4 ,the city1 with its ceaseless hum and stir of voices and footsteps1 lies hushed and quiet in its nightly rest4 ,the railway1 with its snorting engines1 its crowded stations1 and lightning speed1 seems as if it knew no rest2 yet a moment after the flying train has gone there is no sign of life or motion along its iron rails4 ,and so1 too1 is it with life4 ,the most active ,christian will one day be at rest4 ,like the stormy waves1 or the whistling train1 he cannot work for ever1 and after his work is over then will come rest4 ,oh6 reader1 ,heaven is indeed a home worth working for4 ,where is the home on earth1 in which we never hear an angry word1 or never see a cold or passionate look8 ,but it won't be so in ,heaven6 ,in our ,father's kingdom we shall hear no angry words1 and we shall have nothing but the kindest looks4 ,god is there1 and ,jesus is there2 and there too we shall meet our friends who are now absent from the body1 but present with the ,lord4 ,the mother who first taught you to speak the name of your ,heavenly ,father will be there4 ,the father1 whose bright ,christian example you remember as a child1 will be there4 ,your brothers and sisters will be there4 ,all1 in short1 will be there1 who by their bright ,christian examples have helped you on the road to ,heaven2 for all ,god's saints will be there1 enjoying their reward and resting from their labours4 ,young man1 the same ,heaven is open to you as to them4 ,the same battle-field lies before you2 the same cross and the same crown4 ,the same heavenly watchers as welcomed them are waiting to receive you into your heavenly home4 ,it is for you to say whether you will accept their invitation to come4 ,it is for you to show by your daily life and conversation whose side you have chosen in the battle of life1 whose home you will live in hereafter4 99,,sunday499 ,oh6 pass not hence so swiftly1 ,bright ,sabbath hours1 we pray2 ,none other tell so sweetly ,of regions far away4 ,no breath of flowers at eventide1 ,when the rain-cloud's store is spent2 ,no cooling airs so softly glide ,from the sultry firmament2 ,no waveless calm along the deep1 ,when its fever-pulse is still2 ,no visitings of dew-like sleep ,to eyelids worn with ill4 ,f4 ,c4 ,boyce4 ,the word ,sabbath means rest4 ,and such indeed ,god intended ,sunday to be4 ,six days shalt thou labour1 and do all thy work1 but the seventh day is the ,sabbath of the ,lord thy ,god4 ,our ,saviour indeed teaches us that the stern and strict way in which the ,sabbath was kept by the ,jews was an unnecessary and painful discipline4 ,he told the people it was quite lawful to do good on the ,sabbath day1 even though that good might be misinterpreted and misunderstood4 ,he taught us that ,sunday was a day sacred to ,god1 and not to man1 and that the ,sabbath was made for man1 and not man for the ,sabbath4 ,you know the old words-- ,a ,sabbath well spent ,brings a week of content1 and if you will try to put that old maxim into force1 you will find as you give up the ,sunday to ,god and ,his service1 so surely will ,he be with you during the week4 ,for now the old ,jewish ,sabbath has given place to the ,christian ,sunday--our ,lord chose the first day of the week on which to rise from the grave1 and the ,church has fitly chosen the first day of the week as the best on which to meet together to worship her ascended ,lord4 ,exod4 xx4 #h4 ,s4 ,mark ii4 #g4 ,sunday was never meant to be a dreary day1 or a wretched day1 any more than it was meant to be a working day1 or a drinking day4 ,and if you give the day to ,god1 be sure ,he will give you plenty of amusement1 and plenty of happiness4 ,his is no wearisome service1 ,his is no tiring ,sunday task1 but in ,his worship you will find peace1 and ,his service is perfect freedom4 ,sunday1 again1 is most valuable to working men as a day of rest4 ,during the great ,french ,revolution1 those who were at the head of affairs determined that they would neither fear ,god nor regard man2 and so they passed a law to the effect that none should pay any heed to ,sunday1 to its services1 its lessons1 or its rest4 ,and what was the consequence8 ,why1 these ungodly men1 looking at it only from a worldly point of view1 found that it was quite impossible for the body or mind of man to keep on working day after day1 and week after week4 ,and so the plan failed1 and ,sunday came to be restored again4 ,you must have felt the need of ,sunday rest1 after the week's toil sometimes too2 you must have felt ready to cry out1 in the words of the ,postman's song1 ,we ask one day in seven1 ',twas ours since time began-- ,sent by the love of heaven1 ,in pity for toil-worn man4 ,look once more on ,sunday as a thinking day4 ,men1 and especially working men1 need some quiet hours1 when they can cease work and let their thoughts turn to the world to come4 ,and this is one great use of ,sunday4 ,there is a quiet calm in the air2 no sound of the threshing machine or the ploughman's voice breaks the stillness2 man can feel that he is alone with ,god4 ,and so wandering out into the fields at eventide1 or sitting in his cottage garden1 or by his hearth when the little ones are in bed1 he can think of his prospects and hopes here below1 and still more of those in the world to come4 ,lastly1 ,sunday is a day of learning4 ,on ,sunday we go up to church1 and learn from ,god's minister's lips the lessons of ,his love4 ,we sit at home and we read our books1 and most of all the ,bible1 that ,book of books1 which is specially fit for working men to read4 ,we go out walking in the fields1 and see ,god's works in nature1 and from them too we learn something2 and as we learn these lessons on earth1 they serve to bring us nearer to our ,father in heaven4 ,but do remember this2 that ,sundays on earth are meant to be as far as possible copies of that eternal ,sabbath rest above4 ,the service of prayer and praise with which our churches re-echo on earth1 are but copies of the grand and perfect worship in the courts of heaven4 ,the evening hours spent with our family before going to rest1 are but a type and shadow of the eternity we shall spend in that family of which ,god is the ,head1 and ,jesus ,christ the ,elder ,brother4 ,and the comfortable home1 which ,god has given us on earth1 is after all but a faint picture of those many mansions1 where the sun shines for ever1 and the flowers never die4 99,,church499 ,the ,church's one foundation ,is ,jesus ,christ her ,lord2 ,she is ,his new ,creation ,by water and the ,word3 ,from ,heaven ,he came and sought her ,to be ,his holy ,bride1 ,with ,his own ,blood ,he bought her1 ,and for her life ,he died4 ,s4 ,j4 ,stone4 ,how very often it happens1 when the subject of religion is mentioned1 that we hear people say1 ,i go regularly to church4 ,and this is thrown in the teeth of the clergy1 as if the very fact of church attendance was quite enough in itself to save the soul4 ,but do you think that ,jesus ,christ would have left ,his ,father's throne in heaven1 and lived those thirty troubled years1 and died that terrible death1 if salvation was so easy8 ,do you think that if men could be saved by merely going to church1 our blessed ,lord would have made use of such expressions as ,strive 7that is1 toil1 labour hard7 to enter in at the strait gate1 or again1 ,many shall seek to enter in1 and shall not be able8 ,i hardly think ,he would4 ,religion was made for man1 and not man for religion4 ,it was given him as the means whereby he might speak to ,god1 and hold frequent communion with his ,maker4 ,it is quite possible to be a most regular attendant at church1 and yet to go away without receiving the slightest benefit4 ,some time ago ,i heard of an old woman who regularly went to a place of amusement1 where she had been accustomed to go as a child4 ,and though she became at last quite deaf1 and nearly blind1 she still persisted in going4 ,and1 reader1 there is such a thing as deafness of the soul4 ,the beautiful words of ,scripture1 the grand soul-stirring music1 the touching words of our ,church's prayers1 may all pass by unheeded1 unless the soul is waiting upon that ,god ,who is her helper and deliverer4 ,but there is quite another class of persons1 who receive no benefit from our ,church's services4 ,i mean those who never go to church at all4 ,sometimes when the clergyman goes to see them they find it convenient to tell a lie1 and say they are chapel people2 but they never go to chapel4 ,they live from day to day1 and from year to year1 as if there was no ,god1 no church1 no minister1 no ,bible4 ,and when they come to die1 what then8 ,they go down into that dark hereafter of uncertainty2 uncertain indeed to them1 for they have neglected during their life everything that kindles and keeps alive the hope of a better world4 ,reader1 if this is your case1 if you have neglected church-going1 let me implore you to do so no longer4 ,the day will come when you will have to confess your sins1 not to man but to ,god4 ,there will be no concealment then2 no shirking1 or hiding your real motives under cover of a lie4 ,the eyes of ,almighty ,god will look you through and through2 and if you take any excuses to ,him1 be sure they will not avail you4 ,some people1 again1 there are who stay away from church for the following reason4 ,they feel that they believe the ,word of ,god1 and all the great truths written in the ,bible2 but they also feel that they love the world very much1 more indeed than they love ,christ1 and if they become ,christians they think they will have to give up all pleasure and go through the world with a long face1 and never smile or laugh again4 ,but1 believe me1 no greater lie was ever forged than that4 ,the devil started it thousands of years ago in sunny ,eden2 but there is not one word of truth in it2 it has been well called a libel on ,christianity4 ,it does not make a man gloomy to become a child of ,god4 ,do you think that if a man is dying of thirst and you give him a drink of water1 that the drink makes him gloomy8 ,do you think that when the ,queen's gracious message of pardon comes to a condemned murderer1 that the pardon makes him a gloomy man for the rest of his days8 ,oh1 no4 ,and that is what ,christ and ,christianity are to the soul of man4 ,what the water is in the one case1 what the ,queen's free pardon is in the other1 so is religion1 so is church-going1 so is ,bible-reading1 so is ,christ to the soul4 ,oh1 then1 come to church1 the church of your baptism1 the church of your fathers4 ,come to it as ,god's own blessed appointed means of salvation4 ,join in the prayers and praises4 ,listen to the lessons and the sermon1 and ask that your heavenly ,father may send ,his blessing upon your hard and stony heart4 ,and don't forget this most important duty1 without which all church-going1 all prayer1 and all sacraments will be worse than useless1--don't forget to practise in the week the lessons you have learnt in church on ,sunday4 ,you will learn there the lessons of life1 the lessons of holiness1 therefore act up to what you hear1 and let your light so shine before men1 that they may see your good works1 and glorify--not you1 but--your ,father which is in heaven4 ,s4 ,matt4 v4 #af4 99,,holy ,,communion4 ,,part ,i499 ,once1 only once1 and once for all1 ,his precious life ,he gave2 ,before the ,cross our spirits fall1 ,and own it strong to save4 ,canon ,bright4 ,it is such a very sad sight ,sunday after ,sunday to see so many people1 and especially young men1 go out of church when the ,holy ,communion is going to be administered4 ,in so many churches1 even in those where the congregations are large1 we see the great bulk of the congregation getting up1 as soon as the sermon is over1 and leaving church4 ,you may perhaps often have been among the departing guests1 you may have sung the words1-- ,my ,god1 and is ,thy ,table spread8 ,and doth ,thy ,cup with ,love o'erflow8 ,thither be all ,thy children led1 ,and let them all ,thy sweetness know4 ,yes1 you may often have sung those words1 and yet left the church with the rest1 directly after singing them4 ,you had been asking ,him that all ,his children might be led to ,his ,table1 and yet you yourself walked out of church among the first4 ,and yet you say1 perhaps1 many people do it4 ,my friend1 is that any reason why you should do it8 ,when ,god comes to judge you1 ,he will not ask you what many people did1 neither will ,he ask you what your friends and neighbours did1 but ,he will ask you what you did4 ,our ,saviour told ,his disciples of a certain broad way1 and of a great company who were walking along it4 ,he told them moreover of a wide gate by which the multitude entered1 but which opened on destruction4 ,and again ,he told them of a certain narrow way1 and of a straight gate1 leading unto life1 and of this gate ,he added1 few there be that find it4 ,s4 ,matt4 vii4 #ac1 #ad4 ,now one of the great helps to travellers on the latter road is this ,communion ,feast4 ,to the worthy partaker1 to the travel-stained and weary wayfarer there come times of refreshing from the presence of ,jehovah2 times when he may turn aside from the rugged way1 and rest awhile before resuming his march heavenward4 ,god has provided many helps for ,christian soldiers1 but ,i know of none so mighty1 so comforting1 so refreshing as that of the ,holy ,communion of ,his ,body and ,his ,blood4 ,acts iii4 #ai4 ,now we often hear objections raised to coming to ,holy ,communion4 ,and one of those most often given is1 ,i am not good enough to come4 ,reader1 which of us is good enough for that sacred feast8 ,if you are waiting until you are good enough1 ,i fear you will have to wait until your hair grows white with age1 and even then you will not be good enough4 ,it is like a man who has never been into the water1 standing on the river brink1 and saying he wishes to bathe4 ,and ,i go to him1 and say1 ,why don't you go in8 there is the river1 there are numbers of bathers already in the water1 you can see what it is like1 why not go in8 ,and he answers me1 ,i won't go into the water until ,i can swim4 ,what could you say to such a person as that8 ,would you not tell him that the only way for him to learn to swim was by going into the water8 ,and that is just the mistake people make about ,holy ,communion4 ,they think it is intended for saints1 not for sinners4 ,but this is not so2 ,holy ,communion is for the sinner1 who feels his sin and feels his need of a ,saviour4 ,if you feel that you are a sinner1 and that you want to get the better of your sin1 and to lead a new life2 if you really hate your sin1 and really love ,christ1 then come to ,holy ,communion3 for ,christ has appointed it for you especially4 ,he will not ask you to give ,him any promise that you cannot keep4 ,all he requires is that you should try and do your duty1 your duty to ,god1 and your duty to man1 and to do it lovingly and cheerfully1 as to the ,lord1 and not unto men4 ,col4 iii4 #bc4 99,,holy ,,communion4 ,,part ,,ii499 ,o agony of wavering thought1 ,when sinners first so near are brought6 ',it is my ,maker--dare ,i stay8 ,my ,saviour--dare ,i turn away8' ,keble4 ,i felt that in one short chapter it was quite impossible to grasp all1 or nearly all the objections to coming to ,holy ,communion2 and so ,i propose in this chapter to speak of one more objection1 commonly brought forward1 before closing this subject4 ,you will remember that in the last chapter we considered the objection of not being good enough4 ,now another very common objection1 and one very often heard1 is1 ,i am afraid of being laughed at6 ,perhaps you will say1 ,i never have said that4 ,no1 reader1 you may never have said it with your lips1 but have you never thought it in your heart8 ,this power of laughter1 or ridicule as it is called1 is a terrible one indeed4 ,there is hardly a weapon in ,satan's armoury which he uses with such deadly effect upon the souls of men4 ,very many a young man goes up to the ,bishop for ,confirmation1 and the ,bishop lays his hands upon his head1 and then as those grand old words1 which have been spoken over the heads of so many1 are said over him1 ,defend1 ,o ,lord1 this ,thy child with ,thy heavenly grace1 the ,holy ,ghost enters into his soul1 and for the moment he feels that he can go out and conquer4 ,but his good resolves--and they are really good--are too often like the seeds which fell in stony places1 which had no deepness of earth3 and when the sun was up1 they were scorched2 and because they had no root1 they withered away4 ,and then the young man leaves the church1 with his good resolves fresh made2 and from that moment there begins within him the struggle1 which is to end in ,heaven or in ,hell4 ,he goes and joins his companions1 and if he says anything about religion he gets laughed at1 and in too many cases he forgets his ,confirmation vows1 and the good in him quickly dies4 ,i cannot help thinking that the reason why so many young men fall away after ,confirmation1 is because they neglect to go at once to the ,holy ,communion of ,christ's ,body and ,blood4 ,oh6 yes1 ridicule is indeed hard to bear1 even for the best amongst us4 ,almost any man1 says ,canon ,farrar1 will confront peril with a multitude2 scarcely one in a thousand will stand alone against a multitude when they are bent on wrong 444 for martyrdom 7or bearing witness for ,christ7 is not one1 but manifold2 it is often a battle-field where no clash of earthly combatants is heard2 it is often a theatre no wider than a single1 nameless home4 ,but just think for a moment of this laughter of your friends4 ,how long is it likely to last8 and when it is over 7for it must end some day71 what is there to follow8 ,think of that when you are tempted by ridicule to turn aside from doing what is right4 ,it would be hard indeed if you could not bear a laugh for ,christ1 ,who could bear death for you6 ,some time ago a very young boy went to school for the first time4 ,he was a mere child1 only eight years old1 and he had never seen so many boys together before4 ,the boys slept in large rooms1 about fifteen boys in each room1 and when he came1 he was put into one of these1 without knowing a single boy in the room4 ,now this child had been carefully and religiously brought up1 and before the little fellow left home his mother had talked to him about the school to which he was going4 ,amongst other things she had told him never to forget to say his prayers4 ,so1 accordingly1 the first night the boy got to school he knelt down to pray4 ,no sooner1 however1 was he on his knees than the whole room was in an uproar4 ,some of the boys threw their slippers at him1 some laughed1 some shouted1 or hissed1 but still he kept on his knees4 ,at last he rose and the tears stood in his eyes1 for remember he was only a child4 ,the next night he knelt down again1 with the same result2 boots and slippers were thrown at him1 but still he persevered4 ,for many nights this went on1 until at length one night a little fellow came and knelt beside him1 and said1 ,mother told me to say my prayers too1 but ,i was afraid4 ,and so for some nights the two knelt side by side1 and got an equal share of the slippers and the laughter4 ,but at length a change came over the room4 ,the good example had borne fruit1 and one after another the boys in that room knelt down regularly and said their prayers4 ,i have read of the greatest victories by land and by sea4 ,i have read accounts of the ,duke of ,wellington's campaigns1 and of ,nelson's battles2 but nowhere have ,i read of a greater victory1 won under more trying circumstances1 than that child's victory over his companions' laughter4 ,and will you be beaten by him8 ,will you1 a strong man1 give in1 where a weak child of eight years old would not8 ,will you deny ,christ1 and break your ,confirmation and ,baptismal vows1 because you can't stand the laughter of a few8 ,just look on a few years ahead--it may be only a few hours4 ,you will be standing before a great white throne1 while on it will be sitting your ,judge4 ,around that throne stands the noble army of martyrs--men who laid down their lives in torture and pain for the sake of ,christ crucified4 ,the charges against you are read out1 charges of carelessness and neglect of ,god and of ,his ,sacraments2 and then the ,judge turns to you1 and asks you if you have any excuse to make4 ,and you answer ,him1 ,yes4 ,and then ,god turns to you again1 and ,he looks at the martyr band1 and thinks of all that they have suffered1 as ,he asks you--,what8 ,and then ,i fancy ,i can hear you saying that you made good resolutions1 and that you intended to keep straight1 but your companions laughed at you1 and you fell away4 ,do you think ,almighty ,god would be satisfied with such an excuse4 ,i think not4 ,do you think that you would deserve a place in the same kingdom as that in which the martyrs of ,jesus rest8 ,reader1 go to ,christ when the world laughs at you1 and ask ,him to strengthen you against temptation4 ,he is well able to do so1 for when ,he was on earth1 men laughed ,him to scorn4 ,he suffered the rebukes of many1 for ,he bare the sin of many4 ,he was wounded for our transgressions1 ,he was bruised for our iniquities3 the chastisement of our peace was upon ,him1 and with ,his stripes we are healed4 ,isaiah liii4 #e4 99,,the ,,bible499 ,there is a ,book1 who runs may read1 ,which heavenly truth imparts2 ,and all the lore its scholars need1 ,pure eyes and ,christian hearts4 ,keble4 ,there is no book that is so frequently given as a present as the ,bible4 ,it has been translated into every tongue1 and carried to every shore4 ,in the king's palace1 and in the lonely hut1 from one end of the world to the other1 wherever ,christianity is preached1 the ,bible is read4 ,i have often seen a picture of a lady reading a book intently4 ,she is represented as sitting near a table1 with a shawl thrown loosely round her1 and a widow's cap upon her head4 ,that lady is the ,queen of ,england1 the greatest woman in the world2 and the book she is reading is the ,bible1 the ,word of a greater than she4 ,underneath is written1 ,the ,secret of ,england's greatness4 ,yes1 the ,holy ,bible1 or rather the study of the ,bible1 is indeed the secret of ,england's greatness1 just as drunkenness is the secret of ,england's weakness4 ,it is not because the ,queen of ,england alone reads the ,bible1 but it is because the ,bible is read in so many ,english homes4 ,now there are several ways of reading the ,bible4 ,it is quite possible for a very clever man to read the ,bible1 and not understand it2 and it is quite possible1 too1 for a poor unlettered man1 if he have faith1 to read1 and understand4 ,some people read the ,bible as a history1 and a very good history it is1 and so they get what they want4 ,some1 again1 read it to try to find fault with what they read4 ,some read it to try and draw out words in support of their own peculiar views1 and if they can get only a few words1 which they can so twist as to satisfy their easy consciences1 then they are quite content that their religion is right1 and all else wrong4 ,but some there are1 quite different from any of these1 who read the ,bible1 not to make out some new doctrine1 or plan of salvation1 but as the ,word of the ,living ,god4 ,to these1 every word they read is as the voice of ,god1 and every text a guide on the way which ends in ,christ4 ,instead of picking put texts and founding a new sect upon them1 and so adding to the already too numerous divisions amongst us1 they diligently search the ,scriptures1 and by them they make proof of their religion4 ,love to ,christ as their ,head1 and obedience to ,his laws1 these are their two great doctrines2 and these shall inherit the promises1 and sit down with ,abraham1 ,isaac1 and ,jacob in the kingdom of heaven4 ,s4 ,john v4 #ci4 ,s4 ,matt viii4 #aa4 ,yes1 depend upon it1 there is no book to take the place of the ,bible4 ,it has brought comfort to the souls of many1 who could find no comfort elsewhere4 ,it has soothed the pillow of the dying1 and its holy words are repeated over the dead to comfort the mourner4 ,it is read and accepted by men1 who cannot agree on many other points4 ,its plain homely truths are suitable for all1 rich and poor alike4 ,but it is eminently the working man's book4 ,it is chiefly the inspired sayings and doings of working men2 from ,david the shepherd1 and ,amos the herdsman1 ,peter and ,john the poor fishermen1 up to ,one chosen out of the people1 of ,whom it was said in contempt1 ,is not this the carpenter8 ,reader1 you will find as you go on in life many books and other things to interest you4 ,you will find companions gather round you1 and make much of you1 and some perchance may try to turn your heart away from ,christ and ,his ,word2 but the day will come when you will grow tired of the books1 delightful though they may appear now2 and the day will come when the companions will drop off or die1 and you will find that the only companion you have left will be the old ,book2 the ,book out of which in early childhood you first learnt the lessons of life--lessons of a warfare with evil1 lessons of a ,saviour's love4 ,and oh6 what a comfort is the ,bible in the long weary hours of sickness and of sorrow4 ,i have known men who have lived godless lives1 and never opened their ,bible1 or thought of their ,saviour2 ,i have known such1 at the very first touch of sickness1 send for a person to read to them something from the ,bible4 ,the ,christ they had neglected all their lives through1 was only sought for on the bed of death1 and the unopened ,bible plainly bore witness how little they cared while in health for their ,saviour's words4 ,we should think but little of a child who was in the habit of receiving money and clothes and frequent presents from his father1 and who1 when that father wrote to him1 put his letters regularly by unopened4 ,reader1 you are ready to blame the child2 are you quite as ready to blame yourself for neglecting to read the letters of your heavenly ,father1 which ,he has written in ,his holy ,word8 99,,the ,,holy ,,spirit499 ,our blest ,redeemer1 ere ,he breathed ,his tender last farewell1 ,a ,guide1 a ,comforter bequeathed1 ,with us to dwell4 ,and every virtue we possess1 ,and every victory won1 ,and every thought of holiness1 ,are ,his alone4 ,harriet ,auber4 ,we say in the ,belief1 ,i believe in the ,holy ,ghost4 ,and we need to think often of what these words mean1 for many hardly stop to think who ,he is1 in ,whom they here profess to believe4 ,people know of ,god the ,father1 and ,his love to sinners4 ,they can speak of ,jesus as the ,saviour of a lost world4 ,but the name of the ,holy ,spirit rarely enters their thoughts1 and seldom perhaps occurs in their prayers4 ,but is this right8 ,is not the ,holy ,spirit quite as much ,god as ,jesus ,christ is8 ,it is ,his special office and pleasure to help mankind4 ,with what loving care ,he does this the lives of individual men can shew4 ,when a sinner is converted to ,christ1 a lost sheep restored to the ,fold1 it is the work of ,god's ,holy ,spirit4 ,when we feel that we want to lead better or holier lives1 when we feel grateful to ,christ for all ,he has done for us1 when we seek to please ,god1 or to deny self1 this again is the work of the ,holy ,spirit4 ,at ,holy ,baptism ,he is present at the font2 ,he washes away sins in the ,blood of ,jesus2 ,he gives a new heart1 and a right spirit to the repentant sinner1 and leads our feet into the way of peace4 ,sometimes we see a man who has been leading a life of sin suddenly turn from his evil ways and become a consistent1 ,god-fearing ,christian1 and we wonder at the change1 and say how extraordinary it is2 and we ask each other if it will last--and if it does last we wonder still more1 never thinking for a moment that it is only an instance of the power of the ,holy ,spirit of ,god4 ,i have spoken of how very near the ,holy ,spirit is to us at ,holy ,baptism4 ,he is near us always2 ,he hears every word we speak1 and notes down every thought of our heart2 but there are special occasions on which ,he is specially near us3 ,holy ,baptism is one of them1 ,confirmation is another4 ,he is present when a young man or young woman kneels before the ,bishop to be confirmed4 ,he loves to hear and answer the prayer1 ,defend1 ,o ,lord1 this ,thy child1 with ,thy heavenly grace1 that he may continue ,thine for ever1 and daily increase in ,thy ,holy ,spirit more and more1 until he come unto ,thine everlasting kingdom4 ,yes1 young man1 ,he was with you at your ,confirmation1 and heard and noted down the promises made by you then--promises to give up the devil and all his works1 the carnal desires of the flesh1 not to follow or be led by them2 promises to keep ,god's holy will and commandments1 and walk in the same all the days of your life4 ,and though you may have forgotten that you made those promises1 ,he has not4 ,and ,he1 too1 promised something in return4 ,he promised that ,god's ,fatherly ,hand should ever be over you1 and that ,he ,himself would ever be in you1 as you travelled onward on the road to heaven4 ,in ,holy ,matrimony1 again1 the same ,holy ,spirit is ever near4 ,he joins the man and woman in an unseen union1 as a great and good poet has it-- ,a high mysterious union ,which nought on earth may break4 ,and when at ,ordination the white-robed priests and deacons of our ,church pass up to kneel before the ,bishop1 the ,holy ,ghost is there4 ,and1 lastly1 at the bedside of the dying ,christian1 while weeping friends stand round1 the ,holy ,ghost is there4 ,he is above all things the ,comforter1 and ,he loves to comfort those that mourn4 ,with ,his gracious influence ,he cheers the dying spirit1 pointing away from earthly things and earthly dwellings to a ,paradise of ,god1 where there is no more death1 neither sorrow1 nor crying1 and where the former things1 that is the things of earth1 are passed away1 and all things have become new4 99,,god',s ,,ministers499 ,lord1 pour ,thy ,spirit from on high1 ,and ,thine ordained servants bless2 ,graces and gifts to each supply1 ,and clothe ,thy ,priests with righteousness4 ,so1 when their work is finished here ,they may in hope their charge resign1 ,so1 when their ,master shall appear ,they may with crowns of glory shine4 ,james ,montgomery4 ,what is a ,minister8 ,the word ,minister means a ,servant--and the ministers of ,god are ,god's servants4 ,now1 of course every ,christian man and woman is a servant of ,god4 ,but ministers are men who are specially set apart1 by ,his ,holy ,spirit1 for their high and holy work4 ,just as in the days of the ,apostles1 the ,holy ,spirit told the ,church to separate ,barnabas and ,saul for the work of the ministry1 so now the principal question in the ,ordination ,service is that of the ,bishop1 who asks the candidate--,do you trust that you are inwardly moved by the ,holy ,ghost1 to take upon you this office8 ,and that is only another way of asking--,do you think you have really received a call from the ,holy ,spirit8 ,there is no work on earth so noble as the minister's work--the work of taking care of souls4 ,just as a doctor cures the body1 by giving proper medicine to the patient at the right moment1 so it is the duty and privilege of the ,christian minister to give the right medicine to the soul4 ,now if you will take your ,prayer ,book1 and turn to the ,service for the ,ordering of ,priests1 you will find that the first words spoken by the ,bishop to the ,archdeacon1 who presents the candidates1 are these1 ,take heed that the persons1 whom ye present unto us1 be apt and meet 7that is to say1 well fitted7 for their learning and godly conversation to exercise their ministry4 ,so you see that two things are required of those who come up for ordination1--#a4 that they should be well-instructed2 #b4 that they should be godly men4 ,of the first of these it might be and has been objected--,what is the use of having a learned clergy1 so long as they have the love of ,god in their hearts8 ,to this objection1 ,i would simply answer1 that while doubtless it is far more important to have a godly than a learned ,ministry2 still the ,bible has given us two special instances of great learning among the servants of ,god4 ,in the ,old ,testament1 ,moses was learned in all the wisdom of the ,egyptians1 and was mighty in words and in deeds4 ,while in the ,new ,testament ,s4 ,paul was brought up at the feet of ,gamaliel1 a doctor of the ,law4 ,and surely ,i need not attempt to prove from ,scripture that ,god's ministers must be godly men4 ,experience and common sense alike teach us that unless they are godly1 their learning can profit them but little4 ,for if ,god's ministers are to do ,god's work1 the work of doing good to others1 it is most important that they should set a good example in their daily life4 ,a man may preach the very best of sermons2 he may draw together immense congregations2 his services may be reverent1 beautiful1 impressive2 but unless his daily life aims at strict accordance with his ,sunday teaching1 that man's religion is vain4 ,acts vii4 #bb4 ,acts xxii4 #c4 ,and now1 having spoken on the duty of ,god's ministers1 let me say a few words as to the duty of the flock towards their clergyman4 ,first to respect and reverence him as the ,servant of the living ,god4 ,we do not indeed respect the man himself more than he deserves1 but we respect ,god's minister1 on account of his office1 and for the reverence we feel for the ,master at whose hands he holds it4 ,secondly1 if we really respect the office1 we shall readily obey the advice ,god's minister gives2 we shall gladly and frequently go to church1 and frequent the ,holy ,communion--we shall listen with care to his sermons1 and act upon the advice contained in them2 and thus we shall find ourselves daily growing more and more fit for joining the ,church in ,heaven4 ,thirdly1 we shall do all in our power to help him in his work4 ,everybody can do something4 ,some no doubt can do more than others1 but all can do a little4 ,if you hear things said of him1 which you know to be untrue1 say so4 ,when ,god's minister stops to speak to you1 shew that you are glad of the opportunity of speaking to him2 for if we will1 we can always get some good from the words of a good man4 ,and then if you get into any trouble or difficulty1 go and ask his advice4 ,there can be no doubt as to this being the right and proper course4 ,god's minister has been set over your parish1 as a person found meet for his learning and godly conversation to exercise his ministry4 ,in some parishes the ,vicar is the only person of education1 and by going to him for advice in a difficulty1 instead of to the publican or the nearest neighbour1 a great deal of trouble might be saved4 ,dan4 vi4 #bj4 ,but perhaps you will ask1 ,how is it that we see some of the clergy leading evil1 or even immoral lives8 ,reader1 ,i understand your difficulty2 it is one ,i have often felt myself4 ,but just ask yourself this question4 ,is there any profession on earth1 of which it can be said1 that every single member is living up to what he professes8 ,i do not for one moment defend immorality or evil-living among the clergy4 ,it is terrible indeed to think that they to whom we might most reasonably look for example should be setting a bad example1 and poisoning instead of curing the souls that ,jesus died to redeem4 ,but these men are few and far between4 ,and thank ,god1 there is another side to the picture4 ,the greater number of the clergy of the ,church of ,england1 are men leading high1 noble ,christian lives2 many of them men who have given up wealth1 comfort1 and a happy home1 to serve ,christ and ,his poor in our crowded cities1 or in our country villages2 men who have learnt ,christ as the truth is in ,jesus1 and whose one desire is to give that precious truth to others also4 ,eph4 iv4 #ba4 ,as to the others1 it is not for us to pronounce their doom2 we may safely leave them in the hands of that ,god ,who has said1 ,woe be to the shepherds that do feed themselves6 ,should not the shepherds feed the flocks8 ,ezekiel xxxiv4 #b4 ,and ,i am quite certain that if we do not help ,god's ministers in this work1 ,god will require a reason from us for this4 ,how many of us ,i wonder ever pray for our ministers1 and yet the prayers of the people are one of the greatest helps the ministers of ,god can have4 ,then again we can help him in his choir1 and in many other ways besides4 ,the young men of a parish especially can help the parson4 ,he looks to them as having been trained in his schools 7baptized it may be by him71 to fill up the gaps in his church1 and above all to set a good1 manly1 ,christian example when they are out of his sight4 ,there are a great many people1 especially in country villages1 who are always speaking against ,god's ministers1 and do all they can to hinder their work4 ,but the day of sickness comes1 and they are laid by for a time1 and money and victuals get scarce1 the very first place they send to is the ,vicarage1 and the man from whom they ask help is the minister they have abused4 ,and very rarely is this help refused4 ,for though it is often given with a heart1 heavy at the thought of the little thanks he is likely to get1 and the little good it is likely to do his ,master's cause1 it is yet given ungrudgingly1 for he remembers his ,lord's words1 ,inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these ,my brethren1 ye have done it unto ,me4 ,s4 ,matt4 xxv4 #dj4 ,oh6 then think kindly of ,god's minister whom ,he has set over your parish4 ,he thinks of you and of your wants1 and of your troubles1 more often than you suppose4 ,he is more frequently at the ,throne of ,grace1 asking ,god to bless ,his people1 than you may think2 and in that day when the secrets of all hearts shall be revealed1 it will be known how many souls owe salvation to the prayers1 frequent and earnest1 of the ministers of ,god1 and how many jewels by their means will shine for ever in the ,master's crown4 99,,prayer499 ,prayer is the soul's sincere desire1 ,uttered or unexpressed1 ,the motion of a hidden fire ,that kindles in the breast4 ,montgomery4 ,what is prayer8 ,prayer is the uplifting of the soul of man to heaven1 in silent communion with its ,god4 ,prayer is the telling out of our wants1 of our weaknesses1 our temptations1 and failings to our ,father in heaven4 ,it has been known ere now to bring down marvellous and unexpected answers to the children of men4 ,homes have been saved from destruction2 armies delivered from slaughter2 sinners converted to ,christ--by the power of prayer4 ,as ,john ,keble has taught us1 in his beautiful morning hymn-- ,new mercies each returning day1 ,hover around us while we pray2 ,new perils past1 new sins forgiven1 ,new thoughts of ,god1 new hopes of heaven4 ,you remember the answers to prayer recorded in the ,bible4 ,elijah prayed that it might not rain2 and ,god withheld the showers4 ,on another occasion1 he prayed that fire might come down on his sacrifice1 and fire came down4 ,hezekiah prayed for an increase of days2 and we are told that there was added unto his life fifteen years4 ,in the ,new ,testament again1 our blessed ,lord1 we are told1 spent whole nights in prayer to ,god4 ,in the history of the ,early ,church too1 there are many instances of answers to prayer4 ,there is the beautiful story of ,st4 ,augustine1 who after leading a wicked and immoral life1 was brought to ,christ through the prayers of his mother4 ,but why quote more8 ,you and ,i1 reader1 ,i trust know and value this power of prayer4 ,to be able1 in the midst of the most pressing business1 or the hardest toil1 to retire into the secret chamber of our heart1 as it were1 and there tell to ,god our most urgent needs in prayer is one of the greatest comforts of our life4 ,and ,god often answers prayer in a way we little expect2 so little1 indeed1 that we are apt hardly to realize it as an answer at all4 ,a few years ago1 there was an awful storm on the east coast of ,england1 and a ship was seen to be in peril about a mile from the shore4 ,the life-boat was launched1 but owing to some delay1 it seemed likely to be of but little use4 ,as the boat was nearing a dangerous spot1 one of the men cried1 ,boys1 shall we turn back1 it is almost certain death to go on8 ,the ship seems to have gone down1 and1 no doubt1 all hands have perished4 ,but one of his mates answered1 ,as ,i ran along the cliff1 ,i saw behind a hedge two ladies praying4 ,i am a wild chap1 yet ,i do believe ,god hears prayer2 we shall save some lives4 ,then on went the life-boat1 with her gallant crew1 ploughing her way through the dangerous breakers4 ,the ship had gone down when the boat reached the spot1 and no sign could be seen of her crew4 ,the life-boat drifted four miles4 ,in those four miles the sailors picked up first one poor fellow1 then another1 until eight lives had been saved4 ,the shipwrecked sailors often told the tale afterwards1 how that in answer to those ladies' prayer1 the life-boat held on its way1 and the little crew were saved4 ,yes1 and ,i could tell you of more wonderful answers to prayer than that1 but my object is not to tell you interesting stories1 but to strive to leave a lasting impression1 by ,god's grace1 upon the heart4 ,i have told you how ,god answers prayer1 in a way which1 though kind and loving1 was quite unexpected4 ,sometimes ,god's answers may not seem to us kind and loving1 but may at first appear to be harsh4 ,we find in the end1 however1 that ,he knows best what is good for us4 ,oh6 it is impossible to pass through life without feeling the power of prayer4 ,the life of every separate person must testify to its power2 the death of every ,christian is an exhibition of it4 ,pray without ceasing1 then4 ,whenever you feel inclined to speak an idle word1 say a few words to ,god instead4 ,you can speak quite easily to your father on earth1 why not speak as easily to your ,father in ,heaven8 ,nothing is too small1 or too common1 to tell ,him about4 ,the little daily troubles2 the differences between masters and men2 the question of your wages2 the home troubles1 the field troubles2 the wet season1 or the summer heat2 the insects which destroy your garden1 or the sins which are destroying your soul--these and such as these are not too small1 or too simple to take up the attention of our ,father in ,heaven1 ,who feedeth the young ravens that cry unto ,him1 and without ,whose knowledge not even a sparrow falls to the ground1 and dies4 99,,on ,,being ,,alone499 ,call it not solitude to be alone1 ,call it not solitude1 for ,god is nigh3 ,and holy angels from ,his heavenly throne ,breathe round us love1 and comfort from on high4 ,then go we forth to work and struggle on1 ,onwards our steps1 and upwards still our hearts2 ,let all men see the strength1 the power supreme1 ,one precious hour of solitude imparts4 ,oh6 never1 never let us turn away ,from one such blessed hour that ,god has given1 ,one moment when we can in silence pray ,and raise our hearts unto our home in heaven4 ,anon4 ,there are but few people1 ,i suppose1 who care to be alone4 ,man1 you will say1 was made for society2 he was made to be of use to others1 and not to dwell alone4 ,true1 it is not good for man to be always alone2 and yet there are times when it is well to withdraw ourselves from the busy world1 and to go into some solitary place1 and be alone4 ,it is a want that we all feel more or less4 ,david felt it1 ,oh that ,i had wings like a dove1 he cried1 for then would ,i flee away and be at rest4 ,the ,master felt it1 for ,he continued whole nights alone in prayer to ,god4 ,and ,god's saints in every age have felt it4 ,in this busy life of ours we must often feel rest and solitude acceptable4 ,how glad we are1 for instance1 when the evening comes1 and we know that the day's toil is over1 and that we can be alone4 ,and when ,saturday night comes we are more glad still1 for we know that it means not merely a night's rest1 but a day's rest too4 ,now ,i want you to think of being alone in three separate and distinct senses1 #a4 ,solitude4 #b4 ,loneliness4 #c4 ,isolation4 ,and first1 solitude4 ,a recent writer1 speaking of our blessed ,lord's frequent nights spent alone on the ,mount of ,olives1 says1--,there is something affecting beyond measure in the thought of these lonely hours2 the absolute stillness and silence1 broken by no sounds of human life1 but only by the hooting of the night-jar1 or the howl of the jackal2 the stars of an eastern heaven raining their large lustre out of the depth2 the figure of the ,man of ,sorrows kneeling upon the dewy grass1 and gaining strength for ,his labours from the purer air1 the more open heaven1 of that intense and silent communing with ,his ,father and ,his ,god4 ,ps4 lv4 #f4 ,yes1 there is something wonderfully solemn and grand in that kind of solitude1 the solitude of prayer4 ,the intense silence of the world sleeping below ,him1 the cold night air upon ,his brow1 the kneeling figure and earnest words2 these all we can picture to ourselves1 and say such solitude is good6 ,then1 again1 there is loneliness4 ,who has not felt lonely8 ,it may have been that as we stood round an open grave and listened to the beautiful words spoken by our ,church over the departed1 we first learnt what loneliness meant4 ,i have been told that nowhere is the sense of loneliness stronger than on hearing the service for the ,burial of the ,dead at sea4 ,i have been told that there comes over the spirit an untold sense of loneliness when one of a vessel's crew is committed to the deep1 far from land1 in the midst of the ocean1 looking for the resurrection of the body1 when the sea shall give up her dead2 and the living comrades stand around the corpse and see the cold waves close over their mate's remains4 ,but solitude is no mere feeling of the mind1 it is a stern reality4 ,it comes as a necessary part in the life of all men1 and so it must be met4 ,lastly1 there is isolation4 ,and this to men is the hardest trial of all4 ,to be obliged to mix with people with whom we have nothing in common1 to go about and live with those who have no fear of ,god before their eyes1 to work with the blasphemer1 to toil for the vicious1 to mix with the depraved2 oh6 sit needs a ,christian spirit indeed to bear up under such a trial4 ,but ,christ knew well what it was to do this4 ,he was as much alone in the crowded street as ever ,he was on the cold hillside4 ,he was as truly alone when ,he sat at meat in the ,pharisee's house as ,he was while walking on the sea of ,gennesaret4 ,oh yes1 isolation is the portion of all true ,christians as it was of the ,master4 ,we can talk to men of the world1 we can mix with men of the world1 and we can do good to men of the world1 and yet all the while we are alone4 ,oh6 don't you know what it is to long to ask advice1 and yet have none of whom to ask it8 ,don't you know how easy it is to make hundreds of acquaintances1 but how very hard it is to have one true friend8 ,and this is what ,jesus felt1 and felt for us4 ,he went through it all1 all the solitude1 all the loneliness1 all the bitter isolation for you and for me1 that when the time came that we should be alone1 we might remember ,his loneliness and take courage4 ,reader1 the day will come when you too will have to be alone4 ,you may surround yourself with friends now1 you may take pleasure in counting the number of those who are proud to know you2 but1 believe me1 it won't be so always4 ,alone you will have to pass through the dark valley of the shadow of death1 alone you will have to stand before the judgment-seat of ,christ4 ,alone you will have to give that strict and solemn account of the way in which you have used your time1 your influence1 and your power on earth4 ,but there is ,one1 ,one who knows what loneliness is1 ,who has promised to be with you1 if you ask ,him2 promised to take care of you over the dark valley1 for the darkness is no darkness with ,him1 and ,he has passed over that way before4 ,go then to ,jesus1 the lonely ,man of sorrows4 ,make a friend of ,him1 and tell ,him that you want ,his help in your solitude1 ,his guidance in your loneliness1 ,his presence in your isolation2 ask ,him to come to you as ,he came of old to ,his toiling1 weary1 lonely disciples on the ,galilean sea2 ask ,him to come and guide your ship into quiet harbours1 and safe resting-places1 and to bring you into a better country1 even an heavenly1 where none are sad1 or sick1 or lonely1 for all are filled with the ,presence of ,god4 99,,on ,,setting ,a ,,good ,,example499 ,poor indeed thou must be1 if around thee ,thou no ray of light and joy canst throw1 ,if no silken cord of love hath bound thee ,to some little world through weal and woe4 ,if no eyes thy tender love can brighten1 ,no fond voices answer to thine own1 ,if no brother's sorrow thou canst lighten ,by daily sympathy and gentle tone4 ,daily struggling1 though enclosed and lonely1 ,every day a rich reward will give2 ,thou wilt find1 by hearty striving only ,and truly loving1 thou canst truly live4 ,harriet ,winslow4 ,there is no subject of those on which ,i have written as yet in this book1 or of those on which ,i shall write1 that ,i believe to be of greater importance than that of setting a good example to others4 ,amongst other things our influence on one another has been compared to the action of the sea4 ,and indeed the comparison is a good one4 ,the sea is a mighty power1 stronger perhaps than any other natural force4 ,it is constantly and silently at work4 ,we stand on a rock in the midst of the ocean2 a rock that looks so firm1 and seems so hard that it blunts the sharpest tools to work it4 ,and yet1 quite silently1 the restless sea is eating into its very heart with its ceaseless beatings4 ,and so is it with influence1 or example4 ,silently1 but none the less surely1 do we make our influence felt upon each other4 ,the influence may be bad or good2 it may be a bad or good example we are setting1 or a bad or good word that we speak1 still there are always plenty of people ready to take it up and copy it4 ,probably for every person we can see to be influenced by our example1 there are at least ten of whom we know nothing4 ,reader1 these are solemn thoughts4 ,the idle word you spoke yesterday has gone beyond recall2 but ,god heard it and noted both it and its effect upon those who stood by4 ,and you may one day find that that word has caused a world of sorrow to spring up around it4 ,yes1 we cannot unspeak a word carelessly spoken1 or unthink one evil thought4 ,how often we hear it said1 ,alas6 ,i possess no influence1 what can ,i do8 ,now it is true that many have no wealth1 no beauty1 no rank1 no intellect1 no learning2 but there never has been a heart created since the world began1 that has not received and exerted the precious1 though much-abused gift of influence4 ,how is this8 ,just because every heart has the power of loving6 ,there is a story told of ,cecil's little daughter1 who was asked by her father how it was that everybody loved her so much4 ,i think1 dear father1 replied the child1 it must be because ,i love everybody4 ,here1 then1 is a work we all can do1 and we all have to do4 ,love is power4 ,the sunshine has to do its work2 it penetrates the darkest places1 the dirtiest streets1 the most dismal prisons2 it brings light and heat to the chilled and cold2 it gives colour to the flower1 and ripeness to the fruit4 ,and so it is with good influence4 ,the influence of one loving heart may do a world of good4 ,it may not be a powerful heart2 it need not be the heart of a learned man2 still less need it be the heart of a rich one2 so long as it is a loving heart it will go about cheering and lighting up1 warming and colouring and ripening all things like the sun4 ,many good people seem to think it a duty to keep their hearts locked up tight from their fellow men4 ,have you ever thought seriously of the sin of doing this8 ,have you ever thought that such a course makes the religion of your gentle1 kindly1 warm-hearted ,master appear in a cold and disagreeable form8 ,have you ever thought that as the ,lord ,jesus looks upon the cup of cold water bestowed on a neighbour as given to ,him1 so ,he will look upon the wounded feeling1 the repulsed confidence1 the bruised spirit1 you have occasioned as given to ,him too8 ,oh6 it is a sad thing to fold up in a napkin the talent of manner2 to lose1 as it were1 the key of the door which opens the hearts of men4 ,but if you are using your influence1 don't be afraid to use it for ,christ2 to be an out-and-out ,christian6 ,those are the sort ,he always blesses in the end1 and their works follow them long after they have passed onward to their reward4 ,not long ago1 in a ,sussex village1 there lived a young man1 a farm-labourer4 ,he had often wished to stay in church for ,holy ,communion1 which he knew well would help him1 beyond all else1 in the good and earnest life he was trying to lead4 ,still the fear of his companions' laughter held him back4 ,one ,sunday morning1 however1 after praying much for ,god's help to aid him to do what was right1 he knelt on1 when the others had left the church1 and went up to receive the ,holy ,communion4 ,on coming out of church his friends began to laugh at him for staying1 but he said nothing1 and walked quietly home4 ,sunday after ,sunday he persevered1 though it was hard work1 and he was often tempted to give way4 ,months passed1 and one ,sunday another boy came and knelt down beside him1 instead of leaving church1 and he too received the ,holy ,communion4 ,a few ,sundays after they were joined by another1 and after that more and more of the young men of that parish began to follow their example4 ,nor did the good resulting from this end there4 ,these young men are now banded together in that parish1 working together for the same great ,master ,christ1 each in his own occupation1 and leading others to the knowledge of the ,saviour4 ,and all this came from the courage of that one brave soldier of ,christ1 who used his influence in his ,captain's cause4 ,reader1 will not you go and do likewise8 ,hitherto ,i have spoken only of the good influence we may exercise upon our companions and on strangers4 ,what shall ,i say of the influence we may exercise on our home8 ,ere this1 one ,christian man has been known to change the whole manner of life of a household4 ,st4 ,paul tells us in his ,epistle to ,timothy to shew piety at home2 and after all it is in our own homes that we must bear witness for ,jesus ,christ4 ,speak up for ,christ when occasion demands it1 above all live a ,christian life1 and then the lives of those around you will be brought more under the influence of religion4 ,but to young men particularly is the call to influence others loudest and clearest1 and to set a good example their plain duty-- ,young men be strong for ,jesus1 ,to toil for ,him is gain-- ,and ,jesus wrought for ,joseph ,with chisel1 saw1 and plane4 99,,helping ,,others499 ,the cowslip and the spreading vine1 ,the daisy in the grass1 ,the snow-drop and the eglantine1 ,preach sermons as we pass4 ,the ant within its cavern deep ,would bid us labour too1 ,and writes upon its tiny heap-- ',there's work enough to do4' ,to have a heart for those who weep1 ,the sottish drunkard win2 ,to rescue all the children deep ,in ignorance and sin2 ,to help the poor1 the hungry feed2 ,to give him coat and shoe2 ,to see that all can write and read-- ,is 'work enough to do4' ,john ,burbidge4 ,of all the different kinds of work that ,god has given us to do here on earth1 there is none more important1 none more satisfactory1 than this work of helping others4 ,ever since ,jesus ,christ stood upon the shore of the sea of ,galilee1 watching two fishermen mending their nets2 ever since ,he spoke to those two1 saying1 ,follow ,me1 and ,i will make you fishers of men1 the command has been binding upon all ,christians4 ,to go out upon the grand field of philanthropy1 of love of men1 is the noblest occupation that our poor life can have4 ,to spend and be spent in the service of our fellow-men is a work that is so specially blest by ,christ1 that ,i hardly think that a chapter on helping others will be in any sense out of place here4 ,s4 ,matt4 iv4 #ai4 ,but perhaps you will say1 ,how can ,i1 ,i who am so poor1 help others8 ,reader1 you have only to look for such work1 and ,god will give it you4 ,it may be you can help others by giving them your time4 ,for instance1 if you have an aged or infirm neighbour1 too feeble to dig his own garden1 it would no doubt be a great help to him if you were to go and offer to do it for him4 ,some time ago1 in a country village1 there was a young man1 who wished to try and help others in some practical way1 for the ,master's sake4 ,for a long time he could not find anything to do2 but at last one of his neighbours1 an old man1 became very ill1 and bedridden4 ,he was very poor1 and his old wife almost too infirm to attend to him properly4 ,for the last two years this young fellow has gone in in the morning1 before going to his work1 and done all he could for him in the house2 and every night on returning home1 he goes again1 settles him for the night1 and reads the ,bible to him before leaving4 ,one day1 when he was praised for doing this1 he said1 quite simply1 ,i do like to do it1 it seems like helping ,christ3 whenever ,i go there1 ,i say to myself1 ',i was sick1 and ye visited ,me4' ,that young man understands the true meaning of the words ,inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these ,my brethren1 ye have done it unto ,me4 ,s4 ,matt4 xxv4 #dj4 ,reader1 there may be no sick neighbour for you to help1 but there is no doubt you can find work to do if you will only try4 ,oh6 don't stand idle all the blessed hours of youth1 that ,god has given you to work for others4 ,stand up like men1 ready to go and fight for ,jesus1 the ,great ,captain of the ,lord's host4 ,ask ,god to give you strength and victory1 and to fulfil the promise ,he once gave to ,his chosen people1 by the mouth of the prophet ,isaiah1 ,they that wait upon the ,lord shall renew their strength2 they shall mount up with wings as eagles2 they shall run1 and not be weary2 and they shall walk1 and not faint4 ,isaiah xl4 #ca4 ,come labour on6 ,who dares stand idle on the harvest plain1 ,while all around him waves the golden grain8 ,and to each servant does the ,master say1 ',go1 work to-day4' ,come labour on6 ,the toil is pleasant1 the reward is sure1 ,blessed are those who to the end endure2 ,how full their joy1 how deep their rest shall be1 ,oh6 ,lord1 with ,thee4 ,yes1 the end of helping others lies in the ,master's kingdom4 ,the reward of serving ,christ in the person of ,his poor1 awaits you in the many mansions4 ,you may meet with coldness1 and hard words1 from those you would seek to help2 but generally1 you will find them only too glad of it4 ,and what matters it what men say and think of your work1 if the ,lord approves of it8 ,what will it matter whether your friends did not help you1 if ,christ helps you here1 and gives you your reward in heaven8 ,it is especially a young man's calling to help others4 ,he need not give up the least bit of his ordinary daily work or daily pleasure to do so4 ,all he needs is a ready will to undertake the work as soon as ,christ gives it him to do4 ,i cannot close this chapter better than by quoting some remarks1 made some years ago by one of the ,london clergy4 ,preaching to young men upon the words1 ,young man1 ,i say unto thee arise6 the preacher said--,we need young men1 fired with the thought that they are called by ,christ to be the saviours of society from the sins that are wasting it1 to render to their country and to humanity the noblest service1 by fighting with voice and hand against those deadly foes that menace our very life2 and will1 if they are allowed to run riot1 certainly drag us down to hell4 ,young men1 rise up to stand against it and destroy it4 ,lift up against it the ,standard of the ,cross4 ,be known as ,christ's soldiers1 banded and pledged to overthrow it4 ,let your conversation be pure from all taint of uncleanness2 and never let the glass rob you of your power to stand up for ,christ against sensual sin4 ,rebuke and frown down the young man's talk1 and the habit of life it engenders2 you know what ,i mean4 ,say to those who love it1 it is just this that is destroying us as a people4 ,unless our young men rise up together1 as one man1 and make drunkenness and harlotry shameful and hateful1 ,i see no hope for our country1 but a hope of growing decay4 ,those are wise words1 carefully and thoughtfully spoken4 ,god grant1 reader1 that you and ,i may lay them seriously to heart4 99,,our ,,companions499 ,a friend ,i had1 long1 long ago1 ,and one ,i learnt to prize1 ,he taught a truth that all should know-- ,in work true honour lies4 ,a frank and cheerful face had he1 ,and a heart as light as heart could be4 99 99 99 99 99 ,he has found his rest in ,heaven above1 ,but has left a golden fame2 ,for the neighbours tell his deeds of love1 ,and the children bless his name2 ,and comrades too for many a day ,shall roughly wipe their tears away4 ,john ,burbidge4 ,there are1 perhaps1 few things so important to a young man as to make a right choice of companions4 ,how much depends on this4 ,how much of our present and future happiness2 nay1 more1 how much of our eternal welfare depends upon those with whom we mix on earth4 ,very many a young man has begun life with the best intentions and the holiest desires2 and all these have been dashed to the ground by his having made an unwise choice in selecting his companions4 ,now there are several things to be thought of in making this choice4 ,and ,i shall try to put a few of these before you4 ,first1 it is most important that your companions should be ,god-fearing men4 ,i don't think any friendship can be really happy1 or even lasting1 unless this is the case4 ,for remember that there are friendships which do not end with life2 that true friendship1 blessed by ,almighty ,god1 is only begun here below1 and is carried on in that distant spirit-land beyond the grave4 ,secondly1 don't think that because your companions should be godly men1 they must needs be gloomy or dull4 ,a man may be godly1 and at the same time quite able to laugh with others1 and make as good jokes as they2 but his laughter will never be turned against religion1 nor his jokes made at the expense of the people of ,god4 ,a man who is a drunkard1 for instance1 will never be a good or even pleasant companion for you4 ,his conversation in his sober moments is rarely interesting1 and when he is in liquor he is worse than a beast4 ,and as to his example1 what can ,i say of that8 ,it will be an example which ,god grant1 reader1 you may never follow2 but it is an example which it is better you should not even see4 ,in a word1 as a recent writer has put it1 my advice to you is1 ,make friends with sober men1 who can talk and laugh without incessant liquor4 ,now it may be you think you are quite strong enough to resist temptation4 ,it may be you think that as you pass through this world yours will be a life of temptation1 and you feel that if you can't resist it now1 you never will4 ,it was said of ,sophronius1 a wise teacher in ,ancient ,greece1 that one day when his daughter ,eulalia came to ask permission to visit a worldly friend1 ,lucinda1 ,sophronius forbade her4 ,and when ,eulalia1 trusting in her own power to overcome the temptations of her evil companion1 replied1 ,dear father1 you must think me childish if you imagine ,i should be exposed to danger by going4 ,sophronius took1 in silence1 a dead coal from the hearth1 and gave it to his daughter4 ,it will not burn you1 my child3 take it1 said he4 ,eulalia did so1 and behold6 her hand was blackened1 and1 as it chanced1 her white dress too4 ,we cannot be too careful in handling coals1 said ,eulalia in vexation4 ,yes1 truly6 replied her father2 ,you see1 my child1 the coals1 even if they do not burn1 blacken4 ,and so1 too1 is it with companions4 ,the coals may not burn1 but only blacken2 and companions may not leave any lasting impression for evil on the heart4 ,their example may not even appear to the conscience as being black and evil1 but they blacken the character1 at any rate for the time1 none the less1 if not in the sight of men1 undoubtedly in the sight of ,god4 ,and there is one point more4 ,do remember1 that even the worst of us1 the most degraded1 are being constantly watched by people above us in society4 ,and very often they don't care to have anything to do with us1 because of our companions4 ,i once heard a foreman1 who employed a great number of hands on a certain work1 say of a young man1 whose name had been recommended for employment1 ,he keeps such bad company4 ,and though ,i knew the young man in question well1 and knew that whatever his companions might be1 he himself was pure and good1 still it was of no use my speaking to the foreman1 because he was keeping bad company4 ,depend upon it1 reader1 there is truth in words written down in our ,father's ,book1 ,godliness is profitable unto all things1 baring promise of the life that now is1 and of that which is to come4 ,tim4 iv4 #h4 99,,the ,,books ,,we ,,read499 ,there is a ,book1 who runs may read1 ,which heavenly truth imparts1 ,and all the lore its scholars need ,pure eyes and ,christian hearts4 ,the works of ,god1 above1 below1 ,within us and around1 ,are pages in that ,book to show ,how ,god ,himself is found4 ,john ,keble4 ,there are few things which have so mighty a power for good or evil1 on the lives of most of us1 as the books we read4 ,nor is it easy for us to read nothing but what is profitable and good4 ,from the ,bible1 of course1 we can always get wholesome reading1 and always gain fresh stores of knowledge2 but we cannot always be reading the ,bible4 ,and there are in these days many books and papers which a young man may come across1 which can hardly fail to do him harm2 books with perfectly innocent titles1 and apparently quite harmless1 and yet the reading they contain is as poison to the human soul4 ,but there are plenty of good books too1 thank ,god2 and almost every village has its library1 and every cottage home its books4 ,but even if you are ever so careful as to what you read1 it is almost certain the devil will put something into your hands that you should not read4 ,he does so to us all4 ,rich and poor1 young and old1 all alike read a good deal that they should not--for rich people have their temptations too1 and very hard they are tried sometimes4 ,well1 the only safeguard ,i know of is1 whenever you read anything you know to be bad shut up the book at once1 and read no further4 ,and whenever you read anything that you are doubtful about1 take down your ,bible and ask ,god to shew you1 out of ,his ,word1 whether what you have been reading is right or wrong4 ,you know1 ,i daresay1 that all along a part of the south coast of ,england there are a number of round towers1 built at certain distances from each other4 ,and the object of these towers was this4 ,many years ago we expected a foreign foe to land on our shores1 and we built these watch-towers to guard against surprise4 ,and it is just the same with the ,bible4 ,god has said1 ,i won't prevent the devil trying to persuade you to read these bad books1 and ,i won't prevent your reading them2 but ,i give you the ,bible1 which1 if you compare its words with the words of the books you read1 they will1 like the men in the watch-towers1 give you warning of the enemy's approach4 ,reader1 if you require plainer words than those written in ,god's ,bible1 ,i fear you will never read them on earth1 and you certainly will never read them in heaven4 ,how often we hear men say1 ,i'm no scholar4 ,and this is given as an excuse for not coming to church1 and for not reading the ,bible1 and a lot of other things too4 ,but there's many a man who will tell you he's no scholar1 if you ask him to read the ,bible2 but if you give him a newspaper and tell him there's an account of a horrible murder in it1 he'll take that gladly1 and he won't tell you he's no scholar then6 ,he'll very soon find that either his wife or his children can read to him about the murder of a fellow creature1 but he won't take the trouble to ask them to read to him about the death of ,god's only ,son4 ,oh1 reader1 be honest with ,god4 ,he is honest1 and means what ,he says4 ,man may not see through your excuses4 ,he may go away and pity you for your want of learning1 and you may be sitting at home thinking how cleverly you have deceived him4 ,but all the while1 though you little think it1 ,god is holding up your character1 and ,he sees through you1 and every bit of what ,he sees1 is written down in ,his great book to be brought up against you at the last day4 ,some people give as an excuse for reading bad and immoral books1 that they can understand them4 ,they say they can't understand the ,bible4 ,no doubt that is true4 ,god says the carnal man--that is the man who loves this world and things of the flesh--cannot understand spiritual things2 and the ,bible is a spiritual book4 ,how can the unwashed heart understand the ,bible8 ,well1 you say if it is a sealed book1 how am ,i to understand it8 ,the word of ,god1 ,i answer1 may be and is darkened to the worldly man1 but the way of salvation is written so plainly1 that a little child of six years old can read it1 if he will4 ,and oh6 if you come across any impure or sinful book1 do be careful what you do with it4 ,don't let it lie about4 ,a little child may take it up and read it1 and it may be1 through your carelessness1 its first step on the road to ruin4 ,don't say1 that's not my look out6 ,reader1 it is your look out2 and ,god will lay it to your charge4 ,if you stop under a hayrick to light your pipe1 and you carelessly throw the lighted match away among the hay1 so that the rick catches fire1 isn't that your fault8 ,you didn't mean1 ,i daresay1 to set fire to the rick2 you didn't leave home1 and go to that particular place in order to set that rick on fire1 but ,i think that any magistrate in the kingdom would make you suffer for your carelessness4 ,and so it is with ,god4 ,he looks at results as well as at intentions4 ,and if you carelessly leave a bad book about1 and it happens to do harm1 the punishment of that harm1 be it little or be it much1 will rest upon your soul in the life to come4 99,,true ,,manliness499 ,there are other battles to fight1 my boy1 ,than the battle of which you speak2 ,there are battles which none can win1 my boy1 ,but the lowly in heart and meek2 ,there are battles in which earth's mightiest fail1 ,and the strong ones are the weak4 ,there's a battle1 my boy1 with the world's rude laugh ,at the lessons our ,saviour taught1 ,and many a battle with self1 before ,we can do the things we ought2 ,a battle which1 not for the praise of men1 ,is in secret and silence fought4 ,if in the battle of life1 my boy1 ,thou would'st stand on thy ,captain's side1 ,with the white-robed hosts that follow the ,lamb1 ,the called1 and chosen1 and tried1 ,thou must take up thy cross1 denying thyself1 ,and follow the ,crucified4 ,from ,the ,child's ,book of ,ballads4 ,there is nothing a young man desires more than to be thought manly4 ,at school he is constantly told to be manly4 ,and indeed true manliness is a grand thing4 ,how often we hear our young men say that they want to be more independent4 ,you may have said so yourself1 reader2 what harm if you have8 ,isn't it a fine thing1 and a noble thing1 and a right thing to be independent8 ,certainly it is2 and ,i hope before the end of this chapter to have shewn you the difference between true and false independence1 and true and false manliness4 ,now let us deal with manliness first4 ,what is it to be manly8 ,to be manly means to be man-like--like a man4 ,and ,he ,who was our great pattern man1 the only perfect pattern that ever lived1 has shewn us in ,his own life what true manliness means4 ,he knew well how fond young men in all ages would be of trying to be manly1 and so ,he gave them ,his advice how to be so4 ,listen to it4 ,he said1 ,except ye be converted1 and become as little children1 ye shall in nowise enter into the kingdom of ,heaven4 ,as little children6 ,young man1 do you hear that8 you must become as submissive1 as obedient1 as trustful and believing as a little child1 if you would be manly4 ,and one of the greatest marks of true manliness is respect paid to women4 ,a true man is ever courteous1 and careful of his words and acts in the presence of a woman4 ,he indulges in no thoughts of impurity or lust2 but if they arise he drives them out4 ,like ,joseph1 when he is tempted to sin against his master's law of purity1 he says to himself1 ,how can ,i do this great wickedness and sin against ,god8 ,i know no surer test of manliness than that4 ,to be careful of woman's virtue1 and to be mindful of ,god's commands4 ,to help the weak and those who cannot help themselves1 to think for those who will not think for themselves1 is manliness indeed2 and he who will do these things in the midst of a mocking crowd1 shews that he is truly manly4 ,and next1 let me say a word about independence4 ,so many young men nowadays seem to think that independence consists in being rude to every one they meet4 ,but if this is your idea of independence you may be sure you are on the wrong road1 and the sooner you get right the better4 ,real independence is1 as ,i said1 a fine and noble thing4 ,an independent man can walk through the world with his head up1 and give every one a civil answer1 for he is as good as they4 ,oh6 learn1 reader1 to be more truly independent4 ,learn to withdraw your dependence from man1 and put it all on ,god4 ,it is quite possible to be too dependent on man2 it is quite impossible to be too dependent on ,god4 ,whether you wish it or not1 you must depend on ,him4 ,he sends you life and health1 food and raiment1 all that you have1 and all that you hope for4 ,if you have saved enough money you can take a cottage1 and live comfortably and independently in your old age2 but if you have saved ever so much money1 you can never lose your dependence on ,god4 ,lastly1 let me in all earnestness say a kindly word to young men4 ,you are just beginning life2 everything is before you2 and perhaps you feel1 as indeed you ought to feel1 that as you grow in years you wish to grow in true manliness and independence4 ,very well2 take a kindly word of advice from a stranger2 it is this1 always be civil to everybody4 ,a little civility goes a long way1 farther often than you think4 ,be civil to your superiors1 and they will think the more highly of you for it4 ,be civil to your equals1 and they will respect you for it4 ,be civil to your inferiors1 and they will look up to you for it4 ,it costs very little to give a civil answer1 and we often have reason afterwards to regret an uncivil word1 uncivilly spoken4 ,i do believe that this is a most important thing in going through life4 ,we so constantly hear whole masses of men classed together and unfairly judged because of the conduct of one of their number who may chance to have been met4 ,i have so often heard railway porters1 for instance1 described as a most civil class1 and no doubt they find their civility paying4 ,above all1 reader1 to look at it from a higher ground1 civility is pleasing to ,god4 ,of ,christ it was said1 ,when ,he was reviled1 ,he reviled not again2 and if ,he set us this example of civility it was to shew us that we can be truly manly1 and truly independent1 and at the same time truly civil1 and truly ,christian in heart4 #a ,pet4 ii4 #bc4 99,,honesty499 ',tis but a flash that spans the sky1 ,a few short hours of joy to wreathe3 ,reader6 this moment you and ,i ,might cease to breathe6 ,then1 live more worthy of a soul ,implanted by a ,hand ,divine6 ,press onward to a richer goal6 ,while yet there's time6 ,he who can so secure his fame1 ,has nobly filled his narrow span1 ,and future times shall write his name1 ,an honest man6 ,john ,burbidge4 ,honesty is the best policy is a saying we frequently hear4 ,and we may have said1 ,ah6 that's all very well for thieves and such like1 but it doesn't apply to me4 ,reader1 you may be honest1 strictly honest in the sight of man1 but are you strictly honest in the sight of ,god8 ,you may never have taken so much as a pin that did not rightly belong to you1 but are you quite certain that you have never taken of the things of ,god8 ,now let us just consider this for a few moments4 ,to-day1 we will say1 is ,sunday1 ,god's holy day6 ,to-day1 of all days in the week1 ,god has chosen to be set apart for ,his worship4 ,he has given you time to be so employed4 ,he has given you an open church to go to4 ,he has given you health and power to go1 and yet perhaps you reject all1 and never go at all4 ,don't you see that you have taken of things of ,god1 that you have taken ,his gift of health1 and ,his gift of ,sunday rest--things given that they might be spent in ,his service1 and in worshipping ,him in ,his church4 ,and yet you accept these gifts1 you take them as the most natural things in the world1 and use the gifts of ,almighty ,god for your own selfish purposes4 ,and is this honest8 ,certainly not4 ,but we will take another and a commoner case1 if you like4 ,god has perhaps given you influence among your fellows1 and as you go about among them1 you hear some person spoken against in terms which you know are not true4 ,and yet you allow the matter to pass1 because you are afraid that if you spoke1 you might lose your influence4 ,you forget that even if you lost it for the time1 ,god1 for ,whose sake you spoke1 would surely give it back1 if ,he thought it good for you2 and besides this1 you would have the consciousness of having done an honest deed1 and of having done it in an honest fearless way4 ,and so you see that it is quite possible to be a strictly honest man in the sight of men1 and a very dishonest man in the sight of ,god4 ,and which1 think you1 is the best8 ,which will stand you in good stead at the day of judgment1 your character as it has appeared to men1 or as it appears to ,god8 ,i think the latter4 ,for in the ,bible we are taught that the sight of ,god and that of men are two utterly different things1 for the ,lord seeth not as man seeth1 for man looketh on the outward appearance1 but the ,lord looketh on the heart4 ,some time ago in ,edinburgh two gentlemen were standing at the door of an hotel one very cold day1 when a little boy with a poor thin blue face1 his bare feet red with cold1 and with nothing to cover him but a bundle of rags1 came and said1 ,please1 sir1 buy some matches4 ,no1 don't want any1 the gentleman said4 ,but they are only a penny a box1 the poor little fellow pleaded4 ,yes1 but you see we don't want a box1 the gentleman said again4 ,then ,i'll give you two for a penny1 the boy said at last4 ,and so to get rid of him the gentleman who tells the story says1 ,i bought a box of him4 ,but then ,i found ,i had no change1 and so ,i said ,i would buy a box tomorrow4 ,oh do buy them to-night1 if you please1 the boy again pleaded1 ,i will run and get you the change1 for ,i'm very hungry4 ,so ,i gave him the shilling1 and off he started4 ,i waited for him1 but no boy came4 ,then ,i thought ,i had lost my shilling2 still there was that in the boy's face ,i trusted1 and ,i did not like to think ill of him4 ,late in the evening ,i was told a boy wanted to see me4 ,when he was brought in1 ,i found it was a smaller brother of the boy that had got my shilling1 but if possible still more ragged and poor and thin4 ,he stood for a moment diving into his rags1 and then said1 ,are you the gentleman that bought the matches from ,sandie8 ,yes4 ,well1 then1 here's fourpence out of your shilling2 ,sandie can't come1 he's very ill2 a cart ran over him1 and knocked him down1 and he lost his cap and his matches and your sevenpence1 and both his legs are broken1 and the doctor says he'll die1 and that's all4 ,and then1 putting the fourpence on the table1 the poor child broke out into great sobs4 ,so ,i fed the little man1 and went with him to see ,sandie4 ,the two poor little things lived alone1 father and mother both dead4 ,poor ,sandie lay on a bundle of shavings2 he knew me as soon as ,i came in1 and having told me how his legs were broken1 he added1 as his eyes fell on his little brother1 ,oh ,reuby1 little ,reuby6 ,i'm sure ,i'm dying1 and who'll take care of you when ,i am gone8 ,then ,i took his hand and said1 ,i would always take care of ,reuby4 ,he understood me1 and had just strength enough left to look up at me1 as if to thank me2 the light went out of his blue eyes4 ,and in a moment-- ,he lay within the light of ,god ,like a babe upon the breast1 ,where the wicked cease from troubling ,and the weary are at rest4 ,that story was told in the noblest church of our great city4 ,it was reported in the papers the following day4 ,and ,i have no hesitation in saying that beautiful as are the words in which it is told1 and wonderful as the effect may have been on the hearts of those who heard it1 it was a sight far more wonderful than any we can imagine1 when that story was told in the courts of the kingdom of heaven4 ,reader1 think of little ,sandie when you are tempted to say you are honest1 and ask yourself the question1 ,can ,i lay my hand upon my heart and say1 ,my ,god1 ,i am honest indeed1 honest as that poor child was1 honest before my neighbours1 honest before ,thee4 99,,bearing ,,the ,,cross499 ',take up thy cross1' the ,saviour said1 ,if thou would'st ,my disciple be2 ,deny thyself1 the world forsake1 ,and humbly follow after ,me4 ',take up thy cross1' nor heed the shame1 ,nor let thy foolish pride rebel3 ,thy ,lord for thee the ,cross endured1 ,to save thy soul from death and hell6 ',take up thy cross1' and follow ,christ-- ,nor think till death to lay it down2 ,for only he who bears the cross1 ,may hope to wear the glorious crown6 ,c4 ,w4 ,everest4 ,bearing the cross1 or self-denial1 as it is sometimes called1 forms a necessary part of the daily life of every ,christian man4 ,every one of us can give up something for the good of others4 ,a rich man is called upon to give up one thing1 a poor man another4 ,but let none think that his riches or his poverty1 as the case may be1 will excuse him from bearing the cross of ,christ4 ,and indeed in the heart of any true servant of ,god1 there will be no wish to shirk the hard and disagreeable part of ,his service4 ,his heart will be so filled with love and devotion to ,christ1 that he will gladly bear the cross1 despising the shame4 ,it may be we are called upon to give up our time to go and see a sick neighbour1 or it may be we are asked to do a neighbour a good turn by going on an errand for them when we wish to go elsewhere4 ,but whatever it may be1 it is certain that opportunities for practising self-denial occur in the lives of us all4 ,if any man will come after ,me--,christ has told us--let him deny himself1 and take up his cross1 and follow ,me4 ,there is the command1 now hear the promise made to such as fulfil the command1--and where ,i am1 there shall also ,my servant be4 ,s4 ,matt4 xvi4 #bd4 ,s4 ,john xii4 #bf4 ,self-denial may be in very simplest matters1 and yet be quite as acceptable to ,christ as would be the most costly gifts bestowed by the rich upon ,his service4 ,you remember when ,jesus was on earth1 how one day ,he was sitting over against the ,treasury1 and as ,he sat there ,he kept taking notice of all the pieces of money that were cast into the ,treasury4 ,now there happened to come by some very rich people1 and they put large sums into the box1 and passed on their way4 ,and again others came1 and they too being rich1 cast in much4 ,but after awhile there came by one who is described as a certain poor widow2 and she cast in all she had1 even all her living4 ,how much it cost her to give that one farthing ,jesus ,christ knew well4 ,instead of keeping it to spend upon her own needs1 she brought it up to the temple ,treasury and gave it back to ,god4 ,and that is just what you must do4 ,i do not say it is necessary1 or even right1 that people should in these days give everything they possess to ,god4 ,in one sense indeed we ought to give up all we have to the service of ,christ2 ,i mean by this that we ought at all times to be ready to part with things earthly1 if they interfere with the cross we are called upon to bear4 ,and ,i do say that we ought to deny ourselves some little comfort or pleasure1 and make a rule of giving the money that we should thus have spent upon ourselves to the service of ,almighty ,god4 ,it is told of a great and good man who lived many years ago at ,cambridge1 that on one occasion1 being disheartened by the wickedness of many of those with whom he came in daily contact1 he retired to his rooms1 and taking his ,bible he asked ,god to give him such help from its pages as would serve him in his trouble4 ,he opened the ,bible at the twenty-seventh chapter of ,s4 ,matthew's gospel1 and his eye quickly fell on the thirty-second verse1 ,and as they went out they found a man of ,cyrene1 ,simon by name2 him they compelled to bear ,his ,cross4 ,charles ,simeon1 for it was he1 rose from his knees comforted and strengthened4 ,the likeness between his own name of ,simeon and the ,cyrenian's name of ,simon1 struck him forcibly2 and he came to the conclusion that it was the will of his ,father in heaven that he should bear the cross under which he was labouring4 ,reader1 yours1 like his1 may be the cross of ridicule1 of your friend's laughter at the things of ,god2 and a bitter cross it is to bear6 ,but try and look upon it as a cross laid upon you by your ,saviour1 a cross which ,he has borne before you up that bitter hillside of ,calvary4 ,remember it is not merely that you are called upon to bear the cross1 but1 like ,simon of ,cyrene1 that you should bear it after ,jesus4 ,therefore ask ,him to give you strength to take up your cross daily1 cheerfully and lovingly1 and bear it after ,him4 ,then self-denial will be less hard for you to practise than it is now4 ,i do not say it will be pleasant1 for that it can never be1 but the sting of it will be taken away2 indeed for the ,christian1 it long ago was taken away and laid on ,him ,who bore the burden of our sins on ,calvary4 ,so let yours be a life of obedience here1 a living for others1 a pleasing of others1 not of yourself2 ,for even ,christ pleased not ,himself1 but was made sin for us1 ,who knew no sin1 that we might be made the righteousness of ,god through ,him4 ,rom4 xv4 #c4 #b ,cor4 v4 #ba4 99,,humility499 ,fain would ,i my ,lord pursue1 ,be all my ,saviour taught2 ,do as ,jesus bids me do1 ,and think as ,jesus thought3 ,but 'tis ,thou must change the heart1 ,the perfect gift must come from ,thee3 ,meek ,redeemer1 now impart ,thine own humility4 ,let ,thy ,cross my will control1 ,conform me to my ,guide2 ,in ,thine ,image mould my soul1 ,and crucify my pride2 ,give me1 ,lord1 a broken heart1 ,a heart that always looks to ,thee3 ,meek ,redeemer1 now impart ,thine own humility4 ,toplady4 ,reader1 do you know what humility is8 ,it is quite possible to be very proud indeed1 and yet seem quite humble4 ,indeed1 humility is often made the cloak of pride4 ,and yet nothing can be more different than these two4 ,pride enters so much into the hearts1 even of the very best of us1 that there is but small place left for humility4 ,we often hear it said of a person1 ,oh6 he feels proper pride about such and such a matter4 ,but is there any such thing as proper pride8 ,i can't find it in the ,bible4 ,i do find1 indeed1 written there a great deal about pride and proud people4 ,god resisteth the proud1 but giveth grace unto the humble1 for instance4 ,i turn again to my ,church's ,prayer ,book1 and ,i find nothing there about proper pride2 but ,i read there that the ,church teaches her children to ask ,god to deliver1 or save1 them from all pride1 vain glory1 and hypocrisy4 ,i find that in the prayer1 to be used in time of war1 we ask ,god to abate our enemies' pride4 ,but neither here1 nor anywhere else1 can ,i find any sort of pride commended to ,christians4 ,and so ,i have come to think that we have got hold of the wrong word1 and that the word we ought to use is delight4 ,it is quite right that a man should be delighted with his children1 or his garden1 or his goods4 ,it is quite wrong that he should be proud of them4 ,s4 ,james iv4 #f4 ,now humility is just the very opposite to all this4 ,pride makes a man put forward his own opinions1 and hold to them1 good or bad4 ,it makes him think all his possessions better than those of other people4 ,humility1 on the other hand1 makes a man ever ready to listen to the opinions of others1 and to take advice4 ,and humility teaches him that the best possessions earth can give1 are but poor compared to those of ,heaven4 ,just as in a cornfield the lightest ears of corn stand up straight and attract attention1 while those which carry most grain hang down and are kept concealed by their weight1 behind the others2 so1 too1 is it with humble-minded men4 ,they shrink back from the gaze of men1 behind their comrades2 and because they are quiet1 and seldom speak much1 men think but little of them4 ,i have somewhere read a story of ,benjamin ,franklin1 who once went to call at a friend's house4 ,on his leaving1 his friend told him he would shew him a shorter way out4 ,they passed down a narrow passage1 talking to each other1 when ,franklin's friend suddenly cried out1 ,stoop1 stoop4 ,i did not know1 says ,franklin1 what he meant1 until ,i felt my head hit against the beam4 ,his friend1 seeing what had happened1 said1 ,you are young1 and have to go through the world4 ,stoop as you go through it1 and you will miss many hard knocks4 ,reader1 that was good advice4 ,it is as suitable to you as to ,franklin4 ,will you not take it8 ,never be ashamed of doing anything that humility calls upon you to do1 and you will avoid many hard knocks4 ,try and look upon all work1 however distasteful and unpleasant1 as work for ,god4 ,if ,jesus ,christ had been proud1 do you think ,he would have borne all the taunts of those thirty bitter years8 ,if ,s4 ,paul had been a proud man1 do you think he could ever have written down that glorious list of troubles and hardships1 suffered by land and by water1 in the eleventh chapter of #bnd ,corinthians8 ,how often we hear it said of a man1 ,he's a nice man1 he's got no pride about him4 ,and if pride in others doesn't please you1 do you think if you shew pride it will be likely to please ,god8 ,it was ,he who gave you that hatred of pride in others2 but ,he gave it that you might correct it in yourself4 ,and the day will come when pride will be destroyed4 ,it is one of the greatest sins4 ,other great sins are covetousness1 lust1 envy1 gluttony1 anger1 sloth4 ,and the virtues which are contrary to these are humility1 liberality1 chastity1 gentleness1 temperance1 patience1 diligence4 ,ask yourself to-night before you lie down to rest this question1 ,how many of these last virtues can ,i say ,i am practising8 ,am ,i humble8 ,do ,i give1 as ,i am able1 of my time1 or my money1 or my sympathy to help any of my neighbours8 ,am ,i thoroughly pure in thought1 word1 and deed8 ,am ,i gentle and kind to all around me8 ,am ,i moderate in eating and drinking1 and temperate in my habits of life8 ,am ,i patient under suffering1 sorrow1 or misfortune8 ,do ,i do my best to serve ,god and man1 working hard in that position of life to which ,almighty ,god has called me8 ,reader1 if you can say yes6 to all those questions when your conscience asks them1 you need not have much fear of ,god's reckoning day4 ,in quietness and confidence shall be your strength4 ,trusting in ,jesus for complete salvation1 living in love and charity with your neighbours1 you will pass the waves of this troublesome world1 and land upon the everlasting shore1 out of reach of the ocean waves4 ,and down from the gates of the heavenly city will come to meet you1 ,jesus ,christ our ,lord1 with the words which ,he has graciously promised to speak to all that humbly follow after ,him here1 ,well done1 thou good and faithful servant1 enter thou into the joy of thy ,lord4 ,s4 ,matt4 xxv4 #ba4 99,,martyrdom499 ,not by the martyr's death alone ,the saint his crown in heaven has won2 ,there is a triumph robe on high ,for bloodless fields of victory4 ,what though he was not called to feel ,the cross of flame1 or torturing wheel3 ,yet daily to the world he died1 ,his flesh1 through grace1 he crucified4 ,john ,keble4 ,what is martyrdom8 ,we sing every ,sunday morning in ,church the words1 the noble army of martyrs praise ,thee2 we bless ,god every ,christmastide for his martyr ,s4 ,stephen1 and yet ,i suppose there are many people who regularly attend ,church who have no idea of what a martyr is4 ,now ,i will tell you4 ,a martyr is a witness6 ,any man1 woman1 or child1 7for there have been children martyrs17 who bears witness to the truth1 and suffers for it1 is a martyr4 ,if you or ,i1 reader1 bear ridicule2 if our friends laugh at us for going to ,church1 or for staying for ,holy ,communion1 then we are martyrs4 ,the man who lives in an ungodly society1 and by his life and example bears witness to the truth of ,jesus1 and suffers for so doing1 he is a martyr4 ,as ,i write these words ,i can recall a vast number of martyrs' names2 for the martyrs1 like the saints1 are of every age and of every ,church4 ,just as every cornfield has its poppies2 just as every poor man's garden has its little plot set apart for flowers1 so every ,church has its martyrs4 ,i can recall the name of ,xavier1 the great ,indian missionary1 dying alone upon the seashore1 with the cruel blasts of a ,chinese winter freezing his very bones4 ,or ,i think of ,bishop ,patteson1 already mentioned in these pages1 dying by the clubs of the natives1 far off amid the ,southern seas4 ,i could tell you the now well-known story of ,david ,livingstone1 of his wonderful power over the ,african mind1 of his noble conflict with slavery1 and his patient death in his lonely hut at ,ulala4 ,but ,i will tell you one story of martyrdom which happened quite lately1 nearer home than any of these1 a story of how a boy1 scarcely ten years old1 gained the martyr's crown4 ,about a year ago1 a boat with seven young boys went out on the coast of ,scotland4 ,the boys rowed out from the shore some little way1 until suddenly seeing something in the sea1 they all rushed together to the side of the boat to look over into the water4 ,the boat was upset1 and they all went over into the sea4 ,one boy alone could swim1 and1 one after another1 that boy saved five of his companions2 in trying to save the sixth1 he himself became exhausted1 and sank to rise no more4 ,that night there was joy1 the joy of recovery1 in five happy homes2 and ,i dare say the parents1 in their joy at getting their boys safe back1 hardly gave a thought to the brave little swimmer who had given his life for theirs4 ,but ,i can imagine that his ,saviour gave him a warm welcome in ,paradise that night1 and in return for his bravery1 gave him the martyr's crown4 ,for that child was a martyr6 ,god had given him a brave spirit1 and on a sudden ,he called upon him to shew it1 and he bore witness for ,christ4 ,reader1 your witness and mine may be very different to that4 ,but it may nevertheless be as truly called martyrdom4 ,if we are ready to confess ,christ before men1 ,he will not forget our names before ,his ,father's throne4 ,but if we are cowardly here below1 and deny ,him now1 ,he will certainly not recognise us in ,his ,father's kingdom4 ,even little children can be martyrs4 ,as the hymn says3-- ,when deep within our swelling hearts ,the thoughts of pride and anger rise1 ,when bitter words are on our tongues1 ,and tears of passion in our eyes2 ,then we may stay the angry blow1 ,then we may check the hasty word1 ,give gentle answers back again ,and fight a battle for our ,lord4 ,under the ,emperor ,diocletian 7,a4,d4 #cjd7 a great number of children suffered martyrdom4 ,they were brought up and condemned to die1 not for any sin they had committed1 but because their parents had taught them to worship ,god4 ,a child called ,hilarion was one of those who suffered4 ,he was brought up before the ,roman ,consul1 7a person with somewhat similar power to our magistrates17 and the ,consul threatened to have him flogged2 but the child only laughed at him4 ,i will cut off your nose and your ears1 said the governor2 but ,hilarion answered1 ,i am a ,christian still4 ,and so he was led away to prison and to death4 ,reader1 do not the accounts of these brave and noble lives and glorious deaths make our own lives seem poor and selfish and wretched8 ,do they not make us feel how very much grander and nobler these kind of lives were than anything we can shew nowadays8 ,i remember seeing a book once1 called1 ,is life worth living8 ,i never looked further than the title-page1 but the title struck me4 ,look round at your neighbours1 look at our country villages1 look at the overflowing public-house1 and at the empty church1 and then ask yourself1 ,is life worth living8 ,and the answer must be1 ,no6 ,but look once more at your own life1 look at those good people who are labouring among ,christ's poor in our crowded cities1 look at the holy lives of many of our clergy1 and then ask again1 ,is life worth living8 and the answer must be1 ,yes6 ,you may not be able to live among the poor in our large towns1 it may not be your calling to be a minister of ,christ1 but still it is quite possible to be a martyr1 to bear witness for ,christ in the station in which ,he has placed you4 ,the clerk at his desk1 the mechanic in his workshop1 the labourer in the field1 the sailor in his ship1 the servant in his situation1 all can shew that they are martyrs4 ,the greatest battles are not those fought on the battle-fields of earth1 but in the secret chambers of the human heart4 ,there is many a brave man who will face a horde of savage foes on the field of battle and die bravely like a soldier1 but who dare not and will not face his own evil heart2 and there is many a poor creature1 with a suffering body and a feeble mind1 who cannot bear a harsh voice or an unkind word1 and yet who has gained the greatest possible victory1 the victory over self4 99,,repentance499 ,there was a soul one eve autumnal sailing ,beyond the earth's dark bars1 ,towards the land of sunsets never paling1 ,towards ,heaven's sea of stars4 ,and as that soul went onward1 sweetly speeding ,unto its home and ,light1 ,repentance made it sorrowful exceeding1 ,faith made it wondrous bright4 ,mrs4 ,alexander4 ,what is repentance8 ,the word which in our ,new ,testaments is so often translated ,repentance1 means a change of heart4 ,yes1 that is what repentance really is1 and not merely a desire to serve ,god2 not an anxious longing to lead a new life1 but actually leading that new life1 and treading new ways by the help of ,god's ,holy ,spirit4 ,many people believe and teach the doctrine of instantaneous conversion1 as it is called4 ,and by this is meant that the heart of man is changed in a moment from a state of sin to a state of holiness2 that all the old desires pass suddenly away1 and new affections take their place4 ,thus some men will tell you that they can name the day and hour of their conversion1 and that whatever they may do in the future1 they will eventually be found in ,christ4 ,we do not by any means deny that there are such things as instantaneous conversions2 but we say that they are few1 and that what seem to be such are often neither lasting nor real4 ,true repentance is no easy road to tread4 ,very often it takes a man his whole lifetime1 and even then his repentance may not be complete4 ,i have spoken of what repentance is not1 now let me say a few words as to what true repentance is4 ,first1 then1 you will feel1 if you have truly repented of your sins1 a true desire to give up the whole of your heart to ,christ4 ,i cannot dwell too strongly on the necessity of giving up the whole heart4 ,christ will not take less4 ,he never will reign there1 while ,satan holds a part of it2 ,he will have all1 or none4 ,in your own strength you cannot do this2 the world1 the flesh1 and the devil will try hard to prevent you4 ,of himself the ,ethiopian cannot change his skin1 nor the leopard his spots1 neither can ye do good which are accustomed to do evil4 ,but if your repentance is real1 the desire to give the whole heart to ,christ will be so strong as to shut out all other claims4 ,another sign of true repentance will be a distrust of self4 ,there will be an increasing desire for guidance other than your own1 the guidance of the ,holy ,spirit4 ,need ,i add that this guidance1 without which it is impossible to go right1 is never kept back from those who ask it of ,god in prayer1 for ,his dear ,son's sake4 ,one more sign of a real repentance is perseverance in the face of failure and backsliding4 ,if your repentance is real1 the new life will seem so far better to you than the old1 that you will persevere in it1 in spite of failure4 ,no man1 having put his hand to the plough1 and looking back1 is fit for the kingdom of ,god4 ,and no sinner1 who has once repented of his sin1 and then is frightened at his failures1 or discouraged by his difficulties1 can call his repentance real4 ,s4 ,luke ix4 #fb4 ,and the last sign of true repentance that ,i shall give you is trust in ,god's love for ,christ's sake4 ,your perseverance will depend entirely on your faith or trust in ,god4 ,in common life we know that as we put a greater distance between ourselves and any object at which we may be looking1 it becomes less and less distinct2 whereas1 the nearer the eye approaches any object1 the more distinct that object becomes4 ,so is it with man in his relation to ,god4 ,the further he wanders from ,god by sin1 and the greater distance he puts between himself and his ,maker in this way1 the less he knows about ,him1 and the less he is able to trust ,him4 ,but the nearer man comes to ,god in true repentance1 the more he learns of that great ,being1 and the more he learns to trust ,god's love to him for ,christ's sake4 ,reader1 may you and ,i learn such true repentance as this1 and having learnt it1 may we bring forth fruits meet for repentance4 ,may we cultivate a sense of our own nothingness1 and of ,god's greatness2 and may we put a generous trust in our good ,lord1 ,who has done so much for us4 ,may we never indulge unworthy thoughts1 measuring our ,lord's tender mercies by ours2 but let us in every trial and temptation1 nay1 even in the hour of surprise or sudden fall1 yet cling the closer to ,him1 ,who is the true ,refuge of sinners1 and ,who is ever willing to receive those who in sincerity return to ,him4 99,,faith499 ,faith is the ,spirit's sweet control1 ,from which assurance springs2 ,faith is the pencil of the soul1 ,that pictures ,heavenly things4 ,faith is the lamp that burns to guide ,our bark when tempest-driven2 ,faith is the key that opens wide ,the distant gates of ,heaven4 ,john ,burbidge4 ,i spoke in the last chapter of faith being one of the signs of true repentance4 ,repentance1 as ,i then showed1 was that grace whereby we forsake sin2 faith1 on the other hand1 is the grace whereby we believe and trust in the promises of ,god1 made to us in the ,gospel of ,jesus ,christ4 ,now it is not always an easy matter to exercise faith in ,god4 ,many people believe in ,god's judgments1 and when these are in mercy sent upon them1 they are quite ready1 like ,ahab of old1 to humble themselves before their offended ,master4 ,but take away the punishment1 stay the uplifted rod1 and let them receive instead of judgments1 mercies1 and then where is their faith8 ,it is no easy thing to believe in ,god6 to believe1 that is1 that prosperity and adversity are alike gifts of the same ,father4 ,to believe ,him as ,abraham believed ,him1 whose faith was counted unto him for righteousness4 ,to believe ,him as ,job did1 so that not even the loss of worldly goods1 or terrible pain inflicted on the body1 or even the advice of her he trusted and loved more than all other on earth1 could cause him to blaspheme4 ,to have such faith in ,christ as the ,apostles had1 who left all and followed ,him2 nay1 more1 such faith that one of their number could exclaim1 ,i count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of ,christ ,jesus my ,lord3 for ,whom ,i have suffered the loss of all things1 and do count them but dung1 that ,i may win ,christ1 and be found in ,him1 not having mine own righteousness1 444 but that which is through the faith of ,christ1 the righteousness which is of ,god by faith4 ,phil4 iii4 #h4 ,yes1 reader1 that is the kind of faith you and ,i shall need when sorrow and troubles come upon us2 that is the only kind of faith which can carry a man peacefully through life1 and bear him up in death1 till his eyes rest upon the everlasting city4 ,but there are many people who have faith1 but only a very little4 ,their faith is like ,s4 ,peter's4 ,it is strong enough to make them desire to be with ,jesus1 but not strong enough to carry them to ,him4 ,just as ,st4 ,peter tried to walk over the dark waters of the sea of ,galilee to go to his ,lord1 so these try1 and often try hard1 to walk over the waters of sin to go to ,christ4 ,but when temptations arise1 or doubts arise1 they begin to sink1 as it were1 that is to say1 their faith begins to fail1 and they cease to please ,god4 ,st4 ,peter's fault was not that he had no faith1 but that he had too little4 ,that he had some1 who can doubt1 for if he had not1 he surely would never have left the ship1 and his companions1 to walk upon the water to ,christ4 ,and so it is with us4 ,many of us have ,god's great gift of faith3 sufficient faith to leave the world1 and start to go to ,christ1 but we find that our failures are frequent1 that when we would do good1 evil is present with us1 and so1 like ,st4 ,peter1 we begin to sink1 it may be just as we are nearing ,christ4 ,what we want1 then1 is more faith1 and we must ask ,god for this1 for ,he alone can give it4 ,but what shall ,i say of those who have no faith at all2 those who never start on the journey whose end is ,christ8 ,are they not1 think you1 in a dangerous state8 ,true1 they may be living happily enough now1 but the end must come one day1 and what an end that will be6 ,think of that1 reader4 ,think if it be not better to suffer the ,master's rebuke for having little faith1 than to receive no rebuke at all1 because you have no faith4 ,once more1 faith is necessary to those who would live godly lives1 because there are certain mysteries in religion which are left to faith1 and which we must accept as facts1 though we cannot understand them4 ,for instance1 we are told that there are three ,persons in the ,blessed ,trinity--the ,father1 the ,son1 and the ,holy ,ghost--and yet though there are three distinct ,persons1 there is but one ,god4 ,we cannot understand that1 but we must believe that it is so4 ,just as in nature there are many things we cannot understand1 but which we accept as true2 and if we do so in matters relating to man1 are we not equally bound to do so in such as bear reference to ,god8 ,it is such a common thing nowadays to hear silly people1 who wish to be thought clever1 say1 ,i won't believe anything ,i cannot understand6 ,but there are many things which these very people accept as true1 but which they in no way understand4 ,for instance1 ,i suppose they all believe that the grass which is eaten by geese1 by cows1 or sheep1 will by a process of digestion turn to feathers on the geese1 to hair on the cows1 and to wool on the sheep4 ,but do they understand how this happens8 ,no1 they do not2 but though they cannot understand it1 they nevertheless believe it4 ,and1 reader1 there are many who cannot understand many things in ,god's world of nature1 and they do not want to1 for they accept them as matters of faith4 ,but if there is anything in religion they cannot understand1 they must needs disbelieve it at once1 or else be guilty of seeking to pry into the deep things of ,god4 ,learn1 then1 this one lesson from these few words on faith2 namely1 that there are things which ,almighty ,god has purposely hidden from the sons of men1 both in the ,church and in the world2 many things of which it is written1 ,what ,i do thou knowest not now1 but thou shalt know hereafter4 ,s4 ,john xiii4 #g4 99,,the ,,shortness ,,of ,,life499 ,brief life is here our portion2 ,brief sorrow1 short-lived care3 ,the life that knows no ending1 ,the tearless life1 is there4 ,the morning shall awaken1 ,the shadows shall decay1 ,and each true-hearted servant ,shall shine as doth the day4 ,s4 ,bernard4 ,the ancients had a saying1 ,whom the gods love1 die young4 ,by which1 ,i suppose1 they meant that the best men1 and those whose lives were of the greatest promise1 died in early youth4 ,whether this is true or not1 ,i cannot pretend to say4 ,certain it is that many die in early youth1 long before we have had a chance of seeing what they were likely to turn out4 ,and indeed the shortness of life is evident to us all4 ,from the child who dies in infancy1 to the old man whose grey hairs are brought down to the grave in sorrow1 all have experience of the shortness of life4 ,and what is life8 ,what does the ,bible say of it8 ,it is even a vapour1 that appeareth for a little time and then vanisheth away4 ,vanisheth away2 yes1 reader1 just like the steam which issues from boiling water2 just like the mists which cling for a while to the hillsides1 before they melt into nothingness1 so is life4 ,we see it for awhile1 a little while1 and then like a morning mist1 life vanishes away4 ,s4 ,james iv4 #ad4 ,life has often been compared to the sea4 ,at times the sea is ruffled by the winds which pass over its surface2 and then again1 the wind drops1 and the sea is calm and still again4 ,and so is it with life4 ,the winds of passion or of discontent pass over it1 and angry temper ruffles the calm of life1 and then by degrees the peace of ,god comes down upon us1 and life is once more happy4 ,but true happiness1 in life or in death1 is only to be found in ,jesus4 ,he is the only sure haven of rest1 the only hiding-place from the storm1 and in ,him alone can we find rest until we pass the waves of this troublesome world4 ,some years ago a young man went out1 full of hope and energy1 to take charge of a mission which we had planted among the ,southern seas4 ,he could not tell when he left our shores whether his life was to be long or short1 whether it would be rough or smooth2 but he went forth trusting in his ,god1 and he went forth to die4 ,he reached his diocese in safety1 and for some years ,bishop ,patteson1 for it was he1 preached the gospel1 and baptised1 and planted missions among those wild people1 for whom he had given up his ,english home4 ,but at length one day the bishop went to an island where the people did not know him1 and where at the time they happened to be angry with white men4 ,and so when the good bishop came ashore1 they pressed round him1 and he soon saw that all was not right4 ,at length one1 bolder than the rest1 drew near and knocked the bishop down with his club1 and then the others closed round him1 and so he died4 ,and they put the young martyr bishop in an open boat1 says one1 to float away across the bright blue water1 with his hands crossed as if in prayer1 and a palm branch on his breast4 ,that life was not a long one1 but who will dare to tell us that it was not a useful life1 and a glorious death4 ,it may not be given to you to win the martyr's crown1 or to die for ,jesus ,christ4 ,but it is given to you to live for ,christ2 and remember there is a living death1 a killing of self1 which you may do1 a death of which ,st4 ,paul speaks1 when he says1 ,i die daily4 #a ,cor4 xv4 #ca4 ,for1 after all1 what think you was life given to us for8 ,was it to amuse ourselves1 or to enjoy ourselves in8 ,was it not rather to do good to others1 and to work for ,jesus ,christ8 ,surely the best lives1 and the noblest lives1 and the happiest lives are those spent in the service of others4 ,and the ,master has told us that ,he will reward such3 ,inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these ,my brethren1 ye have done it unto ,me4 ,and who are ,christ's brethren8 ,in every cottage home1 in the lonely hut1 wherever man is found1 whether he be rich or poor1 king or beggar1 nay the worst specimens of humanity1 the murderer and the drunkard1 these all are the brethren of ,jesus4 ,it is for these ,he has bid us work1 and toil1 and pray4 ,it is for these ,he has commanded us to live and1 if need be1 to die4 ,s4 ,matt xxv4 #dj4 ,and no life is too short for this kind of work4 ,the youngest child can do something in the ,master's vineyard4 ,it may be only given us to speak a kind word to a companion4 ,but very often a kind word1 spoken in the nick of time1 has saved a soul from condemnation4 ,live your life here1 then1 as ,jesus lived ,his1 ,who went about doing good2 ,who sat at meat with the ,pharisee and the sinner alike2 and ,who even allowed a sinful woman to approach ,him1 and did not turn her away4 99,,the ,,death ,,of ,,friends499 ,whene'er the ,christian's eyelid droops and closes ,in nature's parting strife1 ,a friendly angel stands where he reposes1 ,to wake him up to life4 ,the mourners throng the way1 and from the steeple ,the funeral bell tolls slow2 ,but in the golden streets the holy people ,are passing to and fro2 ,and saying as they meet1 ',rejoice6 another1 ,long waited for1 is come2' ,the ,saviour's heart is glad1 a younger brother ,hath reached the ,father's home6 ,j4 ,d4 ,burns4 ,there is nothing so sad as parting4 ,there comes over the heart such a feeling of utter loneliness that we know not where to turn for relief4 ,it may be the mother who has lost her darling child1 and sits counting the weary hours1 and missing its baby prattle4 ,it may be the wife of the sailor who sits alone in her cottage with the cruel letter in her lap1 which tells of how her husband sank1 and died4 ,or it may be the severing of heart and heart2 the parting of two friends who have lived together1 and loved each other with a friendship stronger than death4 ,but in whatever way it comes1 it is ever the same2 the same bitter feeling of loneliness1 casting its shadow over the life4 ,and there is but one way that ,i know of in which we can get rid of this feeling of loneliness2 only one ,person to ,whom we can apply for relief with any certainty of success4 ,the ,man of sorrows1 ,who could weep tears of human sorrow at the grave of ,lazarus1 and speak words of sympathy to that troubled multitude who stood around his grave2 ,he alone can sympathise with us in our bereavement1 and comfort us in the death of our friends4 ,the ,bible is full of beautiful passages on this important subject4 ,who1 for instance1 can read those beautiful words in the seventh chapter of the ,revelation1 and not receive comfort8 ,i beheld1 and lo6 a great multitude1 which no man could number1 of all nations1 and kindreds1 and people1 and tongues1 stood before the throne1 and before the ,lamb1 clothed with white robes1 and palms in their hands2 and cried with a loud voice1 saying1 ,salvation to our ,god which sitteth upon the throne1 and unto the ,lamb4 ,and one of the elders answered1 saying unto me1 ,what are these which are arrayed in white robes8 and whence came they8 ,and ,i said unto him1 ,sir1 thou knowest4 ,and he said unto me1 ,these are they which came out of great tribulation1 and have washed their robes1 and made them white in the blood of the ,lamb4 ,they shall hunger no more1 neither thirst any more2 neither shall the sun light on them1 nor any heat4 ,for the ,lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them1 and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters2 and ,god shall wipe away all tears from their eyes4 ,reader1 if any of your relations or friends have gone before you to ,paradise1 if they have died in ,god's holy faith and fear1 and if1 after reading such beautiful words concerning their heavenly state as those above quoted1 you still wish them back on earth1 then your heart must indeed be of the earth1 earthy4 ,oh1 think for one moment of the troubles and trials of this present life1 and then turn your thoughts to the state of the blessed dead4 ,no more sickness or sorrow for them2 no more care1 no more trial2 no more sleepless nights or anxious days1 for they are as the angels of ,god4 ,blessed are the dead which die in the ,lord3 yea1 saith the ,spirit1 that they may rest from their labours4 ,rev4 xiv4 #ac4 ,there are times in the life of every man1 when ,god comes specially near to him2 when ,he says as it were to the soul of man1 ,look unto ,me1 ,i am thy salvation4 ,one of such times is when we are standing by the death-bed of our loved ones4 ,it may be we have given them the love which rightly belonged to ,god1 and so ,he has seen fit to take them4 ,or it may be that we have loved them too little1 and lightly valued them here1 and so to teach us the value of friends1 ,god has taken them to live with ,him above4 ,it may seem to you and to me a hard method of dealing with the human soul1 but remember that the dealings of ,almighty ,god are clothed with mystery1 and ,his ways past finding out4 ,ps4 xxxv4 #c4 ,rom4 xi4 #cc4 ,lastly1 there is one thought more1 which may give comfort to those who are mourning the loss of their dear ones4 ,the day will come when we shall meet them again1 on the far eternal shore4 ,but if we would meet them there we must live as they lived2 we must serve ,christ as they served ,him2 and love ,god as they loved ,him4 ,and then ,he will bring us together again on the ever-lasting morning1 when the day breaks and the shadows flee away4 ,when we are to leave this present state1 says ,alford1 is a matter hidden from our eyes1 and not dependent on ourselves2 but how we will leave it1 whether as the ,lord's blessed ones1 or with no part in ,him1 this is left for ourselves to determine4 ,there is set before us life and death4 ,may we choose life1 that it may be well with us1 and that we may wake from the bed of death to find ourselves for ever with the ,lord4 ,cant4 ii4 #ag4 ,therefore let us be of good cheer concerning them that have fallen asleep in ,jesus2 and let us be of good cheer concerning ourselves4 ,good as it is to obey and serve ,god here1 it has been far better for them to depart1 and to be with ,christ1 and it will be far better for us1 if we hold fast our faith and our confidence in ,him firm unto the end4 99,,the ,,fear ,,of ,,death499 ,there is no death6 the stars go down1 ,to rise upon some fairer shore2 ,and bright in ,heaven's jewelled crown1 ,they shine for evermore4 ,there is no death6 an angel form ,walks o'er the earth with silent tread1 ,and bears our best loved things away1 ,and then we call them dead4 ,lord ,lytton4 ,i have spoken in the earlier part of this book on the general subject of death2 ,i now want to add a few words on that which so many1 even of the best of us1 feel1 the fear of death4 ,i suppose there have been times in the lives even of the best and bravest men when this fear rose up before them4 ,times when the dark valley looked darker than usual1 and life seemed sweeter than it really was4 ,it is but human to fear what we can in no way understand1 and certainly none of us can understand death4 ,his is a message which comes to all alike2 to rich and to poor1 to young and to old2 the soldier on the battle-field1 who lays down his life for his country2 the sailor1 who sinks into a watery grave1 and whom the dark wave covers2 the missionary1 who dies for his ,master's sake2 to these and many more the angel of death comes1 and1 whether they are ready or no1 they have to yield to his bidding4 ,but of this we may be sure1 that ,god never takes any one away from this world until his work is done4 ,we all of us have some special work to do1 either good or evil1 and until that work is done we shall be kept from danger and from death4 ,the right way then to look upon death is as the gate that leads us to a better world1 the pathway leading to ,christ4 ,and the prayer of our heart should be this-- ,let me be with ,thee where ,thou art1 ,where spotless saints ,thy ,name adore2 ,then only will this sinful heart ,be evil and defiled no more4 ,let me be with ,thee where ,thou art1 ,where none can die1 where none remove2 ,where neither life nor death can part ,me from ,thy ,presence and ,thy ,love4 ,and if that is the feeling that you have with regard to the life to come1 death can have no terrors for you4 ,the sting of death is sin1 but ,jesus died long ago to wash your sins away4 ,if then you are free from sin1 that is from wilful sin1 you will have but little fear of death4 ,it is ,satan who gives us this fear2 it is ,christ who takes the fear away4 ,but in order not to fear death1 we must be prepared for it4 ,if a man really loves ,god he is prepared to die anywhere and at any moment1 and so he does not fear death4 ,unto the godly1 says ,david1 there ariseth up a light in the darkness4 ,and so we may say now that to the ,christian there ariseth up a light greater and brighter than any ,david knew of in the darkness of death1 even that light which came to lighten the ,gentiles1 and to be the glory of ,his people ,israel4 ,i came across a story the other day of a courtier who had passed his life in the service of his prince4 ,he had fallen dangerously ill1 and now lay dying4 ,the prince went to see his faithful servant1 and was touched with the sad spectacle of suffering4 ,is there anything1 he asked1 that ,i can do for you8 ,ask it1 and you shall not be refused4 ,prince1 said the dying man1 give me a quarter of an hour of life4 ,alas1 said the prince1 what you have asked is not in my power to give2 ask something else if you wish me to help you4 ,and the story runs that the dying man cried out in the agony of his soul1 ,i have served you for fifty years1 and you cannot give me one quarter of an hour of life6 ,ah6 if ,i had served the ,lord thus faithfully1 he would have given me not a quarter of an hour of life1 but an eternity of happiness4 ,very soon after he died4 ,happy for him if he himself profited by the lesson which he gave to others on the nothingness of human life1 and the need of working out one's own salvation4 ,reader1 the day perhaps will come when you too will wish to ask for a quarter of an hour's life4 ,it may be you will rise to-morrow morning1 and ,god's sun will be shining bright1 and everything will look peaceful and happy as you leave home1 but the angel of death may have started on his errand2 and instead of your walking in1 gaily whistling1 in the evening when your work is over1 there may come down the village a mournful company bearing a wounded man upon a hurdle4 ,that man may be yourself2 and as you reach your own door the films of death may be gathering over your eyes1 and the one request you would like to make would be1 ,oh6 that ,i might have but a quarter of an hour to make my peace with ,god4 ,it has been the prayer1 ere now1 of many a one more hardened in sin than yourself4 ,the richest men have felt the longing1 and they would have given half of all their hard-earned gold to get that quarter of an hour4 ,the poorest men have felt it too2 and if they could begin life again they felt that they would live very differently1 and ,christ and not ,satan should be ,master of their hearts4 ,it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living ,god4 ,it is a fearful thing to live a life of wickedness1 and to die with unforgiven sin upon the soul4 ,but the remedy is in your own hands4 ,the ,lord ,jesus waits to be gracious2 ,he loves you1 ,he toils for you1 ,he weeps for you1 as ,he wept for ,jerusalem of old1 and all ,he asks of you is to give ,him your heart now1 and then there will be no such thing as fear in death2 for the perfect love wherewith ,he will teach you to love ,him1 will cast out all fear and all terror1 and in your case there will be no pain in death1 but the spirit will pass away from earth to meet ,him at last on the shore of heaven4 ,heb4 x4 #ca4 99,,sorrow ,,and ,,suffering499 ',nobody knows but ,jesus6' ,is it not better so1 ,that no one else but ,jesus1 ,my own dear ,lord1 should know8 ,when the sorrow is a secret ,between my ,lord and me1 ,i learn the fuller measure ,of ,his quick sympathy4 ,f4 ,r4 ,havergal4 ,man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward is a very true saying4 ,and ,i suppose there will be few people1 if any1 of those who read this book1 who will not know something about sorrow4 ,yes1 we all feel sorrow1 more or less4 ,some people feel it more acutely than others4 ,to some it is a real burthen4 ,from the little child who cries over its broken toy to the old man who weeps over his lost wealth1 all are partakers of sorrow4 ,job v4 #g4 ,suffering1 again1 might be sorrow's own sister1 so closely are the two connected here below4 ,for instance1 ,god sends a great and crushing sorrow2 say1 for instance1 the death of a dear friend1 or the sickness of one we love2 and to us the news of this sorrow brings intense pain1 deep suffering4 ,and you may ask1 why is this suffering necessary8 ,you tell us it is sent by ,god1 and that all ,he sends is for our good1 what is the need of suffering8 ,i will tell you4 ,a friend of mine who had been in ,eastern lands1 told me he once saw a shepherd who wanted his flock to cross a stream4 ,the shepherd went into the water himself and called them1 but no1 they would not follow him into the water4 ,what did he do8 ,why1 he went in among the flock1 and lifting a little lamb under each arm1 plunged right into the stream1 and crossed it without even looking back4 ,when he lifted the lambs1 my friend said1 the old sheep looked up into his face1 and began to bleat for them2 but when he plunged into the water1 the dams plunged in after him1 and then the whole flock followed4 ,when they reached the other side he put down the lambs1 and they were quickly joined by their mothers1 and there was a happy meeting4 ,my friend told me1 too1 that he noticed that the pastures on the other side of the stream were much better1 and the fields greener1 and on this account the shepherd was leading them across4 ,and in like manner does the good ,shepherd1 even ,jesus ,christ1 having found his oft-repeated call to men to look up to heaven vain1 so also does ,he often take from ,his flock a little lamb1 and crossing with it the stream of death1 places it down amid the green pastures and still waters of ,paradise4 ,and by this means he often causes the parents to look up to the same place1 for right well ,he knows the truth of ,his own words1 that ,where the treasure is1 there will the heart be also4 ,matt4 vi4 #ba4 ,and so1 perhaps1 you begin to see that suffering used by ,almighty ,god has its uses4 ,it very often is the means1 in cases where other means have failed1 of weaning a soul away from earth1 and fixing its hopes on the things of heaven4 ,it very often is the first warning given to the soul of man1 that here has he no continuing city1 but must seek one to come4 ,reader1 it may be as you have walked along life's troubled way1 you have as yet had but little taste of suffering4 ,but it will come one day4 ,it comes to us all2 and very often1 the best men1 and the holiest men are the greatest sufferers1 under the chastening hand of ,god4 ,you remember the case of ,job in the ,bible1 what a sufferer he was6 ,and yet ,job was a good man2 for when the temptation came to him to curse ,god and die1 he recognised it as the voice of ,satan1 even though the words were spoken by the one nearest to him on earth4 ,the great thing for us all to recognise in the day of suffering and the time of sorrow alike1 is the good hand of our ,god upon us4 ,to understand that there is such a thing as being perfect through suffering1 and that we1 even as the ,master ,himself did1 may learn obedience by the things which we suffer4 ,that a smooth existence without sorrow and without suffering may be a life of mental anguish1 while a life of sorrow and suffering may be a life of joy1 of hope1 and of triumph1 are doubtless lessons hard to learn2 but for all that we must needs learn them4 ,and if we cannot learn this lesson from the lives of those around us1 it may be ,god's good pleasure to teach it in our own4 99,,death499 ,there is a ,reaper whose name is ,death1 ,and with his sickle keen1 ,he reaps the bearded grain at a breath1 ,and the flowers that grow between4 ,longfellow4 ,so solemn a subject is that of death1 and so near have many of us been brought to it1 either in our own homes or in those of others1 that we cannot but approach it with a feeling of awe4 ,to the worldly man death can never be a pleasant prospect4 ,at best it means to him the cessation of all hope and of all action4 ,all worldly pleasure is then at an end1 and for him there remains no such rest as is the hope and stay of the people of ,god4 ,another class there is that looks upon death in another way4 ,these do not really enjoy life here below1 still less do they enjoy any hope of life to come4 ,for such persons death is but a leap in the dark2 a bridge across the dark valley from the mists of earth into a far more misty future2 a passage from the darkness here into the deeper and blacker darkness beyond4 ,but how different all this is in the case of the ,christian man4 ,he has been preparing1 all his life through1 for the world to come4 ,his conversation--his citizenship--is in ,heaven2 and in death he recognises the method by which his dear ,lord calls him home4 ,there is no sting1 no agony1 in the ,christian's death2 ,jesus1 his ,saviour1 took that away long ago4 ,there have been death-beds1 on which men lay with bodies racked with aching pains1 or horribly mutilated1 and yet the look on their faces was perfectly happy4 ,the body indeed was suffering agony1 but the mind was feasting on visions of a far-off land4 and a kindly ,saviour ready to receive the redeemed one home4 ,oh1 yes1 there is something grand and striking about the ,christian's death4 ,the invisible spirits of ,god ascending and descending1 as of old they did to the sleeping ,jacob at ,bethel1 keep bringing stores of comfort to his soul4 ,phil4 iii4 #bj4 ,among the many grand and noble deaths which history records1 ,i know of none grander in its simplicity or more precious in its lessons1 than that of ,commodore ,goodenough in our own day4 ,he had gone ashore with a boat's crew1 on one of the ,south ,sea ,islands2 when he was surrounded1 and attacked by the natives1 who were exasperated at the cursed man-stealing trade which has brought discredit on the ,english name4 ,the ,commodore was wounded by an arrow1 which chanced to be poisoned2 but this he did not know4 ,nor was it till his ship was nearing ,adelaide1 that he discovered that his wound was mortal4 ,and then beneath the open sky1 far from his ,english home1 on the deck of his vessel in which he had sailed over those summer seas1 he called his men around him2 and as the rough seamen1 one after another1 gathered quickly round their dying chief1 he looked upon them1 with the films of death already settling on his glazing eyes1 and said1 ,my men1 ,i want you to serve ,god4 ,these were the last words he ever spoke to them1 and then his spirit passed away to join the vast multitude before the throne of that ,god he had loved and served so well4 ,the death of a ,christian is indeed precious from the lessons we learn from it4 ,but in order to die a ,christian's death1 remember you must live a ,christian's life1 and then you may say with ,balaam--,let me die the death of the righteous1 and let my last end be like his4 ,num4 xxiii4 #aj4 99,,last ,,words499 ,on what has now been sown ,thy blessing1 ,lord1 bestow2 ,the power is ,thine alone ,to make it spring and grow4 ,newton4 ,we have now reached the last chapter of these readings1 and the last words must be spoken4 ,we have thought together upon life and death2 upon humility and self-denial1 those two graces peculiarly ,christian4 ,i have spoken of our duties to our parents and to our children respectively2 of work of various kinds on earth1 and of rest in our ,father's kingdom4 ,and now1 reader1 that it is almost time for us to part1 let us gather up the fragments that remain1 that nothing be lost4 ,s4 ,john vi4 #ab4 ,have you learnt anything1 do you think1 that you didn't know before1 from the words of this book8 ,are you any nearer to your ,father's house than you were when first you opened it8 ,has the ,bible seemed in any degree more precious to you1 or has it in any way increased your regard for the things of the ,spirit1 and the peace that passeth understanding8 ,if these1 or any of them1 have been attained1 ,i have gained my object4 ,if this book has in any way put before you the old1 old story in a new light1 then my purpose has been accomplished1 my work is done4 ,but if there is any one who rises from reading this book1 feeling still careless about ,god1 or holiness2 if there be any who1 like ,felix of old1 intends to put off repentance to a more convenient season1 which season may never come1 let me earnestly beg of him in these last words to repent1 ere it is too late4 ,the present time is yours--the future is ,god's4 ,and remember that you must give up sin entirely if you would be a follower of ,christ4 ,don't rest content1 as ,i well know too many do1 with being no worse than others4 ,don't go with the multitude to do evil4 ,christ wants you to try and be better than others1 and not as good or bad as they4 ,set a high standard before you1 even the standard of the ,god-man ,himself4 ,rise higher than the low standard aimed at by those around you4 ,rise higher--learn from ,christ1 ,who was lifted up1 how to draw all men unto you1 learn to think for them1 to feel for them1 to work for them1 to suffer for them4 ,and oh6 don't think such occupations as these will make you a gloomy man1 or a dull companion4 ,rejoice1 ,o young man1 in thy youth2 and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth1 and walk in the ways of thine heart1 and in the sight of thine eyes3 but know thou that for all these things ,god will bring thee into judgment4 ,eccles4 xi4 #i4 ,arise then1 young men1 in the strength which your ,god has given you4 ,go forth and shew the world and your fellows what true manliness and self-control will do for a man2 enjoy life1 but use it and don't abuse it1 and so be faithful unto death1 and you too shall receive a crown of life4 ,rev4 ii4 #aj4 ,there in the heavenly home your sins will never be mentioned again4 ,jesus ,christ waits to bear them for you4 ,the angels wait to welcome you4 ,the ,holy ,ghost waits to take possession of your heart1 and make ,his dwelling there4 ,and will you disappoint all these8 ,take your ,bible1 and turn to the beautiful story of the lost sheep in the fifteenth chapter of ,st4 ,luke1 and there read how there is joy in the presence of the angels of ,god1 over one sinner that repenteth4 ,as one has beautifully put it-- ,and all through the mountains thunder-riven1 ,and up from the rocky steep1 ,there arose a cry to the gate of ,heaven-- ',rejoice1 ,i have found ,my sheep4' ,and the angels echoed around the throne ,rejoice6 for the ,lord brings back ,his own4 ,go to ,him just as you are1 poor and wretched and sinful1 and ,he will wash you from your sins1 and clothe you in ,his own righteousness4 ,and when you have found ,him1 tell others about ,him too4 ,philip was not satisfied to follow ,christ alone1 but he went and told ,nathanael4 ,the woman of ,samaria was not content to stand and listen to the ,saviour's gracious message1 but she went and called her friends and her neighbours1 saying1 ,come1 see a man which told me all that ever ,i did4 ,and so it will be with you4 ,when thou art converted strengthen thy brethren4 ,speak to them often privately about the love of ,jesus1 as you have opportunity1 and neither in this world1 nor in the world to come1 shall you in any wise lose your reward4 ,one word more4 ,don't be down-hearted4 ,if you find the devil strong1 if you find the flesh weak1 don't be down-hearted4 ,those conversions are seldom lasting which are the work of a single day4 ,you will have much sorrow and much trouble as long as you are in the world1 but be of good courage1 for ,christ has overcome the world4 ,s4 ,john xvi4 #cc4 ,young men stand up for ,christ1 and ,he will stand up for you1 when you most need ,his help4 ,don't be ashamed of being called ,christians1 or of being ,christians4 ,be more truly manly1 and you will be more truly humble2 be more independent of men1 of their praise or blame2 and then you will be more dependent upon ,god4 ,in a word1 don't mind sharing your ,master's shame here1 if you wish to share ,his glory hereafter4 ,and my last word of farewell advice to all who may read this book1 is this--,be not thou ashamed of the testimony of our ,lord4 #b ,tim4 i4 #h4 ,,the ,,end ,printed at the ,university ,press1 ,oxford ,by ,,horace ,,hart1 ,printer to the ,university 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99 99,society for ,promoting ,christian ,knowledge499 99,,publications ,,on ,,the ,,christian ,,evidence499 99,,books499 ,christianity ,judged by its ,fruits4 ,by the ,rev4 ,c4 ,,croslegh1 ,d4,d4 ,the ,great ,passion-,prophecy ,vindicated4 ,by the ,rev4 ,,brownlow ,,maitland1 ,m4,a4 ,natural ,theology of ,natural ,beauty 7,the74 ,by the ,rev4 ,r4 ,,st4 ,,john ,,tyrwhitt1 ,m4,a4 ,steps to ,faith4 ,addresses on some points in the ,controversy with ,unbelief4 ,by the ,rev4 ,,brownlow ,,maitland1 ,m4,a4 ,scepticism and ,faith4 ,by the ,rev4 ,,brownlow ,,maitland1 ,m4,a4 ,theism or ,agnosticism4 ,an ,essay on the grounds of ,belief in ,god4 ,by the ,rev4 ,,brownlow ,,maitland1 ,m4,a4 ,argument from ,prophecy 7,the74 ,by the ,rev4 ,,brownlow ,,maitland1 ,m4,a41 ,author of ,scepticism and ,faith1 c4 ,some ,modern ,religious ,difficulties4 ,six ,sermons preached1 by the request of the ,christian ,evidence ,society1 at ,st4 ,james's1 ,piccadilly1 in #ahgf2 with a ,preface by his ,grace the late ,archbishop of ,canterbury4 ,some ,witnesses for the ,faith4 ,six ,sermons preached1 by the request of the ,christian ,evidence ,society1 at ,st4 ,stephen's ,church1 ,south ,kensington1 in #ahgg4 ,theism and ,christianity4 ,six ,sermons preached1 by the request of the ,christian ,evidence ,society1 at ,st4 ,james's1 ,piccadilly1 in #ahgh4 ,being of ,god4 ,six ,addresses on the ,by ,c4 ,j4 ,,ellicott1 ,d4,d41 ,bishop of ,gloucester and ,bristol4 ,modern ,unbelief3 its ,principles and ,characteristics4 ,by the ,right ,rev4 the ,,lord ,,bishop of ,,gloucester ,,and ,,bristol4 ,when was the ,pentateuch ,written8 ,by ,,george ,,warington1 ,b4,a41 ,author of ,can we ,believe in ,miracles8 c4 ,the ,analogy of ,religion4 ,dialogues founded upon ,butler's ,analogy of ,religion4 ,by the late ,rev4 ,h4 ,r4 ,,huckin1 ,d4,d41 ,head ,master of ,repton ,school4 ,miracles4 ,by the ,rev4 ,e4 ,a4 ,,litton1 ,m4,a41 ,examining ,chaplain of the ,bishop of ,durham4 ,moral ,difficulties connected with the ,bible4 ,being the ,boyle ,lectures for #ahga4 ,by the ,ven4 ,archdeacon ,,hessey1 ,d4,c4,l41 ,preacher to the ,hon4 ,society of ,gray's ,inn1 c4 ,moral ,difficulties connected with the ,bible4 ,being the ,boyle ,lectures for #ahgb4 ,by the ,ven4 ,archdeacon ,,hessey1 ,d4,c4,l4 ,,second ,,series4 ,prayer and ,recent ,difficulties about it4 ,the ,boyle ,lectures for #ahgc1 being the ,,third ,,series of ,moral ,difficulties connected with the ,bible4 ,by the ,ven4 ,archdeacon ,,hessey1 ,d4,c4,l4 ,the above ,three ,series in a volume ,historical ,illustrations of the ,old ,testament4 ,by the ,rev4 ,g4 ,,rawlinson1 ,m4,a41 ,camden ,professor of ,ancient ,history1 ,oxford4 ,can we believe in ,miracles8 ,by ,g4 ,,warington1 ,b4,a41 of ,caius ,college1 ,cambridge4 ,the ,moral ,teaching of the ,new ,testament viewed ,,as ,,evidential ,,to ,,its ,,historical ,,truth4 ,by the ,rev4 ,c4 ,a4 ,row1 ,m4,a4 ,scripture ,doctrine of ,creation4 ,by the ,rev4 ,t4 ,r4 ,,birks1 ,m4,a41 ,professor of ,moral ,philosophy at ,cambridge4 ,the ,witness of the ,heart to ,christ4 ,being the ,hulsean ,lectures for #ahgh4 ,by the ,right ,rev4 ,w4 ,,boyd ,,carpenter1 ,bishop of ,ripon4 ,thoughts on the ,first ,principles of the ,positive ,,philosophy1 ,,considered ,,in ,,relation ,,to ,,the ,,human ,,mind4 ,by the late ,,benjamin ,,shaw1 ,m4,a41 late ,fellow of ,trinity ,college1 ,cambridge4 ,thoughts on the ,bible4 ,by the late ,rev4 ,w4 ,,gresley1 ,m4,a41 ,prebendary of ,lichfield4 ,the ,reasonableness of ,prayer4 ,by the ,rev4 ,p4 ,,onslow1 ,m4,a4 ,paley's ,evidences of ,christianity4 ,a ,new ,edition1 with ,notes1 ,appendix1 and ,preface4 ,by the ,rev4 ,e4 ,a4 ,,litton1 ,m4,a4 ,paley's ,natural ,theology4 ,revised to harmonize with ,modern ,science4 ,by ,mr4 ,f4 ,,le ,,gros ,,clark1 ,f4,r4,s41 ,president of the ,royal ,college of ,surgeons of ,england1 c4 ,paley's ,horae ,paulinae4 ,with ,notes1 ,appendix1 and ,preface1 by ,j4 ,s4 ,,howson1 ,d4,d41 ,dean of ,chester4 ,religion and ,morality4 ,by the ,rev4 ,,richard ,t4 ,,smith1 ,b4,d41 ,canon of ,st4 ,patrick's1 ,dublin4 ,the ,story of ,creation as told by ,theology and ,,science4 ,by the ,rev4 ,t4 ,s4 ,,ackland1 ,m4,a4 ,man's ,accountableness for his ,religious ,belief4 ,a ,lecture delivered at the ,hall of ,science4 ,by the ,rev4 ,,daniel ,,moore1 ,m4,a41 ,holy ,trinity1 ,paddington4 ,the ,theory of ,prayer2 with ,special ,reference to ,,modern ,,thought4 ,by the ,rev4 ,w4 ,h4 ,,karslake1 ,m4,a4 ,the ,credibility of ,mysteries4 ,a ,lecture delivered at ,st4 ,george's ,hall1 ,langham ,place4 ,by the ,rev4 ,,daniel ,,moore1 ,m4,a4 ,the ,gospels of the ,new ,testament3 their ,genuineness ,,and ,,authority4 ,by the ,rev4 ,r4 ,j4 ,,crosthwaite1 ,m4,a4 ,analogy of ,religion1 ,natural and ,revealed1 to the ,,constitution ,,and ,,course ,,of ,,nature3 to which are added1 ,two ,brief ,dissertations4 ,by ,,bishop ,,butler4 ,,new ,,edition4 ,christian ,evidences4 ,intended chiefly for the young4 ,by the ,most ,reverend ,,richard ,,whately1 ,d4,d4 ,the ,efficacy of ,prayer4 ,by the ,rev4 ,w4 ,h4 ,,karslake1 ,m4,a41 ,assistant ,preacher at ,lincoln's ,inn1 c41 c4 ,science and the ,bible4 ,a ,lecture by the ,right ,rev4 ,,bishop ,,perry1 ,d4,d4 ,a ,lecture on the ,bible4 ,by the ,very ,rev4 ,e4 ,m4 ,,goulburn1 ,d4,d41 ,dean of ,norwich4 ,the ,bible3 its ,evidences1 ,characteristics1 and ,,effects4 ,a ,lecture by the ,right ,rev4 ,,bishop ,,perry1 ,d4,d4 ,the ,origin of the ,world according to ,revelation ,,and ,,science4 ,a ,lecture by ,,harvey ,,goodwin1 ,bishop of ,carlisle4 ,how ,i passed through ,scepticism into ,faith4 ,a ,story told in an ,almshouse4 ,on the ,origin of the ,laws of ,nature4 ,by ,sir ,,edmund ,,beckett1 ,bart4 ,what is ,natural ,theology8 ,being the ,boyle ,lectures for #ahgf4 ,by the ,rev4 ,,alfred ,,barry1 ,d4,d41 ,bishop of ,sydney4 ,for ,list of ,,tracts on the ,christian ,evidences1 see the ,society's ,catalogue ,b4 ,,london3 ,,society ,,for ,,promoting ,,christian ,,knowledge1 ,,northumberland ,,avenue1 ,,charing ,,cross1 ,w4,c42 #dc1 ,,queen ,,victoria ,,street1 ,e4,c41 ,,brighton2 #ace1 ,,north ,,street4